Sun Releases Strong X1.2 Class Solar Flare | NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

Sun Releases Strong X1.2 Class Solar Flare | NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

The Sun emitted a strong solar flare, peaking at 10:34 p.m. EDT on July 13, 2024. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory watches the Sun constantly and it captured an image of the event.

The Sun, shown in teal against a black back ground. The Sun is a mix of darker, almost black areas and bright teal regions. On the right is an extremely bright flash of white.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare—seen as the bright flash on the right—on July 13, 2024. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares and which is colorized in teal. Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.

This flare is classified as an X1.2 class flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength.

To see how such space weather may affect Earth, please visit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center: https://spaceweather.gov

NOAA is the U.S. government’s official source for space weather forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts.

NASA works as a research arm of the nation’s space weather effort. NASA observes the Sun and our space environment constantly with a fleet of spacecraft that study everything from the Sun’s activity to the solar atmosphere, and to the particles and magnetic fields in the space surrounding Earth.

Image Credit: NASA/SDO

Release Date: July 15, 2024

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Planet #Earth #SpaceWeather #Sun #Star #Solar #SolarFlares #Ultraviolet #Plasma #MagneticField #Astrophysics #Heliophysics #Physics #Spacecraft #Satellites #ElectricalGrids #SDO #SolarSystem #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Dwarf Irregular Galaxy NGC 5238 in Canes Venatici | Hubble

Dwarf Irregular Galaxy NGC 5238 in Canes Venatici | Hubble

The galaxy featured in this Hubble picture is the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 5238, located 14.5 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici. Its unexciting, blob-like appearance, resembling more an oversized star cluster than a galaxy, belies a complicated structure that has been the subject of considerable research. Here, the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope is able to pick out the galaxy’s countless stars, as well as its associated globular clusters— the glowing spots both inside and around the galaxy that contain ever more stars.

NGC 5238 is theorized to have recently—here meaning no more than a billion years ago—had a close encounter with another galaxy. The evidence for this is the tidal distortions of NGC 5238’s shape, the kind produced by two galaxies pulling on each other as they interact. There is no nearby galaxy that could have caused this disturbance, so the hypothesis is that the culprit is a smaller satellite galaxy that was devoured by NGC 5238. Traces of the erstwhile galaxy might be found by closely examining the population of stars in NGC 5238, a task for which the Hubble Space Telescope is an astronomer’s best tool. Two tell-tale signs would be groups of stars with properties that look out of place compared to most of the galaxy’s other stars, indicating that they were originally formed in a separate galaxy, or stars that look to have all formed abruptly at around the same time. This would occur during a galactic merger. The data used to make this image will be put to use in testing these predictions.

Despite their small size and unremarkable appearance, it is not unusual for dwarf galaxies like NGC 5238 to drive our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution. One main theory of galaxy evolution is that galaxies formed ‘bottom-up’ in a hierarchical fashion: star clusters and small galaxies were the first to form out of gas and dark matter, and they gradually were assembled by gravity into galaxy clusters and superclusters, explaining the shape of the very largest structures in the Universe today. A dwarf irregular galaxy like NGC 5238 merging with an even smaller companion is just the type of event that might have begun this process of galaxy assembly in the early Universe. So, it turns out that this tiny galaxy may serve as a testbed for the most fundamental predictions in astrophysics!

Image Description: A dwarf irregular galaxy. It appears as a cloud of bluish gas, filled with point-like stars that also spread beyond the edge of the gas. A few glowing red clouds sit near its center. Many other objects can be seen around it: distant galaxies in the background, four-pointed stars in the foreground, and star clusters that are part of the galaxy—shining spots surrounded by more tiny stars.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, F. Annibali

Release Date: July 15, 2024

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC5238 #GalacticMergers #InteractingGalaxies #Stars #GlobularClusters #CanesVenatici #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Spiral Galaxy NGC 5643 in Lupus | Hubble

Spiral Galaxy NGC 5643 in Lupus | Hubble

This image by the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope features the spiral galaxy NGC 5643 in the constellation of Lupus (The Wolf). It required thirty exposures for a total of 9 hours observation time to produce an image of such high detail and beauty.

NGC 5643 is about 60 million light-years away from Earth. It has been the host of a recent supernova event (not visible in this latest image). This supernova (2017cbv) involves a white dwarf star stealing so much mass from a companion star that it becomes unstable and explodes. The explosion releases significant amounts of energy and lights up that part of the galaxy.

The observation was proposed by Adam Riess. He was awarded a Nobel Laureate in physics 2011 for his contributions to the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe, alongside Saul Perlmutter and Brian Schmidt.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Riess et al. 

