Sometimes you find these pure, concentrated examples for how Reddit is this monstrous, psychic torture dungeon that anyone can just wander into for free and then skydive down the most horrific rabbit holes, supercharge every personal malignant neurosis imaginable in the way down and then collectively roll around in your own misery like a pig in shit.
No knocking on ace folks intended, the fact that this one comes from that subreddit is pure coincidence.
Sorry, I couldn't process this image. ― The image displays a text in white font on a black background. The text reads: "What specifically you find disgusting about sex? : r/asexuality - Reddit." The text is underlined, and the font is sans-serif, which is commonly used for clarity and readability. The text is centered on the image, and there are no other visible elements or decorations. The text is a question posed on the Reddit platform, specifically within the r/asexuality community, asking for personal opinions on what aspects of sex are considered disgusting.
Provided by @altbot, generated privately and locally using Ovis2-8B
L'immagine mostra un disegno di un animale fantastico, che sembra un porcellino d'India con tratti di un drago. Ha un corpo bianco con sfumature di blu, grandi orecchie blu e tre occhi: due normali e uno in cima alla testa. Il suo naso è rosa e ha un'espressione sorniona. Sullo sfondo, si intravede un paesaggio con alberi e un cielo colorato, suggerendo un tramonto o un'alba. L'animale sembra essere in un ambiente esterno, forse su una pietra o un muro, con un'atmosfera calda e colorata.
Fornito da @altbot, generato localmente e privatamente utilizzando Ovis2-8B
Allahu Akbar: Berliner Kita mit engen Verbindungen in die Islamistenszene journalistenwatch.com/2025/07/… Brisante Medienrecherchen haben wieder einmal aufgedeckt, welche unbeschreibliche Idiotie und Verantwortungslosigkeit in Berlin herrschen. Vor sechs Jahren stimmte der Senat der Förderung eines von schiitischen Muslimen der gemeinnützigen Gesellschaft BNIG betriebenen Kindergartens in Neukölln freudig zu und
Deshalb noch mal der Aufruf: Unterzeichnet die #Petition im Bundestag: "Keine Weiterleitung von Gesundheitsdaten an das #FDZ ohne aktive Zustimmung des Patienten"
Diese für Audio optimierte Kompaktfassung des täglichen Spotlight-Newsletters ist von einer KI-Stimme eingelesen und von Redakteuren erstellt und geprüft.
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I generally think this as well. But then I also think about the large variety of human societies that we have today, and how I would rather live in some (say, France) rather than others (say, the US, or those with no women's rights). If everyone could live everywhere without having to accept the laws of each country because there was no concept of country - wouldn't it end up being about "might makes right"? Or maybe we can have no borders, no countries, and still somehow all agree to live in harmony, between each other and also between humans and nature? 🤔
The opposite. If the mighty can't lock out people, their might shrinks a lot, and it will be easier to set rights in stone, despite what the mighty want.
@grymt I guess this assumes that a lot more humans are nice than bad. I would like to believe this, and I think this is how humanity has survived originally - by helping each other, including the weakest members - but I am not fully convinced it is the case. Or rather, even if there's more nice people overall, they seem to very easily follow dictators, strong-looking leaders that shout loudly but are just really selfish. How do we avoid that from happening in our utopic, border-free world?
I guess you are also telling Palestine, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Uganda, Turkey, Iraq, Yemen, Libya etc. they do not have the right to borders? Or do you mean just The USA and European Countries?
@MissWarcraft @toriver Well, the entire thing about middle eastern borders is that they were drawn by the British Empire with not much logic behind them.
There isn't really a right or a reason to borders. They're artifacts of past and current struggles. If the middle east was peaceful, the borders would disappear, just like they have in the EU. That's what peace means, really.
And different states are just a method of not getting in each other's business. "You do you, I don't care".
@lax @toriver Saudi Arabia created the region of today by CONQUORING it's neighbors, nothing to do with the British! Really, try reading a History Book about the area, you will be amazed at how much they did with out the British.
@lax @toriver So your saying Saudi Arabia's border was made by the British? Not by them like the History books say? Or did you NOT read what I posted about the Wars. They absorbed other countries over the years. Why do you want to Give Europeans credit for creating Saudi Arabia?
I'm saying that the modern borders of the middle east were drawn by empires, and not by some kind of ethno/religious/national difference like in Europe.
Saudi Arabia's ones weren't drawn by brits, yes, but these are still imperially-defined borders, I don't see how that matters..?
> Why do you want to Give Europeans credit for creating Saudi Arabia?
Bad people is subjective. It could be a murderer or simply someone I don't trust. But my point is I don't think anyone who wants no boders would also keep their door wide open at night for anyone who might want to enter. Otherwise it would be just double standards.
Borders exist for people inside to feel safe. Just like in medieval times when people for whatever reason preferred to live behind big stone walls. Safety comes before freedom.
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@Ivan Carapovic you have no right over who I invite to my garden. If a majority of my neighbors don't like my uncle, I still can welcome my uncle. This idea that a country is to be treated as if it were private property is some pretty collectivist nonsense that my neighbors rights are greater than mine.
this is what many indigenous peoples always found difficult to believe, that, just by claiming a place where you happen to be, you reduce the rights of anyone who steps there in future.
countries and borders are the social way Homo Sapiens resolve the territory dispute that inevitably came as other social animals do too. take lions, chimpanzee, rabbit or deers all have their roar, fight and sneer. As a migrant myself in the UK I am actually quite grateful and surprised that the level of discrimination and aggression toward us has been kept at such a low level for so long.
As arbitrary as borders and the concept of land, is the fact that nobody chose to be born where they were born. So just randomness decides whether you're born in a rich country under the rule of law, or in a war zone.
countries are like Pokemon. They are all fantasy, and someone will always tell you theirs is better lacking any proof. Now add religion and money, and we got the holy Trinity of bullshit covered 😅
All animals (Including Humans) have Territories. It is a way to ensure they can feed their family. They have always chased the interloper out of their territory. Occasionally a newcomer will ask to join. The leader will decide yes or no. The question is who decided we do not have the right to defend our children and what we have built? #Immigration
Objectively that sounds reasonable, but I wouldn't like it much if someone built their house in my backyard, or in my living room for that matter. I claim ownership because I bought it from the dude who bought it from the dude who bought it from the dude who once claimed it as their own.
Tell Iran's Ayatollah, or Putin and I really want to watch when you tell Kim Yong Un you go where you want when you want. Do post Video of how that went.
The moment is limitless and without boundaries. On the surface of the world we have created borders between people and lines on maps. These limits to your movements and interactions with others have been created for the protection of order and wealth. They will always be corrupted to secure greed and a disparity between people that is unnecessary.
*This is the first part of the Borders text. It continues to describe a long hard transition.
A personal memoir essay by me touches on this a bit. It is the story of how my Mother's brief career as international jewel smuggler at the age of 8 in 1929 led to her becoming Anti-Zionist in 1979. It contains a bit of left history and a bit of American Jewish history and contains some thoughts on nationalism. znetwork.org/znetarticle/jews-… @stux
❝The maintenance of every border implies violence. And this is both physical borders like the border between us in Mexico, and like what you're seeing right now with the attempt to legislate like what counts as a woman, with all these anti-trans things. Both of those borders are maintained by men with guns, with violence. There's the threat of violence behind building every one of those borders. If you cross this border, or at least cross it in the wrong way, force will be used against you. Every democracy does this, and it does this not just in terms of who can enter the country, but who gets to vote. [...] . . . because what you do as the reactionary is you find that border wherever it exists, and you start pushing inward. And as you start pushing inward from that border, you will start fracturing the democratic consensus that exists until you can destroy democracy. And that's how you gain power as a reactionary mo
❝The maintenance of every border implies violence. And this is both physical borders like the border between us in Mexico, and like what you're seeing right now with the attempt to legislate like what counts as a woman, with all these anti-trans things. Both of those borders are maintained by men with guns, with violence. There's the threat of violence behind building every one of those borders. If you cross this border, or at least cross it in the wrong way, force will be used against you. Every democracy does this, and it does this not just in terms of who can enter the country, but who gets to vote. [...] . . . because what you do as the reactionary is you find that border wherever it exists, and you start pushing inward. And as you start pushing inward from that border, you will start fracturing the democratic consensus that exists until you can destroy democracy. And that's how you gain power as a reactionary movement within a liberal That's how you destroy liberalism. You find the border that they placed and you start pushing inwards. That's what Carl realizes, and that's what he lays out, and it works today as well as it did back then.❞
❝The maintenance of every border implies violence. And this is both physical borders like the border between us in Mexico, and like what you're seeing right now with the attempt to legislate like what counts as a woman, with all these anti-trans things. Both of those borders are maintained by men with guns, with violence. There's the threat of violence behind building every one of those borders. If you cross this border, or at least cross it in the wrong way, force will be used against you. Every democracy does this, and it does this not just in terms of who can enter the country, but who gets to vote. [...] . . . because what you do as the reactionary is you find that border wherever it exists, and you start pushing inward. And as you start pushing inward from that border, you will start fracturing the democratic consensus that exists until you can destroy democracy. And that's how you gain power as a reactionary movement within a liberal That's how you destroy liberalism. You find the border that they placed and you start pushing inwards. That's what Carl realizes, and that's what he lays out, and it works today as well as it did back then.❞
Robert walks Blake Wexler through the life and times of Carl Schmitt, a legal scholar born in Imperial Germany who would come to create the blueprint for how fascist movements could destroy liberal democracy from within.
See that sounds nice but world government/anarchy (as you get without countries) would be bad for minorities. In the case of a world government, there'd be *nowhere to go*. Right now it's theoretically possible for Tibetans or Uyghurs to leave China -- if the world government, which after all is going to be ~17% Chinese, goes after them, they're screwed. If it's anarchy, well, say you're a queer person in a small, VERY red town in a blue state. Anarchy means no punishment for them.
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BackgroundThe Tohono O’odham have resided in what is now southern andcentral Arizona and northern Mexico since time immemorial.The Gadsden Purchase of 1853 divided the Tohono O’odham’straditional lands and separated their communities.
I feel the same way about the concept of “owning” land. It’s always been there. Some dude shows up and few centuries ago and goes “mine!” One cannot “own” a piece of the planet. They can only claim it or take it from someone.
@noboilerplate Are you seeing this issue in Breadcrumbs recently? Feels like it just started happening for me in the last day and I'm having trouble figuring out why...
very sus -you could debug perhaps with the Plugin Groups plugin? I use it to enable different groups of plugins, which I then switch with workspaces, linking the commands together with the Commander plugin 😅
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@zstg A very elegant solution! The only thing I missed was the ability to view the connection (in the code block) from the parent downwards, provided that this starting note itself doesn't have any named links (its children refer to it as their parent).
@msemochkin @zstg yes, exaxy. It only works when viewing the highest parent note, as it only shows children, but it's good enough for me! I start my browsing at this note and drill down.
@zstg Oh! Now I get it! Thank you for the clarification. I haven’t gotten to transitive Implied relations yet. Silly me—I assumed they were generated automatically (like in excalibrain, which I’m used to).
@msemochkin @zstg No, not silly! I totally get it. I am more used to ExcaliBrain too. Although I'm just now experimenting with using both (because properties can be read by both) as folgezettel. Previously I was linking notes semantically. We'll see how I go...
@msemochkin @zstg also try the Graph Link Types plugin it labels the edges on the built in graph. I filter by `[up:: ]` to get only links that are part of my main ontology, it kinda works too!
Explanation: Can you find the Rosette Nebula? The red flowery-looking nebula just above the image center may seem a good choice, but that's not it. The famous Rosette Nebula is really located on the lower right, here colored blue and white, and connected to the other nebulas by gold-colored filaments. Because the featured image of Rosette's field is so wide, and because of its deep red exposure, it seems to contain other flowers. Designated NGC 2237, the center of the Rosette Nebula is populated by the bright blue stars of open cluster NGC 2244, whose winds and energetic light are evacuating the nebula's center. The Rosette Nebula is about 5,000 light years distant and, just by itself, spans about three times the diameter of a full moon. This flowery field can be found toward the constellation of the Unicorn (Mo
Explanation: Can you find the Rosette Nebula? The red flowery-looking nebula just above the image center may seem a good choice, but that's not it. The famous Rosette Nebula is really located on the lower right, here colored blue and white, and connected to the other nebulas by gold-colored filaments. Because the featured image of Rosette's field is so wide, and because of its deep red exposure, it seems to contain other flowers. Designated NGC 2237, the center of the Rosette Nebula is populated by the bright blue stars of open cluster NGC 2244, whose winds and energetic light are evacuating the nebula's center. The Rosette Nebula is about 5,000 light years distant and, just by itself, spans about three times the diameter of a full moon. This flowery field can be found toward the constellation of the Unicorn (Monoceros). science.nasa.gov/mission/hubbl… spaceplace.nasa.gov/constellat…
Explanation: How do stars form? Images of the star forming region W5 like those in the infrared by NASA's Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE, later NEOWISE) satellite provide clear clues with indications that massive stars near the center of empty cavities are older than stars near the edges. A likely reason for this is that the older stars in the center are actually triggering the for
Explanation: How do stars form? Images of the star forming region W5 like those in the infrared by NASA's Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE, later NEOWISE) satellite provide clear clues with indications that massive stars near the center of empty cavities are older than stars near the edges. A likely reason for this is that the older stars in the center are actually triggering the formation of the younger edge stars. The triggered star formation occurs when hot outflowing gas compresses cooler gas into knots dense enough to gravitationally contract into stars. In the featured scientifically colored infrared image, spectacular pillars left slowly evaporating from the hot outflowing gas provide further visual clues. W5 is also known as Westerhout 5 (W5) and IC 1848. Together with IC 1805, the nebulas form a complex region of star formation popularly dubbed the Heart and Soul Nebulas. The featured image highlights a part of W5 spanning about 2,000 light years that is rich in star forming pillars. W5 lies about 6,500 light years away toward the constellation of Cassiopeia.
