Monday, September 02, 2024

Star-forming Region NGC 346 in Tucana (optical light) | MPG/ESO Telescope

Star-forming Region NGC 346 in Tucana (optical light) | MPG/ESO Telescope

This is wide-field view of NGC 346the brightest star-forming region in the neighboring Small Magellanic Cloud galaxy, some 210,000 light-years away from Earth. The light, wind and heat given off by massive stars have dispersed the glowing gas within and around this star cluster, forming a surrounding wispy nebular structure that looks like a cobweb. NGC 346 is located in the constellation Tucana (the Toucan) and spans approximately 200 light-years. This particular image was obtained using the Wide Field Imager (WFI) instrument at the 2.2-meter MPG/ESO telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. Images like this help astronomers chronicle star birth and evolution, while offering glimpses of how stellar development influences the appearance of the cosmic environment over time. This is an enhanced color image based on three different broadband filters (B, V, R), as well as a narrowband filter (H-alpha, shown in blue). The field of view is about 30 arcminutes wide.

The 2.2 meter telescope at La Silla has been in operation since early 1984 and is on indefinite loan to the European Southern Observatory from the Max Planck Gesellschaft. The telescope time is shared between Max Planck Institute and ESO Observers. Operation and maintenance of the telescope is the responsibility of ESO.

Learn more about the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope:

https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/lasilla/mpg22/


Image Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: Feb. 24, 2010


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #StarClusters #StarCluster #NGC346 #Tucana #Constellation #SmallMagellanicCloud #SMC #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #MPGESOTelescope #WFI #LaSillaObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Star-forming Region NGC 346: X-ray, Infrared & Visible Light Views

Star-forming Region NGC 346: X-ray, Infrared & Visible Light Views


This portrait of the bright star-forming region NGC 346, in a multiple wavelengths of light swirl together like watercolors, revealed new information about how stars form. NGC 346 is located 210,000 light-years away in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a neighboring dwarf galaxy of the Milky Way. The image is based on data from ESA XMM-Newton (X-rays; blue), the European Southern Observatory's New Technology Telescope (visible light; green), and NASA's Spitzer (infrared; red). The infrared light shows cold dust, while the visible light denotes glowing gas, and the X-rays represent very hot gas. Ordinary stars appear as blue spots with white centers, while young stars enshrouded in dust appear as red spots with white centers.


Credit: ESO/ESA/JPL-Caltech/NASA/ D. Gouliermis (MPIA) et al.

Release Date: Oct. 8, 2008


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #StarClusters #StarCluster #NGC346 #Tucana #Constellation #SmallMagellanicCloud #SMC #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #XMMNewton #Xray #NASASpitzer #Infrared #SpaceTelescopes #ESO #NTT #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Star Cluster NGC 346 in Small Magellanic Cloud Galaxy (UV view) | Hubble

Star Cluster NGC 346 in Small Magellanic Cloud Galaxy (UV view) | Hubble

A grouping of large, glowing, and purplish stars dominate the image’s center. Dark ridges of gas and dust are visible around them, with more background stars crowding the view. NGC 346 is nestled within the Small Magellanic Cloud, a small satellite galaxy to our Milky Way.

Roughly 210,000 light-years away, the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is one of our Milky Way galaxy’s closest neighbors. In fact, this small galaxy is one of the Milky Way’s “satellite” galaxies. It orbits our home spiral galaxy.

Nested within the SMC is this spectacular star cluster, known as NGC 346. Its hot stars unleash a torrent of radiation and energetic outflows, which erode the denser portions of gas and dust in the surrounding nebula, N66. Dozens of hot, blue, and high-mass stars shine within NGC 346, and astronomers believe this cluster contains more than half of the known high-mass stars in the whole SMC.

The NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope has observed this cluster before, but its new view shows NGC 346 in ultraviolet light, along with some visible-light data. Ultraviolet light helps scientists understand more about star formation and evolution, and Hubble—with its combined sharp resolution and position above our UV-blocking atmosphere—is the only telescope with the ability to make sensitive, ultraviolet observations.

