Cosmic Wonders: Astronomy Visualizations | Space Telescope Science Institute

Cosmic Wonders: Astronomy Visualizations | Space Telescope Science Institute

Cosmic Wonders presents a stunning series of 18 astronomy visualizations. Each sequence combines Hubble Space Telescope images or research computer simulations with scientific knowledge and insight to create three dimensional visions of awesome celestial sights. These were created by astronomers and artists at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI).

Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Producer: Office of Public Outreach, Space Telescope Science Institute

Editor: Danielle Kirschenblat

Visualization Leads: Greg Bacon, Frank Summers

Visualization Artists: Greg Bacon, Joseph DePasquale, Leah Hustak, Joseph Olmsted, Alyssa Pagan, Frank Summers, Tiffany Borders, Lisa Frattare, Zolt Levay, Dani Player

Visualizations:

The Bubble Nebula: Winds & Radiation from a Massive Star

A Flight Through the CANDELS Ultra Deep Survey Field

A Rose of Galaxies: Interacting Galaxies Arp 273

Sculpture Garden of Gas and Dust: Core of the Lagoon Nebula

Stellar Greetings from Globular Cluster M79

Hickson Compact Group 40: A Flight Through Interacting Galaxies

The Red Bubble: Supernova Remnant SNR 0509-67.5

Exploring the Structure of the Ring Nebula

Star Clusters in Collision

Blast Wave from a Stellar Explosion: Simulation of Supernova 1987A

Eta Carinae: The Great Eruption of a Massive Star

A Horse of a Different Color: The Gaseous Landscape of the Horsehead Nebula in Infrared

Celestial Fireworks: Star Cluster Westerlund 2

Flight Through the Orion Nebula in Visible Light

Crash of the Titans: Milky Way & Andromeda Collision

Celestial Snow Angel: Star-forming Region Sharpless 2-106

Flyby of the Whirlpool Galaxy

Cosmic Reef: NGC 2014 & NGC 2020

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #ComputerSimulations  #Visualizations #Art #Artists #HD #Video

Panning across The Cosmic Keyhole: Reflection Nebula NGC 1999 | Hubble

Panning across The Cosmic Keyhole: Reflection Nebula NGC 1999 | Hubble

This peculiar portrait from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope showcases NGC 1999, a reflection nebula in the constellation Orion. NGC 1999 is around 1350 light-years from Earth and lies near to the Orion Nebula, the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. NGC 1999 itself is a relic of recent star formation—it is composed of detritus left over from the formation of a newborn star.

Just like fog curling around a street lamp, reflection nebulae like NGC 1999 only shine because of the light from an embedded source. In the case of NGC 1999, this source is the aforementioned newborn star V380 Orionis which is visible at the center of this image. The most notable aspect of NGC 1999’s appearance, however, is the conspicuous hole in its center, which resembles an inky-black keyhole of cosmic proportions.

This image was created from archival Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 observations that date from shortly after Servicing Mission 3A in 1999. At the time, astronomers believed that the dark patch in NGC 1999 was something called a Bok globule—a dense, cold cloud of gas, molecules, and cosmic dust that blots out background light. However, follow-up observations using a collection of telescopes including the European Space Agency’s Herschel Space Observatory revealed that the dark patch is actually an empty region of space. The origin of this unexplained rift in the heart of NGC 1999 remains unknown.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, ESO, K. Noll, N. Bartmann

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: October 25, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #OrionNebula #Nebula #ReflectionNebula #NGC1999 #StarV380Orionis #Messier42 #M42 #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #WFPC2 #GSFC #STScI #ESO #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Merging Galaxies IC 1623: Hubble & Webb Space Telescope Views

Merging Galaxies IC 1623: Hubble & Webb Space Telescope Views

In this video, the new image from the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope of merging galaxies IC 1623 A and B is juxtaposed with a new image of the same target from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope.

