Nebulas

‘Cosmic Dandelion’: A Mysterious 900-Year-Old Nebula Gets Mapped in Stunning Detail

The supernova that caused the nebula was recorded by Japanese and Chinese astronomers in the 12th century. Now, we know exactly what the aftermath looks like.

Take a Trip Through the Glorious Orion Nebula in This New 3D Visualization

By combining actual scientific data with techniques used in Hollywood, researchers with NASA and other institutions have produced the most detailed multi-wavelength visualization ever produced of the Orion Nebula. Traveling at close to the speed of light, the three-minute journey will take you through a distant stellar nursery where some of the Universe’s youngest stars…

An Optical Illusion Fooled Astronomers Into Thinking There Was an Extra Nebula Here for Almost a Decade

How many nebulas do you think are in this photo? Careful, the answer is not quite what it seems. When the Hubble snagged this photo back in 2007 for the ESA, the answer seemed simple: There was the one object on the left, and there was the other on the right. Since they were so…

Our Best Glimpse Yet Of The Stunning Medusa Nebula

Located 1,500 light years away and measuring four light-years across, the gorgeous Medusa Nebula offers a sneak preview of what our Sun will look like when it finally enters into its final death throes. This image, captured by the Very Large Telescope in Chile, is the most detailed yet of the Medusa Nebula. Though relatively…

For the night is bright and full of beauty. Amateur photo of M42, the Orion Nebula, taken by photographer Andrew Kirk. See more of his astrophotos here.

The Monkey Roars! NASA just released this beautiful mosaic image of part of the Monkey Head Nebula, showing a cloud made up of ultraviolet light hitting cooler hydrogen gas. This image is partly visible light and partly infrared, which shows interstellar dust particles heated by radiation from the stars in the middle.

A Baby Star Pierces Through Its Blanket Of Interstellar Dust

Behold V1331Cyg, a young star located 1,800 light-years from Earth. This object, which is illuminating the dark cloud around it in spectacular fashion, is in the process of contracting as it becomes a main sequence star similar to the Sun. This strikingly vivid image of a snail-like reflection nebula was recently captured by the Hubble…

This Is What Our Sun Will Look Like 8 Billion Years From Now

Behold Jupiter’s Ghost — a spectacular remnant of a star that was once quite similar to our own. Located 3,000 light-years away, it’s a sneak preview of what our solar system could look like once our Sun enters into its death throes. Our Sun is not big enough to go supernova. Stars with masses from…

NASA’S First Glimpse Inside Eta Carinae Uncovers Surprising Features

The Eta Carinae binary star system erupted twice in the 19th century, creating a stunning and rapidly expanding debris cloud. Now, for the first time ever, NASA has peered past the dusty clouds to catch a glimpse of its interior. The system is located about 7,500 light-years from Earth, and it comprises two massive stars…

The Famous “Eye of God” Nebula May Actually Be Weeping Tears Of Water

It’s one of the most iconic celestial images in astronomy — the eye-like Helix Nebula. Ironically, the incredibly harsh conditions within this dying Sun-like star are producing a molecule integral for the formation of water, a process that could be repeated across the cosmos. Planetary nebulas consist of an expanding glowing shell of ionized gas…

Our First Glimpse of the Web that Connects All Galaxies

Astronomers say all of the galaxies in the universe are connected by a vast cosmic web of filaments, but we’ve never actually seen this supposed network. That’s changed, however, thanks to the tumultuous activity of a distant quasar that’s illuminating the celestial backdrop. We already know about these filaments, at least conceptually, because computer simulations…

The Eagle Nebula Couldn’t Look Cooler

That top image is pretty, but the only way to see this incredible combination of dust and gas is to take in the whole image below. Holy crap, right? This picture, which was created in 2005 using Hubble data and digitally assigned colors, shows the Eagle Nebula surrounded by and intertwined with dust pillars that…

Deep and Wide: Stunning Amateur View of the Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae

Here’s a beautiful deep look at a wide-field view of the Lagoon Nebula (M8, NGC 6523) and the Trifid Nebula (M20, NGC 6514) along with star cluster M21 and star forming region NGC6559. Amateur astronomer and astrophotographer Terry Hancock from Michigan says this is one of his favorite fields of view to observe. However right…

Congratulations to this year’s Nebula Award winners!

Last night, the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America announced the winners of the 2012 Nebula Awards. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners! You can see all of the nominees in each category below. The winners are listed in bold: Novel Throne of the Crescent Moon, Saladin Ahmed (DAW; Gollancz ’13) Ironskin, Tina…

The Horsehead Nebula gets a reboot

To commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA/ESA has released this gorgeous new image of the iconic Horsehead Nebula. We’ve seen this stunning nebula before, but never quite like this. It’s located in the constellation of Orion (The Hunter) and features massive plumes of gas in the infrared. The nebula, which will…

Congrats to the 2011 Nebula Award Winners!

Last night, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America announced the winners of the 2011 Nebula Awards. There were plenty of outstanding candidates in the nomination pool, and here are the folks who took home the glittering spiral trophies: NOVEL: Among Others, by Jo Walton (Tor) NOVELLA: “The Man Who Bridged the Mist,” Kij…

The Most Amazing Space Pictures of 2011

Check out this totally breathtaking image of Jupiter and two of its moons, Io and Ganymede — it’s not just an astounding image, it’s also officially the coolest astronomy photo of 2011, according to the Royal Observatory’s annual contest. It’s the work of British photographer Damian Peach, and it also won the “Our Solar System”…

2011 Nebula Winners Announced

And the 2011 Nebula Award Winners are: NOVEL: Connie Willis: BLACKOUT/ALL CLEAR NOVELLA: Rachel Swirsky: “The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queen’s Window” NOVELLETTE: Eric James Stone: “That Leviathan Whom Thou Hast Made” SHORT STORY: Tied between Kij Johnson’s “Ponies” and Harlan Ellison’s “How Interesting: A Tiny Man” BRADBURY: Christopher Nolan: INCEPTION NORTON:…

Is this galaxy too hot for its own good?

Check out this brilliant image of spiral galaxy NGC 2841, from the Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3. This galaxy has an unusually low rate of star creation — you can tell by the absence of the pinkish glow of emission nebulae, which would indicate new star birth. What’s going on? NASA explains: It…

The Strange Disappearance of the North American Nebula

The North American Nebula is a flattering portrait of the NAFTA countries, floating in space. But when the Spitzer Space Telescope generated infrared images of it, that stately American land mass was replaced by raw chaos — which tells us something more about the stages of stellar development. Here are some cute pictures of baby…