Wild Galaxies Collide

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is celebrating its 18th anniversary with a new collection of images showcasing colliding galaxies, including some captured by JPL's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2.

This picture from the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 shows Arp 148, the staggering aftermath of an encounter between two galaxies that resulted in a ring-shaped galaxy and a long-tailed companion. The collision between the two parent galaxies produced a shockwave effect that first drew matter into the center and then caused it to propagate outwards in a ring. The elongated companion perpendicular to the ring suggests that Arp 148 is a unique snapshot of an ongoing collision. Infrared observations reveal a strong obscuration region that appears as a dark dust lane across the nucleus in optical light.

Arp 148 is located in the constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear, approximately 500 million light-years away. This interacting pair of galaxies is included in Arp's catalog of peculiar galaxies as number 148.

Spitzer Sees Shining Stellar Sphere

Millions of clustered stars glisten like an iridescent opal in a new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

Called Omega Centauri, this sparkling orb of stars is like a miniature galaxy. It is the biggest and brightest of the more than 150 similar objects, called globular clusters, that orbit around the outside of our Milky Way galaxy. Stargazers at southern latitudes can spot the stellar gem with the naked eye in the constellation Centaurus.

Spitzer's new infrared view, which has been combined with visible-light data, can be seen here . While the visible-light observations highlight the cluster's millions of jam-packed stars, Spitzer's infrared eyes reveal the dustier, more evolved stars tossed throughout the region.

"Now we can see which stars form dust and can begin to understand how the dust forms and where it goes once it is expelled from a star," said Martha Boyer of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Boyer is lead author of a paper about Omega Centauri appearing in the April issue of the Astronomical Journal. "Surprisingly, Spitzer revealed fewer of these dusty stars than expected."

Globular clusters are some of the oldest objects in our universe. Their stars are more than 12 billion years old, and, in most cases, formed all at once when the universe was just a toddler. Omega Centauri is unusual in that its stars are of different ages and possess varying levels of metals, or elements heavier than boron. Astronomers say this points to a different origin for Omega Centauri than other globular clusters: they think it might be the core of a dwarf galaxy that was ripped apart and absorbed by our Milky Way long ago.

In the new picture of Omega Centauri, the red- and yellow-colored dots represent the stars revealed by Spitzer. These are the more evolved, larger, dustier stars, called red giants. The stars colored blue are less evolved, like our own sun, and were captured by both Spitzer's infrared eyes and in visible light by the National Science Foundation's Blanco 4-meter telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. Some of the red spots in the picture are distant galaxies beyond our own.

"As stars age and mature into red giants, they form dust grains, which play a vital role in the evolution of the universe and the formation of rocky planets," said Jacco van Loon, the study's principal investigator at Keele University in England. "Spitzer can see this dust, and it was able to resolve individual red giants even in the densest central parts of the cluster."

NASA Phoenix Mars Lander Confirms Frozen Water

Scientists relishing confirmation of water ice near the surface beside NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander anticipate even bigger discoveries from the robotic mission in the weeks ahead.

"It is with great pride and a lot of joy that I announce today that we have found proof that this hard bright material is really water ice and not some other substance," said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson, during a Friday news briefing to announce the confirmation of water ice.

"The truth we're looking for is not just looking at ice. It is in finding out the minerals, chemicals and hopefully the organic materials associated with these discoveries," said Smith

The mission has the right instruments for analyzing soil and ice to determine whether the local environment just below the surface of far-northern Mars has ever been favorable for microbial life. Key factors are whether the water ever becomes available as a liquid and whether organic compounds are present that could provide chemical building blocks and energy for life. Phoenix landed on May 25 for a Mars surface mission planned to last for three months.

"These latest developments are a major accomplishment and validation of the Mars Program's 'follow-the-water' exploration framework," said Doug McCuistion at NASA Headquarters, Washington, director of the space agency's Mars Program. "This specific discovery is the result of an outstanding team working with a robust spacecraft that has allowed them to work ahead of their original science schedule."

