The Running Chicken Nebula: 3D Animation | European Southern Observatory

The Running Chicken Nebula: 3D Animation | European Southern Observatory

This 3D animation of the Running Chicken Nebula imagines what it might feel like to fly close to these swirling clouds of gas and dust. This video is based on a real image from the VLT Survey Telescope, hosted at European Southern Observatory’s Paranal site. However, the 3D location of the stars shown here is only indicative.

Credit: ESO/VPHAS+ team

Acknowledgement: CASU

Duration: 11 seconds

Release Date: Dec. 15, 2023

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebulae #Nebula #EmissionNebula #IC2944 #IC2948 #RunningChickenNebula #Stars #LambdaCentauri #BokGlobules #Centaurus #Constellation #Universe #Telescope #VLT #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #3D #Animation #HD #Video

The 1.5-billion-pixel Running Chicken Nebula | ESO

The 1.5-billion-pixel Running Chicken Nebula | ESO

While many holiday traditions involve feasts of turkey, soba noodles, latkes or Pan de Pascua, this year, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is bringing you a holiday chicken. The so-called Running Chicken Nebula, home to young stars in the making, is revealed in spectacular detail in this 1.5-billion-pixel image captured by the VLT Survey Telescope (VST), hosted at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal site in Chile. 

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: Dec. 21, 2023

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebulae #Nebula #EmissionNebula #IC2944 #IC2948 #RunningChickenNebula #Stars #LambdaCentauri #BokGlobules #Centaurus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Running Chicken Nebula | European Southern Observatory

The Running Chicken Nebula | European Southern Observatory

The Running Chicken Nebula comprises several clouds—all can be seen in this vast 1.5-billion pixel image from the VLT Survey Telescope (VST), hosted at the European Southern Observatory's Paranal site. This image spans an area in the sky of about 25 full Moons. The clouds shown in wispy pink plumes are full of gas and dust, illuminated by the young and hot stars within them.

Distance: 6,500 light years

This image, edge to edge, is 270 light-years wide. It would take an average chicken almost 21 billion years to run across it—much longer than our Universe has been around for.

Image Description: Wispy pink clouds pop out of a dark background. The brightest and largest cloud is offset from center to the lower left. A cloud ridge cuts vertically through the center of the frame, with a large bright blue-white spot in the middle. To the right of the image are three smaller clouds. Dotted across the image are blue, orange and white points of varying size and brightness.

This vast stellar nursery is located in the constellation Centaurus (the Centaur), at about 6,500 light-years from Earth. Young stars within this nebula emit intense radiation that makes the surrounding hydrogen gas glow in shades of pink.

The brightest region within the nebula is called IC 2948, where people can see the chicken’s head and others its rear end. The wispy pastel contours are ethereal plumes of gas and dust. Towards the center of the image, marked by the bright, vertical, almost pillar-like, structure, is IC 2944. The brightest twinkle in this particular region is Lambda Centauri, a star visible to the naked eye that is much closer to us than the nebula itself.

There are, however, many young stars within IC 2948 and IC 2944 themselves. Regions of the nebula, known as Bok globules, can withstand the fierce bombardment from the ultraviolet radiation. Bok globules are small, dark, and dense pockets of dust and gas dotted across the nebula.

Other regions pictured here include, to the upper right, Gum 39 and 40, and to the lower right, Gum 41. Aside from nebulae, there are countless orange, white and blue stars, like fireworks in the sky.

This image is a large mosaic comprising hundreds of separate frames carefully stitched together. The individual images were taken through filters that let through light of different colors that were then combined into the final result presented here. The observations were conducted with the wide-field camera OmegaCAM on the VST, a telescope owned by the National Institute for Astrophysics in Italy (INAF) in Chile’s Atacama Desert that is ideally suited for mapping the southern sky in visible light. 

The data that went into making this mosaic were taken as part of the VST Photometric Hα Survey of the Southern Galactic Plane and Bulge (VPHAS+), a project aimed at better understanding the life cycle of stars.

