Touring Tempestuous Young Stars in The Orion Nebula | Hubble

Touring Tempestuous Young Stars in The Orion Nebula | Hubble

The bright variable star V 372 Orionis takes center stage in this image from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope, which has also captured a smaller companion star in the upper left of this image. Both stars lie in the Orion Nebula, a colossal region of star formation roughly 1,450 light years from Earth.

Image Description: Two very bright stars with cross-shaped diffraction spikes are prominent: the larger is slightly lower-right of center, the smaller lies towards the upper-left corner. Small red stars with short diffraction spikes are scattered around them. The background is covered nearly completely by gas: smoky, bright blue gas around the larger star in the center and lower-right, and wispier red gas elsewhere.

V 372 Orionis is a particular type of variable star known as an Orion Variable. These young stars experience some tempestuous moods and growing pains, which are visible to astronomers as irregular variations in luminosity. Orion Variables are often associated with diffuse nebulae, and V 372 Orionis is no exception; the patchy gas and dust of the Orion Nebula pervade this scene.

This image overlays data from two of Hubble’s instruments. Data from the Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3 at infrared and visible wavelengths were layered to reveal rich details of this corner of the Orion Nebula. Hubble also left its own subtle signature on this astronomical portrait in the form of the diffraction spikes surrounding the bright stars. These prominent artefacts are created by starlight interacting with Hubble’s inner workings, and as a result they reveal hints of Hubble’s structure. The four spikes surrounding the stars in this image are created by four vanes inside Hubble supporting the telescope’s secondary mirror. The diffraction spikes of the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope, on the other hand, are six-pointed as a result of Webb’s hexagonal mirror segments and 3-legged support structure for the secondary mirror.  

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, J. Bally, M. Robberto

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: Jan. 23, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Star #V372Orionis #OrionVariable #VariableStar #OrionNebula #Orion #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA Remembers Fallen Heroes

NASA Remembers Fallen Heroes

NASA remembers the crews of Apollo 1, space shuttles Challenger and Columbia during the agency's Day of Remembrance on Jan. 26, 2023. Feb. 1 marks the 20th anniversary of the Columbia STS-107 accident.

NASA's Day of Remembrance honors all members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery.

Learn more: https://www.nasa.gov/dor

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Producer Credit: Shane Apple

Music: Universal Production Music

Duration: 5 minutes

Release Date: Jan. 26, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #Moon #Astronomy #Science #NASARemembers #Astronauts #Apollo1 #SpaceShuttleChallenger #STS51L #SpaceShuttleColumbia #STS107 #Scientists #Engineers #Heroes #Leaders #Stars #History #SolarSystem #Exploration #America #UnitedStates #History #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Meet Peggy Whitson: Ax-2 Mission Commander | Axiom Space

Meet Peggy Whitson: Ax-2 Mission Commander | Axiom Space

"Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) will be Axiom Space’s second all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), marking another pivotal step toward Axiom Station, the world’s first commercial space station and a successor to the ISS. Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and ISS commander, will lead the privately funded mission."

"The Ax-2 crew is currently scheduled to launch in the spring of 2023. The four-person Axiom Space crew will fly to space in SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft atop its Falcon 9 rocket to participate in a 12-day mission, including 10 days working and living on the orbiting laboratory to implement a full mission manifest of science, outreach, and commercial activities."

"With more than 35 years of experience in space and science, Peggy Whitson is an Axiom astronaut slated as the backup commander of Ax-1 and the commander of Ax-2—the first-ever private missions to the International Space Station (ISS). Positions she held during a historic NASA astronaut career include Chief of the Astronaut Office, Commander of the International Space Station (twice), Chair of the Astronaut Selection Board, Science Officer, Operations Branch Chief, Deputy Division Chief for both Medical Sciences and the Astronaut Office, and co-chair of the US/Russian Mission Science Working Group."

"Peggy flew on three long-duration missions to the ISS (Expeditions 5, 16, 50/51/52) and spent more cumulative time in space than any US astronaut or any woman in the world (665 days). She has conducted 10 Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVA, spacewalks), with over 60 EVA hours to her credit, and performed hundreds of research experiments on board the ISS."

"A holder of B.S. degrees in biology and chemistry from Iowa Wesleyan and a doctoral degree in biochemistry from Rice University, she has been honored with various NASA medals in Leadership, Outstanding Leadership, and Exceptional Service, as well as Glamour’s Woman of the Year (2017), TIME 100 Most Influential People in the World (2018), and Women in Aviation Lifetime Achievement Award (2017)."