The first image, combining data from Hubble’s ACS and WFC3 instruments, gives a familiar visible-light view of these colliding galaxies, where the centers of the individual galaxies are much more obscured by dark dust. Meanwhile, in Webb’s combined MIRI and NIRCam view of the galaxies, shown second, the gas being used as fuel by the stellar nurseries is especially apparent. Webb’s ability to pierce the gaseous veil obscuring the bright galactic cores also causes prominent diffraction spikes to appear.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Webb, NASA & Canadian Space Agency (CSA), L. Armus & A. Evans, N. Bartmann  

Duration: 15 seconds

Release Date: October 25, 2022

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #IC1623 #Cetus #Constellation #JamesWebb #SpaceTelescopes #JWST #Hubble #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Three Views of Merging Galaxies: IC 1623 | James Webb Space Telescope

Three Views of Merging Galaxies: IC 1623 | James Webb Space Telescope

These images from the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope depicts IC 1623, an entwined pair of interacting galaxies which lies around 270 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Cetus. 

Shown first is Webb’s view of IC 1623 as seen by the MIRI instrument, followed by that of the NIRCam instrument. Finally, the third image presented includes the data from both MIRI and NIRCam combined.

The two galaxies in IC 1623 are plunging headlong into one another in a process known as a galaxy merger. Their collision has ignited a frenzied spate of star formation known as a starburst, creating new stars at a rate more than twenty times that of the Milky Way galaxy.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Webb, NASA & Canadian Space Agency (CSA), L. Armus & A. Evans, N. Bartmann  

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: October 25, 2022

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #IC1623 #Cetus #Constellation #JamesWebb #SpaceTelescope #JWST #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #MIRI #NIRCam #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Pan of Merging Galaxies: IC 1623 | James Webb Space Telescope

Pan of Merging Galaxies: IC 1623 | James Webb Space Telescope

This image from the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope depicts IC 1623, an entwined pair of interacting galaxies which lies around 270 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Cetus. The two galaxies in IC 1623 are plunging headlong into one another in a process known as a galaxy merger. Their collision has ignited a frenzied spate of star formation known as a starburst, creating new stars at a rate more than twenty times that of the Milky Way galaxy.

This interacting galaxy system is particularly bright at infrared wavelengths, making it a perfect proving ground for Webb’s ability to study luminous galaxies. A team of astronomers captured IC 1623 across the infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum using a trio of Webb’s cutting-edge scientific instruments: MIRI, NIRSpec, and NIRCam. In so doing, they provided an abundance of data that will allow the astronomical community at large to fully explore how Webb’s unprecedented capabilities will help to unravel the complex interactions in galactic ecosystems.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Webb, NASA & Canadian Space Agency (CSA), L. Armus & A. Evans, N. Bartmann  

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: October 25, 2022

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #IC1623 #Cetus #Constellation #JamesWebb #SpaceTelescope #JWST #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

A Pair of Merging Galaxies: IC 1623 | James Webb Space Telescope

A Pair of Merging Galaxies: IC 1623 | James Webb Space Telescope

This image from the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope depicts IC 1623, an entwined pair of interacting galaxies which lies around 270 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Cetus. The two galaxies in IC 1623 are plunging headlong into one another in a process known as a galaxy merger. Their collision has ignited a frenzied spate of star formation known as a starburst, creating new stars at a rate more than twenty times that of the Milky Way galaxy.

Image description: The two galaxies swirl into a single chaotic object in the center. Long, blue spiral arms stretch vertically, faint at the edges. Hot gas spreads horizontally over that, mainly bright red with many small gold spots of star formation. The core of the merging galaxies is very bright and radiates eight large, golden diffraction spikes. The background is black, with many tiny galaxies in orange and blue.