The key new evidence is that chunks of bright material exposed by digging on June 15 and still present on June 16 had vaporized by June 19. "This tells us we've got water ice within reach of the arm, which means we can continue this investigation with the tools we brought with us," said Mark Lemmon of Texas A&M University, College Station, lead scientist for Phoenix's Surface Stereo Imager camera. He said the disappearing chunks could not have been carbon-dioxide ice at the local temperatures because that material would not have been stable for even one day as a solid.

The disappearing chunks were in a trench to the northwest of the lander. A hard material, possibly more ice, but darker than the bright material in the first trench, has been detected in a second trench, to the northeast of the lander. Scientists plan next to have Phoenix collect and analyze surface soil from a third trench near the second one, and later to mechanically probe and sample the hard layer.

"We have in our ice-attack arsenal backhoeing, scraping and rasping, and we'll try all of these," said Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis, lead scientist for Phoenix's Robotic Arm.

Phoenix Project Manager Barry Goldstein of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, reported that an issue reported earlier this week related to producing thousands of duplicate copies of some file-maintenance data files has been diagnosed, and a corrective software patch will be sent to Phoenix within a few days. Science operations continue in the meantime, though all data collected must be relayed to Earth on the same Martian day it is collected, instead of being stored to non-volatile memory when Phoenix powers down to conserve energy during the Martian night.

Images sent back Friday morning from Mars showed that the doors to the Number 5 oven on the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer opened part way. The instrument team is working to understand the consequences of this action.

Space Shuttle Atlantis Undergoing Preparations in the Orbiter Processing Facility

The space shuttle Atlantis is undergoing preparations in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for its STS-125 mission, also known as SM4. It is in this facility where technicians configure the vehicle, the crew compartment and the cargo bay for flight. Atlantis' flight crew will participate in a Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) inspection of the cargo bay in early July. Atlantis will be attached to the external fuel tank in Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building in late August before the entire stacked vehicle is rolled out to Launch Pad 39A.

JPL Helps Shoot for the Moon, Stars, Planets and More

The Big Picture

A giant telescope, galaxy maps, and laser beacons on Mars are only a few of the ideas that teams selected by NASA will study for the next generation of astronomy and astrophysics missions. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., will help usher in this new era by playing an active role in 15 of the 19 science teams chosen to look at new concepts for future missions.

The 15 teams will explore concepts for missions to hunt for planets orbiting other stars (exoplanets) and to answer various astrophysics questions. JPL will manage six exoplanet and five astrophysics mission concepts and contribute to another four astrophysics mission plans managed from other NASA centers by aiding engineering and mission design, refining the science goals and supporting cost estimates.

The final reports will be put up for review in front of the Decadal Survey Committee, which sets the priorities for astronomy and astrophysics studies every 10 years, said Michael Werner, the chief scientist for astronomy and physics at JPL.

"We're delighted at JPL's involvement," said Werner, who is also the project scientist of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. "We're looking forward to working with our government, industrial and academic partners to develop really exciting mission concepts."

Planets, Planets Everywhere

With half a dozen exoplanet mission concepts in the mix, it's clear the hunt for smaller, Earthlike planets that might harbor life is very much on the minds of NASA and the public.

"The idea has been discussed by thinkers going back to the ancient Greeks, Renaissance thinkers, and all the way up to modern times," said Michael Devirian, manager of the Exoplanet Exploration Program at JPL, which encompasses NASA's planet-finding efforts. "One can imagine primitive man sitting around the campfire, wondering what's outside the circle of light, just as we now conduct our search, outside the circle of light of our sun. The search for other planets touches all of us deep in our psyche, and it's very easy to relate to and imagine what could be out there."

Planet mania is catching the fancy of the younger generation, according to Jakob Van Zyl, who heads JPL's Astronomy and Physics Directorate. "Anytime there's an exoplanet session at a science conference, you have a lot of young people showing up and interested."

