Tag: Astronomy

A 62-hour widefield image of Orion

Edit 2/11/2023: This image was featured by NASA’s universe view screen Instgram, Astronomy Magazine’s image of the day: https://astronomy.com/photos/picture-of-day/2023/02/a-wide-view-of-orion, and the Amateur Astronomy Image of the Day: https://www.aapod2.com/blog/M42 The dark Horsehead Nebula and the glowing Orion Nebula are contrasting cosmic vistas. Adrift 1,500 light-years away in one of the night sky’s most recognizable constellations, they appear in opposite corners of the image. The familiar Horsehead nebula appears as a dark cloud, a small silhouette notched against the long red glow at the lower left. Alnitak is the […]

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Spiral Galaxy NGC 3147 from Hubble

The graceful, winding arms of the majestic spiral galaxy NGC 3147 appear like a grand spiral staircase sweeping through space in this Hubble Space Telescope image. They are actually long lanes of young blue stars, pinkish nebulas, and dust in silhouette. The beauty of the galaxy belies the fact that at its very center is a malnourished black hole surrounded by a thin, compact disk of stars, gas, and dust that have been caught up in a gravitational maelstrom. The black hole’s gravity is so intense that […]

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ARP 274 from Hubble

To celebrate my 18th birthday, I decided to process one of my favorite Hubble images! This was taken back in 2009 to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy by WFPC2. Given that it was taken by such a low-sensitivity sensor, this image actually had a whole lot of noise to deal with. I spent a while carefully removing hot pixels and cosmic rays to make the image look better. In case you’re wondering what exactly you’re looking at, here’s a little explanation about the galaxies: Arp 274 […]

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Interesting Astronomy news from the week of 8/21/2022

Read about the coolest discoveries, research updates, and images of this week’s astronomy: A JWST discovery of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of an exoplanet, an extrasolar world covered in water, and a new planetary nebula. JWST discovery of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of an exoplanet For the first time, astronomers have found solid evidence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of an exoplanet! Carbon dioxide is an important component of the atmospheres of planets in our solar system, found on rocky planets like Mars and […]

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Hubble’s stunning 3-color mosaic of the Tarantula nebula

Below is a zoomable version of the tarantula nebula. You can also view this version here: http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/230324. If you have a minute or ten, I really hope you spend some time just looking at the various little complications in this image – I assure you that it will be well worth your time! The full jpg version is available for free use on my flickr, which you can access by clicking the link below: If you would like to use a higher-quality version, feel free to email […]

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Hershel’s image of the upper orion molecular complex

Stunning new view from ESAs Herschel space observatory of the iconic Horsehead Nebula in the context of its surroundings. The image is a composite of the wavelengths of 70 microns (blue), 160 microns (green) and 250 microns (red), and covers 4.5×1.5 degrees. The image is oriented with northeast towards the left of the image and southwest towards the right. The Horsehead Nebula resides in the constellation Orion, about 1300 light-years away, and is part of the vast Orion Molecular Cloud complex. The Horsehead appears to rise above […]

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NGC 4490 from Hubble

Compared to the other fundamental forces in the Universe, gravity is fairly weak. Despite this, gravity has an influence over huge distances and is the driving force behind the motions of the most massive objects in the cosmos. The scattered and warped appearance of the galaxy in this image, NGC 4490, is a prime example of the results of gravity’s unrelenting tug.

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Hubble’s infrared view of the Horsehead Nebula

Looking like an apparition rising from whitecaps of interstellar foam, the iconic Horsehead Nebula has graced astronomy books ever since its discovery over a century ago. The nebula is a favorite target for amateur and professional astronomers. In this new Hubble Space Telescope view, the nebula appears in a new light, as seen in infrared wavelengths. The nebula, shadowy in optical light, appears transparent and ethereal when seen in the infrared, represented here with visible shades. The rich tapestry of the Horsehead Nebula pops out against the […]

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Interesting Astronomy news from the week of 8/7/2022

Read about the coolest discoveries, research updates, and images of this week’s astronomy: A new JWST brown dwarf, the first ever detection of gas in a planetary disk, and a new image of colliding galaxies from Gemni North Observatory

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The interacting triplet M81, M82, and NGC 3077- An ultra deep 219 hour collaboration detailing the nuanced interaction remnants and galactic cirrus.

This incredibly detailed image of the interacting triplet M81, M82, and NGC 3077 was created from more than 216 hours of exposure across three continents —  Europe, USA, and Oceania. We combined 4019 subframes and 12993 minutes of exposure to reveal faint details previously masked by lower amounts of data. The high exposure time also allowed us to sharpen fine features, giving the image more contrast and revealing more fine structures. On the top of the image lies NGC 3077, a small starburst dwarf galaxy with a […]

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