Acknowledgement: Mahdi Zamani

Release Date: Sept. 28, 2020

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC5643 #Spiral #Supernova #Supernova2017cbv #Lupus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Galaxy Cluster MACS J0416 | NASA Chandra, Hubble & Webb Space Telescopes

Galaxy Cluster MACS J0416 | NASA Chandra, Hubble & Webb Space Telescopes

This is a composite image from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the James Webb Space Telescope. Pictured is galaxy cluster MACS J0416 at a distance of about 4.3 billion light-years from Earth in the constellation Eridanus.

Galaxy clusters are the largest objects in the universe held together by gravity, and ones like this can contain hundreds or even thousands of individual galaxies all immersed in massive amounts of superheated gas that Chandra can detect. In this view, Chandra’s X-rays in purple show this reservoir of hot gas while Hubble and Webb pick up the individual galaxies in red, green, and blue. The long thin lines are caused by matter in the cluster distorting the light from galaxies behind MACS J0416 in a process known as gravitational lensing.

Image Description: Here, the blackness of space is packed with glowing dots and tiny shapes, in whites, purples, oranges, golds, and reds, each a distinct galaxy. Upon close inspection (and with a great deal of zooming in) spiraling arms of the seemingly tiny galaxies can be revealed in this highly detailed image. Gently arched across the middle of the frame is a soft band of purple—a reservoir of superheated gas detected by Chandra.

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/G. Ogrean et al.; Optical/Infrared: (Hubble) NASA/ESA/STScI; IR: (JWST) NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/Jose M. Diego (IFCA), Jordan C. J. D'Silva (UWA), Anton M. Koekemoer (STScI), Jake Summers (ASU), Rogier Windhorst (ASU), Haojing Yan (University of Missouri)

Release Date: July 11, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Galaxies #GalaxyClusters #MACSJ0416 #GravitationalLensing #Eridanus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #NASAChandra #ChandraObservatory #Xray #MSFC #JWST #Infrared #HST #SpaceTelescopes #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #CSA #STEM #Education

Galaxy NGC 3627 in Leo | NASA Chandra, Hubble & Webb Space Telescopes

Galaxy NGC 3627 in Leo | NASA Chandra, Hubble & Webb Space Telescopes

This is a composite image from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the James Webb Space Telescope. Pictured is galaxy NGC 3627, located 36 million light-years away.

Like the Milky Way, NGC 3627 is a spiral galaxy that we see at a slight angle. NGC 3627 is known as a “barred” spiral galaxy because of the rectangular shape of its central region. From our vantage point, we can also see two distinct spiral arms that appear as arcs. X-rays from Chandra in purple show evidence for a supermassive black hole in its center as well as other dense objects like neutron stars and black holes pulling in matter. Meanwhile Webb finds the dust, gas, and stars throughout the galaxy in red, green, and blue. This image also contains optical data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in red, green, and blue.

Image Description: A hazy image of a spiral galaxy known as NGC 3627. Here, the galaxy appears pitched at an oblique angle, tilted from our upper left down to our lower right. Much of its face is angled toward us, making its spiral arms, composed of red and purple dots, easily identifiable. Several bright white dots ringed with neon purple speckle the galaxy. At the galaxy’s core, where the spiral arms converge, a large white and purple glow identified by Chandra provides evidence of a supermassive black hole.

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESO/STScI, ESO/WFI; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/JWST

Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Major

Release Date: July 11, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC3627 #M66 #BlackHoles #NeutronStars #Leo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #NASAChandra #ChandraObservatory #Xray #MSFC #JWST #Infrared #HST #SpaceTelescopes #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #CSA #STEM #Education

Orion Nebula | NASA Chandra & Webb Space Telescopes

Orion Nebula | NASA Chandra & Webb Space Telescopes

This is a composite image from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the James Webb Space Telescope. Pictured is the Orion Nebula, a giant cloud where stars are forming. Still located in the Milky Way galaxy, this region is a little bit farther from our home planet at about 1,500 light-years away. 

If you look just below the middle of the three stars that make up the “belt” in the constellation of Orion, you may be able to see this nebula through a small telescope. With Chandra and Webb, however, we get to see so much more. Chandra reveals young stars that glow brightly in X-rays, colored in red, green, and blue, while Webb shows the gas and dust in darker red that will help build the next generation of stars here.

Image Description: This is a peek into the heart of the Orion Nebula. It blankets the entire image. Here, the young star nursery resembles a dense, stringy, dusty rose cloud, peppered with thousands of glowing golden, white, and blue stars. Layers of cloud around the edges of the image, and a concentration of bright stars at its distant core, help convey the depth of the nebula.

