Spiral Galaxy M74 | Hubble

Spiral Galaxy M74 | Hubble

The arms of the spiral galaxy M74 are studded with rosy pink regions of fresh star formation in this image from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. M74—also known as the Phantom Galaxy—lies around 32 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Pisces, and is a familiar sight for Hubble.

The beautiful reddish blooms that spread throughout M74 are huge clouds of hydrogen gas which are made to glow by the ultraviolet radiation from hot, young stars embedded within them. These regions,which astronomers refer to as H II regions, mark the location of recent star formation and are an important target for both space- and ground-based telescopes. Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys, which collected the data in this image, even has a filter designed to pick out only this specific red wavelength of light!

The data in this image come from a set of observations exploring the evolution of local spiral galaxies such as M74, which aim to gain insights into the history of star formation in these spirals. To do this astronomers examined star clusters to date the different parts of spiral galaxies, enabling them to understand how the galaxies assembled over time. They also explored the distribution of dust in spiral galaxies; this dust is visible in this image as the dark threads winding along the spiral arms of M74.

Aside from their quest to understand the history of spiral galaxies, astronomers also observed M74 to complement observations from other telescopes. Combining observations of the same object from different telescopes across the electromagnetic spectrum gives astronomers far more insight than observations from a single telescope would. Hubble’s observations also paved the way for future instruments; M74 was one of the first targets of the powerful new NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, R. Chandar

Release Date: August 29, 2022

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Peering through the Dust of Sagittarius B1: Infrared View | ESO

Peering through the Dust of Sagittarius B1: Infrared View  | ESO

This is an infrared view of Sagittarius B1, a region close to the center of the Milky Way, imaged with the European Southern Observatory (ESO)’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. The center of our galaxy is an exotic environment, densely populated with stars, and has been suggested to have more star formation than any other place in the Milky Way. However, so far we have only found less than 10% of all young stars we expect there. Where are the others? 

There is a catch: our view towards the center is obscured by clouds of dust and gas, blocking the light from the stars. With infrared instruments it is possible to peer through these clouds. In this image, taken with the infrared HAWK-I instrument on ESO’s VLT, we get to take a closer look at this region. The view is mesmerising, unveiling a myriad of stars. In a recent study, a team led by Francisco Nogueras Lara (MPIA Heidelberg, Germany) discovered that this region hosts an excess of young stars, with a combined mass of more than 100,000 times the mass of the Sun. This is a key step forward in our quest to find all the expected young stars in the central regions of the Milky Way, and thus understand how stars evolve in such a unique environment.

This image comes from the GALACTICNUCLEUS survey, whose goal is to obtain high-resolution infrared images of the galactic center. With future infrared ESO instruments such as ERIS on the VLT and MICADO on the upcoming ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), the team hopes to study the stars in greater detail, which will lead to a better understanding of the evolution of the Milky Way’s center. 

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Nogueras-Lara et al.

Release Date: August 29, 2022

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NASA Artemis I Moon Rocket at Daybreak | Kennedy Space Center

NASA Artemis I Moon Rocket at Daybreak | Kennedy Space Center

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen at sunrise atop the mobile launcher at Launch Pad 39B, Monday, Aug. 29, 2022, as the Artemis I launch teams load more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants including liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as the launch countdown progressed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s Artemis I flight test is the first integrated test of the agency’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket, and supporting ground systems. 

The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. 

The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. 

All about Artemis I:

https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-i/

Image Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

Release Date: August 18, 2022

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NASA Artemis I Moon Rocket at Sunrise | Kennedy Space Center

NASA Artemis I Moon Rocket at Sunrise | Kennedy Space Center

A sunrise view of NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft for Artemis I on the pad at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 18, 2022. Launch of Artemis I is scheduled for no earlier than Aug. 29, 2022, at 8:34 a.m. EDT. 

The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. 

The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.

All about Artemis I:

https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-i/

Image Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

Release Date: August 18, 2022

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NASA's Orion Spacecraft: Designed for Deep Space | Lockheed Martin

NASA's Orion Spacecraft: Designed for Deep Space | Lockheed Martin

"Orion is NASA's spacecraft that will take humans deep into space. No other spacecraft in development has the technology needed for the extremes of deep space, such as life support, navigation, communications, radiation shielding and the world's largest heat shield that will protect astronauts and help return them safely home.

Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor building Orion. We are in the production phase and have finalized a contract for six Orion spacecraft missions and the ability to order up to 12 in total. The first spacecraft delivered on this contract, Artemis III, will carry the first woman and the next man to the surface of the Moon. Orion is a critical part of the agency's Artemis program to build a sustainable presence on the lunar surface and to prepare us to move on to Mars.

