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Top 10 magnificent NASA images from light-years away | See photos MeidaInsights

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Jun 30, 2024 #30 Doradus, #Barred spiral galaxy, #Canes Venatici, #cosmic nebula, #galaxies, #globular cluster, #light years, #Messier 63, #Messier 94, #Milky Way, #NASA, #NASA Hubble, #NASA Hubble telescope, #NASA images., #Nebula, #NGC 2005, #serpens nebula, #Southern Ring Nebula, #spiral galaxy, #Sunflower galaxy, #supernova, #UGC 1810


The universe is a mystery, and space agencies like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) help us understand it better. The US space agency constantly shares images and videos from space to bring common people closer to celestial objects and other bodies. 

Here are top 10 NASA images that will provide you a rare glimpse of space to unlock its mysteries:

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Slightly right of center, the galaxy’s core glows in yellow. The galaxy’s arms spiral outward from the core, filling the image with blue-tinged gas and dust. There are bright blue dots studded throughout these spiral arms; these are young blue-white giant stars. Very little of the darkness of space can be seen in this image, except at the very bottom.
(ESA/Hubble & NASA)

Millions of light-years away in the small, northern constellation Canes Venatici, the spiral Sunflower galaxy (Messier 63) spreads its many arms – or so it seems. The Sunflower galaxy is a flocculent spiral galaxy. That means its spiral arms aren’t well defined, so it looks like there are many that appear to be winding around its yellow core. In reality, there are just two. The arms shine bright thanks to recently formed, blue–white giant stars.

A dreamlike stellar landscape, with a pinkish arc of gas standing out against dark blue swirls. A number of stars of various sizes, each accentuated by four diffraction spikes, are abundantly scattered through the image.

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A dreamlike stellar landscape, with a pinkish arc of gas standing out against dark blue swirls. A number of stars of various sizes, each accentuated by four diffraction spikes, are abundantly scattered through the image. (ESA/Hubble & NASA)

This cosmic nebula, a cloud of gas and dust where new stars are born, was spotted by orbiting by NASA Hubble telescope. Located just over 5,300 light-years from Earth, this nebula is home to a number of young, developing stars called protostars, which show up as some of the smaller sparkles in this image. This particular nebula is rich with hydrogen ions which are excited by the ultraviolet radiation coming from the nebula’s protostars, giving it the pinkish glow seen here.

A globular cluster that looks like a very dense, ball-shaped collection of many shining stars in colors of white, yellow-orange, and blue. Some stars appear a bit larger and brighter than others, with the brightest having faint cross-shaped diffraction spikes. The cluster’s stars are scattered mostly uniformly, with their density increasing toward the cluster’s core where they merge into a strong, bright-white glow.⁣

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A globular cluster that looks like a very dense, ball-shaped collection of many shining stars in colors of white, yellow-orange, and blue. Some stars appear a bit larger and brighter than others, with the brightest having faint cross-shaped diffraction spikes. The cluster’s stars are scattered mostly uniformly, with their density increasing toward the cluster’s core where they merge into a strong, bright-white glow.⁣ (ESA/Hubble & NASA)

NGC 2005: It’s a glittery star cluster – a globular cluster – and it’s kinda weird. NGC 2005’s stars have a chemical composition that is distinct from the stars around it in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), the Milky Way’s largest satellite galaxy.⁣ This suggests that the LMC underwent a merger with another galaxy somewhere in its history. That other galaxy has long-since merged and otherwise scattered, but NGC 2005 remains as an ancient witness to the merger.⁣

 

This area is part of the Serpens Nebula. Located 1,300 light-years from Earth, it’s only 1-2 million years old — very young in cosmic terms. It’s home to a dense cluster of newly forming stars (about 100,000 years old), seen at the center of this image.

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This area is part of the Serpens Nebula. Located 1,300 light-years from Earth, it’s only 1-2 million years old — very young in cosmic terms. It’s home to a dense cluster of newly forming stars (about 100,000 years old), seen at the center of this image. (NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (NASA-JPL), Joel Green (STScI))

A young star-forming region is filled with wispy orange, red, and blue layers of gas and dust. The upper left corner of the image is filled with mostly orange dust, and within that orange dust, there are several small red plumes of gas that extend from the top left to the bottom right, at the same angle. The center of the image is filled with mostly blue gas. At the center, there is one particularly bright star, that has an hourglass shadow above and below it. To the right of that is what looks a vertical eye-shaped crevice with a bright star at the center. The gas to the right of the crevice is a darker orange. Small points of light are sprinkled across the field, brightest sources in the field have extensive eight-pointed diffraction spikes that are characteristic of the Webb Telescope.