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Explanation: An interstellar expanse of glowing gas and obscuring dust presents a bird-like visage to astronomers from planet Earth, suggesting its popular moniker, the Seagull Nebula. This broadband portrait of the cosmic bird covers a 3.5-degree wide swath across the plane of the Milky Way, in the direction of Sirius, alpha star of the constellation of the Big Dog (Canis Major). The bright head of the Seagull Nebula is cataloged as IC 2177, a compact, dusty emission and reflection nebula with embedded massive star HD 53367. The larger emission region, encompassing objects with other catalog designations, is Likely part of an extensive shell structure swept up by successive supernova explosions. The notable bluish arc below and right of center is a bow shock from runaway star FN Canis Majoris. Dominated by the reddish glow of atomi
Explanation: An interstellar expanse of glowing gas and obscuring dust presents a bird-like visage to astronomers from planet Earth, suggesting its popular moniker, the Seagull Nebula. This broadband portrait of the cosmic bird covers a 3.5-degree wide swath across the plane of the Milky Way, in the direction of Sirius, alpha star of the constellation of the Big Dog (Canis Major). The bright head of the Seagull Nebula is cataloged as IC 2177, a compact, dusty emission and reflection nebula with embedded massive star HD 53367. The larger emission region, encompassing objects with other catalog designations, is Likely part of an extensive shell structure swept up by successive supernova explosions. The notable bluish arc below and right of center is a bow shock from runaway star FN Canis Majoris. Dominated by the reddish glow of atomic hydrogen, this complex of interstellar gas and dust clouds with other stars of the Canis Majoris OB1 association spans over 200 light-years at the Seagull Nebula's estimated 3,800 light-year distance. app.astrobin.com/u/AccidentalA… astrobackyard.com/seagull-nebu…
Context. The origin of the arc-shaped Sh 2-296 nebula is still unclear. Mainly due to its morphology, the nebula has been suggested to be a 0.5 Myr old supernova remnant (SNR) that could be inducing star formation in the CMa OB1 association.
Explanation: Difficult to capture, this mysterious, squid-shaped interstellar cloud spans nearly three full moons in planet Earth's sky. Discovered in 2011 by French astro-imager Nicolas Outters, the Squid Nebula's bipolar shape is distinguished here by the telltale blue emission from doubly ionized oxygen atoms. Though apparently surrounded by the reddish hydrogen emission region Sh2-129, the true distance and nature of the Squid Nebula have been difficult to determine. Still, one investigation suggests Ou4 really does lie within Sh2-129 some 2,300 light-years away. Consistent with that scenario, the cosmic squid would represent a spectacular outflow of material driven by a triple system of hot, massive stars, cataloged as HR8119, seen near the center of the nebula. If so, this truly giant squid nebula would physically be over
Explanation: Difficult to capture, this mysterious, squid-shaped interstellar cloud spans nearly three full moons in planet Earth's sky. Discovered in 2011 by French astro-imager Nicolas Outters, the Squid Nebula's bipolar shape is distinguished here by the telltale blue emission from doubly ionized oxygen atoms. Though apparently surrounded by the reddish hydrogen emission region Sh2-129, the true distance and nature of the Squid Nebula have been difficult to determine. Still, one investigation suggests Ou4 really does lie within Sh2-129 some 2,300 light-years away. Consistent with that scenario, the cosmic squid would represent a spectacular outflow of material driven by a triple system of hot, massive stars, cataloged as HR8119, seen near the center of the nebula. If so, this truly giant squid nebula would physically be over 50 light-years across. app.astrobin.com/i/hmtykv?r=0
M2-9: Wings of a Butterfly Nebula * Image Credit: Hubble Legacy Archive, NASA, ESA hla.stsci.edu/ nasa.gov/ esa.int/; * Processing: Judy Schmidt
Explanation: Are stars better appreciated for their art after they die? Actually, stars usually create their most artistic displays as they die. In the case of low-mass stars like our Sun and M2-9 pictured here, the stars transform themselves from normal stars to white dwarfs by casting off their outer gaseous envelopes. The expended gas frequently forms an impressive display called a planetary nebula that fades gradually over thousands of years. M2-9, a butterfly planetary nebula 2100 light-years away shown in representative colors, has wings that tell a strange but incomplete tale. In the center, two stars orbit inside a gaseous disk 10 times the orbit of Pluto.
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2023 April 16
M2-9: Wings of a Butterfly Nebula * Image Credit: Hubble Legacy Archive, NASA, ESA hla.stsci.edu/ nasa.gov/ esa.int/; * Processing: Judy Schmidt
Explanation: Are stars better appreciated for their art after they die? Actually, stars usually create their most artistic displays as they die. In the case of low-mass stars like our Sun and M2-9 pictured here, the stars transform themselves from normal stars to white dwarfs by casting off their outer gaseous envelopes. The expended gas frequently forms an impressive display called a planetary nebula that fades gradually over thousands of years. M2-9, a butterfly planetary nebula 2100 light-years away shown in representative colors, has wings that tell a strange but incomplete tale. In the center, two stars orbit inside a gaseous disk 10 times the orbit of Pluto. The expelled envelope of the dying star breaks out from the disk creating the bipolar appearance. Much remains unknown about the physical processes that cause and shape planetary nebulae. flickr.com/photos/geckzilla/97… ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011…
A planetary nebula is a region of cosmic gas and dust formed from the cast-off outer layers of a dying star. Despite their name, planetary nebulae have nothing to do with planets.
When stars with an intermediate mass (greater than 80% of the Sun’s mass, but less than eight times its mass) die, they expand to form red giants. The dying star will continue to expel gas, whilst simultaneously the remaining core of the star contracts and temporarily begins to radiate energy again. This energy causes the expelled gas to ionise, meaning that the atoms and molecules in the gas become charged and begin to emit light. The cast-off glowing gas is known as a planetary nebula. Therefore, planetary nebulae are classified as emission nebulae, and are entirely unrelated to planets. The misnomer came about because of a historical misclassification. 250 years ago, astronomers thought they were looking at gas planets when they observed the colourful spectacle of planetary nebulae through their less powerful telescopes. Planetary nebulae only last for about 20 000 y
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Planetary Nebula
A planetary nebula is a region of cosmic gas and dust formed from the cast-off outer layers of a dying star. Despite their name, planetary nebulae have nothing to do with planets.
When stars with an intermediate mass (greater than 80% of the Sun’s mass, but less than eight times its mass) die, they expand to form red giants. The dying star will continue to expel gas, whilst simultaneously the remaining core of the star contracts and temporarily begins to radiate energy again. This energy causes the expelled gas to ionise, meaning that the atoms and molecules in the gas become charged and begin to emit light. The cast-off glowing gas is known as a planetary nebula. Therefore, planetary nebulae are classified as emission nebulae, and are entirely unrelated to planets. The misnomer came about because of a historical misclassification. 250 years ago, astronomers thought they were looking at gas planets when they observed the colourful spectacle of planetary nebulae through their less powerful telescopes. Planetary nebulae only last for about 20 000 years, making them a very short-lived part of the stellar life cycle.
Throughout the years, Hubble has studied and imaged varying shapes and colours of these intricate planetary nebulae, the different colours arising from different, often newly created, chemical elements, showing that the final stages of the lives of stars are more complex than once thought. You can explore Hubble’s beautiful collection of planetary nebula images here.
Using Hubble, astronomers caught a rare glimpse of the nebula Hen 3-1357, nicknamed the Stingray nebula, fading precipitously over just the past two decades. Even though the Universe is constantly changing, most processes are too slow to be observed within a human lifespan. [...] esahubble.org/wordbank/planeta…
Explanation: How did a star form this beautiful nebula? In the middle of emission nebula NGC 6164-5 is an unusually massive star nearing the end of its life. The star, visible in the center of the above image and catalogued as HD 148937, is so hot that the ultraviolet light it emits heats up gas that surrounds it. That gas was likely thrown off from the star, possibly by its fast rotation, like a rotating lawn sprinkler. Expelled material might have been further channeled by the magnetic field of the star, creating the symmetric shape of the bipolar nebula. Several cometary knots of gas are also visible on the lower left. NGC 6164-5 spans about four light years and is located ab
Explanation: How did a star form this beautiful nebula? In the middle of emission nebula NGC 6164-5 is an unusually massive star nearing the end of its life. The star, visible in the center of the above image and catalogued as HD 148937, is so hot that the ultraviolet light it emits heats up gas that surrounds it. That gas was likely thrown off from the star, possibly by its fast rotation, like a rotating lawn sprinkler. Expelled material might have been further channeled by the magnetic field of the star, creating the symmetric shape of the bipolar nebula. Several cometary knots of gas are also visible on the lower left. NGC 6164-5 spans about four light years and is located about 4,000 light years away toward the southern constellation Norma. ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1985…
Sometimes the names of objects are deeply misleading. For example, starfish are not actually fish (they are echinoderms) and guinea pigs are not related to pigs in any way (they are rodents). Similarly, planetary nebulas have nothing to do with planets. They were misnamed when scientists looking through small telescopes in the 19th century thought that these objects looked like planets.
Today, astronomers know that a planetary nebula actually represents a phase that stars like our Sun experience after they use up much of their fuel. After cooling and expanding through a “red giant” phase when it begins to expel its outer layers, such a star leaves behind a type of dense and smaller star called a white dwarf. The previously jettisoned shells of gas remain for a relatively short time in cosmic terms — tens of thousands of years — before dissipating into space. Meanwhile they are illuminated and energized by the white dwarf at the center of the system. This will happen to our Sun, but not for another 5 billion years or so.
NASA’s Chandra X-ra
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Sometimes the names of objects are deeply misleading. For example, starfish are not actually fish (they are echinoderms) and guinea pigs are not related to pigs in any way (they are rodents). Similarly, planetary nebulas have nothing to do with planets. They were misnamed when scientists looking through small telescopes in the 19th century thought that these objects looked like planets.
Today, astronomers know that a planetary nebula actually represents a phase that stars like our Sun experience after they use up much of their fuel. After cooling and expanding through a “red giant” phase when it begins to expel its outer layers, such a star leaves behind a type of dense and smaller star called a white dwarf. The previously jettisoned shells of gas remain for a relatively short time in cosmic terms — tens of thousands of years — before dissipating into space. Meanwhile they are illuminated and energized by the white dwarf at the center of the system. This will happen to our Sun, but not for another 5 billion years or so.
NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory contributes to the understanding of planetary nebulas by studying the hottest and most energetic processes still at work in these beautiful objects. X-ray data from Chandra reveal winds being driven away from the white dwarf so quickly (i.e., millions of miles per hour) that they create shock waves during collisions with slower-moving material previously ejected by the star. Chandra’s exceptional vision in X-rays contributes to the understanding of this brief, yet important, stage of stars’ lives.
This gallery contains a half a dozen planetary nebulas that have been observed both by Chandra and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, with the latter detecting the delicate-looking structures of gas that have been expelled from the star. [...] + Read further in ALT-Text
A planetary nebula is a phase of stellar evolution that the sun should experience several billion years from now, when it expands to become a red giant. It will then shed most of its outer layers, leaving behind a hot core that contracts to form a dense white dwarf star. A wind from the hot core will ram into the ejected atmosphere, creating beautiful, shell-like structures seen with optical telescopes. This gallery shows four planetary nebulas from the first systematic survey of such objects in the solar neighborhood made with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. X-ray emission from Chandra is colored purple and optical emission from the Hubble Space Telescope is colored red, green and blue. The diffuse X-ray emission is caused by shock waves as the wind collides with the ejected atmosphere.
Explanation: Eta Carinae may be about to explode. But no one knows when - it may be next year, it may be one million years from now. Eta Carinae's mass - about 100 times greater than our Sun - makes it an excellent candidate for a full blown supernova. Historical records do show that about 150 years ago Eta Carinae underwent an unusual outburst that made it one of the brightest stars in the southern sky. Eta Carinae, in the Keyhole Nebula, is the only
Explanation: Eta Carinae may be about to explode. But no one knows when - it may be next year, it may be one million years from now. Eta Carinae's mass - about 100 times greater than our Sun - makes it an excellent candidate for a full blown supernova. Historical records do show that about 150 years ago Eta Carinae underwent an unusual outburst that made it one of the brightest stars in the southern sky. Eta Carinae, in the Keyhole Nebula, is the only star currently thought to emit natural LASER light. This image, taken in 1996, resulted from sophisticated image-processing procedures designed to bring out new details in the unusual nebula that surrounds this rogue star. Now clearly visible are two distinct lobes, a hot central region, and strange radial streaks. The lobes are filled with lanes of gas and dust which absorb the blue and ultraviolet light emitted near the center. The streaks remain unexplained. Will these clues tell us how the nebula was formed? Will they better indicate when Eta Carinae will explode? heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/obj…
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The Dumbbell Nebula in Hydrogen and Oxygen * Credit & Copyright: George Jacoby (NOAO) et al., WIYN, AURA, NOAO, NSF nsf.gov/
Explanation: The first hint of what will become of our Sun was discovered inadvertently in 1764. At that time, Charles Messier was compiling a list of "annoying" diffuse objects not to be confused with "interesting" comets. The 27th object on Messier's list, now known as M27 or the Dumbbell Nebula, is a planetary nebula, the type of nebula our Sun will produce when nuclear fusion stops in its core. M27 is one of the brightest planetary nebulae on the sky, and can be seen in the constellation Vulpecula with binoculars. It takes light about 1000 years to reach us from M27, shown above, digitally sharpened, in three isolated colors emitted by hydrogen and oxygen. Understanding the physics and significance of M27 was well beyond 18th century science. Even today, many things remain mysterious about bipolar planetary nebula like M27, including the
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2003 January 13
The Dumbbell Nebula in Hydrogen and Oxygen * Credit & Copyright: George Jacoby (NOAO) et al., WIYN, AURA, NOAO, NSF nsf.gov/
Explanation: The first hint of what will become of our Sun was discovered inadvertently in 1764. At that time, Charles Messier was compiling a list of "annoying" diffuse objects not to be confused with "interesting" comets. The 27th object on Messier's list, now known as M27 or the Dumbbell Nebula, is a planetary nebula, the type of nebula our Sun will produce when nuclear fusion stops in its core. M27 is one of the brightest planetary nebulae on the sky, and can be seen in the constellation Vulpecula with binoculars. It takes light about 1000 years to reach us from M27, shown above, digitally sharpened, in three isolated colors emitted by hydrogen and oxygen. Understanding the physics and significance of M27 was well beyond 18th century science. Even today, many things remain mysterious about bipolar planetary nebula like M27, including the physical mechanism that expels a low-mass star's gaseous outer-envelope, leaving an X-ray hot white dwarf.