The merger of these two galaxies has long been of interest to astronomers, and has previously been imaged by Hubble and by other space telescopes. The ongoing, extreme starburst causes intense infrared emission, and the merging galaxies may well be in the process of forming a supermassive black hole. A thick band of dust has blocked these valuable insights from the view of telescopes like Hubble. However, Webb’s infrared sensitivity and its impressive resolution at those wavelengths allows it to see past the dust and has resulted in the spectacular image above, a combination of MIRI and NIRCam imagery.

The luminous core of the galaxy merger turns out to be both very bright and highly compact, so much so that Webb’s diffraction spikes appear atop the galaxy in this image. The 8-pronged, snowflake-like diffraction spikes are created by the interaction of starlight with the physical structure of the telescope. The spiky quality of Webb’s observations is particularly noticeable in images containing bright stars, such as Webb’s first deep field image.

This interacting galaxy system is particularly bright at infrared wavelengths, making it a perfect proving ground for Webb’s ability to study luminous galaxies. A team of astronomers captured IC 1623 across the infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum using a trio of Webb’s cutting-edge scientific instruments: MIRI, NIRSpec, and NIRCam. In so doing, they provided an abundance of data that will allow the astronomical community at large to fully explore how Webb’s unprecedented capabilities will help to unravel the complex interactions in galactic ecosystems. These observations are also accompanied by data from other observatories, including the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope, and will help set the stage for future observations of galactic systems with Webb.

MIRI was contributed by the European Space Agency and NASA, with the instrument designed and built by a consortium of nationally funded European Institutes (The MIRI European Consortium) in partnership with JPL and the University of Arizona.

NIRSpec was built for the European Space Agency (ESA) by a consortium of European companies led by Airbus Defence and Space (ADS) with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center providing its detector and micro-shutter subsystems.

Results based on this observation of IC 1623 have been published in the Astrophysical Journal.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Webb, NASA & CSA, L. Armus & A. Evans

Acknowledgement: R. Colombari

Release Date: October 25, 2022

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #IC1623 #Cetus #Constellation #JamesWebb #SpaceTelescope #JWST #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Zooming in on The Leo Triplet of Galaxies | European Southern Observatory

Zooming in on The Leo Triplet of Galaxies | European Southern Observatory

This video sequence starts with a view of the bright constellation of Leo (The Lion). We then zoom slowly in on three bright galaxies, NGC 3628, Messier 65 and Messier 66. In the final part of the video we see a very detailed view of this Leo Triplet, as well many background objects, in an image from the VLT Survey Telescope.

Distance: about 35 million light-years

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/A. Fujii/Digitized Sky Survey 2/INAF-VST/OmegaCAM Acknowledgement: OmegaCen/Astro-WISE/Kapteyn Institute

Duration: 56 seconds

Release Date: November 27, 2015

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Galaxy #Spiral #M66 #Messier66 #NGC3628 #Messier65 #M65 #LeoTriplet #Leo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #LEGUS #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Galaxy Messier 66 & The Leo Triplet: Wide-field View (ground-based image)

Galaxy Messier 66 & The Leo Triplet: Wide-field View (ground-based image)

This wide-field image of the sky around the spiral galaxy Messier 66 was created from photographs forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. Located about 35 million light-years away from Earth, this galaxy is about 100,000 light-years across. The field of view is approximately 3.0 by 2.2 degrees across. 

Messier 66 is the member of the Leo Triplet, a trio of interacting spiral galaxies, part of the larger Messier 66 group. Messier 66 wins in size over its fellow triplets—it is about 100,000 light-years across.

Credit: NASA, ESA and and Digitized Sky Survey 2

Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin (ESA/Hubble)

Release Date: April 8, 2010

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Galaxy #Spiral #M66 #Messier66 #LeoTriplet #Leo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #LEGUS #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Spiral Galaxy Messier 66: Multiple Wavelength Views by VLT & ALMA | ESO

Spiral Galaxy Messier 66: Multiple Wavelength Views by VLT & ALMA | ESO

This video shows images of Messier 66, also known as NGC 3627, a spiral galaxy located approximately 35 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo, 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), in which ESO is a partner.

