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Saturday, September 17, 2022

Peeking inside a Stellar Cloud | Hubble

Peeking inside a Stellar Cloud | Hubble

These bright stars shining through what looks like a haze in the night sky are part of a young stellar grouping in one of the largest known star formation regions of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a dwarf satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. The image was captured by the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Planetary Camera 2.

The stellar grouping is known to stargazers as NGC 2040 or LH 88. It is essentially a very loose star cluster whose stars have a common origin and are drifting together through space. There are three different types of stellar associations defined by their stellar properties. NGC 2040 is an OB association, a grouping that usually contains 10–100 stars of type O and B—these are high-mass stars that have short but brilliant lives. It is thought that most of the stars in the Milky Way were born in OB associations.

There are several such groupings of stars in the LMC. Just like the others, LH 88 consists of several high-mass young stars in a large nebula of partially ionized hydrogen gas, and lies in what is known to be a supergiant shell of gas called LMC 4.

Over a period of several million years, thousands of stars may form in these supergiant shells, which are the largest interstellar structures in galaxies. The shells themselves are believed to have been created by strong stellar winds and clustered supernova explosions of massive stars that blow away surrounding dust and gas, and in turn trigger further episodes of star formation.

The LMC is the third closest galaxy to our Milky Way. It is located some 160,000 light-years away, and is about 100 times smaller than our own.

This image, which shows ultraviolet, visible and infrared light, covers a field of view of approximately 1.8 by 1.8 arcminutes.

A version of this image was entered into the Hubble’s Hidden Treasures Image Processing Competition by contestant Eedresha Sturdivant. Hidden Treasures is an initiative to invite astronomy enthusiasts to search the Hubble archive for stunning images that have never been seen by the general public.

Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA and D. A Gouliermis

Acknowledgement: Eedresha Sturdivant

Release Date: April 16, 2012

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Stars #StarFormation #Nebula #NGC2040 #LH88 #Dorado #Constellation #LMC #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Large and Small Stars in Harmonious Coexistence | Hubble

Large and Small Stars in Harmonious Coexistence | Hubble

This image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows a star forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). This sharp image reveals a large number of low-mass infant stars coexisting with young massive stars.

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), European Space Agency (ESA)

Release Date: August 14, 2006

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Stars #StarFormation #Nebula #LH95 #Dorado #Constellation #LMC #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

The Large Magellanic Cloud

The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC)

This ground-based image of the Large Magellanic Cloud was taken by the German astrophotographer Eckhard Slawik. It spans 10 x 10 degrees. Just to the left of the middle of this image the largest star-forming region in the Local Group of galaxies, 30 Doradus, is seen as a red patch. N11B itself is seen in the upper right part of the LMC.

Credit: Eckhard Slawik

Release Date: July 1, 2004

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Stars #StarFormation #Nebula #N11B #PapillonNebula #Dorado #Constellation #LMC #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #STEM #Education

Overview of The Large Magellanic Cloud (ground-based image)

Overview of The Large Magellanic Cloud (ground-based image)

This wide field view of part of the Large Magellanic Cloud includes the location of the N11 star formation region. This image was created from digitized photographs through red and blue filters. The field of view is about three degrees across.

Distance: 150,000 light years

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

Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin

Release Date: January 17, 2013

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Stars #StarFormation #Nebula #N11B #Dorado #Constellation #LMC #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Imagery Sources: Zooming on Star Formation Region N11B (Large Magellanic Cloud)

Imagery Sources: Zoom on Star Formation Region N11B ( Large Magellanic Cloud)

Hubble observes the constellation Dorado and we zoom on the Large Magellanic Cloud (LM). We fade to Eckhard Slawik's ground-based image of the LMC and then fade to the Digitized Sky Survey 2 image of N11, and finally fade to the Hubble Space Telescope image of N11B.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble (M. Kornmesser & L. L. Christensen)

Duration: 38 seconds

Release Date: February 16, 2016

Into the Storm: Stellar Nursery N159 in The Large Magellanic Cloud | Hubble

Into the Storm: Stellar Nursery N159 in The Large Magellanic Cloud | Hubble

This shot from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope shows a maelstrom of glowing gas and dark dust within one of the Milky Way’s satellite galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC).

