2007年02月19日:伊朗上空的新星-（Nova Over Iran） 2007年02月19日:伊朗上空的新星-（Nova Over Iran）--原图下载{mtitle title="伊朗上空的新星"/}Credit & Copyright: Mohammad Rahimi说明: 天文学家最近正努力研究一颗新星。这颗被称为Nova Scorpii 2007 的星新最近这几天突然增亮，亮度已达肉眼可见。各位天文爱好者可以在凌晨时，往天蝎座的方向，木星和心宿二的下方，找到这颗星，当然，你可以用上面这张照片当星图。像这样明亮的新星，通常要好几年才看得到一颗。新星的成因是由白矮星表层的热核爆发所引起的。上面这张照片是星期五的时候，位于伊朗 伊斯法罕的Varzaneh沙漠，利用小望远镜观测这颗新星的景像。接下来的几天，这颗新星会开始变暗，但仍可用双筒望远镜观测到它。{lamp/}原文：{mtitle title="Nova Over Iran"/}Credit & Copyright: Mohammad RahimiExplanation: A bright new nova is being studied by astronomers. The officially dubbed Nova Scorpii 2007 has become so bright in recent days that it is now visible to the unaided eye. Adventurous early morning sky enthusiasts should look in dark skies toward the constellation of the Scorpion, just below Jupiter and Antares. The above image may help as a sky chart. A nova this bright occurs only every few years. Novas are caused by thermonuclear explosionscasting off the outer layers of a white dwarf star. Pictured above on Friday, the nova was being studied through a small telescope as it appeared over the Varzaneh Desert in Isfahan, Iran.The nova will likely fade but remain visible with binoculars for at least a few more days.

2007年01月15日:加泰隆尼亚上空的麦克诺特彗星-（Comet McNaught Over Catalonia） 2007年01月15日:加泰隆尼亚上空的麦克诺特彗星-（Comet McNaught Over Catalonia）--原图下载{mtitle title="加泰隆尼亚上空的麦克诺特彗星"/}Credit & Copyright: Juan Casado (skylook.net)说明:上个週末，麦克诺特彗星亮度激增，甚至比金星还亮。北半球的众多天文迷在黄昏和清晨争睹这颗拥有肉眼可见的彗核以及细长的彗尾的彗星。最新的亮度估计显示出在上个週末，麦克诺特彗星的亮度已经比-5星等还亮，这是自1965年池谷-关彗星 (记录上的亮度是-7星等)以来最明亮的一颗彗星。当这颗2007年的大彗星运行到比水星轨道更接近太阳时，它的亮度达到最大值。 接下来的这一週，麦克诺特彗星将慢慢由南方远离太阳，并开始变暗。在一月底之前，这颗彗星仍然保持着肉眼可见的亮度，但是只有南半球的人可以观测得到它。上图是经过纵向压缩的影像，原始影像是在上星期五拍摄的，拍摄地点位于西班牙 加泰隆尼亚的山上。{lamp/}原文：{mtitle title="Comet McNaught Over Catalonia"/}Credit & Copyright: Juan Casado (skylook.net)Explanation: This past weekend Comet McNaught peaked at a brightness that surpassed even Venus. Fascinated sky enthusiasts in the Earth's northern hemisphere were treated to an instantly visible comet head and a faint elongated tail near sunrise and sunset. Recent brightness estimates had Comet McNaught brighter than magnitude -5 (minus five) over this past weekend, making it the brightest comet since Comet Ikeya-Seki in 1965, which was recorded at -7 (minus seven).The Great Comet of 2007 reached its brightest as it rounded the Sun well inside the orbit of Mercury.Over the next week Comet McNaught will begin to fade as it moves south and away from the Sun. The unexpectedly bright comet should remain visible to observers in the southern hemisphere with unaided eyes for the rest of January. The above image, vertically compressed, was taken at sunset last Friday from mountains above Catalonia, Spain.

1998年08月03日:M44: 鬼宿星团-（M44: A Beehive of Stars） 1998年08月03日:M44: 鬼宿星团-（M44: A Beehive of Stars）--原图下载{mtitle title="M44: 鬼宿星团"/}Credit & Copyright: Wil Milan说明: M44是个很显眼的疏散星团。这个常见名称包括鬼宿星团 (Praesepe) 和 "蜂窝星团" (the Beehive)的星团，是少数肉眼可见的疏散星团之一。 在伽利略用早期的望远镜分辨出上面影像所呈现的这些星团蓝色亮星之前， M44被误认是一个星云。 大约形成于四亿年前的M44，比大多数的其他疏散星团大且老。鬼宿星团 的距离大约是580光年，大小则有10光年， 透过高倍率的望远镜， 可以分办出其中数百颗成员星。{lamp/}原文：{mtitle title="M44: A Beehive of Stars"/}Credit & Copyright: Wil MilanExplanation: M44 is a prominent open cluster of stars. Nicknamed Praesepe and "The Beehive", it is one of the few open clusters visible to the unaided eye. M44 was thought to be a nebula until Galileo used an early telescope to resolve the cluster's bright blue stars. These stars are visible in theabove image.M44, which is thought to have formed about 400 million years ago, is larger and older than most other open clusters. The Beehive Cluster lies about 580 light-years away, and spans about 10 light-years across. When viewed with a powerful telescope, hundreds of stars become visible.