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NEBULAS
May 31, 2018 13:08:22 GMT -6
Post by auntym on May 31, 2018 13:08:22 GMT -6
mysteriousuniverse.org/2018/05/the-curious-case-of-the-mystery-laser-from-the-ant-nebula/ The Curious Case of the Mystery Laser from the Ant Nebulaby Brett Tingley / mysteriousuniverse.org/author/bbtingley/May 31, 2018 It might sound like the tagline from an old science fiction B-movie (It Came from the Ant Nebula!), but as it turns out, there really is a powerful laser beam shooting out of the distant Ant Nebula some 8,000 light-years away. Is this an attempt at intergalactic communication, or is some strange and unknown natural phenomenon afoot? The Ant NebulaProbably the latter. Although would we really be able to tell the two apart? The anomalous laser from the Ant Nebula was discovered by the European Space Agency (ESA) at the Herschel space observatory, one of the largest infrared telescopes in space. Recent observations conducted by Herschel have revealed an intense laser emission coming straight from the core of the nebula, and scientists aren’t quite sure exactly what is producing the beam. There are a few extremely rare phenomena which can generate lasers inside of nebulae. Curiously, astronomer Donald Menzel was the first to suggest that lasers could be produced by nebulae in space, and Menzel also happens to be the astronomer who discovered the Ant Nebula (its official name is Menzel 3). According to Menzel’s theories, certain types of radioactive gases can accrete in dense clouds close to stars, and these gases can amplify stars’ light enough to produce beams of laser light. Menzel 3Dr Isabel Aleman, lead author of the new study of the Ant Nebula lasers, says the coincidence of discovering a laser coming from this particular nebula is astonishing: We detected a very rare type of emission called hydrogen recombination laser emission, which is only produced in a narrow range of physical conditions. Such emission has only been identified in a handful of objects before and it is a happy coincidence that we detected the kind of emission that Menzel suggested, in one of the planetary nebulae that he discovered. The Ant Nebula gets its name from the fact that it consists of two lobes of gas which resemble the head and thorax of an ant. While I’m sure there are rare examples in which lasers can be generated by clouds of radioactive gas, I just have to wonder: if this was an alien race’s attempt at communication, would we even know it? What might the horrible ant creatures of the Ant Nebula be trying to tell us? mysteriousuniverse.org/2018/05/the-curious-case-of-the-mystery-laser-from-the-ant-nebula/
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NEBULAS
Oct 27, 2018 17:50:46 GMT -6
Post by auntym on Oct 27, 2018 17:50:46 GMT -6
SPACE.com Verified account @spacedotcom Oct 26 The 'Ghost of Cassiopeia' Drifts Along in This Spooky Hubble Image goo.gl/4e9grUBy Sarah Lewin, Space.com Associate Editor October 26, 2018 This ghostly nebula IC 63, about 550 light-years from Earth, emits hydrogen-alpha radiation and also reflects the cool blue light of the powerful nearby star Gamma Cassiopeiae. The nebula is about 0.31 light-years tall and 0.23 light-years wide. Credit: ESA/Hubble/NASAThe "Ghost of Cassiopeia," a slowly eroding cloud of gas and dust, forms a glimmering haze in this eerie image from the Hubble Space Telescope. The nebula, called IC 63, drifts 550 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cassiopeia. Its ethereal shape is influenced from afar by the fiercely shining variable star called Gamma Cassiopeiae. Though the star is several light-years from the nebula, it makes its powerful presence felt with blasts of radiation, according to a statement from the European Space Agency. The blue-white subgiant star has 19 times the sun's mass and can reach 65,000 times the sun's brightness as it rotates at 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) per hour, which is more than 200 times the speed of the sun's rotation, according to the statement. It's surrounded by a disk of material that periodically blasts with material during its furious spin, making the star temporarily blaze brighter in the northern night sky. Gamma Cassiopeiae contributes in two different ways to the nebula's creepy color palate. First, ultraviolet radiation from the star makes its way to the nebula, energizing its hydrogen molecules and prompting them to release a deep-red glow of hydrogen-alpha light. And second, light from the star reflects off the nebula's dust, glowing a cool blue. Looking from Earth, the entire region of nebulas under Gamma Cassiopeiae's influence can be seen in autumn and winter from the Northern Hemisphere, but the area is very dim, and IC 63 is just a small part of it. This view from Hubble, looking from above Earth's atmosphere, gives "possibly the most detailed image that has ever been taken of IC 63," ESA officials said in the statement. And the ultraviolet light that contributes to the nebula's ghostly glow will be its undoing, too — the radiation is slowly dissipating the nebula from light-years away, according to the statement. Someday, there may be nothing left at all. www.space.com/42263-eerie-nebula-ghost-hubble-telescope-photo.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social
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NEBULAS
Oct 29, 2018 13:00:47 GMT -6
Post by auntym on Oct 29, 2018 13:00:47 GMT -6
BAT NEBULA
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NEBULAS
Dec 23, 2018 17:59:52 GMT -6
