It seems really quiet today, not much going on. The featured image today looks like it should have "Also Sprach Zarathustra" for its theme music, but that's become kind of a cliché, so here's your soundtrack for this week.
I'm going for far away places today. Here's APOD (which if you don't follow, you should) on the brightest stars in Earth's sky:
Do you know the names of some of the brightest stars? It's likely that you do, even though some bright stars have names so old they date back to near the beginning of written language. Many world cultures have their own names for the brightest stars, and it is culturally and… pic.twitter.com/YdPd2KFZu8
— Astronomy Picture of the Day (@apod) June 13, 2025
Looking at that post reminded me of something from Astronomy class, 50 (eek!) years ago — a mnemonic for the stellar classes: O, B, A, F, G, K, M — "Oh Be A Fine Girl Kiss Me". I suspect they teach a different one today.
So, I do run a lot of JWST images, but Hubble is still turning out some spectacular pictures.
Pismis24 Open cluster in the Scorpius constellation by Hubble telescope #NASA pic.twitter.com/Z5B7AxFDdr
— Julio Maiz (@maiz_julio) June 13, 2025
A spiral galaxy busily making baby stars.
NGC 5042 from Hubble:
— Black Hole (@konstructivizm) June 13, 2025
A Spiral Galaxy Alive with Starbirth.
Image Credit: NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope pic.twitter.com/fOD2hs5LSt
Also for our VIPs: Sky Candy: The Seen and Unseen
Okay, I said I was getting away from Earth, but this is too cool to miss.
New timelapse from the ISS
— Black Hole (@konstructivizm) June 13, 2025
Astronaut Johnny Kim shares his debut video from orbit. 68 seconds of beauty from 402 kilometers.
Continents pass under the station, the lights of megacities flash, and the aurora borealis shimmers in the atmosphere. Green flashes in the Asia region… pic.twitter.com/TtLdgaNKWv
As long as we're here.
Well the conditions were just too good to pass up. I at least had to get out there and give it a try. With wildfire smoke, clouds and the waning gibbous Moon I didn't have much of a chance. As luck would have it I spied a thin line of brightness on the Drive 511 road cam, to… https://t.co/r0vhHhtXy9 pic.twitter.com/PGZbk7KUKy
— Harlan Thomas (@theauroraguy) June 13, 2025
A view of the Sun no one has ever seen before.
We've never seen this part of the Sun before! ☀️ 👀
— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) June 12, 2025
The @esa /@NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft has revealed the first-ever images of the Sun’s polar regions, previously hidden parts of the Sun newly visible thanks to the spacecraft’s uniquely “tilted” orbit.
The new images… pic.twitter.com/O2Hdl0TyGF
Okay, back to deep space.
AstroBin's Image of the Day: "Bernes 142 - The Chameleon Molecular Cloud" by Gerardo Ferrarino - https://t.co/OOJWkWmGn9#astrophotography pic.twitter.com/V98NTeq3ot
— AstroBin.com (@AstroBin_com) June 13, 2025
Are galaxies in Fibonacci (logarithmic) spirals?
Facing NGC 3344
— Black Hole (@konstructivizm) June 13, 2025
Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA pic.twitter.com/fej1AweRWy
Well, not quite.
Spiral galaxies often exhibit spiral arms that resemble logarithmic spirals, which are closely related to the Fibonacci sequence and the golden ratio (phi, ~1.618). The logarithmic spiral grows outward by a factor of phi for every quarter turn, creating a pattern where each arm’s radius increases in a way that approximates Fibonacci numbers over successive segments.
However, galaxy spirals aren’t strictly Fibonacci spirals. Their arms are shaped by dynamical processes like density waves, gravitational interactions, and star formation, which can deviate from perfect mathematical spirals. Observations show that the pitch angle of spiral arms (the angle between the arm and a circle around the galaxy’s center) typically ranges from ~10° to 30°, consistent with logarithmic spirals but not always tied to phi exactly.In short: spiral galaxies form spirals that are mathematically akin to logarithmic/Fibonacci spirals, but real-world physics (like gas dynamics and gravity) makes them messier than a perfect phi spiral.
The Statue of Liberty nebula for Flag Day.
NGC3576 The Statue of liberty nebula by Martin Heyman pic.twitter.com/ptvRERWF16
— Julio Maiz (@maiz_julio) June 13, 2025
Okay, this is art, not science, but cool.
Composition of the Helix Nebula NGC 7293 and human eye (The eye of God) by nebula images pic.twitter.com/pOWO8K9Txr
— Alienigena11 (@Madriles6211) June 13, 2025
It's pretty cool without the help too.
The Helix Nebula aka the "Eye of the Universe' seen in astonishing detail! pic.twitter.com/7WLZo8Axlj
— All day Astronomy (@forallcurious) June 12, 2025
The Statue of Liberty nebula for Flag Day tomorrow.
NGC3576 The Statue of liberty nebula by Martin Heyman pic.twitter.com/ptvRERWF16
— Julio Maiz (@maiz_julio) June 13, 2025
It has a tail.
Awohali is a ‘Neptune-like’ exoplanet located around 32 light-years from Earth.
— FarLife (@FarLife1) June 13, 2025
Also known as Gliese 436 b, this intriguing exoplanet is extremely hot with temperatures of up to 822 °F (439 °C).
Awohali is thought to possess what’s known as “hot ice” in various exotic… pic.twitter.com/6yO8pVRLRQ
And that's it for this quiet, politics-free week. Come back next week for more Sky Candy.