Credit: ESO/VPHAS+ team

Acknowledgement: CASU

Release Date: Dec. 21, 2023

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebula #Nebula #EmissionNebula #IC2944 #IC2948 #RunningChickenNebula #Stars #LambdaCentauri #BokGlobules #Centaurus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Shenzhou-17 Astronauts Complete First Spacewalk | China Space Station

Shenzhou-17 Astronauts Complete First Spacewalk | China Space Station

The Shenzhou-17 crew members aboard China's orbiting space station completed their first extravehicular activity at 9:35 p.m. (Beijing Time), according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023.

During the 7.5-hour-long extravehicular activity (EVA), Shenzhou-17 commander Tang Hongbo, along with crew members Tang Shenjie and Jiang Xinlin, cooperated closely with the ground staff and used robotic arms to complete repairing the solar panels on the core module of the space station, reentering the station after completing their tasks.

Commander Tang, the first taikonaut to return to the China Space Station (CSS), made his second spacewalk after two years. Meanwhile, Tang Shenjie became the youngest taikonaut in China's history to carry out a spacewalk.

According to plan, the Shenzhou-17 crew will conduct a slew of scientific experiments and technology verification, as well as additional extravehicular activities and payload missions.

The taikonauts have been stationed at the space station for nearly a third of their six-month space mission. They completed the crew rotation with the Shenzhou-16 astronauts and have conducted tasks, including space station maintenance, life and health support, spacesuit inspection and testing, a Tianzhou-6 cargo ship equipment inspection and preparation for the upcoming spacewalk, according to the CMSA.

They also underwent robotic arm operation training, emergency life-saving, medical rescue, and full-system pressure emergency drills. Experiments in space science are advancing steadily.

Shenzhou-17 (神舟十七) Crew:

Hongbo Tang (汤洪波) - Commander 

Shengjie Tang (唐胜杰) - Mission Specialist

Xinlin Jiang  (江新林) - Mission Specialist

Credit: China National Space Administration (CNSA)/China Central Television (CCTV)

Acknowledgement: SciNews

Duration: 1 minute, 20 seconds

Release Date: Dec. 21, 2023

#NASA #Space #China #中国 #Shenzhou17 #神舟十七号 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #EVA #Spacewalk #HongboTang #ShengjieTang #XinlinJiang #SpaceLaboratory #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #TiangongSpaceStation #中国空间站 #CMSA #国家航天局 #Science #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Cuba, Florida & The Bahamas | International Space Station

Cuba, Florida & The Bahamas | International Space Station

The teal blue waters of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean as the International Space Station orbited 258 miles above. Parts of Cuba, Florida and The Bahamas are visible.

Follow Expedition 70 Updates:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 70 Crew

Station Commander: Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency (Denmark)

Roscosmos (Russia): Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, Konstantin Borisov

JAXA: Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa (Japan)

NASA: Jasmin Moghbeli, Loral O'Hara (USA)

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science 

For more information about STEM on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

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

Image Date: Dec. 19, 2023

#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #Science #Planet #Earth #AtlanticOcean #CaribbeanSea #TheBahamas #Cuba #Florida #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Russia #Japan #Expedition70 #InternationaCooperation #STEM #Education

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program 2023 | International Space Station

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program 2023 | International Space Station

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program worked with SpaceX to launch crews to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in 2023. Work continues on critical development elements for Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft as it prepares for a flight test with astronauts aboard. The work of 2023 will provide a reliable basis in 2024 for crew rotation missions and for spacecraft development.

The Commercial Crew Program (CCP) is a project in which NASA is working with business partners to build rockets and spacecraft. The Commercial Crew Program has made it possible for astronauts to launch to space from the United States again. 

Learn more about NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP):

https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/crew/index.html

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 Kennedy Space Center (KSC)

Duration: 4 minutes

Release Date: Dec. 21, 2023

#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #Rockets #Spacecraft #SpaceX #CrewDragon #Falcon9 #Boeing #Starliner #CST100 #ULA #Atlas5 #Astronauts #CommercialCrewProgram #CCP #HumanSpaceflight #Science #SpaceTechnology #KennedySpaceCenter #KSC #Spaceport #CapeCanaveral #Florida #LaunchAmerica #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Planet Saturn: A Quick Introduction | Hubble Space Telescope

Planet Saturn: A Quick Introduction | Hubble Space Telescope

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in our solar system. Adorned with a dazzling system of icy rings, Saturn is unique among the planets.

