5-02-09 Have Not Been Able To Go Out and Do It Street Astro

Ok, I make my previous posting with great anticipation of a few evenings of fun showing off the universe to my neighbors here in Northern Nv. Well it turns out the Sierra's can not decide if it is Spring or Winter - so I have had a weather bust over the last four days. Today is Astronomy Day where astronomy clubs across the country traditionally do public programs to help inspire and inform the public. Because my program is totally visually oriented out in the public walkways I am on the sideline. Because of the amount of good weather we get I just plan on doing programs with out indoor backup - bummer. I saw this picture today on APOD; this is called "The Whale". It is tidally disrupted galaxy located on the border of Coma and the Hunting Dogs. I remember my first view of this galaxy and it's associated galaxy group left me spellbound! Today it makes me happy! This is one of the finest pics I have ever seen of it; click on it and enjoy the view! I find it interesting how galaxies can get so distorted due to interactions.............I wonder what our Milky Way looks like from a similar distance - I bet we would see some bending!