A Close-up Look at Star Cluster NGC 3293 | ESO

A Close-up Look at Star Cluster NGC 3293 | ESO

This pan video gives a close-up view of a colorful image from the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. It shows a group of young stars huddled together against a backdrop of clouds of glowing gas and lanes of dust. This star cluster, known as NGC 3293, would have been just a cloud of gas and dust itself about ten million years ago, but as stars began to form it became the bright group we see here. Clusters like this are celestial laboratories that allow astronomers to learn more about how stars evolve.

Distance: about 8,000 light years

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO) /G. Beccari

Duration: 50 seconds

Release Date: July 29, 2014

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarCluster #NGC3293 #Carina #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #LaSillaObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Zooming in on the Bright Star Cluster NGC 3293 | ESO

Zooming in on the Bright Star Cluster NGC 3293 | ESO

This zoom video starts from a broad view of the Milky Way and takes the viewer on a journey to the bright star cluster NGC 3293 in the constellation of Carina (The Keel). This spectacular object would have been just a cloud of gas and dust about ten million years ago, but as stars began to form it became the bright group we see here. Clusters like this are celestial laboratories that allow astronomers to learn more about how stars evolve.

Distance: about 8,000 light years

Credit:  European Southern Observatory (ESO)/G. Beccari/N. Risinger

Duration: 50 seconds

Release Date: July 29, 2014

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarCluster #NGC3293 #Carina #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #LaSillaObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Star Cluster NGC 3293 | ESO

The Star Cluster NGC 3293 | ESO

In this image from the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile young stars huddle together against a backdrop of clouds of glowing gas and lanes of dust. The star cluster, known as NGC 3293, would have been just a cloud of gas and dust itself about ten million years ago, but as stars began to form it became the bright group we see here. Clusters like this are celestial laboratories that allow astronomers to learn more about how stars evolve.

Distance: 8,000 light years

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/G. Beccari

Release Date: July 23, 2014

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarCluster #NGC3293 #Carina #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #LaSillaObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

A Tour of a Galactic Gem: Spiral Galaxy NGC 3981 | ESO

A Tour of a Galactic Gem: Spiral Galaxy NGC 3981 | ESO

ESOcast 177 Light: FORS2, an instrument mounted on the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) captured the spiral galaxy NGC 3981 in all its glory. The image, captured during the ESO Cosmic Gems Program, showcases the beauty of the southern skies when conditions do not allow scientific observations to be made.

Distance: about 62 million light-years

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO) 

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: September 12, 2018

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC3981 #Crater #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #FORS2 #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Spiral Galaxy NGC 3981: Wide-field View | ESO

Spiral Galaxy NGC 3981: Wide-field View | ESO

This image is a color composite made from exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2). The field of view is approximately 2.4 x 2.0 degrees.

Distance: about 62 million light-years

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Digitized Sky Survey 2

Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin

Release Date: September 12, 2018

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC3981 #Crater #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Panning across Spiral Galaxy NGC 3981 | ESO

Panning across Spiral Galaxy NGC 3981 | ESO

This pan video takes a close look at the spiral galaxy NGC 3981 in the constellation of Crater (The Cup). This object was captured by FORS2— an instrument mounted on the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT)— as part of the ESO Cosmic Gems Program, which showcases the beauty of the southern skies when conditions do not allow scientific observations to be made.

Distance: about 62 million light-years

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO), James Creasey

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: September 12, 2018

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC3981 #Crater #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #FORS2 #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Zooming into Spiral Galaxy NGC 3981 | ESO

Zooming into Spiral Galaxy NGC 3981 | ESO

This zoom video starts with a wide view of the Milky Way and ends with a close-up look at the spiral galaxy NGC 3981 in the constellation of Crater (The Cup). The final view of this region was captured by FORS2, an instrument mounted on the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), as part of ESO's Cosmic Gems Program. This program showcases the beauty of the southern skies when conditions do not allow scientific observations to be made.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Digitized Sky Survey 2/N. Risinger

Duration: 50 seconds

Release Date: September 12, 2018

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC3981 #Crater #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #FORS2 #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

A Galactic Gem: Spiral Galaxy NGC 3981 | ESO

A Galactic Gem: Spiral Galaxy NGC 3981 | ESO

FORS2, an instrument mounted on the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) captured the spiral galaxy NGC 3981 in all its glory. The image, captured during the ESO Cosmic Gems Program, showcases the beauty of the southern skies when conditions do not allow scientific observations to be made.