NSF's mission is to advance the progress of science, a mission accomplished by funding proposals for research and education made by scientists, engineers, and educators from across the country.
A dying star is throwing a cosmic tantrum in this combined image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), which NASA has lent to the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. In death, the star’s dusty outer layers are unraveling into space, glowing from the intense ultraviolet radiation being pumped out by the hot stellar core. This object, called the Helix nebula, lies 650 light-years away, in the constellation of Aquarius. Also known by the catalog number NGC 7293, it is a typical example of a class of objects called planetary nebulae. Discovered in the 18th century, these cosmic works of art were erroneously named for their resemblance to gas-giant planets. Planetary nebulae are actually the remains of stars that once looked a lot like our sun. These stars spend most of their lives turning hydrogen into helium in massive runaway nuclear fusion reactions in their cores. In fact, this process of fusion provides all the light and heat that
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Helix Nebula – Unraveling at the Seams
NASA
Oct 04, 2012
A dying star is throwing a cosmic tantrum in this combined image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), which NASA has lent to the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. In death, the star’s dusty outer layers are unraveling into space, glowing from the intense ultraviolet radiation being pumped out by the hot stellar core. This object, called the Helix nebula, lies 650 light-years away, in the constellation of Aquarius. Also known by the catalog number NGC 7293, it is a typical example of a class of objects called planetary nebulae. Discovered in the 18th century, these cosmic works of art were erroneously named for their resemblance to gas-giant planets. Planetary nebulae are actually the remains of stars that once looked a lot like our sun. These stars spend most of their lives turning hydrogen into helium in massive runaway nuclear fusion reactions in their cores. In fact, this process of fusion provides all the light and heat that we get from our sun. Our sun will blossom into a planetary nebula when it dies in about five billion years. When the hydrogen fuel for the fusion reaction runs out, the star turns to helium for a fuel source, burning it into an even heavier mix of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. Eventually, the helium will also be exhausted, and the star dies, puffing off its outer gaseous layers and leaving behind the tiny, hot, dense core, called a white dwarf. The white dwarf is about the size of Earth, but has a mass very close to that of the original star; in fact, a teaspoon of a white dwarf would weigh as much as a few elephants! The glow from planetary nebulae is particularly intriguing as it appears surprisingly similar across a broad swath of the spectrum, from ultraviolet to [...] nasa.gov/image-article/helix-n…
A dying star is throwing a cosmic tantrum in this combined image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), which NASA has lent to the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
<<_>> [...] The Helix remains recognizable at any of these wavelengths, but the combination shown here highlights some subtle differences. The intense ultraviolet radiation from the white dwarf heats up the expelled layers of gas, which shine brightly in the infrared. GALEX has picked out the ultraviolet light pouring out of this system, shown throughout the nebula in blue, while Spitzer has snagged the detailed infrared signature of the dust and gas in yellow A portion of the extended field beyond the nebula, which was not observed by Spitzer, is from NASA’s all-sky Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). The white dwarf star itself is a tiny white pinprick right at the center of the nebula. The brighter purple circle in the very center is the combined ultraviolet and infrared glow of a dusty disk circling the white dwarf (the disk itself is too small to be resolved). This dust was most likely kicked up by comets that survived the death of their star. Before the star died, its comets, and possibly planets, would have orbited the star in an ord
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<<_>> [...] The Helix remains recognizable at any of these wavelengths, but the combination shown here highlights some subtle differences. The intense ultraviolet radiation from the white dwarf heats up the expelled layers of gas, which shine brightly in the infrared. GALEX has picked out the ultraviolet light pouring out of this system, shown throughout the nebula in blue, while Spitzer has snagged the detailed infrared signature of the dust and gas in yellow A portion of the extended field beyond the nebula, which was not observed by Spitzer, is from NASA’s all-sky Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). The white dwarf star itself is a tiny white pinprick right at the center of the nebula. The brighter purple circle in the very center is the combined ultraviolet and infrared glow of a dusty disk circling the white dwarf (the disk itself is too small to be resolved). This dust was most likely kicked up by comets that survived the death of their star. Before the star died, its comets, and possibly planets, would have orbited the star in an orderly fashion. When the star ran out of hydrogen to burn, and blew off its outer layers, the icy bodies and outer planets would have been tossed about and into each other, kicking up an ongoing cosmic dust storm. Any inner planets in the system would have burned up or been swallowed as their dying star expanded. nasa.gov/image-article/helix-n…
Helix Nebula 3D model credit: INAF/Sal Orlando
[...] This 3D model is an impression derived from data obtained with several optical filters by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. chandra.harvard.edu/deadstar/h…
A dying star is throwing a cosmic tantrum in this combined image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), which NASA has lent to the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
Cometary Knots in the Helix Nebula * Credit: R. O'Dell and K. Handron (Rice University), NASA rice.edu/ nasa.gov/
Explanation: Four hundred fifty light-years from Earth, the wind from a dying, sun-like star produced a planetary nebula popularly known as the Helix. While exploring the Helix's gaseous envelope with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), astronomers discovered indications of 1,000s of striking "cometary knots" like those shown above. So called because of their resemblence to comets, they are actually much larger - their heads are several billion miles across (roughly twice the size of the our solar system itself) while their tails, pointing radially away from the central star, stretch over 100 billion miles. Previously known from ground based observations, the sheer number of cometary knots found in this single nebula is astonishing. What caused them to form? Hot, fast moving shel
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April 16, 1996
Cometary Knots in the Helix Nebula * Credit: R. O'Dell and K. Handron (Rice University), NASA rice.edu/ nasa.gov/
Explanation: Four hundred fifty light-years from Earth, the wind from a dying, sun-like star produced a planetary nebula popularly known as the Helix. While exploring the Helix's gaseous envelope with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), astronomers discovered indications of 1,000s of striking "cometary knots" like those shown above. So called because of their resemblence to comets, they are actually much larger - their heads are several billion miles across (roughly twice the size of the our solar system itself) while their tails, pointing radially away from the central star, stretch over 100 billion miles. Previously known from ground based observations, the sheer number of cometary knots found in this single nebula is astonishing. What caused them to form? Hot, fast moving shells of nebular gas overrunning cooler, denser, slower shells ejected by the star during an earlier expansion may produce these droplet-like condensations as the two shells intermix and fragment. An intriguing possibility is that instead of dissipating over time, these objects, could collapse and form pluto-like bodies. If so, these icy worlds created near the end of a star's life, would be numerous in our galaxy.
NASA.gov brings you the latest news, images and videos from America's space agency, pioneering the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research.
This sonification (a translation of data from image into sound) depicts the optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope of the Helix Nebula. The sonification scans from left to right, where red light is assigned lower pitches and blue light is assigned higher pitches. Just as the frequencies of light increase from red to blue, frequencies of sound increase from low to high pitches.
Credit: NASA, NOAO, ESA, the Hubble Helix Nebula Team, M. Meixner (STScI), & T.A. Rector (NRAO); Sonification: SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)
"With this miracle of the universe, I have to think again and again of the beautiful old rose varieties when they fade in late summer and hold their petals with their last strength, and release their innermost ones for pollination. Therefore, let's approach slowly and carefully from the outside to the inside"
** downright: Data: + Michael Joner wmo.byu.edu/ + Rom
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"With this miracle of the universe, I have to think again and again of the beautiful old rose varieties when they fade in late summer and hold their petals with their last strength, and release their innermost ones for pollination. Therefore, let's approach slowly and carefully from the outside to the inside"
The Cat's Eye Nebula (also known as NGC 6543 and Caldwell 6) is a planetary nebula in the northern constellation of Draco, discovered by William Herschel on February 15, 1786. It was the first planetary nebula whose spectrum was investigated by the English amateur astronomer William Huggins, demonstrating that planetary nebulae were gaseous and not stellar in nature. Structurally, the object has had high-resolution images by the Hubble Space Telescope revealing knots, jets, bubbles and complex arcs, being illuminated by the central hot planetary nebula nucleus (PNN). It is a well-studied object that has been observed from radio to X-ray wavelengths. At the centre of the Cat's Eye Nebula is a dying Wolf–Rayet star, the sort of which can be seen in the Webb Telescope's image of WR 124. The Cat's Eye Nebula's central star shines at magnitude +11.4. Hubble Space Telescope images show a sort of dart board pattern of concentric rings emanating outwards from the centre. Text from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat's_Ey…
Explanation: To some it looks like a cat's eye. To others, perhaps like a giant cosmic conch shell. It is actually one of the brightest and most highly detailed planetary nebula known, composed of gas expelled in the brief yet glorious phase near the end of life of a Sun-like star. This nebula's dying central star may have produced the outer circular concentric sh
Explanation: To some it looks like a cat's eye. To others, perhaps like a giant cosmic conch shell. It is actually one of the brightest and most highly detailed planetary nebula known, composed of gas expelled in the brief yet glorious phase near the end of life of a Sun-like star. This nebula's dying central star may have produced the outer circular concentric shells by shrugging off outer layers in a series of regular convulsions. The formation of the beautiful, complex-yet-symmetric inner structures, however, is not well understood. The featured image is a composite of a digitally sharpened Hubble Space Telescope image with X-ray light captured by the orbiting Chandra Observatory. The exquisite floating space statue spans over half a light-year across. Of course, gazing into this Cat's Eye, humanity may well be seeing the fate of our sun, destined to enter its own planetary nebula phase of evolution ... in about 5 billion years. ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012… ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004… apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap011003.ht…
NASA.gov brings you the latest news, images and videos from America's space agency, pioneering the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research.
Explanation: Three thousand light-years away, a dying star throws off shells of glowing gas. This image from the Hubble Space Telescope reveals the Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543), to be one of the most complex planetary nebulae known. Spanning half a light-year, the features seen in the Cat's Eye are so complex that astronomers suspect the bright central object may
Explanation: Three thousand light-years away, a dying star throws off shells of glowing gas. This image from the Hubble Space Telescope reveals the Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543), to be one of the most complex planetary nebulae known. Spanning half a light-year, the features seen in the Cat's Eye are so complex that astronomers suspect the bright central object may actually be a binary star system. The term planetary nebula, used to describe this general class of objects, is misleading. Although these objects may appear round and planet-like in small telescopes, high resolution images with large telescopes reveal them to be stars surrounded by cocoons of gas blown off in the late stages of stellar evolution. Gazing into this Cat's Eye, astronomers may well be seeing more than detailed structure, they may be seeing the fate of our Sun, destined to enter its own planetary nebula phase of evolution ... in about 5 billion years. astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/p…
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured a stunning image of the Cat's Eye Nebula, one of the most complex planetary nebulae known, with its intricate structure of concentric rings and high-density knots. In this video, Dr. Ken Carpenter delves into the beauty of this cosmic jewel and discusses the critical role Hubble plays in unraveling the secrets of stellar evolution and the lifecycle of stars.
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured a stunning image of the Cat's Eye Nebula, one of the most complex planetary nebulae known, with its intricate structure of concentric rings and high-density knots. In this video, Dr. Ken Carpenter delves into the beauty of this cosmic jewel and discusses the critical role Hubble plays in unraveling the secrets of stellar evolution and the lifecycle of stars.
Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Producer, Director & Editor: James Leigh
Director of Photography: James Ball
Executive Producers: James Leigh & Matthew Duncan
Production & Post: Origin Films
Video Credits: Hubble Sp
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NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured a stunning image of the Cat's Eye Nebula, one of the most complex planetary nebulae known, with its intricate structure of concentric rings and high-density knots. In this video, Dr. Ken Carpenter delves into the beauty of this cosmic jewel and discusses the critical role Hubble plays in unraveling the secrets of stellar evolution and the lifecycle of stars.
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured a stunning image of the Cat's Eye Nebula, one of the most complex planetary nebulae known, with its intricate structure of concentric rings and high-density knots. In this video, Dr. Ken Carpenter delves into the beauty of this cosmic jewel and discusses the critical role Hubble plays in unraveling the secrets of stellar evolution and the lifecycle of stars.
Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Producer, Director & Editor: James Leigh
Director of Photography: James Ball
Executive Producers: James Leigh & Matthew Duncan
Production & Post: Origin Films
Video Credits: Hubble Space Telescope Animation: ESA/Hubble - M. Kornmesser & L. L. Christensen
Music Credits: "Transcode" by Lee Groves [PRS], and Peter George Marett [PRS] via Universal Production Music
James Webb Telescope Reveals Enigmatic Rings of Planetary Nebula NGC 1514
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has once again opened new windows into the cosmos, providing astronomers with unprecedented observations of a planetary nebula, NGC 1514, also known as the Crystal Ball Nebula. This remarkable nebula, located approximately 1,500 light years away from Earth, has intrigued scientists for years due to its distinct and puzzling features. New observations from JWST, published on February 28 on the arXiv pre-print server, offer a fresh perspective on the nebula’s enigmatic rings, which have now become one of the most intriguing features of this nebula. [...]
