http://www.redorbit.com/images/1/images-of-the-day/gallery/3/universe-2/ http://www.redorbit.com/media/themes/redorbit/images/logo_160x80.gif http://www.redorbit.com/ 160 80 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/77617/universe-saturn-moon-titan-ligeia-mare-cassini-052413/ 2013-05-24T11:27:25+0000
The image is a false-color mosaic of synthetic aperture radar images obtained by the Cassini spacecraft between February 2006 and April 2007. Features thought to be liquid are shown in blue and black and areas likely to be solid surface are tinted brown. Some areas with noisy data have been artistically enhanced.

Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASI/Cornell
]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/77573/universe-hubble-captures-swirling-glowing-star-formation-052313/ 2013-05-23T11:35:35+0000
Studying starburst galaxies can tell us a lot about galactic evolution and star formation. These galaxies start off with huge amounts of gas, which is used to form new stars. This period of furious star formation is only a phase; once all the gas is used up, this starbirth slows down. Other famous starbursts captured by Hubble include the Antennae Galaxies and Messier 82, the latter of which is forming new stars ten times faster than our galaxy, the Milky Way.

The data for this image were collected as part of a study named LARS (Lyman Alpha Reference Sample) [1], which is investigating the interaction between radiation and matter in relatively nearby starburst galaxies. J125013.50+073441.5 is included as one of its fourteen targets. This study has characterized how a certain type of emission known as Lyman-alpha emission interacts with nearby gas, affecting how it travels out into space.

The data for this image were collected using Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3.

Credits: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Hayes
]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/77521/universe-galaxy-messier-94-ring-of-fire-052213/ 2013-05-22T11:36:22+0000
Historically, Messier 94 was considered to have two strikingly different rings: a brilliant, compact band encircling the galaxy\'s core, and a faint, broad, swath of stars falling outside its main disk.

Astronomers have recently discovered that the outer ring, seen here in the deep blue glow of starlight, might actually be more of an optical illusion. A 2009 study combined infrared Spitzer observations with those from other telescopes, including ultraviolet data from NASA\'s Galaxy Evolution Explorer, now operated by the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena; visible data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey; and shorter-wavelength infrared light from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). This more complete picture of Messier 94 indicates that we are really seeing two separate spiral arms, which, from our perspective, take on the appearance of a single, unbroken ring.

The bright inner ring of Messier 94 is very real, however. This area is sometimes identified as a \"starburst ring\" because of the frenetic pace of star formation in the confined area. Starbursts like this can often be triggered by gravitational encounters with other galaxies, but in this case might be caused by the galaxy\'s oval shape.

Tucked in between the inner starburst ring and the outer ring-like arms is the galaxy\'s disk, striated with greenish filaments of dust. While these dusty arcs look like a collection of rings, they actually follow tightly wound spiral arcs.

Infrared light with wavelengths of 3.6 and 4.5 microns is represented in blue/cyan, and primarily shows the glow from starlight. Light of 8 microns is rendered in green, and 24-micron emission is red, tracing the cooler and warmer components of dust, respectively. The image was taken in 2004, before Spitzer ran out of cryogen.

Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/77500/universe-hubble-images-galaxy-and-supermassive-black-hole-jets-052113/ 2013-05-21T11:19:24+0000
This multi-wavelength view shows 4C+29.30, a galaxy located some 850 million light years from Earth. The radio emission comes from two jets of particles that are speeding at millions of miles per hour away from a supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy. The estimated mass of the black hole is about 100 million times the mass of our Sun. The ends of the jets show larger areas of radio emission located outside the galaxy.

The X-ray data show a different aspect of this galaxy, tracing the location of hot gas. The bright X-rays in the center of the image mark a pool of million-degree gas around the black hole. Some of this material may eventually be consumed by the black hole, and the magnetized, whirlpool of gas near the black hole could in turn, trigger more output to the radio jet.