Devirian said NASA plans to issue an announcement of opportunity in 2009 for a moderate-scale exoplanet mission.

"The concepts that we are working on are candidates for this mission," Devirian said. "NASA will wait and see what the Decadal Survey Committee has to say before selecting a mission."

The various exoplanet mission concepts span all the techniques currently being developed to detect planets, according to Devirian. Several will attempt to zoom in and image giant planets that orbit around some of our neighboring stars. These studies will use different types of coronagraphs, mask-like instruments that attach to telescopes to block the harsh, blinding starlight that hides the dimmer planets. By using coronagraphs, scientists can find the comparatively miniscule light from planets orbiting close to these stars. One of these proposed missions combines a coronagraph on the telescope with an external occulter, a starlight blocker flying separately thousands of kilometers away, in order to look very close to a star for planets in orbits similar to the orbit of Earth around our star, the sun.

The remaining two exoplanet mission concepts use interferometers. Interferometers utilize multiple telescopes to simulate an enormous telescope with great resolving power.

One of the mission concepts will test a nulling interferometer to cancel a star's light with the goal of imaging giant planets, and, by seeing light from the ring of dust that marks a planet's orbit, learn about the architectures of planetary systems. The other mission concept will study a large stellar interferometer--6 meters, or 20 feet long--that could be used to find planets by measuring the star's "wiggle," or its reciprocal motion with the planets around it.

"The science of exoplanets is one of the most vibrant and exciting areas to study at this time," Devirian said. "It is also one of the most challenging, so it's very important to conduct these studies to come up with the best approaches for these missions."

Meanwhile, Elsewhere in the Universe.......

Van Zyl notes that astrophysics includes other research areas that are also grabbing their share of attention. "Astrophysics is a broad field of study, and that fact is manifested in the wide range of topics these teams are investigating."

The nine astrophysics mission concept studies will range from testing general relativity to mapping the early universe's rapid expansion. JPL will manage five of these studies. One of these will perform a systematic study of all astrophysical processes relevant to the births and deaths of stars in both our galaxy and in nearby galaxies. Another will study the polarization of the cosmic microwave background, the radiation left over when our universe was formed. A third will measure the shape of the cosmic inflation potential by conducting a near-infrared large-area redshift survey capable of detecting galaxies that formed early in the history of the universe.

Another astrophysics study will explore placing laser beacons on Mars and measuring the precise distance to perform the most precise test ever of Einstein's theory of general relativity. Last but not least, two moon-related studies include a "Dark Ages" lunar interferometer to map out hydrogen gas clouds formed during the early days of the universe.

JPL will also contribute to astrophysics mission concept studies managed by other NASA centers, including a study of a giant telescope (eight to 16 meters in diameter, or 26 to 52 feet), and an investigation of the organic molecules floating in the spaces between stars, a means of looking at the origin of cosmic rays.

Werner said he was pleased that NASA was able to sponsor these studies as a way to prepare for the Decadal Survey Committee. "The success of these missions will reflect the strength of JPL's astrophysics activities," Werner said.

The Who's Who of New Missions!

The 15 selected science teams and their mission concept studies are:

Exoplanet Missions:

• Access (Actively-Corrected Coronagraphs for Exoplanet System Studies): comparing coronagraphs for exoplanet missions (JPL both manages the mission concept study and is home institution for the principal investigator, John Trauger)
• Davinci (Dilute Aperture Visible Nulling Coronagraph Imager): examining a nulling interferometer (JPL both manages the mission concept study and is home institution for the principal investigator, Michael Shao)
• PECO (Pupil-mapping Exoplanet Coronagraphic Observer): refining a Phase Induced Amplitude Apodization Coronograph (with principal investigator Olivier Guyon of the University of Arizona)
• Epic (Extrasolar Planetary Imaging Coronagraph): directly imaging exoplanets orbiting nearby stars (with principal investigator Mark Clampin of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center)
• XPC (eXtrasolar Planet Characterizer): examining external and internal interferometers (with principal investigator David Spergel of Princeton University)
• Planet Hunter: examining a six-meter stellar (26-foot) interferometer (with principal investigator Geoff Marcy of the University of California, Berkeley)

