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Universum
- 2. “Kommt her zu mir, alle, die ihr mühselig und beladen seid; ich will euch erquicken. ” Math. 11,28
- 3. Wie groß bist Du, o Herr! Gottes Spuren im Universum d.tarita@sta.at Doru Tarita Präsentation 2008
- 5. Wir wollen immer schneller!
- 6. Das Zeitalter der Geschwindigkeit ! • 500 Km/h
- 7. 1.100 Km/h
- 8. 1227.99 km/h
- 10. Was ist Lichtgeschwindigkeit? 300.000 Km/s Was ist ein “Lichtjahr” ?
- 11. Die Strecke, die du zurücklegst, wenn du für ein Jahr mit Lichtgeschwindigkeit fahren würdest.
- 12. Ein Lichtjahr. Nicht zu fassen! 9.460.800.000.000 km Wie viele Weltrundfahrten pro Minute ... … und das für ein ganzes Jahr ?
- 14. Ein Lichtjahr. Nicht zu fassen! 9.460.800.000.000 km 150.000.000 km
- 15. Komm mit ins Weltall! Wir reisen dabei mit Lichtgeschwindigkeit 300.000 Km/s
- 21. Erste Zwischenstation ... Entfernung: Wenige “Lichtminuten”
- 37. Jupiter
- 40. Io
- 41. Venus
- 49. Titan
- 50. Rhea
- 51. Uranus
- 52. Uranus
- 53. Neptun
- 64. Zweite Zwischenstation ... Entfernung: Mehrere Tausend Lichtjahre
- 65. 10 Milliarden LJ Universum 100 Millionen LJ Super- haufen Galaxiehaufen Galaxie
- 68. Polarstern N Orion Himmelsäquator Himmelsäquator S Das Kreuz des Südens
- 70. Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, und die Feste verkündigt seiner Hände Werk. Psalm 19,2
- 74. Helix Nebula
- 75. 1000 LJ von der Erde entfernt • Dumbbell Nebula - Hantelnebel
- 76. Iris Nebula 1,300 light-years away
- 77. Pelican Nebula 1800 LJ von der Erde entfernt
- 78. NGC 3132 ntfernung: 2.000 Lichtjahre
- 79. Spirograph Nebula 2000 Lichtjahre entfernt (0,3 LJ Durchmesser)
- 80. M2-9 Planetary Nebula Entfernung: 2100 Lichtjahre
- 82. Cat's Eye 3000 light-years from Earth
- 85. Red Spider Planetary Nebula 4000 light-years
- 87. Trifid Nebula 5,000 light-years away
- 89. Rosette Nebula
- 92. Eagle Nebula 6500 light years away
- 93. Heart Nebula 7,500 light years away
- 94. Heart Nebula 7,500 light-years away
- 96. Eskimo Nebula Eskimo Nebula
- 97. Ring Nebula
- 102. „Hebt eure Augen in die Höhe und seht! Wer hat dies geschaffen? Er führt ihr Heer vollzählig heraus und ruft sie alle mit Namen; seine Macht und starke Kraft ist so groß, dass nicht eins von ihnen fehlt.“ Jesaja 40.26
- 103. Der HERR ist groß und sehr zu loben, Der HERR ist groß und sehr zu loben, und seine Größe ist unausforschlich. Psalm.145:3
- 107. NGC 7424 100.000 Lichtjahre von der Erde entfernt
- 108. Tarantula Nebula 170.000 Lichtjahre entfernt
- 109. The Small Magellanic Cloud 210.000 Lichtjahre von der Erde entfernt
- 110. Dritte Zwischenstation ... Entfernung: Mehrere Millionen Lichtjahre
- 111. „Was kein Auge gesehen hat und kein Ohr gehört hat und in keines Menschen Herz gekommen ist, was Gott bereitet hat denen, die ihn lieben.“ Jesaja 64,3
- 112. 2.000.000 Lichtjahren von uns entfernt! • Andromeda
- 113. Andromeda
- 114. 3,5 Millionen Lj.
- 115. 10 Millionen Lj.
- 116. 16 Millionen Lj. NGC 2683
- 117. 30 Millionen Lichtjahren Whirlpool Galaxy
- 118. 30 Millionen Lj.
