Today Chandra is studying the gargantuan #galaxy cluster Abell 2744. Galaxy clusters contain enormous amounts of superheated gas at temperatures of tens of millions of degrees — which glows brightly in X-ray light — and can be observed across millions of light years between galaxies. This image of the cluster spans roughly 6 million light years.
Today Chandra is peering into #Sagittarius. Nearby in the sky is the Lagoon Nebula, a rowdy stellar nursery located about 4,000 light years from #Earth. This image spans roughly 4 light years, and it features just a small portion of the whole Lagoon Nebula which is more than 55 light years across.
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🐙Today Chandra is studying 3C58, the remnant of a supernova observed in the year 1181 AD by Chinese and Japanese astronomers. A pulsar at the center of the remnant is producing jets of X-rays that extend for trillions of kilometers. These jets are responsible for creating the elaborate web of loops & swirls revealed in the image.
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Computer, enhance!
Here is a comparison of the same target, as seen by the Spitzer Space Telescope and then in the Webb Telescope’s calibration images. Spitzer, NASA’s first Great Observatory to provide high-resolution images of the infrared universe, paved the way for Webb. With its significantly larger primary mirror and improved detectors, Webb will be able to see the infrared sky with improved clarity, enabling even more discoveries.
Webb’s image, taken by its MIRI instrument, shows unprecedented detail. It features light from “polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs),” or molecules of carbon and hydrogen that help us better understand the gas that exists between stars.
Here is a comparison of the same target, as seen by the Spitzer Space Telescope and then in the Webb Telescope’s calibration images. Spitzer, NASA’s first Great Observatory to provide high-resolution images of the infrared universe, paved the way for Webb. With its significantly larger primary mirror and improved detectors, Webb will be able to see the infrared sky with improved clarity, enabling even more discoveries.
Webb’s image, taken by its MIRI instrument, shows unprecedented detail. It features light from “polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs),” or molecules of carbon and hydrogen that help us better understand the gas that exists between stars.
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Got questions about Webb? 🤔
Here’s your chance to ask our instrumental Webb experts about how they’re involved with Webb’s science instruments.
1. Aaron Yung is a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow at @NASAGoddard. His expertise is in modeling galaxy formation in the early universe! He says: “I’m excited about upcoming Webb programs that will detect galaxies forming in the extremely distant universe, and provide insight into the key physical processes that shape the formation of these galaxies.”
Here’s your chance to ask our instrumental Webb experts about how they’re involved with Webb’s science instruments.
1. Aaron Yung is a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow at @NASAGoddard. His expertise is in modeling galaxy formation in the early universe! He says: “I’m excited about upcoming Webb programs that will detect galaxies forming in the extremely distant universe, and provide insight into the key physical processes that shape the formation of these galaxies.”
Computer, enhance!
Here is a comparison of the same target, as seen by the Spitzer Space Telescope and then in the Webb Telescope’s calibration images. Spitzer, NASA’s first Great Observatory to provide high-resolution images of the infrared universe, paved the way for Webb. With its significantly larger primary mirror and improved detectors, Webb will be able to see the infrared sky with improved clarity, enabling even more discoveries.
Webb’s image, taken by its MIRI instrument, shows unprecedented detail. It features light from “polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs),” or molecules of carbon and hydrogen that help us better understand the gas that exists between stars.
Here is a comparison of the same target, as seen by the Spitzer Space Telescope and then in the Webb Telescope’s calibration images. Spitzer, NASA’s first Great Observatory to provide high-resolution images of the infrared universe, paved the way for Webb. With its significantly larger primary mirror and improved detectors, Webb will be able to see the infrared sky with improved clarity, enabling even more discoveries.
Webb’s image, taken by its MIRI instrument, shows unprecedented detail. It features light from “polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs),” or molecules of carbon and hydrogen that help us better understand the gas that exists between stars.
This diminutive galaxy lies in the southern constellation Pictor, and is approximately 17 million light-years from Earth!
Dwarf irregular galaxies tend to contain few elements other than hydrogen or helium and are considered to be similar to the earliest galaxies that populated the universe. Despite its eccentricities, NGC 1705 and others like it provide valuable insights into the evolution of galaxies!
Dwarf irregular galaxies tend to contain few elements other than hydrogen or helium and are considered to be similar to the earliest galaxies that populated the universe. Despite its eccentricities, NGC 1705 and others like it provide valuable insights into the evolution of galaxies!
🦎 + ☁️ = ?
This image taken by NASA Hubble shows a segment of the 65-light-year wide star-forming region called the Chamaeleon Cloud Complex.
The segment in this Hubble composite image, called Chamaeleon Cloud I, reveals dusty-dark clouds where stars are forming, dazzling reflection nebulae glowing by the light of bright-blue young stars, and radiant knots called Herbig-Haro objects.
Herbig-Haro objects are bright clumps and arcs of interstellar gas, energized by jets expelled from infant stars (also called protostars) in the process of forming.
The white-orange cloud at the bottom of the image shows one of these protostars. White jets of hot gas ejected from the protostar’s poles create a Herbig-Haro object.
This image taken by NASA Hubble shows a segment of the 65-light-year wide star-forming region called the Chamaeleon Cloud Complex.