Astrophysics Missions

• SFO (Star Formation Observatory): studying star formation (with principal investigator Paul Scowen of Arizona State University)
• MLR (Mars Laser Ranging): testing general relativity using ranging to Mars (with principal investigator Tom Murphy of the University of California, San Diego)
• LARC (Lunar Array for Radio Cosmology): building a lunar array for radio cosmology (with principal investigator Jacqueline Hewitt of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
• CIP (Cosmic Inflation Probe): high redshift galaxy survey (with principal investigator Gary Melnick of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory)
• Epic (Experimental Probe of Inflationary Cosmology): studying the polarization of radiation from the cosmic microwave background (with principal investigator Stephen Meyer of the University of Chicago)
• Atlast (Advanced Technology Large Aperture Space Telescopes): designing an eight to 16 meter (26 to 52 feet) optical space telescope (with principal investigator Marc Postman of the Space Telescope Science Institute)
• Dali (Dark Ages Lunar Interferometer): detection of low-frequency radio emissions (with principal investigator Joe Lazio of the Naval Research Laboratory)
• Aspire (Astrobiology Space Infrared Explorer): searching for organic molecules in interstellar space (with principal investigator Scott Sandford of NASA's Ames Research Center)
• Oasis (Orbiting Astrophysical Spectrometer In Space): determining the origin of cosmic rays (with principal investigator James Adams of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center)

Experts Discuss How to Find Another Earth

Hundreds of planets have been discovered outside of our solar system, but conspicuously absent from the list are ones that resemble Earth. On May 29 and 30, astronomers and scientists from all around the world will gather in Pasadena to discuss how we might find another Earth, and how we might detect possible life on it.

The third annual Exoplanet Forum, sponsored by JPL and NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program, will focus on the types of future missions that could be used to locate and characterize planets beyond our solar system, called exoplanets. Technologies that will be discussed range from those that would directly image an exoplanet, to those that would detect a planet by measuring the dip it produces in its star's light as it passes by. Findings from the meeting will be published in a book that will be used for the next Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey, a National Research Council report that helps sets the priorities for federal spending in the astronomy field.

Microscopic View of Soil on a Micromachined Silicone Substrate

2008-06-13

This image taken by the Optical Microscope on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander on Sol 17 (June 11, 2008) shows soil sprinkled from the lander's Robot Arm scoop onto a substrate that has been micromachined to produce different patterns of pegs and holes to capture the smallest particles in the Martian soil.

The micromachined substrates are designed to tightly hold particles for imaging using the Atomic Force Microscope on Phoenix, which should be able to zoom in another 40 times beyond the magnification in this Optical Microscope image. Each stripe has a different spacing of pegs and holes. The strip third from the left, with a peg spacing of 5 micrometers, has been most successful in collecting the particles. These substrates were fabricated by Imperial College London as the United Kingdom hardware contribution to the Phoenix mission.

For scale, each strip is 0.4 millimeter (0.016 inch) wide.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander Delivers Soil Sample to Microscope

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander beamed back images showing that Phoenix’s Robotic Arm successfully sprinkled soil onto the delivery port of the lander's Optical Microscope.

Mission scientists said enough of the fine-grained soil sample remains in the scoop of the lander's Robotic Arm for delivery to either the Wet Chemistry Lab or Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer. Both the Wet Chemistry Lab and the Optical Microscope are part of the Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer, or MECA, instrument.

"We want to deliver similar soil samples to all three instruments," said Ray Arvidson, the mission's lead scientist for digging activities, from Washington University in St. Louis.