This stormy scene shows a stellar nursery known as N159, an HII region over 150 light-years across. N159 contains many hot young stars. These stars are emitting intense ultraviolet light, which causes nearby hydrogen gas to glow, and torrential stellar winds, which are carving out ridges, arcs, and filaments from the surrounding material.

At the heart of this cosmic cloud lies the Papillon Nebula, a butterfly-shaped region of nebulosity. This small, dense object is classified as a High-Excitation Blob, and is thought to be tightly linked to the early stages of massive star formation.

N159 is located over 160,000 light-years away. It resides just south of the Tarantula Nebula (heic1402), another massive star-forming complex within the LMC. It was previously imaged by Hubble’s Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which also resolved the Papillon Nebula for the first time.

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

Release Date: September 5, 2016

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Stars #StarFormation #Nebula #N11B #PapillonNebula #Dorado #Constellation #LMC #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Location of Star Formation Region N11B in The Large Magellanic Cloud | NASA

Location of Star Formation Region N11B in The Large Magellanic Cloud | NASA

This panel is composed of three images of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) with increasing magnification. To the upper left is a ground-based image take by the German astrophotographer Eckhard Slawik. It spans 10 x 10 degrees. Just to the left of the middle of this image the largest star-forming region in the Local Group of galaxies, 30 Doradus, is seen as a red patch. N11B itself is seen in the upper right part of the LMC. The rectangle indicates the field of the Digitized Sky Survey 2 image.

To the upper right is a ground-based image zoomed closer on N11B in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The image spans a square of one degree and was constructed from two images from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 taken through infrared and red filters (shown as blue and red respectively). The frame indicates the field of Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 seen at the bottom of the panel.

Distance: ~160,000 light-year

Credit: NASA/European Space Agency (ESA), the Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI)/HEIC, Eckhard Slawik and Digitized Sky Survey 2

Release Date: July 1, 2004

3D Animation: Star Formation Region N11B in The Large Magellanic Cloud | Hubble

3D Animation: Star Formation Region N11B in The Large Magellanic Cloud | Hubble

3D animation showing motion of the nebula N11B.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble (M. Kornmesser & L. L. Christensen)

Duration: 20 seconds

Release Date: February 16, 2016

NASA Astronaut Michael E. López-Alegría | Space Shuttle Flight STS-92

NASA Astronaut Michael E. López-Alegría | Space Shuttle Flight STS-92

Astronaut Michael E. López-Alegría, mission specialist, is photographed in this close-up view during one of the STS-92 spacewalks on Oct. 18, 2000. During his NASA career, López-Alegría logged more than 257 days in space and performed 10 spacewalks totaling 67 hours and 40 minutes. He flew on the STS-73, STS-92 and STS-113 space shuttle missions and spent seven months on the International Space Station (ISS) as commander of Expedition 14. In 2022, he served as commander of Axiom Mission 1, the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station.

López-Alegría holds the record for the most extravehicular activities (spacewalks) ever performed, at 10 different excursions. His various NASA achievements earned him an induction in the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2020.

López-Alegría is a former president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, a former member of the Human Exploration and Operations Committee of the NASA Advisory Council, and former part of the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Another of his many affiliations is past president of the Association of Space Explorers USA.

Throughout National Hispanic Heritage Month, the contributions of the brilliant Hispanic people of NASA are being celebrated.

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: October 18, 2000

Release Date: September 15, 2022

#NASA #Space #SpaceShuttle #STS92 #ISS #Axiom #AxiomSpace #Ax1 #SpaceX #CrewDragon #Spacecraft #Astronauts #MichaelLópezAlegría #EVA #Spacewalk #Spain #Espana #UniedStates #HispanicAmerican #HumanSpaceflight #History #STEM #Education

Panning on Star Formation Region N11B in The Large Magellanic Cloud | Hubble

Panning on Star Formation Region N11B in The Large Magellanic Cloud | Hubble

While the camera moves along the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope image, the full beauty of this star-forming region is revealed.

Distance: ~160,000 light-year

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble (M. Kornmesser & L. L. Christensen)

Release Date: February 16, 2016

Zooming on Star Formation Region N11B in The Large Magellanic Cloud | Hubble

Zooming on Star Formation Region N11B in The Large Magellanic Cloud | Hubble

Hubble observes the constellation Dorado and we zoom on the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We fade to Eckhard Slawik's ground-based image of the LMC and then fade to the Digitized Sky Survey 2 image of N11, and finally fade to the Hubble Space Telescope image of N11B.