"In mid-April, I dedicated a more detailed thread of several exciting posts to this particularly beautiful Nebula, which by the way is not hourglass shaped in visible light and is therefore also called Crystal Ball Nebula. The link below leads to this thread about NGC 1541."
James Webb Telescope Reveals Enigmatic Rings of Planetary Nebula NGC 1514
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has once again opened new windows into the cosmos, providing astronomers with unprecedented observations of a planetary nebula, NGC 1514, also known as the Crystal Ball Nebula. This remarkable nebula, located approximately 1,500 light years away from Earth, has intrigued scientists for years due to its distinct and puzzling features. New observations from JWST, published on February 28 on the arXiv pre-print server, offer a fresh perspective on the nebula’s enigmatic rings, which have now become one of the most intriguing features of this nebula. [...]
"In mid-April, I dedicated a more detailed thread of several exciting posts to this particularly beautiful Nebula, which by the way is not hourglass shaped in visible light and is therefore also called Crystal Ball Nebula. The link below leads to this thread about NGC 1541."
Explanation: What happens when a star runs out of nuclear fuel? For stars like our Sun, the center condenses into a white dwarf while the outer atmosphere is expelled into space to appear as a planetary nebula. The expelled outer atmosphere of planetary nebula NGC 1514 appears to be a jumble of bubbles -- when seen in visible light. But the view from the James Webb Space Telescope in infrared, as featured here, confirms a different story: in this light the nebula shows a distinct hourglass shape, which is interpreted as a cylinder seen along a diagonal. If you look closely at the center of the nebula, you can also see a bright central star that is part of a binary system. More observations might better reveal how this nebula is evolving and how the central stars are working together to produce the interesting cylinder and bubbles observed. flickr.com/photos/geckzilla/54… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_1514 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_1514… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetar… apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190929.ht… ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010…
"In visible light, NGC 1514 appears to us in this form. Are we dealing with a quick-change artist or a universal Camelion?? Just kidding .."
NGC 1514 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NGC 1514, also known as the Crystal Ball Nebula, is a planetary nebula in the zodiac constellation of Taurus, positioned to the north of the star Psi Tauri along the constellation border with Perseus. Distance to the nebula is 455 pc, according to its Gaia DR3 parallax.
It was discovered by William Herschel on November 13, 1790, describing it as
"a most singular phenomenon"
and forcing him to rethink his ideas on the construction of the heavens. Up until this point Herschel was convinced that all nebulae consisted of masses of stars too remote to resolve, but now here was a single star "surrounded with a faintly luminous atmosphere".
He concluded:
"Our judgement I may venture to say, will be, that the nebulosity about the star is not of a starry nature."
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"In visible light, NGC 1514 appears to us in this form. Are we dealing with a quick-change artist or a universal Camelion?? Just kidding .."
NGC 1514 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NGC 1514, also known as the Crystal Ball Nebula, is a planetary nebula in the zodiac constellation of Taurus, positioned to the north of the star Psi Tauri along the constellation border with Perseus. Distance to the nebula is 455 pc, according to its Gaia DR3 parallax.
It was discovered by William Herschel on November 13, 1790, describing it as
"a most singular phenomenon"
and forcing him to rethink his ideas on the construction of the heavens. Up until this point Herschel was convinced that all nebulae consisted of masses of stars too remote to resolve, but now here was a single star "surrounded with a faintly luminous atmosphere".
He concluded:
"Our judgement I may venture to say, will be, that the nebulosity about the star is not of a starry nature."
This is a double-shell nebula that is described as, "a bright roundish amorphous PN" with a radius of around 65″ and a faint halo that has a radius of 90″. It consists of an outer shell, an inner shell, and bright blobs. The inner shell appears to be distorted, but was likely originally spherical. An alternative description is of
"lumpy nebula composed of numerous small bubbles" with a somewhat filamentary structure in the outer shell.
Infrared observations show a huge region of dust surrounds the planetary nebula, spanning 8.5 ly (2.6 pc). There is also a pair of rings forming what appears to be a diabolo-like structure, similar to those found in MyCn 18, but these are extremely faint and only visible in the mid-infrared. [...] >> more about NGC 1514: defcon.social/@grobi/114340294…
Explanation: What happens when a star runs out of nuclear fuel? For stars like our Sun, the center condenses into a white dwarf while the outer atmosphere is expelled into space to appear as a planetary nebula. The expelled outer atmosphere of planetary nebula NGC 1514 appears to be a jumble of bubbles -- when seen in visible light. But the view from the James Webb Space Telescope in infrared, as featured here, confirms a different story: in this light the nebula shows a distinct hourglass shape, which is interpreted as a cylinder seen along a diagonal. If you look closely at the center of the nebula, you can also see a bright central star that is part of a binary system. More observations might better reveal how this nebula is evolving and how the central stars are working together to produce the interesting cylinder and bubbles observed. flickr.com/photos/geckzilla/54… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_1514 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_1514… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetar… apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190929.ht… ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010…
Explanation: The beautiful Trifid Nebula is a cosmic study in contrasts. Also known as M20, it lies about 5,000 light-years away toward the nebula rich constellation Sagittarius. A star forming region in the plane of our galaxy, the Trifid does illustrate three different types of astronomical nebulae; red emission nebulae dominated by light from hydrogen atoms, blue reflection nebulae produced by dust reflecting starlight, and dark nebulae where dense dust clouds appear in silhouette. But, the red emission region roughly separated into three parts by obscuring dust lanes is what lends the Trifid its popular name. Pillars and jets sculpted by newborn stars, above and right of the emission nebula's center, appear in famous Hubble Space Telescope close-up images of the region. The Trifid Nebula is about 40 light-years across. Too faint to be seen by
Explanation: The beautiful Trifid Nebula is a cosmic study in contrasts. Also known as M20, it lies about 5,000 light-years away toward the nebula rich constellation Sagittarius. A star forming region in the plane of our galaxy, the Trifid does illustrate three different types of astronomical nebulae; red emission nebulae dominated by light from hydrogen atoms, blue reflection nebulae produced by dust reflecting starlight, and dark nebulae where dense dust clouds appear in silhouette. But, the red emission region roughly separated into three parts by obscuring dust lanes is what lends the Trifid its popular name. Pillars and jets sculpted by newborn stars, above and right of the emission nebula's center, appear in famous Hubble Space Telescope close-up images of the region. The Trifid Nebula is about 40 light-years across. Too faint to be seen by the unaided eye, in this deep telescopic view it almost covers the area of a full moon on planet Earth's sky. science.nasa.gov/mission/hubbl… apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080424.ht… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trifid_N… science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/…
Messier 20 (The Trifid Nebula) NASA Hubble Mission Team
Look for Messier 20, better known as the Trifid Nebula, in August. Distance
9,000 light-years constellation
Sagittarius
Discovered by Charles Messier in 1764, M20 is a star-forming nebula located 9,000 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius. Also known as the Trifid Nebula, M20 has an apparent magnitude of 6.3 and can be spotted with a small telescope. It is best observed during August.
These images' stair-step appearances result from the design of the camera used to take the exposures. The camera consisted of four light detectors, one of which provided a higher resolution but had a smaller field of view than the other three. Because the detector with the higher resolution did not cover as much area as the others, black regions were left when the images from all four detectors were combined into one picture.
This Hubble image of M20 has been colorized to indicate the presence of oxygen, sulfur and hydrogen.
The video zooms into Hubble’s image of th
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Messier 20 (The Trifid Nebula) NASA Hubble Mission Team
Look for Messier 20, better known as the Trifid Nebula, in August. Distance
9,000 light-years constellation
Sagittarius
Discovered by Charles Messier in 1764, M20 is a star-forming nebula located 9,000 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius. Also known as the Trifid Nebula, M20 has an apparent magnitude of 6.3 and can be spotted with a small telescope. It is best observed during August.
These images' stair-step appearances result from the design of the camera used to take the exposures. The camera consisted of four light detectors, one of which provided a higher resolution but had a smaller field of view than the other three. Because the detector with the higher resolution did not cover as much area as the others, black regions were left when the images from all four detectors were combined into one picture.
This Hubble image of M20 has been colorized to indicate the presence of oxygen, sulfur and hydrogen.
The video zooms into Hubble’s image of the heart of the Trifid Nebula. The zoom starts by looking at the Sagittarius constellation in the night sky and dissolves into the Lagoon Nebula. The video then goes deeper into the sky to show the Trifid Nebula, with the star birth region appearing as the final spectacular image.
This Hubble image reveals a star-forming cloud of gas and dust in M20 being torn apart by radiation from a massive nearby star, just beyond the top of the frame. Two thin, finger-like jets protrude from the head of a dense cloud in the upper left of the image, which might be forming new stars at their tips. The jets, each roughly three-quarters of a light-year long, are being eroded by the radiation from the massive star. The red in this image represents hydrogen and sulfur, while green represents oxygen.
CREDIT NASA/ESA and Jeff Hester (Arizona State University)
East of Antares * Credit & Copyright: Yuri Beletsky (ESO) eso.org/
Explanation: East of Antares, dark markings sprawl through crowded star fields toward the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. Cataloged in the early 20th century by astronomer E. E. Barnard, the obscuring interstellar dust clouds include B59, B72, B77 and B78, seen in silhouette against the starry background. Here, their combined shape suggests a pipe stem and bowl, and so the dark nebula's popular name is the Pipe Nebula. The deep and expansive view was recorded in very dark Chilean skies. It covers a full 10 by 7 degree field in the pronounceable constellation Ophiuchus. The Pipe Nebula is part of the Ophiuchus dark cloud complex located at a distance of about 450 light-years. Dense cores of gas and dust within the Pipe Nebula are collapsing to form stars. arxiv.org/abs/0904.4169
IC 4592: A Blue Horsehead * Credit & Copyright: Rogelio Bernal Andreo
Explanation: This complex of beautiful, dusty reflection nebulae lies in the constellation Scorpius along the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy. Its overall outline suggests a horsehead in profile, though it covers a much larger region than the better known Horsehead Nebula of Orion. The star near the eye of the horse and the center of the 5 degree wide field, is embedded in blue reflection nebula IC 4592 over 400 light-years away. At that distance, the view spans nearly 40 light-years. The horse's gaze seems fixed on Beta Scorpii, also named Graffias, the bright star at the lower left. Toward the top right, near the horse's ear, is another striking bluish reflection nebula, IC 4601. The characteristic blue hue of reflection nebulae is caused by the tendency of interstellar dust to more strongly scatter blue starlight.
Explanation: What does the center of our Milky Way Galaxy look like? In visible light, no one knows! It is not possible to see the Galactic center in light our eyes are sensitive to because the thick dust in the plane of our Galaxy obscures it. If one looks in the direction of our Galaxy's center - which is toward the constellation of Sagittarius - many beautiful wonders become apparent, though. Large dust lanes and star clouds dominate the picture. As many as 30 Messier Objects are visible in the above spectacular image mosaic, including all types of nebulas and star clusters. Two notable nebula include the Lagoon Nebula (M8), a red patch just above and to the right of center, and slightly to its right is the red and blue Trifid Nebula (M20).
Explanation: These three bright nebulae are often featured in telescopic tours of the constellation Sagittarius and the crowded starfields of the central Milky Way. In fact, 18th century cosmic tourist Charles Messier cataloged two of them; M8, the nebula below and right of center, and colorful M20 at the upper right. The third, NGC 6559, is left of M8, separated from the the larger nebula by a dark dust lane. All three are stellar nurseries about five thousand light-years or so distant. The expansive M8, over a hundred light-years across, is also known as the Lagoon Nebula while M20's popular moniker is the Trifid. This stunning digital view is actually a collaborative composite recorded by 2 cameras and 2 telescopes about
Explanation: These three bright nebulae are often featured in telescopic tours of the constellation Sagittarius and the crowded starfields of the central Milky Way. In fact, 18th century cosmic tourist Charles Messier cataloged two of them; M8, the nebula below and right of center, and colorful M20 at the upper right. The third, NGC 6559, is left of M8, separated from the the larger nebula by a dark dust lane. All three are stellar nurseries about five thousand light-years or so distant. The expansive M8, over a hundred light-years across, is also known as the Lagoon Nebula while M20's popular moniker is the Trifid. This stunning digital view is actually a collaborative composite recorded by 2 cameras and 2 telescopes about 2 thousand miles apart. The deep, wide image field was captured under dark Arizona skies. Both M8 and M20 were recorded in more detail from an observatory in Pennsylvania. Glowing hydrogen gas creates the dominant red color of the emission nebulae, with contrasting blue hues, most striking in the Trifid, due to dust reflected starlight.
Astrophotos taken with 32 inch Ritchey-Chretien telescope at amateur observatory in Arizona. Lists film/exposure/other details for each astrophoto, and description of equipment used.
