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Monday, July 21, 2025

Giant Betelgeuse Star & Newly-detected Stellar Companion | Gemini North Telescope

Giant Betelgeuse Star & Newly-detected Stellar Companion | Gemini North Telescope

Using the NASA-NSF-funded ‘Alopeke instrument on the Gemini North telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, partly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and operated by NSF NOIRLab, astronomers have discovered a companion star in an incredibly tight orbit around Betelgeuse. This discovery answers the millennia-old question of why this famous star experiences a roughly six-year-long periodic change in its brightness, and provides insight into the physical mechanisms behind other variable red supergiants. The companion star appears blue here because, based on the team’s analysis, it is likely an A- or B-type star, that are blue-white due to their high temperatures.

Using the NASA-NSF-funded ‘Alopeke instrument on the Gemini North telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, partly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and operated by NSF NOIRLab, astronomers have discovered a companion star in an incredibly tight orbit around Betelgeuse. This discovery answers the millennia-old question of why this famous star experiences a roughly six-year-long periodic change in its brightness, and provides insight into the physical mechanisms behind other variable red supergiants. The companion star appears blue here because, based on the team’s analysis, it is likely an A- or B-type star that are blue-white due to their high temperatures.

Photo of the constellation Orion with annotations from the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and Sky & Telescope.

Betelgeuse is one of the brightest stars in the night sky, and the closest red supergiant to Earth.

Using the NASA-NSF-funded ‘Alopeke instrument on the Gemini North telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, partly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and operated by NSF NOIRLab, astronomers have discovered a companion star in an incredibly tight orbit around Betelgeuse. This discovery answers the millennia-old question of why this famous star experiences a roughly six-year-long periodic change in its brightness, and provides insight into the physical mechanisms behind other variable red supergiants. The companion star appears blue here because, based on the team’s analysis, it is likely an A- or B-type star that are blue-white due to their high temperatures.

‘Alopeke is funded by the NASA-NSF Exoplanet Observational Research Program (NN-EXPLORE).

Betelgeuse is one of the brightest stars in the night sky, and the closest red supergiant to Earth. It has an enormous volume, spanning a radius around 700 times that of the Sun. Despite only being ten million years old, considered young by astronomy standards, it is late in its life. Located in the shoulder of the constellation Orion, people have observed Betelgeuse with the naked eye for millennia, noticing that the star changes in brightness over time. Astronomers established that Betelgeuse has a main period of variability of around 400 days and a more extended secondary period of around six years.

In 2019 and 2020, there was a steep decrease in Betelgeuse’s brightness—an event referred to as the ‘Great Dimming.’ The event led some to believe that a supernova death was quickly approaching, but scientists were able to determine the dimming was actually caused by a large cloud of dust ejected from Betelgeuse.

The Great Dimming mystery was solved, but the event sparked a renewed interest in studying Betelgeuse, which brought about new analyses of archival data on the star. One analysis led scientists to propose that the cause of Betelgeuse’s six-year variability is the presence of a companion star. However, when the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory searched for this companion, no detections were made.

The companion star has now been detected for the first time by a team of astrophysicists led by Steve Howell, a senior research scientist at NASA Ames Research Center. They observed Betelgeuse using a speckle imager called ‘Alopeke. ‘Alopeke, which means ‘fox’ in Hawaiian, is funded by the NASA–NSF Exoplanet Observational Research Program (NN-EXPLORE) and is mounted on the Gemini North telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, funded in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation and operated by NSF NOIRLab.

Speckle imaging is an astronomical imaging technique that uses very short exposure times to freeze out the distortions in images caused by Earth’s atmosphere. This technique enables high resolution. When this was combined with the light collecting power of Gemini North’s 8.1-meter mirror, it allowed for Betelgeuse’s faint companion to be directly detected.

Analysis of the companion star’s light allowed Howell and his team to determine the companion star’s characteristics. They found that it is six magnitudes fainter than Betelgeuse in the optical wavelength range, it has an estimated mass of around 1.5 times that of the Sun, and it appears to be an A- or B-type pre-main-sequence star—a hot, young, blue-white star that has not yet initiated hydrogen burning in its core.

The companion is at a relatively close distance away from the surface of Betelgeuse—about four times the distance between the Earth and the Sun. This discovery is the first time a close-in stellar companion has been detected orbiting a supergiant star. Even more impressive—the companion orbits well within Betelgeuse’s outer extended atmosphere, proving the incredible resolving abilities of ‘Alopeke.

