Αναγνώστες

Δευτέρα 17 Δεκεμβρίου 2012

The Far Side of the Moon.

The Far Side of the Moon.

Credit: NASA / GSFC / Arizona State Univ. / Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter



Astronomy Pictures - Pictures of The Universe

Σάββατο 15 Δεκεμβρίου 2012

The Pinwheel Galaxy

The Pinwheel Galaxy (Messier 101 or NGC 5457).



 



The Pinwheel Galaxy is located about 21 million light years away in the direction of the Ursa Major (Big Dipper) constellation. This vibrant astronomy picture combines data in the infrared, visible, ultraviolet and x-rays from four of NASAs space telescopes.

For details about what the various colors represent, 


Astronomy Pictures - Pictures of the Universe

spiral galaxy

Beautiful Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1300.



 
This Hubble Space Telescope image shows a spiral within a spiral: the nucleus of this spiral galaxy has its own extraordinary and distinct, 'grand-design' spiral structure that is about 3,300 light-years long. Only galaxies with large-scale bars appear to have these grand-design inner disks. Unlike other spiral galaxies, NGC 1300 is not presently known to have a massive central black hole.
NGC 1300 is located about 61 million light-years away in the direction of the Eridanus constellation. Its total length is about 110,000 light-years.

Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team STScI/AURA)


Astronomy Pictures - Pictures of the Universe

Δευτέρα 3 Δεκεμβρίου 2012

Star Cluster R136

Star Cluster R136 Bursts Out
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, & F. Paresce (INAF-IASF), R. O'Connell (U. Virginia), & the HST WFC3 Science Oversight Committee




Explanation: In the center of star-forming region 30 Doradus lies a huge cluster of the largest, hottest, most massive stars known. These stars, known collectively as star cluster R136, were captured above in visible light by the Wide Field Camera peering through the refurbished Hubble Space Telescope. Gas and dust clouds in 30 Doradus, also known as the Tarantula Nebula, have been sculpted into elongated shapes by powerful winds and ultraviolet radiation from these hot cluster stars. The 30 Doradus Nebula lies within a neighboring galaxy known as the Large Magellanic Cloud and is located a mere 170,000 light-years away.

Τετάρτη 31 Οκτωβρίου 2012

Witch Head Nebula (IC 2118)

Witch Head Nebula (IC 2118) is a faint reflection nebula located about 1000 light-years away in the direction of the Eridanus constellation. It is thought to be an ancient supernova remnant or gas cloud illuminated by Rigel, a nearby supergiant star located in the Orion constellation.

Image Credit: Noel Carboni, STScl Digitized Sky Survey, NASA