Hubble's snowglobe

Oh! That is so wonderful!
You can shake this snow globe, too – by clicking on the high-res link and then quickly minimizing it and maximizing it repeatedly. ( the little + and – lens)

“I wonder what the sky would look like from a world in the center of that cluster? ”
I wonder that of myself when I use my telescope. Just imagine if any civilisation evolve one of the planets there, they could colonise a big part of the cluster.
The distances are much less between star-systems and planets.
This could make a Hollywood sci-fi. The thousands of planets, with many different aliens, empires and rebels.
And off course planets could wonder about systems.
Oh, I can smell the popcorn already…

Since we’ve got an astronomical topic I thought I’d repost this suggestion I made a little while ago from astronomy but which I think the climatologists might find worth considering. Sorry for the length but it’s easer for everyone rather than reading all the articles.
During MIT’s “The Great ClimateGate Debate” (http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/730) Lindzen said he was very surprised (although pleased) about the recent interest in climate science by the general public, and even named Watt himself and his temprature station project.
I think that with projects like Watt’s ground station survey, McIntyre and McKitrick’s double checking of fishy peer reviewed work, Willis, RomanM and others double checking the raw temperature data, I think it is clear that amateur climate science has reached a new maturity that calls for a formal pro-am collaboration forum — a “Pro-Am Climate Science Institute”.
For those who think this is a radical idea it is not new and below are examples from two sciences where I know there is extensive and valuable pro-am collaboration. It is an obvious solution for those sciences that study parts of the natural world where the sheer volume and/or vast geographic distribution is just too great for professionals to do alone. Climate science is an area where this is the case. The opportunities from just the above projects have enough work to keep an army of volunteer amateurs involved indefinitely, along with new projects (like perhaps establishing a network of amateur temperature instruments).
Having a formal pro-am collaboration forum will also help neutralize critics that ignore people like the Watt himself by giving volunteers credibility as they contributing as equals. Jones wanted to “redefine what peer-reviwed literature was” (e-mail 1089318616.txt) so perhaps we can do it for him (he seems a bit busy right now) A pro-am forum also helps legitimate scientists in the field (ie the non-warmists) to tap into an army of helpers when needed. And probably it will bring many other benefits. No doubt the idea will be scoffed at by the warmists but I think those who are already doing this level of pro-am work should consider forging forward with this as over time it will be accepted.
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Amateur astronomers have many, many formal pro-am collaboration relationships and organizations that are valued and embrased by professionals. Amateurs have even detected planets oribiting other stars, a feat that has only just becaome possible for professionals a decade or so ago. Here’s are a few examples of the sophisticated level of collaboration taking place, although in the early years it was tough going as pros were reluctant partners, but now about 5 years later its 180 degree turnaround.
Pro-Am collaboration to unveil the atmosphere of Venus
http://www.europlanet-eu.org/demo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=46&Itemid=41
Results from an ongoing collaboration between amateur astronomers and the European Space Agency to support the Venus Express mission will be presented at the European Planetary Science Congress in Potsdam on Wednesday 22nd August. Silvia Kowollik, from the Zollern-Alb Observatory in Germany and one of the participants in the project, said, “This is the first time there’s been a European collaboration between amateur astronomers and scientists. In the United States, they have a long tradition and a lot of experience in this kind of work. In Europe we are just starting.” “There have been huge advances in relatively cheaply available equipment, which means that amateurs can take images in wavelengths from infrared through to ultraviolet with impressive accuracy and content. These amateur observations are the last link in a chain that starts with Venus Express and continues with the professional ground-based activities. When joined together, all these observations will all help to peel back the atmosphere of Venus and reveal her mysteries.”
Amateur Discovers Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglow
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/3307961.html?page=1&c=y
Last July 25th Berto Monard of Pretoria, South Africa, became the first amateur astronomer to discover a gamma-ray burst’s fading visual afterglow. Dubbed GRB 030725, the burst was first spotted by the NASA/Massachusetts Institute of Technology High Energy Transient Explorer-2 (HETE-2) spacecraft, which immediately relayed its approximate coordinates to astronomers worldwide.
Gamma-Ray Bursts monitored by Amateurs
http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/astronomy-topics/gamma-ray-bursts.html
The afterglow starts to fade right away, so the earlier you catch the explosion, the more likely you are to be able to photograph the afterglow. Astronomers have sent x-ray telescopes into orbit to scan the sky, to catch the first x-ray afterglow of a burst as soon as possible. The latest of these satellites, called Swift, has been making a slew of discoveries since its launch in November 2004. True to its name, the Swift satellite instantly dispatches e-mail alerts to amateur and professional astronomers around the world. Many observers alerted by Swift will be on the wrong side of the world or under cloudy skies, but a few have a chance to catch the visible afterglow. As there are many more amateur than professional astronomers, and many have the kinds of telescopes and CCD cameras needed to measure the fading brilliance of a gamma-ray burst, the odds are that the discovery will be made by an amateur. As described in our film, the amateur astronomer Michael Koppelman captured just such an image, and it turned out to be one of the most distant gamma-ray bursts ever observed—its distance a staggering 11 billion light years. One day when the different kinds of gamma-ray bursts are better understood, it is likely that the amateur astronomy community will have played a significant part in exposing the secrets of these violent events.
Astronomers Launch Pro-Am “Registry” (check out the amateur’s observatory)
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/3309186.html?page=1&c=y
The past decade has seen an explosion in the number of backyard observers using high-end equipment and sophisticated software to record faint asteroids, discover supernovae, and even detect extrasolar planets. So it’s not surprising that many accomplished amateurs yearn to contribute directly to scientific research. Among the dozens of practicing astronomers attending the AAS special session was Alan Harris (Space Science Institute), who points out that amateur observers have determined about a third of the 1,500 known rotation periods for asteroids. “Amateurs are always thanking us for the interest we professionals show in their work, but I think it’s going in the wrong direction,” Harris comments. “It’s we who should be thanking them for their involvement.”
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Another example is in ornithology
Association of Field Ornithologists
http://www.afonet.org/about/index.html
The Association of Field Ornithologists (AFO) is a membership organization dedicated to the study and conservation of birds and their natural habitats. The AFO prides itself as serving as a bridge between the professional and the amateur ornithologist. The organization’s membership and governing council consist of both amateur and professional ornithologists, in recognition of the contributions that both make to ornithology.

