Sprawling emission nebulae IC 1396 and Sh2-129 mix glowing interstellar gas and dark dust clouds in this nearly 12 degree wide field of view toward the northern constellation Cepheus the King. Energized by its central star IC 1396 (left), is hundreds of light-years across and some 3,000 light-years distant. The nebula’s intriguing dark shapes include […]
Two ospreys perch in their nest atop a marshalling area sign in front of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in this photo from June 7, 2023. via NASA https://ift.tt/d7Iej9a
Locked in a cosmic embrace, two large galaxies are merging at the center of this sharp telescopic field of view. The interacting system cataloged as Arp 93 is some 200 million light-years distant toward the constellation Aquarius in planet Earth’s sky. Individually the galaxies are identified as NGC 7285 (right) and NGC 7284. Their bright […]
On August 8, 2023, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image of dense plumes of smoke streaming from dozens of large fires in the Northwest Territories. via NASA https://ift.tt/Z4qawYn
The Sun is not the quiet place it seems. It expels an unsteady stream of energetic electrons and protons known as the solar wind. These charged particles deform the Earth’s magnetosphere, change paths, and collide with atoms in Earth’s atmosphere, causing the generation of light in auroras like that visible in green in the image […]
While wearing clean room suits, the Artemis II crew members check out their Orion crew module inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 7, 2023. via NASA https://ift.tt/39aCTKb
The Ring Nebula (M57), is more complicated than it appears through a small telescope. The easily visible central ring is about one light-year across, but this remarkable exposure by the James Webb Space Telescope explores this popular nebula with a deep exposure in infrared light. Strings of gas, like eyelashes around a cosmic eye, become […]
This floating ring is the size of a galaxy. In fact, it is a galaxy — or at least part of one: the photogenic Sombrero Galaxy, one of the largest galaxies in the nearby Virgo Cluster of Galaxies. The dark band of dust that obscures the mid-section of the Sombrero Galaxy in optical light actually […]
It’s fun to scribble on the canvas of the sky. You can use a creative photographic technique to cause the light of point-like stars to dance across a digital image by tapping lightly on the telescope while making an exposure. The result will be a squiggly line traced by the star (or two squiggles traced […]
This artist’s concept from July 11, 1969, depicts the Apollo 11 lunar module (LM) Eagle landing on the surface of the Moon. via NASA https://ift.tt/BOaTvKp