The lander's Robotic Arm has been commanded to remain in an "up" position to hold the collected soil in the scoop until it can be delivered to the other instruments.

The Phoenix mission is led by Peter Smith of the University of Arizona with project management at JPL and development partnership at Lockheed Martin, located in Denver. International contributions come from the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark; Max Planck Institute, Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

Obama , Hillary scheduled to campaign together next week

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will take the next big step in unifying the Democratic Party Friday, campaigning together for the first time, Obama''s campaign announced yesterday, reports boston.com.

In a conference call with reporters, communications director Robert Gibbs declined to provide details of the joint event - such as what city it will be in - saying that the logistics are still being worked out. Thursday, the two are scheduled to appear in Washington with some of Clinton''s major financial supporters. One of the key unresolved issues is how much help Obama will give Clinton to repay the $19.5 million she owed at the end of April, including $10 million she loaned her own campaign.

The two senators went at it for nearly a year and a half before Obama clinched the nomination after the final primaries June 3, they met privately two days later, and Clinton formally conceded and endorsed him on June 7.

John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, is aggressively courting Clinton supporters, particularly women who have suggested to pollsters that they might defect from the Democratic Party to register their anger over how she was treated.

Bloomberg warns Jewish Floridians of false rumors
Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York urged Jewish voters in Florida yesterday to denounce the whisper campaign that has pushed the false rumor that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is secretly Muslim.

Bloomberg warned a Jewish group in Boca Raton that the attempt to portray Obama as a shadowy Muslim with a hidden agenda often targets Jewish voters online and with e-mails.
The deceptive campaign against Obama, who is Christian, "threatens to undo the enormous strides that Jews and Muslims have made together in this country," said Bloomberg, a Jew.
The lies are "cloaked in concern for Israel, but the real concern is about partisan politics," he said. "This is wedge politics at its worst, and we''ve got to reject it loudly, clearly, and unequivocally."

Bloomberg, a billionaire independent, had considered making his own run for the White House this year, but decided against it. He has said his endorsement and potential financial backing could still be up for grabs, and there has been occasional chatter about how he might make a good running mate for either Obama or Republican John McCain.
Obama uses patriotic seal to dress his campaign logo
Barack Obama isn''t president, at least not yet.

But his campaign logo that debuted yesterday bears strong resemblance to the presidential seal.
It is a circle of a distinguished blue hue. It features an American eagle, also clutching an olive branch in one talon and spears in the other - with the campaign''s well-known "O" on its breast instead of the presidential seal''s shield. And instead of "E Pluribus Unum" between the eagle''s wings, there''s the rough Latin translation of his "Yes We Can" slogan: "Vero Possumus."
The logo is filled out with "Obama for America" at the top, and his website address at the bottom. Asked about the similarities, Obama spokesman Bill Burton replied, "Just because it has an eagle?"

Hagel, a Republican, would consider run with Obama
OMAHA - Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska said yesterday he would consider serving as Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama''s running mate if asked, but he doesn''t expect to be on any ticket.

Hagel''s vocal criticism of the Bush administration since the 2003 invasion of Iraq has touched off speculation that if Obama, also a war opponent, were to pick a Republican, it might be Hagel. He hasn''t endorsed John McCain, whom he calls a friend, and said he has not thought about who to vote for in November.

He said that after devoting much of his life to his country - in the Senate and the Army - he would have to consider an offer.

"If it would occur, I would have to think about it," Hagel said. "I think anybody, anybody would have to consider it. Doesn''t mean you''d do it, doesn''t mean you''d accept it, could be too many gaps there, but you''d have to consider it, I mean, it''s the only thing you could do. Why wouldn''t you?"