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/E. Feigelson; IR: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI 

Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare and J. Major

Release Date: July 11, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Nebulae #Stars #OrionNebula #M42 #Orion #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #NASAChandra #ChandraObservatory #Xray #MSFC #JWST #Infrared #SpaceTelescopes #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #CSA #STEM #Education

Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex | NASA Chandra & Webb Space Telescopes

Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex | NASA Chandra & Webb Space Telescopes

This is a composite image from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the James Webb Space Telescope. Pictured is Rho Ophiuchi, at a distance of about 390 light-years from Earth. Rho Ophiuchi is a cloud complex filled with gas and stars of varying sizes and ages. Being one of the closest star-forming regions, Rho Ophiuchi is a great place for astronomers to study young stars. In this image, X-rays from Chandra are purple and reveal the hot, outer atmospheres of infant stars. Infrared data from Webb's NIRCam is red, yellow, cyan, light blue, and darker blue and provides views of the spectacular regions of gas and dust.

Image Description: The murky green and gold cloud resembles a ghostly head in profile, swooping down from the upper left, trailing tendrils of hair. Cutting across the bottom edge and lower righthand corner of the image is a long, narrow, brick red cloud which resembles the ember of a stick pulled from a fire. Several large white stars dot the image. Many are surrounded by glowing neon purple rings, and gleam with diffraction spikes.

Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/MIT/C. Canizares; IR: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/K. Pontoppidan 

Image Processing: NASA/ESA/STScI/Alyssa Pagan, NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare and J. Major

Release Date: July 11, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Nebulae #Stars #StellarNurseries #RhoOphiuchi #CloudComplex #Ophiuchus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #NASAChandra #ChandraObservatory #Xray #MSFC #JWST #Infrared #SpaceTelescopes #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #CSA #STEM #Education

Asteroid Photobombs Hubble Snapshot of Galaxy UGC 12158

Asteroid Photobombs Hubble Snapshot of Galaxy UGC 12158

This NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope image of the barred spiral galaxy UGC 12158 looks like someone took a white marking pen to it. In reality it is a combination of time exposures of a foreground asteroid moving through Hubble’s field of view, photobombing the observation of the galaxy. Several exposures of the galaxy were taken, which is evidenced by the dashed pattern.

Distance of galaxy UGC 12158 to Earth: 400 million light years

The asteroid appears as a curved trail as a result of parallax: Hubble is not stationary, but orbiting Earth, and this gives the illusion that the faint asteroid is swimming along a curved trajectory. The uncharted asteroid is inside the asteroid belt in our Solar System, and hence is 10 trillion times closer to Hubble than the background galaxy.

Rather than being a nuisance, this type of data is useful to astronomers for doing a census of the asteroid population in our Solar System.

Image Description: This is a Hubble Space Telescope image of the barred spiral galaxy UGC 12158. The majestic galaxy has a pinwheel shape made up of bright blue stars wound around a yellow-white hub of central stars. The hub has a slash of stars across it, called a bar. The galaxy is tilted face-on to our view from Earth. A slightly S-shaped white line across the top is the Hubble image of an asteroid streaking across Hubble’s view. It looks dashed because the image is a combination of several exposures of the asteroid flying by like a race car.

Credit: NASA, ESA, P. G. Martín (Autonomous University of Madrid), J. DePasquale (STScI).

Acknowledgment: A. Filippenko (University of California, Berkeley)

Release Date: April 18, 2024

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #UGC12158 #Barred #Supernova #SN2004ef #Pegasus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Barred Spiral Galaxy UGC 12158 in Pegasus | Hubble

Barred Spiral Galaxy UGC 12158 in Pegasus | Hubble

The galaxy captured in this image, called UGC 12158, is not camera-shy. This spiral stunner is posing face-on to the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys, revealing its structure in fine detail.

UGC 12158 is an excellent example of a barred spiral galaxy in the Hubble sequence—a scheme used to categorize galaxies based on their shapes. Barred spirals, as the name suggest, feature spectacular swirling arms of stars that emanate from a bar-shaped center. Such bar structures are common, being found in about two thirds of spiral galaxies, and are thought to act as funnels, guiding gas to their galactic centers where it accumulates to form newborn stars. These are not permanent structures: astronomers think that they slowly disperse over time, so that the galaxies eventually evolve into regular spirals.

The appearance of a galaxy changes little over millions of years, but this image also contains a short-lived and brilliant interloper—the bright blue star just to the lower left of the center of the galaxy is very different from the several foreground stars seen in the image. It is in fact a supernova inside UGC 12158 and much further away than the Milky Way stars in the field—at a distance of about 400 million light-years! This stellar explosion, called SN 2004ef, was first spotted by two British amateur astronomers in September 2004 and the Hubble data shown here form part of the follow-up observations.

This picture was created from images taken with the Wide Field Channel of Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. Images through blue (F475W, colored blue), yellow (F606W, colored green) and red (F814W, colored red) as well as a filter that isolates the light from glowing hydrogen (F658W, also colored red) have been included. The exposure times were 1160 s, 700 s, 700 s and 1200 s respectively. The field of view is about 2.3 arcminutes across.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

Release Date: December 20, 2010

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #UGC12158 #Barred #Supernova #SN2004ef #Pegasus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Space Weather: Potential Impacts of a Major Solar Storm | Johns Hopkins APL

Space Weather: Potential Impacts of a Major Solar Storm | Johns Hopkins APL

Space weather affects all of us. Behind the beauty and wonder of our Sun lies powerful forces to create giant eruptions, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), that blast energy, light, and particles into space, creating so-called geospace storms. These storms can impact infrastructure in near-Earth orbit and on Earth’s surface, potentially disrupting communications, the electric power grid, navigation, radio and satellite operations, while triggering spectacular displays of aurora on Earth. This video represents a hypothetical scenario for a space weather event.

Learn more:

https://www.jhuapl.edu/work/expertise/space-weather-and-heliophysics

Video Credit: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL)

Duration: 4 minutes

Release Date: July 12, 2024

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Earth #Moon #SpaceWeather #Sun #Star #Solar #SolarFlares #Sunspots #Ultraviolet #Plasma #MagneticField #Aurora #Astrophysics #Heliophysics #Spacecraft #Satellites #ElectricalGrids #SolarSystem #JHUAPL #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Miranda Engine: 60 Second Hot Fire Test for Medium-lift Rocket | Firefly Aerospace

Miranda Engine: 60 Second Hot Fire Test for Medium-lift Rocket | Firefly Aerospace

"Volume on! We completed a 60 second hot fire test of our full length Miranda engine! All of which was designed, built, and tested at our Rocket Ranch in Briggs, Texas . . . With 230,000 pounds of thrust (lbf), Miranda is building on the success of Lightning (15,759 lbf) and Reaver (45,000 lbf) with proven engine scalability. Miranda uses the same engine architecture, injector design, and patented tap-off cycle as the Reaver and Lightning engines that power Firefly’s orbital Alpha vehicle. Miranda also incorporates a scaled-up version of Reaver’s turbopump, fluid systems, and valve technology." 

Learn more: https://fireflyspace.com/news/firefly-aerospace-completes-risk-reduction-testing-for-critical-miranda-engine-components/

Video Credit: Firefly Aerospace

Duration: 1 minute, 15 seconds

Release Date: July 12, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #Satellites #FireflyAerospace #MirandaEngine #HotFire #RocketTest #MediumLift #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #CommercialSpace #Briggs #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Earth Ocean Tour | China Space Station

Earth Ocean Tour | China Space Station

The Shenzhou-18 crew: "From the perspective of space, let's feel the pure and profound power of the ocean together, learn from its broad-minded spirit, and protect our beautiful home that we rely on for survival. Listening to music while looking at the Earth from space."

 

This video was released on July 12, 2024 to mark the 20th China Maritime Day. 

The Shenzhou-18 crew, sent to China's Tiangong space station on April 25 this year, have completed one third of their space journey and are scheduled to carry out a large amount of in-orbit scientific experiments and technological tests.

Shenzhou-18 Crew:

Ye Guangfu (叶光富, commander)

Li Cong (李聪, mission specialist)

Li Guangsu (李广苏, mission specialist)

Video Credit: CNSA/CMSA

Duration: 3 minutes, 10 seconds

Release Date: July 12, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #Planet #Earth #Oceans #Environment #ChinaMaritimeDay2024 #China #中国 #Shenzhou18 #神舟十八 # #ScientificExperiments #Taikonauts #Astronauts #YeGuangfu #LiCong #LiGuangsu #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #CASC #CMSA #国家航天局 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

"No Country for Earth Men" | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

"No Country for Earth Men" | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (2006-2024)

There was not much by way of the science rationale for this image, outside of possible clays in contact with the plains. However, the rugged nature of the terrain, and the contrasting tones of the landscape, makes for a fascinating observation in enhanced color. The scene is located south of Eos Chasma in a relatively flat area, although what we see here would be daunting for even the most hardened explorer.

This is a non-narrated clip with ambient sound. Image is less than 1 km (under 1 mi) across and the spacecraft altitude was 255 km (159 mi).

The image was taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument.

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. 

The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument, that was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. 

