The Cat's Eye Nebula in 60 Seconds Plus | NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory

The Cat's Eye Nebula in 60 Seconds Plus | NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory

This composite of data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope is another look at NGC 6543, better known as the Cat's Eye nebula.

Credit: NASA's  Chandra X-ray Observatory

Duration: 1 minute, 48 seconds

Release Date: April 12, 2009

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Chandra #Xray #CatsEyeNebula #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #NGC6543 #Caldwell6 #Draco #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Observatory #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #Aura #MSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Cat's Eye Nebula | NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory

The Cat's Eye Nebula | NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory

This composite of data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope is a new look for NGC 6543, better known as the Cat's Eye nebula. This famous object is a so-called planetary nebula that represents a phase of stellar evolution that the Sun should experience several billion years from now. When a star like the Sun begins to run out of fuel, it becomes what is known as a red giant. In this phase, a star sheds some of its outer layers, eventually leaving behind a hot core that collapses to form a dense white dwarf star. A fast wind emanating from the hot core rams into the ejected atmosphere, pushes it outward, and creates the graceful filamentary structures seen with optical telescopes.

Chandra's X-ray data (colored in blue) of NGC 6543 shows that its central star is surrounded by a cloud of multi-million-degree gas. By comparing where the X-rays lie in relation to the structures seen in optical light by Hubble (red and purple), astronomers were able to deduce that the chemical abundances in the region of hot gas were like those in the wind from the central star and different from the outer cooler material. In the case of the Cat's Eye, material shed by the star is flying away at a speed of about 4 million miles per hour. The star itself is expected to collapse to become a white dwarf star in a few million years.

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Release Date: July 30, 2008

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Chandra #Xray #CatsEyeNebula #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #NGC6543 #Caldwell6 #Draco #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Observatory #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #Aura #MSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Zoom into The Cat's Eye Nebula | Hubble

Zoom into The Cat's Eye Nebula | Hubble

The Cat's Eye Nebula (also known as NGC 6543 and Caldwell 6) is a planetary nebula in the northern constellation of Draco, discovered by William Herschel on February 15, 1786. It was the first planetary nebula whose spectrum was investigated by the English amateur astronomer William Huggins, demonstrating that planetary nebulae were gaseous and not stellar in nature. Structurally, the Hubble Space Telescope has revealed knots, jets, bubbles and complex arcs, being illuminated by the central hot planetary nebula nucleus (PNN). It is a well-studied object that has been observed from radio to X-ray wavelengths.

Credit: European Space Agency, NASA, HEIC, NOT, Digitized Sky Survey 2, G. Bacon and The Hubble Heritage Team [Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)/Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)] and R. Corradi (Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes, Spain)

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: December 31, 2014

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #CatsEyeNebula #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #NGC6543 #Caldwell6 #Draco #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Cat's Eye Nebula | Hubble

The Cat's Eye Nebula | Hubble

A dying star has created a fantasy-like sculpture of gas and dust. In this detailed view from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope, the so-called Cat's Eye Nebula, looks like the penetrating eye of the disembodied sorcerer Sauron from the film adaptation of "Lord of the Rings."

The nebula, formally catalogued NGC 6543, is every bit as inscrutable as the J.R.R. Tolkien phantom character. Although the Cat's Eye Nebula was among the first planetary nebula ever to be discovered, it is one of the most complex planetary nebulae ever seen in space. A planetary nebula forms when Sun-like stars gently eject their outer gaseous layers to form bright nebulae with amazing twisted shapes.

The Cat's Eye Nebula (also known as NGC 6543 and Caldwell 6) is a planetary nebula in the northern constellation of Draco, discovered by William Herschel on February 15, 1786. It was the first planetary nebula whose spectrum was investigated by the English amateur astronomer William Huggins, demonstrating that planetary nebulae were gaseous and not stellar in nature. Structurally, the Hubble Space Telescope has revealed knots, jets, bubbles and complex arcs, being illuminated by the central hot planetary nebula nucleus (PNN). It is a well-studied object that has been observed from radio to X-ray wavelengths.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA), NASA, HEIC and The Hubble Heritage Team [Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)/Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)]

Release Date: September 9, 2004

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #CatsEyeNebula #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #NGC6543 #Caldwell6 #Draco #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

"Follow the LEDA" Galaxy | Hubble

"Follow the LEDA" Galaxy | Hubble

This luminescent image features multiple galaxies, perhaps most noticeably LEDA 58109, the lone galaxy in the upper right. LEDA 58109 is flanked by two further galactic objects to its lower left—an active galactic nucleus (AGN) called SDSS J162558.14+435746.4 that partially obscures the galaxy SDSS J162557.25+435743.5, which appears to poke out to the right behind the AGN. 