These specific observations were gathered to learn more about how star formation shapes the interstellar medium. This is the gas distributed throughout seemingly empty space, in a low-metallicity galaxy like the SMC. Astronomers call elements heavier than hydrogen and helium “metals,” and the SMC contains fewer metals when compared to most parts of our Milky Way. This condition helps make it an excellent example of a galaxy similar to those that existed in our early universe, when very few heavy elements were around to incorporate.


Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and C. Murray (Space Telescope Science Institute)

Image Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

Release Date: Aug. 26, 2024


#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #StarClusters #StarCluster #NGC346 #Tucana #Constellation #SmallMagellanicCloud #SMC #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #Ultraviolet #UV #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Spiral Galaxy IC 4709 in Telescopium: Black Hole-powered | Hubble

Spiral Galaxy IC 4709 in Telescopium: Black Hole-powered | Hubble

The Hubble Space Telescope's view here is studded with stars. Many appear particularly large and bright thanks to their nearby locations in our own galaxy. They feature the characteristic diffraction patterns caused by Hubble’s optics. Much further away—around 240 million light-years distant, in fact, in the southern constellation Telescopium—is the spiral galaxy IC 4709. Its swirling disc, filled with stars and dust bands, is beautifully captured, as is the faint halo surrounding it. The compact region at its core might be the most remarkable sight, however, this is an active galactic nucleus (AGN).

If IC 4709’s core were just filled with stars, it would not be nearly so bright. Instead it hosts a gargantuan black hole, 65 million times the mass of our Sun. A disc of gas spirals around and eventually into this black hole, with the gas crashing together and heating up as it spins. It reaches such high temperatures that it emits vast quantities of electromagnetic radiation, from infrared to visible to ultraviolet light and beyond—in this case including X-rays. The AGN in IC 4709 is obscured by a lane of dark dust, just visible at the center of the galaxy in this image. This blocks any optical emission from the nucleus itself. Hubble’s spectacular resolution, however, gives astronomers a detailed view of the interaction between the quite small AGN and its host galaxy. This is essential to understanding supermassive black holes in galaxies much more distant than IC 4709, where resolving such fine details is not possible.

This image incorporates data from two Hubble surveys of nearby AGNs that were identified by the Swift X-ray/UV telescope, as does the image from last week. Swift will collect new data on these galaxies—with an X-ray telescope, it is possible to directly see the X-rays from IC 4709’s AGN breaking through the obscuring dust. The European Space Agency’s Euclid telescope—currently surveying the dark Universe in optical and infrared light—will also image IC 4709 and other local AGNs. The complementary use of space telescopes across the electromagnetic spectrum is key to fully researching black holes and their impact on their host galaxies.

Image Description: A spiral galaxy is situated right of center. It has a white, brightly-shining core, a glowing disc that is thick with swirling patterns of dark dust, and a faint halo around the disc. It is on a black background with small, distant galaxies and foreground stars around it. Six stars along the left side appear particularly large and bright, with two opposing sets of spikes surrounding each one.


Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Koss, A, Barth

Release Date: Sept. 2, 2024



#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Galaxies #Galaxy #IC4709 #Spiral #AGN #BlackHole #Telescopium #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Sunday, September 01, 2024

Milky Way Galaxy, Airglow, Aurora & Sunrise | International Space Station

Milky Way Galaxy, Airglow, Aurora & Sunrise | International Space Station

NASA Astronaut Matthew Dominick: "A timelapse of solar arrays reflecting aurora and city lights as they align themselves for the impending sunrise."

"The solar array light reflections were so mind blowing that I stayed up till 1AM to shoot a few more sunrises. Luckily, we get sunrises every 90 minutes."

"One of the techniques I have learned over the past few months to get great still photos is to setup lots of timelapses to find great lighting. With a timelapse the camera takes a RAW photo on a time interval that is typically every 0.5s and saves the image. Our camera has an option to automatically create a video from the sequence of images. We then watch the video afterwards to find what part of the of the orbit amongst thousands of individual images has the best lighting or subject matter to either go back later to the same part of an orbit and take a still image or pull the still image saved from the timelapse process."

"Yesterday the Moon was not up during the night portions of our orbits so I knew I had a shot at getting the Milky Way core and some aurora. The timelapse was setup in a module we call МИМ2. It has a great view of the service module solar arrays. There are were so many great still shots in the timelapse series but the ”dance” the solar arrays do reflecting aurora and city lights is so cool to see with a timelapse video.  A still image does not fully capture it."