What puts Orion in a class all its own? The technology our engineers use to build the only exploration class spacecraft to take humans deeper into space than ever before."

Credit: Lockheed Martin

Duration: 3 minutes, 42 seconds

Release Date: August 25, 2022

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The Sky Region around Galaxy NGC 7727 | ESO

The Sky Region around Galaxy NGC 7727 | ESO

This image from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) shows the region of the sky around NGC 7727, a galaxy located 89 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Aquarius. The galaxy is the bright spot in the center. 

NGC 7727 is home to the closest pair of supermassive black holes to Earth found to date. It is also the pair with the smallest separation between two supermassive black holes—observed to be just 1,600 light-years apart in the sky.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Digitized Sky Survey 2

Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin

Release Date: November 30, 2021

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Bumps in the Heavens: Wide-field View of Galaxy NGC 7727 | ESO

Bumps in the Heavens: Wide-field View of Galaxy NGC 7727 | ESO

Just as people at a busy crossroad may accidentally bump into each other, so too can galaxies in the Universe! However, in this case, the outcome is more dramatic than a small nudge. When two galaxies clash, they merge into each other, giving birth to a new, bigger one. One example is the NGC 7727 galaxy, shown in this image from the European Southern Observatory’s VLT Survey Telescope (VST) in Chile.

Located 89 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Aquarius, NGC 7727 is believed to be the result of a clash between two galaxies that occurred about one billion years ago. The consequences of this tremendous cosmic bump are still evident in the peculiar, irregular shape of NGC 7727 and the streams of stars in its outer regions. 

The image was taken in visible light as part of the VST-ATLAS survey. The goal of the survey is to map a vast region of the Southern Sky—so large you could fit about 19,000 full moons in it! By studying the galaxies in this region, astronomers aim to shed new light on the nature of dark energy, the mysterious force permeating the Universe and causing its accelerating expansion.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/VST ATLAS team

Acknowledgement: Durham University/CASU/WFAU

Release Date: November 29, 2021

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Journey to the Closest Pair of Supermassive Black Holes in Galaxy NGC 7727 | ESO

Journey to the Closest Pair of Supermassive Black Holes in Galaxy NGC 7727 | ESO

This video takes us to NGC 7727, a galaxy located 89 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Aquarius and home to the closest pair of supermassive black holes found to date. The pair is also the one with the smallest separation between two supermassive black holes—observed to be just 1,600 light-years apart in the sky.

Each of the two black holes is located at the center of one of the two bright nuclei in NGC 7727 visible in the final part of the video. The two black holes are on a collision course, doomed to crash together and merge into one giant black hole probably within the next 250 million years.

The close-up view of the central region of NGC 7727 and its two nuclei was taken with the MUSE instrument on the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal Observatory in Chile.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/L. Calçada ; N. Risinger; Digitized Sky Survey 2; VST ATLAS team; Voggel et al.

Duration: 50 seconds

Release Date: November 30, 2021

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Nearest Pair of Supermassive Black Holes in Galaxy NGC 7727: Close-up View | ESO

Nearest Pair of Supermassive Black Holes in Galaxy NGC 7727: Close-up View | ESO

Close-up view of the two bright galactic nuclei, each housing a supermassive black hole, in NGC 7727, a galaxy located 89 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Aquarius. Each nucleus consists of a dense group of stars with a supermassive black hole at its center. The two black holes are on a collision course and form the closest pair of supermassive black holes found to date. It is also the pair with the smallest separation between two supermassive black holes—observed just 1,600 light-years apart in the sky.  

The image was taken with the MUSE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal Observatory in Chile.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Voggel et al.

Release Date: November 30, 2021

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The Spectacular Galactic Dance of NGC 7727 | ESO

The Spectacular Galactic Dance of NGC 7727 | ESO

The galaxy NGC 7727 was born from the merger of two galaxies that started around a billion years ago. The cosmic dance of the two galaxies has resulted in the spectacular wispy shape of NGC 7727. At the heart of the galaxy, two supermassive black holes are spiralling closer to each other, expected to merge within 250 million years, the blink of an eye in astronomical time. This image of NGC 7727 was captured by the FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph 2 (FORS2) instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). 