Galaxy classification is sometimes presented as something of a dichotomy: spiral and elliptical. However, the diversity of galaxies in this image alone highlights the complex web of galaxy classifications that exist, including galaxies that house extremely luminous AGNs at their cores, and galaxies whose shapes defy the classification of either spiral or elliptical. 

The sample of galaxies here also illustrates the wide variety of names that galaxies have: some relatively short, like LEDA 58109, and some very long and challenging to remember, such as the two galaxies to the left. This is due to the variety of cataloging systems that chart the celestial objects in the night sky. No one catalogue is exhaustive, and they cover overlapping regions of the sky, so that many galaxies belong to several different catalogues. For example, the galaxy on the right is LEDA 58109 in the LEDA galaxy database, but is also known as MCG+07-34-030 in the MCG galaxy catalogue, and SDSS J162551.50+435747.5 in the SDSS galaxy catalog—the same catalog that also lists the two galaxies to the left.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, W. Keel

Release Date: July 25, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Galaxies #AGN #Galaxy #LEDA58109 #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

15 Benefits of International Space Station Research | NASA's Johnson Space Center

15 Benefits of International Space Station Research | NASA's Johnson Space Center

The first decade of the International Space Station was the decade of construction. The second decade moved from initial studies to fully using the capabilities of the orbiting laboratory. We have now entered the decade of results. With more than 20 years of experiments conducted on station, more breakthroughs are materializing than ever before.

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 2 minutes, 26 seconds

Release Date: July 22, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #Astronauts #FlightEngineers #Science #Technology #Research #Laboratory #Experiments #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition67 #Europe #UnitedStates #Russia #Россия #Canada #Japan #日本 #International #STEM #Education #HD #Video

China Successfully Launches New Wentian Laboratory Module | China Space Station

China Successfully Launches New Wentian Laboratory Module | China Space Station

A Long March-5B Y3 rocket launched the Wentian Laboratory Module from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, located in the southern Hainan province of China, on July 24, 2022, at 06:22 UTC (14:22 local time). The Wentian Laboratory Module autonomously docked to the front docking port of the Tianhe Core Module, the first and main component of the China Space Station, hours later. Wentian is the largest and heaviest module China has ever launched to its space station complex under construction. This is the first lab module for the China Space Station and a key component for the station's assembly.

Video Credit: China National Space Administration (CNSA)/China Media Group(CMG)/China Central Television (CCTV)

Duration: 3 minutes, 21 seconds

Release Date: July 24, 2022

#NASA #Space #China #中国 #Wentian #问天实验舱 #Laboratory #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #Tianhe #天和核心舱 #Shenzhou14 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #ChenDong #LiuYang #CaiXuzhe #王亚平 #天宫 #CNSA #CMSA #国家航天局 #Science #Technology #Engineering #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover—A Decade on Mars (Public Talk Replay) | JPL

NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover—A Decade on Mars (Public Talk Replay) | JPL

Ten years and over 17 miles of driving has taught us there is more to Mars than we could ever imagine. We will take a look at highlights from the past decade of this extraordinary mission and see where it is leading us next.

Speakers:

Dr. Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity Project Scientist, NASA JPL

Keri Bean, Curiosity Rover Planner Deputy Team Lead, NASA JPL

Host:

Nikki Wyrick, Public Services Office, NASA JPL

Co-Host:

Sarah Marcotte, Public Outreach Specialist, NASA JPL

Video Credit: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Duration: 53 minutes

Original Air Date: July 21, 2022

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #MountSharp #GaleCrater #Curiosity #Rover #Robotics #Technology #Engineering #JPL #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #JourneyToMars #MoonToMars #History #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover: More Views of A Large & Unique Boulder | JPL

NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover: More Views of A Large & Unique Boulder | JPL 

