Latest news with #M82
India Today
6 days ago
- Science
- India Today
Top 10 never-before-seen breathtaking pictures clicked by Webb Telescope
Top 10 never-before-seen breathtaking pictures clicked by Webb Telescope 13 Aug, 2025 Credit: Nasa Webb's newest look at NGC 6072 reveals an unusual, asymmetrical scene, potentially caused by a binary star system (two stars orbiting one another). In this picture of Cat's Paw Nebula, the active star-forming region is revealing more about how young stars are shaping the surrounding gas and dust. This new mosaic combines Webb's observations with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope's, increasing our understanding of open star clusters NGC 460 and NGC 456. Open star clusters are made up of dozens to thousands of stars held loosely together by gravity. This galaxy, called Messier 82 (M82) or the Cigar Galaxy, is smaller than our Milky Way, but 5x as luminous and forms stars 10x faster! Its fast rate of star formation classifies M82 as a starburst galaxy. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope captured the central region of the Bullet Cluster with its NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera). The scene contains two massive galaxy clusters that sit on either side of the large, light blue spiral galaxy at the center. Deep in this Webb image are little green galaxies, and they're possibly the cause of an extreme cosmic makeover. For its first billion or so years, the universe was immersed in a fog of neutral hydrogen gas. Webb captured this image, showing the iconic Sombrero galaxy in near-infrared light for the first time. In November 2024, Webb took a look at this galaxy in mid-infrared, adding to the Hubble Space Telescope's visible light view. These observations of Jupiter's auroras at 3.36 microns (F335M) were captured with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope's NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera. Webb is "running rings" around this planetary nebula, NGC 1514, bringing it into sharp focus with this new mid-infrared look. At the center are a pair of stars, one of which shed its layers of dust and gas as it neared the end of its life cycle. This outflow from a newly forming star gives this Herbig-Haro object (HH 49/50) its nickname, the 'cosmic tornado.' This pillar of gas and dust looks like it's topped by a galaxy.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Amateur astronomer captures Cigar Galaxy and Bode's Galaxy swimming in a spectral nebula (photo)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Astrophotographer Greg Meyer has captured a striking cosmic vista featuring the grand design spiral galaxy M81 alongside the nearby 'Cigar Galaxy' (M82), against the faint swirling mass of an integrated flux nebula (IFN). The stunning image shows the classic spiral swirl of M81 — also known as Bode's Galaxy — suspended against the chaotic cloud patterns of the nebula, with the Cigar Galaxy lurking to its left. The nebula featured in Meyer's photo is much closer to Earth than the galactic duo, and is illuminated not by starlight from within, but solely by the ambient light of the Milky Way. As a result, IFNs tend to be very faint, and challenging to capture, especially when framed alongside brighter objects. "I always admire shots with IFN. The Texas Star Party gave me the opportunity to get a lot of Lum data under dark skies to finally get my version of the classic couple," Meyer told in an email. "A bit of trick stretching the IFN data, and not blowing out the galaxies - masks!" Meyer continued, referring to a digital editing tool used to isolate and adjust specific parts of an image. TOP TELESCOPE PICK: Want to explore the wonders of the deep sky for yourself? The Celestron NexStar 4SE is ideal for beginners wanting quality, reliable and quick views of celestial objects. For a more in-depth look at our Celestron NexStar 4SE review. Bode's Galaxy and M82 are found about 12 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. The pair are thought to have collided some 10 million years ago, with the gravitational tug of war distorting M82 into its current cigar-like shape, while prompting an explosion of starbirth, according to the European Space Agency. The Garland Galaxy (NGC 3077) can also be spotted as a blur of light towards the bottom of the image, while a fourth galactic interloper — NGC 2976 glows to the upper right of the cosmic vista. Meyer captured the scene over a total of 51 hours and 40 minutes using a Radian Raptor 61mm telescope paired with an ASI 2600 MM astronomy camera during the Texas Star Party astronomy event, which was held under dark sky conditions in April. About 30 of those hours were dedicated to gathering luminance data, with the remaining time split between red, green, blue and hydrogen-alpha filter exposures. The collected light data was then processed into a single image using the astronomy software PixInsight, Photoshop and Lightroom. Night sky enthusiasts hoping to get a glimpse of Bode's Galaxy for themselves should check out our guide to the best telescope deals, along with our roundups for the best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography. Editor's Note: If you are interested in sharing your astrophotography with the readers at please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@