- 119. 52 Millionen Lj.
- 121. NGC 4414 - Spiral Galaxy NGC 4414 - Spiral Galaxy 60 Millionen Lj.
- 123. 70 Millionen Lichtjahre von der Erde entfernt!
- 124. 85 Millionen Lichtjahre entfernt!
- 125. NGC 4650 - Polar Ring Galaxy 130. 000.000 Lichtjahre entfernt!
- 126. NGC 2207 und IC 2163 - Spiral Galaxies
- 127. „The Mice“ 300 Millionen Lichtjahre von uns entfernt!
- 128. 400 Millionen Lichtjahre entfernt!
- 135. 650 Millionen Lichtjahre entfernt!
- 136. 2 Milliarden Lichtjahre entfernt!
- 137. 50 Galaxien sichtbar Zwei Milliarden Lichtjahre von uns entfernt
- 138. König David: „Wenn ich sehe die Himmel, deiner Finger Werk, …“ Psalm 8:4-5
- 139. …den Mond und die Sterne, die du bereitet hast: ...“ ,
- 140. ... was ist der Mensch, dass du seiner gedenkst, und des Menschen Kind, dass du dich seiner annimmst?” König David
- 141. Wer bist Du?
- 142. Was kein Auge gesehen hat und kein Ohr gehört hat, und in keines Menschen Herz gekommen ist, was Gott bereitet hat denen, die ihn lieben. 1. Kor. 2:9
- 143. „Vater, ich will, dass, wo ich bin, auch die bei mir seien, die du mir gegeben hast, damit sie meine Herrlichkeit sehen, die du mir gegeben hast; denn du hast mich geliebt, ehe der Grund der Welt gelegt war.“ Johannes 17:24
- 144. „Denn also hat Gott die Welt geliebt, dass er seinen eingeborenen Sohn gab, damit alle, die an ihn glauben, nicht verloren werden, sondern das ewige Leben haben .“ J esus Chr ist us
- 145. „Und wenn ich hingehe, euch die Stätte zu bereiten, will ich wiederkommen und euch zu mir nehmen, damit ihr seid, wo ich bin. “ Jesus
- 146. Der Himmel ist ein realer Ort!
- 147. Es spricht, der dies bezeugt: Ja, ich komme bald … Isus
- 148. Amen, ja, komm, Herr Jesus!
- 149. Wie groß bist Du, o Herr!
- 150. 1. Du großer Gott, Wenn ich die Welt betrachte, Die du geschaffen Durch dein Allmachtswort, Wenn ich auf alle Jene Wesen achte, Die du regierst Und nährest fort und fort. Manfred von Glehn, 1867-1
- 151. • Refrain: |: Dann jauchzt mein Herz Dir, großer Herrscher, zu: Wie groß bist du, Wie groß bist du! :|
- 152. 2. Blick ich empor Zu jenen lichten Welten Und seh der Sterne Unzählbare Schar, Wie Sonn und Mond Im lichten Äther zelten, Gleich gold'nen Schiffen Hehr und wunderbar. Refrain:
- 153. • Refrain: |: Dann jauchzt mein Herz Dir, großer Herrscher, zu: Wie groß bist du, Wie groß bist du! :|
- 154. Wenn mir der Herr In seinem Wort begegnet, Wenn ich die großen Gnadentaten seh, Wie er das Volk Des Eigentums gesegnet, Wie ers geliebt, Begnadigt je und je: Refrain:
- 155. • Refrain: |: Dann jauchzt mein Herz Dir, großer Herrscher, zu: Wie groß bist du, Wie groß bist du! :|
- 156. Und seh ich Jesum Auf der Erde wandeln In Knechtsgestalt Voll Lieb und großer Huld, Wenn ich im Geiste Seh sein göttlich Handeln, Am Kreuz bezahlen Vieler Sünder Schuld. Refrain:
- 157. • Refrain: |: Dann jauchzt mein Herz Dir, großer Herrscher, zu: Wie groß bist du, Wie groß bist du! :|
- 158. Wie groß bist Du, o Herr! Gottes Spuren im Universum d.tarita@sta.at Doru Tarita Präsentation 2008
- 159. Invitaţie la viaţă ... e pentru TINE!