It is not the only planet to have rings, but none are as spectacular or as complex as Saturn's. Like fellow gas giant Jupiter, Saturn is a massive ball made mostly of hydrogen and helium.

The farthest planet from Earth discovered by the unaided human eye, Saturn has been known since ancient times. The planet is named for the Roman god of agriculture and wealth, who was also the father of Jupiter.

Credit: NASA & European Space Agency (ESA)

Duration: 15 seconds

Release Date: July 28, 2021

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Planet #Saturn #Rings #Meteorology #Weather #PolarRegions #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Infographic #HD #Video

Planet Saturn & Ring Spoke Time-lapse Views | Hubble Space Telescope

Planet Saturn & Ring Spoke Time-lapse Views | Hubble Space Telescope

This Hubble Space Telescope time-lapse series of Saturn images (taken on October 22, 2023) resolves a phenomenon called ring spokes appearing on both sides of the planet simultaneously as they spin around the giant world. The video zooms into one set of spokes on the morning (left) side of the rings. The spokes are transient features that rotate along the ring plane. The spokes may be a product of electrostatic forces generated by the interaction of the planet's magnetic field with the solar wind. This interaction levitates dust or ice above the ring to form the spokes.

Credit: NASA, European Space Agency, Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), A. Simon (NASA-GSFC), J. DePasquale (STScI)

Duration: 40 seconds

Release Date: Dec. 15, 2023

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Planet #Saturn #RingSpokes #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Timelapse #HD #Video

Planet Saturn | Hubble Space Telescope

Planet Saturn | Hubble Space Telescope

This photo of Saturn was taken by the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope on Oct. 22, 2023, when the ringed planet was approximately 1365 million kilometers from Earth. Hubble's ultra-sharp vision reveals a phenomenon called ring spokes.

Saturn's spokes are transient features that rotate along with the rings. Their ghostly appearance only persists for two or three rotations around Saturn. During active periods, freshly-formed spokes continuously add to the pattern.

In 1981, NASA's Voyager 2 first photographed the ring spokes. Hubble continues observing Saturn annually as the spokes come and go. This cycle has been captured by Hubble's Outer Planets Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program that began nearly a decade ago to annually monitor weather changes on all four gas-giant outer planets.

Hubble's crisp images show that the frequency of spoke apparitions is seasonally driven, first appearing in OPAL data in 2021 but only on the morning (left) side of the rings. Long-term monitoring shows that both the number and contrast of the spokes vary with Saturn's seasons. Saturn is tilted on its axis like Earth and has seasons lasting approximately seven years.

This year, these ephemeral structures appear on both sides of the planet simultaneously as they spin around the giant world. Although they look small compared with Saturn, their length and width can stretch longer than Earth's diameter!

The OPAL team notes that the leading theory is that spokes are tied to interactions between Saturn's powerful magnetic field and the sun. Planetary scientists think that electrostatic forces generated from this interaction levitate dust or ice above the ring to form the spokes, though after several decades no theory perfectly predicts the spokes. Continued Hubble observations may eventually help solve the mystery.

Image Credit: NASA, European Space Agency, STScI, A. Simon (NASA-GSFC)

Release Date: Dec. 21, 2023

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Planet #Saturn #Rings #Spokes #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #Voyager2Spacecraft #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Orion and the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex over The Himalayas

Orion and the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex over The Himalayas

Astrophotographer Soumya Banerjee: "I waited until close to midnight to complete this long exposure photo shoot of Orion rising in the east as observed from a campground high up in the Himalayas. Also shown is the Orion molecular cloud complex that includes numerous bright nebula (that can be seen with the naked eye) and dark clouds within and nearby the constellation of Orion."

This prolific star-forming region lies between 1,000 and 1,400 light-years away and is hundreds of light-years across. Many of the objects in this complex consist of Hydrogen Alpha (H-Alpha) emission (the red or magenta glow). Because this emission is outside of the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum it cannot be seen with our unaided eyes.

Technical Details: 

This is a vertical panorama of 3 horizontal panels, 2 for the sky and 1 for foreground and tent. Canon 700D (self-astro modified) camera; Sigma 28mm f1.4 art lens; f2.8; 1 minute exposure and ISO 1600; tracked and stacked 14 light frames and 8 dark frames. Processed in Adobe Photoshop.

