Monday, September 12, 2022

Tour Bright, Young Stars Blazing in The Lobster Nebula | NOIRLab

Tour Bright, Young Stars Blazing in The Lobster Nebula | NOIRLab

CosmoView Episode 52: The 570-megapixel U.S. Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera at NOIRLab’s Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile is one of the most powerful tools in astronomy and astrophysics. To commemorate its first decade of discovery and exploration, NOIRLab has released a stunning image of the Lobster Nebula, a brilliant star-forming region located 8,000 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Scorpius. The image was unveiled at a conference highlighting DECam’s breakthrough science results.


Credit:

Images and Videos: CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/AURA, D. Munizaga  

Image Processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF’s NOIRLab), J. Miller (Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Zamani & D. de Martin (NSF’s NOIRLab)  

Duration: 1 minute, 36 seconds

Release Date: September 12, 2022


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #NGC6357 #Nebula #LobsterNebula #Scorpius #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Observatory #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #DOE #CTIO #Chile #SouthAmerica #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Lobster Nebula with Blazing Young Stars Close-up | NOIRLab

The Lobster Nebula with Blazing Young Stars Close-up | NOIRLab

The 570-megapixel U.S. Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera at NOIRLab’s Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile is one of the most powerful tools in astronomy and astrophysics. To commemorate its first decade of discovery and exploration, NOIRLab has released a stunning image of the Lobster Nebula, a brilliant star-forming region located 8,000 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Scorpius. The image was unveiled at a conference highlighting DECam’s breakthrough science results.


Credit: Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO)/NOIRLab/U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)/National Science Foundation (NSF)/Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)

T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF’s NOIRLab), J. Miller (Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Zamani & D. de Martin (NSF’s NOIRLab)

Duration: 40 seconds

Release Date: September 12, 2022


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #NGC6357 #Nebula #LobsterNebula #Scorpius #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Observatory #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #DOE #CTIO #Chile #SouthAmerica #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Zooming into The Lobster Nebula | NOIRLab

Zooming into The Lobster Nebula | NOIRLab

The 570-megapixel U.S. Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera at NOIRLab’s Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile is one of the most powerful tools in astronomy and astrophysics. To commemorate its first decade of discovery and exploration, NOIRLab has released a stunning image of the Lobster Nebula, a brilliant star-forming region located 8,000 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Scorpius. 


Credit: Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO)/NOIRLab/U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)/National Science Foundation (NSF)/Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)

T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF’s NOIRLab), J. Miller (Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Zamani & D. de Martin (NSF’s NOIRLab)

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: September 12, 2022


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #NGC6357 #Nebula #LobsterNebula #Scorpius #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Observatory #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #DOE #CTIO #Chile #SouthAmerica #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Young Stars Blazing Inside The Lobster Nebula | NOIRLab

Young Stars Blazing inside The Lobster Nebula | NOIRLab


This image, taken by astronomers using the U.S. Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera on the VĂ­ctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, captures the star-forming nebula NGC 6357, which is located 8,000 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Scorpius. This image reveals bright, young stars surrounded by billowing clouds of dust and gas inside NGC 6357, which is also known as the Lobster Nebula. 


Credit: Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO)/NOIRLab/U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)/National Science Foundation (NSF)/Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)

T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF’s NOIRLab), J. Miller (Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Zamani & D. de Martin (NSF’s NOIRLab)

Release Date: September 12, 2022


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #NGC6357 #Nebula #LobsterNebula #Scorpius #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Observatory #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #DOE #CTIO #Chile #SouthAmerica #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

The Triangulum Galaxy: Wide-field View | ESO

The Triangulum Galaxy: Wide-field View | ESO


This wide field view of the sky around the nearby galaxy Messier 33, also known as the Triangulum Galaxy, was assembled from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The original photographs were taken over a period spanning more than 40 years, from 1949 until the early 1990s. As a result some of the nearer stars in the picture have moved due to their significant proper motions. These show up as double dots—one red and one blue. The huge galaxy at the center of the picture is tens or hundreds of thousands of times more distant than these nearby stars.


