Hubble Telescope spies star-forming cocoons in neighboring galaxy (photo)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
Young stars enveloped in a transformative cocoon of gas shine brightly in a new image from the Hubble Space Telescope.
The newborn stars belong to a cluster known as NGC 460, which is located in a region of the Small Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that orbits the Milky Way. NGC 460 is surrounded by a number of other young stellar clusters and varying sized nebulae, which are clouds of gas and dust that fuel new star formation.
Within this region, also known as N83, there are a number of O-type stars, the brightest, hottest and most massive of main-sequence stars (like the sun), which burn hydrogen at their core. O-type stars are rare; there are thought to be just 20,000 of them in the Milky Way, according to a statement from NASA releasing the Hubble image on March 8.
"The clouds of gas and dust can give rise to stars as portions of them collapse, and radiation and stellar winds from those hot, young bright stars in turn shape and compress the clouds, triggering new waves of star formation," NASA officials said in the statement. "The hydrogen clouds are ionized by the radiation of nearby stars, causing them to glow."
Related: The best Hubble Space Telescope images of all time!
Classified as an open star cluster, NGC 460 is a loosely bound group of stars, held together by gravity. This type of cluster typically contains a few dozen to a few thousand relatively young stars from the same giant molecular cloud.
In this case, NGC 460 is believed to have formed following a collision between two hydrogen clouds. This type of interaction could have triggered the birth of several O-type stars and nebulae in the N83 region, according to the statement.
"The NGC 460 star cluster resides in one of the youngest parts of this interconnected complex of stellar clusters and nebulae," NASA officials said in the statement.
Related Stories:
— Hubble Space Telescope reveals richest view of Andromeda galaxy to date (image)
— Hubble Telescope spies newborn stars in famous Orion Nebula (photo)
— NASA wants a 'Super-Hubble' space telescope to search for life on alien worlds
As the stars continue to grow in their cocoon, they may migrate outward and disperse into the Small Magellanic Cloud someday. As one of the Milky Way's closest and brightest galactic neighbors, residing only about 200,000 light-years from Earth, the Small Magellanic Cloud offers an opportunity to study phenomena that are otherwise difficult to examine in more distant galaxies.
The recent images of NGC 460 stem from a study on the gas and dust between stars — called the interstellar medium — to better understand how gravitational forces between interacting galaxies can foster bursts of star formation. Six overlapping observations taken using the Hubble Space Telescope at both visible and infrared wavelengths were combined to create the new mosaic image.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Japanese Lunar Lander Crashes In Second Failed Mission
A private Japanese lunar lander crashed during an attempted touchdown on the moon Friday. This marks the second failed mission for the Tokyo-based global lunar exploration company, ispace. The lander, named Resilience, lost communication less than two minutes before its scheduled landing in Mare Frigoris, a flat, crater-filled region on the moon's northern near side. A preliminary analysis indicated the laser system for measuring altitude malfunctioned, causing the lander to descend too fast. 'Based on these circumstances, it is currently assumed that the lander likely performed a hard landing on the lunar surface,' ispace said in a statement. 'This is the second time that we were not able to land. So we really have to take it very seriously,' CEO and founder Takeshi Hakamada told reporters, per Associated Press. He apologized to contributors and added that the mission was 'merely a stepping stone' to a larger lander planned for 2027 with NASA involvement. 'Engineers did everything they possibly could' to ensure success, he said minutes before the attempted landing. The 7.5-foot Resilience, launched in January from Florida on a SpaceX rocket, carried an 11-pound, four-wheeled rover named Tenacious, built by ispace's Luxembourg subsidiary. The rover, equipped with a high-definition camera and a shovel for NASA to collect lunar soil, was designed to operate for two weeks during the moon's daylight period. It also carried a toy-size Swedish-style red cottage, dubbed Moonhouse by artist Mikael Genberg, for placement on the lunar surface. The mission's $16 million payload included scientific instruments from Japanese firms and a Taiwanese university. The failure follows ispace's first lunar crash in 2023, caused by inaccurate altitude readings. 'Truly diverse scenarios were possible, including issues with the propulsion system, software or hardware, especially with sensors,' Chief Technology Officer Ryo Ujiie said at a press conference. Jeremy Fix, chief engineer for ispace's U.S. subsidiary, noted last month that the company, with a mission cost less than the first's $100 million, lacks 'infinite funds' and cannot afford repeated failures. 'We're not facing any immediate financial deterioration or distress because of the event,' CFO Jumpei Nozaki said, citing investor support. However, space shares faced heavy sell orders and were poised for a 29% drop. As of Thursday, their market capitalization was over 110 billion yen ($766 million). The crash marks another setback in the commercial lunar race, which began in 2019. U.S. firms Firefly Aerospace and Intuitive Machines achieved successful landings in March, though Intuitive's lander toppled in a crater. Japan's space agency, JAXA, landed its SLIM probe last year, joining Russia, the U.S., China, and India as the only nations with successful robotic lunar landings. 'Expectations for ispace have not faded,' Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba posted on X, reported Reuters. Ispace remains committed to NASA's Artemis program, with plans for a third mission in 2027. 'NASA increasingly needs private companies to improve cost efficiency for key missions with limited budgets,' Hakamada said, referencing proposed U.S. budget cuts. Two U.S. companies, Blue Origin and Astrobotic Technology, aim for moon landings by year's end following Astrobotic's 2024 failure.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Monster black hole M87 is spinning at 80% of the cosmic speed limit — and pulling in matter even faster
