Tag: picture

All the Water on Planet Earth

How much of planet Earth is made of water? Very little, actually. Although oceans of water cover about 70 percent of Earth’s surface, these oceans are shallow compared to the Earth’s radius. The featured illustration shows what would happen if...

/ September 12, 2016

The Wide and Deep Lagoon

Ridges of glowing interstellar gas and dark dust clouds inhabit the turbulent, cosmic depths of the Lagoon Nebula. Also known as M8, the bright star forming region is about 5,000 light-years distant. But it still makes for a popular stop...

/ September 10, 2016

The Whirlpool Galaxy and Beyond

Follow the handle of the Big Dipper away from the dipper’s bowl, until you get to the handle’s last bright star. Then, just slide your telescope a little south and west and you might find this stunning pair of interacting...

/ September 7, 2016

Io over Jupiter from Voyager 1

Back in 1979, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft flew past Jupiter and its moons. The images in this mosaic, featuring the moon Io against a background of gas giant Jupiter’s diffuse swirling cloud bands, were recorded by Voyager’s camera from a...

/ September 5, 2016

Annular Solar Eclipse over New Mexico

What is this person doing? In 2012 an annular eclipse of the Sun was visible over a narrow path that crossed the northern Pacific Ocean and several western US states. In an annular solar eclipse, the Moon is too far...

/ September 1, 2016

Young Suns of NGC 7129

Young suns still lie within dusty NGC 7129, some 3,000 light-years away toward the royal constellation Cepheus. While these stars are at a relatively tender age, only a few million years old, it is likely that our own Sun formed...

/ August 30, 2016

Abell 370: Galaxy Cluster Gravitational Lens

What is that strange arc? While imaging the cluster of galaxies Abell 370, astronomers had noted an unusual arc to the right of many cluster galaxies. Although curious, one initial response was to avoid commenting on the arc because nothing...

/ August 29, 2016
The Sunflower Galaxy M63

M63: Sunflower Galaxy Wide Field

The Sunflower Galaxy blooms near the center of this wide field telescopic view. The scene spans about 2 degrees or 4 full moons on the sky toward the loyal constellation Canes Venatici. More formally known as Messier 63, the majestic...

/ August 10, 2016

The Orion Nebula in Infrared from HAWK I

When ever I read about Nebula an Star forming locations I think about the purpose of the Universe. Many people argue that the factors for life were just right, and that if any of the carefully refined settings were changed,...

/ July 22, 2016

NGC 2736: The Pencil Nebula

I can only imagine what it would have been like 11,000 years ago when this star went Super Nova and sent this amazing amount of matter and energy out across the Milky Way. Moving from top to bottom in the...

/ July 18, 2016