Distance: ~160,000 light-years

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble (M. Kornmesser & L. L. Christensen)

Duration: 38 seconds

Release Date: February 16, 2016

Star Formation Region N11B in The Large Magellanic Cloud | Hubble

Star Formation Region N11B in The Large Magellanic Cloud | Hubble

The NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope captured the iridescent tapestry of star birth in a neighboring galaxy in this panoramic view of glowing gas, dark dust clouds, and young, hot stars. The star-forming region, catalogued as N11B lies in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), located only 160,000 light-years from Earth. With its high resolution, the Hubble Space Telescope is able to view details of star formation in the LMC as easily as ground-based telescopes are able to observe stellar formation within our own Milky Way galaxy.

Our neighborhood galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) lies in the Constellation of Dorado and is sprinkled with a number of regions harboring recent and ongoing star formation. One of these star-forming regions, N11B, is shown in this Hubble image. It is a subregion within a larger area of star formation called N11. N11 is the second largest star-forming region in LMC. It is only surpassed in the size and activity by "the king of stellar nurseries", 30 Doradus, located at the opposite side of LMC.

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

Release Date: July 1, 2004

Friday, September 16, 2022

Nebula NGC 604 in Far Away Galaxy M33 | Hubble

Nebula NGC 604 in Far Away Galaxy M33 | Hubble

This is a Hubble Space Telescope image (right) of a vast nebula called NGC 604, which lies in the neighboring spiral galaxy Messier 33, located 2.7 million light-years away in the constellation Triangulum. It was discovered by German-born British astronomer and composer William Herschel on September 11, 1784.

Distance: ~3 million light years

Credit: Hui Yang (University of Illinois) and NASA/European Space Agency (ESA)

Release Date: August 7, 1996

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Stars #StarFormation #Nebula #NGC604 #Triangulum #Constellation #Galaxy #Spiral #Messier33 #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Orbital Sunrise over Pacific Ocean | International Space Station

Orbital Sunrise over Pacific Ocean | International Space Station

An orbital sunrise begins to illuminate the cloud tops in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 258 miles above the Pacific Ocean south of the Hawaiian island chain.

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.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: Sept. 15, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #Planet #Orbital #Sunrise #Hawaii #Islands #PacificOcean #Astronauts #Photography #Science #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition67 #Europe #UnitedStates #Canada #Japan #日本 #Russia #Россия #International #OverviewEffect #OrbitalPerspective #STEM #Education

Planet Saturn: The Farewell | NASA Cassini Mission

Planet Saturn: The Farewell | NASA Cassini Mission

The Cassini spacecraft ended its mission on Sept. 15, 2017. Cassini's end involved a series of close Saturn passes, approaching within the rings, then an entry into Saturn's atmosphere to destroy the spacecraft. This method was chosen because it is necessary to ensure protection and prevent biological contamination to any of the moons of Saturn thought to offer potential habitability.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit: https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and www.nasa.gov/cassini

The Cassini-Huygens mission was a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, managed the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center was based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Image Processing: Elisabetta Bonora & Marco Faccin

Release Date: September 3, 2022

#NASA #Astronomy #Science #Space #Saturn #Planet #Rings #SolarSystem #Exploration #Cassini #Spacecraft #JPL #California #UnitedStates #ESA #ASI #History #STEM #Education

Star Formation Region LHA 120-N11 in The Large Magellanic Cloud | Hubble

Star Formation Region LHA 120-N11 in The Large Magellanic Cloud | Hubble

Nearly 200,000 light-years from Earth, the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, floats in space, in a long and slow dance around our galaxy. As the Milky Way’s gravity gently tugs on its neighbor’s gas clouds, they collapse to form new stars. In turn, these light up the gas clouds in a kaleidoscope of colors, visible in this image from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope.

Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA)

Acknowledgement: Josh Lake

Release Date: January 17, 2013

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Stars #StarFormation #Nebula #N11 #LHA120N11 #30Doradus #TarantulaNebula #Dorado #Constellation #LMC #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

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