The first two images are from the MUSE data. The first one, revealing the distribution of young stars, fades to a combined image that includes clouds of ionized hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur gas, marking the presence of newly born stars.

The next image shows the ALMA data only. ALMA was used to map cold clouds of molecular gas, which provide the raw material from which 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, which 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, which is making high-resolution observations of nearby galaxies with telescopes operating across the electromagnetic spectrum.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/PHANGS

Duration: 17 seconds

Release Date: July 16, 2021

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #ESO #Galaxy #Spiral #M66 #Messier66 #LeoTriplet #Leo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #MUSE #ALMA #Chile #Europe #UnitedStates #Astronomer #CharlesMessier #France #History #STEM #Education #HD #Video

A Dusty Beauty: Spiral Galaxy Messier 66 (ground-based view) | ESO

A Dusty Beauty: Spiral Galaxy Messier 66 (ground-based view) | ESO

NGC 3627 is also known as Messier 66. It is the 66th object in the famous catalog of nebulae by French astronomer Charles Messier (1730-1817). It is located in the constellation Leo (The Lion).

NGC 3627 is a beautiful spiral with a well-developed central bulge. It also displays large-scale dust lanes. Many regions of warm hydrogen gas are seen throughout the disc of this galaxy. The latter regions are being ionized by radiation from clusters of newborn stars. Very active star-formation is most likely also occurring in the nuclear regions of NGC 3627.

The galaxy forms, together with its neighbors M65 and NGC 3628, the so-called "Leo Triplet" ; they are located at a distance of about 35 million light-years. Messier 66 is the largest of the three. Its spiral arms appear distorted and displaced above the main plane of the galaxy. The asymmetric appearance is most likely due to gravitational interaction with its neighbors.

This photo of the spiral galaxy M66 (or NGC 3627) was obtained with the FORS1 and FORS2 multi-mode instruments (at VLT MELIPAL and YEPUN, respectively) on December 16-18, 2001. It is a composite of three exposures in different wavebands. North is towards upper left, West towards upper right.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/P. Barthel

Release Date: December 19, 2003

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #ESO #Galaxy #Spiral #M66 #Messier66 #LeoTriplet #Leo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #Chile #Europe #UnitedStates #Astronomer #CharlesMessier #France #History #STEM #Education

Hubble Snaps Heavyweight Galaxy of The Leo Triplet: Messier 66

Hubble Snaps Heavyweight Galaxy of The Leo Triplet: Messier 66

Hubblecast 34: Hubble has snapped a spectacular view of M66, the largest "player" of the Leo Triplet, and a galaxy with an unusual anatomy: it displays asymmetric spiral arms and an apparently displaced core. The peculiar anatomy is most likely caused by the gravitational pull of the other two members of the trio.

Distance: about 35 million light-years

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)

Duration: 3 minutes, 41 seconds

Release Date: June 24, 2010

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Galaxy #Spiral #M66 #Messier66 #LeoTriplet #Leo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #LEGUS #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Spiral Galaxy Messier 66: Heavyweight Champion of The Leo Triplet | Hubble

Spiral Galaxy Messier 66: Heavyweight Champion of The Leo Triplet | Hubble

Hubble has snapped a spectacular view of Messier 66 or M 66, the largest "player" of the Leo Triplet, and a galaxy with an unusual anatomy—it displays asymmetric spiral arms and an apparently displaced core. The peculiar anatomy is most likely caused by the gravitational pull of the other two members of the trio.

The unusual spiral galaxy, Messier 66, is located at a distance of about 35 million light-years in the constellation of Leo. Together with Messier 65 and NGC 3628, Messier 66 is the member of the Leo Triplet, a trio of interacting spiral galaxies, part of the larger Messier 66 group. Messier 66 wins in size over its fellow triplets—it is about 100,000 light-years across.