 

A massive spiral galaxy fills the image. Its central, glowing core shines in pale yellow and is surrounded with spiral arms laced with dark brown dust. A ring of bright bluish-white stars surrounds the galaxy.⁣

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A massive spiral galaxy fills the image. Its central, glowing core shines in pale yellow and is surrounded with spiral arms laced with dark brown dust. A ring of bright bluish-white stars surrounds the galaxy.⁣ (European Space Agency, Hubble & NASA⁣)

Messier 94: A cosmic crossover that goes beyond the ice rink – and into space! Captured here by NASA Hubble, the spiral galaxy M94 is located about 16 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici. It belongs to the Messier catalog, a stargazing resource first compiled by the French astronomer Charles Messier in the 1700s.⁣

The way these two galaxies are aligned make them look like a rose. A larger, spiral galaxy makes up the petals of the flower, while the smaller galaxy looks like the stem. Intensely bright and hot young blue stars bathe the very top of the image in blue light. In the background of the image are other galaxies and stars.

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The way these two galaxies are aligned make them look like a rose. A larger, spiral galaxy makes up the petals of the flower, while the smaller galaxy looks like the stem. Intensely bright and hot young blue stars bathe the very top of the image in blue light. In the background of the image are other galaxies and stars. (NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team)

In a patch of the autumn sky that contains the constellations Perseus, Andromeda, and Triangulum, a beautiful interaction is happening. A larger spiral galaxy (UGC 1810) is pulled on by its smaller companion galaxy, distorting it into a rose-like shape. The uncommon spiral patterns in the larger galaxy are a telltale sign of interaction. The large, outer arm appears partially as a ring, a feature seen when interacting galaxies actually pass through one another. This suggests that the smaller companion dived deep, but off-center, through UGC 1810.

A planetary nebula, seen by the Webb telescope's NIRCam instrument, against the blackness of space, with points of starlight behind it. The nebula itself is shaped like an irregular oval, with lacy, reddish orange plumes of gas and dust.

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A planetary nebula, seen by the Webb telescope’s NIRCam instrument, against the blackness of space, with points of starlight behind it. The nebula itself is shaped like an irregular oval, with lacy, reddish orange plumes of gas and dust. (NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI)

This image of the Southern Ring Nebula was one of the very first that the James Webb Space Telescope shared with the world back in 2022. Officially known as NGC 3132, the Southern Ring Nebula is a cloud of gas and dust surrounding a dying star 2,500 light-years from Earth.

A thin, red ribbon of gas crosses diagonally over the scene. Details in the trail show dimension and twisting of the stream of matter. In the background, black space is dotted with yellow stars and galaxies.

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A thin, red ribbon of gas crosses diagonally over the scene. Details in the trail show dimension and twisting of the stream of matter. In the background, black space is dotted with yellow stars and galaxies. (NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) )

This delicate red ribbon crossing the cosmos is a remnant of a supernova that was viewed by humans 1,000 years ago from 7,000 light-years away. The name of this stellar explosion is SN 1006, and was observed in 1006 AD. It would have been the brightest star ever seen by humans—so bright that it could be seen during the daytime.

A close-in view of a barred spiral galaxy. The bright, glowing bar crosses the center of the galaxy, with spiral arms curving away from the bar’s ends and continuing out of view. Bright patches of light where stars are forming surround the bar, which also holds dark lines of dust.

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A close-in view of a barred spiral galaxy. The bright, glowing bar crosses the center of the galaxy, with spiral arms curving away from the bar’s ends and continuing out of view. Bright patches of light where stars are forming surround the bar, which also holds dark lines of dust. (ESA/Hubble & NASA)

Barred spiral galaxy NGC 4731: Located 43 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo, this stunning sight showcases billowing clouds of gas, bright pink star-forming regions, and a luminous central bar. Barred spiral galaxies, like this one, make up about 60% of all galaxies.

Fluffy tan-colored nebula clouds, with rust-colored highlights, surround a black central area. Within that area, the focal point of the image is one large yellow star with eight long thin points.

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Fluffy tan-colored nebula clouds, with rust-colored highlights, surround a black central area. Within that area, the focal point of the image is one large yellow star with eight long thin points. (NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team)

Officially known as 30 Doradus, this star-forming region is nicknamed the Tarantula Nebula for its long, intricate filaments of dust. It’s the largest and brightest such region near our Milky Way galaxy—and it’s home to some of the hottest, most massive stars we’ve ever observed.

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Published: 30 Jun 2024, 02:21 PM IST


By mediainsights.in

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