James Webb Space Telescope Amazing View Of Protostar Explained By NASA
Travel to James Webb Space Telescope's NIRCam and MIRI instrument views of protostar L1527. The protostar is about 100,000 years old. Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Paul Morris: Lead Producer Thaddeus Cesari: Script Dr. Michelle Thaller: Narrator Music Credit: "Looking to the Future" by Carl David Harms [IMRO] via BBC Production Music [PRS], and Universal Production Music.
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CNET
42 minutes ago
- CNET
Coolest Space Photos of 2025 Will Fill You With Cosmic Wonder
There's always something happening in space, and humanity is documenting it more quickly and clearly than ever before. Orbiting telescopes, astronauts and spacecraft are sending back a stream of photos that show off the diversity and wonder of the universe. Here are some of the best space photos of the year, so far. Los Angeles wildfires Enlarge Image ESA's Sentinel-2 satellite spotted the smoke from the Palisades Fire shortly after it started on Jan. 7. NASA Earth Observatory/Wanmei Liang/ESA/Copernicus Sentinel It wasn't just imagery of objects beyond Earth that caught our eye over the first half of the year. The European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 Earth-observing satellite documented the devastating Palisades Fire in California in January. The Jan. 7 view showed a large smoke plume stretching out over the Pacific Ocean. That was just the beginning of a series of wildfires that destroyed residences and buildings in Los Angeles County. Earth from space Enlarge Image NASA astronaut Don Pettit captured a gorgeous sunrise from the International Space Station in February. Don Pettit/NASA NASA astronaut and astrophotographer extraordinaire Don Pettit shared a knockout view of Earth from the International Space Station in late February. "Cosmic colors at sunrise; never get tired of seeing what the new day brings," he said. This photo has it all: our planet, swirling aurora lights and a sweeping vista of stars. Sunrise from the moon Enlarge Image Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander captured a triumphant view of a lunar sunrise from its landing spot on the moon. Firefly Aerospace It's tough to land successfully on the moon. Firefly Aerospace pulled off the feat in March with its Blue Ghost Mission 1. The Blue Ghost lander captured a historic view of a sunrise from the surface of the moon. The image shows the pockmarked lunar surface with the bright flash of the sun topping the horizon. Many moon missions, including Intuitive Machine's 2025 attempt, go wrong. That makes Blue Ghost's sunrise image all the more poignant. It marks a hard-earned lunar success story. Webb spots a 'cosmic tornado' Enlarge Image The James Webb Space Telescope's ability to see in near- and mid-infrared light allowed it to capture this view of Herbig-Haro 49/50. A spiral galaxy appears at its edge in the upper left. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI The James Webb Space Telescope delivered a wild view of Herbig-Haro 49/50 in March. NASA described the space object as "a frothy-looking outflow from a nearby protostar" and a "cosmic tornado." Look for the distant spiral galaxy in the upper left. Hubble turns 35 Enlarge Image This small piece of the Rosette Nebula resembles a cloud of dark smoke passing over a lighter gauzy cloud. Gas and dust create the wild shapes seen by Hubble. NASA, ESA, STScI The venerable Hubble Space Telescope celebrated 35 years in orbit in April. NASA and ESA partied down by releasing a series of Hubble anniversary images, including views of Mars and a barred spiral galaxy. It's hard to pick just one anniversary image to highlight, but the telescope's ethereal view of the Rosette Nebula and its smoky clouds of gas and dust stands out. The nebula is a place of active star formation. Hubble's image focuses on one small, scenic part of the Rosette. Flower moon from orbit Enlarge Image That distant glow in the dark of space is the full flower moon. Earth's water and clouds are below. NASA/Nichole Ayers NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers got some full-moon photography in during May's "flower moon." Ayers had a front-row seat to the glowing lunar action from her perch on the International Space Station. Ayers shared a series of photos with Earth in the frame, emphasizing the relationship between our blue planet and our lunar neighbor. Mars rover selfie Enlarge Image A dust devil is visible in the distance to the left of the Perseverance rover. Look to the fold in the landscape for a puff of whirling dust. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS NASA's Perseverance rover has been trucking around Mars since early 2021. The wheeled explorer marked its 1,500th Martian day on May 10 by taking a fresh selfie. Percy took dozens of images of itself using a camera mounted on the end of its robotic arm. NASA stitched the shots together to create the selfie. Look deeper into the image to spot a swirling dust devil dancing in the background. "Having the dust devil in the background makes it a classic," said Perseverance imaging scientist Megan Wu. "This is a great shot." The year is only half over. There are full moons, auroras, space launches and meteor showers coming down the line. Satellites are watching over Earth. Space telescopes are staring out into the cosmos and sending back postcards from our universe. Stay tuned for more stunning images.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Iron May Rain From Sand Clouds on Newly-Discovered Planet
