View of The Running Chicken Nebula from South America | ESO

View of The Running Chicken Nebula from South America | ESO

The most obvious deep-sky objects in this image include the Carina Nebula, glowing intensely red in the middle of the image. The Carina Nebula lies in the constellation of Carina (The Keel), about 7,500 light-years from Earth. This cloud of glowing gas and dust is the brightest nebula in the sky and contains several of the brightest and most massive stars known in the Milky Way, such as Eta Carinae. The Carina Nebula is a perfect test-bed for astronomers to unveil the mysteries of the violent birth and death of massive stars. 

Below the Carina Nebula, we see the Wishing Well Cluster (NGC 3532). This open cluster of young stars was named because, through a telescope’s eyepiece, it looks like a handful of silver coins twinkling at the bottom of a wishing well. Further to the right, we find the Running Chicken Nebula (IC 2944), from a bird-like shape that some people see in its brightest region. Above this nebula and slightly to the left we find the Southern Pleiades (IC 2632), an open cluster of stars that is similar to its more familiar northern namesake.

In the foreground, we see three of the four Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs) of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). Using the VLTI, the ATs—or the VLT’s 8.2-meter Unit Telescopes—can be used together as a single giant telescope which can see finer details than would be possible with the individual telescopes. The VLTI has been used for a broad range of research including the study of circumstellar discs around young stellar objects and of active galactic nuclei, one of the most energetic and mysterious phenomena in the Universe.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/B. Tafreshi

Release Date: November 12, 2012

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebula #EmissionNebula #IC2944 #RunningChickenNebula #Centaurus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescopes #VLT #VLTI #Astrophotography #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

The Running Chicken Nebula | ESO

The Running Chicken Nebula | ESO

This new image from the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope shows the Running Chicken Nebula, a cloud of gas and newborn stars that lies around 6,500 light-years away from us in the constellation of Centaurus (The Centaur). Officially called IC 2944, or the Lambda Centauri Nebula, its strange nickname comes from the bird-like shape of its brightest region. The star Lambda Centauri itself lies just outside the field of view.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: September 21, 2011

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebula #EmissionNebula #IC2944 #RunningChickenNebula #LambdaCentauri #BokGlobules #Centaurus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Thackeray's Globules in The Running Chicken Nebula | Hubble

Thackeray's Globules in The Running Chicken Nebula | Hubble

Strangely glowing dark clouds float serenely in this remarkable and beautiful image taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. These dense, opaque dust clouds—known as 'globules'—are silhouetted against nearby bright stars in the busy star-forming region, IC 2944, also known as the Running Chicken Nebula. 

Astronomer A.D. Thackeray first spied the globules in IC 2944 in 1950. Globules like these have been known since Dutch-American astronomer Bart Bok first drew attention to such objects in 1947.

However, astronomers still know very little about their origin and nature, except that they are generally associated with areas of star formation, called 'HII regions' due to the presence of hydrogen gas. IC 2944 is filled with gas and dust that is illuminated and heated by a loose cluster of massive stars. These stars are much hotter and much more massive than our Sun.

Credit: NASA/European Space Agency and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Release Date: January 3, 2002

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebula #EmissionNebula #IC2944 #RunningChickenNebula #BokGlobules #ThackeraysGlobules #Centaurus #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #AURA #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

A Close-up Look at The Running Chicken Nebula & Thackeray's Globules | ESO

A Close-up Look at The Running Chicken Nebula & Thackeray's Globules | ESO

This video gives us a close-up look at the spectacular stellar nursery IC 2944, also known as the Running Chicken Nebula. This image also shows a group of thick clouds of dust known as the Thackeray globules silhouetted against the pale pink glowing gas of the nebula. These globules are under fierce bombardment from the ultraviolet radiation from nearby hot young stars. They are both being eroded away and also fragmenting, rather like lumps of butter dropped onto a hot frying pan. It is likely 

Distance: 6,500 light years

This image was released to celebrate a milestone—15 years of the European Southern Observatory's VLT. 

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Duration: 56 seconds

Release Date: May 23, 2013

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebula #EmissionNebula #IC2944 #RunningChickenNebula #LambdaCentauri #BokGlobules #Centaurus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Zooming in on The Running Chicken Nebula & Thackeray's Globules | ESO

Zooming in on The Running Chicken Nebula & Thackeray's Globules | ESO

This zoom runs from a very wide view of the Milky Way all the way into a very close-up view of the spectacular stellar nursery IC 2944, also known as the Running Chicken Nebula. This image from the Very Large Telescope (VLT) also shows a group of thick clouds of dust known as the Thackeray globules, silhouetted against the pale pink glowing gas of the nebula. These globules are under fierce bombardment from the ultraviolet radiation from nearby hot young stars. They are both being eroded away and also fragmenting, rather like lumps of butter dropped onto a hot frying pan. It is likely that Thackeray's globules will be destroyed before they can collapse and form new stars.