"Peggy A. Whitson, Ph.D. holds the titles of Astronaut and Director of Human Space Flight at Axiom Space."

Former NASA Astronaut Peggy Whitson's Official Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/peggy-a-whitson

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/peggy-a-whitson/biography

"Aviator John Shoffner of Knoxville, Tennessee, will serve as the Ax-2 pilot. The two mission specialists will be announced at a later date."

"Axiom Space is guided by the vision of a thriving home in space that benefits every human, everywhere. The leader in providing space infrastructure as a service, Axiom offers end-to-end missions to the International Space Station today while privately developing its successor—a permanent commercial destination in Earth’s orbit that will sustain human growth off the planet and bring untold benefits back home."

Learn more about Axiom: www.axiomspace.com

Credit: Axiom Space

Duration: 34 seconds

Release Date: Jan. 25, 2023

#NASA #Space #ISS #Axiom #AxiomSpace #SpaceX #CrewDragon #Falcon9 #Rocket #CommercialSpace #Ax2Mission #Astronauts #PeggyWhitson #Commander #UnitedStates #Science #Research #Laboratory #International #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Expedition 68 NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 | International Space Station

Expedition 68 NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 | International Space Station

Leaders from NASA, SpaceX, Roscosmos and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) presented an overview of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station. The mission will carry NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg as well as UAE astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev aboard a Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket to the space station. Launch is scheduled for no earlier than Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023.

The four crew members of the SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station are Mission Specialist Sultan Al Nedayi (UAE), Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev (Russia), Pilot William Hoburg, and Commander Stephen Bowen.

Astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (United Arab Emirates) will make history by being the first astronaut from the Arab world to spend six months on the International Space Station (ISS). AlNeyadi has undergone a 20-month long rigorous training for the Crew-6 mission. AlNeyadi began his training in September 2018, at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center at Star City in Moscow, Russia.

Cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev (Russia)

Andrey Valerievich Fediaev (Russian Cyrillic: Андрей Валерьевич Федяев; born February 26, 1981) is a Russian cosmonaut. Fediaev received his an engineering degree in air transport and Air Traffic Control from the Balashov Military Aviation School in 2004. Following graduation, Fediaev joined the Russian Air Force in the 317th mixed aviation segment. He obtained the rank of major before his retirement in 2013. He logged over 500 hours in Russian aircraft.

Fediaev was selected as a cosmonaut in 2012. He reported to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in 2012 and was named a test cosmonaut on June 16, 2014.

On July 15, 2022, he was assigned to the SpaceX Crew-6 mission after a recent crew swap agreement between NASA and Roscosmos.

NASA Astronaut William Hoburg's Official Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/warren-hoburg

https://www.nasa.gov/content/warren-hoburg-phd-nasa-astronaut

NASA Astronaut Stephen Bowen's Official Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/stephen-g-bowen

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP) works with the American aerospace industry to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station on American-made rockets and spacecraft launching from American soil.

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)

Duration: 47 minutes

Release Date: Jan. 25, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Space #Earth #Science #ISS #SpaceX #CrewDragon #Spacecraft #SpaceXCrew6 #Astronauts #SultanAlNedayi #MBRSC #UAE #Cosmonaut #AndreyFedyaev #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #WilliamHoburg #MIT #StephenBowen #USNavy #CCP #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Has COVID Affected Climate Change? We Asked a NASA Scientist

Has COVID Affected Climate Change? We Asked a NASA Scientist

Greenhouse gas emissions decreased a little during the first year of COVID-19, but not enough to make a lasting impact.

Less travel and cars on the road meant improved air quality. However, greenhouse gases that cause climate change only decreased a little because we were still heating and cooling our homes, so these gases continued to build up in our atmosphere. NASA climate change scientist Lesley Ott tells us more about what scientists discovered.

Explore more about the unexpected effects the pandemic had on our atmosphere: https://go.nasa.gov/3D1MoO5

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Producers: Scott Bednar, Jessica Wilde

Editor: Daniel Salazar

Duration: 1 minute, 26 seconds

Release Date: Jan. 25, 2023

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #COVID19 #Health #Planet #Atmosphere #Meteorology #Weather #Climate #SeaLevelRise #ClimateChange #CarbonDioxide #CO2 #Methane #GreenHouseGases #GlobalWarming #GlobalHeating #Environment #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Mission Recap: To the Black | Alpha FLTA002 | Firefly Aerospace

Mission Recap: To the Black | Alpha FLTA002 | Firefly Aerospace

On October 1, 2022, Firefly Aerospace made history by performing a successful launch into orbit on its second attempt. Firefly's Alpha FLTA002 mission successfully reached orbit and deployed customer payloads, after lifting off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Firefly's rocket can deliver payloads in the 1300kg payload lift class. 