“Gemini North’s ability to obtain high angular resolutions and sharp contrasts allowed the companion of Betelgeuse to be directly detected,” says Howell. Furthermore, he explains that ‘Alopeke did what no other telescope has done before: “Papers that predicted Betelgeuse’s companion believed that no one would likely ever be able to image it.”

This discovery provides a clearer picture of this red supergiant’s life and future death. Betelgeuse and its companion star were likely born at the same time. However, the companion star will have a shortened lifespan as strong tidal forces will cause it to spiral into Betelgeuse and meet its demise, which scientists estimate will occur within the next 10,000 years.

The discovery also helps to explain why similar red supergiant stars might undergo periodic changes in their brightness on the scale of many years. Howell shares his hope for further studies in this area: “This detection was at the very extremes of what can be accomplished with Gemini in terms of high-angular resolution imaging, and it worked. This now opens the door for other observational pursuits of a similar nature.”

Martin Still, NSF program director for the International Gemini Observatory adds: “The speckle capabilities provided by the International Gemini Observatory continue to be a spectacular tool, open to all astronomers for a wide range of astronomy applications. Delivering the solution to the Betelgeuse problem that has stood for hundreds of years will stand as an evocative highlight achievement.”

Another opportunity to study Betelgeuse’s stellar companion will occur in November 2027 when it returns to its furthest separation from Betelgeuse, and thus easiest to detect. Howell and his team look forward to observations of Betelgeuse before and during this event to better constrain the nature of the companion.

Credit:
International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA
Image Processing: M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)
Release Date: July 21, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Star #Betelgeuse #VariableRedSupergiants #CompanionStars #StellarCompanions #Cosmos #Universe #InternationalGeminiObservatory #GeminiNorthTelescope #Alopeke #SpeckleImaging #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #Maunakea #Hawaii #UnitedStates #Infographics #STEM #Education

Long-Predicted Stellar Companion of Betelgeuse Discovered | Gemini North Telescope

Long-Predicted Stellar Companion of Betelgeuse Discovered | Gemini North Telescope

Using the NASA-National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded ‘Alopeke instrument on the Gemini North telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, partly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and operated by NSF NOIRLab, astronomers have discovered a companion star in an incredibly tight orbit around Betelgeuse. This discovery answers the millennia-old question of why this famous star experiences a roughly six-year-long periodic change in its brightness, and provides insight into the physical mechanisms behind other variable red supergiants. ‘Alopeke is funded by the NASA-NSF Exoplanet Observational Research Program (NN-EXPLORE).

Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/E. Slawik/ESO/L. Calçada/T. Matsopoulos
Image Processing: M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)

Duration: 1 minute, 21 seconds
Release Date: July 21, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Star #Betelgeuse #VariableRedSupergiants #CompanionStars #StellarCompanions #Cosmos #Universe #InternationalGeminiObservatory #GeminiNorthTelescope #Alopeke #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #Maunakea #Hawaii #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Young Star HD 135344B: Newborn planet sculpting dust around it | ESO

Young Star HD 135344B: Newborn planet sculpting dust around it | ESO

This image shows the dusty disc around the young star HD 135344B. It is a combination of data taken with two facilities: the Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet Research (SPHERE) instrument at the European Southern Observatory’s VLT in red, and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in orange and blue. The original SPHERE and ALMA images were released in 2016 and 2015 respectively and did not show evidence for the presence of a planet in this disc, first revealed in 2025.

This image, taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), and first released in 2015, shows a planet-forming disc around the young star HD 135344B. The image combines a view of the gas (blue) and the dust (orange) around the star. The star itself is invisible at these wavelengths, and is located in the central gap of the disc.

This image from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) shows the region of the sky around the star HD 135344B. Right at the center of the image there are two bright stars close to each other; HD 135344B is the one at the bottom.

Astronomers may have caught a still-forming planet in action, carving out an intricate pattern in the gas and dust that surrounds its young host star. Using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), they observed a planetary disc with prominent spiral arms, finding clear signs of a planet nestled in its inner regions. This is the first time astronomers have detected a planet candidate embedded inside a disc spiral.

“We will never witness the formation of Earth, but here, around a young star 440 light-years away, we may be watching a planet come into existence in real time,” says Francesco Maio, a doctoral researcher at the University of Florence, Italy, and lead author of this study, published today in Astronomy & Astrophysics.

The potential planet-in-the-making was detected around the star HD 135344B within a disc of gas and dust around it called a protoplanetary disc. The budding planet is estimated to be twice the size of Jupiter and as far from its host star as Neptune is from the Sun. It has been observed shaping its surroundings within the protoplanetary disc as it grows into a fully formed planet.

