Latest news with #NGC346
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
5 dazzling interstellar images to celebrate Hubble's 35th birthday
This week, the famed NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope turns 35 years-young. Launched on April 24 1990, the space telescope fundamentally changed our understanding of the universe. In its over three decades of service, Hubble has taken over 1.6 million observations, traveled 13.4 billion light-years, and roughly 21,000 peer-reviewed scientific papers have been published back home on Earth about its discoveries. Hubble also snapped the first space-based images of an asteroid breaking, the first confirmation that the Andromeda Galaxy will collide with our Milky Way Galaxy, and many more famous firsts. In celebration of its big birthday, gaze at five recent images taken by the famed telescope. An earlier image of the Eagle Nebula–aka called Messier 16–was included as part of Hubble's 15th anniversary celebration in 2005. This year, Hubble is using new image processing techniques to show this star factory in a new light. According to the European Space Agency (ESA), a pillar of cold gas and dust 9.5 light-years tall is unfurling along the length of the new image. The dust and gas pillar is only one part of the Eagle Nebula, whose name is inspired by its appearance. Dark clouds shape the nebula's shining edge, and look like a majestic eagle spreading its wings. It is roughly 7,000 light-years away from Earth near the famous Pillars of Creation, which Hubble has imaged multiple times and was one of the early images sent back by the newer James Webb Space Telescope. Spiral galaxy Messier 77, also called the Squid Galaxy, sits 45 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus (The Whale). The name Squid Galaxy refers to the extended, filamentary structure curling around M77's disk-like the tentacles of a squid. Hubble previously released an image of the Squid Galaxy in 2013. This image released on April 18 incorporates the space telescope's recent observations made with different filters. It also used updated image processing techniques, which allow astronomers to see this spiral galaxy in more detail. Hubble's first observation made in infrared, optical, and ultraviolet wavelengths shows a new look at a young star cluster NGC 346. The 'star-forming factory' is home to more than 2,500 newborn stars. Some of its biggest stars are even larger than our sun and shine with an intense blue light in this image. Remnants of the births from many of the stars in the cluster glow in the sparkling pink nebula and dark clouds. NGC 346 is in the Small Magellanic Cloud. This satellite galaxy of our home Milky Way galaxy is about 200,000 light-years away in the constellation Tucana. The Small Magellanic Cloud has less elements heavier than helium than the Milky Way with conditions more similar to what existed in the earliest days of the universe. Even with a seemingly infinite amount of elbow room, sometimes galaxies stick together thanks to gravity. Arp 105 is one of these. It's an ongoing merger between elliptical galaxy NGC 3561B and spiral galaxy NGC 3561A, characterized by a long tidal tail of stars and gas that is more than 362,000 light-years long. This unique shape gives this cosmic merger its nickname: The Guitar. The long lane of dark dust coming from elliptical galaxy NGC 3561B may be feeding the bright blue star-forming area on the base of the guitar. This region known as Ambartsumian's Knot is a tidal dwarf galaxy. These are a type of star-forming system that develops from the debris in tidal arms of interacting galaxies, according to NASA. The Sombrero Galaxy is about 30 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. It boasts a softly luminous bulge and sharply outlined disc, which resemble the rounded crown and broad brim of a sombrero. Hubble has imaged this 'fan-favorite' galaxy several times in the past 20 years, including a well-known image from October 2003. This new image reveals finer detail in the galaxy's disc, as well as more background stars and galaxies. While it is packed with stars, the Sombrero Galaxy is not really a major area of star formation. However, it does surround a supermassive black hole that is more than 2,000 times bigger than the Milky Way's central black hole. For more on Hubble's 35th anniversary, you can download NASA's eBook Hubble's Beautiful Universe.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists spice up old Hubble Telescope image to shine light on spectacular star cluster
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) just released a stunning image of the NGC 346 star cluster from the Hubble Space Telescope — but it isn't quite "new." Rather, it's an old photo from the Hubble Space Telescope's archives that has been augmented with additional data and processing techniques as a part of a new image series that celebrates Hubble's 35th anniversary. "This view includes new data and is the first to combine Hubble observations made at infrared, optical and ultraviolet wavelengths into an intricately detailed view of this vibrant star-forming factory," ESA wrote in a statement. NGC 346 is home to a cluster of more than 2,500 young stars. The star cluster is located in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way galaxy that sits about 199,000 light-years from Earth. Last year, researchers made a startling discovery concerning the satellite galaxy: Long thought to be a single galaxy outside of our own, the Small Magellanic Cloud may in fact be two galaxies, with one hiding behind the other. The largest stars in the NGC 346 cluster, which are many times the size of our sun, show up as bright blue blazes of light in the new image. The glowing pink expanse around the cluster is the remnant of the stars' birth site. Researchers used two sets of observations on the star cluster, which were taken 11 years apart, to trace the motions of the stars in NGC 346. This method revealed that the stars are spiraling inward towards the cluster's center. 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 "Hubble's exquisite sensitivity and resolution were instrumental in uncovering the secrets of NGC 346's star formation," ESA said in the statement. With its origins tracing back to the 1970s, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched aboard the space shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990. The space telescope is in a low Earth orbit, about 340 miles (545 kilometers) above Earth.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Jaw-dropping photo of Milky Way celebrates Hubble Telescope's 35th birthday in style
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The Hubble Space Telescope is celebrating its 35th birthday this month - and to celebrate, it has released a stunning new image taken of a section of the Milky Way. Hubble has taken photos of NGC 346 before - a young star cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud. But the new image includes new data and is the first to combine Hubble observations made at infrared, optical, and ultraviolet wavelengths into an intricately detailed view of this "vibrant star-forming factory" that lies some 200,000 light-years away. "NGC 346 is home to more than 2500 newborn stars", we are told. "The cluster's most massive stars, which are many times more massive than our Sun, blaze with an intense blue light in this image. The glowing pink nebula and snakelike dark clouds are sculpted by the luminous stars in the cluster" "Hubble's exquisite sensitivity and resolution were instrumental in uncovering the secrets of NGC 346's star formation. Using two sets of observations taken 11 years apart, researchers traced the motions of NGC 346's stars, revealing them to be spiraling in toward the centre of the cluster. This spiralling motion arises from a stream of gas from the outside of the cluster that fuels star formation in the centre of the turbulent cloud". A joint venture between US and European space agencies NASA and ESA, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched from the space shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990. • See other Hubble anniversary photos