Website: https://fireflyspace.com

Credit: Firefly Aerospace

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: Jan. 25, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #Satellites #FireflyAerospace #Rocket #Alpha3 #CommercialSpace #California #VandenbergSpaceForceBase #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Rocket Lab Launches First Electron Rocket from Virginia | NASA Wallops

Rocket Lab Launches First Electron Rocket from Virginia | NASA Wallops

Rocket Lab performed its long-awaited first Electron launch from Virginia Jan. 24, 2023, placing three HawkEye 360 satellites into orbit. The Electron rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 2 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia, at 6 p.m. Eastern. Electron carried three satellites for HawkEye 360, the Herndon, Virginia-based company that offers radio-frequency (RF) intelligence services. The “Cluster 6” satellites, deployed into a 550-kilometer orbit at an inclination of 40.5 degrees, will join the company’s constellation to locate and monitor terrestrial RF sources. 

The mission, called “Virginia Is For Launch Lovers” by Rocket Lab, was the company’s first launch from LC-2. The company’s previous 32 Electron launches took place from its Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. Rocket Lab had been working for years to set a U.S. launch site to support government and other customers who wanted to launch domestically. The launch is the first of the year for Rocket Lab, which said in a November earnings call it was planning approximately 14 Electron launches in 2023 after conducting nine in 2022. The company projected that four to six of those launches would take place from Wallops, including two launches in the spring to deploy NASA’s four Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) cubesats under a task order NASA announced in November.

Read full SpaceNews article: 

https://spacenews.com/rocket-lab-launches-first-electron-from-virginia/

Image Credits: Rocket Lab/Trevor Mahlmann

Caption Credit: Jeff Foust/SpaceNews

Image Date: Jan. 24, 2023

#NASA #Space #Aerospace #Earth #RocketLab #Electron #Rocket #Launch #Satellites #HawkEye360 #GeospatialAnalytics #VirginiaIsForLaunchLovers #CommercialSpace #PeterBeck #WallopsIsland #Virginia #STEM #Education

Planet Mars: Going with the Flow | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Planet Mars: Going with the Flow | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Harmakhis Vallis is an approximately 800-kilometer long outflow channel located in eastern Hellas. The valley probably formed by a combination of surface collapse and flowing water.

Black and white images are less than 5 km across; enhanced color images are less than1 km. 

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, to provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and to relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, and reached Mars on March 10, 2006. 

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Narration: Tre Gibbs

Tre's website: www.tregibbs.com

Duration: 55 seconds

Release Date: Jan. 23, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #HarmakhisVallis #Hellas #Geology #Landscape #Terrain #MRO #HiRISE #Spacecraft #JPL #Caltech #UA #UniversityOfArizona #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA Astronaut Nicole Mann on First Spacewalk | International Space Station

NASA Astronaut Nicole Mann on First Spacewalk | International Space Station

NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Nicole Mann is pictured in her Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or spacesuit, during her first spacewalk on Jan. 20, 2023. She and fellow spacewalker Koichi Wakata (out of frame) of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency installed a modification kit on the International Space Station's starboard truss structure that will enable the future installation of the orbiting lab's next roll-out solar array.

NASA astronaut Nicole Mann and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata concluded their spacewalk at 3:35 p.m. EST after 7 hours and 21 minutes. It was the 258th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, upgrades, and maintenance, the first spacewalk of 2023, and the first spacewalk for both astronauts.

Astronaut Nicole Mann's Official NASA Biography

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

Follow Expedition 68 crew updates at: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 68 Crew

Station Commander: Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Anna Kikina & Dmitri Petelin

NASA: Flight Engineers Nicole Mann, Frank Rubio & Josh Cassada

JAXA (Japan): Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata

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: Jan. 20, 2023 

#NASA #Space #Earth #Astronauts #Spacewalk #EVA #NicoleMann #KoichiWakata #JAXA #Japan #FrankRubio #JoshCassada #Cosmonauts #Роскосмос #Russia #Science #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition68 #JSC #UnitedStates #Canada #CSA #Research #Laboratory #STEM #Education

Download Free 2023 Hubble & Webb Calendar | European Space Agency

Download Free 2023 Hubble & Webb Calendar | European Space Agency

To celebrate another year of exciting images and discoveries from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope, and the first year of operations with the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope, ESA/Hubble and ESA/Webb have released a new calendar that showcases beautiful imagery from both missions for 2023.