"Rubin's First Look" A Sagittarius Skyscape * Image Credit & License: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory rubinobservatory.org/
Explanation: This interstellar skyscape spans over 4 degrees across crowded starfields toward the constellation Sagittarius and the central Milky Way. A First Look image captured at the new NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, the bright nebulae and star clusters featured include famous stops on telescopic tours of the cosmos: Messier 8 and Messier 20. An expansive star-forming region over a hundred light-years across, Messier 8 is also known as the Lagoon Nebula. About 4,000 light-years away the Lagoon Nebula harbors a remarkable cluster of young, massive stars. Their intense radiation and stellar winds energize and agitate this cosmic lagoon's turbulent depths. Messier 20's popular moniker is the Trifid. Divided into three parts by dark interstellar dust lanes, the Trifid Nebula's glowing hydrogen gas creates its domina
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2025 June 25
"Rubin's First Look" A Sagittarius Skyscape * Image Credit & License: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory rubinobservatory.org/
Explanation: This interstellar skyscape spans over 4 degrees across crowded starfields toward the constellation Sagittarius and the central Milky Way. A First Look image captured at the new NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, the bright nebulae and star clusters featured include famous stops on telescopic tours of the cosmos: Messier 8 and Messier 20. An expansive star-forming region over a hundred light-years across, Messier 8 is also known as the Lagoon Nebula. About 4,000 light-years away the Lagoon Nebula harbors a remarkable cluster of young, massive stars. Their intense radiation and stellar winds energize and agitate this cosmic lagoon's turbulent depths. Messier 20's popular moniker is the Trifid. Divided into three parts by dark interstellar dust lanes, the Trifid Nebula's glowing hydrogen gas creates its dominant red color. But contrasting blue hues in the colorful Trifid are due to dust reflected starlight. The Rubin Observatory visited the Trifid-Lagoon field to acquire all the image data during parts of four nights (May 1-4). At full resolution, Rubin's magnificent Sagittarius skyscape is 84,000 pixels wide and 51,500 pixels tall.
Explanation: Could Queen Calafia's mythical island exist in space? Perhaps not, but by chance the outline of this molecular space cloud echoes the outline of the state of California, USA. Our Sun has its home within the Milky Way's Orion Arm, only about 1,000 light-years from the California Nebula. Also known as NGC 1499, the classic emission nebula is around 100 light-years long. On the featured image, the most prominent glow of the California Nebula is the red light characteristic of hydrogen atoms recombining with long lost electrons, stripped away (ionized) by energetic starlight. The star most likely providing the energetic starlight that ionizes much of the nebular gas is the bright, hot, bluish Xi Persei just to the right of the nebula. A regular target for astrophotographers, the California Nebula can be spotted with a wide-field tel
Explanation: Could Queen Calafia's mythical island exist in space? Perhaps not, but by chance the outline of this molecular space cloud echoes the outline of the state of California, USA. Our Sun has its home within the Milky Way's Orion Arm, only about 1,000 light-years from the California Nebula. Also known as NGC 1499, the classic emission nebula is around 100 light-years long. On the featured image, the most prominent glow of the California Nebula is the red light characteristic of hydrogen atoms recombining with long lost electrons, stripped away (ionized) by energetic starlight. The star most likely providing the energetic starlight that ionizes much of the nebular gas is the bright, hot, bluish Xi Persei just to the right of the nebula. A regular target for astrophotographers, the California Nebula can be spotted with a wide-field telescope under a dark sky toward the constellation of Perseus, not far from the Pleiades. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Californ…
Explanation: One of the most identifiable nebulas in the sky, the Horsehead Nebula in Orion, is part of a large, dark, molecular cloud. Also known as Barnard 33, the unusual shape was first discovered on a photographic plate in the late 1800s. The red glow originates from hydrogen gas predominantly behind the nebula, ionized by the nearby bright star Sigma Orionis. The darkness of the Horsehead is caused mostly by thick dust, although the lower part of the Horsehead's neck casts a shadow to the left. Streams of gas leaving the nebula are funneled by a strong magnetic field. Bright spots in the Horsehead Nebula's base are young stars just in the process of forming. Light takes about 1,500 years to r
Explanation: One of the most identifiable nebulas in the sky, the Horsehead Nebula in Orion, is part of a large, dark, molecular cloud. Also known as Barnard 33, the unusual shape was first discovered on a photographic plate in the late 1800s. The red glow originates from hydrogen gas predominantly behind the nebula, ionized by the nearby bright star Sigma Orionis. The darkness of the Horsehead is caused mostly by thick dust, although the lower part of the Horsehead's neck casts a shadow to the left. Streams of gas leaving the nebula are funneled by a strong magnetic field. Bright spots in the Horsehead Nebula's base are young stars just in the process of forming. Light takes about 1,500 years to reach us from the Horsehead Nebula. The featured image was taken from the Chilescope Observatory in the mountains of Chile.
Explanation: Stars are forming in Lynds Dark Nebula (LDN) 1251. About 1,000 light-years away and drifting above the plane of our Milky Way galaxy, LDN 1251 is also less appetizingly known as "The Rotten Fish Nebula." The dusty molecular cloud is part of a complex of dark nebulae mapped toward the Cepheus flare region. Across the spectrum, astronomical explorations of the obscuring interstellar clouds reveal energetic shocks and outflows associated with newborn stars, including the telltale reddish glow from scattered Herbig-Haro objects hiding in the image. Distant background galaxies also lurk in the scene, almost buried behind the dusty expanse. This alluring telescopic frame spans almost three full moons on the sky. That corresponds to over 25 light-years at the estimated distance of LDN 1251.
Explanation: Stars are forming in Lynds Dark Nebula (LDN) 1251. About 1,000 light-years away and drifting above the plane of our Milky Way galaxy, LDN 1251 is also less appetizingly known as "The Rotten Fish Nebula." The dusty molecular cloud is part of a complex of dark nebulae mapped toward the Cepheus flare region. Across the spectrum, astronomical explorations of the obscuring interstellar clouds reveal energetic shocks and outflows associated with newborn stars, including the telltale reddish glow from scattered Herbig-Haro objects hiding in the image. Distant background galaxies also lurk in the scene, almost buried behind the dusty expanse. This alluring telescopic frame spans almost three full moons on the sky. That corresponds to over 25 light-years at the estimated distance of LDN 1251. app.astrobin.com/u/CristianoGu… ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1962… arxiv.org/abs/1503.02934 arxiv.org/abs/0809.4761 chandra.harvard.edu/photo/scal… science.nasa.gov/missions/hubb…
Lying inside our home galaxy, the Milky Way, this Herbig–Haro object is a turbulent birthing ground for new stars in a region known as the Orion B molecular
Explanation: What excites the Heart Nebula? First, the large emission nebula on the upper left, catalogued as IC 1805, looks somewhat like a human heart. The nebula glows brightly in red light emitted by its most prominent element, hydrogen, but this long-exposure image was also blended with light emitted by sulfur (yellow) and oxygen (blue). In the center of the Heart Nebula are young stars from the open star cluster Melotte 15 that are eroding away several picturesque dust pillars with their atom-exciting energetic light and winds. The Heart Nebula is located about 7,500 light years away toward the constellation of Cassiopeia. This wide field image shows much m
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"The next few posts are a real 'matter of the heart'"
Explanation: What excites the Heart Nebula? First, the large emission nebula on the upper left, catalogued as IC 1805, looks somewhat like a human heart. The nebula glows brightly in red light emitted by its most prominent element, hydrogen, but this long-exposure image was also blended with light emitted by sulfur (yellow) and oxygen (blue). In the center of the Heart Nebula are young stars from the open star cluster Melotte 15 that are eroding away several picturesque dust pillars with their atom-exciting energetic light and winds. The Heart Nebula is located about 7,500 light years away toward the constellation of Cassiopeia. This wide field image shows much more, though, including the Fishhead Nebula just below the Heart, a supernova remnant on the lower left, and three planetary nebulas on the image right. Taken over 57 nights, this image is so deep, though, that it clearly shows fainter long and complex filaments. instagram.com/p/DC1wDJZvRO8/ apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap031022.ht… apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap040917.ht…
In the Heart of the Heart Nebula * Credit & Copyright: Alan Erickson
Explanation: What's that inside the Heart Nebula? First, the large emission nebula dubbed IC 1805 looks, in whole, like a human heart. It's shape perhaps fitting of the Valentine's Day, this heart glows brightly in red light emitted by its most prominent element: hydrogen. The red glow and the larger shape are all created by a small group of stars near the nebula's center. In the heart of the Heart Nebula are young stars from the open star cluster Melotte 15 that are eroding away several picturesque dust pillars with their energetic light and winds. The open cluster of stars contains a few bright stars nearly 50 times the mass of our Sun, many dim stars only a fraction of the mass of our Sun, and an absent microquasar that was expelled millions of years ago. The Heart Nebula is located about 7,500 light years away toward the constellation of the mythological Queen of Aethiopia (Cassiopeia).
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2018 February 14
In the Heart of the Heart Nebula * Credit & Copyright: Alan Erickson
Explanation: What's that inside the Heart Nebula? First, the large emission nebula dubbed IC 1805 looks, in whole, like a human heart. It's shape perhaps fitting of the Valentine's Day, this heart glows brightly in red light emitted by its most prominent element: hydrogen. The red glow and the larger shape are all created by a small group of stars near the nebula's center. In the heart of the Heart Nebula are young stars from the open star cluster Melotte 15 that are eroding away several picturesque dust pillars with their energetic light and winds. The open cluster of stars contains a few bright stars nearly 50 times the mass of our Sun, many dim stars only a fraction of the mass of our Sun, and an absent microquasar that was expelled millions of years ago. The Heart Nebula is located about 7,500 light years away toward the constellation of the mythological Queen of Aethiopia (Cassiopeia).
Melotte 15 in the Heart * Image Credit & Copyright: Jimmy Walker darkskywalker.com/
Explanation: Cosmic clouds seem to form fantastic shapes in the central regions of emission nebula IC 1805. Of course, the clouds are sculpted by stellar winds and radiation from massive hot stars in the nebula's newborn star cluster, Melotte 15. About 1.5 million years young, the cluster stars are near the center of this colorful skyscape, along with dark dust clouds in silhouette. Dominated by emission from atomic hydrogen, the telescopic view spans about 30 light-years. But wider field images reveal that IC 1805's simpler, overall outline suggests its popular name - The Heart Nebula. IC 1805 is located along the northern Milky Way, about 7,500 light years distant toward the constellation Cassiopeia.
My name is Jimmy Walker. I am a husband, father, golfer, wine snob, astrophotographer, and a car nerd. Its not always in that order but family is always first. We live in Boerne, TX just outside San Antonio. My family and I are always on the go.
Explanation: To some, this nebula looks like the head of a fish. However, this colorful cosmic portrait really features glowing gas and obscuring dust clouds in IC 1795, a star forming region in the northern constellation Cassiopeia. The nebula's colors were created by adopting the Hubble color palette for mapping narrowband emissions from oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur atoms to blue, green and red colors, and further blending the data with images of the region recorded through broadband filters. Not far on the sky from the famous Double Star Cluster in Perseus, IC 1795 is itself located next to IC 1805, the Heart Nebula, as part of a complex of star forming regions that l
Explanation: To some, this nebula looks like the head of a fish. However, this colorful cosmic portrait really features glowing gas and obscuring dust clouds in IC 1795, a star forming region in the northern constellation Cassiopeia. The nebula's colors were created by adopting the Hubble color palette for mapping narrowband emissions from oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur atoms to blue, green and red colors, and further blending the data with images of the region recorded through broadband filters. Not far on the sky from the famous Double Star Cluster in Perseus, IC 1795 is itself located next to IC 1805, the Heart Nebula, as part of a complex of star forming regions that lie at the edge of a large molecular cloud. Located just over 6,000 light-years away, the larger star forming complex sprawls along the Perseus spiral arm of our Milky Way Galaxy. At that distance, IC 1795 would span about 70 light-years across.
The tiny open cluster at the center of the Heart Nebula (IC1805) is known as Melotte 15. But it’s not really the cluster we’re interested in, it’s the amazing, twisty bit of nebulosity there that steals the show. This image is the combination of data from two scopes: the Vixen R200SS Newtonian and the TS-Optics Photoline 130 refractor. Both have nearly the same focal length (922 and 908mm, respectively) with their correctors included. I shot the same target 48 hours apart in order to do a head-to-head comparison, but the results were so good for both scopes that I combined them into a single image.
The tiny open cluster at the center of the Heart Nebula (IC1805) is known as Melotte 15. But it’s not really the cluster we’re interested in, it’s the amazing, twisty bit of nebulosity there that stea...
Explanation: These dark pillars may look destructive, but they are creating stars. This pillar-capturing picture of the Eagle Nebula combines visible light exposures taken with the Hubble Space Telescope with infrared images taken with the James Webb Space Telescope to highlight evaporating gaseous globules (EGGs) emerging from pillars of molecular hydrogen gas and dust. The giant pillars are light years in length and are so dense that interior gas cont
Explanation: These dark pillars may look destructive, but they are creating stars. This pillar-capturing picture of the Eagle Nebula combines visible light exposures taken with the Hubble Space Telescope with infrared images taken with the James Webb Space Telescope to highlight evaporating gaseous globules (EGGs) emerging from pillars of molecular hydrogen gas and dust. The giant pillars are light years in length and are so dense that interior gas contracts gravitationally to form stars. At each pillar's end, the intense radiation of bright young stars causes low density material to boil away, leaving stellar nurseries of dense EGGs exposed. The Eagle Nebula, associated with the open star cluster M16, lies about 7000 light years away.
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Using data from NASA's Hubble and Webb space telescopes, astronomers and artists modeled the iconic Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula (Messier 16 or M16) in three dimensions, creating a movie that allows viewers to fly past and among the pillars.
The new visualization helps viewers experience how two of the world's most powerful space telescopes work together to provide a more complex and holistic portrait of the pillars. Hubble sees objects that glow in visible light, at thousands of degrees. Webb's infrared vision, which is sensitive to cooler objects with temperatures of just hundreds of degrees, pierces through obscuring dust to see stars embedded in the pillars.