Technical details: 1.6s, 15mm, T1.8, ISO 6400, 2s intervals. Exposure and a few items adjusted on a few hundred individual frames simultaneously before making a 15fps timelapse.

Airglow occurs when atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere, excited by sunlight, emit light to shed their excess energy. Or, it can happen when atoms and molecules that have been ionized by sunlight collide with and capture a free electron. In both cases, they eject a particle of light—called a photon—in order to relax again. The phenomenon is similar to auroras, but where auroras are driven by high-energy particles originating from the solar wind, airglow is energized by ordinary, day-to-day solar radiation. Airglow can be red, green, purple and yellow swaths of light emanating from the Earth's upper atmosphere. In this video, it is green.

Expedition 71 Updates:

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

Expedition 71 Crew
Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)
NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore

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.


Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center/M. Dominick

Duration: 26 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 1, 2024


#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Planet #Earth #Airglow #Aurora #SolarSystem #MilkyWayGalaxy #Astronauts #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #SpaceLaboratory #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition71 #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education #Timelapse #HD #Video

What's in the Night Sky? September 2024 | BBC Sky at Night Magazine

What's in the Night Sky? September 2024 | BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel reveal what is in the night sky this month in the Northern Hemisphere, including the planets improving, a partial lunar eclipse on September 18, 2024, and Saturn and Jupiter moon events.

00:00 Introduction

00:08 Inner planets

02:55 Outer planets

09:28 Saturn Titan event

11:38 Ganymede transits Jupiter

12:46 18 September partial lunar eclipse

14:19 Autumn equinox

14:43 Saturn's moons

18:08 Stars and constellations


Video Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Duration: 28 minutes

Release Date: Aug. 30, 2024 


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Moon #Planets #Jupiter #Saturn #SolarSystem #Comets #Stars #Constellations #StarClusters #MilkyWayGalaxy #Galaxies #Universe #Skywatching #BBC #UK #Britain #Europe #UnitedStates #Canada #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Shenzhou-18 Crew Continues Advanced Science Experiments | China Space Station

Shenzhou-18 Crew Continues Advanced Science Experiments | China Space Station 

The Shenzhou-18 crew members, with their mission entering its latter half, have continued to conduct studies, research and to carry out essential daily tasks aboard the China space station Tiangong.

The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, released the latest footage of the crew, showcasing their ongoing work in space science experiments, station environment monitoring and station management.

Since the Shenzhou-18 mission launched on April 25, 2024, astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu have been in orbit for more than four months, with their space mission now entering its latter half.

Last week, the crew focused on a program to improve the habitability of the space station, completing panoramic imaging and 3D scanning of the station.

This research collects data on spatial dimensions, equipment layout, and user interface usability to identify and analyze habitability issues, offering data support for improving the design of future space stations.

In addition, the astronauts also used the space Raman spectrometer for in-orbit nutritional metabolomics research, analyzing metabolites in urine samples.

They have also collected relevant data and completed pharmacokinetic studies to assess the impact of long-duration flights and provide reference for in-orbit medication.

In the field of space life sciences and biotechnology, the crew conducted research on space radiation damage and adaptability of anaerobic archaea using a small centrifuge module.

The research aims to test their survival under Mars-like conditions and extreme cosmic radiation, contributing to the search for extraterrestrial life.

Other experiments in microgravity fluid physics, combustion science, and space materials science also proceeded as planned.

The crew has been involved in replacing samples in fluid physics cabinets and containerless cabinets and performing vacuum operations in the combustion chamber.

Furthermore, Shenzhou-18 crew conducted regular medical check-ups, including ultrasound, electrocardiograph, and blood pressure tests, to monitor their health dynamically.

In terms of station management, they have completed tasks such as cabin cleaning and maintenance.