High Resolution Digital 2023 Calendar File (Adobe PDF, 46 MB)

https://esawebb.org/media/archives/calendars/pdfsm/cal2023.pdf

Low Resolution Digital 2023 Calendar File (Adobe PDF, 3 MB)

https://esawebb.org/media/archives/calendars/pdf/cal2023.pdf

Print-Ready 2023 Calendar (Adobe PDF, 586 MB) *Large File Size*: 

https://esahubble.org/media/archives/announcements/pdf/calendar_hubble_2023_v05_print.pdf

The 2023 calendar features a selection of images from Press Releases (from Hubble and Webb), Hubble Pictures of the Week and Webb Pictures of the Month published throughout 2022. These include imagery of planets, star clusters, galaxies, and more. It can now be accessed electronically for anyone to print, share and enjoy.

The images featured in the calendar are as follows:

Cover: This landscape of mountains and valleys speckled with glittering stars is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region called NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by the James Webb Space Telescope, this image reveals for the first time previously invisible regions of star birth.

January: The protostar L1527, shown in this image from the James Webb Space Telescope, is embedded within a cloud of material that is feeding its growth. Material ejected from the star has cleared out cavities above and below it, whose boundaries glow orange and blue in this infrared view.

February: The image on the left is the first deep-field image from the James Webb Space Telescope, showcasing thousands of galaxies of the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 in the near-infrared. The image on the right from the Hubble Space Telescope features the galaxy cluster Abell 611, located roughly 3.2 billion light-years from Earth.

March: In this mosaic image stretching 340 light-years across, the James Webb Space Telescope showcases the Tarantula Nebula star-forming region in infrared light, including tens of thousands of previously unseen young stars that are obscured by cosmic dust in visible-light images.

April: This month features four galaxy mergers. The objects are IC 1623 (top left, as seen by Webb), Arp 248 (bottom left, as seen by Hubble), Arp 282 (top right, as seen by Hubble), and IC 2431 (bottom right, as seen by Hubble).

May: Two views from the James Webb Space Telescope reveal the planetary nebula NGC 3132, also known as the Southern Ring. The left image is a sharp near-infrared view of the nebula, while the view on the right is in mid-infrared wavelengths, and captures the dust shrouding one of the white dwarf stars at the nebula’s centre.

June: Jupiter, the largest planet in our Solar System, is featured here in near-infrared wavelengths as seen by the James Webb Space Telescope. Different colours mark the light from the planet’s aurorae, and the clouds and hazes at different depths in the atmosphere. The Great Red Spot shines brightly with reflected near-infrared light from the Sun.

July: This montage displays four globular star clusters as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope. Shown here are Liller 1 (top left), Terzan 9 (bottom left), Terzan 4 (top right) and NGC 6569 (bottom right). Each is filled with both redder, older stars and bluer, younger ones.

August: These images show unusual, densely packed groupings of entire galaxies. The left image, in visible light from the Hubble Space Telescope, is of the soon-to-merge galaxies of HCG 40. The right image, taken by the James Webb Space Telescope in infrared light, is of the interacting galaxies of HCG 92 — also known as Stephan’s Quintet.

September: This celestial cloudscape from the Hubble Space Telescope captures the colourful region surrounding the Herbig-Haro object HH 505. The Orion Nebula is awash in intense ultraviolet radiation from bright young stars. Outflows from such stars collide with gas and dust, creating the shockwaves known as Herbig-Haro objects that are brightly visible to Hubble.

October: This montage features three views of M74, also known as the Phantom Galaxy. The left section of this image is a visible-light image from the Hubble Space Telescope, while the right section, in mid-infrared wavelengths, comes from the James Webb Space Telescope. In the centre, data from both telescopes are combined for a truly unique view into the heart of the object.

November: Two views of the famous Pillars of Creation, part of the Eagle Nebula, are revealed here by the James Webb Space Telescope. The left, mid-infrared, image details the spread of interstellar dust. On the right, the near-infrared image highlights bright, newly-formed stars.