MSL - sol 3537 - Mastcam

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

MSL - sol 3537 - Mastcam

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

MSL - sol 3537 - Mastcam

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

MSL - sol 3537 - Mastcam

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

MSL - sol 3539 - MAHLI - Focus Merged

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Kevin M. Gill

MSL - sol 3539 - MAHLI - Focus Merged

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Kevin M. Gill

MSL - sol 3541 - MAHLI - Focus Merge

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

MSL - sol 3541 - MAHLI - Focus Merge

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

Curiosity Rover Update for July 13, 2022: Sols 3532-3533

A Rover-Sized Boulder

Written by Lauren Edgar, Planetary Geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center

"Curiosity is back on the road, but some interesting boulders caught our attention and led to a short detour. The team was already planning to divert to the southwest to get some imaging of nearby cliffs, but the large boulders that have tumbled down provide a tantalizing glimpse of what’s to come. Boulders like the large one shown in the above Navcam image (now named “Ilha Novo Destino”) can help inform our understanding of the upcoming stratigraphy, so we thought it was worth a trip to this “new island destination” for the weekend."

"But first, there’s plenty of science to be done in our workspace before we get to the boulders. Today’s two-sol plan focused on DRT, MAHLI, and APXS on the bedrock right in front of the rover, including the interesting vein and fracture patterns shown in the foreground of the above Navcam image. Today we planned 3 MAHLI imaging targets and 2 APXS targets to assess the sedimentary textures and composition of bedrock and veins. We also planned ChemCam LIBS and Mastcam multispectral observations to further characterize this outcrop. Mastcam will also be used to document the field of boulders to help plan weekend activities, and ChemCam will acquire a long distance RMI mosaic to characterize the stratigraphy. The ENV theme group planned several environmental monitoring activities to search for dust devils and monitor dust and clouds in the atmosphere. On the second sol, Curiosity will drive to a parking spot right in front of these boulders to prepare for the weekend plan. Can’t wait to see this rover-sized boulder up close!"

Mission Name: Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

Rover Name: Curiosity

Main Job: To determine if Mars was ever habitable to microbial life. 

Launch: Nov. 6, 2011

Landing Date: Aug. 5, 2012, Gale Crater, Mars

For more information on NASA's Mars missions, visit: mars.nasa.gov

Image Release Dates: July 21-24, 2022

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #Boulder #MountSharp #GaleCrater #Curiosity #Rover #Robotics #Technology #Engineering #JPL #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #JourneyToMars #CitizenScience #STEM #Education

SpaceX Starlink Mission: July 24, 2022

SpaceX Starlink Mission: July 24, 2022

On Sunday, July 24, 2022, at 9:38 a.m. ET, SpaceX launched 53 Starlink satellites from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

This was the eighth flight for the Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched GPS III Space Vehicle 04, GPS III Space Vehicle 05, Inspiration4, Ax-1, Nilesat 301, and now three Starlink missions.

Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX)

Image Date: July 22, 2022

#NASA #Space #Earth #Orbit #LEO #SpaceX #Falcon9 #Rocket #Satellites #Starlink #Broadband #Internet #ElonMusk #GwynneShotwell #Spaceflight #Technology #Engineering #CommercialSpace  #KSC #Spaceport #CapeCanaveral #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

The Bubble Nebula: Ground-based View & Hubble Comparison

The Bubble Nebula: Ground-based Wide View & Hubble Comparison

This graphic shows the wider context of the Bubble Nebula. The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) image (left) by Travis Rector has been rotated and cropped to be north-up and closer to the orientation of the Hubble Space Telescope image (right). In addition to the inner bubble seen in the Hubble image, the wider view shows a large cloud complex, including two larger shells surrounding the massive star near the center.

Credits: T. Rector/University of Alaska Anchorage, H. Schweiker/WIYN and NOAO/AURA/NSF, NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Release Date: April 21, 2016

#NASA #ESA #NOAO #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #BubbleNebula #NGC7635 #Star #Cassiopeia #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #Infographic #STEM #Education

The Bubble Nebula: Winds & Radiation from a Massive Star [3D View] | Hubble

The Bubble Nebula: Winds & Radiation from a Massive Star [3D View] | Hubble

This visualization [no audio] of the Bubble Nebula begins with a ground-based view that encompasses the glowing cloud. The high-energy light from the massive O star, BD +60°2522, is responsible for ionizing the entire region. The virtual camera flies through the foreground stars and approaches the central bubble imaged by Hubble. The massive star continuously sheds some of its outer layers in a mass-loss wind, which has blown a bubble of gas seven light-years across. 