Distance: 90 million light years

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: August 16, 2022

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NASA Artemis I Moon Rocket: Preflight | Kennedy Space Center

NASA Artemis I Moon Rocket: Preflight | Kennedy Space Center

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop a mobile launcher at Launch Pad 39B as preparations for launch continue, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s Artemis I flight test is the first integrated test of the agency’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket, and supporting ground systems. Launch of the uncrewed flight test is targeted for no earlier than Aug. 29 at 8:33 a.m. ET.

All about Artemis I:

https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-i/

Image Credis: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Image Dates: August 28, 2022

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NASA Artemis I Moon Rocket: U.S. & Canadian Astronauts | Kennedy Space Center

NASA Artemis I Moon Rocket: U.S. & Canadian Astronauts | Kennedy Space Center

Astronauts and astronaut candidates from NASA and the Canadian Space Agency pose for photographs in front of NASA’s Artemis I Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft atop the mobile launcher on the pad at Launch Complex 39B on Aug. 28, 2022.

The astronauts are, from left to right: Christina Birch, NASA astronaut candidate; Joe Acaba, NASA astronaut; Don Pettit, NASA astronaut; Victor Glover, NASA astronaut; Jeremy Hansen, Canadian Space Agency astronaut; Jessica Meir, NASA astronaut; Stan Love, NASA astronaut; Jack Hathaway, NASA astronaut candidate; Shannon Walker, NASA astronaut; Andre Douglas, NASA astronaut candidate; Kate Rubins, NASA astronaut; Chris Williams, NASA astronaut candidate; Reid Wiseman, NASA astronaut; Stephanie Wilson, NASA astronaut; Jessica Wittner, NASA astronaut candidate; Zena Cardman, NASA astronaut; Joshua Kutryk, Canadian Space Agency astronaut; Randy Bresnik, NASA astronaut. 

The astronauts are, from left to right: Randy Bresnik, NASA astronaut; Joshua Kutryk, Canadian Space Agency astronaut; Zena Cardman, NASA astronaut; Jack Hathaway, NASA astronaut candidate; Christina Birch, NASA astronaut candidate; Reid Wiseman, NASA astronaut; Jessica Wittner, NASA astronaut candidate; Joe Acaba, NASA astronaut; Andre Douglas, NASA astronaut candidate; Kate Rubins, NASA astronaut; Jeremy Hansen, Canadian Space Agency astronaut; Stephanie Wilson, NASA astronaut; Jessica Meir, NASA astronaut; Don Pettit, NASA astronaut; Chris Williams, NASA astronaut candidate; Victor Glover, NASA astronaut; Shannon Walker, NASA astronaut; Stan Love, NASA astronaut. 

The astronauts are, from left to right: Christina Birch, NASA astronaut candidate; Joe Acaba, NASA astronaut; Don Pettit, NASA astronaut; Victor Glover, NASA astronaut; Jessica Meir, NASA astronaut; Jeremy Hansen, Canadian Space Agency astronaut; Stan Love, NASA astronaut; Jack Hathaway, NASA astronaut candidate; Shannon Walker, NASA astronaut; Andre Douglas, NASA astronaut candidate; Kate Rubins, NASA astronaut; Chris Williams, NASA astronaut candidate; Reid Wiseman, NASA astronaut; Stephanie Wilson, NASA astronaut; Jessica Wittner, NASA astronaut candidate; Zena Cardman, NASA astronaut; Joshua Kutryk, Canadian Space Agency astronaut; Randy Bresnik, NASA astronaut.

The astronauts are, from left to right: Randy Bresnik, NASA astronaut; Christina Birch, NASA astronaut candidate; Jessica Wittner, NASA astronaut candidate; Joshua Kutryk, Canadian Space Agency astronaut; Joe Acaba, NASA astronaut; Zena Cardman, NASA astronaut; Andre Douglas, NASA astronaut candidate; Shannon Walker, NASA astronaut; Reid Wiseman, NASA astronaut; Jessica Meir, NASA astronaut; Jack Hathaway, NASA astronaut candidate; Kate Rubins, NASA astronaut; Chris Williams, NASA astronaut candidate; Stephanie Wilson, NASA astronaut; Don Pettit, NASA astronaut; Stan Love, NASA astronaut; Jeremy Hansen, Canadian Space Agency astronaut; Victor Glover, NASA astronaut.

NASA’s Artemis I mission is the first integrated test of the agency’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket, and supporting ground systems. Launch of the uncrewed flight test is targeted for no earlier than August 29, 2022.