Protoplanetary discs have been observed around other young stars, and they often display intricate patterns, such as rings, gaps or spirals. Astronomers have long predicted that these structures are caused by baby planets that sweep up material as they orbit around their parent star. However, until now, they had not caught one of these planetary sculptors in the act.

In the case of HD 135344B’s disc, swirling spiral arms had previously been detected by another team of astronomers using Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (SPHERE), an instrument on ESO’s VLT. However, none of the previous observations of this system found proof of a planet forming within the disc.

Now, with observations from the new VLT’s Enhanced Resolution Imager and Spectrograph (ERIS) instrument, the researchers say they may have found their prime suspect. The team spotted the planet candidate right at the base of one of the disc’s spiral arms, exactly where theory had predicted they might find the planet responsible for carving such a pattern.

“What makes this detection potentially a turning point is that, unlike many previous observations, we are able to directly detect the signal of the protoplanet, which is still highly embedded in the disc,” says Maio, who is based at the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory, a centre of Italy’s National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF). “This gives us a much higher level of confidence in the planet’s existence, as we’re observing the planet’s own light.”

A star’s companion is born

Another team of astronomers have also recently used the ERIS instrument to observe another star, V960 Mon, one that is still in the very early stages of its life. In a study published on July 18, 2025, in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the team report that they have found a companion object to this young star. The exact nature of this object remains a mystery.

The new study, led by Anuroop Dasgupta, a doctoral researcher at ESO and at the Diego Portales University in Chile, follows up observations of V960 Mon made a couple of years ago. Those observations, made with both SPHERE and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), revealed that the material orbiting V960 Mon is shaped into a series of intricate spiral arms. They also showed that the material is fragmenting, in a process known as ‘gravitational instability’, when large clumps of the material around a star contract and collapse, each with the potential to form a planet or a larger object.

“That work revealed unstable material but left open the question of what happens next. With ERIS, we set out to find any compact, luminous fragments signalling the presence of a companion in the disc—and we did,” says Dasgupta. The team found a potential companion object very near to one of the spiral arms observed with SPHERE and ALMA. The team say that this object could either be a planet in formation, or a ‘brown dwarf’—an object bigger than a planet that did not gain enough mass to shine as a star.

If confirmed, this companion object may be the first clear detection of a planet or brown dwarf forming by gravitational instability.

Credit: ESO/T. Stolker et al./ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/N. van der Marel et al./ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2

Acknowledgement: D. De Martin
Release Date: July 21, 2025

#NASA #ESO #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #StarSystemHD135344B #BinaryStarSystems #PlanetCandidates #CircumstellarDisks #ProtoplanetaryDisks #Lupus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #VLT #SPHERE #ERIS #ParanalObservatory #Chile #SouthAmerica #Europe #ALMA #NRAO #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Journey to Young Star HD 135344B and its Planet Candidate | ESO

Journey to Young Star HD 135344B and its Planet Candidate | ESO

This video zooms into HD 135344B, a young star located around 440 light-years away. The star is surrounded by a disc of dust and gas with prominent spiral features. New observations obtained with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) may have unveiled a planet that could be sculping these features.

The video combines images taken with telescopes at varying times and wavelengths. The journey begins with a wide view of the night sky in visible light. As we approach HD 135344B we see three images of the immediate vicinity of the star. First, an image of the star’s dusty disc taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Then, an infrared view of the spiral arms within the disc, captured with the SPHERE instrument at the VLT. Finally, a new infrared image revealing a candidate planet, taken with the VLT’s new ERIS instrument.

Credit: ESO/L. Calçada/N. Risinger/VMC Survey/Digitized Sky Survey 2/ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/N. van der Marel et al./T. Stolker et al./F. Maio et al.
Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: July 21, 2025

Swirling Spiral Galaxy NGC 3285B in Hydra | Hubble Space Telescope

Swirling Spiral Galaxy NGC 3285B in Hydra | Hubble Space Telescope

The swirling spiral galaxy in this NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope picture is NGC 3285B. It resides 137 million light-years away in the constellation Hydra (The Water Snake). Hydra has the largest area of the 88 constellations that cover the entire sky in a celestial patchwork. It is also the longest constellation, stretching 100 degrees across the sky. It would take nearly 200 full Moons, placed side by side, to reach from one side of the constellation to the other.

NGC 3285B is a member of the Hydra I cluster, one of the largest galaxy clusters in the nearby Universe. Galaxy clusters are collections of hundreds to thousands of galaxies that are bound to one another by gravity. The Hydra I cluster is anchored by two giant elliptical galaxies at its center. Each of these galaxies is about 150,000 light-years across, making them about 50% larger than our home galaxy, the Milky Way.