The video's three-dimensional perspective emphasizes the extended nature of the structure and the fact that BD +60°2522 is not located at the center. The pressure inside the bubble is able to expand more rapidly in the directions away from the surrounding nebula. The computer model incorporates both scientific and artistic interpretation of the data. In particular, distances are significantly compressed.

Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), and F. Summers, G. Bacon, Z. Levay, and L. Frattare [Viz 3D Team, Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)]

Acknowledgment: T. Rector/University of Alaska Anchorage, H. Schweiker/WIYN and NOAO/AURA/NSF, NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Duration: 48 seconds

Release Date: April 21, 2016

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #BubbleNebula #NGC7635 #Star #Cassiopeia #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #3D #Visualization #HD #Video

Pan across The Bubble Nebula | Hubble

Pan across The Bubble Nebula | Hubble

This video pans over NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope observations of the Bubble Nebula, which were made to celebrate the 26th anniversary of Hubble in 2016. The delicate layers of the glowing nebula, the nearby interstellar cloud and the cometary knots surrounding the central star are all clearly visible.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble; Music: Johan B. Monell

Duration: 50 seconds

Release Date: April 21, 2016

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #BubbleNebula #NGC7635 #Cassiopeia #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Zoom into The Bubble Nebula | Hubble

Zoom into The Bubble Nebula | Hubble

This video begins with a ground-based view of the night sky, before zooming in on the almost perfectly spherical Bubble Nebula as the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope sees it.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble, Digitized Sky Survey 2, Nick Risinger 

Music: Johan B. Monell

Duration: 1 minute, 20 seconds

Release Date: April 21, 2016

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #BubbleNebula #NGC7635 #Cassiopeia #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Bubble Nebula | Hubble

The Bubble Nebula | Hubble

The Bubble Nebula, also known as NGC 7635, is an emission nebula located 8,000 light-years away. It is also referred to as Sharpless 162, or Caldwell 11. It is an H II region emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia. It lies close to the direction of the open cluster Messier 52. The "bubble" is created by the stellar wind from a massive hot, 8.7 magnitude young central star, SAO 20575 (BD+60°2522).

The nebula is near a giant molecular cloud which contains the expansion of the bubble nebula while itself being excited by the hot central star, causing it to glow. It was discovered in 1787 by William Herschel. This stunning new image was observed by the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope to celebrate its 26th year in space in 2016.

Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), Hubble Heritage Team

Release Date: April 21, 2016

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #BubbleNebula #NGC7635 #Cassiopeia #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Planetary Nebula: Misnamed but Not Misunderstood | NASA Chandra

Planetary Nebula: Misnamed but Not Misunderstood | NASA Chandra

Sometimes the names of objects are deeply misleading. For example, starfish are not actually fish. They are, in fact, echinoderms. And guinea pigs are not related to pigs in any way—they are rodents. Similarly, planetary nebulas have nothing to do with planets. They were misnamed when scientists looked through small telescopes in the 19th century and thought these objects looked like planets.

Today, astronomers know that a planetary nebula actually represents a phase that stars like our Sun experience when they use up much of their fuel. After the star cools and expands, it sheds its outer layers. The core of the star left behind at the center is a dense and smaller star called a white dwarf. The shells of gas linger around the white dwarf for a relatively short time in cosmic terms—tens of thousands of years—before dissipating into space. During that time, the white dwarf can illuminate and energize these jettisoned layers.

NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory contributes to the understanding of planetary nebulas by studying the hottest and most energetic processes still at work in these beautiful objects. X-ray data from Chandra reveal winds being driven away from the white dwarf at millions of miles per hour that create shock waves during collisions with slower-moving material previously ejected by the star. Chandra’s exceptional vision in X-rays contributes to the understanding of this brief, yet important, stage of stars’ lives.

This gallery contains half a dozen planetary nebulas that have been observed both by Chandra and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. While all six nebulas originated from similar physical conditions and evolved by similar processes, they currently appear somewhat different from others. The differences in the shapes and structures of these planetary nebulas may be due to the complexities of a slew of physical properties including how much of the star’s winds flow from its poles, whether the star wobbles as it spins, if the star has a companion or not, and other factors.

Credit: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Duration: 2 minutes, 42 seconds

Release Date: December 6, 2021

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Chandra #Xray #PlanetaryNebula #PlaentaryNebulae #Nebulae #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescopes #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #History #STEM #Education #HD #Video