THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
70 Falmouth Street      Portland, Maine 04103
(207) 780-4249      usm.maine.edu/planet
43.6667° N    70.2667° W  Altitude:  10 feet below sea level Founded
January 1970
2021-2022: CXXIX
"Four recent college graduates- a chemistry major, a physics major, a
mathematics major and an astronomy major-are speaking at a local coffee
shop. At one point, the physics major said, "You know, chemistry is really
just applied physics." The others then enjoyed a laugh at the chemistry
major's expense. Then, the mathematics major added, "You know, physics is
just applied mathematics." At that point, the others enjoyed a laugh at the
physics major's expense. The astronomy major then piped in, "You know,
mathematics is just a subsection of astronomy." While the others laughed,
the mathematics major looked at the astronomy major and said, "Very funny.
Now, run off and bring us our order."
  -a joke someone sent me this weekend.


THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Monday, May 23, 2022
Celestial Godzilla

Today we experience the unalloyed joys of * apophenia!*
If, like me, you're about to ask, "Who is she," please know that apophenia
is not a lady, but is a term referring to the human tendency to perceive a
meaningful pattern  within random or unrelated shapes.   For instance, when
I was a wee lad, a friend and I reclined on the lawn and gazed up at the
clouds.  "I see a castle in that one," I said.    My friend replied,
"Hmm....it actually looks more like the hemagglutinin structure within the
alphainfluenzavirus."    (If you're growing up in a college town, brace
yourself.)

Apophenia is believed to have developed far back in our history, during the
time when most humans were primarily concerned with seeking nourishment
while avoiding predators.   Many predators and prey animals were -and still
are- adept at camouflage.  Consequently, our ancestors became  keenly aware
of their environments and cultivated the skill of perceiving familiar
shapes such as hungry beasts or tasty rodents in all sorts of niches and
crannies. Even though all we modern humans have to do to acquire food now
is travel to the local market with an offering of an arm and a leg, we've
still retained this apophenistic instinct.

So, tell us, can you see Godzilla in the image below?

[image: img_6-1-1536x1431.jpg]

Do you see the two red eyes toward the top?  Or, perhaps the vague outline
of a head.  Perhaps you can see the nebulous body toward the center or the
grasping hand at the image's lower left?
If you see the monster, be not alarmed.    This image is taken from
GLIMPSE: the *Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire.
 *GLIMPSE consists of two million images of the Milky Way Galaxy captured
by the Spitzer Space Telescope.  The aim of this project was to produce a
comprehensive survey of the galaxy in infrared light.   Although the survey
was completed in 2014, some of the images, including the one above, have
been recently reprocessed and released to the public.

Godzilla's "hand" is actually a giant molecular cloud designated as W33.
Located 7,800 light years from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius, W33
spans 33 light years and is a prodigious producer of highly massive stars.
 The survey found 14 highly massive stars which formed within the last
seven million years.   Also, a 15-solar mass star is also currently forming
within this region.      Godzilla is a monster star maker!

But, no worries, this monster is quite far away and, provided that one
strays far clear of the energetic stellar cauldrons, quite harmless.


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