Hubble photos are simply incredible
I don’t know about you, but I just can’t get enough when it comes to images sent back by the Hubble Space Telescope. Especially since it’s original mission timeline is well over.
These photos released from the Hubble Space Telescope website are no different. As always, they are most incredible – from pulsars and nebulae, to earth-like planetary systems and even evidence of dark matter. They just remind me that we are very, very small in a quite vast universe. They also tell me, it is hard to believe we are alone out here!
Take a few moments to visit the site, look at the most recent photos, but also go to the “images” drop down list and just look around. It will be a journey into the previously unknown that you just have to enjoy.
We have included a few of the photos for you here and they are all well worth absorbing and sharing with your mates …
heic1517 — Photo Release
Stormy seas in Sagittarius
30 July 2015
Image credit: NASA, ESA, J. Trauger (Jet Propulson Laboratory)
Some of the most breathtaking views in the Universe are created by nebulae — hot, glowing clouds of gas. This new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the centre of the Lagoon Nebula, an object with a deceptively tranquil name. The region is filled with intense winds from hot stars, churning funnels of gas, and energetic star formation, all embedded within an intricate haze of gas and pitch-dark dust.
Nebulae are often named based on their key characteristics — particularly beautiful examples include the Ring Nebula (heic1310), the Horsehead Nebula (heic1307) and the Butterfly Nebula (heic0910). This new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the centre of the Lagoon Nebula, otherwise known as Messier 8, in the constellation of Sagittarius (The Archer).
…… This central part of the Lagoon Nebula contains two main structures of gas and dust connected by wispy twisters, visible in the middle third of this image (opo9638). These features are quite similar to their namesakes on Earth — they are thought to be wrapped up into their funnel-like shapes by temperature differences between the hot surface and cold interior of the clouds. The nebula is also actively forming new stars, and energetic winds from these newborns may contribute to creating the twisters.This image combines images taken using optical and infrared light gathered by Hubble’s Wide Field Planetary Camera 2.
Source: SpeceTelescope.org
New Hubble view of the Lagoon Nebula
This new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the Lagoon Nebula, an object with a deceptively tranquil name. The region is filled with intense winds from hot stars, churning funnels of gas, and energetic star formation, all embedded within an intricate haze of gas and pitch-dark dust.
Credit:
NASA, ESA, J. Trauger (Jet Propulson Laboratory)
Source: spacetelescope.org
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Wide-field view of the Lagoon Nebula (ground-based image)
This image from the Digitized Sky Survey shows the area around the Lagoon Nebula, otherwise known as Messier 8. This nebula is filled with intense winds from hot stars, churning funnels of gas, and energetic star formation, all embedded within an intricate haze of gas and pitch-dark dust.
Credit:
NASA, ESA, Digitized Sky Survey 2 (Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin)
Source: spacetelescope.org
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Westerlund 2 — Hubble’s 25th anniversary image
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of the cluster Westerlund 2 and its surroundings has been released to celebrate Hubble’s 25th year in orbit and a quarter of a century of new discoveries, stunning images and outstanding science.
The image’s central region, containing the star cluster, blends visible-light data taken by the Advanced Camera for Surveys and near-infrared exposures taken by the Wide Field Camera 3. The surrounding region is composed of visible-light observations taken by the Advanced Camera for Surveys.
Credit:
NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), A. Nota (ESA/STScI), and the Westerlund 2 Science Team
The original observations of Westerlund 2 were obtained by the science team: Antonella Nota (ESA/STScI), Elena Sabbi (STScI), Eva Grebel and Peter Zeidler (Astronomisches Rechen-Institut Heidelberg), Monica Tosi (INAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna), Alceste Bonanos (National Observatory of Athens, Astronomical Institute), Carol Christian (STScI/AURA) and Selma de Mink (University of Amsterdam). Follow-up observations were made by the Hubble Heritage team: Zoltan Levay (STScI), Max Mutchler, Jennifer Mack, Lisa Frattare, Shelly Meyett, Mario Livio, Carol Christian (STScI/AURA), and Keith Noll (NASA/GSFC).
Source: spacetelescope.org
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A rose made of galaxies
This image of a pair of interacting galaxies called Arp 273 was released to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the launch of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
The distorted shape of the larger of the two galaxies shows signs of tidal interactions with the smaller of the two. It is thought that the smaller galaxy has actually passed through the larger one.
Credit:
NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Source: spacetelescope.org
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New infrared view of the Horsehead Nebula — Hubble’s 23rd anniversary image
This new Hubble image, captured and released to celebrate the telescope’s 23rd year in orbit, shows part of the sky in the constellation of Orion (The Hunter). Rising like a giant seahorse from turbulent waves of dust and gas is the Horsehead Nebula, otherwise known as Barnard 33.
This image shows the region in infrared light, which has longer wavelengths than visible light and can pierce through the dusty material that usually obscures the nebula’s inner regions. The result is a rather ethereal and fragile-looking structure, made of delicate folds of gas — very different to the nebula’s appearance in visible light.
Credit:
Source: spacetelescope.org