‘Photo Essays’ Archives
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Some 60 million light-years away in the southerly constellation Corvus, two large galaxies collided. The Antennae Image Credit & Copyright: Acquisition and data reduction - Andrey Oreshko (Elena Remote Observatory), Processing - Dietmar Hager (stargazer-observatory) Explanation: Some 60 million light-years away in the southerly constellation Corvus, two large galaxies collided. But the stars in the two galaxies, cataloged as NGC 4038 and NGC 4039, don't collide in the ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
An ingenious and creative 10 second exposure from a swinging camera recorded these gyrating trails of the celestial pairing. Can you tell which trail belongs to the star and which to the planet? Scintillating Image Credit & Copyright: Juergen Michelberger Explanation: On June 4, 2010 Regulus, alpha star of the constellation Leo, and wandering planet Mars were at about the same apparent brightness, separated on the sky by 1.5 degrees. An ingenious and creative 10 second exposure ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
In silhouette against a crowded star field toward the constellation Scorpius, this dusty cosmic cloud evokes for some the image of an ominous dark tower. In fact, clumps of dust and molecular gas collapsing to form stars may well lurk within the dark nebula, The Dark Tower in Scorpius Credit & Copyright: Don Goldman Explanation: In silhouette against a crowded star field toward the constellation Scorpius, this dusty cosmic cloud evokes for some the image of an ominous ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
A satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is an alluring sight in dark southern skies and the constellation Dorado. Hydrogen in the LMC Credit & Copyright: Marco Lorenzi (Star Echoes) Explanation: A satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is an alluring sight in dark southern skies and the constellation Dorado. A mere 180,000 light-years distant, the LMC is seen in amazing detail in this very deep 4 frame ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
The Cat's Eye Nebula from Hubble Credit: NASA, ESA, HEIC, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Explanation: Staring across interstellar space, the alluring Cat's Eye nebula lies three thousand light-years from Earth. A classic planetary nebula, the Cat's Eye (NGC 6543) represents a final, brief yet glorious phase in the life of a sun-like star. This nebula's dying central star may have produced the simple, outer pattern of dusty concentric shells by shrugging ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
The spiky stars in the foreground of this sharp cosmic portrait are well within our own Milky Way Galaxy. The two eye-catching galaxies lie far beyond the Milky Way, at a distance of over 300 million light-years. Peculiar Galaxies of Arp 273 Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI / AURA) Explanation: The spiky stars in the foreground of this sharp cosmic portrait are well within our own Milky Way Galaxy. The two eye-catching galaxies lie far beyond the Milky ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
The GRB 110328A Symphony Credit: NASA, ESA, and A. Fruchter (STScI) Explanation: A symphony of planet-wide observations began abruptly on March 28 when the Earth-orbiting Swift satellite detected a burst of high-frequency gamma-rays from GRB 110328A. When the same source flared again after a45 minute pause it was clear this event was not a typical gamma-ray burst. Twelve hours after the initial fanfare astronomers using the 2.5-meter Nordic Optical Telescope chimed in with a ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
This telescopic close-up shows off the otherwise faint emission nebula IC 410 in striking false-colors. It also features two remarkable inhabitants of the cosmic pond of gas and dust above and left of center, the tadpoles of IC 410. The Tadpoles of IC 410 Image Credit & Copyright: Mark Hanson Explanation: This telescopic close-up shows off the otherwise faint emission nebula IC 410 in striking false-colors. It also features two remarkable inhabitants of the cosmic pond of gas ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Big, beautiful spiral galaxy M101 is one of the last entries in Charles Messier's famous catalog, but definitely not one of the least. Messier 101 Credit: Hubble Legacy Archive, ESA, NASA; Processing and additional imaging - Robert Gendler Explanation: Big, beautiful spiral galaxy M101 is one of the last entries in Charles Messier's famous catalog, but definitely not one of the least. About 170,000 light-years across, this galaxy is enormous, almost twice the size of our own ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Explanation: What if you could see the huge radio jets of Centaurus A rising? The Cen A radio jets are not only over a million light years long, they occupy an angular area over 200 times greater than the full Moon in Earth's sky. Centaurus Radio Jets Rising Credit: Ilana Feain, Tim Cornwell & Ron Ekers (CSIRO/ATNF); ATCA northern middle lobe pointing courtesy R. Morganti (ASTRON); Parkes data courtesy N. Junkes (MPIfR); ATCA & Moon photo: Shaun Amy, CSIRO Explanation: What if ... Full Story