Shenzhou-18 Crew:

Ye Guangfu (叶光富, commander)

Li Cong (李聪, mission specialist)

Li Guangsu (李广苏, mission specialist)


Video Credit: CCTV Video Agency

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: Sept. 1, 2024


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

An Ocean in Bloom: The PACE Earth Satellite Mission | NASA Goddard

An Ocean in Bloom: The PACE Earth Satellite Mission | NASA Goddard

 

NASA scientists aim to expand their knowledge of how our ocean, atmosphere, and ecosystems interact with one another after the successful launch of the PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) satellite on Feb. 8, 2024. By identifying and examining harmful algal blooms around the world, PACE will inform communities ranging from from local fishermen to large corporations on what is occurring in their backyard and beyond. From sea to space, NASA's PACE satellite will monitor Earth in unique ways for decades to come. 

Learn more about NASA's PACE Earth Mission: https://pace.gsfc.nasa.gov


Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scientific Visualization Studio

Emme Watkins (eMITS): Lead Producer, Writer, Editor, Videographer

Will Rothermel: Sound Editor

Ryan Fitzgibbons (KBR Wyle Services, LLC): Videographer, Advisor

Aakash Bakshi (Color Production House): Videographer

Jessica Wang (National Geographic): Videographer

Alex Kekesi (Global Science and Technology, Inc.): Lead Visualizer

Ivona Cetinic (Morgan State University): Science Advisor

Bridget Seegers (Morgan State University): Science Advisor

Jeremy Werdell (NASA/GSFC): Science Advisor, nterviewee

Chad Bombenger: Interviewee

Dana Pellant (Boca Grande Health Clinic): Interviewee

Raymond James (Boca Grande Health Clinic): Interviewee

Lauren Ward (KBR Wyle Services, LLC): Advisor

Wade Sisler (NASA/GSFC): Advisor

Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.): Technical Support

Duration: 22 minutes

Release Date: Aug. 30, 2024


#NASA #Space #Satellite #Science #Planet #Earth #EarthScience #Atmosphere #Oceans #AlgalBlooms #MarineBiology #Phytoplankton #PACEMission #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #Weather #Climate #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Milky Way Galaxy, Earth Aurora & Sunrise Blues | International Space Station

Milky Way Galaxy, Earth Aurora & Sunrise Blues | International Space Station

NASA Astronaut Matthew Dominick: "Reds and greens from the aurora as well as city lights reflect off the service module solar arrays with the Milky Way core behind the space station. The solar arrays and service module are bathed in a light horizon blue from a sun about to rise behind the camera."

Technical details: Single image taken from a timelapse . . . 

15mm, T1.8, 1.6s, ISO 6400, denoised

Expedition 71 Updates:

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

Expedition 71 Crew
Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)
NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore

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.

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

Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)


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

Release Date: Aug. 31, 2024


#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Planet #Earth #Aurora #SolarSystem #MilkyWayGalaxy #Astronauts #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #SpaceLaboratory #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition71 #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education

NASA's Cold Atom Lab: How Atoms are Defying Gravity | International Space Station

NASA's Cold Atom Lab: How Atoms are Defying Gravity | International Space Station

NASA’s Cold Atom Lab studies the quantum nature of atoms, the building blocks of our universe, in a place that is out of this world—the International Space Station. This animated explainer explores what quantum science is and why NASA wants to do it in space. 

Quantum science has revolutionized our understanding of the physical world and led to new technologies including cellphones, computers, medical devices, and GPS. However, Earth’s gravity poses challenges for studying the quantum behaviors of atoms.

To overcome those challenges, Cold Atom Lab operates in microgravity. Using lasers and magnetic fields, scientists run the lab remotely from Earth, cooling groups of atoms to temperatures colder than any naturally occurring matter in the universe. Cold atoms, nearly motionless, reveal their behaviors more clearly. The absence of Earth’s gravity allows for prolonged atom study, opening new avenues in quantum exploration. 

For more information, visit: 

http://coldatomlab.jpl.nasa.gov/

Expedition 71 Updates:

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

Expedition 71 Crew

Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)

NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore

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/JPL-Caltech

Duration: 3 minutes

Release Date: Aug. 12, 2024


#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #SpaceLaboratory #Microgravity #Physics #QuantumScience #ColdAtomLab #Astronauts #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition71 #InternationalCooperation #JPL #Caltech #STEM #Education #Animation #HD #Video

Tonight's Sky: September 2024 (Northern Hemisphere)

Tonight's Sky: September 2024 (Northern Hemisphere)

In September 2024, Pegasus becomes increasingly prominent in the southeastern sky, allowing stargazers to locate globular star clusters and a nearby double star, Alpha Capricorni. Keep watching for space-based views of densely packed, spherical collections of ancient stars in visible and X-ray light.