NGC 3285B sits on the outskirts of its home cluster, far from the massive galaxies at the center. This galaxy drew Hubble’s attention because it hosted a Type Ia supernova in 2023. Type Ia supernovae happen when a type of condensed stellar core called a white dwarf detonates, igniting a sudden burst of nuclear fusion that briefly shines about 5 billion times brighter than the Sun. The supernova, named SN 2023xqm, is visible here as a blue-ish dot on the left edge of the galaxy’s disc.

Hubble observed NGC 3285B as part of an observing program that targeted 100 Type Ia supernovae. By viewing each of these supernovae in ultraviolet, optical, and near-infrared light, researchers aim to disentangle the effects of distance and dust that can make a supernova appear redder than it actually is. This program will help refine cosmic distance measurements that rely on observations of Type Ia supernovae.

Image Description: A spiral galaxy with a disc made up of several swirling arms. Patchy blue clouds of gas are speckled over the disc, where stars are forming and lighting up the gas around them. The core of the galaxy is large and shines brightly gold, while the spiral arms are a paler and faint reddish color. Neighboring galaxies—from small, elongated spots to larger swirling spirals—can be seen across the black background.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. J. Foley (UC Santa Cruz)
Release Date: July 21, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC3285B #HydraICluster #Supernovae #SN2023xqm #TypeIaSupernovae #Hydra #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Sunday, July 20, 2025

Detecting Rhythms in the Stars | Vera C. Rubin Observatory

Detecting Rhythms in the Stars | Vera C. Rubin Observatory

In these early frames of what will be the greatest cosmic movie ever made, we see NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory's unparalleled ability to detect celestial objects that change in brightness. This capability will reveal the flickers, pulses, and explosions of light across the Universe that only repeated observations can capture. During its 10-year survey, Rubin will record an unprecedented number of cosmic light shows, revealing patterns and one-time wonders, and unlocking clues about the Universe’s behavior over time.

In this video, Rubin showcases 46 subtly pulsating stars—classified as RR Lyrae variable stars—detected in this first set of observations. Three individual stars are shown varying in brightness over time using a technique called difference imaging (link). Then we zoom out to a view of the southern region of the Virgo Cluster where other RR Lyrae variable stars visible to Rubin are highlighted. Although the stars are observed in the direction of the Virgo Cluster, they are much closer to Earth in our home galaxy, the Milky Way. Over the next 10 years, Rubin will detect up to about 100,000 of these stars extending out to more than a million light-years away, allowing scientists to map the outer reaches of our Galaxy and explore the structure of the Galactic halo that surrounds the Milky Way and extends nearly halfway to our closest neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy. The structures of galaxies like the Milky Way are fascinating environments—Vera Rubin herself produced the first convincing evidence for dark matter by studying spiral galaxies. While RR Lyrae stars might not look flashy at first glance, they play a quiet but critical role in helping us understand the scale and shape of our own galaxy.

RR Lyrae variables are a type of star that acts like a cosmic metronome, pulsing steadily and predictably over time. These stars are old, low-mass, and typically found in ancient parts of galaxies like globular clusters and stellar halos. They brighten and dim in a regular cycle, usually over the course of less than a day. RR Lyrae stars were selected as a target for Rubin’s First Look observations because their quick variations in brightness can be detected by Rubin over just a few nights. Their rhythmic variability is not just a curiosity—it is a powerful tool for scientists. Because the relationship between an RR Lyrae star’s brightness and its pulsation period is well understood, these stars can be used as “standard candles” to measure distances across the Milky Way and nearby galaxies. RR Lyrae stars are like signposts in space!

Other telescopes can detect changes in a star’s brightness, but Rubin is the only one that can simultaneously catch multiple faint, steady pulses of RR Lyrae stars across huge swaths of the sky and also detect them very far away from Earth. Rubin's sensitive camera captures variations so subtle that our eyes can barely detect them when looking at the images. Rubin will collect nearly a thousand measurements for each variable star, ensuring that scientists who focus on variable stars can amass huge samples to study. Rubin’s wide view and fast survey speed will give us data on far more of these stars than ever before—even those way out in the outskirts of the Milky Way—giving us a much clearer picture of what our Galaxy really looks like.

This video features data collected by Rubin Observatory using the 3200-megapixel LSST Camera—the largest digital camera in the world.

