July 2006 Calendar - Bursting at the Seams
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This bubble of ionized gas and warm dust, called RCW 79, lies in the southern Milky Way, 17,200 light years from Earth in the constellation Centaurus, and probably took about one million years to form from the radiation and winds of hot young stars. The infrared eyes of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have found at least three generations of stars forming in this expanding envelope. The gas and dust balloon is an example of stimulated star formation. Such stars are born when the hot bubble expands into the interstellar gas and dust around it. RCW 79 has spawned at least two groups of new stars along the edge of the large bubble. Some are visible inside the small bubble in the lower left corner. Another group of baby stars appears near the opening at the top.
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Quote of the Day
Scientists were rated as great heretics by the church, but they were truly religious men because of their faith in the orderliness of the universe. - Albert Einstein
Fact of the Day
It took three years of constant printing to complete Johann Gutenberg's famous Bible, which appeared in 1455 in two volumes, and had 1,284 pages. He reportedly printed 200 Bibles, of which 47 still exist.Word of the Day
spelunker
Pronunciation: /spi-LUNG-kuh/
n : a person who explores and studies caves, especially as a hobby
"I've been a spelunker for many years but still have no idea what I'm doing."
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