Image Credit: Soumya Banerjee 

Soumya’s Website:

https://www.facebook.com/soumya.banerjee.14/

Location: Singalila National Park, India Coordinates: 27.0371, 88.0762

Image Date: Oct. 20, 2023

Release Date: Dec. 19, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #OrionMolecularCloudComplex #StarFormingRegion #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Astrophotographer #SoumyaBanerjee #Astrophotography #CitizenScience #Cosmos #Universe #Earth #SingalilaNationalPark #India #BhāratGaṇarājya #STEM #Education #EPoD

Recientemente: La nueva mirada de nuestro telescopio espacial Webb a una estrella que explotó

Recientemente: La nueva mirada de nuestro telescopio espacial Webb a una estrella que explotó

Recientemente en la NASA, la versión en español de las cápsulas This Week at NASA, te informa semanalmente de lo que está sucediendo en la NASA. 

Ciencia de la NASA: https://ciencia.nasa.gov

Para obtener más información sobre la ciencia de la NASA, suscríbete al boletín semanal: https://www.nasa.gov/suscribete

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 2 minutes, 48 seconds

Release Date: Dec. 19, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #NASAenespañol #español #ArtemisII #CassiopeiaA #CasA #SupernovaRemnant #Cassiopeia #Constellation #WebbTelescope #JWST #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's "Espacio a Tierra" | En el espíritu navideño: 15 de diciembre de 2023

NASA's "Espacio a Tierra" | En el espíritu navideño: 15 de diciembre de 2023

Espacio a Tierra, la versión en español de las cápsulas Space to Ground de la NASA, te informa semanalmente de lo que está sucediendo en la Estación Espacial Internacional.

The Expedition 70 crew will finish packing a U.S. cargo craft today before it departs the International Space Station. The seven orbital residents also collaborated on a variety of human research studies to learn how to keep humans healthy in space.

Four astronauts worked together on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023, coordinating final cargo transfers inside the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft. Dragon, which has been docked to the station since Nov. 11,  2023, is slated to undock at 9:05 p.m. EST on Wednesday from the orbital outpost’s forward port on the Harmony module.

Ciencia de la NASA: https://ciencia.nasa.gov

Para obtener más información sobre la ciencia de la NASA, suscríbete al boletín semanal: https://www.nasa.gov/suscribete

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 3 minutes, 28 seconds

Release Date: Dec. 20, 2023

#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #NASAenespañol #español #Science #SpaceXCargoDragon #Spacecraft #Astronauts #LoralOHara #JasminMoghbeli #UnitedStates #AndreasMogensen #Denmark #Danmark #Europe #SatoshiFurukawa #JAXA #Japan #日本 #Cosmonauts #Russia #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition70 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA 3D-printed Deep Space Rocket Engine Passes Long Duration Test

NASA 3D-printed Deep Space Rocket Engine Passes Long Duration Test

A full-scale 3D-printed Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) was successfully tested for 251 seconds, producing more than 5,800 pounds of thrust, at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama. According to NASA, “the RDRE differs from a traditional rocket engine by generating thrust using a supersonic combustion phenomenon known as a detonation. This design produces more power while using less fuel than today’s propulsion systems and has the potential to power both human landers and interplanetary vehicles to deep space destinations, such as the Moon and Mars.” 

This kind of sustained burn emulates typical requirements for a lander touchdown or a deep-space burn that could set a spacecraft on course from the Moon to Mars, said Marshall combustion devices engineer Thomas Teasley, who leads the RDRE test effort at the center.

RDRE’s first hot fire test was performed at Marshall in the summer of 2022 in partnership with In Space LLC and Purdue University, both of Lafayette, Indiana. That test produced more than 4,000 pounds of thrust for nearly a minute. The primary goal of the latest test, Teasley noted, is to better understand how to scale the combustor to different thrust classes, supporting engine systems of all types and maximizing the variety of missions it could serve, from landers to upper stage engines to supersonic retropropulsion, a deceleration technique that could land larger payloads—or even humans—on the surface of Mars.

“The RDRE enables a huge leap in design efficiency,” he said. “It demonstrates we are closer to making lightweight propulsion systems that will allow us to send more mass and payload further into deep space, a critical component to NASA’s Moon to Mars vision.”

