Wednesday, September 07, 2022

The Star Cluster Westerlund 2: Close-up View | Hubble

The Star Cluster Westerlund 2: Close-up View | Hubble


Westerlund 2 is a giant cluster of about 3,000 stars located 20,000 light-years away in the constellation Carina. This image shows the sparkling centerpiece of Hubble's 25th anniversary tribute in 2015. 

Hubble's near-infrared imaging camera pierces through the dusty veil enshrouding the stellar nursery, giving astronomers a clear view of the dense concentration of stars in the central cluster.


Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), A. Nota (ESA/STScI), and the Westerlund 2 Science Team

Release Date: April 23, 2015


#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarCluster #Gum29 #RCW49 #Westerlund2 #Carina #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #Infrared #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education


Pan across Star Cluster Westerlund 2 | Hubble

Pan across Star Cluster Westerlund 2 | Hubble

This video shows a pan across an image of star cluster Westerlund 2, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space telescope and released to celebrate its 25th year in orbit in 2015.

Distance: about 20,000 light years


Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), A. Nota (ESA/STScI), and the Westerlund 2 Science Team

Duration: 56 seconds

Release Date: April 23, 2015


#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarCluster #Gum29 #RCW49 #Westerlund2 #Carina #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #Infrared #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Zoom into Star Cluster Westerlund 2 | Hubble

Zoom into Star Cluster Westerlund 2 | Hubble

This video shows a zoom from a wide-field ground-based view into Hubble’s close-up view of star cluster Westerlund 2.

Distance: 20,000 light years


Credit: N. Risinger, NASA, European Space Agency, Digitized Sky Survey 2, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), A. Nota (ESA/STScI), and the Westerlund 2 Science Team

Duration: 49 seconds

Release Date: April 23, 2015


#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarCluster #Gum29 #RCW49 #Westerlund2 #Carina #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #Infrared #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Westerlund 2 Star Cluster (Infrared & Visible Light) | Hubble

Westerlund 2 Star Cluster (Infrared & Visible Light) | Hubble


This NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope image of the star cluster Westerlund 2.
Distance: 20,000 light years

The image’s central region, containing the star cluster, blends visible-light data taken by the Advanced Camera for Surveys and near-infrared exposures taken by the Wide Field Camera 3. The surrounding region is composed of visible-light observations taken by the Advanced Camera for Surveys.

This image was released in 2015 to celebrate Hubble’s 25th year in orbit and a quarter of a century of new discoveries, stunning images and outstanding science.


Credit: NASA, European Space Agency, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), A. Nota (ESA/STScI), and the Westerlund 2 Science Team

Release Date: April 23, 2015


#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarCluster #Gum29 #RCW49 #Westerlund2 #Carina #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #Infrared #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

NASA Astronauts Visit Artemis I Moon Rocket Prelaunch | Kennedy Space Center

NASA Astronauts Visit Artemis I Moon Rocket Prelaunch | Kennedy Space Center

The astronauts are, from left to right: Victor Glover, NASA astronaut; Marcos Berrios, NASA astronaut candidate; Anne McClain, NASA astronaut; Anil Menon and Deniz Burnham, NASA astronaut candidates; and Zena Cardman, NASA astronaut   

The astronauts are, from left to right: Zena Cardman (partially obscured), NASA astronaut; Deniz Burnham and Anil Menon, NASA astronaut candidates; Anne McClain, NASA astronaut; Marcos Berrios, NASA astronaut candidate; and Victor Glover, NASA astronaut

From left to right, NASA astronaut candidates Anil Menon, Deniz Burnham, and Marcos Berrios, and NASA astronaut Zena Cardman

From left to right, NASA astronaut candidates Anil Menon, Deniz Burnham, and Marcos Berrios 

NASA astronaut Anne McClain

NASA astronaut candidate Anil Menon

NASA astronaut candidate Deniz Burnham

The astronauts are, from left to right: Zena Cardman, NASA astronaut; Deniz Burnham and Anil Menon, NASA astronaut candidates; Anne McClain, NASA astronaut; Marcos Berrios, NASA astronaut candidate; and Victor Glover, NASA astronaut


NASA astronauts and astronaut candidates pose for photographs in front of NASA’s Artemis I Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft atop the mobile launcher on the pad at Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 2, 2022. 

