Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Bad weather in space? (part 2)


If the beautiful view of sunlight reflecting off glass shards blowing at Mach 5 still spoils your interplanetary picnic plans, then perhaps you can find better weather activity near a young proto star, such as HOPS-68. At a distance of 1,350 light years from Earth, this still-forming star is surrounded by icy cold clouds with temperatures around –280 °F (-170 °C ). Jets of gas from the proto-star are blasting green crystalline minerals called olivine into the atmosphere, which are then cooled by the surrounding clouds and are raining back down to the boiling surface in a beautiful display of gem-like glitter. So romantic! This interstellar phenomenon, however, is best observed from afar.

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