Distance: 6,500 light years

This image was released to celebrate a milestone—15 years of the European Southern Observatory's VLT. 

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Nick Risinger/Hiro

Duration: 56 seconds

Release Date: May 23, 2013

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebula #EmissionNebula #IC2944 #RunningChickenNebula #LambdaCentauri #BokGlobules #Centaurus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Running Chicken Nebula | ESO

The Running Chicken Nebula | ESO

IC 2944, also known as the Running Chicken Nebula, the Lambda Centauri Nebula or the λ Centauri Nebula, is an open cluster with an associated emission nebula found in the constellation Centaurus, near the star λ Centauri. This image also shows a group of thick clouds of dust known as the Thackeray globules silhouetted against the pale pink glowing gas of the nebula. These globules are under fierce bombardment from the ultraviolet radiation from nearby hot young stars. They are both being eroded away and also fragmenting, rather like lumps of butter dropped onto a hot frying pan. It is likely that Thackeray’s globules will be destroyed before they can collapse and form new stars. 

Distance: 6,500 light years

This intriguing view of a spectacular stellar nursery IC 2944 was originally released to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) in 2013. 

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: May 23, 2013

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebula #EmissionNebula #IC2944 #RunningChickenNebula #LambdaCentauri #BokGlobules #Centaurus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

A Black Hole Stellar Delivery Service Found in Galaxy NGC 4424 | NASA Chandra

A Black Hole Stellar Delivery Service Found in Galaxy NGC 4424 | NASA Chandra

One galaxy is acting as a black hole delivery service for another galaxy.

NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory found clues in data from NGC 4424.

This spiral galaxy is located about 54 million light-years from Earth.

Astronomers use such results to better understand how galaxies and black holes grow.

Astronomers may have witnessed a galaxy’s black hole delivery system in action. A new study using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope outlines how a large black hole may have been delivered to the spiral galaxy NGC 4424 by another, smaller galaxy.

NGC 4424 is located about 54 million light-years from Earth in the Virgo galaxy cluster. The main panel shows a wide-field view, about 45,000 light-years wide, of this galaxy in optical light from Hubble. The center of this galaxy is expected to host a large black hole estimated to contain a mass between 60,000 and 100,000 Suns.

Astronomers examining data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory found an elongated object, which they determined is a cluster of stars. They refer to this object as “Nikhuli,” a name relating to the Tulini festive period of celebrating and wishing for a rich harvest. This name is taken from the Sumi language from the Indian state of Nagaland. The Chandra data shows a point source of X-rays.

The researchers determined Nikhuli is likely the center of a small galaxy that has had most of its stars stripped away as it collides with the larger galaxy NGC 4424. Nikhuli has also been stretched out by gravitational forces as it falls towards the center of NGC 4424, giving it an elongated shape. Currently, Nikhuli is about 1,300 light-years from the center of NGC 4424, or about 20 times closer than the Earth is to the Milky Way’s giant black hole.

After considering other possibilities, the researchers determined that these results imply that Nikhuli is likely acting as a delivery system for NGC 4424’s supply of black holes, in this case bringing along a massive one. If the center of NGC 4424 contains a massive black hole, Nikhuli’s massive black hole should end up orbiting it. The separation of the pair should then shrink until gravitational waves are produced and the two massive black holes merge with each other.

Credit: NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory 

Duration: 3 minutes

Release Date: August 18, 2022

#NASA #Astronomy #Science #Space #Stars #Galaxies #Galaxy #Spiral #NGC4424 #StarCluster #Nikhuli #Virgo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Xray #Chandra #Observatory #MSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Spiral Galaxy NGC 4424 and its Modern Counterpart | Hubble

Spiral Galaxy NGC 4424 and its Modern Counterpart | Hubble

Some astronomical objects have endearing or quirky nicknames, inspired by mythology or their own appearance. Take, for example, the constellation of Orion (The Hunter), the Sombrero Galaxy, the Horsehead Nebula, or even the Milky Way. However, the vast majority of cosmic objects appear in astronomical catalogs, and are given rather less poetic names based on the order of their discovery.

Two galaxies are clearly visible in this Hubble image, the larger of which is NGC 4424. This galaxy is catalogued in the New General Catalog of Nebulae and lusters of Stars (NGC), which was compiled in 1888. The NGC is one of the largest astronomical catalogues, which is why so many Hubble Pictures of the Week feature NGC objects. In total there are 7840 entries in the catalog and they are also generally the larger, brighter, and more eye-catching objects in the night sky, and hence the ones more easily spotted by early stargazers.