December: NGC 7038 is displayed in glorious detail here by the Hubble Space Telescope. The image is remarkably detailed, combining over 15 hours of observations to expose distant stars and galaxies in the background. The spiral galaxy filling the frame here contains celestial objects that can be used to measure distances on cosmic scales.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble/Webb

Release Date: Dec. 19, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #HST #JWST #Planets #Stars #StarClusters #Galaxies #JamesWebb #WebbTelescope #UnfoldTheUniverse #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #AdobePDF #FreeCalendar #Calendar2023 #STEM #Education

Planet Mars: Gully Activity in Triolet Crater | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Planet Mars: Gully Activity in Triolet Crater | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Gullies lying on the northeast slopes of Triolet Crater (about 11.6 km in diameter ), are located in the Southern Highlands just east of Gorgonum Chaos. Some gullies have eroded through resistant layers up to the crater rim.

Black and white images are less than 5 km across; enhanced color images are  less than 1km. 

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, to provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and to relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, and reached Mars on March 10, 2006. 

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Narration: Tre Gibbs

Tre's website: www.tregibbs.com

Duration: 1 minute, 11 seconds

Release Date: Jan. 24, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #Gullies #TrioletCrater #SouthernHighlands #GorgonumChaos #Geology #Landscape #Terrain #MRO #HiRISE #Spacecraft #JPL #California #UA #UniversityOfArizona #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Milky Way over Camel Hump Hill, Australia

The Milky Way over Camel Hump Hill, Australia 

Ian: "Not running up this hill . . ."

"Camel Hump Hill near Hawker on a breezy morning during astro twilight!"

From the glowing arc of the Milky Way to dozens of intricate constellations, the unaided human eye should be able to perceive several thousand stars on a clear, dark night. Unfortunately, growing light pollution has robbed about 30% of people around the globe and approximately 80% of people in the United States of the nightly view of their home galaxy.

Learn more via Globe at Night: https://www.globeatnight.org

International Dark-Sky Association (IDA)

https://www.darksky.org

Image technical details: Lighting from a video light. Sigma lens, processing in Photoshop.

Image Credit: Ian Inverarity

Image Date: Jan. 23, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Twilight #Starlight #Art #Photography #MilkyWayGalaxy #Stars #LightPollution #Skyglow #CitizenScience #IanInverarity #Astrophotographer #Astrophotography #Skywatching #Cosmos #Universe #SolarSystem #CamelHumpHill #Australia #Hawker #STEM #Education

Star Cluster NGC 1850 | Hubble

Star Cluster NGC 1850 | Hubble

Star cluster NGC 1850 is approximately 63,000 times the mass of the Sun, and its core is roughly 20 light-years in diameter. This 100 million-year-old globular cluster is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way and a birthplace for billions of stars. The cluster is approximately 160,000 light-years away in the constellation Dorado. Typical of globular clusters, it is a spherical collection of densely packed stars held together by mutual gravitational attraction. Unlike most globular clusters, however, the stars of NGC 1850 are relatively young. Globular clusters with young stars such as NGC 1850 are not present in our own Milky Way galaxy.

Astrophysicists theorize that when the first generation of stars in NGC 1850 was born, the stars ejected matter like dust and gas into the surrounding cosmos. The density of the newly formed star cluster was so high that this ejected matter could not escape the cluster’s gravitational pull, causing it to stay nearby. The intense gravity of the cluster also pulled in hydrogen and helium gas from its surroundings. These two sources of gas combined to form a second generation of stars, increasing the density and size of this globular cluster.

In 2021, scientists detected the presence of a black hole in NGC 1850. They have also detected many brighter blue stars (seen on the right of the second image) that burn hotter and die younger than red stars. Also present are around 200 red giants, stars that have run out of hydrogen in their centers and are fusing hydrogen further from their core, causing the outer layers to expand, cool, and glow red (seen throughout the second image). Surrounding the cluster is a pattern of nebulosity, diffuse dust and gas theorized to come from supernova blasts (the blue veil-like structures on the first image and the red ones on the second image).

Credits: NASA, European Space Agency and N. Bastian (Donostia International Physics Center); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

Release Date: Dec. 8, 2022

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarClusters #GlobularStarCluster #NGC1850 #Nebula #Dorado #Constellation #LMC #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Pan of Molecular Cloud Chameleon I | James Webb Space Telescope

Pan of Molecular Cloud Chameleon I | James Webb Space Telescope

This video features a new image from the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam) features the central region of the Chameleon I dark molecular cloud, which resides 630 light years away. The cold, wispy cloud material (blue, center) is illuminated in the infrared by the glow of the young, outflowing protostar Ced 110 IRS 4 (orange, upper left). The light from numerous background stars, seen as orange dots behind the cloud, can be used to detect ices in the cloud, which absorb the starlight passing through them.

