Latest news with #TarantulaNebula
Otago Daily Times
25-07-2025
- Science
- Otago Daily Times
Observatory opens to the sky
PHOTO: IAN GRIFFIN After months of preparation, trips to the hardware store, more than a few late-night YouTube tutorials, and a memorable encounter with a Middlemarch nor'wester that sent all hundred kilograms of my first roof cartwheeling more than 30m across my paddock, I'm delighted to report that my dream has finally taken shape. I'm now the proud owner of an observatory. It sits out there now, squat and sturdy, in a corner of a Middlemarch field where the sky still feels wild and the view is to die for. I am pleased to report that the roof rolls off smoothly, powered by a garage door opener that makes a satisfyingly industrial clunk when it opens and closes. A Dunedin firm helped with the design, and after a few hard-earned lessons in wind dynamics, we seem to have got it right. Last week, I experienced first light, that magical moment when a telescope in a new home gets to do what it was made for. As the sky faded to velvet, I aligned the mount to the south celestial pole, checked the cables, took a deep breath, and aimed upwards. One after another, the familiar jewels of the southern sky appeared on my screen — Canopus and Achernar, the Magellanic Clouds smeared like silver brushstrokes across the darkness, the Tarantula Nebula quietly flexing its luminous muscles in the Large Cloud. Inside the warm room I'd built — a refuge against frosty nights — my coffee sat untouched. At 2am, I was lying flat on the floor of the observatory, staring up through the gap in the roof, entranced by the raw, unfiltered night sky and the whispering glow of our galaxy. It was quiet, cold, and absolutely perfect. And now, I face the pleasant dilemma of every new parent: what to name this latest arrival — something fitting, something that speaks to Middlemarch and the sky above it. I'm open to suggestions — if you've got an idea for a name, drop me a line. The only rule is that it must sound good echoing across a frosty paddock at midnight.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA Unveils Tarantula Nebula as 'Stellar Bouquet' for Valentine's Day
The Tarantula Nebula sounds like it would be a better fit for Halloween than Valentine's Day. But just look at it. You can see why NASA thinks it's an appropriate astronomical gift for a day of love and flowers. NASA shared a view of the nebula, more formally known as 30 Doradus (or 30 Dor), on Feb. 12, describing it as a "stellar bouquet." The image combines data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Hubble Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, a telescope in Chile. Some views of 30 Dor -- like this one from the James Webb Space Telescope -- highlight the nebula's spidery spindles of dust and gas filaments. The new image looks like a purplish puff of cosmic cotton candy more than an arachnid. The nebula is located 160,000 light-years away in a neighboring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud. The nebula is a stellar nursery with a notable cluster of massive stars at its center. "The massive young stars in 30 Dor send cosmically strong winds out into space," NASA said. "Along with the matter and energy ejected by stars that have previously exploded, these winds have carved out an eye-catching display of arcs, pillars and bubbles." Some of these stars are just 1 to 2 million years old. Compare that to our sun at 5 billion years old. Chandra's contribution to the new image is significant. It represents 23 days of observations seeking out sources of X-rays. It found thousands. "The 3,615 X-ray sources detected by Chandra include a mixture of massive stars, double-star systems, bright stars that are still in the process of forming, and much smaller clusters of young stars," NASA said. Look for the blue and green parts of the image to find Chandra's share of the view. There's a lot of science behind the beauty of 30 Dor. A team of astronomers and astrophysicists used Chandra's X-ray data for a study published in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series last year. The paper describes 30 Dor as "a microscope on starburst astrophysics." The long observation time allowed the researchers to track changes in the stars, including the movements of binary stars. If you like your Valentine's sweetness with a side of science, then this "bouquet of budding young stars" is for you. Here's a potential note for your amor to go along with the image: "Our love is like a massive double-star system in 30 Doradus. We make a stellar pair!"
