What’s happening at the center of the Trifid Nebula? Three prominent dust lanes that give the Trifid its name all come together. Mountains of opaque dust appear near the bottom, while other dark filaments of dust are visible threaded throughout the nebula. A single massive star visible near the center causes much of the Trifid’s […]
Explore extreme and terrifying realms of the Universe tonight. If you dare to look, mysterious dark matter, a graveyard galaxy, zombie worlds, and gamma-ray bursts of doom are not all that awaits. Just follow the link and remember, it’s all based on real science, even the scary parts. Have a safe and happy halloween! via […]
Night aboard the International Space Station can seemingly look like every spooky sci-fi movie you’ve ever seen. via wordpress https://wp.me/p4wJUi-7va
On Halloween fear and dread will stalk your night skies, also known as Phobos and Deimos the moons of Mars. The 2020 opposition of Mars was on October 13, so the Red Planet will still rise shortly after sunset. Near Halloween’s Full Moon on the sky, its strange yellowish glow will outshine other stars throughout […]
Active regions on the sun combined to look something like a jack-o-lantern’s face on Oct. 8, 2014. via wordpress https://wp.me/p4wJUi-7uF
Inspired by the halloween season, this telescopic portrait captures a cosmic cloud with a scary visage. The interstellar scene lies within the dusty expanse of reflection nebula IC 2118 in the constellation Orion. IC 2118 is about 800 light-years from your neighborhood, close to bright bluish star Rigel at the foot of Orion. Often identified […]
The lightning phenomenon known as a sprite depicted at Jupiter in this illustration. via NASA https://wp.me/p4wJUi-7up
Why is the Lobster Nebula forming some of the most massive stars known? No one is yet sure. Cataloged as NGC 6357, the Lobster Nebula houses the open star cluster Pismis 24 near its center — a home to unusually bright and massive stars. The overall blue glow near the inner star forming region results […]
NASA astronaut Kate Rubins points to the International Space Station’s “voting booth” where she cast her vote from space this month. via wordpress https://wp.me/p4wJUi-7ud
What would an erupting volcano on Venus look like? Evidence of currently active volcanoes on Venus was announced earlier this year with the unexplained warmth of regions thought to contain only ancient volcanoes. Although large scale images of Venus have been taken with radar, thick sulfuric acid clouds would inhibit the taking of optical light […]