Most of the low-energy X-rays from the vicinity of the black hole are absorbed by dust and gas, probably in the shape of a giant doughnut around the black hole. This doughnut, or torus blocks all the optical light produced near the black hole, so astronomers refer to this type of source as a hidden or buried black hole. The optical light seen in the image is from the stars in the galaxy.

Image Credit: NASA
]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/77444/universe-solar-activity-in-the-rise-052013/ 2013-05-20T11:23:47+0000
Credit: NASA/SDO

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]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/77441/universe-cosmic-clouds-in-the-constellation-of-orion-051813/ 2013-05-18T11:33:25+0000
In this image, the sub millimeter-wavelength glow of the dust clouds is overlaid on a view of the region in the more familiar visible light, from the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The large bright cloud in the upper right of the image is the well-known Orion Nebula, also called Messier 42.

Credit: ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2

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]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/77332/universe-galaxy-cluster-smeared-with-bright-arcs-hubble-051613/ 2013-05-16T11:23:53+0000
Galaxy clusters are large groupings of galaxies, each hosting millions of stars. They are the largest existing structures in the Universe, bound by the gravitational attraction between them.

The amount of matter condensed in such groupings is so high that their gravity is enough to warp even the fabric of space-time, distorting the path that light takes when it travels through the cluster.

In some cases, this phenomenon produces an effect somewhat like a magnifying lens, allowing us to see objects that are aligned behind the cluster and that would otherwise be undetectable from Earth.

In this image, stretched stripes that look like scratches on a lens are in fact galaxies whose light is heavily distorted by the gravitational field of the cluster.

Astronomers use the effects of gravitational lensing to peer far back in time and space to see the furthest objects located in the early Universe.

One of the record holders is galaxy MACS0647-JD, whose light was magnified by galaxy cluster MACS J0647+7015 and has been travelling for 13.3 billion years to reach Earth.

Credits: ESA/Hubble & NASA; Acknowledgement: N. Rose
]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/77329/universe-solar-flare-on-may-12-was-first-x-class-of-2013-051513/ 2013-05-15T11:02:40+0000
This is a blend of two images of the flare from NASA\'s Solar Dynamics Observatory: One image shows light in the 171-angstrom wavelength, the other in 131 angstroms.

Credit: NASA/SDO/AIA
]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/77230/universe-spacewalk-by-cassidy-and-marshburn-expedition-35-051413/ 2013-05-14T11:43:12+0000
A leak of ammonia coolant from the area near or at the location of a Pump and Flow Control Subassembly was detected on Thursday, May 9, prompting engineers and flight controllers to begin plans to support the spacewalk. The device contains the mechanical systems that drive the cooling functions for the port truss.

Image Credit: NASA

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]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/77129/universe-milky-way-over-the-atacama-desert-eso-051313/ 2013-05-13T10:58:38+0000
This image shows a wintry La Silla sitting beneath a spray of stars from our Milky Way, the plane of which slants across the frame. Visible (from right to left) are the ESO 3.6-meter telescope, the 3.58-meter New Technology Telescope (NTT), the ESO 1-meter Schmidt telescope, and the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope, which has snow on its dome. The small dome of the decommissioned Coudé Auxiliary Telescope can be seen adjacent to that of the ESO 3.6-meter telescope, and between it and the NTT are the water tanks of the observatory.

While the sight of snow at La Silla may initially be surprising, the high altitude ESO sites can experience both hot and cold temperatures through the year, and occasionally be subject to harsh conditions.

This photograph was taken by José Francisco Salgado, an ESO Photo Ambassador.

Credit: ESO/José Francisco Salgado (josefrancisco.org)
]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/77126/universe-vega-liftoff-from-kourou-french-guiana-spaceport-051113/ 2013-05-11T10:38:38+0000
Vega lifted off at 02:06 GMT on 7 May 2013 (23:06 local time 6 May; 04:06 CEST 7 May) on a complex mission requiring five upper-stage boost.