Post by auntym on Dec 23, 2018 17:59:52 GMT -6
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/images/the-lagoon-nebula.htmlDec. 17, 2018 The Lagoon Nebula Starry night.🌟4,000 light years from Earth, Lagoon Nebula is swirling with clouds of gas & dust in a pattern reminiscent of Van Gogh. This optical image has been combined with @chandraxray data to reveal the infant stars budding in the surreal nightscape.Also known as NGC 6523 or the Lagoon Nebula, Messier 8 is a giant cloud of gas and dust where stars are currently forming. At a distance of about 4,000 light years from Earth, Messier 8 provides astronomers an excellent opportunity to study the properties of very young stars. Many infant stars give off copious amounts of high-energy light including X-rays, which are seen in the Chandra data (pink). The X-ray data have been combined with an optical image of Messier 8 from the Mt. Lemmon Sky Center in Arizona (blue and white).Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/images/the-lagoon-nebula.html
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NEBULAS
Jan 17, 2019 0:09:17 GMT -6
Post by auntym on Jan 17, 2019 0:09:17 GMT -6
www.astronomy.com/news/2019/01/orions-dragon-revealed-in-3d-by-nasas-airborne-observatory?utm_source=asytwitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=asytwitter&utm_campaign=meetedgar&utm_medium=social&utm_source=meetedgar.com "Orion's Dragon" captured in 3D by NASA's airborne observatoryUsing a telescope mounted to an airplane, astronomers have uncovered a structure in the Orion Nebula that may shed light on one of the nebula's long-standing secrets.By Jake Parks / www.astronomy.com/authors/jake-parks Published: Monday, January 7, 2019 By combining tens of hours of spectroscopic observations, astronomers have uncovered a feature in the Orion Nebula that they've dubbed "Orion's Dragon." NASA/SOFIA While flying more than seven miles above the surface of our planet, NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) recently fixated on Earth's nearest star-forming region: the Orion Nebula. Based on the data collected by the jetliner, which is equipped with a 106-inch (2.7-meter) diameter telescope, researchers determined that strong stellar winds from a particularly young and active star are disrupting gas within the Orion Nebula, which is located some 1,300 light-years from Earth. These strong winds, in turn, are stifling star formation in the region. To make their new finding, the team used the SOFIA data to create a stunning 3D view of the chaotic environment inside the nebula, a decision that also helped them uncover a newfound feature they've since dubbed "Orion's Dragon." In total, SOFIA spent about 40 hours collecting spectroscopic observations of the Orion Nebula with a recently upgraded instrument called the German Receiver for Astronomy at Terahertz Frequencies, also known as GREAT. By collecting and combining millions of individual spectra, which measure the chemical fingerprints of light, the researchers were able to generate a three-dimensional data cube that contained both velocity and spatial information for gas within the nebula. "As we rotated the data cube, we got our first glimpse of the structure that we've nicknamed Orion's Dragon," said Rhys Taylor, a scientist at the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences and a consultant to the SOFIA team, in a press release. "A few people have said it looks like a sea horse or a pterodactyl, but it looks like a dragon to me." No matter what critter or creature you see in Orion's Dragon, it's fascinating to know that the new SOFIA data reveals many tantalizing clues about the structure and evolution of the entire nebula. For instance, until recently, researchers thought that supernovae explosions were one of the main sculptors of star-forming clouds like Orion's Nebula; however, Orion's Dragon begs to differ. By rotating and diving through the new data cube, researchers were able to gain insight into how the expanding bubble at the heart of the Orion Nebula is shaped by intense stellar winds. Near the center of the bubble sits a particularly strong newborn star (Theta1 Orionis C [θ1 Ori C]), and the team says it pumps out so much energy that it stirs and heats up the surrounding gas, disrupting and preventing the birth of any new stars nearby. Though there is still much work to do before researchers can confidently confirm that strong stellar winds are the primary suppressor of star formation, the newly discovered dragon does hint that we may be on the path to enlightenment. SEE IT IN 3D... www.astronomy.com/news/2019/01/orions-dragon-revealed-in-3d-by-nasas-airborne-observatory?utm_source=asytwitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=asytwitter&utm_campaign=meetedgar&utm_medium=social&utm_source=meetedgar.com
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NEBULAS
Feb 18, 2019 14:48:39 GMT -6
Post by auntym on Feb 18, 2019 14:48:39 GMT -6