Distance: about 62 million light-years

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO) 

Release Date: September 2, 2018

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC3981 #Crater #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #FORS2 #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover: New September 2022 Images | JPL

NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover: New September 2022 Images | JPL

    MSL - Sol 3580 - Mastcam

MSL - Sol 3578 - MastCam

MSL - Sol 3578 - MastCam

MSL - Sol 3578 - MastCam

Mission Name: Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

Celebrating 10 Years on Mars!

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 Date: Sept. 2, 2022

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

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

NASA's Orion Spacecraft: Designed for Deep Space Exploration | Lockheed Martin

NASA's Orion Spacecraft: Designed for Deep Space Exploration | Lockheed Martin

"What puts Orion in a class all its own? The technology. Designed and built by our engineers, NASA's Orion spacecraft is one of a kind. It is the only exploration class spacecraft built to take humans deeper into space than ever before."

Learn more about NASA's Orion Spacecraft: https://lmt.co/3Ba4IUT

NASA's Artemis Program:

https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis

NASA's Space Launch System (SLS)

https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html

Credit: Lockheed Martin

Duration: 32 seconds

Release Date: September 3, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Space #Moon #Artemis #ArtemisI #Orion #Spacecraft #LockheedMartin #SLS #SpaceLaunchSystem #Rocket #DeepSpace #Astronauts #Mars #JourneyToMars #Science #Engineering #Technology #Exploration #SolarSystem #KSC #Kennedy #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA Artemis I Moon Rocket Prelaunch: Sept. 3, 2022 | Kennedy Space Center

NASA Artemis I Moon Rocket Prelaunch: Sept. 3, 2022 | Kennedy Space Center

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop a mobile launcher at Launch Pad 39B as preparations for launch continue, Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. 

NASA’s Artemis I flight test is the first integrated test of the agency’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket, and supporting ground systems. Launch of the uncrewed flight test is targeted for Sept. 3 at 2:17 p.m. EDT.

Watch on NASA TV: 

https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv

All about Artemis I:

https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-i/

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Release Date: September 3, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Space #Moon #Artemis #ArtemisI #Orion #Spacecraft #SLS #NASASLS #SpaceLaunchSystem #Rocket #DeepSpace #Astronauts #MoonToMars #Science #Engineering #Technology #Exploration #SolarSystem #KennedySpaceCenter #Florida #UnitedStates #Europe #ArtemisGeneration #STEM #Education

R Sculptoris: A Red Giant Star Sheds its Skin | ESO

R Sculptoris: A Red Giant Star Sheds its Skin | ESO

This ghostly image features a distant and pulsating red giant star known as R Sculptoris. Situated 1,200 light-years away in the constellation of Sculptor, R Sculptoris is something known as a carbon-rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star, meaning that it is nearing the end of its life. At this stage, low- and intermediate-mass stars cool off, create extended atmospheres, and lose a lot of their mass—they are on their way to becoming spectacular planetary nebulae.

While the basics of this mass-loss process are understood, astronomers are still investigating how it begins near the surface of the star. The amount of mass lost by a star actually has huge implications for its stellar evolution, altering its future, and leading to different types of planetary nebulae. As AGB stars end their lives as planetary nebulae, they produce a vast range of elements—including 50% of elements heavier than iron—which are then released into the Universe and used to make new stars, planets, moons, and eventually the building blocks of life.

