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The Calabash Nebula, pictured here—which has the technical name OH 231.8+04.2—is a spectacular example of the death of a low-mass star like the Sun. This image taken by the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope shows the star going through a rapid transformation from a red giant to a planetary nebula, during which it blows its outer layers of gas and dust out into the surrounding space. The recently ejected material is spat out in opposite directions with immense speed—the gas shown in yellow is moving close to a million kilometers an hour.
Astronomers rarely capture a star in this phase of its evolution because it occurs within the blink of an eye—in astronomical terms. Over the next thousand years the nebula is expected to evolve into a fully fledged planetary nebula.
The nebula is also known as the Rotten Egg Nebula because it contains a lot of sulphur, an element that, when combined with other elements, smells like a rotten egg—but luckily, it resides over 5,000 light-years away in the constellation of Puppis.
Bright Star Clusters Messier 47 & Messier 46: Wide-field view | ESO
This wide-field image shows part of the constellation of Puppis. This region of the sky includes some bright star clusters, chief amongst them Messier 47, in the center, and its contrasting sister cluster Messier 46, near the left-hand edge, which is richer in stars but more distant. This picture was created from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2.
Distance: ~1,600 light years
Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Digitized Sky Survey 2
This video sequence takes us on a trip to the nearby bright star cluster Messier 47. As we close in, we can also see the contrasting cluster Messier 46, which is richer in stars but more distant. The final close-up view was taken using the Wide Field Imager camera, installed on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. Messier 47 is dominated by a sprinkling of brilliant blue stars, but also contains a few contrasting red giant stars.
Distance: ~1,600 light years
Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Digitized Sky Survey 2/N. Risinger
Close-up View of Bright Star Cluster Messier 47 in Puppis | ESO
This close-up video pan sequence gives a detailed look at a spectacular image of the star cluster Messier 47, taken using the Wide Field Imager camera, installed on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. This young open cluster is dominated by a sprinkling of brilliant blue stars but also contains a few contrasting red giant stars.
This spectacular image of the star cluster Messier 47 was taken using the Wide Field Imager camera, installed on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. This young open cluster is dominated by a sprinkling of brilliant blue stars but also contains a few contrasting red giant stars.
Star Delta Scorpii & Nebulae Sharpless 2-1 and 2-7 | Steward Observatory
The Sharpless catalogs, published in 1953 and 1959, contain about 300 objects. Sharpless 2-1 and 2-7, are the subjects of this photo. Sh 2-1, also known as Sharpless 1, is a reflection nebula in the constellation of Scorpius with Pi Scorpii at its center. Sh2-7 is an emission nebula in the Scorpius constellation. This nebula is around the star Delta Scorpii. It lies next to a large reflection nebula, Sh2-1. Delta Scorpii (top left) is a binary star in the constellation of Scorpius. The primary star is named Dschubba.
Astrophotographer Adam Block: "These clouds of amorphous gas are faint, diffuse and rarely have abrupt changes in structure. The bright star near the top left is Delta Scorpii (the southwestern star in the head of Scorpius) and surrounding it are the red glowing clouds of gas that comprise Sh2-7. Near the bottom of the frame is the smaller and brighter cavity of Sh2-1."
Distance: 440 light years
Credit & Copyright: Adam Block/Steward Observatory/University of Arizona
Intergalactic Wanderer: Globular Star Cluster NGC 2419 | Schulman Telescope
NGC 2419 (also known as Caldwell 25) is a globular cluster in the constellation Lynx. It was discovered by William Herschel on December 31, 1788. NGC 2419 is at a distance of about 300,000 light years from our solar system and at the same distance from the Galactic Center.
NGC 2419 bears the nickname "the Intergalactic Wanderer," which was bestowed when it was erroneously thought not to be in orbit around the Milky Way. Its orbit takes it further away from the galactic center than the Magellanic Clouds, but it can (with qualifications) be considered as part of the Milky Way. At this great distance it takes three billion years to make one trip around the galaxy.
Technical Details:
Optics: Schulman 32-inch RCOS Telescope
Camera: SBIG STX16803
Image Credit & Copyright: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona
China's Lunar Exploration Milestones in 120 seconds | CGTN
Since its launch in 2004, China's lunar exploration program has made tremendous progress. The Chang'e lunar exploration has seen successful missions in orbiting and landing on the moon as well as in bringing rock samples back to Earth.
Sending a Swarm of Small Satellites to Earth Orbit | This Week @NASA
Sending a swarm of small satellites into Earth orbit, the first views from our newest storm-watching mission, and making the grade for investing in small business . . . a few of the stories to tell you about—This Week at NASA!
The combined light of stars along the Milky Way are reflected by these cosmic dust clouds that soar 300 light-years or so above the plane of our galaxy. Known to some as integrated flux nebulae and commonly found at high galactic latitudes, the dusty galactic cirrus clouds are faint. However, they can be traced over large regions of the sky toward the North and South Galactic poles. Along with the reflection of starlight, studies indicate the dust clouds produce a faint reddish luminescence as interstellar dust grains convert invisible ultraviolet radiation to visible red light.
Also capturing nearby Milky Way stars and distant background galaxies, this remarkably deep, wide-field image explores a complex of faint galactic cirrus known as Mandel Wilson 9. It spans over three degrees across planet Earth's skies toward the far southern constellation Apus.
Image Credit & Copyright: Gabriel Rodrigues Santos
Astrophotographer Adam Block: "The brightest star in the center is called a Herbig Ae/Be star. It is captured here in the very earliest stages of stellar evolution as it collapses to become a mature star. Nuclear fusion in its center has started, but the energy output is not yet powerful enough to disperse the natal clouds of dust surrounding it. With wonderful shadow play, these clouds of dust present an intricacy and fragility that is testament to their ephemeral fate. On the time scales of stars this stage is extremely short-lived and few examples look quite like it. It is a mystery as to why these kinds of stars are often born in multiple star systems."
