wonders-of-the-cosmos - Tumblr blog

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goood morning

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solar eclipse 2024

Credit: Emma K Alexandra

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This image, taken with the VLT Survey Telescope hosted at ESO’s Paranal Observatory, shows the beautiful nebula NGC 6164/6165, also known as the Dragon’s Egg. The nebula is a cloud of gas and dust surrounding a pair of stars called HD 148937. 

In a new study using ESO data, astronomers have shown that the two stars are unusually different from each other — one appears much younger and, unlike the other, is magnetic. Moreover, the nebula is significantly younger than either star at its heart, and is made up of gases normally found deep within a star and not on the outside. These clues together helped solve the mystery of the HD 148937 system — there were most likely three stars in the system until two of them clashed and merged, creating a new, larger and magnetic star. This violent event also created the spectacular nebula that now surrounds the remaining stars. Credit:

Credit: ESO

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From our vantage point in the Milky Way Galaxy, we see NGC 1232 face-on. Nearly 200,000 light-years across, the big, beautiful spiral galaxy is located some 47 million light-years away in the flowing southern constellation of Eridanus.

Image Credit: Neil Corke

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Located in the picturesque southern constellation of Centaurus, the Gum 41 nebula takes up most of this image brought to you by the VLT Survey Telescope, hosted at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. 

Credit: ESO

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Apr. 8 2024 Eclipse

Credit: Victor Toth

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In dark evening skies over June Lake, northern hemisphere, planet Earth, Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks stood just above the western horizon on March 30. Its twisted turbulent ion tail and diffuse greenish coma are captured in this two degree wide telescopic field of view along with bright yellowish star Hamal also known as Alpha Arietis.

Image Credit: Dan Bartlett`

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This is a fascinating cosmic scene captured by Hubble: jets firing out from the rotational poles of a newly-ignited star illuminate gas and dust inside the Orion B cloud, 1,350 light-years away, forming what's called a Herbig-Haro object. 

Credit: Jason Major

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Central part of the NGC 2516 Open Cluster

Credit: G Furtado

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NGC 5248 is a compact intermediate spiral galaxy about 59 million light-years away in the constellation Boötes

Credit: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona

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NGC 6352 is a globular cluster of stars in the southern constellation of Ara, located approximately 18.3 kly from the Sun. It was discovered by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop on May 14, 1826.

Credit: NASA/ESA, Hubble

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Seen edge-on, observations of NGC 4945 suggest that this hive of stars is a spiral galaxy much like our own Milky Way, with swirling, luminous arms and a bar-shaped centre. Sites of active star formation, known as HII regions, are seen prominently in the image, appearing bright pink. These resemblances aside, NGC 4945 has a brighter centre that likely harbours a supermassive black hole, which is devouring reams of matter and blasting energy out into space. NGC 4945 is about 13 million light-years away in the constellation of Centaurus.

Credit: ESO

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North America Nebula

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Flaming Star Nebula by David Joyce

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NGC 7331 Acquired with the Schulman Telescope at the Mount Lemmon

Credit: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona

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Io satellite of Jupiter

Credit: Stuart Rankin

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Neptune and Triton by James Webb telescope