The Universe is a zoo.

Today's APOD is amazing! This is now being named Hanny's Voorwerp. At the moment no one is very sure what it is, some think a cloud of energized gas, wich is of galactic proportions by the way, or a Green Dragon? It shows that there are still many things to be discovered in the Universe. Every time something like this happens I am reminded who created it all and how AWESOME God is.
If you think you have the eye and the time, register at the Galaxy Zoo and do some identification. I have...
I leave you with these thoughts on the Universe...
There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what
the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be
replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another
theory which states that this has already happened.
Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001)

The creator of the universe works in mysterious ways. But he uses a base ten
counting system and likes round numbers.
Scott Adams (1957 - )

If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the
universe.
Carl Sagan (1934 - 1996)

Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we
can imagine.
Sir Arthur Eddington (1882 - 1944)

McNaught Caught!

Faintly starting to glow right at the top, in the centre, at last! Comet McNaught caught 19/01/2007... then the camera battery's died! I will be back again tomorrow if the horizon is clear.

The Solar Spectrum

APOD: 2006 April 23 - The Solar Spectrum
"Explanation: It is still not known why the Sun's light is missing some colors. Shown above are all the visible colors of the Sun, produced by passing the Sun's light through a prism-like device. The above spectrum was created at the McMath-Pierce Solar Observatory and shows, first off, that although our yellow-appearing Sun emits light of nearly every color, it does indeed appear brightest in yellow-green light. The dark patches in the above spectrum arise from gas at or above the Sun's surface absorbing sunlight emitted below. Since different types of gas absorb different colors of light, it is possible to determine what gasses compose the Sun. Helium, for example, was first discovered in 1870 on a solar spectrum and only later found here on Earth. Today, the majority of spectral absorption lines have been identified - but not all."
An amazing picture with gaps in the knowledge and spectrum which will most probably be filled one day...

Giant eye spots 'first light'

Way to go! This is amazing news. The people down in Sutherland have done a fine job, it may be a one horse town with the coldest nights in the country but then that is just what one needs for a starry view. Go and check out what is being done at SALT. This gives an idea of the surrounds of the observatory.