A molecular cloud is a vast interstellar cloud of gas and dust in which molecules can form, such as hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Cold, dense clumps in molecular clouds with higher densities than their surroundings can be the sites of star formation if these clumps collapse to form protostars.

An international team of astronomers has reported the discovery of diverse ices in the darkest, coldest regions of a molecular cloud measured to date by studying this region. This result allows astronomers to examine the simple icy molecules that will be incorporated into future exoplanets, while opening a new window on the origin of more complex molecules that are the first step in the creation of the building blocks of life.

This research forms part of the Ice Age project, one of Webb's 13 Early Release Science programs, which has studied a dust ridge in the centre of the Chameleon I molecular cloud.

Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, STScI, M. K. McClure, F. Sun, Z. Smith, the Ice Age ERS team, N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb) and M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: Jan. 23, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #JWST #MolecularCloud #ChameleonI #Stars #Protostars #Constellation #Chamaeleon #JamesWebb #WebbTelescope #NIRCam #UnfoldTheUniverse #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Molecular Cloud Chameleon I | James Webb Space Telescope

Molecular Cloud Chameleon I | James Webb Space Telescope

This image by the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam) features the central region of the Chameleon I dark molecular cloud, which resides 630 light years away. The cold, wispy cloud material (blue, center) is illuminated in the infrared by the glow of the young, outflowing protostar Ced 110 IRS 4 (orange, upper left). The light from numerous background stars, seen as orange dots behind the cloud, can be used to detect ices in the cloud, which absorb the starlight passing through them.

Image Description: A large, dark cloud is contained within the frame. In its top half it is textured like smoke and has wispy gaps, while at the bottom and at the sides it fades gradually out of view. On the left are several orange stars: three each with six large spikes, and one behind the cloud which colors it pale blue and orange. Many tiny stars are visible, and the background is black.

A molecular cloud is a vast interstellar cloud of gas and dust in which molecules can form, such as hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Cold, dense clumps in molecular clouds with higher densities than their surroundings can be the sites of star formation if these clumps collapse to form protostars.

An international team of astronomers has reported the discovery of diverse ices in the darkest, coldest regions of a molecular cloud measured to date by studying this region. This result allows astronomers to examine the simple icy molecules that will be incorporated into future exoplanets, while opening a new window on the origin of more complex molecules that are the first step in the creation of the building blocks of life.

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and M. Zamani (ESA/Webb); Science: F. Sun (Steward Observatory), Z. Smith (Open University), and the Ice Age ERS Team.

Release Date: Jan. 23, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #JWST #MolecularCloud #ChameleonI #Stars #Protostars #Constellation #Chamaeleon #JamesWebb #WebbTelescope #NIRCam #UnfoldTheUniverse #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Studying Exoplanets | The James Webb Space Telescope

Studying Exoplanets | The James Webb Space Telescope

Space Sparks Episode 9: Until recently, the only planetary system we could study was our own Solar System. Now astronomers have found evidence for thousands of planets around stars other than our own Sun. These are known as exoplanets. Because of this we are getting closer to answering key questions such as: Is Earth unique? Do other planetary systems similar to ours exist? Are we alone in the Universe?

Thanks to its powerful capabilities at infrared wavelengths, the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope will offer a unique view of the outer planets in our own magnificent Solar System 

Watch this special Space Sparks episode to learn how Webb will study exoplanets.

Video Credits:

Directed by: Bethany Downer and Nico Bartmann  

Editing: Nico Bartmann  

Web and technical support: Enciso Systems  

Written by: Owen Higgins  

Narration: Sara Mendes de Costa   

Footage and photos: ESA/Hubble, ESA/Webb, ESA, NASA, CSA, STScI, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab, Northrup Grumman, M. Kornmesser, J. Olmsted (STScI), ESO, L. Calçada, Solar Dynamics Observatory, L. Hustak, A Carter (UCSC), the ERS 1386 team, A. Pagan (STScI), A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center), M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), JPL, Caltech, spaceengine.org

Duration: 6 minutes, 40 seconds

Release Date: Jan. 22, 2023

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