One particularly intriguing feature of R Sculptoris is its dominant bright spot, which looks to be two or three times brighter than the other regions. The astronomers that captured this wonderful image, using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), have concluded that R Sculptoris is surrounded by giant “clumps” of stellar dust that are peeling away from the shedding star. This bright spot is, in fact, a region around the star with little to no dust, allowing us to look deeper into the stellar surface.

This image captures an extremely small section of the sky: approximately 20x20 milliarcseconds. For comparison, Jupiter has an angular size of approximately 40 arcseconds.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/M. Wittkowski (ESO)

Release Date: February 9, 2018

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Star #RedGiant #RSculptoris #AGB #Sculptor #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLTI #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Red Giant Star R Sculptoris and its Hidden Companion | Hubble

Red Giant Star R Sculptoris and its Hidden Companion | Hubble

This NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope image shows a star known as R Sculptoris, a red giant located 1,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Sculptor. Recent observations have shown that the material surrounding R Sculptoris actually forms a spiral structure—a phenomenon probably caused by a hidden companion star orbiting the star. Systems with multiple stars often lead to unusual or unexpected morphologies, as seen, for example, in the wide range of striking planetary nebulae that Hubble has imaged.

R Sculptoris is an example of an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star. All stars with initial masses up to about eight times that of the Sun will eventually become red giants in the later stages of their lives. They start to cool down and lose a large amount of their mass in a steady, dense wind that streams outwards from the star. With this constant loss of material, red giants like R Sculptoris provide a good portion of the raw materials—dust and gas—used for the formation of new generations of stars and planets. They also show what is likely to happen to the Sun in a few billion years from now, and help astronomers to understand how the elements we are made up of are distributed throughout the Universe.

R Sculptoris itself is located outside the plane of the Milky Way and is easily visible using a moderately sized amateur telescope. In this part of the sky far from the galactic plane, there are relatively few stars but many faint and distant galaxies can be seen.

The black region at the center of the image has been artificially masked.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA

Release Date: January 5, 2015

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Star #RedGiant #AGB #RSculptoris #Sculptor #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Curious Spiral around Red Giant Star R Sculptoris (visualization) | ESO's ALMA

Curious Spiral around Red Giant Star R Sculptoris (visualization) | ESO's ALMA

Observations using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have revealed an unexpected spiral structure in the material around the old star R Sculptoris. This feature has never been seen before and is probably caused by a hidden companion star orbiting the star.

This slice through the new ALMA data reveals the shell around the star, which shows up as the outer circular ring, as well as a very clear spiral structure in the inner material.

Distance: 1,500 light years

Credit: ALMA (European Southern Observatory/National Astronomical Observatory of Japan/National Radio Astronomy Observatory/M. Maercker et al.

Release Date: October 10, 2012

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #ALMA #Star #RedGiant #RSculptoris #Sculptor #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Chile #Europe #DataVisualization #STEM #Education

Zooming into the Red Giant Star R Sculptoris | ESO

Zooming into the Red Giant Star R Sculptoris | ESO

This video sequence starts with a view of the rather faint constellations of Sculptor (The Sculptor) and Cetus (The Sea Monster). As we zoom in we see a few faint galaxies but close in on a star that looks very red. This is the old red giant variable star R Sculptoris. Observations using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have revealed an unexpected spiral structure in the material around this star.

Distance: 1,500 light years

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/A. Fujii/Digitized Sky Survey 2

Duration: 56 seconds

Release Date: October 11, 2012

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Star #RedGiant #RSculptoris #Sculptor #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Red Giant Star R Sculptoris: Wide-field View | ESO

Red Giant Star R Sculptoris: Wide-field View | ESO

This wide-field image shows the patch of sky around the red giant variable star R Sculptoris. In this part of the sky far from the Milky Way, there are relatively few stars but many faint and distant galaxies can be seen. This view was created from photographs forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The spikes and orange circles around the star in this picture are artifacts of the telescope and photographic process and are not real.

Distance: 1,500 light years

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Digitized Sky Survey 2

Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin

Release Date: October 10, 2012

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Star #RedGiant #RSculptoris #Sculptor #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education