The segment in this Hubble composite image, called Chamaeleon Cloud I, reveals dusty-dark clouds where stars are forming, dazzling reflection nebulae glowing by the light of bright-blue young stars, and radiant knots called Herbig-Haro objects.
Herbig-Haro objects are bright clumps and arcs of interstellar gas, energized by jets expelled from infant stars (also called protostars) in the process of forming.
The white-orange cloud at the bottom of the image shows one of these protostars. White jets of hot gas ejected from the protostar’s poles create a Herbig-Haro object.
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Giada Arney is a planetary scientist and helps lead NASA’s upcoming DAVINCIMission. DAVINCI stands for “Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble Gases, Chemistry, and Imaging” and the mission will provide clues to Venus’ past, hidden in surface rocks and atmospheric gases.
During two flybys, the DAVINCI spacecraft will study the cloud tops in ultraviolet light and measure heat emanating from the surface of the planet’s night side in search of geological clues of the planet's mysterious past. Eventually, a probe will make an hour-long descent to the planet’s surface, taking thousands of atmospheric measurements and images as it goes to help scientists better understand the past and present of this enigmatic world.
Giada is very excited about uncovering Venus’ hidden past. Leave your questions about Venus and DAVINCI in the comments and Giada will answer them!
During two flybys, the DAVINCI spacecraft will study the cloud tops in ultraviolet light and measure heat emanating from the surface of the planet’s night side in search of geological clues of the planet's mysterious past. Eventually, a probe will make an hour-long descent to the planet’s surface, taking thousands of atmospheric measurements and images as it goes to help scientists better understand the past and present of this enigmatic world.
Giada is very excited about uncovering Venus’ hidden past. Leave your questions about Venus and DAVINCI in the comments and Giada will answer them!
When dinosaurs roamed Earth 214 million years ago, an asteroid 3 miles wide struck what is now Canada.
In southeastern Québec lies Manicouagan Crater, one of the world’s largest and oldest impact craters. Today, the remnants of the crater are made visible by water and, sometimes, ice. This image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite on January 20, 2022.
In southeastern Québec lies Manicouagan Crater, one of the world’s largest and oldest impact craters. Today, the remnants of the crater are made visible by water and, sometimes, ice. This image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite on January 20, 2022.
This image acquired by Landsat 8 shows colorful swirls of suspended sediments & phytoplankton along the shores of the Manitoba Great Lakes!
The lakebeds are covered in fine-grained silt, clay, and calcium-carbonate sediments, which give some lakes their chalky blue hues. Norman Kuring, a retired researcher from NASA’s Ocean Biology group, applied color-filtering techniques to the image to draw out these fine details in the water. The features would not be as apparent to the unaided human eye.
The lakebeds are covered in fine-grained silt, clay, and calcium-carbonate sediments, which give some lakes their chalky blue hues. Norman Kuring, a retired researcher from NASA’s Ocean Biology group, applied color-filtering techniques to the image to draw out these fine details in the water. The features would not be as apparent to the unaided human eye.
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While this might be on a scale larger than the Winter Olympics, we love to see the magic that comes from two galaxies working together.
Galaxies can merge, collide, or brush past one another — each of which has a significant impact on their shapes and structures. The subject of this image is named Arp 282, an interacting galaxy pair that is composed of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 169 (bottom) and the galaxy IC 1559 (top).
Tidal forces occur when an object’s gravity causes another object to distort or stretch. The direction of the tidal forces will be away from the lower-mass object and towards the higher-mass object. When two galaxies interact, gas, dust, and even entire solar systems will be drawn away from one galaxy towards the other by these tidal forces. This process can actually be seen in action in this image — delicate streams of matter have formed, visibly linking the two galaxies.
Galaxies can merge, collide, or brush past one another — each of which has a significant impact on their shapes and structures. The subject of this image is named Arp 282, an interacting galaxy pair that is composed of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 169 (bottom) and the galaxy IC 1559 (top).
Tidal forces occur when an object’s gravity causes another object to distort or stretch. The direction of the tidal forces will be away from the lower-mass object and towards the higher-mass object. When two galaxies interact, gas, dust, and even entire solar systems will be drawn away from one galaxy towards the other by these tidal forces. This process can actually be seen in action in this image — delicate streams of matter have formed, visibly linking the two galaxies.
This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter depicts alluvial fans, fan-shaped deposits emerging from regions of steep topography. On Earth, alluvial fans usually come about through interactions with flowing water. The alluvial fans on Mars are likely ancient records of flowing water. This image shows part of one of those fans, which has been eroded.
ce conditions on Lake Erie can vary significantly from day to day.
In late January 2022, the lake froze over entirely, with ice cover growing well beyond the seasonal average to reach 94 percent. By Feb. 3, the ice cover dropped to about 62 percent before rising again to 90 percent by Feb. 5. The extent and thickness of the ice on the Great Lakes are mainly influenced by air temperature and wind.
In late January 2022, the lake froze over entirely, with ice cover growing well beyond the seasonal average to reach 94 percent. By Feb. 3, the ice cover dropped to about 62 percent before rising again to 90 percent by Feb. 5. The extent and thickness of the ice on the Great Lakes are mainly influenced by air temperature and wind.