The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. 

In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.

All about Artemis I:

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


Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: September 2, 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

Tuesday, September 06, 2022

A Tour of Galaxy NGC 4696 | NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory

A Tour of Galaxy NGC 4696 | NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory

The Centaurus Cluster is a collection of hundreds of galaxies located about 145 million light years from Earth. At the center of the cluster is a large elliptical galaxy called NGC 4696. Buried within the core of NGC 4696 lies a supermassive black hole.

Astronomers have been studying the Centaurus Cluster using several different telescopes to learn more about this system. Data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Very Large Array, and the Hubble Space Telescope have revealed evidence for multiple outbursts, or eruptions, from the black hole in NGC 4696 that date back millions of years. When these eruptions happen, they send energy and particles outward, affecting things like the chemical composition of the interstellar material as well as the rate of star formation.

By employing a special type of processing of the X-ray data, the astronomers also discovered a sequence of curved features, approximately equally spaced, in the hot gas detected by Chandra. These arcs may be caused by sound waves generated by the black hole’s repeated bursts. In a galaxy cluster, the hot gas that fills the cluster enables sound waves—albeit at frequencies far too low for the human hear to detect—to propagate.

 Researchers will continue to study the Centaurus Cluster and others like it to learn more about how galaxy clusters and the black holes within them grow and evolve over time.


Credit: NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory

Duration: 2 minutes, 29 seconds

Release Date: April 19, 2017


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Chandra #Xray #SpaceObservatory #Galaxy #NGC4696 #BlackHole #CentaurusCluster #Centaurus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #CXC #MSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Pan across Galaxy NGC 4696 | Hubble

Pan across Galaxy NGC 4696 | Hubble

This video pans over NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope observations of the massive galaxy NGC 4696, which lies about 150 million light-years from Earth.


Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/L. Calçada  

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: December 1, 2016


#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #NGC4696 #CentaurusCluster #Centaurus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Dusty Filaments in Galaxy NGC 4696 | Hubble

Dusty Filaments in Galaxy NGC 4696 | Hubble


This picture, taken by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), shows NGC 4696, the largest galaxy in the Centaurus Cluster.

This image shows the dusty filaments surrounding the center of this huge galaxy in great detail. These filaments loop and curl inwards in an intriguing spiral shape, swirling around the supermassive black hole at such a distance that they are dragged into and eventually consumed by the black hole itself.

Distance: about 150 million light years


Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble, A. Fabian

Release Date: December 1, 2016


#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #NGC4696 #CentaurusCluster #Centaurus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Pan across Elliptical Galaxy ESO 325-G004 | Hubble

Pan across Elliptical Galaxy ESO 325-G004 | Hubble

This video pans across NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope observations of the elliptical galaxy ESO 325-G004 that lies about 450 million light-years away. The galaxy is part of a diverse collection of galaxies in the cluster Abell S0740.


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

Duration: 25 seconds

Release Date: June 27, 2018


#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #GalaxyCluster #AbellS0740 #Galaxy #EllipticalGalaxy #ESO325G004 #Centaurus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Hubble Illuminates Cluster of Diverse Galaxies in Centaurus

Hubble Illuminates Cluster of Diverse Galaxies in Centaurus

This image from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope shows the diverse collection of galaxies in the cluster Abell S0740 that is over 450 million light-years away in the direction of the constellation Centaurus. The giant elliptical ESO 325-G004 looms large at the cluster's center. Hubble resolves thousands of globular star clusters orbiting ESO 325-G004. Globular clusters are compact groups of hundreds of thousands of stars that are gravitationally bound together. At the galaxy's distance they appear as pinpoints of light contained within the diffuse halo. 