A bonus product from this visualization is a new 3D printable model of the Pillars of Creation. The base model of the four pillars used in the visualization has been adapted to the STL file format, so that viewers can download the model file and print it out on 3D printers. Examining the structure of the pillars in this tactile and interactive way adds new perspectives and insights to the overall exp
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Using data from NASA's Hubble and Webb space telescopes, astronomers and artists modeled the iconic Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula (Messier 16 or M16) in three dimensions, creating a movie that allows viewers to fly past and among the pillars.
The new visualization helps viewers experience how two of the world's most powerful space telescopes work together to provide a more complex and holistic portrait of the pillars. Hubble sees objects that glow in visible light, at thousands of degrees. Webb's infrared vision, which is sensitive to cooler objects with temperatures of just hundreds of degrees, pierces through obscuring dust to see stars embedded in the pillars.
A bonus product from this visualization is a new 3D printable model of the Pillars of Creation. The base model of the four pillars used in the visualization has been adapted to the STL file format, so that viewers can download the model file and print it out on 3D printers. Examining the structure of the pillars in this tactile and interactive way adds new perspectives and insights to the overall experience.
Credit: * Producers: Greg Bacon and Frank Summers (STScI), NASA's Universe of Learning; * Visualization: Greg Bacon, Ralf Crawford, Joseph DePasquale, Leah Hustak, Danielle Kirshenblat, Christian Nieves, Joseph Olmsted, Alyssa Pagan, and Frank Summers (STScI), Robert L. Hurt (Caltech, IPAC); Science * Advisor: Anna McLeod (Durham University); * Music: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
Made famous in 1995 by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, the Pillars of Creation in the heart of the Eagle Nebula have captured imaginations worldwide with their arresting, ethereal beauty.
2024 September 18 A starfield is shown with a long blue-glowing nebula taking up much of the frame. The nebula appears, to some, similar to a fish or a mermaid.
Explanation: New stars are born from the remnants of dead stars. The gaseous remnant of the gravitational collapse and subsequent death of a very massive star in our Milky Way created the G296.5+10.0 supernova remnant, of which the featured Mermaid Nebula is part. Also known as the Betta Fish Nebula, the Mermaid Nebula makes up part of an unusual subclass of supernova remnant
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2024 September 18 A starfield is shown with a long blue-glowing nebula taking up much of the frame. The nebula appears, to some, similar to a fish or a mermaid.
Explanation: New stars are born from the remnants of dead stars. The gaseous remnant of the gravitational collapse and subsequent death of a very massive star in our Milky Way created the G296.5+10.0 supernova remnant, of which the featured Mermaid Nebula is part. Also known as the Betta Fish Nebula, the Mermaid Nebula makes up part of an unusual subclass of supernova remnants that are two-sided and nearly circular. Originally discovered in X-rays, the filamentary nebula is a frequently studied source also in radio and gamma-ray light. The blue color visible here originates from doubly ionized oxygen (OIII), while the deep red is emitted by hydrogen gas. The nebula's mermaid-like shape has proven to be useful for measurements of the interstellar magnetic field.
Explanation: Why isn't this ant a big sphere? Planetary nebula Mz3 is being cast off by a star similar to our Sun that is, surely, round. Why then would the gas that is streaming away create an ant-shaped nebula that is distinctly not round? Clues might include the high 1000-kilometer per second speed of the expelled gas, the light-year long length of the structure, and the magnetism of the star featured here at the nebula's center. One possible answer is that Mz3 is hiding a second, dimmer star that orbits close in to the bright star. A competing hypothesis holds that the central star's own spin an
Explanation: Why isn't this ant a big sphere? Planetary nebula Mz3 is being cast off by a star similar to our Sun that is, surely, round. Why then would the gas that is streaming away create an ant-shaped nebula that is distinctly not round? Clues might include the high 1000-kilometer per second speed of the expelled gas, the light-year long length of the structure, and the magnetism of the star featured here at the nebula's center. One possible answer is that Mz3 is hiding a second, dimmer star that orbits close in to the bright star. A competing hypothesis holds that the central star's own spin and magnetic field are channeling the gas. Since the central star appears to be so similar to our own Sun, astronomers hope that increased understanding of the history of this giant space ant can provide useful insight into the likely future of our own Sun and Earth. esahubble.org/news/heic0101/ science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mz_3
The nebula Menzel 3 (Mz 3) has arguably the most complex bipolar morphology, consisting of three nested pairs of bipolar lobes and an equatorial ellipse.
Probing deep within a neighborhood stellar nursery, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope uncovered a swarm of newborn brown dwarfs. The orbiting observatory's
Messier 42 (The Orion Nebula) * by Andrea Gianopoulos
You can spot Messier 42, better known as the Orion Nebula, with the unaided eye from a dark sky site.
Believed to be the cosmic fire of creation by the Maya of Mesoamerica, M42 blazes brightly in the constellation Orion. Popularly called the Orion Nebula, this stellar nursery has been known to many different cultures throughout human history. The nebula is only 1,500 light-years away, making it the closest large star-forming region to Earth and giving it a relatively bright apparent magnitude of 4. Because of its brightness and prominent location just below Orion’s belt, M42 can be spotted with the naked eye, while offering an excellent peek at stellar birth for those with telescopes. It is best observed during January.
The Mayan culture’s likening of the Orion Nebula to a cosmic fire of creation is very apt. The nebula is an enormous cloud of dust and gas where vast numbers of new stars are being forged. Its bright, central region is the home of four massive, young stars that shape the nebula.
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Messier 42 (The Orion Nebula) * by Andrea Gianopoulos
You can spot Messier 42, better known as the Orion Nebula, with the unaided eye from a dark sky site.
Believed to be the cosmic fire of creation by the Maya of Mesoamerica, M42 blazes brightly in the constellation Orion. Popularly called the Orion Nebula, this stellar nursery has been known to many different cultures throughout human history. The nebula is only 1,500 light-years away, making it the closest large star-forming region to Earth and giving it a relatively bright apparent magnitude of 4. Because of its brightness and prominent location just below Orion’s belt, M42 can be spotted with the naked eye, while offering an excellent peek at stellar birth for those with telescopes. It is best observed during January.
The Mayan culture’s likening of the Orion Nebula to a cosmic fire of creation is very apt. The nebula is an enormous cloud of dust and gas where vast numbers of new stars are being forged. Its bright, central region is the home of four massive, young stars that shape the nebula. The four hefty stars are called the Trapezium because they are arranged in a trapezoidal pattern. Ultraviolet light unleashed by these stars is carving a cavity in the nebula and disrupting the growth of hundreds of smaller stars.
This stunning Hubble image offers the sharpest view of the Orion Nebula ever obtained. Created using 520 different Hubble exposures taken in multiple wavelengths of light, this mosaic contains over one billion pixels. Hubble imaged most of the nebula, but ground-based images were used to fill in the gaps in its observations. The orange color in the image can be attributed to hydrogen, green represents oxygen, and the red represents both sulfur and observations made in infrared light.
This atlas features 30 proplyds, or protoplanetary discs, that were recently discovered in the majestic Orion Nebula. Using the wide field channel on Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), astronomers discovered a total of 42 new discs that could be the seeds of planetary systems to come. Within the awe-inspiring, gaseous folds of Orion, researchers have identified two different types of discs around young and forming stars: those that lie close to the brightest star in the cluster (Theta 1 Orionis C) and those farther away from it. The bright star heats up the gas in the nearby discs, causing them to shine brightly. The discs that are farther away do not receive enough of the energetic radiation from the star to set the gas ablaze; thus, they can only be detected as dark silhouettes against the background of the bright nebula, as the dust that surrounds these discs absorbs background visible light. By studying these silhouetted discs, astronomers are better able to characterize the properties of the dust grains that are thought to bind
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Orion Nebula proplyd atlas
This atlas features 30 proplyds, or protoplanetary discs, that were recently discovered in the majestic Orion Nebula. Using the wide field channel on Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), astronomers discovered a total of 42 new discs that could be the seeds of planetary systems to come. Within the awe-inspiring, gaseous folds of Orion, researchers have identified two different types of discs around young and forming stars: those that lie close to the brightest star in the cluster (Theta 1 Orionis C) and those farther away from it. The bright star heats up the gas in the nearby discs, causing them to shine brightly. The discs that are farther away do not receive enough of the energetic radiation from the star to set the gas ablaze; thus, they can only be detected as dark silhouettes against the background of the bright nebula, as the dust that surrounds these discs absorbs background visible light. By studying these silhouetted discs, astronomers are better able to characterize the properties of the dust grains that are thought to bind together and possibly form planets like our own. In the brighter discs the excited material produces many glowing cusps, which all face the bright star, but from our point of view are randomly oriented through the nebula, so we see some edge on, and others face on, for instance. Other interesting features enhance the look of these captivating objects, such as emerging jets of matter and shock waves. The dramatic shock waves are formed when the stellar wind from the nearby massive star collides with the gas in the nebula, sculpting boomerang shapes or arrows or even, in the case of 181-825, a space jellyfish! [...] (see ALT-text)
Hubble Spies Brown Dwarfs in Nearby Stellar Nursery
[...] Appearing like glistening precious stones surrounding a setting of sparkling diamonds, more than 300 fledgling stars and brown dwarfs surround the brightest, most massive stars [center of picture] in Hubble's view of the Trapezium cluster's central region. All of the celestial objects in the Trapezium were born together in this hotbed of star formation. The cluster is named for the trapezoidal alignment of those central massive stars.
Brown dwarfs are gaseous objects with masses so low their cores never become hot enough to fuse hydrogen, the thermonuclear fuel stars like the Sun need to shine steadily. Instead, these gaseous objects fade and cool as they grow older. [...]
This finding, along with observations from ground-based telescopes, is further evidence that brown dwarfs, once considered exotic objects, are nearly as abundant as stars. The image and results appear in the Sept. 20 issue of the Astrophysical Journal.
The brown dwarfs are too dim to be seen in a visible-light image taken by the
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Hubble Spies Brown Dwarfs in Nearby Stellar Nursery
[...] Appearing like glistening precious stones surrounding a setting of sparkling diamonds, more than 300 fledgling stars and brown dwarfs surround the brightest, most massive stars [center of picture] in Hubble's view of the Trapezium cluster's central region. All of the celestial objects in the Trapezium were born together in this hotbed of star formation. The cluster is named for the trapezoidal alignment of those central massive stars.
Brown dwarfs are gaseous objects with masses so low their cores never become hot enough to fuse hydrogen, the thermonuclear fuel stars like the Sun need to shine steadily. Instead, these gaseous objects fade and cool as they grow older. [...]
This finding, along with observations from ground-based telescopes, is further evidence that brown dwarfs, once considered exotic objects, are nearly as abundant as stars. The image and results appear in the Sept. 20 issue of the Astrophysical Journal.
