The Fox Fur Nebula
This dusty nebula surrounds a region of young stars, located near the Cone Nebula and the Eagle Nebula. It was featured as an APOD back in 2008. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program during 2014 at Kitt Peak Visitor Center.
Hoagʼs Galaxy: PGC 54599
Perhaps this object should have been placed with the other Planetary Nebulae found in our galaxy? You would not be the first person to make the suggestion. In 1950 when astronomer Art Hoag noticed this galaxy on a survey of plates, he remarked that it first seemed like a planetary nebula- but...
IC 239
At a distance of 30-40 million light years IC 239 is not terribly distant. However, its low (surface) brightness may indicate that this galaxy isn't as massive as many others of the same type (M101 for example). The bright foreground stars of our own galaxy make detecting the delicate structure...
IC 4955
These two nebulae, IC 4954 and IC 4955, are part of a much larger complex of newly formed stars. This much larger cluster is called Roslund 4 and astronomers estimate that the stars found here are 4 million years old. The very sharp boundary (shock front) between some of these stars and the...
M100
This spiral galaxy currently holds a unique distinction in that it is one of the furthest galaxies in which Cepheid variables have been detected. These special variable stars have a specific relationship between their period of variation and brightness. Astronomers measure the periods of these...
M101
M101 is an extremely large "Grand Design" spiral galaxy. Even at a distance of 27 million light years away, it still sprawls its 170,000 light year diameter across a large patch of sky. This image only shows the central third of its countenance. Many of the bright star forming regions in the...
M15
The extremely bright and concentrated globular cluster, M15, is home to a unique planetary nebula called Pease 1. M15 is one of three globular clusters known to harbor a planetary nebula. For comparison, check out the Hubble Space Telescope image of this cluster. This image was taken as part of...
M2
This is one of the largest known globular clusters in the Milky Way galaxy. Under good seeing conditions and dark skies, binoculars can quite easily distinguish this object as a cluster. It is located about 33,000 lightyears away from us toward the constellation Aquarius. This image was taken...
M61
M61 is one of the major members of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. It is comparable in size to our own galaxy. Though a barred spiral, deep images such as this make the bar in the nucleus of the galaxy less obvious. This galaxy has an extraordinary number of star forming regions (HII, pink...
M65
M65 is a member of the Leo Triplet of galaxies, along with its neighbors M66 and NGC 3628. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.
M66
M66 is a distorted spiral galaxy in the constellation of Leo. It is being tugged on by its nearby neighbors M65 and NGC 3628. In fact, the arms of this galaxy appear to rise above the main disk. The many bright blue and pink regions indicate the active star forming regions. M66 is estimated to...
M74
M74 is one of the dimmer galaxies in the Messier catalogue. The galaxy is estimated to be 35 million light years away and about the same size as our own galaxy (100,000 light years across). Many bright pink spots line the blue spiral arms. These pink regions are the stellar nurseries from which...
M82
M82 is one of the most irregular galaxies in our galactic neighborhood. Due to a recent interaction with M81, this galaxy has tremendous amounts of star formation taking place. The image shows reddened outflows of material that extend hundreds and thousands of light years away from core of the...
M88
M88 displays a set of tight spiral arms and dust lanes in each. A recent supernova (1991) in M88 helped better determine its distance from us. Stars exploding in other galaxies can be used as a "standard candle" since astronomers know their intrinsic brightness (how bright it would appear at a...
M91
M91 is one of four barred spiral galaxies in the Messier catalogue. (M109, M95 and M58 are the others). M91 is located 52 million light years away in the Virgo Cluster of the galaxies. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.
M95
M95 is a barred spiral galaxy with nearly circular arms surrounding the inner region. It is estimated this galaxy is 38 million lights years away. M95 and M96 are nearly in the same direction in the constellation of Leo and are also neighbors to one another. If you lived in the plane of this...
NGC 1514
NGC 1514 is a very dim nebula towards the constellation of Taurus. It is characterized by a very dim, smooth outer shell with a much brighter inner shell and bright blobs. Measurements of the gas near center indicate that it is expanding outwardly at 25 kilometers per second. The morphology of...
M92
This beautiful globular cluster is bright and can make a great binocular object under good viewing conditions. However, it is very often skipped in favor of its neighbor, M13. M92 is one of the oldest known globular clusters, at over 14 billion years in age. This image was taken as part of...
NGC 1232
NGC 1232 is a "Grand Design" spiral galaxy not unlike M101. However, in this case the spiral arms are curiously bent and not gently curved as is more typically the case. This is most likely due to gravitation interactions with its neighbor (on the top in this image). It is almost as if the...