“Tonight’s Sky” is a monthly video of constellations you can observe in the night sky. The series is produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute, home of science operations for the Hubble Space Telescope, in partnership with NASA’s Universe of Learning: Caltech/IPAC, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and Sonoma State University. 

Video Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute

Duration: 5 minutes

Release Date: Aug. 26, 2024


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Planets #SolarSystem #Stars #StarClusters #Nebulae #Constellations #MilkyWayGalaxy #Galaxies #Skywatching #STScI #JPL #Caltech #SSU #UnitedStates #Canada #Mexico #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Saturday, August 31, 2024

San Francisco Bay Area of California by Night | International Space Station

San Francisco Bay Area of California by Night | International Space Station


NASA Astronaut Matthew Dominick: "So many cool little things in this short timelapse . . .

- a cosmonaut turns off the lights inside the Soyuz

- the lights of San Francisco reflect off the Soyuz solar arrays before we see San Francisco

- San Francisco Bay Area

- different layers of the atmosphere are seen in green and orange

- Milky Way core

 . . . I got greedy with ISO to see Milky Way core and the cities ended up being way over exposed."

Technical details: 28mm, f1.4, ISO12800, 0.8s exposure, timelapse 1 sec intervals

Expedition 71 Updates:

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

Expedition 71 Crew
Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)
NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore

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.

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

Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)


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

Duration: 19 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 30, 2024


#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #SoyuzCrewSpacecraft #Moon #Planet #Earth #PacificOcean #SanFrancisco #California #SolarSystem #MilkyWayGalaxy #Astronauts #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #SpaceLaboratory #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition71 #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education #Timelapse #HD #Video

Zooming in on The Wild Duck Star Cluster: Messier 11 | MPG/ESO Telescope

Zooming in on The Wild Duck Star Cluster: Messier 11 | MPG/ESO Telescope

This video takes you on a journey to the open cluster Messier 11 as seen with the Wide Field Imager (WFI) on the Max Planck Gesellschaft/European Southern Observatory 2.2-meter telescope at the La Silla Observatory. The blue stars in the center of the final image are the young, hot stars of the cluster. The surrounding redder stars are older, cooler background stars.

Distance: 6,000 light years

Messier 11 is one of the richest and most compact open clusters currently known. By investigating the brightest, hottest main sequence stars in the cluster astronomers estimate that it formed roughly 220 million years ago. Open clusters tend to contain fewer and younger stars than their more compact globular cousins, and Messier 11 is no exception.

The lifespans of open clusters are also relatively short compared to those of globular ones; stars in open clusters are spread further apart and are thus not as strongly bound to each other by gravity, causing them to be more easily and quickly drawn away by stronger gravitational forces. As a result Messier 11 is likely to disperse in a few million years as its members are ejected one by one, pulled away by other celestial objects in the vicinity.

The 2.2m telescope at La Silla has been in operation since early 1984 and is on indefinite loan to the European Southern Observatory from the Max Planck Gesellschaft. The telescope time is shared between Max Planck Institute and ESO Observers. Operation and maintenance of the telescope is the responsibility of ESO.

Learn more about the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope:

https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/lasilla/mpg22/


Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/N. Risinger

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: Oct. 1, 2014


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarClusters #OpenStarClusters #Messier11 #NGC6705 #WildDuckCluster #Scutum #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #MPGESOTelescope #WFI #LaSillaObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Close-up View of Wild Duck Star Cluster: Messier 11 | MPG/ESO Telescope

Close-up View of Wild Duck Star Cluster: Messier 11 | MPG/ESO Telescope

This video gives a close-up view of an image of the open cluster Messier 11 as seen with the Wide Field Imager (WFI) on the Max Planck Gesellschaft/European Southern Observatory 2.2-meter telescope at the La Silla Observatory. The blue stars in the center of the image are the young, hot stars of the cluster. The surrounding redder stars are older, cooler background stars.