Learn more about the new Vera Rubin Observatory:

https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/vera-c-rubin-observatory

Credit: RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA

Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: June 23, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #VariableStars #RRLyrae #Cosmos #Universe #RubinObservatory #SST #LSSTCam #CerroPachón #Chile #NOIRLab #NSF #DOE #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

A Cosmic Treasure Chest of Galaxies & Stars in Virgo | Vera C. Rubin Observatory

A Cosmic Treasure Chest of Galaxies & Stars in Virgo | Vera C. Rubin Observatory

A trail of celestial objects stretches across this excerpt from a First Look image captured by the National Science Foundation–Department of Energy Vera C. Rubin Observatory. The most prominent feature is NGC 4261, the large elliptical galaxy in the top half of the image. In the bottom-left of the image is the lenticular galaxy NGC 4281. Between and around the two lies a cosmic treasure chest of galaxies and stars.

Learn more about the new Vera Rubin Observatory:

https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/vera-c-rubin-observatory

Credit: RubinObs / NOIRLab / SLAC / NSF / DOE / AURA
Release Date: June 23, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #GalaxyClusters #VirgoCluster #NGC4261 #EllipticalGalaxy #NGC4281 #LenticularGalaxy #Virgo #ComaBerenices #Constellations #Cosmos #Universe #RubinObservatory #SST #LSSTCam #CerroPachón #Chile #NOIRLab #NSF #DOE #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Lunar Eclipse over Chile | Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory

Lunar Eclipse over Chile | Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory

The US Naval Observatory Deep South Telescope and the DIMM2 Seeing Monitor sit side by side on Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) NOIRLab, under the colorful sky of the lunar eclipse in March 2025.

Eclipses are beautiful sights in the sky that are not to be missed, but how do we know when they will happen? After an eclipse happens, 18 years, 11 days, and 8 hours pass before the Sun, Moon, and Earth return to that exact alignment. This period of time is called a saros and has been recorded and used by ancient astronomers since 600 BCE. For example, the lunar eclipse in March 2025 will repeat the same saros cycle on March 25, 2043. This does not mean you will have to wait a full cycle to watch the next lunar eclipse! A saros applies to both lunar and solar eclipses. On average, there are 42 saros series occurring at any given time, which results in a handful of lunar and solar eclipses to witness each year.

The next total lunar eclipse will occur in September 2025 and be visible from Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe. The next lunar eclipse visible from NSF NOIRLab’s observing sites will be in March 2026.

Petr Horálek, the photographer, is a NOIRLab Audiovisual Ambassador.

Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory

https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/ctio

Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)/P. Horálek (Institute of Physics in Opava)

Release Date: July 16, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Sun #Earth #CerroTololo #CTIO #Chile #Moon #LunarEclipse #LunarEclipse2025 #Astrophotography #Astrophotographer #PetrHorálek #STEM #Education

Spiral Galaxy NGC 4303: Optical & Radio Views | European Southern Observatory

Spiral Galaxy NGC 4303: Optical & Radio Views | European Southern Observatory

This video shows images of NGC 4303, a spiral galaxy with a bar of stars and gas at its center located approximately 55 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo, taken at many different wavelengths of light. The observations were conducted with the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument on the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). ESO is an ALMA partner.

The first two images are from the MUSE data. Initially the green, red and infrared (g, r, i) emission is shown to reveal the distribution of young stars. This fades to a combination of g, r, i emission with radiation from warm gas clouds of hydrogen (Hα), doubly ionized oxygen—[OIII]—and singly ionized sulphur—[SII]—, elements that signal the presence of newly born stars.

The next image shows the ALMA data only. ALMA was used to map cold clouds of molecular gas. This provides the raw material for stars to form. Thousands of stars can form in just one of these molecular clouds, yet these stellar nurseries are invisible to the human eye—they can only be observed via the radio waves emitted by carbon monoxide (CO).

The following image is a combination of all the MUSE and ALMA data, forming a colorful cosmic firework. This is helping astronomers to unlock the secrets of star formation.

The images were taken as part of the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) project. It is making high resolution observations of nearby galaxies with telescopes operating across the electromagnetic spectrum.

Credit: ESO/ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/PHANGS
Duration: 17 seconds
Release Date: July 16, 2021

#NASA #ESO #Space #Astronomy #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC4303 #Messier6 #M6 #StarBurstGalaxies #SpiralGalaxies #VirgoSupercluster #Virgo #VLT #SPHERE #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #RadioAstronomy #ALMA #NSF #NRAO #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Spiral Galaxy NGC 4303 in Virgo | Hubble Space Telescope

Spiral Galaxy NGC 4303 in Virgo | Hubble Space Telescope

The NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of nearby spiral galaxy Messier 61, also known as NGC 4303. The galaxy, located only 55 million light-years away from Earth, is roughly the size of the Milky Way, with a diameter of around 100,000 light-years. This galaxy is notable for one particular reason—six supernovae have been observed within NGC 4303, a total that places it in the top handful of galaxies alongside Messier 83, also with six, and NGC 6946, with a grand total of nine observed supernovae.