This image was created by combining Hubble science observations taken in January 2005 with Hubble Heritage observations taken a year later to form a 3-color composite. The filters that isolate blue, red and infrared light were used with the Advanced Camera for Surveys aboard Hubble.


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

Release Date: June 21, 2018


#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #GalaxyCluster #AbellS0740 #ESO325G004 #Centaurus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

A Cosmic Tarantula | James Webb Space Telescope

A Cosmic Tarantula James Webb Space Telescope

Space Sparks Episode 5: Watch this special Space Sparks episode to learn more about the stellar nursery called 30 Doradus, or the Tarantula Nebula, as captured by the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope.

Distance: about 160,000 light-years


Credit:

Directed by: Bethany Downer and Nico Bartmann  

Editing: Nico Bartmann  

Web and technical support: Enciso Systems  

Written by: Bethany Downer  

Footage and photos: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Conceptual Image Lab, Euroepan Southern Observatory (ESO), E. Slawik, N. Risinger, D. De Martin, D. Lennon, E. Sabbi, N. Bartmann, M. Zamani

Duration: 2 minutes, 40 seconds

Release Date: September 6, 2022


#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebula #TarantulaNebula #30Doradus #LargeMagellanicCloud #LMC #Dorado #Constellation #JamesWebb #SpaceTelescope #JWST #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Two Infrared Views of The Tarantula Nebula | James Webb Space Telescope

Two Infrared Views of The Tarantula Nebula | James Webb Space Telescope

A side-by-side display of the same region of the Tarantula Nebula brings out the distinctions between Webb’s near-infrared (closer to visible red, left) and mid-infrared (further from visible red, right) images. Each portion of the electromagnetic spectrum reveals and conceals different features, making data in different wavelengths valuable to astronomers for understanding the physics taking place.

The image captured by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam, left) features bright, hot features, like the sparkling cluster of massive young stars, and the bright star to their upper left, featuring Webb’s distinctive diffraction spikes. Young, emerging stars shine blue, while scattered red points indicate stars that are still enshrouded in dust. Structure in the nebula, carved by the stellar winds of the massive young stars, is intricately detailed.

In the view from Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), the hot young stars fade, and cooler gas takes the spotlight. Much of the nebula takes on a ghostly appearance in the mid-infrared, because these longer wavelengths of light are able to penetrate the dust clouds and reach Webb. Previously hidden bubbles and dust-embedded stars emerge. A particularly prominent, spherically shaped bubble—being blown out by a newborn star—appears in the MIRI image just to the right of the now-darkened central star cluster.


Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI, N. Bartmann

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 6, 2022


#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebula #TarantulaNebula #30Doradus #LargeMagellanicCloud #LMC #Dorado #Constellation #JamesWebb #SpaceTelescope #JWST #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Tarantula Nebula (NIRSpec IFU) | James Webb Space Telescope

The Tarantula Nebula (NIRSpec IFU) | James Webb Space Telescope

Webb’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) reveals what is really going on in an intriguing region of the Tarantula Nebula. Astronomers focused the powerful instrument on what looked like a small bubble feature in the image from Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam). However, the spectra reveal a very different picture from a young star blowing a bubble in its surrounding gas.

The signature of atomic hydrogen, shown in blue, shows up in the star itself but not immediately surrounding it. Instead, it appears outside the “bubble,” which spectra show is actually “filled” with molecular hydrogen (green) and complex hydrocarbons (red). This indicates that the bubble is actually the top of a dense pillar of dust and gas that is being blasted by radiation from the cluster of massive young stars to its lower right (see the full NIRCam image). It does not appear as pillar-like as some other structures in the nebula because there is not much color contrast with the area surrounding it.