Distance: 6,000 light years

Messier 11 is one of the richest and most compact open clusters currently known. By investigating the brightest, hottest main sequence stars in the cluster astronomers estimate that it formed roughly 220 million years ago. Open clusters tend to contain fewer and younger stars than their more compact globular cousins, and Messier 11 is no exception.

The lifespans of open clusters are also relatively short compared to those of globular ones; stars in open clusters are spread further apart and are thus not as strongly bound to each other by gravity, causing them to be more easily and quickly drawn away by stronger gravitational forces. As a result Messier 11 is likely to disperse in a few million years as its members are ejected one by one, pulled away by other celestial objects in the vicinity.

The 2.2m telescope at La Silla has been in operation since early 1984 and is on indefinite loan to the European Southern Observatory from the Max Planck Gesellschaft. The telescope time is shared between Max Planck Institute and ESO Observers. Operation and maintenance of the telescope is the responsibility of ESO.

Learn more about the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope:

https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/lasilla/mpg22/


Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: Oct. 1, 2014


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarClusters #OpenStarClusters #Messier11 #NGC6705 #WildDuckCluster #Scutum #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #MPGESOTelescope #WFI #LaSillaObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Wild Duck Star Cluster in Scutum | MPG/ESO Telescope

The Wild Duck Star Cluster in Scutum MPG/ESO Telescope

The Wide Field Imager (WFI) on the Max Planck Gesellschaft/European Southern Observatory 2.2-meter telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile has taken this beautiful image of the open Wild Duck Cluster, Messier 11, or NGC 6705. The blue stars in the center of the image are the young, hot stars of the cluster. The surrounding redder stars are older, cooler background stars.

Distance: 6,000 light years

Messier 11 is one of the richest and most compact open clusters currently known. By investigating the brightest, hottest main sequence stars in the cluster astronomers estimate that it formed roughly 220 million years ago. Open clusters tend to contain fewer and younger stars than their more compact globular cousins, and Messier 11 is no exception.

The lifespans of open clusters are also relatively short compared to those of globular ones; stars in open clusters are spread further apart and are thus not as strongly bound to each other by gravity, causing them to be more easily and quickly drawn away by stronger gravitational forces. As a result Messier 11 is likely to disperse in a few million years as its members are ejected one by one, pulled away by other celestial objects in the vicinity.

The 2.2m telescope at La Silla has been in operation since early 1984 and is on indefinite loan to the European Southern Observatory from the Max Planck Gesellschaft. The telescope time is shared between Max Planck Institute and ESO Observers. Operation and maintenance of the telescope is the responsibility of ESO.

Learn more about the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope:

https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/lasilla/mpg22/


Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: Oct. 1, 2014


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarClusters #OpenStarClusters #Messier11 #NGC6705 #WildDuckCluster #Scutum #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #MPGESOTelescope #WFI #LaSillaObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Wild Duck Star Cluster: Messier 11 in Scutum | Hubble

Wild Duck Star Cluster: Messier 11 in Scutum | Hubble


This star-studded image shows us a portion of Messier 11, an open star cluster in the southern constellation of Scutum (The Shield). Messier 11 is also known as the Wild Duck Cluster, as its brightest stars form a “V” shape that somewhat resembles a flock of ducks in flight.

Distance: 6,000 light years

Messier 11 is one of the richest and most compact open clusters currently known. By investigating the brightest, hottest main sequence stars in the cluster astronomers estimate that it formed roughly 220 million years ago. Open clusters tend to contain fewer and younger stars than their more compact globular cousins, and Messier 11 is no exception. At its center, lie many blue stars, the hottest and youngest of the cluster’s few thousand stellar residents.

The lifespans of open clusters are also relatively short compared to those of globular ones; stars in open clusters are spread further apart and are thus not as strongly bound to each other by gravity, causing them to be more easily and quickly drawn away by stronger gravitational forces. As a result Messier 11 is likely to disperse in a few million years as its members are ejected one by one, pulled away by other celestial objects in the vicinity.


Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, P. Dobbie et al.

Release Date: March 25, 2019


#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Stars #StarClusters #OpenStarClusters #Messier11 #WildDuckCluster #Scutum #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education