NGC 1491
NGC 1491 is an emission nebula found in the constellation of Perseus. This particular nebula has an 11th magnitude star in its center. The "reddish" color of this object indicates that it is heavily composed of HII. Note how the central star is "blowing" a bubble in the gas that immediately...
NGC 1058
At a distance of 23 million light years away, NGC 1058 is most likely an intrinsically small spiral galaxy. However the host of bright blue and pink regions shows that this galaxy is actively forming stars. NGC 1058 also harbors a bit of a mystery. This galaxy has had several supernovae go off...
NGC 151
This galaxy's purple-like appearance indicates the bluish spiral arms have many reddish dust lanes and HII regions. However, at a distance of 160 million light years away, these details are not well resolved in this image. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program...
NGC 7217
This galaxy has very tight spiral "structure." However, no one feature extends long enough to be a spiral arm. This galaxy sports a curious ring of dust (dark circle) that surrounds the nucleus. It is estimated that this galaxy is around 41 million light years away. Note the very subtle...
NGC 4631: The Whale
NGC 4631 (The Whale Galaxy) is an enormous Sc type spiral galaxy seen edge-on. The galaxy is apparently distorted slightly due to the companion galaxy, NGC 4627. The pair together are included in the Arp Catalog of Peculiar galaxies as ARP 281. This group of galaxies is between 25-30 million...
NGC 1637
This spiral galaxy is located about 35 million lightyears away in the constellation Eridanus. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.
NGC 4618 and NGC 4625
NGC 4618 (left) is a large, one-armed spiral galaxy located in the constellation Canes Venatici. The smaller, compact-looking galaxy to the right is NGC 4625. In this visible light image, spiral arms are very difficult to see, which originally led astronomers to believe it was a fairly plain...
NGC 4654
This spiral galaxy is located about 55 million lightyears away in the constellation Coma Berenices. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.
NGC 4051
NGC 4051 is a very well-studied galaxy. The astronomical literature catalogues this object with no less than 32 names! The names come from the many observations ranging from infrared to X-ray wavelengths of light. This galaxy is classified as a Seyfert type which means its nuclear region...
IC 2162
These glowing clouds of gas have young and bright stars in their centers which cause the gas to emit red light. Cool gas and dust in these clouds also cause the dark lanes and filaments by blocking background sources of light. These relatively small clouds are located in the constellation of...
IC 417
This region, about 10,000 lightyears distant, shows hundreds to thousands of new-born stars, still enveloped in their glowing cloud of hydrogen gas. For another image, see this APOD taken in 2010. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program during 2014 at Kitt Peak...
NGC 4449
This irregular dwarf galaxy is part of the Canes Venaticorum group of galaxies some 12 million light years away. This galaxy is very similar to our own LMC (Large Magellanic Cloud) in both structure and size. The central part of the galaxy consists of a population of very young stars which...
NGC 4438: The Eyes
These interacting galaxies (NGC 4438 on the left and NGC 4435 to the right) lie in the heart of the Virgo cluster. If either of these galaxies was a spiral, such structures were disturbed long ago by gravitational forces due to close encounters with other galaxies and the heavyweight - M87....
NGC 4450
This spiral galaxy is located in the constellation Coma Berenices. NGC 4450, along with M90, are members of the Virgo Supercluster of galaxies. Studies done with the Hubble Space Telescope show that this galaxy holds a supermassive black hole at the center. This image was taken as part of...
Cederblad 90 or Gum 3
This is both an emission and reflection nebula located in the constellation Canis Major. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program during 2014 at Kitt Peak Visitor Center.
Abell 39
Abell 39 is perhaps one of the most perfect examples of a spherical planetary nebula in the galaxy. As expected, a sphere of gas will show a brighter limb ("edge") since that line of sight has more gas than the view through the center (two layers) of the bubble. This one is unfortunately very...
IC 1396 Portion
IC 1396 is another region full of molecular hydrogen gas and recent star formation. Many stars in this area are less than a couple hundred thousand years old - very young in the grand scheme of astronomy, where stars live to be billions of years old! The hot young stars are in the process of...
Gum 1: Seagull Nebula
This HII region is located near Sirius in Canis Major. It is estimated to be 3800 lightyears away. Check out this APOD from 2014. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program during 2014 at Kitt Peak Visitor Center.
NGC 7293
At a distance of 450 light years away, this gas bubble released by a dying star is one the closest of its type. It is estimated that the process of ejection of these gas began some 10,000 years ago. The nebula is so close to us that its size on the sky is very large- almost the size of the...