NGC 4303 is about 100,000 light-years across, comparable in size to our galaxy, the Milky Way. Both Messier 61 and our home galaxy belong to a group of galaxies known as the Virgo Supercluster in the constellation of Virgo (The Virgin)—a group of galaxy clusters containing up to 2000 spiral and elliptical galaxies in total. Galaxy clusters, or groups of galaxies, are among the biggest structures in the Universe to be held together by gravity alone. The Virgo Cluster contains more than 1,300 galaxies and forms the central region of the Local Supercluster, an even bigger gathering of galaxies.

Messier 61 is a type of galaxy known as a starburst galaxy. Starburst galaxies experience an incredibly high rate of star formation, hungrily using up their reservoir of gas in a very short period of time (in astronomical terms). However, this is not the only activity going on within the galaxy; deep at its heart there is thought to be a supermassive black hole that is violently spewing out radiation.

In this Hubble image the galaxy is seen face-on as if posing for a photograph, allowing us to study its structure closely. The spiral arms can be seen in stunning detail, swirling inwards to the very centre of the galaxy, where they form a smaller, intensely bright spiral. In the outer regions, these vast arms are sprinkled with bright blue regions where new stars are being formed from hot, dense clouds of gas.

Despite its inclusion in the Messier Catalogue, Messier 61 was actually discovered by Italian astronomer Barnabus Oriani in 1779. Charles Messier also noticed this galaxy on the very same day as Oriani, but mistook it for a passing comet — the comet of 1779.

Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
Processing: Judy Schmidt
Release Date: July 2, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC4303 #Messier6 #M6 #StarBurstGalaxies #SpiralGalaxies #VirgoSupercluster #Virgo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

HOPS 383 Protostar & Stellar Companions in Orion | James Webb Space Telescope

HOPS 383 Protostar & Stellar Companions in Orion | James Webb Space Telescope

HOPS 383 is a Class 0 protostar. It is the first Class 0 protostar discovered to have had an outburst, and as of 2020, the youngest protostar known to have had an outburst. The outburst, discovered by the Herschel Orion Protostar Survey (HOPS) team, was first reported in February 2015 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. A protostar is a very young star that is still gathering mass from its parent molecular cloud. It is the earliest phase in the process of stellar evolution. For a low-mass star (i.e. that of the Sun or lower), it lasts about 500,000 years. The phase begins when a molecular cloud fragment first collapses under the force of self-gravity and an opaque, pressure-supported core forms inside the collapsing fragment. It ends when the infalling gas is depleted, leaving a pre-main-sequence star, which contracts to later become a main-sequence star at the onset of hydrogen fusion producing helium.

HOPS 383 is located within the Orion molecular cloud complex (or, simply, the Orion complex). It is a star-forming region with stellar ages ranging up to 12 million years. The complex is between 1,000 and 1,400 light-years away, and hundreds of light-years across.The Orion complex is one of the most active regions of nearby stellar formation visible in the night sky, and is home to both protoplanetary discs and very young stars. Much of it is bright in infrared wavelengths due to the heat-intensive processes involved in stellar formation.

Judy Schmidt: "Infrared view from the James Webb Space Telescope situated just north of the bright Orion Nebula, but under Messier 43. Instead of viewing the visibly bright part of the Orion molecular cloud complex, this is looking into a rather dusty cloud with lots of jets propelled by forming protostars visible. Darker areas are clouds of dense dust thick enough that even Webb's Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) did not detect any emission from them. It is possible to see many background galaxies, so we are probably seeing much of what there is to see. No doubt a Mid Infrared Instrument (MIRI) view could see jets that are occluded by the dust, though."

North is about 77° clockwise from up.

Webb is the largest, most powerful telescope launched into space to date. Under an international collaboration agreement, the European Space Agency (ESA) provided the telescope’s launch service, using the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Working with partners, ESA was responsible for the development and qualification of Ariane 5 adaptations for the Webb mission and for the procurement of the launch service by Arianespace. ESA also provided the workhorse spectrograph NIRSpec and 50% of the mid-infrared instrument MIRI that was designed and built by a consortium of nationally funded European Institutes (The MIRI European Consortium) in partnership with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of Arizona.