The smaller, flatter, bright galaxy sitting just below NGC 4424 is named LEDA 213994. The Lyon-Meudon Extragalactic Database (LEDA) is far more modern than the NGC. Created in 1983 at the Lyon Observatory it contains millions of objects. However, many NGC objects still go by their initial names simply because they were christened within the NGC first. No astronomer can resist a good acronym, and “LEDA” is more appealing than “the LMED”, perhaps thanks to the old astronomical affinity with mythology when it comes to naming things: Leda was a princess in Ancient Greek mythology.

Credit: European Space Agency/Hubble & NASA

Release Date: March 27, 2017

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #Galaxy #Spiral #NGC4424 #LEDA213994 #Virgo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #UnitedStates #GSFC #Europe #STEM #Education

Earth from Orbit: When Lightning Strikes | NOAA

Earth from Orbit: When Lightning Strikes | NOAA

Lightning is a major public safety threat. It can strike at any time, but it is most common in the summer months. Lightning kills about 20 people each year in the United States and hundreds more are injured. 

Recent severe thunderstorm activity has highlighted the dangers associated with lightning strikes. In the span of less than a week in early August, lightning led to several injuries and fatalities.

Credits: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA)

Additional imagery courtesy of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS)

Duration: 1 minute, 47 seconds

Release Date: August 18, 2022

#NASA #NOAA #Space #Earth #Satellites #Planet #Atmosphere #Weather #Lightning #Meteorology #Envionment #Climate #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #Science #Technology #GSFC #CIRA #CIMSS #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Earth Moonrise over Nile Delta & Planet Venus | International Space Station

Earth Moonrise over Nile Delta & Planet Venus | International Space Station

Moonrise seen from the International Space Station taken by European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy from orbit during her Minerva mission. It is a sight rarely seen: Earth’s natural satellite appearing over the horizon above the always-distinctive Nile delta at night—taken from 400 km above our planet. The brighter dot in the middle is the planet Venus.

The Moon is the only place that has been seen by every human being on our planet, but only around 600 astronauts have seen the Moon from Earth orbit. 

Samantha Cristoforetti's Biography (ESA)

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Astronauts/Samantha_Cristoforetti

Learn about Samantha's Minerva Mission: https://bit.ly/MissionMinerva

Expedition 67 Crew

Commander Oleg Artemyev (Russia)

Roscosmos Flight Engineers: Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov (Russia)

NASA Flight Engineers: Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, Jessica Watkins (USA)

European Space Agency (ESA) Flight Engineer: Samantha Cristoforetti (Italy)

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.

Credits: ESA/NASA-S. Cristoforetti

Release Date: June 26, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #ESA #Earth #Planet #Moon #Moonrise #Venus #NileRiver #Egypt #Astronaut #SamanthaCristoforetti #Minerva #MissionMinerva #Italy #Italia #ASI #Science #Technology #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition67 #Europe #UnitedStates #International #Photography #Astrophotography #STEM #Education #مِصر

Timelapse of Carbon Star CW Leonis | Hubble

Timelapse of Carbon Star CW Leonis | Hubble

The NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope provides a striking observation of the carbon star CW Leonis, which resembles a baleful orange eye glaring from behind a shroud of smoke.

The bright beams of light radiating outwards from CW Leonis are one of the most intriguing parts of this image, as they have changed in brightness within a 15 year period—an incredibly short span of time in astronomical terms, which is demonstrated in this timelapse. Astronomers speculate that gaps in the shroud of dust surrounding CW Leonis may allow these beams of starlight to pierce through and illuminate dust further from the star. However the exact cause of the dramatic changes in their brightness is as yet unexplained.

Credit: European Space Agency/Hubble & NASA, J. Trauger, P. Seitzer, T. Ueta, H. Kim, M. Zamani

Duration: 15 seconds

Release Date: November 2, 2021

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Star #CarbonStar #RedGiant #CWLeonis #Leo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #UnitedStates #GSFC #Europe #STEM #Education #Timelapse #HD #Video

Pan of Carbon Star CW Leonis | Hubble

Pan of Carbon Star CW Leonis | Hubble

The NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope provides a striking observation of the carbon star CW Leonis, which resembles a baleful orange eye glaring from behind a shroud of smoke.

CW Leonis glowers from deep within a thick shroud of dust in this image. Lying roughly 400 light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo, CW Leonis is a carbon star—a luminous type of red giant star with a carbon-rich atmosphere. The dense clouds of sooty gas and dust engulfing this dying star were created as the outer layers of CW Leonis itself were thrown out into the void.