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

Technical details:

Image acquisition date

September 11, 2011

Local Mars time

14:23

Latitude (centered)

-22.126°

Longitude (East)

308.730°

Spacecraft altitude

255.4 km (158.7 miles)

Video Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

Duration: 3 minutes, 38 seconds

Release Date: March 12, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #Geology #Landscape #Terrain #Geoscience #EosChasma #Phyllosilicates #Clays #History #ScienceFiction #MRO #Orbiter #Spacecraft #HiRISE #HiRISECamera #JPL #Caltech #UArizona #BallAerospace #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Big Build: Watch Assembly of Giant Core Stage for SLS Moon Rocket | NASA

Big Build: Watch Assembly of Giant Core Stage for SLS Moon Rocket | NASA

NASA and industry partners are preparing to deliver the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed Artemis mission, from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The massive hardware stands 212 feet tall and serves as the powerhouse behind the agency’s powerful rocket. The stage is fully produced at NASA Michoud where technicians with NASA and core stage lead contractor Boeing thoroughly assessed and prepared the hardware before loading it onto NASA’s Pegasus barge for delivery to the Space Coast. 

For more information about SLS, visit https://www.nasa.gov/sls

Video Credit: NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: July 12, 2024

#NASA #ESA #CSA #Space #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIIMission #ArtemisII #SLS #SLSCoreStage #DeepSpace #Astronauts #VictorGlover #ChristinaKoch #JeremyHansen #ReidWiseman #MoonToMars #Science #SpaceExploration #HumanSpaceflight #NASAMichoud #NewOrleans #Louisiana #UnitedStates #Canada #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

3D View of "Penguin & Egg": Interacting Galaxies Arp 142 | Webb Telescope

3D View of "Penguin & Egg": Interacting Galaxies Arp 142 | Webb Telescope

This visualization examines the three-dimensional structure of Arp 142, a pair of interacting galaxies nicknamed the Penguin and the Egg, as seen in near-infrared light by the James Webb Space Telescope.

The Penguin, a spiral galaxy cataloged as NGC 2936, has passed by the Egg, an elliptical galaxy cataloged NGC 2937, seen at left.

During this gravitational encounter, the pancake-like shape of the spiral galaxy has become stretched and twisted. The stretched out lower part of the spiral galaxy looks like the body of a penguin, and the galaxy’s central bulge forms its eye. The far side of the Penguin has twisted to extend away from our point of view, producing what looks like a beak.

In contrast, the elliptical galaxy has been slightly elongated, producing the egg-like shape.

Examining these galaxy structures in three dimensions helps us better understand how galaxy encounters develop.

Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Video Credits: Visualization: Ralf Crawford, Joseph DePasquale, Christian Nieves, Joseph Olmsted, Alyssa Pagan, Frank Summers, Greg Bacon (Space Telescope Science Institute), National Aeronautics and Space Administration, European Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency.

Duration: 36 seconds

Release Date: July 12, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Galaxies #InteractingGalaxies #Arp142 #NGC2936 #NGC2937 #Hydra #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #JWST #Infrared #SpaceTelescopes #ESA #CSA #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #UnfoldTheUniverse #STEM #Education #3D #Visualization #HD #Video

Visualization of "Penguin & Egg": Interacting Galaxies Arp 142 | Webb Telescope

Visualization of "Penguin & Egg": Interacting Galaxies Arp 142 | Webb Telescope

This visualization examines the three-dimensional structure of Arp 142, a pair of interacting galaxies nicknamed the Penguin and the Egg, as seen in near-infrared light by the James Webb Space Telescope.

The Penguin, a spiral galaxy cataloged as NGC 2936, has passed by the Egg, an elliptical galaxy cataloged NGC 2937, seen at left.

During this gravitational encounter, the pancake-like shape of the spiral galaxy has become stretched and twisted. The stretched-out lower part of the spiral galaxy looks like the body of a penguin, and the galaxy’s central bulge forms its eye. The far side of the Penguin has twisted to extend away from us, producing what looks like a beak. In contrast, the elliptical galaxy has been slightly elongated, producing the egg-like shape.

Examining these galaxy structures in three dimensions helps us better understand how galaxy encounters develop.

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, R. Crawford (STScI), J. DePasquale (STScI), C. Nieves (STScI), J. Olmstead (STScI), A. Pagan (STScI), F. Summers (STScI), G. Bacon (STScI)

Duration: 24 seconds

Release Date: July 11, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Galaxies #InteractingGalaxies #Arp142 #NGC2936 #NGC2937 #Hydra #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #JWST #Infrared #SpaceTelescopes #ESA #CSA #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Visualization #HD #Video