Category: Hubble

NGC 1385 from Hubble

NGC 1385 is a strange spiral galaxy in the constellation Fornax. Originally a normal spiral, interaction with other galaxies nearby distorted its shape. The center of the galaxy was pulled and rotated 90 degrees to the shape it appears in now. Image: Details: All data was taken from the PHANGS-HST observation program. https://phangs.stsci.edu/ Processing: Crop stacking artifacts TGV+MMT denoise each channel Channel combine ArcinH stretch HDR multiscale transform MMT+Curves transformation Dark structure enhance LHE Curves trasnformation

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NGC 5189 from Hubble

Why is this beautiful nebula so complicated ? When a star is dying, it blast away its outer layers, usually into a simple overall shape. Sometimes this shape is a sphere, sometimes a double lobe, and sometimes a ring or a helix. In this image, however, no such simple structure has emerged. To help find out why, Hubble Space Telescope recently observed NGC 5189 in Hydrogen, Oxygen and Sulfur emission lines. Previous findings indicated the existence of multiple periods of material outflow, including a recent one that […]

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NGC 1672 from Hubble

NGC 1672 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Dorado. Its massive spiral arms display clusters of hot young blue stars , and beautiful clouds of pink ionized hydrogen gas. Dust lanes throughout the galaxy obscure and redden the light of the stars behind them. NGC 1672’s dynamic core is emphzised by the ring of hydrogen gas and dark dust lanes around it. Image: Details: All data was taken by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys by the following proposal: https://archive.stsci.edu/proposal_search.php?mission=hst&id=10354 Processing

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Hubble’s incredible mosaic of Messier 82

Also known as the Cigar Galaxy because of its appearance, Messier 82 is a starburst galaxy with a superwind. In fact, through supernova explosions and powerful winds from massive stars, the burst of star formation is driving the stunning red outflows. This image highlights emission from filaments of atomic hydrogen gas in reddish hues. The filaments extend for well over 10,000 light-years. I recommend checking out the full 66 megapixel image on Gigapan, where you can zoom into all the awesome filamentary details. http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/227686 Image: Details: All […]

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Messier 51 from Hubble

The graceful, winding arms of the majestic whirlpool galaxy appear like a grand spiral staircase sweeping through space. They are actually long lanes of stars and gas laced with dust. This sharpest-ever image of the Whirlpool Galaxy illustrates a spiral galaxy’s grand design, from its curving spiral arms, where young stars reside, to its yellowish central core, a home of older stars. The bright pink regions display large bursts of H-alpha, where new stars are formed. I would highly recommend viewing this image on gigapan, where you […]

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NGC 1999 from Hubble

NGC 1999 is a dust-filled nebula with a vast hole of empty space in the center. It is a reflection nebula illuminated by the light of the variable star V380 Orionis. It was previously believed that the black patch was a dense cloud of dust and gas which blocked light that would normally pass through. However, when Herschel observed the space, itresulted in continued black space. This led to the belief that either the cloud material was immensely dense or that an unexplained phenomenon had been detected. […]

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NGC 3314 from Hubble

Update 11/17/2021: This image was featured by NASA’s APOD! You can check out their version here: https://theastroenthusiast.com/ngc-3314-from-hubble/ This object is not one but two – two galaxies seeming to overlap by mere chance. The spiral galaxy in front is viewed nearly face-on, its pinwheel shape defined by young, blue, bright star clusters. Against the glow of the background galaxy, dark swirling lanes of interstellar dust appear to dominate the face-on spiral structure. The dust lanes are surprisingly pervasive, and this remarkable pair of overlapping galaxies is one […]

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M83’s core from Hubble

The goal of this image is to display the details of the nucleus without blowing any details out too badly. This is hard to do if you show the whole galaxy so I have cropped it to the central area. The very center of the nucleus itself is also dust-obscured and appears as a small, yellowish orb near the center of the image. Using only the visible light you might guess that the nucleus is the larger, U-shaped bright area just south of the nucleus. The dust […]

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NGC 6814 from Hubble

Together with irregular galaxies, spiral galaxies make up approximately 60 percent of the galaxies in the local universe. However, despite their prevalence, each spiral galaxy is unique — like snowflakes, no two are alike. This is demonstrated by the striking face-on spiral galaxy NGC 6814, whose luminous nucleus and spectacular sweeping arms, rippled with an intricate pattern of dark dust, are captured in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image. NGC 6814 has an extremely bright nucleus, a telltale sign that the galaxy is a Seyfert galaxy. These […]

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NGC 4651 from Hubble

This remarkable spiral galaxy, known as NGC 4651, may look serene and peaceful as it swirls in the vast, silent emptiness of space, but don’t be fooled — it keeps a violent secret. It is believed that this galaxy consumed another smaller galaxy to become the large and beautiful spiral that we observe today. Image: Details: All data was taken from Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys from the following proposal: https://archive.stsci.edu/proposal_search.php?mission=hst&id=12282 Processing: Create Superlum by averaging both channels Deconvolute lum Denoise lum RGB combine Color calibration ArcsinH […]

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