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Dusty clouds made of sand—that may rain iron—blanket a giant planet orbiting a young, sun-like star just 310 light-years from Earth, the James Webb Space Telescope has revealed. The discovery was made by an international team of astronomers led from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore Maryland. Around the star—dubbed "YSES-1"—the researchers also directly observed another giant exoplanet around which is a potentially multiple-moon-forming circumplanetary disk. "This work highlights the incredible abilities of JWST to characterize exoplanet atmospheres," said paper author and astronomer Evert Nasedkin of Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, in a statement. "With only a handful of exoplanets that can be directly imaged, the YSES-1 system offers unique insights into the atmospheric physics and formation processes of these distant giants." An artist's impression of the planets of the star system YSES-1. An artist's impression of the planets of the star system YSES-1. Ellis Bogat Using Webb's Near InfraRed Spectrograph (NIRSpec), the team were able to capture the two planets—which are both several times larger than Jupiter, and orbit out far from their host star—in a single exposure. This has provided what lead author and STScI physicist Kielan Hoch calls "the most detailed dataset of a multi-planet system to date." Nasedkin added: "Directly imaged exoplanets—planets outside our own solar system—are the only exoplanets that we can truly take photos of. "These exoplanets are typically still young enough that they are still hot from their formation—and it is this warmth, seen in the thermal infrared, that we as astronomers observe." By recording the light coming from the two exoplanets, the team were able to unpick the signals that reveal the chemical makeup of the gas giant's atmospheres. "When we looked at the smaller, farther-out companion—known as YSES-1c—we found the tell-tale signature of silicate clouds in the mid-infrared," said Nasedkin. "Essentially made of sand-like particles, this is the strongest silicate absorption feature observed in an exoplanet yet." The team's analysis also indicated that the clouds contain iron, which may fall from the clouds down into the planet as rain. "We believe this is linked to the relative youth of the planets: younger planets are slightly larger in radius, and this extended atmosphere may allow the cloud to absorb more of the light emitted by the planet." The circumplanetary disk is the inner planet, YSES-1b, meanwhile, presents something of a mystery. Only three other such disks have been identified to date, but they are all around objects that are significantly younger than YSES-1b—leading to questions as to how the newly discovered disk could be so long-lived. And that is far from the only puzzle that will need to be solved. "The YSES-1 system planets are also too widely separated to be explained through current formation theories, so the additional discoveries of distinct silicate clouds around YSES-1c and small hot dusty material around YSES-1b leads to more mysteries and complexities for determining how planets form and evolve," Hoch concluded. Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about exoplanets? Let us know via science@ Reference Hoch, K. K. W., Rowland, M., Petrus, S., Nasedkin, E., Ingebretsen, C., Kammerer, J., Perrin, M., D'Orazi, V., Balmer, W. O., Barman, T., Bonnefoy, M., Chauvin, G., Chen, C., De Rosa, R. J., Girard, J., Gonzales, E., Kenworthy, M., Konopacky, Q. M., Macintosh, B., Moran, S. E., Morley, C. V., Palma-Bifani, P., Pueyo, L., Ren, B., Rickman, E., Ruffio, J.-B., Theissen, C. A., Ward-Duong, K., & Zhang, Y. (2025). Silicate clouds and a circumplanetary disk in the YSES-1 exoplanet system. Nature.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Welcome to the best month of the year for stargazing — expect killer views of the Milky Way, experts say
'Core season,' as the pros at NASA have dubbed it, is officially upon us. While the 'core' of the Milky Way galaxy is visible in the night sky across the Northern Hemisphere almost all summer long, experts have long recognized June as the ultimate time of year for stargazers. Preston Dyches, messaging strategist at NASA, confirms this astronomical phenomenon in the June release of his monthly video series. The Milky Way core 'is best observed from dark sky locations far from bright city lights, and appears as a faint, cloud-like band arching across the sky toward the south,' he informed viewers. Advertisement This summer, skyward sights are particularly spectacular, partially thanks to the major lunar standstill impacting the moon's orbit. Paulista – The best news? Viewers in these prime locations don't need high-tech telescopes or even binoculars to stargaze this summer, though a closer view is often preferable for serious skygazers. The monumental sights spread across the cosmos this summer include several major constellations, ultra-bright stars, and seldom-seen planets. Advertisement Remarkable as this year's full strawberry moon, visible on June 10 and early June 11, is slated to be, the new moon on June 25 offers the darkest night sky — which makes for the most vibrant stars and planets. Early risers can catch a glimpse of Venus and Saturn, which rise around 2 hours before the Sun. Venus casts low, intense light across eastern skies throughout mornings in the month of June, while Saturn can be identified by its massive size and characteristic rings alone. Meanwhile, Mars can be spotted towards the west, and remains a striking sight around sunset, as well as the hours that follow. According to experts, the best places to stargaze in the Northern Hemisphere this summer are far, far away from major city lights. Anadolu via Getty Images Advertisement Jupiter and Mercury continue to appear a bit more elusive, even in June. Jupiter is typically visible early in June, but it is expected to return as a fixture of the morning sky in July. In the last week of June, keep your eyes out for Mercury, which, per NASA, appears 'greyish-brown to the human eye,' and will be discernible as a fixture of the evening sky, around sunset, in late June. Advertisement Other cosmic sights to behold include a slew of striking stars. Some seasoned stargazers take up viewing challenges during June and try to catch unique formations of stars alongside different planets. Regulus, the ultra-bright white 'heart' of the constellation Leo, will trail alongside Mars on June 16, while stars Castor and Pollux will form a line with Mercury on June 24, according to charts from EarthSky. Other visible constellations include the notable 'Summer Triangle,' which is made up of stars Vega, Deneb, and Altair. Longtime astronomer Patrick Moore originally coined the term, and said that not even the most 'myopic observer' could miss the cluster, which makes it a great starting point for beginner stargazers. By following these three bright stars, Milky Way viewers can spot Cygnus, Lyra, Aquila, Boötes, and Ursa Major. Observers on the East Coast of the United States are also expected to have especially unique skyward views as a result of recent Saharan dust movement, while stargazers closer to the northern border may have their sights obscured by drifting Canadian wildfire smoke.