Credits: ESA–S. Corvaja, 2013
]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/77123/universe-hubble-finds-dead-stars-polluted-with-planetary-debris-051013/ 2013-05-10T11:26:14+0000
Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, and G. Bacon (STScI)

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]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/77087/universe-hubble-views-fan-shaped-nebulosity-050913/ 2013-05-09T11:31:01+0000
The bright spot located at the edge of the bluish fan-shaped structure in this Hubble image is a young star called V* PV Cephei, or PV Cep. It is a favorite target for amateur astronomers because the fan-shaped nebulosity, known as GM 1-29 or Gyulbudaghian’s Nebula, changes over a timescale of months. The brightness of the star has also varied over time.

Images of PV Cep taken in 1952 showed a nebulous streak, similar to a comet’s tail. However, this had vanished when new images of the star were obtained some twenty-five years later. Instead, the blue fan-shaped nebula had appeared. Twenty-five years is a very short period on cosmic timescales, so astronomers think that the mysterious streak may have been a temporary phenomenon, such as the remnants of a massive stellar flare — similar to the solar flares we are used to seeing in the solar system.

At the same time as this was happening, the star itself was brightening. This provided the light to illuminate the newly formed fan-shaped nebula. This brightening might be related to the start of the hydrogen-burning phase of the star, which would mean that it was reaching maturity.

PV Cep is thought to be surrounded by a disc of gas and dust, which would stop light from escaping in all directions. The fan-like appearance is therefore probably a result of starlight escaping from the dust disc and projecting onto the nebula.

PV Cep is located in the northern constellation of Cepheus at a distance of over 1600 light-years from Earth.

Credits: European Space Agency/NASA Hubble
]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/77084/universe-frenzy-at-the-core-of-the-milky-way-050813/ 2013-05-08T11:10:04+0000
A dense torus of gas and dust surrounds the galactic center and occupies the innermost 15 light-years of our galaxy. Enshrouded within the disk is a central cavity, with a radius of a few light-years, filled with warm dust and lower density gas.

Part of this gas is being heated by the strong ultraviolet radiation from massive stars that closely orbit the central black hole. Heating also likely results from strong shocks, generated in collisions between gas clouds, or in material flowing at high speeds.

Herschel is a European Space Agency mission, with science instruments provided by consortia of European institutes and with important participation by NASA. NASA\'s Herschel Project Office is based at NASA\'s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. JPL contributed mission-enabling technology for two of Herschel\'s three science instruments. The NASA Herschel Science Center, part of the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, supports the United States astronomical community. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

Credits: ESA/C. Carreau

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]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/77036/universe-saturn-shadow-across-its-rings-cassini-050713/ 2013-05-07T11:35:43+0000
This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 47 degrees below the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on March 5, 2013.

The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 891,000 miles (1.434 million kilometers) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 85 degrees. Image scale is 51 miles (82 kilometers) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA\'s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/76932/universe-mid-level-flare-seen-by-solar-dynamics-observatory-050613/ 2013-05-06T11:17:32+0000
Credit: NASA/SDO/AIA
]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/76929/universe-cassini-sees-enceladus-peacock-plume-050413/ 2013-05-04T13:12:58+0000
Enceladus (313 miles, or 504 kilometers across) is seen here illuminated by light reflected off Saturn.

This view looks toward the Saturn-facing side of Enceladus. North on Enceladus is up and rotated 45 degrees to the right. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 18, 2013.

The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 483,000 miles (777,000 kilometers) from Enceladus and at a Sun-Enceladus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 173 degrees. Image scale is 3 miles (5 kilometers) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA\'s Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/76885/universe-anarchy-in-star-formation-region-ngc-6559-050313/ 2013-05-03T11:30:58+0000
Credit: ESO

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]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/76712/universe-chandra-studies-gas-could-around-merging-galaxies-050213x-ray/ 2013-05-02T11:06:08+0000
This giant gas cloud, which scientists call a \"halo,\" is located in the system called NGC 6240. Astronomers have long known that NGC 6240 is the site of the merger of two large spiral galaxies similar in size to our own Milky Way. Each galaxy contains a supermassive black hole at its center. The black holes are spiraling toward one another, and may eventually merge to form a larger black hole.