Spectacular photo, the link to the calendar was amazing.

This is a lovely picture and thank you for posting it. Re life in a star cluster – looks beautiful to us, but has anyone read Nightfall by Isaac Asimov?
Still, as EM Smith has said, interstellar travel would be somewhat easier in such a crowded place. What we’re looking at here could be something similar to the Romulan Empire – perhaps a good thing for us that it’s 25,000 light years away!

Christopher Hanley (23:02:38) :
> Is the black surround a ‘picture frame’ or is the cluster that (presumably)
> spherical shape?
It’s a sphere. Here’s an excellent amateur image (wider field of view)
http://stoney-hills.com/html/m13.html

Actually… that’s 1 star per 17.7 *cubic* light years, making it some 3.2ly on average between stars, assuming an even distribution. Of course, the distribution is not even, but denser towards the middle of the cluster.

Happy New Year and best wishes.

Do I see double Sun’s? These are Suns that rotate around each other.

Ah yes…
The Hercules globular cluster. I’ve looked at it with my telescope at home… a glorious beauty that literally brought tears to my eyes the first time I viewed it under perfect dark sky conditions.
M13 was the very first deep sky object I found when I first started into astronomy as a hobby. With an 8″ telescope I could literally see thousands of tiny points of light.
Puts a smile on my face as I’m typing this.
Ah, the wonders of the universe… something that’s definately not anthropogenic.