Spiral galaxy NGC 2336.Image: ESA/Hubble & NASA, V. Antoniou; Acknowledgment: Judy Schmidt
NGC 2336 was discovered over a century ago, but the big, blue spiral galaxy has never looked better, thanks to an eye-catching image obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope.
German astronomer Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 2336 in 1876, which he did with a humble 11-inch (0.28 meter) telescope. He could’ve scarcely imagined a photo like this, taken by Hubble’s 7.9-foot (2.4 meters) main mirror, according to a NASA press release.
NGC 2336 is approximately 100 million light-years away and located in the northern constellation of Camelopardalis (which depicts a giraffe). With its eight prominent spiral arms, NGC 2336 measures some 200 light-years across. By contrast, the Milky Way—another spiral galaxy—is around half that size, measuring 105,000 light-years in diameter.
The gigantic galaxy is filled with young stars, which appear in blue, while older stars, many located toward the center, shine in red.
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Interestingly, NGC 2336 produced a visible supernova, which astronomers detected on August 16, 1987. It was later determined to be a type 1a supernova, in which the exploding member of a binary pair is a white dwarf.
Galaxy NGC 2336 — a barred spiral galaxy that stretches an immense 200,000 light-years across — is captured here by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, V. Antoniou, Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt
NGC 2336 is the quintessential galaxy — big, beautiful and blue — and it is captured here by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The barred spiral galaxy stretches an immense 200,000 light-years across and is located approximately 100 million light years away in the northern constellation of Camelopardalis (The Giraffe).
Its spiral arms are glittered with young stars, visible in their bright blue light. In contrast, the redder central part of the galaxy is dominated by older stars.
NGC 2336 was discovered in 1876 by German astronomer Wilhelm Tempel, using a 28-centimeter telescope. This Hubble image is so much better than the view Tempel would have had — Hubble’s main mirror is 2.4 meters across, nearly ten times the size of the telescope Tempel used. In 1987, NGC 2336 experienced a Type-Ia supernova, the only observed supernova in the galaxy since its discovery 111 years earlier.
Ring has announced the latest model in its line of video doorbells, the Video Doorbell Pro 2. The Pro 2 is a new top-of-the-line model that comes with a number of enhancements over its predecessor, including a taller field of view and enhanced motion detection capabilities. It is available to preorder for $249.99 starting today, with shipments expected to begin on March 31st, 2021.
The most significant update for the Pro 2 is its new square video capture. First popularized by Google’s Nest Hello and adopted by many other video doorbells, this field of view makes it possible to see who is at your door from head to toe. It also makes it possible to see when packages are left on the ground in front of the doorbell. The Pro 2 captures a 1536 x 1536 pixel image and is the first Ring model to not use the traditional 16:9 wide view.
The second big upgrade is in the Pro 2’s motion detection. Ring is calling this new feature “3D Motion Detection” and says it allows you to “pin point the location and time a motion event begins.” In addition, a new Bird’s Eye View shows you a top-down image of the motion detected, letting you see where someone traversed your property from above. Ring says it’s possible to customize the specific point where the new motion detection and video recording begins, thanks to new radar sensors on the Pro 2. You can also customize other motion and privacy zones, much like you can do with Ring’s other cameras.
The Video Doorbell Pro 2 captures a square video image, allowing you to see someone head to toe.Image: Ring
The Pro 2 has a new motion detection system that gives you a top-down view of detected motion events.Image: Ring
Ring also says the Pro 2’s audio features have been improved with an array microphone, and new preset replies can be set for when you’re not home. Those who subscribe to a Ring Protect Plan can utilize Alexa Greetings, which offers a more advanced answering machine service.
Like the prior Video Doorbell Pro, the Pro 2 is a wired model and does not use a battery. That means you need to have doorbell wiring in place or be willing to wire power to it if you want to install it at your door.
Competition in the video doorbell space has heated up a bit in the past few years, with a number of new entrants bringing innovative features to the space. Ring, which can be credited with popularizing the idea of a video doorbell, has mostly been criticized for its privacy policies and police partnerships over the past few years. That hasn’t stopped it from being the most common video doorbell and the de facto brand when people think of this product category. The Pro 2 is Ring’s answer to a lot of those new competitors, and it will be interesting to see how it performs once we’re able to give it a test.
China has released epic video footage from the country’s Tianwen-1 spacecraft as it made a close approach to Mars after reaching the Red Planet this week.
Tianwen-1 arrived at Mars on Wednesday (Feb. 10) and fired its engines to allow it to enter orbit around the planet. China has now received and put together a series of images taken during this approach and created two remarkable scenes, seen here in a single video.
One video, taken by Tianwen-1’s small engineering survey sub-system camera for monitoring a solar array, shows Mars entering into frame followed by an incredible view of the edge of Mars’ atmosphere, or “atmospheric limb.”
Video: Watch China’s Tianwen-1 arrive at Mars See more: China’s Tianwen-1 Mars mission in photos
China’s Tianwen-1 Mars orbiter captured this view of the Red Planet as it entered orbit around the planet on Feb. 10, 2021. (Image credit: CCTV/CNSA)
Craters are also visible on the planet’s surface, while the solar panel appears to oscillate with the spacecraft firing its main engines to decelerate.
A second video is from the point of view of a monitoring camera for Tianwen-1’s tracking antenna, providing similarly amazing footage.
The engineering survey sub-system consists of a number of small monitoring cameras used to monitor processes such as the deployment of solar arrays and other events, according to the China National Space Administration.
The cameras took photos once every three seconds and continuously photographed for around half an hour. The videos have a frame rate of about 10 pictures per second.
Related: Here’s what China’s Tianwen-1 Mars mission will do
Another Mars view from China’s Tianwen-1 orbiter taken as it entered orbit around the planet on Feb. 10, 2021. (Image credit: CCTV/CNSA)
Tianwen-1, which means “Questioning the Heavens,” launched on July 23, 2020 and is China’s first independent interplanetary mission. It arrived in orbit around Mars after a 202-day, 295-million-mile (475 million kilometers) journey through deep space. It snapped an image of the Red Planet during its final approach.
The spacecraft consists of both an orbiter and a rover. The landing attempt for the rover is not expected until May or June, giving the orbiter time to image and map out the intended landing site in a region known as Utopia Planitia.
Tianwen-1’s roughly 530-lb. (240 kilograms) solar-powered rover carries science payloads to investigate surface soil characteristics and search for potential water-ice distribution with a ground penetrating radar. The rover also carries a panoramic camera similar to one aboard China’s Yutu 2 rover, which is currently exploring the the far side of Earth’s moon.
The Tianwen-1 orbiter will study the Red Planet’s surface with medium- and high-resolution cameras and a sounding radar, and make other detections with a magnetometer and particle detectors.