‘Photo Essays’ Archives
Astronomy Picture of the Day
For reasons unknown, star V838 Mon's outer surface suddenly greatly expanded with the result that it became the brightest star in the entire Milky Way Galaxy in January 2002. Then, just as suddenly, it faded. A stellar flash like this had never been seen before. It's true that supernovae and novae expel matter out into space. But while the V838 Mon flash appears to expel material into space, what is seen here is actually an outwardly moving light echo of the bright ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
A fantastic jumble of young blue star clusters, gigantic glowing gas clouds, and imposing dark dust lanes surrounds the central region of the active galaxy Centaurus A. This image from the Hubble Space Telescope has been processed to present a natural color picture of this cosmic maelstrom. Infrared images from the Hubble have also shown that hidden at the center of this activity are what seem to be disks of matter spiraling into a black hole with a billion times the mass of the ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
The prominent ridge of emission featured in this vivid skyscape is designated IC 5067. Part of a larger emission nebula with a distinctive shape, popularly called The Pelican Nebula, the ridge spans about 10 light-years and follows the curve of the cosmic pelican's head and neck. Pelican Nebula Close-up Image Credit & Copyright: Martin Pugh Explanation: The prominent ridge of emission featured in this vivid skyscape is designated IC 5067. Part ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Two distant galaxies which formed about 2 billion years after the big bang are caught in the afterglow of GRB090323, a gamma-ray burst seen across the Universe. Shining through its own host galaxy and another nearby galaxy, the alignment of gamma-ray burst and galaxies was inferred from the afterglow spectrum following the burst's initial detection by the Fermi Gamma Ray Space TelescopeCaught in the Afterglow Illustration Credit: ESO, L. Calçada - Research Team: Sandra Savaglio (MPE) et ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
The 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. W5: Pillars of Star Formation Image Credit & Copyright: Lori Allen, Xavier Koenig (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA) et al., JPL-Caltech, NASA Explanation: How do stars form? A study of star forming region W5 by the sun-orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope provides clear clues by ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
The cosmic apparitions are nearly 1,400 light-years away along the northern Milky Way in the royal constellation Cepheus. Near the edge of a large molecular cloud, pockets of interstellar dust in the region block light from background stars or scatter light from the embedded bright star giving the the nebulaits characteristic blue color.In Wolf's Cave Image Credit & Copyright: Jerry Lodriguss (Catching the Light) Explanation: The mysterious blue reflection nebula found in catalogs as ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Within the nebula, bright edges and dark shapes are highlighted in this colorful skyscape. The image includes data from narrowband filters, mapping emission from atomic oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur into blue, green, and red hues. NGC 7822 in Cepheus Image Credit & Copyright: Manuel Fernández Suarez Explanation: Hot, young stars and cosmic pillars of gas and dust seem to crowd into NGC 7822. At the edge of a giant molecular cloud toward the ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Few butterflies have a wingspan this big. The bright clusters and nebulae of planet Earth's night sky are often named for flowers or insects, and NGC 6302 is no exception. With an estimated surface temperature of about 250,000 degrees C, the central star of this particular planetary nebula is exceptionally hot though -The Butterfly Nebula from Hubble Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team Explanation: Few butterflies have a wingspan this big. The bright clusters and ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
In 185 AD, Chinese astronomers recorded the appearance of a new star in the Nanmen asterism - a part of the sky identified with Alpha and Beta Centauri on modern star charts. The new star was visible for months and is thought to be the earliestrecorded supernova. This multiwavelength composite image from orbiting telescopes of the 21st century, XMM-Newton and Chandra in X-rays, and Spitzer and WISE in infrared, shows RCW 86, understood to be the remnant of that stellar explosion.RCW 86: ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Big, bright, and beautiful, spiral galaxy M83 lies a mere twelve million light-years away, near the southeastern tip of the very long constellation Hydra. This cosmic close-up, a mosaic based on data from the Hubble Legacy Archive, traces dark dust and young, blue star clusters along prominent spiral arms that lend M83 its nickname, The Southern PinwheelIn the Arms of M83 Credit: Hubble Legacy Archive, ESA, NASA; Processing and additional imaging - Robert Gendler Explanation: Big, ... Full Story
