The Week in Space

October 19-25, 2009

Cosmic Push and Pull  Astronomers using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope have measured the distribution and motions of thousands of galaxies in the distant Universe.  Expansion from the Big Bang explosion pushes galaxies away from each other, while the gravitational attraction of galactic matter (both visible and “dark”) pulls them together. This computer simulation of an area 100 million light-years across shows the motions of galaxies flowing towards the highest mass concentration in the center (shown in red).  Like compass needles, the yellow lines show the intensity and direction of the galaxies’ velocities, and measure the central structure’s rate of growth, which depends on the subtle relationship between dark matter, dark energy, and the expansion of the Universe. 

Image credit: European Southern Observatory / Klaus Dolag and the VVDS team

Weekly Calendar

October 19-25, 2009

Holidays - Sky Events - Space History

Monday 19

Tuesday 20

Wednesday 21

Antares 1° south of Moon
Orionid meteor shower

1998: Hubble Heritage Project website launched
2008: Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe launched

Thursday 22

Orionid meteor shower

2136 BC: First record of solar eclipse
1905: Karl Jansky born
1966: Luna 12 launched
1975: Venera 9 orbits Venus
1992: STS-52 Columbia launched

Friday 23

Saturday 24

United Nations Day

1851: William Lassell discovers Uranus moons Umbriel & Ariel
1968: 199th and final X-15 flight
1998: Deep Space 1 launched

Sunday 25

First Quarter Moon 8:42 pm
Moon at apogee

1671: Giovanni Cassini discovers Iapetus, moon of Saturn
1877: Henry Norris Russell born
1975: Venera 10 lands on Venus
2006: STEREO spacecraft launched

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