A Herbig Ae/Be star (HAeBe) is a pre-main-sequence star—a young star less than 10 million years old of spectral types A or B. These stars are still embedded in gas-dust envelopes and are sometimes accompanied by circumstellar disks. Hydrogen and calcium emission lines are observed in their spectra. They are typically 2-8 Solar mass objects, still existing in the star formation (gravitational contraction) stage and approaching the main sequence (i.e. they are not burning hydrogen in their center).
Adam Block: "This image, totaling more than 34 hours of exposure time, started from only the hint of something interesting based on available imagery of the region. The Taurus Molecular cloud continues to offer beautiful objects and I consider this image the most interesting one I have taken in years. I didn't know how it would come out since there are no commensurate references to compare it with."
Image Data:
Optics Schulman 32-inch RCOS Telescope
Camera: SBIG STX16803
Image Credit & Copyright: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona
The dark patch snaking across this spectacular image of a field of stars in the constellation of Ophiuchus (The Serpent-bearer) is not quite what it appears to be. Although it looks as if there are no stars here, they are hidden behind this dense cloud of dust that blocks out their light. This particular dark cloud is known as LDN 1768.
Despite their rather dull appearance, dark nebulae like LDN 1768 are of huge interest to astronomers, as it is here that new stars form. Inside these vast stellar nurseries there are protostars—stars at the earliest stage of their lives, still coalescing out of the gas and dust in the cloud.
Protostars are relatively cold and have not yet begun to produce enough energy to emit visible light. Instead, they emit radiation at submillimeter wavelengths, which human eyes cannot see. Luckily, unlike visible light, light at submillimeter wavelengths is not absorbed by the surrounding dust. By using special telescopes that are sensitive to submillimeter radiation, like the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observatory, we can see through the dust and find out more about the protostars within the cloud.
Eventually, the protostars will become dense and hot enough to start the nuclear reactions that will produce visible light and they will start to shine. When this happens, they will blow away the cocoon of dust surrounding them and cause any remaining gas to emit light as well, creating the spectacular light show known as an HII region.
NOAA Earth Satellites Monitor Severe Weather & Smoke over North America
As catastrophic flooding impacts the Northeast, this week skies across the region and particularly along the central and eastern U.S. have also been affected by heavy smoke from wildfires burning across Canada that has continued to drift southward. Both NOAA's GOES East and GOES West (GOES-18) satellites have been monitoring the wildfires in Canada as well as the smoke they are emitting, which continues to flow into the continental U.S. periodically.
The Joint Polar Satellite System’s NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP satellites also play an important role in detecting and tracking wildfires, especially in remote regions, where many of the current Canadian wildfires are raging. Their high spatial resolution imager detects smaller and lower-temperature fires and also provides nighttime fire detection. The data from these satellites is also critical for accurate predictions by NOAA smoke models, which are used by fire crews, first responders, and air traffic controllers.
Credits: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA, Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA)
Flood map courtesy of Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
NASA's Space to Ground: Astronaut Frank Rubio "Mr. 300" | Week of July 21, 2023
NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. NASA astronaut and flight engineer Frank Rubio is on track to set the record for the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut later this year. On July 18, 2023, he spent his 300th day in space.
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.
Shenzhou-16 Astronauts Complete First Spacewalk | China Space Station
The Shenzhou-16 astronauts aboard China's space station Tiangong completed their first spacewalk on Thursday, July 20, 2023, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). Astronauts Jing Haipeng and Zhu Yangzhu, together with Gui Haichao, China's first civilian astronaut who supported his crewmates from inside the space station, collaborated to accomplish all set tasks. Jing opened the hatch of the airlock cabin at 13:45 after receiving an order from the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center. Jing and Zhu returned safely to the Wentian lab module as of 21:40, after around eight hours of extravehicular activities. During the extravehicular activities, they completed several tasks, including installing and lifting the support frame for a panoramic camera outside the Tianhe core module, and unlocking and lifting two panoramic cameras outside the Mengtian lab module. The whole process went smoothly and successfully.
This was the first spacewalk for Jing, who is on his fourth spaceflight. Zhu has become China's first flight engineer to take part in extravehicular activities.
During the about-eight-hour spacewalk, Jing docked at more than 30 locations with the support of the robotic arm and Zhu climbed over 100 handrails on the module wall.
"This mission involved a relatively high workload due to the presence of four work sites, which were distributed in the core and Mengtian lab modules. As a result, the travel distance was also relatively long, particularly for the astronaut tasked with conducting autonomous transfer in the extravehicular activity, as the route he would take outside the spacecraft will be very long," said Wang Yanlei, director of the astronauts selection and training department of the China Astronaut Research and Training Center.
The Shenzhou-16 crew, as planned, will carry out a large number of space science experiments and complete multiple extravehicular installation tasks of application loads in the future.
Lynds’ Dark Nebula 673 in Aquilla | Mayall Telescope
This image was obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic camera on the 4-meter Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. LDN 673 is part of a giant cloud of dust and gas in the constellation of Aquilla. This dark nebula is at a distance of about 600 light years. It is fragmented into many pieces, inside of which are forming stars. Some of these stars are illuminating parts of the nebula, such as in the upper-left and upper-right corners. The image was generated with observations in B (blue), V (cyan), I (orange) and H-alpha (red) filters. In this image, North is left, East is down.
The Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope is a four-meter (158 inches) reflector telescope in Arizona named after Nicholas U. Mayall. It saw first light on February 27, 1973, and was the second-largest telescope in the world at that time.
Credit: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and H. Schweiker (WIYN and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA)
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