This is a composite of images obtained through the following filters: 814W (near infrared), 555W (green) and H-alpha (showing the glowing of the hydrogen gas). They have been combined so to represent the real colors of the galaxy.

Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA) and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration. Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin and Robert Gendler

Release Date: April 8, 2010

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Galaxy #Spiral #M66 #Messier66 #LeoTriplet #Leo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #LEGUS #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Panning over Spiral Galaxy M66 | Hubble

Panning over Spiral Galaxy M66 | Hubble

The spiral galaxy Messier 66 is located at a distance of about 35 million light-years in the constellation of Leo (The Lion). Together with Messier 65 and NGC 3628, Messier 66 is a member of the Leo Triplet, a trio of interacting spiral galaxies.

Like all the galaxies in LEGUS, Messier 66 is undergoing vigorous star and star-cluster formation. One of the goals of LEGUS is to sample star-forming regions across each galaxy. Because the galaxies are relatively close to Earth, Hubble can resolve individual stars.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble

Duration: 26 seconds

Release Date: February 17, 2016

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Galaxy #Spiral #M66 #Messier66 #LeoTriplet #Leo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #LEGUS #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Zooming in on Spiral Galaxy Messier 66 | Hubble

Zooming in on Spiral Galaxy Messier 66 | Hubble

Zooming in on Messier 66, the largest galaxy within the Leo Triplet. M66 is located at a distance of about 35 million light-years in the constellation of Leo.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble

Duration: 56 seconds

Release Date: February 17, 2016

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Galaxy #Spiral #M66 #Messier66 #LeoTriplet #Leo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #LEGUS #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Galaxy Messier 66—Member of the Leo Triplet | Hubble

Galaxy Messier 66—Member of the Leo Triplet | Hubble

The spiral galaxy Messier 66 is located at a distance of about 35 million light-years in the constellation of Leo (The Lion). Together with Messier 65 and NGC 3628, Messier 66 is a member of the Leo Triplet, a trio of interacting spiral galaxies.

Like all the galaxies in LEGUS, Messier 66 is undergoing vigorous star and star-cluster formation. One of the goals of LEGUS is to sample star-forming regions across each galaxy. Because the galaxies are relatively close to Earth, Hubble can resolve individual stars.

Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), and the LEGUS team

Release Date: May 17, 2018

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Galaxy #Spiral #M66 #Messier66 #LeoTriplet #Leo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #LEGUS #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Cosmic Keyhole: Another View of Reflection Nebula NGC 1999 | Hubble

Cosmic Keyhole: Another View of Reflection Nebula NGC 1999 | Hubble

This peculiar portrait from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope showcases NGC 1999, a reflection nebula in the constellation Orion. NGC 1999 is around 1350 light-years from Earth and lies near to the Orion Nebula, the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. NGC 1999 itself is a relic of recent star formation—it is composed of detritus left over from the formation of a newborn star.

Just like fog curling around a street lamp, reflection nebulae like NGC 1999 only shine because of the light from an embedded source. In the case of NGC 1999, this source is the aforementioned newborn star V380 Orionis which is visible at the center of this image. The most notable aspect of NGC 1999’s appearance, however, is the conspicuous hole in its center, which resembles an inky-black keyhole of cosmic proportions.

This image was created from archival Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 observations that date from shortly after Servicing Mission 3A in 1999. At the time, astronomers believed that the dark patch in NGC 1999 was something called a Bok globule—a dense, cold cloud of gas, molecules, and cosmic dust that blots out background light. However, follow-up observations using a collection of telescopes including the European Space Agency’s Herschel Space Observatory revealed that the dark patch is actually an empty region of space. The origin of this unexplained rift in the heart of NGC 1999 remains unknown.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, European Southern Observatory (ESO), K. Noll

Release Date: October 24, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #OrionNebula #Nebula #ReflectionNebula #NGC1999 #StarV380Orionis #Messier42 #M42 #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #WFPC2 #GSFC #STScI #ESO #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education