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

Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin

Release Date: August 6, 2014


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxy #TriangulumGalaxy #Messier33 #M33 #Triangulum #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

A Close-up Look at The Triangulum Galaxy | Hubble

A Close-up Look at The Triangulum Galaxy | Hubble

This video sequence gives a detailed close-up view of the Triangulum Galaxy, also known as Messier 33. The beautiful picture of this nearby spiral, the second-closest large galaxy to our own, was captured by the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. The image is packed with bright star clusters and clouds of gas and dust. This picture is among the most detailed wide-field views of this object ever taken and shows the many glowing gas clouds in the spiral arms with particular clarity.


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

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: January 10, 2019


#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxy #TriangulumGalaxy #Messier33 #M33 #Triangulum #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Zooming in on The Triangulum Galaxy | Hubble

Zooming in on The Triangulum Galaxy | Hubble

This video journey takes the viewer on a three-million-light-year trip to the Triangulum Galaxy, Messier 33. The final view, from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope, is the most detailed wide-field view of this object ever obtained and shows the many glowing gas clouds in the spiral arms with particular clarity.


Credit: European Space Agency (ESA), European Southern Observatory (ESO), DSS, NASA, Risinger

Duration: 50 seconds

Release Date: January 10, 2019


#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxy #TriangulumGalaxy #Messier33 #M33 #Triangulum #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Triangulum Galaxy | Hubble

The Triangulum Galaxy | Hubble


This gigantic image of the Triangulum Galaxy—also known as Messier 33—is a composite of about 54 different pointings with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. With a staggering size of 34,372 times 19,345 pixels, it is the second-largest image released by Hubble as of 2019. It is only dwarfed by the image of the Andromeda Galaxy, released in 2015.

The mosaic of the Triangulum Galaxy showcases the central region of the galaxy and its inner spiral arms. Millions of stars, hundreds of star clusters and bright nebulae are visible. This image is too large to be easily displayed at full resolution.


Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), and M. Durbin, J. Dalcanton, and B. F. Williams (University of Washington)

Release Date: January 7, 2019


#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxy #TriangulumGalaxy #Messier33 #M33 #Triangulum #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

The Triangulum Galaxy: Full Dome View | ESO

The Triangulum Galaxy: Full Dome View | ESO


An animation of the Triangulum Galaxy designed for planetarium use.
Distance: 3 million light years

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO), T. Matsopoulos
Duration: 15 seconds
Release Date: August 1, 2016

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxy #TriangulumGalaxy #Messier33 #M33 #Triangulum #Cosmos #Universe #VLTSurveyTelescope #VST #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #Animation #FullDome #HD #Video

The Triangulum Galaxy: A Close-up Look | ESO

The Triangulum Galaxy: A Close-up Look | ESO

This video sequence gives a very detailed close-up view of the galaxy Messier 33. The VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in Chile captured this beautiful picture of what is often also called the Triangulum Galaxy. This nearby spiral, the second closest large galaxy to our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is packed with bright star clusters, and clouds of gas and dust. This picture is amongst the most detailed wide-field view of this object ever taken and shows the many glowing red gas clouds in the spiral arms with particular clarity.

Distance: 3 million light years


Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Duration: 50 seconds

Release Date: September 1, 2014


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxy #TriangulumGalaxy #Messier33 #M33 #Triangulum #Cosmos #Universe #VLTSurveyTelescope #VST #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Zooming in on The Triangulum Galaxy | ESO

Zooming in on The Triangulum Galaxy | ESO

This video journey takes the viewer on a three million light-year trip to the Triangulum Galaxy, Messier 33. The final view, from the VLT Survey Telescope (VST), is amongst the most detailed wide-field views of this object ever taken and shows the many glowing red gas clouds in the spiral arms with particular clarity.

Distance: 3 million light years


Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/N. Risinger/David Malin

Duration: 50 seconds

Release Date: September 1, 2014


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxy #TriangulumGalaxy #Messier33 #M33 #Triangulum #Cosmos #Universe #VLTSurveyTelescope #VST #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Triangulum Galaxy | ESO

The Triangulum Galaxy | ESO


The VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in Chile has captured this beautifully detailed image of the galaxy Messier 33, often called the Triangulum Galaxy. This nearby spiral, the second closest large galaxy to our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is packed with bright star clusters, and clouds of gas and dust. This picture is amongst the most detailed wide-field views of this object ever taken and shows the many glowing red gas clouds in the spiral arms with particular clarity.

