Introduction: Why Accessories Matter for Beginner Astronomers

✨ James Webb Nebula Gallery

ESO 2.2-m WFI Image of the Tarantula Nebula

NASA image release May 11, 2010 Hubble Catches Heavyweight Runaway Star Speeding from 30 Doradus Image: ESO 2.2-m WFI Image of the Tarantula Nebula A blue-hot star, 90 times more massive than our Sun, is hurtling across space fast enough to make a round trip from Earth to the Moon in merely two hours. Though the speed is not a record-breaker, it is unique to find a homeless star that has traveled so far from its nest. The only way the star could have been ejected from the star cluster where it was born is through a tussle with a rogue star that entered the binary system where the star lived, which ejected the star through a dynamical game of stellar pinball. This is strong circumstantial evidence for stars as massive as 150 times our Sun's mass living in the cluster. Only a very massive star would have the gravitational energy to eject something weighing 90 solar masses. The runaway star is on the outskirts of the 30 Doradus nebula, a raucous stellar breeding ground in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud. The finding bolsters evidence that the most massive stars in the local universe reside in 30 Doradus, making it a unique laboratory for studying heavyweight stars. 30 Doradus, also called the Tarantula Nebula, is roughly 170,000 light-years from Earth. To learn more about this image go to: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/runaway-star.html Credit: NASA/ESO, J. Alves (Calar Alto, Spain), and B. Vandame and Y. Beletski (ESO) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe.

ARC-2010-ACD10-0054-004

Nebula Containerized Server at the NASA Ames Research Center.

The Eagle Nebula Observed by WISE

The dusty face of the Eagle Nebula and its surroundings are revealed in this image based on data from NASA's Wide Field Survey Explorer (WISE). WISE detects infrared light, or a range of wavelengths longer than what the human eye can see. This large star forming region is about 5,700 light years away from Earth and is most famous for being home to the the "Pillars of Creation," a region famously imaged by NASA's Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. The WISE data reveals the entire structure of the nebula surrounding the pillars, which themselves can be seen as a faint yellow-green feature inside the white circle. While the WISE view of the "Pillars" is not as sharp as those taken by Webb and Hubble, the telescope's wide field of view allows us to explore the extended nebula around it. When viewed in visible light, the dust is dark and opaque. In these infrared wavelengths, the dust becomes more translucent, and emits infrared light, shown in green, yellow, and red in this image. The data used in this image came from WISE's primary mission which ran from 2009 to 2011. In 2013, NASA took the spacecraft out of hibernation and began using it to track and study near-Earth objects. The mission and the spacecraft were renamed NEOWISE. However, the data is still being used by astronomers to study objects and regions outside our solar system. Blue and cyan are used to represent infrared light at wavelengths of 3.4 and 4.6 microns, while green and red display longer wavelengths of 12 and 22 microns, respectively. Animation available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25433

The Extended Region Around the Planetary Nebula NGC 3242

This ultraviolet image from NASA Galaxy Evolution Explorer shows NGC 3242, a planetary nebula frequently referred to as Jupiter Ghost. The small circular white and blue area at the center of the image is the well-known portion of the nebula.

The Twin Jet Nebula

The Twin Jet Nebula, or PN M2-9, is a striking example of a bipolar planetary nebula. Bipolar planetary nebulae are formed when the central object is not a single star, but a binary system, Studies have shown that the nebula’s size increases with time, and measurements of this rate of increase suggest that the stellar outburst that formed the lobes occurred just 1200 years ago.

Horsehead Nebula

Image released April 19, 2013. Astronomers have used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to photograph the iconic Horsehead Nebula in a new, infrared light to mark the 23rd anniversary of the famous observatory's launch aboard the space shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990. Looking like an apparition rising from whitecaps of interstellar foam, the iconic Horsehead Nebula has graced astronomy books ever since its discovery more than a century ago. The nebula is a favorite target for amateur and professional astronomers. It is shadowy in optical light. It appears transparent and ethereal when seen at infrared wavelengths. The rich tapestry of the Horsehead Nebula pops out against the backdrop of Milky Way stars and distant galaxies that easily are visible in infrared light. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) More on this image. NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram