Astronomy Picture of the Day: 01/05/14 - IC 4678

This magnificent image has several areas of interest: First and foremost, we have the Lagoon nebula, one of the most photographed star forming regions in our galaxy. Pictured close-by is IC 4678, an emission nebula comprised of glowing red gas, surrounded by intricate filaments of material. Moving onward, we see a small reflection nebula (the small blue area containing two bright stars). Lastly, we have a dark absorption nebula, which contains so much opaque dust, the activity going on inside of the area is obscured from sight.

IC 4678 (and its respective regions) can be found more than 5,000 light-years away in the Sagittarius constellation. Overall, the area spans more than 25 light-years across.

Sources & Further Reading: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/apod-ic-4678/

Image Credit: Ken Siarkiewicz & Adam Block, NOAO, AURA, NSF

Astronomers Find Manatee in Space:

Astronomers found a bright blue manatee hovering in the cosmos. Covering a distance of some 700 light-years, this celestial beast makes Earth"s manatees look like...well, quite frankly, there is no apt comparison. The manatees found on Earth typically measure just over 13 feet (3.9m) in length; this celestial mammoth stretches more than 4.1 quadrillion miles.

Of course, a creature this size would quickly deplete Earth"s oceans of all life. Fortunately, the National Wildlife Federation doesn’t have to worry because this manatee isn’t a carnivore or even a herbivore. It’s a nebula.

Get more amazing facts about this fantastic structure at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/astronomers-find-manatee-in-space/

Image:
NASA

The Incredible 3D Rendering of a Nebula:

Have you ever wondered what a nebula may look like in 3D? Wonder no more! (GIF link can be found below!)

Due to the vast distances that separates objects in interstellar space, it"s very unlikely that any of us will ever get to see these things up close and personal with our own two eyes. Though that doesn"t stop incredibly artistic people from breaking the mold and presenting us with something that is truly spectacular. This is one of those things.

See Here: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/the-incredible-3d-rendering-of-a-nebula/

(Note: It may take a minute or so to load since the filesize is about 7MB, but it"s well worth it)

Image Credit: Sky Candy

Astronomy Picture of the Day: 12/26/13 - The Celestial Snow Angel

In this awesome image, captured by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, we see a stellar nursery. But this isn"t just any nursery; it seems that these stellar babies are guarded by a colossal celestial angel. Talk about a mind-blowing case of pareidolia, right?

The region, dubbed Sharpless 2-106 (otherwise known as Sh2-106 or S106), is located more than 2,000 light-years away in the constellation of Cygnus. One massive star is responsible for the bulk of the properties seen in the area. The angel shape was created by twin lobes of superheated gas expanding in two separate directions from the central region (where the star remains).

Inside the wings of our angel, we can see the stark contrast between the heat and the motion of the gas, projected with a much colder medium. Through interactions between the gas, dust, and the interstellar medium, we get the hour-glass shape seen surrounding the central star.

Sources & Additional Resources: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/apod-sharples-2-106/

Image Credit: NASA/ESA

Astronomy Picture of the Day: 12/26/13 - The Snowflake Cluster

And in yet another holiday-themed image, we come across a quaint little cluster of stars - aptly called the Snowflake Cluster - hanging out in the neighborhood of the famous cone nebula. The pair are located approximately 2,500 light-years from Earth in the Monoceros constellation.



The region is populated by a large number of stars that are currently in the process of forming. When viewed at non-optical wavelengths, the protostars appear as pink or red tiny, patchy dots in the sky -- like snow... very deadly snow. In any event, now you know where it got its name! Too bad that when the protostars arise from their cocoon - during the transition into main-sequence mode - their impact on the region will be seen and felt throughout.

References: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/apod-the-snowflake-cluster/

Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, P. S. Teixeira (CfA)

How are stars born? How do they die?

You’ve probably been told that staring directly at the Sun is bad for your eyes. However, we don’t have to have uncomfortable staring contests with the Stars to try and get them to give up their secrets! After years and years of research, scientists have managed to find out quite a bit about the oh-so-secretive stars without losing a staring contest.

Firstly, stars go through the same process that we do in the sense that they are born, live, and then die. The difference is that they do it far more dramatically, and take a much longer time doing it. Depending on the mass of the star, the lifetime can range from a few million years to trillions of years! So let"s take a moment to get to know a little something about the lives of some of the oldest inhabitants of the universe: STARS.

Learn about the lives of stars at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/how-are-stars-born-how-do-they-die/

Image:
NASA

Space is Big. You just won"t believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big

When the Hubble Space Telescope celebrated its twentieth anniversary of scouring the stars, this image was released to celebrate the millions of observations Hubble has made. These images provided us with a plethora of information that wasn"t available beforehand. Hubble has literally revolutionized many aspects of astronomy and physics; however, one thing it cannot do is help us wrap our minds around the sheer size of some of these deep-space regions. But let’s try!

Give it a go at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/space-is-big/

Images:
NASA/ ESO

Astronomy Picture of the Day: 12/08/13 - The Tulip Nebula

Found 8,000 light-years away from Earth, in the Cygnus (swan) constellation, this gorgeous region is popularly known as the Tulip Nebula (also known as Sharpless 101 or Cygnus Star Cloud).

