The Top 10 Photographs of Celestial Objects
NASA has provided us with stunning photos over the years, featuring everything from stars and planets to nebulae and even distant galaxies, using telescopes here at home as well as probes orbiting our planet and exploring distant corners of the solar system. NASA uses a combination of both visible and invisible wavelengths of light to create images that we can enjoy so we have at least a small idea of what is waiting for us out in the cosmos. With that in mind, here are our top 10 photographs of celestial objects. 1. Jupiter Abyss (https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190610.html) We’re all familiar with the elaborate cloud formations and the big Red Spot that…
The ESA Just Released the Most Comprehensive Image of the Milky Way
On a clear night, we can look up at the night sky and see our galaxy – The Milky Way – spinning away in the blackness. Even with the naked eye, it’s a magnificent sight to behold, but we can’t hope to pick out individual stars and planets at that distance. The European Space Agency, and the Gaia Spacecraft team have just released the largest and most comprehensive image of our home galaxy ever. Let’s take a look at the sheer amount of information contained in this image, the different ways that you can enjoy it, and what astrometry are hoping to find in this massive stellar picture. Gaia Imagery…
Antennae Galaxies – Astronomy Picture of the Week
This beautiful image of two colliding galaxies has been released by NASA's great observatories. The Antennae galaxies are located about 62 million light-years from Earth. They take their name from the long antenna-like "arms," which were produced by tidal forces generated in the collision.
Dark Matter Map in Galaxy Cluster Abell 1689 – Astronomy Picture of the Week
This image represents the inner region of galaxy cluster Abell 1689 and the distribution of dark matter around it. Abell 1689 is an immense cluster of galaxies located 2.2 billion light-years away. Dark matter cannot be photographed, but its presence can be inferred by observing the light from background galaxies…
Panoramic View of the Orion Nebula – Astronomy Picture of the Week
This image, taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, represents the sharpest view ever taken of the Orion Nebula. More than 3,000 stars of various sizes appear in this image. The bright central region is the home of the four largest stars in the nebula.
“Mystic Mountain” in the Carina Nebula – Astronomy Picture of the Week
This close up on the Carina nebula looks like the fantasy "Mystic Mountain" from Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings". The image was taken on Feb. 1-2, 2010 by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Hubble's launch and deployment into an orbit around the Earth.
Astronomy Picture of the Week – Necklace Nebula
The Necklace Nebula consists of a bright ring, measuring nearly 20 trillion kilometers across, with dense, bright knots of gas spread out in a way that resembles the diamonds in a necklace. The knots are not stars, they only glow due to the absorption of ultraviolet light from the two stars located in the center of the nebula.
Astronomy Picture of the Week – Starburst Galaxy NGC 1569
This image of a dwarf galaxy called NGC 1569 was taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. It is of one of the most active galaxies in our local neighborhood. NGC 1569 gives birth to stars at a rate that is 100 times faster than the rate observed in our Milky Way Galaxy.
Astronomy Picture of the Week – Galaxy Cluster MS0735
This image of galaxy cluster MS 0735 is actually a composite of three separate images in different wavelengths. The cluster's full scientific designation is MS0735.6+7421. It is located about 2.6 billion light-years away in the constellation of Camelopardalis.
Astronomy Picture of the Week – Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud
This composite image of the nebula near the star cluster NGC 2074 was taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope on August 10, 2008, in commemoration of completing its 100,000th orbit in its 18th year since the beginning of the mission.
