M8, Lagoon Nebula
This image was obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic camera on the KPNO 0.9m-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. M8 is a giant star forming region. It is so big that it is faintly visible to the naked eye. The gas in the nebula is energized by a massive star at its...
Panorama of Spiral Galaxy, M31
This image was created with data from the Local Group Survey, completed with the Mosaic camera on the Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. M31, M33 and our Milky Way are the three largest members of the Local Group of galaxies. M31 is a spiral galaxy very similar in size...
NGC 1999/L1641N
NOAO astronomers captured this spectacular panorama of star formation with the National Science Foundation's 0.9-meter telescope on Kitt Peak. Located in the constellation of Orion (the Hunter), the area in this image is located about two degrees south of the Orion Nebula, where a surviving...
Thors Helmet, NGC 2359, IC 468
This image was obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic camera on the KPNO 0.9m-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. Informally known as Thors Helmet, NGC 2359 (IC 468) is a giant bubble that is being blown off of the Wolf-Rayet star HD 56925. Wolf-Rayet stars are extremely...
Cluster of galaxies in Hydra
This distant cluster of galaxies in the constellation Hydra clearly shows the mythological water serpent. KPNO 4-meter Mayall telescope, 1974.
Thors Helmet, NGC 2359
Thors Helmet in Canis Major is about 15,000 light years distant. A large bright star near the helmets center has created this interstellar bubble by the force of its stellar wind. However, this star, known as a Wolf-Rayet star, may go supernova in the relatively near astronomical future. In the...
The Large Magellanic Cloud
A nearby irregular galaxy, the LMC is visible to the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere and is a satellite to our own Galaxy. The large gaseous nebula is 30 Doradus, the Tarantula Nebula. From the CTIO Curtis Schmidt telescope, 1975.
Distant cluster of galaxies in Gemini
KPNO 4-meter Mayall telescope, 1975.
Summit Multimedia Visit 2017
In March 2017 a multimedia team visited Cerro Pachn to document LSST Facility construction. More details are at https://www.lsst.org/news/cerro-pach%C3%B3n-goes-hollywood.
NGC 5291
This observation from the SMARTS 0.9-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory shows the result of a truly spectacular galactic collision. The elliptical galaxy NGC 5291 the hazy oval cloud at the center of this image was struck by a careening rogue galaxy over 300 million...
Portrait of a Needle Galaxy
The remarkably thin galaxy IC 2233 is featured in this image from the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, a Program of NSFs NOIRLab. IC 2233s needle-thin profile is due to both its structure and its orientation towards Earth. The galaxys orientation known to...
M27, NGC 6853, Dumbbell Nebula
This true color picture was taken using Ektachrome film at the prime focus of the Kitt Peak 4m telescope on July 2nd 1973. This is unusual: normally color images are made by combining black and white images taken through different colored filters. The Dumbbell Nebula (M27, NGC6853) is a...
M27, NGC 6853, Dumbbell Nebula
The Dumbbell Nebula, Messier object 27 (M27), NGC6853, in the constellation Vulpecula. This approximately true-color image has been stretched in dynamic range to reveal the fainter outer regions along with the more usual bright inner regions. It is interesting to compare this picture with an...
Far red/near infrared image of the Dumbbell Nebula
This false-color image of the Dumbbell Nebula M27, or NGC6853, was taken by the 3.5-meter WIYN telescope using a new 2k x 2k high resistivity, thick, p-channel CCD manufactured by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories. These CCDs have excellent quantum efficiency at red wavelengths, and...
Emission line image of M27
This excellent image of the Dumbbell Nebula (M27, NGC6853), a planetary nebula in the constellation of Vulpecula, was taken at the 3.5-meter WIYN telescope using the mini-mosaic imager (described in an NOAO newsletter article). The nebula was formed when an evolved, red giant star ejected its...
Interacting galaxy Pair NGC 1532 and NGC 1531
The interacting galaxy pair NGC1532 and NGC1531 were imaged using the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) at Gemini South in Chile on December 5, 2004. This view reveals spectacular details in the galactic pair embraced in a fiery waltz. The larger galaxy (NGC1532) is a spiral, and from our...
Sh2-126, the Star Funnel
This image was obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic camera on the Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. Informally known as the 'star funnel', this dark nebula is yellowish in color because it is being illuminated by several bright stars nearby. The funnel is...
NGC 6946 Fireworks Galaxy
NGC6946, the Fireworks Galaxy, lies between 10 and 20 million light-years away on the border between the constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus, and was discovered by Sir William Herschel (1738-1822) on September 9, 1798. It continues to fascinate astronomers, who estimate that it contains about...
Chinese Dragon NGC 6559
Gemini South image of dragon-like dark nebula NGC 6559 NGC 6559 is a relatively small, nearby dust cloud in our Milky Way galaxy that measures about seven light-years across. NGC 6559 is part of a larger star-forming region in the southern constellation Sagittarius. The dark structure that...
A Lonely Spiral in a Tapestry of Galaxies
This stunning image features NGC 3198, a galaxy that lies about 47 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. This image was taken with the Mosaic instrument on the 4-meter Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, a Program of NSFs NOIRLab, and shows the...