Distance: 3 million light years


Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: August 6, 2014


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxy #TriangulumGalaxy #Messier33 #M33 #Triangulum #Cosmos #Universe #VLTSurveyTelescope #VST #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Starstruck in Globular Cluster Terzan 4 | Hubble

Starstruck in Globular Cluster Terzan 4 | Hubble


A glittering multitude of stars in the globular cluster Terzan 4 fill this image from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. Globular clusters are collections of stars bound together by their mutual gravitational attraction, and can contain millions of individual stars. As this image shows, the heart of a globular cluster, such as Terzan 4, is a densely packed, crowded field of stars.

The launch of Hubble in 1990 revolutionized the study of globular clusters. The individual stars in these dense crowds are almost impossible to distinguish from one another with ground-based telescopes, but can be picked apart using space telescopes. Astronomers have taken advantage of Hubble’s crystal-clear vision to study the stars making up globular clusters, as well as how these systems change over time.

This particular observation comes from astronomers using Hubble to explore Terzan 4 and other globular clusters to understand the shape, density, age, and structure of globular clusters close to the center of the Milky Way. Unlike globular clusters elsewhere in the sky, these globular clusters have evaded detailed observation because of the clouds of gas and dust swirling around the galactic core. These clouds blot out starlight in a process that astronomers refer to as ‘extinction’, and complicate astronomical observations.

Astronomers took advantage of the sensitivity of two of Hubble’s instruments—the Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3—to overcome the impact of extinction on Terzan 4. By combining Hubble imagery with sophisticated data processing, astronomers were able to determine the ages of galactic globular clusters to within a billion years—a relatively accurate measurement in astronomical terms.


Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, R. Cohen

Release Date: September 12, 2022


#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarCluster #Terzan4 #Scorpius #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Wispy Dark Clouds in Barnard 92 & 93 | ESO

Wispy Dark Clouds in Barnard 92 & 93 | ESO

The dark clouds in this image, taken from the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in Chile, almost resemble something supernatural, like the wispy trails of ghosts in the sky. However, there is no need to call the ghostbusters! These clouds, known as Barnard 92 (right) and Barnard 93 (left) are dark nebulae. They look pitch black because the dense gas and dust they contain block out the background light, creating these hazy ghostlike features.

These nebulae are stellar nurseries, where new stars are born out of the collapsing dense gas and dust. This whole region of space imaged here is actually part of a much larger stellar complex, called the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud (or Messier 24, catalogued by Charles Messier in 1764). This area is so rich in stars that it is clearly visible to the naked eye during dark nights in the constellation of Sagittarius.

This image was taken with an enormous 268 million pixel camera called OmegaCAM on the VLT Survey Telescope. OmegaCAM is designed for capturing wide fields like this image, where you could impressively fit four full Moons. This image is part of the VST Photometric Hα Survey of the Southern Galactic Plane and Bulge (VPHAS+), which has mapped diffuse nebulae as well as both young and evolved stars in our galaxy.


Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/VPHAS+ team

Acknowledgement: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit

Release Date: September 12, 2022


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #DarkClouds #Nebulas #Nebulae #Barnard92 #Barnard93 #SmallSagittariusStarCloud #Messier24 #M24 #Sagittarius #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VLTSurveyTelescope #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Sunday, September 11, 2022

Bright Star Cluster NGC 2367: Wide-field View | ESO

Bright Star Cluster NGC 2367: Wide-field View | ESO

This wide-field view of the sky around the star cluster NGC 2367 was created from photographic material forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The cluster itself is the tight knot of blue stars at the center of the picture.

Distance: over 7,000 light years


Credit: ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2 Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin

Release Date: July 1, 2015


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarCluster #NGC2367 #CanisMajor #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Panning across Star Cluster NGC 2367 | ESO

Panning across Star Cluster NGC 2367 | ESO

This pan video gives a close-up view of an array of colorful stars and gas that was captured by the Wide Field Imager (WFI) camera, on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. It shows a young open cluster of stars known as NGC 2367, an infant stellar grouping that lies at the center of an immense and ancient structure on the margins of the Milky Way.

Distance: over 7,000 light years


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

Duration: 50 seconds

Release Date: July 1, 2015


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarCluster #NGC2367 #CanisMajor #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #LaSillaObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video