Credit: European Space Agency/Hubble & NASA, T. Ueta, H. Kim

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: November 2, 2021

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Star #CarbonStar #RedGiant #CWLeonis #Leo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #UnitedStates #GSFC #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Zoom into Carbon Star CW Leonis | Hubble

Zoom into Carbon Star CW Leonis | Hubble

The NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope provides a striking observation of the carbon star CW Leonis, which resembles a baleful orange eye glaring from behind a shroud of smoke.

CW Leonis glowers from deep within a thick shroud of dust in this image. Lying roughly 400 light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo, CW Leonis is a carbon star—a luminous type of red giant star with a carbon-rich atmosphere. The dense clouds of sooty gas and dust engulfing this dying star were created as the outer layers of CW Leonis itself were thrown out into the void.

Credit: European Space Agency/Hubble, NASA, Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA, Digitized Sky Survey 2, E. Slawik, N. Risinger, M. Zamani

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: November 2, 2021

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Star #CarbonStar #RedGiant #CWLeonis #Leo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #UnitedStates #GSFC #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Giant Carbon Star CW Leonis | Hubble

Giant Carbon Star CW Leonis | Hubble

The NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope provides a striking observation of the carbon star CW Leonis, which resembles a baleful orange eye glaring from behind a shroud of smoke.

CW Leonis glowers from deep within a thick shroud of dust in this image. Lying roughly 400 light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo, CW Leonis is a carbon star—a luminous type of red giant star with a carbon-rich atmosphere. The dense clouds of sooty gas and dust engulfing this dying star were created as the outer layers of CW Leonis itself were thrown out into the void.

Credit: European Space Agency/Hubble & NASA, T. Ueta, H. Kim

Release Date: October 28, 2021

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Star #CarbonStar #RedGiant #CWLeonis #Leo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #UnitedStates #GSFC #Europe #STEM #Education

NASA's SpaceX Crew-5: Cosmonaut Anna Kikina with U.S. & Japanese Astronauts

NASA's SpaceX Crew-5: Cosmonaut Anna Kikina with U.S. & Japanese Astronauts

SpaceX Crew-5 are suited up and ready to participate in a crew equipment interface test (CEIT) at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, on Aug. 13, 2022. From left are Anna Kikina, mission specialist; Josh Cassada, pilot; Nicole Mann, spacecraft commander; and Koichi Wakata, mission specialist with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). During the CEIT, the astronauts will practice launch and docking in a high-fidelity simulator of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule. They also will practice getting into position inside the capsule. 

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 will be the fifth crew rotation mission of the company’s human space transportation system and its sixth flight with astronauts to the International Space Station for the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Crew-5 will launch on the Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida no earlier than Sept. 29, 2022. 

NASA Astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada are going to the International Space Station no earlier than Sept. 29, 2022 alongside their crewmates, Koichi Wakata of JAXA, and Anna Kikina of Roscosmos.

Astronaut Josh Cassada Official NASA Biography

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/josh-a-cassada

Astronaut Nicole Mann Official NASA Biography

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/nicole-a-mann

Astronaut Koichi Wakata Official JAXA Biography

https://humans-in-space.jaxa.jp/en/astronaut/wakata-koichi/

Cosmonaut Anna Kikina Roscosmos Info

Anna Yuryevna Kikina (Russian: Анна Юрьевна Кикина, born August 27, 1984, in Novosibirsk) is a Russian engineer and test cosmonaut, selected in 2012. She is the only woman cosmonaut currently in active service at Roscosmos. [Wikipedia]

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.

Learn more about the important research being operated on ISS: https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science 

Image Credit: SpaceX

Image Capture Date: August 13, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #ESA #Roscosmos #JAXA #SpaceX #SpacexCrew5 #CrewDragon #Astronaut #NicoleMann #JoshCassada #KoichiWakata #YuryevnaKikina #Astronauts #HumanSpaceflight #JSC #Japan #日本 #Russia #Россия #UnitedStates #Science #STEM #Education

Spiral Galaxy NGC 2276: Wide-field View | Steward Observatory

Spiral Galaxy NGC 2276: Wide-field View | Steward Observatory

This image shows a wide-field view of NGC 2276, a spiral galaxy 120 million light-years away in the constellation of Cepheus. At first glance, the delicate tracery of bright spiral arms and dark dust lanes resembles countless other spiral galaxies. A closer look reveals a strangely lopsided galaxy shaped by gravitational interaction and intense star formation.

Credit: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona

Release Date: May 27, 2021

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxy #Spiral #NGC2276 #Cepheus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #StewardObservatory #Arizona #UniversityofArizona #UnitedStates #GSFC #Europe #STEM #Education