Engineers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and researchers at Venus Aerospace of Houston, Texas, are working with NASA Marshall to identify how to scale the technology for higher performance.

RDRE is managed and funded by the Game Changing Development Program within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.

Video Credit: NASA/MSFC

Acknowledgement: SciNews

Duration: 4 minutes, 44 seconds

Release Date: Dec. 20, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #ArtemisProgram #Moon #Mars #RDRE #RocketEngine #3DPrinting #AdditiveManufacturing #MoonToMars #DeepSpacePropulsion #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #STMD #MSFC #Huntsville #Alabama #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Panning across Dwarf Irregular Galaxy UGC 8091 | Hubble

Panning across Dwarf Irregular Galaxy UGC 8091 | Hubble

To celebrate the holiday season, the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope has captured the galaxy known as UGC 8091. It resembles a sparkling festive snow globe. With a dazzling array of wavelengths of light captured by filters on Hubble's premier scientific instruments, the millions of stars in this galaxy are being explored in more depth than ever before.

UGC 8091, also known as GR 8, lies around seven million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo. Unlike other galaxies whose stars take a more orderly appearance, UGC 8091 is classed by astronomers as an irregular galaxy. It is not hard to see why—the stars that make up this celestial gathering look more like a brightly shining tangle of string lights than a galaxy. A number of irregular galaxies are thought to have become tangled by tumultuous internal activity, while others are known to have formed by interactions with neighboring galaxies. The result is a class of galaxies with a diverse array of sizes and shapes, including the diffuse scatter of stars that is this galaxy.

In particular, UGC 8091 is a dwarf irregular galaxy, meaning that it only contains around one billion stars. That is a huge number of lights, but not for a galaxy: our own Milky Way galaxy is thought to encompass over 100 billion stars, and other galaxies can have trillions! Dwarf galaxies often orbit larger galaxies, and their low masses leave them vulnerable to being disturbed and consumed by their bigger neighbors, a process which produces twisted-up dwarf irregulars like UGC 8091.This type of galaxy is thought to have similar characteristics to the enormously old and distant galaxies seen by astronomers in deep-field images. It’s hoped that investigating the composition of dwarf galaxies and their stars, particularly their low metallicity [1], will help to uncover the evolutionary links between these ancient galaxies and more modern galaxies like our own.

To do this, astronomers have been carefully examining the many-colored stars of UGC 8091. Different features of the galaxy can be picked out by using filters to restrict the light entering Hubble's instruments to very specific wavelength ranges. Those filtered images can then be recombined to make a full-color image—an astonishing twelve filters combine to produce this image, with light from the mid-ultraviolet right through to the red end of the visible spectrum contributing. The blossoming patches of red represent light emitted by excited hydrogen molecules in hot, energetic stars that have formed in recent starbursts. The other sparkles on show in this image are a mix of older stars.

The data used in this image date from 2006 to 2021, and were taken by two of Hubble’s most advanced instruments: the Wide Field Camera 3 and the Advanced Camera for Surveys. Among other things, the observing programs sought to investigate the role of low-mass galaxies, like UGC 8091, in re-ionizing the early Universe, and to examine the results of star formation in low-metallicity galaxies. Despite how small and misshapen they look, dwarf irregular galaxies turn out to hold a great deal of information about our Universe—no less than any of the other celestial lights in our sky.

Notes:

Metallicity is a measure of how much of a star is made up of elements heavier than helium and hydrogen. Such elements are made in the cores of stars, so the first generation of stars in the Universe would have had low metallicity, since there had been no previous stars to make heavier elements. Many dwarf galaxies contain stars with a low level of metallicity.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.

Video Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA Y. Choi (NOIRLab), K. Gilbert (Space Telescope Science Institute), J. Dalcanton (Flatiron Institute and University of Washington)

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: Dec. 20, 2023

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #UGC8091 #GR8 #DwarfGalaxy #IrregularGalaxy #Virgo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #NOIRLab #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Dwarf Irregular Galaxy UGC 8091: A Holiday Globe of Stars | Hubble

Dwarf Irregular Galaxy UGC 8091: A Holiday Globe of Stars | Hubble

To celebrate the holiday season, the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope has captured the galaxy known as UGC 8091. It resembles a sparkling festive snow globe. With a dazzling array of wavelengths of light captured by filters on Hubble's premier scientific instruments, the millions of stars in this galaxy are being explored in more depth than ever before.

