I would suppose that just about any good book on astronomy would contain a photograph of what might best be described as the “smoke ring” of the sky. Others might call it a doughnut or a cosmic bagel, but the popular name for this object is simply the Ring Nebula, located in the constellation of […]
The James Webb Space Telescope has taken another extraordinary photo. The subject is the Serpens Nebula, which lies about 1,300 light-years from Earth. And the new JWST image showcases a very special phenomenon long theorized to exist, but never before observed. In the upper left part of the photo are several “protostellar outflows,” or jets […]
The image of the Serpens Nebula you see above, taken by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), not only looks mesmerizing but also captures a never-before-seen phenomenon. The aligned, elongated “protostellar outflows” visible in the top left support a longstanding theory. As suspected, the jets shoot out in alignment from the swirling disks of surrounding […]
In July 1054, astronomers in China documented a “guest star” in the sky that shone as brightly as Jupiter for nearly a month before gradually fading into invisibility. That “star” was, in fact, a cloud of debris blown into space by a dying star roughly 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. In the 19th […]
A new photo of the Crab Nebula, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, is helping scientists parse the composition and history of the ancient supernova remnant. The Crab Nebula, located in the constellation Taurus, is the result of a supernova explosion that was seen on Earth in 1054 C.E. and was bright enough to […]
The Orion Nebula may be a familiar and well-studied celestial object, but new images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) show this star-forming cloud of gas and dust in an incredibly new and vibrant light. The Orion Nebula, also known as “Messier 42” (M42), is located around 1,500 light years from Earth toward the […]
The glorious, billowing Southern Ring Nebula is the cocoon of a dying star — and it has a secret. Scientists have found this nebula to exhibit a double-ring structure that evidences not one, but possibly three stars at its heart. The Southern Ring Nebula, also designated NGC 3132, is a planetary nebula located about 2,000 […]
Image 1 of 2 The Running Chicken Nebula captured by astrophotographer Rod Prazeres Image 2 of 2 running man nebula and white circles annotating each of the observing targets. This stunning view of the Running Chicken Nebula, IC 2944, took astrophotographer Rod Prazeres over 42 hours to capture, his longest project yet. “The Running Chicken […]
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured incredibly sharp images of the Horsehead Nebula, one of the most iconic celestial bodies in the sky over Earth. The most powerful telescope ever placed into orbit around our planet, the JWST was able to see details of the Horsehead Nebula, also known as Barnard 33, that […]
DALLAS (AP) — NASA’s Webb Space Telescope has revealed the sharpest images yet of a portion of a horse-shaped nebula, showing the “mane” in finer detail. The Horsehead Nebula, in the constellation Orion, is 1,300 light-years away. A light-year is nearly 6 trillion miles (9.7 trillion kilometers). Discovered over a century ago, its nickname derives […]
The world’s most powerful space telescope, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, has just released the sharpest infrared images to date of the Horsehead Nebula, a small dark nebula in the constellation Orion that acts as a nursery for newborn stars. Captured in unprecedented detail, the image of the nebula focuses on a portion of the […]
Scientists have discovered a hitherto unknown space molecule while investigating a relatively nearby region of intense star birth, a cosmic spot about 5,550 light-years away. It’s part of the Cat’s Paw Nebula, also known as NGC 6334. The team, led by Zachary Fried, a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), examined a section […]