The harsh stellar wind from the massive young stars in the nebula is breaking apart molecules outside the pillar, but inside they are preserved, forming a cushy cocoon for the star. This star is still too young to be clearing out its surroundings by blowing bubbles—NIRSpec has captured it just beginning to emerge from the protective cloud from which it was formed. Without Webb’s resolution at infrared wavelengths, the discovery of this star birth in action would not have been possible.

NIRSpec was built for the European Space Agency (ESA) by a consortium of European companies led by Airbus Defence and Space (ADS) with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center providing its detector and micro-shutter subsystems.


Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Release Date: September 6, 2022


#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebula #TarantulaNebula #30Doradus #LargeMagellanicCloud #LMC #Dorado #Constellation #JamesWebb #SpaceTelescope #JWST #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Infographic #STEM #Education

The Tarantula Nebula (MIRI Image) | James Webb Space Telescope

The Tarantula Nebula (MIRI Image) | James Webb Space Telescope

At the longer wavelengths of light captured by its Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), Webb focuses on the area surrounding the central star cluster and unveils a very different view of the Tarantula Nebula. In this light, the young hot stars of the cluster fade in brilliance, and glowing gas and dust come forward. Abundant hydrocarbons light up the surfaces of the dust clouds, shown in blue and purple. Much of the nebula takes on a more ghostly, diffuse appearance because mid-infrared light is able to show more of what is happening deeper inside the clouds. Still-embedded protostars pop into view within their dusty cocoons, including a bright group at the very top edge of the image, left of center.

Other areas appear dark, like in the lower-right corner of the image. This indicates the densest areas of dust in the nebula, that even mid-infrared wavelengths cannot penetrate. These could be the sites of future, or current, star formation.

MIRI was contributed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA, with the instrument designed and built by a consortium of nationally funded European Institutes (The MIRI European Consortium) in partnership with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the University of Arizona.


Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Release Date: September 6, 2022


#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebula #TarantulaNebula #30Doradus #LargeMagellanicCloud #LMC #Dorado #Constellation #JamesWebb #SpaceTelescope #JWST #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Infographic #STEM #Education

Pan of The Tarantula Nebula | James Webb Space Telescope

Pan of The Tarantula Nebula | James Webb Space Telescope

In this mosaic image stretching 340 light-years across, Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) displays the Tarantula Nebula star-forming region in a new light, including tens of thousands of never-before-seen young stars that were previously shrouded in cosmic dust. The most active region appears to sparkle with massive young stars, appearing pale blue. Scattered among them are still-embedded stars, appearing red, yet to emerge from the dusty cocoon of the nebula. NIRCam is able to detect these dust-enshrouded stars thanks to its unprecedented resolution at near-infrared wavelengths.

Distance: about 160,000 light-years


Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), N. Bartmann

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 6, 2022


#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebula #TarantulaNebula #30Doradus #LargeMagellanicCloud #LMC #Dorado #Constellation #JamesWebb #SpaceTelescope #JWST #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Zoom into The Tarantula Nebula | James Webb Space Telescope

Zoom into The Tarantula Nebula | James Webb Space Telescope

This video takes the viewer on a journey that zooms through space to reveal the Tarantula Nebula.

Thousands of never-before-seen young stars are spotted in the stellar nursery called 30 Doradus, captured by the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope. It is nicknamed the Tarantula Nebula for the appearance of its dusty filaments in previous telescope images, the nebula has long been a favorite for astronomers studying star formation. In addition to young stars, Webb reveals distant background galaxies, as well as the detailed structure and composition of the nebula’s gas and dust.

Distance: about 160,000 light-years


Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), European Southern Observatory, E. Slawik, N. Risinger, D. De Martin, D. Lennon, E. Sabbi, N. Bartmann, M. Zamani

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: September 6, 2022


#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebula #TarantulaNebula #30Doradus #LargeMagellanicCloud #LMC #Dorado #Constellation #JamesWebb #SpaceTelescope #JWST #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video