FLASH! Run-a-way Star blasts through spaces Nasa report and photo #boulder
Jan 25th
The blue star near the center of this image is Zeta Ophiuchi. When seen in visible light it appears as a relatively dim red star surrounded by other dim stars and no dust. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA
January 24, 2011
A massive star flung away from its former companion is plowing through space dust. The result is a brilliant bow shock, seen here as a yellow arc in a new image from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE.
The star, named Zeta Ophiuchi, is huge, with a mass of about 20 times that of our sun. In this image, in which infrared light has been translated into visible colors we see with our eyes, the star appears as the blue dot inside the bow shock.
Zeta Ophiuchi once orbited around an even heftier star. But when that star exploded in a supernova, Zeta Ophiuchi shot away like a bullet. It’s traveling at a whopping 54,000 miles per hour (or 24 kilometers per second), and heading toward the upper left area of the picture.
As the star tears through space, its powerful winds push gas and dust out of its way and into what is called a bow shock. The material in the bow shock is so compressed that it glows with infrared light that WISE can see. The effect is similar to what happens when a boat speeds through water, pushing a wave in front of it.
This bow shock is completely hidden in visible light. Infrared images like this one from WISE are therefore important for shedding new light on the region.
JPL manages and operates WISE for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The principal investigator, Edward Wright, is at UCLA. The mission was competitively selected under NASA’s Explorers Program managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The science instrument was built by the Space Dynamics Laboratory, Logan, Utah, and the spacecraft was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. Science operations and data processing take place at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.
More information is online at http://www.nasa.gov/wise, http://wise.astro.ucla.edu andhttp://www.jpl.nasa.gov/wise .
Boulder Police arrest bookkeeper on charges of forgery and felony theft
Jan 23rd
In December 2010, Boulder detectives started an investigation into the embezzlement of funds from Impact on Education, a non-profit organization. During the investigation, detectives learned that the bookkeeper for the organization had stolen approximately $160,000 while working for the organization over the course of several years.
An affidavit was presented to the courts on Jan. 20, 2011, for the arrest of Diana Lynn Lewis, date of birth May 3, 1966, on charges of theft over $20,000, which is a class 3 felony, and several counts of forgery, a Class 5 felony. Bail was set at $100,000.
Yesterday, Lewis was arrested and transported to the Boulder County Jail.
The Boulder Police Department will not be releasing any additional information about this case, as the investigation is continuing.
Anyone with information about this crime is asked to contact Detective Jeff Kithcart at 303-441-3376. Those who have information but wish to remain anonymous may contact the Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or 1-800-444-3776. Tips can also be submitted via the Crime Stoppers website at www.crimeshurt.com. Those submitting tips through Crime Stoppers that lead to the arrest and filing of charges on a suspect(s) may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000 from Crime Stoppers.
Ball Museum Watch Tour and HospiceCare Benefit
Jan 23rd
Swiss Chalet host the annual Ball Museum Watch Tour and Hospice Care Benefit with food by Laudisio and Wines by Augustina Winery. Also a silent auction to benefit HospiceCare of Boulder and Broomfield Counties. Great items including Rado and Hamilton watches!