AL QUARAN-SURAH: ATT-TATFIF

SURAH: ATT-TATFIF
1 ) Woe to Al-Mutaffifin [those who give less in measure and weight (decrease the rights of others)],
2 ) Those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, demand full measure,
3 ) And when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due.
4 ) Think they not that they will be resurrected (for reckoning),
5 ) On a Great Day,
6 ) The Day when (all) mankind will stand before the Lord of the 'Alamîn (mankind, jinns and all that exists)?
7 ) Nay! Truly, the Record (writing of the deeds) of the Fujjâr (disbelievers, sinners, evil-doers and wicked) is (preserved) in Sijjîn.
8 ) And what will make you know what Sijjîn is?
9 ) A Register inscribed.
10 ) Woe, that Day, to those who deny [(Allâh, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Day of Resurrection, and Al-Qadar (Divine Preordainments)].
11 ) Those who deny the Day of Recompense.
12 ) And none can deny it except every transgressor beyond bounds, (in disbelief, oppression and disobedience of Allâh, the sinner!)
13 ) When Our Verses (of the Qur'ân) are recited to him he says: "Tales of the ancients!"
14 ) Nay! But on their hearts is the Rân (covering of sins and evil deeds) which they used to earn .
15 ) Nay! Surely, they (evil-doers) will be veiled from seeing their Lord that Day.
16 ) Then, verily they will indeed enter and taste the burning flame of Hell.
17 ) Then, it will be said to them: "This is what you used to deny!"
18 ) Nay! Verily, the Record (writing of the deeds) of Al-Abrâr (the pious who fear Allâh and avoid evil), is (preserved) in 'Illiyyûn.
19 ) And what will make you know what 'Illiyyûn is?
20 ) A Register inscribed.
21 ) To which bear witness those nearest (to Allâh, i.e. the angels).
22 ) Verily, Al-Abrâr (the pious who fear Allâh and avoid evil) will be in delight (Paradise).
23 ) On thrones, looking (at all things).
24 ) You will recognise in their faces the brightness of delight.
25 ) They will be given to drink pure sealed wine.
26 ) The last thereof (that wine) will be the smell of musk, and for this let (all) those strive who want to strive (i.e. hasten earnestly to the obedience of Allâh).
27 ) It (that wine) will be mixed with Tasnîm.
28 ) A spring whereof drink those nearest to Allâh.
29 ) Verily! (During the worldly life) those who committed crimes used to laugh at those who believed.
30 ) And whenever they passed by them, used to wink one to another (in mockery);
31 ) And when they returned to their own people, they would return jesting;
32 ) And when they saw them, they said: "Verily! These have indeed gone astray!"
33 ) But they (disbelievers, sinners) had not been sent as watchers over them (the believers).
34 ) But this Day (the Day of Resurrection) those who believe will laugh at the disbelievers
35 ) On (high) thrones, looking (at all things).
36 ) Are not the disbelievers paid (fully) for what they used to do?