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The monster black hole lurking at the center of galaxy M87 is an absolute beast. It is one of the largest in our vicinity and was the ideal first target for the Event Horizon Telescope. Scientists have taken a fresh look at the supermassive black hole using those iconic Event Horizon Telescope images and have now figured out just how fast this monster is spinning and how much material it's devouring. The results are pretty mind-blowing. This black hole, which weighs in at 6.5 billion times the mass of our Sun, is spinning at roughly 80% of the theoretical maximum speed possible in the universe. To put that in perspective, the inner edge of its accretion disk is whipping around at about 14% the speed of light - that's around 42 million meters per second. The team figured this out by studying the "bright spot" in the original black hole images. That asymmetric glow isn't just there for show - it's caused by something called relativistic Doppler beaming. The material on one side of the disk is moving toward us so fast that it appears much brighter than the material moving away from us. By measuring this brightness difference, the scientists could calculate the rotation speed. But here's where it gets really interesting. The researchers also looked at the magnetic field patterns around the black hole, which act like a roadmap for how material spirals inward. They discovered that matter is falling into the black hole at about 70 million meters per second - roughly 23% the speed of light. Using these measurements, they estimated that M87's black hole is consuming somewhere between 0.00004 to 0.4 solar masses worth of material every year. That might sound like a lot, but it's actually pretty modest for such a massive black hole - it's operating well below what scientists call the "Eddington limit," meaning it's in a relatively quiet phase. Related: Scientists just proved that 'monster' black hole M87 is spinning — confirming Einstein's relativity yet again Perhaps most importantly, the energy from all this in-falling material appears to perfectly match the power output of M87's famous jet - that spectacular beam of particles shooting out at near light-speed that extends for thousands of light-years. This supports the idea that these powerful jets are indeed powered by the black hole's feeding process. RELATED STORIES —Time-lapse of 1st black hole ever imaged reveals how matter swirls around it —Astronomers discover black hole ripping a star apart inside a galactic collision. 'It is a peculiar event' —Not 'Little Red Dots' or roaring quasars: James Webb telescope uncovers new kind of 'hidden' black hole never seen before The study represents a major step forward in understanding how supermassive black holes work. While previous estimates of M87's spin ranged anywhere from 0.1 to 0.98, this new method suggests it's definitely on the high end - at least 0.8 and possibly much closer to the theoretical maximum of 0.998. As we gear up for even more powerful telescopes and imaging techniques, M87's black hole will likely remain a cosmic laboratory for testing our understanding of gravity, spacetime, and the most extreme physics in the universe. Each new measurement brings us closer to answering fundamental questions about how these cosmic monsters shape entire galaxies and maybe even how they'll influence the ultimate fate of the cosmos itself. The original version of this article was published on Universe Today.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
The Milky Way will be visible across the US this month. Here's how to get the best views.
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The bright band of the Milky Way is about to make its first great appearance of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. There are few more impressive sights than the arc of the Milky Way spanning the night sky, but skywatchers don't always know exactly how, when and where to see it. In fact, one-third of humanity — and 80% of Americans — cannot see it. The reason is light pollution, with the sky's brightness increasing by between 7% and 10% per year between 2011 and 2023, according to a 2023 study published in the journal Science. As a result, if you want to see the Milky Way, you'll need to be as far away from light pollution as possible. Good options include a Dark Sky Place or somewhere that looks dark on a light pollution map. Although the Milky Way can be seen in some form for about eight months of the year, the galaxy's bright core becomes easier to see — and gets higher in the sky — as of May as seen from midlatitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, which includes the entire continental United States and the most populated parts of Canada. Related: The 10 best stargazing events of 2025 According to the Milky Way photography website Capture The Atlas, "Milky Way season" runs from February to October, usually between midnight and 5 a.m. local time, though your location and the phase of the moon matter a lot. During May, the period between the last quarter moon on May 20 and the new moon on May 30 is the time to look for the Milky Way. RELATED STORIES —Does the Milky Way orbit anything? —How many galaxies orbit the Milky Way? —James Webb telescope spots Milky Way's long-lost 'twin' — and it is 'fundamentally changing our view of the early universe' Even if you have a clear, moonless night, the viewing window is further restricted by when the galaxy's bright core rises from your location. The key is to find out when the Summer Triangle — a shape formed by three bright stars — becomes visible. This vast asterism of Deneb in the constellation Cygnus, Vega in Lyra and Altair in Aquila sits across the Milky Way. If it's above the horizon, you have a good chance of spotting it. Between May 20 and May 30, the Summer Triangle will be up in the east at midnight and higher in the southeast by 3 a.m. local time. The Milky Way will rise higher into the sky — and appear earlier — as the Summer Triangle becomes more prominent in June and July, but a lack of darkness at mid-northern latitudes around the solstice on June 20-21 makes May the best time to grab a first glance before the Milky Way gets much brighter and higher in the sky in August and September.