All about Artemis I:

https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-i/

Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Image Date: August 28, 2022

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NASA's Artemis I Moon Rocket: U.S. & Canadian Astronauts | Kennedy Space Center

NASA's Artemis I Moon Rocket: U.S. & Canadian Astronauts | Kennedy Space Center

Astronauts and astronaut candidates pose for a photo at the Launch Pad 39B after arriving in their T-38 jets in support of Artemis I launch operations at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From Left: Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Jeremy Hansen, NASA Astronauts Drew Morgan, Christina Koch, NASA Astronaut Candidates Nicole Ayers, Jack Hathaway, NASA Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Zena Cardman, NASA Pilot Chris Condon, NASA Astronaut Joe Acaba. 

NASA’s Artemis I mission is the first integrated test of the agency’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, and supporting ground systems. Launch of the uncrewed flight test is targeted for no earlier than August 29, 2022.

All about Artemis I:

https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-i/

Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

Image Date: August 22, 2022

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NASA's Artemis I Moon Rocket: Preflight | Kennedy Space Center

NASA's Artemis I Moon Rocket: Preflight | Kennedy Space Center

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop a mobile launcher at Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. NASA’s Artemis I mission is the first integrated test of the agency’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket, and supporting ground systems. Launch of the uncrewed flight test is targeted for no earlier than Aug. 29, 2022.

All about Artemis I:

https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-i/

Image Credits: NASA/Joel Kowsky/Kim Shiflett/Frank Michaux, ESA-A. Conigli, ULA

Image Dates: August 18-27, 2022

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NASA's Artemis I Moon Rocket: Vehicle Assembly Building | Kennedy Space Center

NASA's Artemis I Moon Rocket in Vehicle Assembly Building | Kennedy Space Center

The mobile launcher with NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft aboard is seen inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) before it was rolled out to Launch Complex 39B for launch, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. 

As part of the agency’s Artemis I flight test, the fully stacked and integrated SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft is scheduled to liftoff on Monday, Aug. 29, 2022. 

The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by launching Orion atop the SLS rocket, operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.

All about Artemis I:

https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-i/

Image Credits: NASA/Ben Smegelsky/Kim Shiflett

Image Capture Dates: Aug. 3-16, 2022

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Starburst Galaxy NGC 1569: Wide-field View | Hubble

Starburst Galaxy NGC 1569: Wide-field View | Hubble

This image taken by NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope showcases the brilliant core of one of the most active galaxies in our local neighborhood. The entire core is 5,000 light-years wide.

Distance: 11 million light years

The galaxy, called NGC 1569, sparkles with the light from millions of newly formed young stars. NGC 1569 is pumping out stars at a rate that is 100 times faster than the rate observed in our Milky Way Galaxy. This frenzied pace has been almost continuous for the past 100 million years.

The core's centrepiece is a grouping of three giant star clusters, each containing more than a million stars. (Two of the clusters are so close they appear as one grouping.) The clusters reside in a large, central cavity. The gas in the cavity has been blown out by the multitude of massive, young stars that already exploded as supernovae. These explosions also triggered a violent flow of gas and particles that is sculpting giant gaseous structures. The sculpted structure at lower right is about 3,700 light-years long.

Huge bubbles of gas, such as the two at left, appear like floating islands. The largest bubble is about 378 light-years wide and the smallest 119 light-years wide. They are being illuminated by the radiation from the bright, young stars within them. Some of those stars are peaking through their gaseous cocoons.

The biggest and brightest objects surrounding the core are stars scattered throughout our Milky Way Galaxy. In contrast, the thousands of tiny white dots in the image are stars in the halo of NGC 1569. The galaxy is 11 million light-years from Earth.

A new analysis of NGC 1569 shows that it is one and a half times farther from Earth than astronomers previously thought. The extra distance places the galaxy in the middle of a group of about 10 galaxies centered on the spiral galaxy IC 342. Gravitational interactions among the group's galaxies may be compressing gas in NGC 1569 and igniting the star-birthing frenzy.

Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 and Advanced Camera for Surveys made the observations of NGC 1569 in September 1999, November 2006, and January 2007.

Credit for Advanced Camera Data: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), A. Aloisi (STScI/ESA), J. Mack and A. Grocholski (STScI), M. Sirianni (STScI/ESA), R. van der Marel (STScI), L. Angeretti, D. Romano, and M. Tosi (INAF-OAB), and F. Annibali, L. Greggio, and E. Held (INAF-OAP)

Credit for Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 Data: NASA, ESA, P. Shopbell (California Institute of Technology), R. Dufour (Rice University), D. Walter (South Carolina State University, Orangeburg), and A. Wilson (University of Maryland, College Park)

Release Date: November 20, 2008

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