The brown dwarfs are too dim to be seen in a visible-light image taken by the Hubble telescope's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 [picture at left]. This view also doesn't show the assemblage of infant stars seen in the near-infrared image. That's because the young stars are embedded in dense clouds of dust and gas. The Hubble telescope's near-infrared camera, the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer, penetrated those clouds to capture a view of those objects. The brown dwarfs are the faintest objects in the image. Surveying the cluster's central region, the Hubble telescope spied brown dwarfs with masses equaling 10 to 80 Jupiters. Researchers think there may be less massive brown dwarfs that are beyond the limits of Hubble's vision. [...] (see more in ALT-text)
Explanation: Few cosmic vistas can excite the imagination like The Great Nebula in Orion. Visible as a faint, bland celestial smudge to the naked-eye, the nearest large star-forming region sprawls across this sharp colorful telescopic image. Designated M42 in the Messier Catalog, the Orion Nebula's glowing gas and dust surrounds hot, young stars. About 40 light-years across, M42 is at the edge of an immense interstellar molecular cloud only 1,500 light-years away that lies within the same spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy as the Sun. Including dusty bluish reflection nebula NGC 1977, also known as the Running Man nebula at left in the frame, the natal nebulae represent only a small fraction of our galactic neighborhood's wealth of star-forming material. Within the well-studied stellar nursery, astronomers have also identified what appear to be num
Explanation: Few cosmic vistas can excite the imagination like The Great Nebula in Orion. Visible as a faint, bland celestial smudge to the naked-eye, the nearest large star-forming region sprawls across this sharp colorful telescopic image. Designated M42 in the Messier Catalog, the Orion Nebula's glowing gas and dust surrounds hot, young stars. About 40 light-years across, M42 is at the edge of an immense interstellar molecular cloud only 1,500 light-years away that lies within the same spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy as the Sun. Including dusty bluish reflection nebula NGC 1977, also known as the Running Man nebula at left in the frame, the natal nebulae represent only a small fraction of our galactic neighborhood's wealth of star-forming material. Within the well-studied stellar nursery, astronomers have also identified what appear to be numerous infant solar systems. cosmotography.com/images/small… science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/… science.nasa.gov/mission/hubbl… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_mo… science.nasa.gov/image-detail/…
Explanation: Spanning light-years, this suggestive shape known as the Seahorse Nebula floats in silhouette against a rich background of of stars and glowing hydrogen gas. Seen toward the royal northern constellation of Cepheus, the dusty, dark nebula is part of a Milky Way molecular cloud some 1,200 light-years distant. It is also listed as Barnard 150 (B150), one of 182 dark markings of the sky cataloged in the early 20th century by astronomer E. E. Barnard. Packs of low mass stars are forming within, but their collapsing cores are only visible at long infrared wavelengths. Still, the luminous depths of the Milky Way in Cepheus add to this stunning galactic skyscape. app.astrobin.com/i/pw6z9f
Explanation: Spanning light-years, this suggestive shape known as the Seahorse Nebula floats in silhouette against a rich background of of stars and glowing hydrogen gas. Seen toward the royal northern constellation of Cepheus, the dusty, dark nebula is part of a Milky Way molecular cloud some 1,200 light-years distant. It is also listed as Barnard 150 (B150), one of 182 dark markings of the sky cataloged in the early 20th century by astronomer E. E. Barnard. Packs of low mass stars are forming within, but their collapsing cores are only visible at long infrared wavelengths. Still, the luminous depths of the Milky Way in Cepheus add to this stunning galactic skyscape. app.astrobin.com/i/pw6z9f ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1916… ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1919… exhibit-archive.library.gatech… science.nasa.gov/ems/07_infrar…
Infrared waves, or infrared light, are part of the electromagnetic spectrum. People encounter Infrared waves every day; the human eye cannot see it, but
Explanation: Halloween is an astronomy holiday and spooky shapes always seem to lurk in in planet Earth's night skies. In fact, near the center of this telescopic view toward the constellation Cassiopeia these swept-back interstellar clouds IC 59 (left) and IC 63 look ghostly on a cosmic scale. About 600 light-years distant, the clouds aren't actually ghosts. They are slowly disappearing though, under the influence of energetic radiation from hot, luminous star gamma Cas. The brightest bluish star in the frame, Gamma Cas is physically located only 3 to 4 light-years from the nebulae. Slightly closer to gamma Cas, IC 63 is dominated by red H-alpha light emitted as hydrogen atoms ionized by the hot star's ultraviolet radiation recombine with electrons. Farther from the star IC 59 also shows H-alpha emission, and both nebulae shine with the ch
Explanation: Halloween is an astronomy holiday and spooky shapes always seem to lurk in in planet Earth's night skies. In fact, near the center of this telescopic view toward the constellation Cassiopeia these swept-back interstellar clouds IC 59 (left) and IC 63 look ghostly on a cosmic scale. About 600 light-years distant, the clouds aren't actually ghosts. They are slowly disappearing though, under the influence of energetic radiation from hot, luminous star gamma Cas. The brightest bluish star in the frame, Gamma Cas is physically located only 3 to 4 light-years from the nebulae. Slightly closer to gamma Cas, IC 63 is dominated by red H-alpha light emitted as hydrogen atoms ionized by the hot star's ultraviolet radiation recombine with electrons. Farther from the star IC 59 also shows H-alpha emission, and both nebulae shine with the characteristic blue tint of dust reflected star light. The field of view spans about 2 degrees or 20 light-years at the estimated distance of the interstellar apparitions. instagram.com/jro_rm/p/DQHN4wS… arxiv.org/abs/1809.01419 arxiv.org/abs/1705.04313 aavso.org/vsots_gammacas iopscience.iop.org/article/10.… science.nasa.gov/exoplanets/im…
Explanation: Do any shapes seem to jump out at you from this interstellar field of stars and dust? The jeweled expanse, filled with faint, starlight-reflecting clouds, drifts through the night in the royal constellation of Cepheus. Far from your own neighborhood on planet Earth, these ghostly apparitions lurk along the plane of the Milky Way at the edge of the Cepheus Flare molecular cloud complex some 1,200 light-years away. Over two light-years across and brighter than the other spooky chimeras, VdB 141 or Sh2-136 is also known as the Ghost Nebula, seen across the middle of the featured image. Within the reflection nebula are the telltale signs of dense cores collapsing in the early stages of star formation.
Explanation: Halloween's origin is ancient and astronomical. Since the fifth century BC, Halloween has been celebrated as a cross-quarter day, a day halfway between an equinox (equal day / equal night) and a solstice (minimum day / maximum night in the northern hemisphere). With a modern calendar however, even though Halloween later this week, the real cross-quarter day will occur the next week. Another cross-quarter day is Groundhog Day. Hallo
Explanation: Halloween's origin is ancient and astronomical. Since the fifth century BC, Halloween has been celebrated as a cross-quarter day, a day halfway between an equinox (equal day / equal night) and a solstice (minimum day / maximum night in the northern hemisphere). With a modern calendar however, even though Halloween later this week, the real cross-quarter day will occur the next week. Another cross-quarter day is Groundhog Day. Halloween's modern celebration retains historic roots in dressing to scare away the spirits of the dead. Perhaps a fitting tribute to this ancient holiday is this view of the Ghost Head Nebula taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. Similar to the icon of a fictional ghost, NGC 2080 is actually a star forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way Galaxy. The Ghost Head Nebula (NGC 2080) spans about 50 light-years and is shown in representative colors. science.nasa.gov/photojournal/… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_2080 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallowee… neopagan.net/Halloween-Origins… 👻 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casper_t… earthsky.org/astronomy-essenti… webexhibits.org//calendars/yea… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarter_… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundho… 🎃 boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content…
Explanation: What is the most spook-tacular nebula in the galaxy? One contender is LDN 43, which bears an astonishing resemblance to a vast cosmic bat flying amongst the stars on a dark Halloween night. Located about 1400 light years away in the constellation Ophiuchus, this molecular cloud is dense enough to block light not only from backgro
Explanation: What is the most spook-tacular nebula in the galaxy? One contender is LDN 43, which bears an astonishing resemblance to a vast cosmic bat flying amongst the stars on a dark Halloween night. Located about 1400 light years away in the constellation Ophiuchus, this molecular cloud is dense enough to block light not only from background stars, but from wisps of gas lit up by the nearby reflection nebula LBN 7. Far from being a harbinger of death, this 12-light year-long filament of gas and dust is actually a stellar nursery. Glowing with eerie light, the bat is lit up from inside by dense gaseous knots that have just formed young stars. jthommes.com/Astro/LBN7_LDN43.… chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cons… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecula… apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230129.ht… astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/r… apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030706.ht…
NGC 6995: The Bat Nebula * Image Credit & Copyright: Francis Bozon & Jean-Luc Gangloff
Explanation: Can you see the bat? It haunts this cosmic close-up of the eastern Veil Nebula. The Veil Nebula itself is a large supernova remnant, the expanding debris cloud from the death explosion of a massive star. While the Veil is roughly circular in shape and covers nearly 3 degrees on the sky toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus), NGC 6995, known informally as the Bat Nebula, spans only 1/2 degree, about the apparent size of the Moon. That translates to 12 light-years at the Veil's estimated distance, a reassuring 1,400 light-years from planet Earth. In the composite of image data recorded through several narrow band filters, with emission from hydrogen atoms in the remnant shown in red and with strong emission from oxygen atoms shown in hues of blue. Of course, in the western part of the Veil lies another seasonal apparition: the Witch's Broom Nebula.
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2025 October 22
NGC 6995: The Bat Nebula * Image Credit & Copyright: Francis Bozon & Jean-Luc Gangloff
Explanation: Can you see the bat? It haunts this cosmic close-up of the eastern Veil Nebula. The Veil Nebula itself is a large supernova remnant, the expanding debris cloud from the death explosion of a massive star. While the Veil is roughly circular in shape and covers nearly 3 degrees on the sky toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus), NGC 6995, known informally as the Bat Nebula, spans only 1/2 degree, about the apparent size of the Moon. That translates to 12 light-years at the Veil's estimated distance, a reassuring 1,400 light-years from planet Earth. In the composite of image data recorded through several narrow band filters, with emission from hydrogen atoms in the remnant shown in red and with strong emission from oxygen atoms shown in hues of blue. Of course, in the western part of the Veil lies another seasonal apparition: the Witch's Broom Nebula.
The Chemistry Division's Periodic Table describes the history, properties, resources, uses, isotopes, forms, costs, and other information for each element.
Explanation: What electrifies the Heart Nebula? First, the large emission nebula on the left, catalogued as IC 1805, looks somewhat like a human heart. The nebula glows brightly in red light emitted by its most prominent element, hydrogen, but this long-exposure image was also blended with light emitted by sulfur (yellow) and oxygen (blue). In the center of the Heart Nebula are young stars from the open star cluster Melotte 15 that are eroding away several picturesque dust pillars with their atom-exciting energetic light and winds. The Heart Nebula is located about 7,500 light years away toward the constellation of Cassiopeia. At the top right of the Heart Nebula is the companion Fishhead Nebula. This wide and deep image clearly shows that glowing gas surrounds the Heart Nebula in all directions.
Explanation: What electrifies the Heart Nebula? First, the large emission nebula on the left, catalogued as IC 1805, looks somewhat like a human heart. The nebula glows brightly in red light emitted by its most prominent element, hydrogen, but this long-exposure image was also blended with light emitted by sulfur (yellow) and oxygen (blue). In the center of the Heart Nebula are young stars from the open star cluster Melotte 15 that are eroding away several picturesque dust pillars with their atom-exciting energetic light and winds. The Heart Nebula is located about 7,500 light years away toward the constellation of Cassiopeia. At the top right of the Heart Nebula is the companion Fishhead Nebula. This wide and deep image clearly shows that glowing gas surrounds the Heart Nebula in all directions.
Explanation: What powers are being wielded in the Wizard Nebula? Gravitation strong enough to form stars, and stellar winds and radiations powerful enough to create and dissolve towers of gas. Located only 8,000 light years away, the Wizard nebula, featured here, surrounds developing open star cluster NGC 7380. Visually, the interplay of stars, gas, and dust has created a shape that appears to some like a fictional medieval sorcerer. The active star forming region spans about 100 light years, making it appear larger than the angular extent of the Moon. The Wizard Nebula can be located with a small telescope toward the constellation of the King of Aethiopia (Cepheus). Although the nebul
Explanation: What powers are being wielded in the Wizard Nebula? Gravitation strong enough to form stars, and stellar winds and radiations powerful enough to create and dissolve towers of gas. Located only 8,000 light years away, the Wizard nebula, featured here, surrounds developing open star cluster NGC 7380. Visually, the interplay of stars, gas, and dust has created a shape that appears to some like a fictional medieval sorcerer. The active star forming region spans about 100 light years, making it appear larger than the angular extent of the Moon. The Wizard Nebula can be located with a small telescope toward the constellation of the King of Aethiopia (Cepheus). Although the nebula may last only a few million years, some of the stars being formed may outlive our Sun. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magician… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_7380 ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011… ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011… lco.global/spacebook/sky/using…
Astronomers use angular measure to describe the apparent size of an object in the night sky. An angle is the opening between two lines that meet at a point and angular measure describes the size of an angle in degrees, designated by the symbol °.
NGC 6960: The Witch's Broom Nebula * Image Credit & Copyright: Brian Meyers
Explanation: Ten thousand years ago, before the dawn of recorded human history, a new light would suddenly have appeared in the night sky and faded after a few weeks. Today we know this light was from a supernova, or exploding star, and record the expanding debris cloud as the Veil Nebula, a supernova remnant. This sharp telescopic view is centered on a western segment of the Veil Nebula cataloged as NGC 6960 but less formally known as the Witch's Broom Nebula. Blasted out in the cataclysmic explosion, an interstellar shock wave plows through space sweeping up and exciting interstellar material. Imaged with narrow band filters, the glowing filaments are like long ripples in a sheet seen almost edge on, remarkably well separated into atomic hydrogen (red) and oxygen (blue-green) gas. The complete supernova remnant lies about 1400 light-years away towards the constellation Cygnus. This Witch's Broom actually spans about 35 light-years. The bright star in the frame is 52
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2025 October 1
NGC 6960: The Witch's Broom Nebula * Image Credit & Copyright: Brian Meyers
Explanation: Ten thousand years ago, before the dawn of recorded human history, a new light would suddenly have appeared in the night sky and faded after a few weeks. Today we know this light was from a supernova, or exploding star, and record the expanding debris cloud as the Veil Nebula, a supernova remnant. This sharp telescopic view is centered on a western segment of the Veil Nebula cataloged as NGC 6960 but less formally known as the Witch's Broom Nebula. Blasted out in the cataclysmic explosion, an interstellar shock wave plows through space sweeping up and exciting interstellar material. Imaged with narrow band filters, the glowing filaments are like long ripples in a sheet seen almost edge on, remarkably well separated into atomic hydrogen (red) and oxygen (blue-green) gas. The complete supernova remnant lies about 1400 light-years away towards the constellation Cygnus. This Witch's Broom actually spans about 35 light-years. The bright star in the frame is 52 Cygni, visible with the unaided eye from a dark location but unrelated to the ancient supernova remnant. apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251001.ht… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_… chandra.harvard.edu/xray_sourc… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cyg… apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap101119.ht…
Explanation: At the edge of a large molecular cloud in Monoceros, some 3,000 light years away, dark filaments of dust are silhouetted by luminous hydrogen gas. The close up view of the Rosette Nebula dramatically suggests that star formation is an on going process in the region, with dark filaments sculpted by winds and radiation from hot, young stars. Ultraviolet radiation from the young stars also strips electrons from the surrounding hydrogen atoms. As electrons and atoms recombine they emit longer wavelength, lower energy light in a well known characteristic pattern of bright spectral lines. At visible wavelengths, the strongest emission line in t
Explanation: At the edge of a large molecular cloud in Monoceros, some 3,000 light years away, dark filaments of dust are silhouetted by luminous hydrogen gas. The close up view of the Rosette Nebula dramatically suggests that star formation is an on going process in the region, with dark filaments sculpted by winds and radiation from hot, young stars. Ultraviolet radiation from the young stars also strips electrons from the surrounding hydrogen atoms. As electrons and atoms recombine they emit longer wavelength, lower energy light in a well known characteristic pattern of bright spectral lines. At visible wavelengths, the strongest emission line in this pattern is in the red part of the spectrum and is known as "Hydrogen-alpha" or just H-alpha. Part of IPHAS, a survey of H-alpha emission in our Milky Way Galaxy, this image spans about 25 light-years.
