Messier 28

The Globular Star Cluster Messier 28 in the constellation Sagittarius. Credit: Telescope.org The Autonmous Robotic Telescope - COAST Galaxy Camera BVR colour filters

This venerable globular cluster is too far south for me to image successfully from my backyard but I am able to use the Autonomous Robotic Telescope on Mount Teide in the Canary Islands to capture this beautiful grouping of ancient stars.

"M28 is at a distance of about 17,900 light-years away from Earth. It has a combined 551,000 times the mass of the Sun and is 12 billion years old. 18 RR Lyrae type variable stars have been observed in this cluster. In 1986, M28 became the first globular cluster where a millisecond pulsar, PSR B1821–24, was discovered with the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory. A total of 11 additional millisecond pulsars have since been detected in the cluster with the Green Bank Telescope. As of 2011, this is the third largest known population of pulsars in a cluster following Terzan 5 and 47 Tucanae". : Credit: Wikipedia

Pulsars are the dense remnants of stars that used up their nuclear fuel and consequentially suffered the gravitational collapse of their cores.  A pulsar is a highly magnetized and rotating neutron star or white dwarf that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation.  As the core spins the beam sweeps across space rather like the light beam from a lighthouse sweeps across the sea. From our perspective here on earth we witness a pulse of radiation evey time the beam is directed towards us. 


The first pulsar was observed on November 28, 1967, by Jocelyn Bell Burnell (now Dame Susan Jocelyn Bell Burnell) and Antony Hewish. For more information follow the links:
https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question45.html

 

Arancini - Sicilian and Italian stuffed and fried rice balls

A squid stuffed and inked Aricino (singular) at Mercato Centrale, Via dell’Ariento, 50123 Firenze, Italy

 We purchased this tasty little morsel for a couple of Euros from the food market hall in Florence . It was a superb treat and an excellent accompaniment for a glass of chilled white wine!

Toot and I enjoyed many a fine meal in Tuscany but we would both recommend this venue to anyone visiting the marvellous city of Florence. The quality of the food is excellent and the 'value for money' is exceptional.

"Arancini ([aranˈtʃiːni], Italian and Sicilian plural; in the singular, Italian: arancino, Sicilian: arancinu or arancina) are stuffed rice balls which are coated with bread crumbs and then deep fried. They are usually filled with ragù (meat and tomato sauce), mozzarella, and peas.
A number of regional variants exist which differ in fillings and shape. The name, which is translated as "little orange", derives from their shape and colour, which is reminiscent of an orange after cooking. Arancini produced in eastern Sicily (especially in Catania) have a more conical shape". Credit: Wikipedia

Cyanistes caeruleus

Screenshots from a webcam in our bird box. Loads of hungry beaks seeking food. We think there are at least four chicks and a pair of adult birds. The photos are not up to Spring Watch standards but the birds coming and going and feeding the chicks in real time are pretty to watch !

Eight years ago, on my sixtieth birthday, my children gave me a bird-nesting box with a webcam-transmitter installed.  For seven years we have watched time pass and the occasional spider spin its web - but no birds.  Today, after returning from holiday, we discovered a family of 'Blue Tits' being raised in our box. How pleased and delighted are we!  Kate Humble eat your heart out!

A real pretty thing to see and a happy time.

The Gibbous Moon Rising over Vesuvius from the Palazzo Caracciolo Hotel balcony- Naples

A visual memory from a lovely week with our grandson Felix in Naples during March 2017.