Reflection Nebula GGD 27
Reflection nebula GGD 27 revealing the chaotic and messy environment of a stellar nursery. This near-infrared image was obtained using FLAMINGOS-2, the infrared imager and spectrograph on the Gemini South telescope in Chile. Image Credit: Gemini Observatory/AURA. An image release by the Gemini...
The Universe is crammed with galaxies, as illustrated by the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field (pictured), but if its brighter than expected, then there could be even more galactic structures than previously thought.
Cosmic Fireworks
This image from theNASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescopefeaturesthe spectacular galaxy NGC 2442. This galaxy was host to asupernova explosion,known as SN2015F, that was created by a white dwarf star. The white dwarf was part of a binary star system and syphoned mass from its companion, eventually...
Ring of Stellar Wildfire
NGC 1614, captured here by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, is an eccentrically-shaped galaxy ablaze with activity. The galaxy resides about 200 million light-years from Earth and is nestled in the southern constellation of Eridanus (The River). NGC 1614 is the result of a past galactic...
The Sculpted Galaxy
Captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, this image shows NGC 7513, a barred spiral galaxy. Located approximately 60 million light-years away, NGC 7513 lies within the Sculptor constellation in the southern hemisphere. This galaxy is moving at the astounding speed of 1564 kilometres per...
At the Edge of the Blast
While appearing as a delicate and light veil draped across the sky, this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope actually depicts a small section of the Cygnus supernova blast wave, located around 2400 light-years away. The name of the supernova remnant comes from its position in the...
A Tilted Wonder
The blue and orange stars of the faint galaxy named NGC 2188 sparkle in this image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Although NGC 2188 appears at first glance to consist solely of a narrow band of stars, it is classified by astronomers as a barred-spiral galaxy. It appears this...
Eye of the Serpent
The twisting patterns created by the multiple spiral arms of NGC 2835 create the illusion of an eye. This is a fitting description, as this magnificent galaxy resides near the head of the southern constellation of Hydra, the water snake. This stunning barred spiral galaxy, with a width of just...
Survey of the Stars
At around 60 million light-years from Earth, the Great Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1365 is captured beautifully in this image by theNASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Located in the constellation ofFornax(The Furnace), the blue and fiery orange swirls show us where stars have just formed and the...
Galactic Waterspout
In this spectacular image captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, the galaxy NGC 2799 (on the left) is seemingly being pulled into the centre of the galaxy NGC 2798 (on the right). Interacting galaxies, such as these, are so named because of the influence they have on each other, which...
A Waterfall of Stars
The galaxy UGCA 193, seen here by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, is a galaxy in the constellation of Sextans (The Sextant). Looking rather like a waterfall, UGCA 193 appears to host many young stars, especially in its lower portion, creating a striking blue haze and the sense that the...
Hubble Finds Halloween Pumpkin Pair
What looks like two glowing eyes and a crooked carved smile in this new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope snapshot is the early stages of a collision between two galaxies. Residing in the constellation Canis Major, the entire view is 109,000 light-years across, approximately the diameter of our...
Contorting Giants
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the galaxy LRG-3-817, also known as SDSS J090122.37+181432.3. The galaxy, its image distorted by the effects of gravitational lensing, appears as a long arc to the left of the central galaxy cluster. Gravitational lensing occurs when a large...
Cosmic Cinnamon Bun
Observed with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, the faint galaxy featured in this image is known as UGC 12588. Unlike many spiral galaxies, UGC 12588 displays neither a bar of stars across its centre nor the classic prominent spiral arm pattern. Instead, to a viewer, its circular, white and...
Mysterious Dark Rays
Some of the most stunning views of our sky occur at sunset, when sunlight pierces the clouds, creating a mixture of bright and dark rays formed by the clouds shadows and the beams of light scattered by the atmosphere. Astronomers studying the nearby galaxy IC 5063 are tantalized by a similar...
Cosmic Wonderland
This large expanse of space captured with the Hubble Space Telescope features the galaxy SDSSJ225506.80+005839.9. Unlike many other extravagant galaxies and stunning nebulae imaged by Hubble, this galaxy does not have a short popular name, and is only known by its long SDSS name, which refers...
Hubble image of M101
This image shows spiral galaxy Messier 101.
A Bright Bar of Light
The magnificent central bar of NGC 2217 (also known as AM 0619-271) shines bright in the constellation of Canis Major (The Greater Dog), in this new image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Roughly 65 million light-years from Earth, this barred spiral galaxy is a similar size to our...
Hubble offers a dazzling necklace
A giant cosmic necklace glows brightly in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image.The object, aptly named the Necklace Nebula, is a recently discovered planetary nebula, the glowing remains of an ordinary, Sun-like star. The nebula consists of a bright ring, measuring about two...
Faint Remnant Threads
This unusual lenticular galaxy, known as NGC 1947, has lost almost all the gas and dust from its signature spiral arms, which used to orbit around its centre. Discovered almost 200 years ago by James Dunlop, a Scottish-born astronomer who later studied the sky from Australia, NGC 1947 can only...