IC 5070: A Dusty Pelican in the Swan * Image Credit & Copyright: Steve Richards (Chanctonbury Observatory)
Explanation: The recognizable profile of the Pelican Nebula soars nearly 2,000 light-years away in the high flying constellation Cygnus, the Swan. Also known as IC 5070, this interstellar cloud of gas and dust is appropriately found just off the "east coast" of the North America Nebula (NGC 7000), another surprisingly familiar looking emission nebula in Cygnus. Both Pelican and North America nebulae are part of the same large and complex star forming region, almost as nearby as the better-known Orion Nebula. From our vantage point, dark dust clouds (upper left) help define the Pelican's eye and long bill, while a bright front of ionized gas suggests the curved shape of the head and neck. This striking synthesized color view utilizes narrowband image data recording the emission of hydrogen and oxygen atoms in the cosmic cloud. The scene spans some 30 light-years at the estimated distance of the Pelican Nebula.
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2016 November 19
IC 5070: A Dusty Pelican in the Swan * Image Credit & Copyright: Steve Richards (Chanctonbury Observatory)
Explanation: The recognizable profile of the Pelican Nebula soars nearly 2,000 light-years away in the high flying constellation Cygnus, the Swan. Also known as IC 5070, this interstellar cloud of gas and dust is appropriately found just off the "east coast" of the North America Nebula (NGC 7000), another surprisingly familiar looking emission nebula in Cygnus. Both Pelican and North America nebulae are part of the same large and complex star forming region, almost as nearby as the better-known Orion Nebula. From our vantage point, dark dust clouds (upper left) help define the Pelican's eye and long bill, while a bright front of ionized gas suggests the curved shape of the head and neck. This striking synthesized color view utilizes narrowband image data recording the emission of hydrogen and oxygen atoms in the cosmic cloud. The scene spans some 30 light-years at the estimated distance of the Pelican Nebula.
The North America Nebula * Image Credit & Copyright: Dimitris Valianos
Explanation: The North America nebula on the sky can do what the North America continent on Earth cannot -- form stars. Specifically, in analogy to the Earth-confined continent, the bright part that appears as the east coast is actually a hot bed of gas, dust, and newly formed stars known as the Cygnus Wall. The featured image shows the star forming wall lit and eroded by bright young stars and partly hidden by the dark dust they have created. The part of the North America nebula (NGC 7000) shown spans about 50 light years and lies about 1,500 light years away toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus).
Explanation: Bright, hot, supergiant star Deneb lies at top center in this gorgeous skyscape. The 20 frame mosaic spans an impressive 12 degrees across the northern end of Cygnus the Swan. Crowded with stars and luminous gas clouds along the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy, Cygnus is also home to the dark, obscuring Northern Coal Sack Nebula, extending from Deneb toward the bottom center of the view. The reddish glow of NGC 7000, the North America Nebula, and IC 5070, the Pelican Nebula, are at the upper left, but many other nebulae and star clusters are identifiable throughout the wide field. Of course, Deneb itself is the alpha star of Cygnus and is also known to northern hemisphere skygazers for its place in two asterisms -- marking the top of the Northern Cross and a vertex of the Summer Triangle.
Explanation: Bright, hot, supergiant star Deneb lies at top center in this gorgeous skyscape. The 20 frame mosaic spans an impressive 12 degrees across the northern end of Cygnus the Swan. Crowded with stars and luminous gas clouds along the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy, Cygnus is also home to the dark, obscuring Northern Coal Sack Nebula, extending from Deneb toward the bottom center of the view. The reddish glow of NGC 7000, the North America Nebula, and IC 5070, the Pelican Nebula, are at the upper left, but many other nebulae and star clusters are identifiable throughout the wide field. Of course, Deneb itself is the alpha star of Cygnus and is also known to northern hemisphere skygazers for its place in two asterisms -- marking the top of the Northern Cross and a vertex of the Summer Triangle. robgendlerastropics.com/Cygnus… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cygnus_(…
Explanation: A study in contrasts, this colorful cosmic skyscape features stars, dust, and glowing gas in the vicinity of NGC 6914. The interstellar complex of nebulae lies some 6,000 light-years away, toward the high-flying northern constellation Cygnus and the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy. Obscuring interstellar dust clouds appear in silhouette while reddish hydrogen emission nebulae, along with the dusty blue reflection nebulae, fill the cosmic canvas. Ultraviolet radiation from the massive, hot, young stars of the extensive Cygnus OB2 association ionize the region's atomic hydrogen gas, producing the characteristic red glow as protons and electrons recombine. Embedded Cygnus OB2 stars also provide the blue starlight strongly reflected by the dust clouds. The over one degree wide telescopic field of view spans about 100 light-years
Explanation: A study in contrasts, this colorful cosmic skyscape features stars, dust, and glowing gas in the vicinity of NGC 6914. The interstellar complex of nebulae lies some 6,000 light-years away, toward the high-flying northern constellation Cygnus and the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy. Obscuring interstellar dust clouds appear in silhouette while reddish hydrogen emission nebulae, along with the dusty blue reflection nebulae, fill the cosmic canvas. Ultraviolet radiation from the massive, hot, young stars of the extensive Cygnus OB2 association ionize the region's atomic hydrogen gas, producing the characteristic red glow as protons and electrons recombine. Embedded Cygnus OB2 stars also provide the blue starlight strongly reflected by the dust clouds. The over one degree wide telescopic field of view spans about 100 light-years at the estimated distance of NGC 6914. nasa.gov/missions/roman-space-… arxiv.org/abs/1003.2463 astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/E… astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/E…
Explanation: Can you spot famous celestial objects in this image? 18th-century astronomer Charles Messier cataloged only two of them: the bright Lagoon Nebula (M8) at the bottom, and the colorful Trifid Ne
Explanation: Can you spot famous celestial objects in this image? 18th-century astronomer Charles Messier cataloged only two of them: the bright Lagoon Nebula (M8) at the bottom, and the colorful Trifid Nebula (M20) at the upper right. The one on the left that resembles a cat's paw is NGC 6559, and it is much fainter than the other two. Even harder to spot are the thin blue filaments on the left, from supernova remnant (SNR G007.5-01.7). Their glow comes from small amounts of glowing oxygen atoms that are so faint that it took over 17 hours of exposure with just one blue color to bring up. Framing this scene of stellar birth and death are two star clusters: the open cluster M21 just above Trifid, and the globular cluster NGC 6544 at lower left. app.astrobin.com/i/jliezm science.nasa.gov/people/explor… science.gsfc.nasa.gov/662/rese… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doubly_i… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_clu… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globular… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_…
Nach 100 Jahren Verbot: Jetzt darf Paris wieder in der Seine baden! exxpress.at/news/nach-100-jahr… Was für ein historischer Sprung: Erstmals seit 1923 dürfen Pariser und Touristen wieder legal in der Seine schwimmen – mitten im Herzen der Stadt, sogar mit Blick auf den Eiffelturm. Dank einer 1,4-Milliarden-Euro-Offensive zur Flussreinigung wird der Olympiatraum Realität – und Paris bekommt ein spektakuläres Sommer-Highlight. #news
Boualem Sansal n’a pas été gracié, mais au Maghreb il n’est pas «Voltaire»
Le président algérien n’a pas accordé sa grâce à l’écrivain franco-algérien, contrairement à ce qu’espéraient ses soutiens. Si sa détention suscite une forte mobilisation en France, c’est la méfiance qui l’emporte au Maghreb. Y compris chez les militants et les intellectuels de la gauche laïque.
Half a million Spotify users are unknowingly grooving to an AI-generated band | A supposed band called The Velvet Sundown has released two albums of AI slop this month. byteseu.com/1166625/ #FutureStudies #FuturesStudies #Futurology
![This celestial object looks like a delicate butterfly. But it is far from serene.
What resemble dainty butterfly wings are actually roiling cauldrons of gas heated to nearly 20 000 degrees Celsius. The gas is tearing across space at more than 950 000 kilometres per hour — fast enough to travel from Earth to the Moon in 24 minutes!
A dying star that was once about five times the mass of the Sun is at the centre of this fury. It has ejected its envelope of gases and is now unleashing a stream of ultraviolet radiation that is making the cast-off material glow. This object is an example of a planetary nebula, so-named because many of them have a round appearance resembling that of a planet when viewed through a small telescope.
The Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), a new camera aboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, snapped this image of the planetary nebula, catalogued as NGC 6302, but more popularly called the Bug Nebula or the Butterfly Nebula. WFC3 was installed by NASA astronauts in May 2009, during the Servicing Mission to upgrade and repair the 19-year-old Hubble.
NGC 6302 lies within our Milky Way galaxy, roughly 3800 light-years away in the constellation of Scorpius. The glowing gas is the star's outer layers, expelled over about 2200 years. The "butterfly" stretches for more than two light-years, which is about half the distance from the Sun to the nearest star, Proxima Centauri. [...]
Credit:
NASA, ESA and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team](https://social.trom.tf/photo/preview/640/29200227 "This celestial object looks like a delicate butterfly. But it is far from serene.
What resemble dainty butterfly wings are actually roiling cauldrons of gas heated to nearly 20 000 degrees Celsius. The gas is tearing across space at more than 950 000 kilometres per hour — fast enough to travel from Earth to the Moon in 24 minutes!
A dying star that was once about five times the mass of the Sun is at the centre of this fury. It has ejected its envelope of gases and is now unleashing a stream of ultraviolet radiation that is making the cast-off material glow. This object is an example of a planetary nebula, so-named because many of them have a round appearance resembling that of a planet when viewed through a small telescope.
The Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), a new camera aboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, snapped this image of the planetary nebula, catalogued as NGC 6302, but more popularly called the Bug Nebula or the Butterfly Nebula. WFC3 was installed by NASA astronauts in May 2009, during the Servicing Mission to upgrade and repair the 19-year-old Hubble.
NGC 6302 lies within our Milky Way galaxy, roughly 3800 light-years away in the constellation of Scorpius. The glowing gas is the star's outer layers, expelled over about 2200 years. The \"butterfly\" stretches for more than two light-years, which is about half the distance from the Sun to the nearest star, Proxima Centauri. [...]
Credit:
NASA, ESA and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team")
![Orion Nebula proplyd atlas
This atlas features 30 proplyds, or protoplanetary discs, that were recently discovered in the majestic Orion Nebula.
Image Credit:
NASA, ESA, and L. Ricci (ESO)
[...]
It is relatively rare to see visible images of proplyds, but the high resolution and sensitivity of Hubble and the Orion Nebula’s proximity to Earth allow for precise views of these potential planetary systems. This proplyd atlas is the first scientific outcome from the HST Treasury Program on the Orion Nebula.](https://social.trom.tf/photo/preview/640/36361409 "Orion Nebula proplyd atlas
This atlas features 30 proplyds, or protoplanetary discs, that were recently discovered in the majestic Orion Nebula.
Image Credit:
NASA, ESA, and L. Ricci (ESO)
[...]
It is relatively rare to see visible images of proplyds, but the high resolution and sensitivity of Hubble and the Orion Nebula’s proximity to Earth allow for precise views of these potential planetary systems. This proplyd atlas is the first scientific outcome from the HST Treasury Program on the Orion Nebula.")
![Probing deep within a neighborhood stellar nursery, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope uncovered a swarm of newborn brown dwarfs. The orbiting observatory's near-infrared camera revealed about 50 of these objects throughout the Orion Nebula's Trapezium cluster [image at right], about 1,500 light-years from Earth. Appearing like glistening precious stones surrounding a setting of sparkling diamonds, more than 300 fledgling stars and brown dwarfs surround the brightest, most massive stars [center of picture] in Hubble's view of the Trapezium cluster's central region. The brown dwarfs are too dim to be seen in an image taken by the Hubble telescope's visible-light camera [picture at left].
[...]
The near-infrared image was taken Jan. 17, 1998. Two near-infrared filters were used to obtain information on the colors of the stars at two wavelengths (1.1 and 1.6 microns). The Trapezium picture is 1 light-year across. This composite image was made from a "mosaic" of nine separate, but adjoining images. In this false-color image, blue corresponds to warmer, more massive stars, and red to cooler, less massive stars and brown dwarfs, and stars that are heavily obscured by dust.
The visible-light data were taken in 1994 and 1995.
Credit
* Near-infrared image: NASA; K.L. Luhman and G. Schneider, E. Young, G. Rieke, A. Cotera, H. Chen, M. Rieke, R. Thompson
* Visible-light image: NASA, C.R. O'Dell and S.K. Wong (Rice University)](https://social.trom.tf/photo/preview/640/36361400 "Probing deep within a neighborhood stellar nursery, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope uncovered a swarm of newborn brown dwarfs. The orbiting observatory's near-infrared camera revealed about 50 of these objects throughout the Orion Nebula's Trapezium cluster [image at right], about 1,500 light-years from Earth. Appearing like glistening precious stones surrounding a setting of sparkling diamonds, more than 300 fledgling stars and brown dwarfs surround the brightest, most massive stars [center of picture] in Hubble's view of the Trapezium cluster's central region. The brown dwarfs are too dim to be seen in an image taken by the Hubble telescope's visible-light camera [picture at left].
[...]
The near-infrared image was taken Jan. 17, 1998. Two near-infrared filters were used to obtain information on the colors of the stars at two wavelengths (1.1 and 1.6 microns). The Trapezium picture is 1 light-year across. This composite image was made from a \"mosaic\" of nine separate, but adjoining images. In this false-color image, blue corresponds to warmer, more massive stars, and red to cooler, less massive stars and brown dwarfs, and stars that are heavily obscured by dust.
The visible-light data were taken in 1994 and 1995.
Credit
* Near-infrared image: NASA; K.L. Luhman and G. Schneider, E. Young, G. Rieke, A. Cotera, H. Chen, M. Rieke, R. Thompson
* Visible-light image: NASA, C.R. O'Dell and S.K. Wong (Rice University)")
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