Webb is an international partnership between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

Image Credit: NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency
Processing: Judy Schmidt
Release Date: April 6, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #NASAWebb #Stars #Protostars #HOPS383 #OrionMolecularCloudComplex #Orion #Constellation #Astrophysics #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #JWST #NIRCam #InfraredAstronomy #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

"The Devil's Diamond": Star Sigma Scorpii

"The Devil's Diamond": Star Sigma Scorpii

Sigma Scorpii (Alniyat or σ Scorpii, abbreviated Sigma Sco or σ Sco), is a multiple star system in the constellation of Scorpius, located near the red supergiant Antares that outshines it. This system has a combined apparent visual magnitude of +2.88, making it one of the brighter members of the constellation. Distance is roughly 696 light-years (214 parsecs).

Alniyat (Sigma Scorpii) is classified as a Beta Cephei variable. Beta Cephei variables, also known as Beta Canis Majoris stars, are variable stars that exhibit small rapid variations in their brightness due to pulsations of the stars' surfaces, thought due to the unusual properties of iron at temperatures of 200,000 K in their interiors. These stars are usually hot blue-white stars of spectral class B. Alniyat is part of a double-lined spectroscopic binary system. It is a main sequence star of the spectral type B1 V with a mass of 11.9 solar masses and a radius 9 times that of the Sun. It shines with around 16,000 solar luminosities. The two stars complete an orbit every 33 days.

strongmanmike2002: "Within the Rho Ophiuchus Nebula complex there is a faint but interesting bit of, mostly (Red) Halpha nebulosity, surrounding the bright blue giant star, Sigma Scorpii, which to my eye at least, makes it look like a bright diamond in Hell. I think there is a small amount of blue reflection nebulosity around SigScorpii, but without a lot more blue data to make it stronger, it gets drowned out by the glare of Sigma Scorpii and the flood of red HII in the vicinity."

Image Credit: strongmanmike2002
Release Date: July 17, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #BinaryStarSystems #SigmaScorpii #BetaCepheiVariables #Scorpius #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Astrophotography #Astrophotographer #StrongmanMike2002 #CitizenScience #EagleviewObservatory #Australia #STEM #Education

The Ganges River Delta in South Asia | International Space Station

The Ganges River Delta in South Asia | International Space Station

This was photographed in the near-infrared from the International Space Station by NASA astronaut Don Pettit during his Expedition 71/72 Mission (2024-2025). The Ganges Delta (also known the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, the Sundarbans Delta or the Bengal Delta) is a river delta largely covering the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, consisting of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the world's largest river delta and it empties into the Bay of Bengal with the combined waters of several river systems, mainly those of the Brahmaputra River and the Ganges River. It is also one of the most fertile regions in the world, thus earning the nickname the Green Delta. The delta stretches from the Hooghly River in the west as far as the Meghna River in the east.

NASA Astronaut Donald R. Pettit Biography:
https://www.nasa.gov/people/donald-r-pettit/

Follow Expedition 73:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: JAXA Flight Engineer Takuya Onishi
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritskiy

NASA Flight Engineers: Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Jonny Kim

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:
https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science

For more information about STEM on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation
Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

Image Credit: NASA/JSC/D. Pettit

Release Date: July 16, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planet #Earth #InfraredPhotography #RiverDeltas #GangesDelta #BengalDelta #BayOfBengal #India #Bangladesh #Astronauts #DonPettit #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #Japan #日本 #JAXA #Cosmonauts #Russia #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #STEM #Education

Saturday, July 19, 2025

Moon Science: Dawn over Bhabha Crater | NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Moon Science: Dawn over Bhabha Crater | NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Central peak complex of Bhabha crater (70 kilometer diameter) rising from the shadows of dawn. Image snapped on August 28, 2019, from an altitude of 73 kilometers. View is seen from east-to-the west, north is to the right, visible portion of central peak complex is about 14 kilometers wide. NAC M1321101374LR

Full panorama of Bhabha oblique: Sunrise at Bhabha crater, where sunlight has not yet reached the crater floor after the two-week night. Note that a portion of the eastern rim (bottom of image) is still in shadow due to highstanding terrain just outside of the scene.

NAC M1321101374LR

Topographic profiles of east half of Bhabha crater: Note the crater's unusual topography, where outside of the eastern rim of the crater the ground continues to rise. Was this mound outside of the eastern rim there before the crater formed? The high-calcium pyroxene composition of Bhabha's walls suggest that the Bhabha impactor happened upon on another region of non-mare volcanism—perhaps this mound is a remnant of that volcanic history as well?