AL-QUARAN--SURAH: ANN-NARA

1 ) What are they asking (one another)?
2 ) About the great news, (i.e. Islâmic Monotheism, the Qur'ân, which Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him)brought and the Day of Resurrection, etc.),
3 ) About which they are in disagreement.
4 ) Nay, they will come to know!
5 ) Nay, again, they will come to know!
6 ) Have We not made the earth as a bed,
7 ) And the mountains as pegs?
8 ) And We have created you in pairs (male and female, tall and short, good and bad, etc.).
9 ) And have made your sleep as a thing for rest.
10 ) And have made the night as a covering (through its darkness),
11 ) And have made the day for livelihood.
12 ) And We have built above you seven strong (heavens),
13 ) And have made (therein) a shinning lamp (sun).
14 ) And have sent down from the rainy clouds abundant water.
15 ) That We may produce therewith corn and vegetations,
16 ) And gardens of thick growth.
17 ) Verily, the Day of Decision is a fixed time,
18 ) The Day when the Trumpet will be blown, and you shall come forth in crowds (groups);
19 ) And the heaven shall be opened, and it will become as gates,
20 ) And the mountains shall be moved away from their places and they will be as if they were a mirage.
21 ) Truly, Hell is a place of ambush,
22 ) A dwelling place for the Tâghûn (those who transgress the boundry limits set by Allâh like polytheists, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allâh, hyprocrites, sinners, criminals, etc.),
23 ) They will abide therein for ages,
24 ) Nothing cool shall they taste therein, nor any drink.
25 ) Except boiling water, and dirty wound discharges.
26 ) An exact recompense (according to their evil crimes).
27 ) For verily, they used not to look for a reckoning.
28 ) But they belied Our Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, and that which Our Prophet (Peace be upon him) brought) completely.
29 ) And all things We have recorded in a Book.
30 ) So taste you (the results of your evil actions); no increase shall We give you, except in torment.
31 ) Verily, for the Muttaqûn, there will be a success (Paradise);
32 ) Gardens and grapeyards;
33 ) And young full-breasted (mature) maidens of equal age;
34 ) And a full cup (of wine).
35 ) No Laghw (dirty, false, evil talk) shall they hear therein, nor lying;
36 ) A reward from your Lord, an ample calculated gift (according to the best of their good deeds).
37 ) (From) the Lord of the heavens and the earth, and whatsoever is in between them, the Most Beneficent, none can dare to speak with Him (on the Day of Resurrection except after His Leave).
38 ) The Day that Ar-Rûh [Jibrael (Gabriel) or another angel] and the angels will stand forth in rows, none shall speak except him whom the Most Beneficent (Allâh) allows, and he will speak what is right.
39 ) That is without doubt the True Day, so, whosoever wills, let him seek a place with (or a way to) His Lord (by obeying Him in this worldly life)!
40 ) Verily, We have warned you of a near torment, the Day when man will see that (the deeds) which his hands have sent forth, and the disbeliever will say: "Woe to me! Would that I were dust!"

AL-QUARAN:- SURAH: AT-TAKVIR

1 ) When the sun Kuwwirat (wound round and lost its light and is overthrown ).
2 ) And when the stars shall fall;
3 ) And when the mountains shall made to pass away;
4 ) And when the pregnant she-camels shall be neglected;
5 ) And when the wild beasts shall be gathered together;
6 ) And when the seas shall become as blazing Fire or shall overflow;
7 ) And when the souls shall be joined with their bodies;
8 ) And when the female (infant) buried alive (as the pagan Arabs used to do) shall be questioned.
9 ) For what sin she was killed?
10 ) And when the written pages of deeds (good and bad) of every person shall be laid open;
11 ) And when the heaven shall be stripped off and taken away from its place;
12 ) And when Hell-fire shall be kindled to fierce ablaze.
13 ) And when Paradise shall be brought near,
14 ) (Then) every person will know what he has brought (of good and evil).
15 ) So verily, I swear by the planets that recede (i.e. disappear during the day and appear during the night).
16 ) And by the planets that move swiftly and hide themselves,
17 ) And by the night as it departs;
18 ) And by the dawn as it brightens;
19 ) Verily, this is the Word (this Qur'ân brought by) a most honourable messenger [Jibrael (Gabriel), from Allâh to the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him)].
20 ) Owner of power, and high rank with (Allâh) the Lord of the Throne,
21 ) Obeyed (by the angels), trustworthy there (in the heavens).
22 ) And (O people) your companion (Muhammad (Peace be upon him)) is not a madman;
23 ) And indeed he (Muhammad (Peace be upon him)) saw him [Jibrael (Gabriel)] in the clear horizon (towards the east).
24 ) And he (Muhammad (Peace be upon him)) withholds not a knowledge of the unseen.
25 ) And it (the Qur'ân) is not the word of the outcast Shaitân (Satan).
26 ) Then where are you going?
27 ) Verily, this (the Qur'ân) is no less than a Reminder to (all) the 'Alamîn (mankind and jinns) .
28 ) To whomsoever among you who wills to walk straight,
29 ) And you will not, unless (it be) that Allâh wills, the Lord of the 'Alamîn (mankind, jinns and all that exists).