The American astronomer Stewart Sharpless first categorized it in 1959. It is, perhaps obviously, nicknamed the tulip nebula for its resemblance to the Earthy flower. Though, not pictured here, this nubula is in close proximity to the binary system known as Cygnus X-1, which consists of a supergiant star and a black hole. Together, they are commonly thought of as a microquasar.

The star powering it, known as HDE 227018, can be seen in the center of the image (close to the blue arc).

Sources & Further Reading: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/astronomy-picture-of-the-day-120513-the-tulip-nebula/

Image Credit: Michael Joner, David Laney (West Mountain Observatory, BYU); Processing - Robert Gendler

Pareidolia: Taking a Look at a Nebula:

To me, this giant cloud looks a little like the towering troll from The Hobbit (the troll is in the center and its arms are the dust clouds on either side). However, when looking at this nebula, most people see something besides a troll. In fact, this nebula has been named after what people see when they look at it. Any guesses as to what the most fitting name would be?

Ultimately, Pareidolia (in essence, seeing meaningful images from random data) is rather common, and it often has an impact on astronomy.

Learn the name of this nebula, and find out more about Pareidolia, at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/taking-a-peep-at-the-horse-in-the-horsehead-nebula/

Image source:
NASA

Pareidolia: Clash of the Celestial Space Beasts

When you are laying outstretched on your back, staring into the sunny blue sky on a cloudy day, are you one of those people that see faces, shapes, animals, or other objects in the clouds? I think most of us have seen such things... it"s one of the joys of childhood. However, did you know there is actually a word for this phenomenon? It"s called "pareidolia."

The word itself is derived from the Greek words "para," (meaning something faulty) and eidōlon (meaning image, form, or shape) and is a form of Apophenia, which means "seeing meaningful patterns or connections in random or meaningless data." Except in this case, the patterns seen are fictitious.

See more amazing images of pareidolia at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/pareidolia-clash-of-the-celestial-space-beasts/

Image sources:
NASA/ESA—Chris Keegan

Astronomy Photo of the Day: 11/29/13 - Pismis 24

This is Pismis 24-1 (HDE 319718), a region with spectacular diversity, beginning with its open cluster of neighboring stars, called Pismis 24. Together, they are centrally located within the diffuse "War & Peace" nebula (more formally known as NGC 6334), which is located approximately 8,150 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Scorpius.



Interestingly, Pismis 24-1 is one of the top candidates for the coveted title of being the "Milky Way Stellar Heavyweight Champion" because, when it was initially discovered several years ago, astronomers thought the area was powered by a single star that was about 300 times more massive than the sun. This conclusion was based on standard stellar models, in addition to its brightness and distance, but now there is a general consensus among the astronomical community that there are three stars embedded in the nebula. Each of the stars about 100 solar masses, putting them at the more massive end of the solar spectrum.



The interesting contrast of colors in this nebula is largely due to ionization taking place between the hydrogen in the nebula and a massive blue star that"s spitting out ultraviolet radiation, which creates the bubble seen here. As lovely as it may be to observe, the presence of the gas makes it all the more difficult to get a closer peek at the activity going on with the stars embedded inside the nebula.

Sources & Further Reading: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/astronomy-photo-of-the-day-112913-pismis-24/

Image Credit: NASA, ESA and J. M. Apellániz (IAA, Spain)

7 Spooky Nebulae (Just in Time For Halloween)

Now that fall is officially upon us, in the spirit of Halloween, we thought we"d take the opportunity to dredge up some of our favorite scary nebulae. Most nebulae are truly lovely, containing an array of colors that are laid out so beautifully, they more closely resemble a painting than a scene of utter death and destruction. Granted, the nebula generally signify rebirth (long down the road, that is), and they look like places of great creation; yet occasionally, we run across some that are truly haunting. Like the ones outlined below:
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7. The Witch Head Nebula:

Obviously, this is the witch head nebula. Of course, it is named as such because of its resemblance with the face of an evil witch, something you might expect to see in a fairytale (or in congress).

Instead, IC 2118 (as it is officially named) is a large nebula found about 900 light-years away, near the supergiant Rigel in the Orion constellation. The Witch Head has a deep blue color (as opposed to the typical green that we associate with witches). This color is not only because of the blue light emitted by Rigel, but also because the dust that makes up the nebula reflects blue light most efficiently (this same principle is the reason Earths sky appears blue).

See more terrifying nebulae at: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/7-spooky-nebulae-just-in-time-for-halloween/

Astronomy Picture of the Day: 10/25/13 - Sharpless 2-68

What do you see in this newly released image from the Kitt Peak National Observatory? Personally, I see a demented Pac-Man-like creature.

This elderly planetary nebula is an estimated 45,000 years old. Planetary nebulae (one of the final phases of stellar evolution for a sun-like star) form after medium sized stars burn the remainder of hydrogen fuel forged at their core for nuclear fusion. After which, they burn helium, causing them to balloon in size. Eventually, the remainder of the mass will condense into a white-dwarf -- a dense remnant that is similar in size to Earth, with the outer envelope of gases shedding off into space, forming a nebula, which will eventually dissipate entirely.

Sharpless 2-68 (or Sh2-68), as it"s called, contains quite a bit of ionized oxygen atoms (pictured in blue), while the diffuse orange emission is the result of the nebula"s journey through the disk of our galaxy. At the center (in the blue haze) is the star responsible for the nebula"s existence.

References, sources, and further reading can be found here: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/astronomy-picture-of-the-day-102513-sharpless-2-68/