Bhabha crater is located on the Moon's farside, deep within the South Pole–Aitken (SPA) basin. At 80 km in diameter, Bhabha is approximately the same size as Tycho crater, though it lacks Tycho's spectacular rays and crisp features because it is substantially older. However, Bhabha has other aspects going for it that make the crater important in its own way. Its location within SPA means that the impact event exposed material that originally resided deep within the Moon, but was excavated and melted by the giant SPA imact event. Reflectance spectroscopy has shown that the central peaks of Bhabha contain pyroxenes that are rich in magnesium but poor in calcium, typical of many craters within SPA. This material may represent the melt sheet of SPA. However the walls of Bhabha have pyroxenes that are rich in calcium, more typical of volcanic material. A mound just to the southeast of Bhabha (termed "mafic mound") also shares this composition, and has been proposed to be a volcanic feature that formed from extruded SPA melt, or melting of the underlying mantle (Moriarty and Pieters, 2015).

A site like Bhabha crater would make an excellent spot to explore the unusual geologic history of the SPA basin and how the surface and subsurface evolved after the formation of that basin. Samples obtained from this area would allow us to test theories about the timing of the formation of the basin, learn whether there was a large spike in impact events around 3.9 billion years ago, better understand the composition of the Moon's interior, and learn about non-mare volcanism.

This year, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) celebrates its 16th anniversary orbiting the Moon (2009-2026). This mission has given scientists the largest volume of data ever collected by a planetary science mission at NASA. Considering that success and the continuing functionality of the spacecraft and its instruments, NASA awarded the mission an extended mission phase to continue operations. LRO continues to be one of NASA's most valuable tools for advancing lunar science.

Learn more about NASA's LRO:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/lro/

Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
Text Credit: Mark Robinson
Image Date: Aug. 28, 2019
Release Date: Oct. 22, 2019

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Moon #Geology #Geoscience #FarSide #SouthPole #SouthPoleAitken #SPA #ImpactCraters #BhabhaCrater #Sunrise #LRO #LunarOrbiter #LunarSpacecraft #LROC #SpaceRobotics #SpaceTechnology #GSFC #ASU #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education

Planet Mars: A Tale of Stone | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Planet Mars: A Tale of Stone | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

You are viewing layered bedrock northwest of Hellas Planitia. These are examples of the very oldest sedimentary rocks on Mars, perhaps the best places to search for signs of ancient life. They may be exposed in the deeply eroded rim of the giant Hellas impact basin. The study of such geologic strata may inform the early evolution not only of Mars, but also Earth, where such ancient rocks are poorly preserved.

Hellas Planitia is a plain located within the huge, roughly circular impact basin Hellas located in the southern hemisphere of the planet Mars. Hellas is the fourth- or fifth-largest known impact crater in the Solar System. The basin floor is about 7,152 m (23,465 ft) deep, 3,000 m (9,800 ft) deeper than the Moon's South Pole-Aitken basin, and extends about 2,300 km (1,400 mi) east to west. It is centered at 42.4°S 70.5°E. It features the lowest point on Mars, serves as a known source of global dust storms, and may have contained lakes and glaciers. Hellas Planitia spans the boundary between the Hellas quadrangle and the Noachis quadrangle.

These HiRISE images feature layered bedrock. They have been processed into a digital terrain model. This provides color-coded elevation combined with shaded relief for a perspective view of the rugged terrain. The color images show diverse colors, perhaps due to alteration by water.

Location:
Longitude (East): 57.359°

Latitude (centered): -23.977°

This HiRISE image was captured when NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) was at an altitude of 272 kilometers (169 miles).

The MRO is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, to provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and to relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, and reached Mars on March 10, 2006.

The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE). It was built by BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD), Washington.

For more information on MRO, visit:

science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter

Video Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
Image Date: March 19, 2017
Duration: 3 minutes, 33 seconds
Release Date: Oct. 26, 2017

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #Geology #Geoscience #Landscape #Terrain #SouthernHemisphere #HellasPlanitia #SedimentaryRocks #SedimentaryLayers #Bedrock #Astrobiology #MRO #MarsOrbiter #MarsSpacecraft #HiRISECamera #JPL #Caltech #UA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim & NY Hall of Science Museum | International Space Station

NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim: NY Hall of Science Museum | International Space Station

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 73 flight engineer Jonny Kim of NASA discussed life and work aboard the orbital outpost during an in-flight interview July 18, 2025, with the Rep. Grace Meng and the New York Hall of Science Museum in Queens, New York. Kim is in the midst of a long-duration mission living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration flights as part of NASA’s Moon and Mars exploration approach, including lunar missions through NASA’s Artemis program.

NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim's Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/astronauts/jonny-kim/