Striking image shows mass distribution of nearby galaxy cluster
Using the Dark Energy Camera at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, astronomers are measuring weak gravitational lensing to map the distribution of mass in nearby galaxy clusters. As well as producing remarkable images like this one, the information will shed...
IC 405 and IC 410: The Flaming Star Nebula
IC 405 is the red/blue nebula to the left of center. It is being illuminated by the energetic star AE Aurigae (embedded in the nebula). However AE Aurigae's story is inextricably linked to another star called Mu Columbae. Around 2.7 million years ago these two stars formed and had a close...
M109
M109 is a very dim barred spiral galaxy. Both the central nucleus and outer arms are fairly smooth- devoid of hotspots of star formation. It is estimated that this galaxy is 50 million light years away from us. This image does well to show some detail in the bluer arms with a more yellow...
IC 59 and IC 63
The bright bluish star shown here is Gamma Cassiopeiae. It is currently evaporating two nearby clouds of gas- IC 59 and IC 63. The leading edges of these clouds glow strongly in the intense bath of radiation from this hot star. Hints of bluish light behind the front lines of these nebulae show...
IC 5146: The Cocoon Nebula
IC 5146, commonly known as the Cocoon Nebula, glows red due to hydrogen gas being illuminated by the young interior stars. It is about 4000 lightyears away and about 15 lightyears across. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during...
IC 443 Widefield
This supernova remnant is about 5000 years from Earth in the constellation Gemini. Can you see why it is sometimes called the Jellyfish Nebula? This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.
M16: The Eagle Nebula
M16, commonly known as the Eagle Nebula, is an emission region of molecular hydrogen gas being illuminated by a young cluster of stars about 7000 lightyears away from us. The large pillar in the image is about 9 lightyears in length. This nebula is where the famous Pillars of Creation images...
NGC 1333
NGC 1333 is a region towards the constellation of Perseus that harbors newly formed stars less than one million years old. The density of gas and dust in this region is great enough to cause many different effects of illumination and emission. On the left side of this image the light of bright...
NGC 4038
Collision on the grandest scale. These two galaxies are in the process of colliding with each other. At a distance of 65 million light years away we have a good vantage point to view the action. In the nuclei of these galaxies gas and dust mix which dramatically color the light from the star...
NGC 253
NGC 253 is a nearby galaxy at a distance of approximately 8 million light years away. The galaxy is some 60,000 light years in diameter- and its full disk extends beyond the field of view shown here. However, at this resolution (click on image) you can make out many features of this galaxy...
M51 (Whirlpool)
A spiral galaxy very similar to our own Milky Way, seen face-on. There are a couple of hundred billion stars here. The dark splotches are dust clouds, and the tiny pink spots are star forming regions, where new stars (and probably solar systems) are born.The bright object to the right is...
IC 342
IC 342 is a nearby (14 million light years) spiral galaxy whose light is attenuated by the intervening gas and dust of our own Milky Way. It is for this reason that the galaxy is not as well known as others in the Messier catalogue. A deep exposure of this galaxy reveals it has graceful spiral...
M31 (Andromeda Galaxy)
M31 is the closest spiral galaxy to our own Milky Way. Located 2.3 million light years away one can easily find this in the Andromeda constellation with their naked eye on clear moonless nights. Historically speaking this galaxy is first mentioned by the Persian astronomer Al Sufi in the year...
Main image without lensing map
This image is a snapshot from the Local Volume Complete Cluster Survey (LoVoCCS), a survey program investigating 107 nearby galaxy clusters.
Integral Sign
If you were undecided, this galaxy should dispel any remaining uncertainty that math and astronomy are inextricably related. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.
Excerpt of main image without lensing map
LoVoCCS takes advantage of an astrophysical phenomenon called weak gravitational lensing to measure the mass and matter distributions of these clusters.
Excerpt of main image with lensing map
Galaxy clusters are massive conglomerations of hundreds or even thousands of galaxies, bound together by their mutual gravitational attraction.
A Galaxy of Birth and Death
Captured by the Mosaic camera on the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, the spiral galaxy NGC 2403, also known as Caldwell 7, highlights the dynamic birth and death of stars. The glowing red spots dotting the galaxy are...
Sectional view of the SPHEREx with cosmic structures in the background.
SPHEREx Spacecraft on a black background.
SPHEREx spacecraft with cosmic structures in the background.
Hubble Spies a Glittering Gathering of Stars
This glittering gathering of stars is the globular cluster NGC 6558, and it was captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. NGC 6558 is closer to the centre of the Milky Way than Earth is, and lies about 23 000 light years away in the constellation...
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