NEARCHUS: NASA Image of the Day,May 11th [ 1223 ]

The Hellenic Navy (HN) (Greek: Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Greek Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy has its roots in the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independence. During the periods of monarchy (1833–1924 and 1936–1973) it was known as the Royal Navy (Βασιλικόν Ναυτικόν, Vasilikón Naftikón, abbreviated ΒΝ).The total displacement of all the navy's vessels is approximately 150,000 tons.The motto of the Hellenic Navy is "Μέγα το της Θαλάσσης Κράτος" from Thucydides' account of Pericles' oration on the eve of the Peloponnesian War. This has been roughly translated as "Great is the country that controls the sea". The Hellenic Navy's emblem consists of an anchor in front of a crossed Christian cross and trident, with the cross symbolizing Greek Orthodoxy, and the trident symbolizing Poseidon, the god of the sea in Greek mythology. Pericles' words are written across the top of the emblem. "The navy, as it represents a necessary weapon for Greece, should only be created for war and aim to victory."...............The Hellenic Merchant Marine refers to the Merchant Marine of Greece, engaged in commerce and transportation of goods and services universally. It consists of the merchant vessels owned by Greek civilians, flying either the Greek flag or a flag of convenience. Greece is a maritime nation by tradition, as shipping is arguably the oldest form of occupation of the Greeks and a key element of Greek economic activity since the ancient times. Nowadays, Greece has the largest merchant fleet in the world, which is the second largest contributor to the national economy after tourism and forms the backbone of world shipping. The Greek fleet flies a variety of flags, however some Greek shipowners gradually return to Greece following the changes to the legislative framework governing their operations and the improvement of infrastructure.

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This is a bilingual blog in English and / or Greek and you can translate any post to any language by pressing on the appropriate flag....Note that there is provided below a scrolling text with the 30 recent posts...Αυτό είναι ένα δίγλωσσο blog στα Αγγλικά η/και στα Ελληνικά και μπορείτε να μεταφράσετε οποιοδήποτε ποστ σε οποιαδήποτε γλώσσα κάνοντας κλικ στη σχετική σημαία. Σημειωτέον ότι παρακάτω παρέχεται και ένα κινούμενο κείμενο με τα 30 πρόσφατα ποστς....This is a bilingual blog in English and / or Greek and you can translate any post to any language by pressing on the appropriate flag....Note that there is provided below a scrolling text with the 30 recent posts...Αυτό είναι ένα δίγλωσσο blog στα Αγγλικά η/και στα Ελληνικά και μπορείτε να μεταφράσετε οποιοδήποτε ποστ σε οποιαδήποτε γλώσσα κάνοντας κλικ στη σχετική σημαία. Σημειωτέον ότι παρακάτω παρέχεται και ένα κινούμενο κείμενο με τα 30 πρόσφατα ποστς.........

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

NASA Image of the Day,May 11th [ 1223 ]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.

Menkhib and the California Nebula

NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, features one of the bright stars in the constellation Perseus, named Menkhib (at upper left near the red dust cloud), surrounded by the large star-forming California Nebula, running diagonally through the image.

Menkhib is one of the hottest stars visible in the night sky; its surface temperature is about 37,000 Kelvin (about 66,000 degrees Fahrenheit, or more than six times hotter than the sun). Because of its high temperature, it appears blue-white to the human eye.

It has about 40 times the mass of our sun and gives off 330,000 times the amount of light. Menkhib is a runaway star, and the fast stellar wind it blows is piling up in front of it to create a shock wave. This shock wave is heating up dust, which WISE sees as the red cloud in the upper left of the image.

Menkhib and the California Nebula are about 1,800 light-years away from Earth and are located within the same spur of the Orion spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy as Earth. All four infrared detectors aboard WISE were used to make this image.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

Τρίτη, 11 Μάιος 2010 7:00:00 πμ

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