Titan's Shadow: A Once in a Millenium Celestial Alignment

Titan's Shadow: A Once in a Millenium Celestial Alignment

Share

Email of your friends...

Added on Monday 11 January 2010 00:36:53
by tdarnell
16164 Views

4.9 / 5
268 rates

Found another really cool observation done by the Chandra X-Ray telescope way back in 2003. With all the hype about celestial alignments and 2012 hysteria about the Sun/Earth/Galactic Center alignment, I thought I'd present a truly once in a millenium event that was actually very useful and helped get some great science done.

Titan actually cast an X-Ray shadow against the Crab Nebula, and it won't happen again until 2267. I'd also like to point out that most people didn't even know it happened and the world never came to an end, the Earth's crust didn't start to rotate nor did the poles shift.

We did get some cool pictures though!

=========

Here's a link to the NASA/Chandra Press Release done in 2003:
http://chandra.harvard.edu/press/04_releases/press_040504.html

Music Used:

Green Man, track MoodBall. available here:

http://www.garageband.com/artist/green_man

facebook

Comment(s)

Write your comment here...

satsumamoon

I like the music over the video.
Friday 11 November 2011 17:20:54
toast3551

Please cut out the ridiculous music. Why do people think that science has to be romanticized with music to make it palatable?
Wednesday 04 May 2011 22:46:33
ManlyMuscleDad

Great video.
Wednesday 19 January 2011 20:56:26
RealHeisKa

that nebulas size compared to the planet..
Wednesday 17 November 2010 15:26:37
johnmarkgeneral0123

WOW!!!! this video is so amazing
Sunday 31 October 2010 05:28:26
kristianjensendk

i love your vids
Wednesday 13 October 2010 15:56:49
Garo48

What is the music? Nice information!! Thanks!!
Monday 13 September 2010 00:01:23
xaviarthunders

Great vid! but omg the song is painful.
Friday 06 August 2010 09:30:26
Grospoliner

Dwarf planet is still a planetary object, not that that is really relevant to what I was discussing. I for one am not compelled to tack on the unneeded qualifier when unnecessary.
Tuesday 20 April 2010 12:47:20
ab30494

@Grospoliner pluto is no longer a planet
Monday 19 April 2010 21:48:21
CAGftw00

In that example the tightened rope represents gravity as you spin around, the ball represents the Earth, and you represent the Sun. As for the "fabric of Space" affecting gravity, well, it does. But, you said you were in eghth grade and it would be difficult to convey to someone as early in their education exactly how it does. I promise one day you'll learn it though. But yes, were the sun to disappear, the earth would go flying off into space, resulting in humanity's demise. Hope this helps.
Friday 05 February 2010 19:05:19
CAGftw00

We would immeditely begin drifting off into space, along with the rest of the planets in our solar system, at a direction away from where the sun used to be, and slightly in the direction of orbit. You can visualize the Sun's gravitational pull on the earth by imagining you have a ball on the end of a length of rope. When you pick up the rope and spin around, the ball orbits around you at the end of the rope. if you were to suddenly let go (disappear) the ball would go flying away from you.
Friday 05 February 2010 18:56:02
CAGftw00

Well since no one else has answered you in a week I can try my best. Eight minutes is only the time it takes the light from the Sun to reach Earth, given that the speed of light is constant, and that the Earth orbits the Sun at a reasonably constant distance of 93 million miles. This means that when talking about gravity, eight minutes doesnt come into play at all. Were the Sun to simply vanish, the effects on the Earth would be immediate....
Friday 05 February 2010 18:50:29
PreciseArrow1

Tony Darnell is awesome.... <3
Monday 01 February 2010 16:07:36
Grospoliner

Turns out I'm wrong, the odds of a planetary alignment are astronomically low, and when I mean low, the odds are they will never line up once during the life of the solar system. There is a website that discusses this in detail.
Friday 29 January 2010 12:04:02
Grospoliner

Incidentally, the planets can only align during 2 points in Plutos orbit, as at all other times Pluto's orbit does not rest in the Solar Plane. This may narrow down the potential timeframes for you to search, as it is a rather difficult task to figure out.
Friday 29 January 2010 00:51:31
Grospoliner

Not at all. There is actually a wonderful program for XP that shows the location of objects in the solar system. You can download this program for yourself simply by googling planetary orbital program. Not suprisngly, during no point in 2012 will all the planets in the solar system align. Infact with this program you can determine the next time the planets will align.
Friday 29 January 2010 00:49:24
naTuReSsHow

I wouldn't have been able to watch it. LOL
Thursday 28 January 2010 20:19:27
naTuReSsHow

I thought that the planets and sun shall align.
Thursday 28 January 2010 20:08:14
nctrls2

@naTuReSsHow nothing free Popcorn
Wednesday 27 January 2010 10:50:43
Grospoliner

Not much, planets will spin and orbit, stars will burn, fizzle, and be born. The universe will continue on its march, vast, cold, uncaring for petty human concerns. And little of import will occur to Earth beyond the usual. Meteorites burning up in the atmosphere, lethal radiation bombarding the planet being deflected by our EM field. You know, the usual.
Tuesday 19 January 2010 15:22:32
naTuReSsHow

What is going to happen in 2012 in the Universe?
Tuesday 19 January 2010 04:05:01