Credits: (NASA/CXC/SAO/E.Nardini et al); Optical (NASA/STScI)

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]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/76585/universe-north-polar-storm-on-saturn-cassini-050113/ 2013-05-01T10:51:06+0000
This image is among the first sunlit views of Saturn\'s north pole captured by Cassini\'s imaging cameras. When the spacecraft arrived in the Saturnian system in 2004, it was northern winter and the north pole was in darkness. Saturn\'s north pole was last imaged under sunlight by NASA\'s Voyager 2 in 1981; however, the observation geometry did not allow for detailed views of the poles. Consequently, it is not known how long this newly discovered north-polar hurricane has been active.

The images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Nov. 27, 2012, using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of near-infrared light. The images filtered at 890 nanometers are projected as blue. The images filtered at 728 nanometers are projected as green, and images filtered at 752 nanometers are projected as red. In this scheme, red indicates low clouds and green indicates high ones.

The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 261,000 miles (419,000 kilometers) from Saturn and at a sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 94 degrees. Image scale is 1 mile (2 kilometers) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. NASA\'s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA\'s Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI

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]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/76485/universe-supernova-remnant-in-the-constellation-dorado-043013/ 2013-04-30T11:27:41+0000
SNR 0519 is located over 150 000 light-years from Earth in the southern constellation of Dorado (The Dolphinfish), a constellation that also contains most of our neighboring galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Because of this, this region of the sky is full of intriguing and beautiful deep sky objects.

The LMC orbits the Milky Way galaxy as a satellite and is the fourth largest in our group of galaxies, the Local Group. SNR 0519 is not alone in the LMC; the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope also came across a similar bauble a few years ago in SNR B0509-67.5, a supernova of the same type as SNR 0519 with a strikingly similar appearance.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA. Acknowledgement: Claude Cornen
]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/76373/universe-chaotic-galaxy-undergoing-bursts-of-star-formation-042913/ 2013-04-29T10:54:02+0000
Credit: ESA, NASA, L. Calçada

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]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/76372/universe-hubble-captures-enhanced-view-of-comet-ison-042713/ 2013-04-27T12:12:34+0000
Credits: NASA, ESA, J.-Y. Li (Planetary Science Institute), and the Hubble Comet ISON Imaging Science Team

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]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/76345/universe-water-in-jupiter-stratosphere-measured-by-herschel-042613/ 2013-04-26T11:33:58+0000
The distribution of water clearly shows an asymmetric distribution across the planet: water is more abundant in the southern hemisphere. Based on this and other clues collected with Herschel, astronomers have established that at least 95 percent of the water currently present in Jupiter\'s stratosphere was supplied by comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which famously impacted the planet at intermediate southern latitudes in 1994.

The map is based on spectrometric data collected with the Photodetecting Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) instrument on board Herschel around 66.4 microns, a wavelength that corresponds to one of water\'s many spectral signatures.

Herschel is a European Space Agency mission, with science instruments provided by consortia of European institutes and with important participation by NASA. NASA\'s Herschel Project Office is based at NASA\'s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. JPL contributed mission-enabling technology for two of Herschel\'s three science instruments. The NASA Herschel Science Center, part of the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, supports the United States astronomical community. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

Credit: Water map: ESA/Herschel/T. Cavalié et al.; Jupiter image: NASA/ESA/Reta Beebe (New Mexico State University)

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]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/images/pic/76224/universe-sun-composite-of-25-images-042513/ 2013-04-25T11:17:01+0000
Credit: NASA/SDO/AIA/S. Wiessinger

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