A Galaxy to Take Your Breath Away
The galaxy NGC 6946 is nothing short of spectacular. In the last century alone, NGC 6946 has experienced 10 observed supernovae, earning its nickname as the Fireworks Galaxy. In comparison, our Milky Way averages just 1-2 supernova events per century. This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image...
An Interstellar Distributor
The lives of planetary nebulae are often chaotic, from the death of their parent star to the scattering of its contents far out into space. Captured here by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, ESO 455-10 is one such planetary nebula, located in the constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion). The...
Sculpted in Sculptor
First discovered in 1798 by German-English astronomer William Hershel, NGC 613 is a galaxy which lies in the southern constellation of Sculptor 67 million light-years away. Featured here in a new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, NGC 613 is a lovely example of a barred spiral...
Peculiar galaxy NGC 3256
This image, taken with the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), both installed on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows the peculiar galaxy NGC 3256. The galaxy is about 100 million light-years from Earth and is the result of a past galactic merger, which...
Colliding galaxies
Located in the constellation of Hercules, about 230 million light-years away, NGC 6052 is a pair of colliding galaxies. They were first discovered in 1784 by William Herschel and were originally classified as a single irregular galaxy because of their odd shape. However, we now know that NGC...
NGC 3690
This system consists of a pair of galaxies, dubbed IC 694 and NGC 3690, which made a close pass some 700 million years ago. As a result of this interaction, the system underwent a fierce burst of star formation. In the last fifteen years or so six supernovae have popped off in the outer reaches...
Snakes and Stones
The galaxy pictured in this Hubble Picture of the Week has an especially evocative name: the Medusa merger. Often referred to by its somewhat drier New General Catalogue designation of NGC 4194, this was not always one entity, but two. An early galaxy consumed a smaller gas-rich system,...
Revisiting the Veil Nebula
This image shows a small section of the Veil Nebula, as it was observed by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This section of the outer shell of the famous supernova remnant is in a region known as NGC 6960 or more colloquially the Witchs Broom Nebula.
NGC 1614
The galaxy system NGC 1614 has a bright optical centre and two clear inner spiral arms that are fairly symmetrical. It also has a spectacular outer structure that consists principally of a large one-sided curved extension of one of these arms to the lower right, and a long, almost straight tail...
Colours of the Lost Galaxy
Located in the constellation of Virgo (The Virgin), around 50 million light-years from Earth, NGC 4535 is truly a stunning sight to behold. Despite the incredible quality of this image, taken from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, NGC 4535 has a hazy, somewhat ghostly, appearance when viewed...
TRAPPIST-1 and Solar System Planet Stats
Detailed measurements of the physical properties of the seven rocky TRAPPIST-1 planets and the four terrestrial planets in our solar system help scientists find similarities and differences between the two planet families.
Possible Interiors of the TRAPPIST-1 Exoplanets
Three possible interiors of the TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets. The more precisely scientists know the density of a planet, the more they can narrow down the range of possible interiors for that planet. All seven planets have very similar densities, so they likely have a similar compositions.
Measuring the Masses and Diameters of the TRAPPIST-1 Planets
Measuring the mass and diameter of a planet reveals its density, which can give scientists clues about its composition. Scientists now know the density of the seven TRAPPIST-1 planets with a higher precision than any other planets in the universe, other than those in our own solar system
Comparison of TRAPPIST-1 to the Solar System
A planets density is determined by its composition as well as its size: Gravity compresses the material a planet is made of, increasing the planets density. Uncompressed density adjusts for the effect of gravity and can reveal how the composition of various planets compare.
ALMA Observes Supernova 1987A
ALMA Observes Supernova 1987A Composite image of supernova 1987A. ALMA data (red) shows newly formed dust in the center of the remnant. HST (green) and Chandra (blue) show the expanding shockwave.
W51
The star-forming nebula W51 is one of the largest "star factories" in the Milky Way galaxy. Interstellar dust blocks the visible light emitted by the region, but it is revealed by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, which captures infrared light that can penetrate dust clouds.
First ever image of a multi-planet system around a Sun-like star (uncropped, with annotations)
This image, captured by the SPHERE instrument on ESOs Very Large Telescope, shows the star TYC 8998-760-1 accompanied by two giant exoplanets, TYC 8998-760-1b and TYC 8998-760-1c. This is the first time astronomers have directly observed more than one planet orbiting a star similar to the Sun....
Hubble's sharpest view of the Orion Nebula
This dramatic image offers a peek inside a cavern of roiling dust and gas where thousands of stars are forming. The image, taken by the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) aboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, represents the sharpest view ever taken of this region, called the Orion Nebula.
HIP 67522 b: The Youngest Known Hot Jupiter
This artwork illustrates the newly-discovered the exoplanet HIP 67522 b, which appears to be the youngest hot Jupiter ever found. It orbits a well-studied star that is about 17 million years old, meaning the hot Jupiter is likely only a few million years younger, whereas most known hot Jupiters...
NGC 2392
This ball of glowing gas is known as NGC 2392. It is found in the constellation Gemini and is about 3,000 light years away. The pioneering astronomer William Herschel first discovered it in 1787 using an early telescope that revealed very little of the structure we see in this infrared image from...
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