UGC 8091, also known as GR 8, lies around seven million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo. Unlike other galaxies whose stars take a more orderly appearance, UGC 8091 is classed by astronomers as an irregular galaxy. It is not hard to see why—the stars that make up this celestial gathering look more like a brightly shining tangle of string lights than a galaxy. A number of irregular galaxies are thought to have become tangled by tumultuous internal activity, while others are known to have formed by interactions with neighboring galaxies. The result is a class of galaxies with a diverse array of sizes and shapes, including the diffuse scatter of stars that is this galaxy.

In particular, UGC 8091 is a dwarf irregular galaxy, meaning that it only contains around one billion stars. That is a huge number of lights, but not for a galaxy: our own Milky Way galaxy is thought to encompass over 100 billion stars, and other galaxies can have trillions! Dwarf galaxies often orbit larger galaxies, and their low masses leave them vulnerable to being disturbed and consumed by their bigger neighbors, a process which produces twisted-up dwarf irregulars like UGC 8091.This type of galaxy is thought to have similar characteristics to the enormously old and distant galaxies seen by astronomers in deep-field images. It’s hoped that investigating the composition of dwarf galaxies and their stars, particularly their low metallicity [1], will help to uncover the evolutionary links between these ancient galaxies and more modern galaxies like our own.

To do this, astronomers have been carefully examining the many-colored stars of UGC 8091. Different features of the galaxy can be picked out by using filters to restrict the light entering Hubble's instruments to very specific wavelength ranges. Those filtered images can then be recombined to make a full-color image—an astonishing twelve filters combine to produce this image, with light from the mid-ultraviolet right through to the red end of the visible spectrum contributing. The blossoming patches of red represent light emitted by excited hydrogen molecules in hot, energetic stars that have formed in recent starbursts. The other sparkles on show in this image are a mix of older stars.

The data used in this image date from 2006 to 2021, and were taken by two of Hubble’s most advanced instruments: the Wide Field Camera 3 and the Advanced Camera for Surveys. Among other things, the observing programs sought to investigate the role of low-mass galaxies, like UGC 8091, in re-ionizing the early Universe, and to examine the results of star formation in low-metallicity galaxies. Despite how small and misshapen they look, dwarf irregular galaxies turn out to hold a great deal of information about our Universe—no less than any of the other celestial lights in our sky.

Notes:

Metallicity is a measure of how much of a star is made up of elements heavier than helium and hydrogen. Such elements are made in the cores of stars, so the first generation of stars in the Universe would have had low metallicity, since there had been no previous stars to make heavier elements. Many dwarf galaxies contain stars with a low level of metallicity.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.

Image Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA Y. Choi (NOIRLab), K. Gilbert (Space Telescope Science Institute), J. Dalcanton (Flatiron Institute and University of Washington)

Release Date: Dec. 20, 2023

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #UGC8091 #GR8 #DwarfGalaxy #IrregularGalaxy #Virgo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #NOIRLab #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

The California Nebula in Perseus

The California Nebula in Perseus

By chance the outline of this molecular space cloud echoes the outline of the state of California in the United States. Our Sun has its home within the Milky Way's Orion Arm, only about 1,000 light-years from the California Nebula. Also known as NGC 1499, this classic emission nebula is around 100 light-years long. 

The most prominent glow of the California Nebula is the red light characteristic of hydrogen atoms recombining with long lost electrons, stripped away (ionized) by energetic starlight. The star most likely providing the energetic starlight that ionizes much of the nebular gas is the bright, hot, bluish Xi Persei just to the right of the nebula. A regular target for astrophotographers, the California Nebula can be spotted with a wide-field telescope under a dark sky toward the constellation of Perseus, not far from the Pleiades.

Image Credit & Copyright: Steven Powell

Steven's website: 

https://www.nexgenastrophotography.com

Release Date: Dec. 20, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #CaliforniaNebula #NGC1499 #EmissionNebula #Star #XiPersei #Perseus #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotography #StevenPowell #Astrophotographer #Telescope #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #APoD