www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2019/hubble-captures-smoking-gun-of-a-newborn-star NASA Verified account @nasa Where there’s smoke, there’s fire! 🔥 Our @nasahubble Space Telescope captured the smoking gun of a newborn star located within a cloud of gas and dust, known as a nebula. Take a closer look at what’s happening a thousand light-years away from Earth: go.nasa.gov/2Nbd2c8Feb. 15, 2019 Hubble Captures Smoking Gun of a Newborn Star...the Herbig–Haro In this image, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured the smoking gun of a newborn star, the Herbig–Haro objects numbered 7 to 11 (HH 7–11). These five objects, visible in blue in the top center of the image, lie within NGC 1333, a reflection nebula full of gas and dust found about a thousand light-years away from Earth. Bright patches of nebulosity near newborn stars, Herbig-Haro objects like HH 7–11 are transient phenomena. Traveling away from the star that created them at a speed of up to about 150,000 miles per hour, they disappear into nothingness within a few tens of thousands of years. The young star that is the source of HH 7–11 is called SVS 13, and all five objects are moving away from SVS 13 toward the upper left. The current distance between HH 7 and SVS 13 is about 20,000 times the distance between Earth and the Sun. Herbig–Haro objects are formed when jets of ionized gas ejected by a young star collide with nearby clouds of gas and dust at high speeds. The Herbig-Haro objects visible in this image are no exception to this and were formed when the jets from the newborn star SVS 13 collided with the surrounding clouds. These collisions created the five brilliant clumps of light within the reflection nebula. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, K. Stapelfeldt Text credit: European Space Agency (ESA) Last Updated: Feb. 15, 2019 Editor: Karl Hille www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2019/hubble-captures-smoking-gun-of-a-newborn-star
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Post by auntym on Aug 7, 2022 4:17:11 GMT -6
mesonstars.com/space/the-carina-nebula-is-one-of-the-first-targets-of-the-james-webb-space-telescope/The Carina Nebula is one of the first targets of the James Webb Space Telescope.The Carina Nebula is one of the first targets of the James Webb Space Telescope. This image shows a ground-based view of the giant star-forming region in the southern sky known as the Carina Nebula, combining light from three different filters that track the emission of oxygen (blue), hydrogen (green), and sulfur (red). . The color is also representative of the temperature in the ionized gas: blue is relatively hot and red is cooler. The Carina Nebula is a good example of how very massive stars rip apart the molecular clouds that give birth to them. The bright star near the image center is eta Carinae, one of the most massive and luminous stars known.
This nebula has been a direct target of the Hubble Space Telescope for years, which has been studying the formation of gas and dust in the region, such as the well-known “mystical mountain”.
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NEBULAS
Oct 11, 2022 17:51:29 GMT -6
Post by auntym on Oct 11, 2022 17:51:29 GMT -6
www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia05266-spitzer-telescope-sends-rose-for-valentines-daySpitzer Telescope Sends RoseA cluster of newborn stars herald their birth in this interstellar Valentine's Day commemorative picture obtained with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. These bright young stars are found in a rosebud-shaped (and rose-colored) nebulosity known as NGC 7129. The star cluster and its associated nebula are located at a distance of 3300 light-years in the constellation Cepheus. A recent census of the cluster reveals the presence of 130 young stars. The stars formed from a massive cloud of gas and dust that contains enough raw materials to create a thousand Sun-like stars. In a process that astronomers still poorly understand, fragments of this molecular cloud became so cold and dense that they collapsed into stars. Most stars in our Milky Way galaxy are thought to form in such clusters. The Spitzer Space Telescope image was obtained with an infrared array camera that is sensitive to invisible infrared light at wavelengths that are about ten times longer than visible light. In this four-color composite, emission at 3.6 microns is depicted in blue, 4.5 microns in green, 5.8 microns in orange, and 8.0 microns in red. The image covers a region that is about one quarter the size of the full moon. As in any nursery, mayhem reigns. Within the astronomically brief period of a million years, the stars have managed to blow a large, irregular bubble in the molecular cloud that once enveloped them like a cocoon. The rosy pink hue is produced by glowing dust grains on the surface of the bubble being heated by the intense light from the embedded young stars. Upon absorbing ultraviolet and visible-light photons produced by the stars, the surrounding dust grains are heated and re-emit the energy at the longer infrared wavelengths observed by Spitzer. The reddish colors trace the distribution of molecular material thought to be rich in hydrocarbons. The cold molecular cloud outside the bubble is mostly invisible in these images. However, three very young stars near the center of the image are sending jets of supersonic gas into the cloud. The impact of these jets heats molecules of carbon monoxide in the cloud, producing the intricate green nebulosity that forms the stem of the rosebud. Not all stars are formed in clusters. Away from the main nebula and its young cluster are two smaller nebulae, to the left and bottom of the central 'rosebud,'each containing a stellar nursery with only a few young stars. Astronomers believe that our own Sun may have formed billions of years ago in a cluster similar to NGC 7129. Once the radiation from new cluster stars destroys the surrounding placental material, the stars begin to slowly drift apart. www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia05266-spitzer-telescope-sends-rose-for-valentines-day
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