- 161. • 8. Wenn schwerer Bürden Last mich niederbeuget, Wenn meine Seel Betrübt ist bis zum Tod, Und er in Lieb Und Huld sich zu mir neiget, Mich tröstet und Errettet aus der Not. Refrain: Und wenn der Herr Von hinnen mich gerufen, Wenn ich von seinem Glanz geblendet steh', Anbetend niederfall Zu seinen Stufen, Den König dort In seiner Schöne seh': Refrain:
- 162. •
- 163. Refren: În Domnul meu mă-ncred oriunde-aş fi, Pe-al mării val, pe munte viscolit E grija Lui de zi cu zi, Vegheaza Domnul Tatăl meu iubit.
Notas del editor
- In Zeiten der Not, des Unglücks und der Mutlosigkeit haben schon viele ratlos gefragt: „Wie ist die Welt nur in eine solche Lage geraten? Woher sind Sünde und Satan gekommen? Warum lässt ein allmächtiger Gott zu, dass solche Verhältnisse in seinem Universum weiterbestehen?“ Diese Fragen verlangen eine Antwort, und wir wollen unsere Antworten in der Bibel suchen.
- Mars
- Explanation: What are those unusual plates on Mars? A leading current interpretation holds that they are blocks of ice floating on a recently frozen sea covered by dust. The unusual plates were photographed recently by the European Space Agency 's Mars Express spacecraft currently orbiting Mars . Oddly, the region lies near the Martian equator and not near either of Mars' frozen polar caps . Without being covered by dust , any water or ice near away from the poles would quickly evaporate right into the atmosphere . Evidence that the above-imaged plates really are dust-covered water-ice includes a similarity in appearance to ice blocks off Earth's Antarctica , nearby surface fractures from which underground water could have flowed, and the shallow depth of the craters indicating that something is filling them in. If correct, the low abundance of craters indicates that water may have flowed on Mars as recently as five million years ago.
- Explanation: What would it be like to climb a hill and look out over Mars? That opportunity was afforded the Spirit rover earlier this month as it rolled to a high perch in the Columbia Hills . Peering out, the rolling robot spied the interior plains and distant rim of Gusev Crater , beyond an outcrop of rocks called Longhorn . Spirit continues to find evidence that many rock shapes have been altered by ancient water . Both Spirit and her sister robot Opportunity have completed their primary three-month mission but remain in good enough condition to continue to explore Mars .
- Explanation: What caused this rock to have an unusual shape? Earlier this month the robot Spirit rover on Mars stopped to examine a rock dubbed "white boat", named for its unusually light color and shape. White boat, the large rock near the image center of the above color-composite image , was examined by Spirit just after Adirondack , a football-sized rock determined to be composed of volcanic basalt . Spirit resumed scientific operations two weeks ago after recovering from a computer memory problem . Spirit and its twin rover Opportunity , on the other side of Mars, continue to roam the red planet in search of clues to the ancient past of Earth's most hospitable neighbor .
- Jupiter
- Explanation: Every day is a cloudy day on Jupiter , the Solar System's reigning gas giant. And swirling cloud tops are all you see in this stunningly detailed true color image, a portion of a large digital mosaic portrait of Jupiter recorded from the Cassini spacecraft during its Jovian flyby in December 2000. The smallest features visible are about 60 kilometers across. Jupiter's composition is dominated by hydrogen and the clouds contain hydrogen compounds like ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and even water. A truly giant planet, Jupiter's diameter is over 11 times the diameter of Earth and the smallest storms visible in the Cassini Jupiter portrait are similar in size to large terrestrial hurricanes . Now traveling beyond Jupiter, the Cassini spacecraft is scheduled to reach the Saturnian system in July of 2004.
- Explanation: Slice Jupiter from pole to pole, peel back its outer layers of clouds , stretch them onto a flat surface ... and for all your trouble you'd end up with something that looks a lot like this. Scrolling right will reveal the full picture, a color mosaic of Jupiter from the Cassini spacecraft. The mosaic is actually a single frame from a fourteen frame movie constructed from image data recorded by Cassini during its leisurely flyby of the solar system's largest planet in late 2000. The engaging movie approximates Jupiter's cloud motions over 24 jovian rotations. To make it, a series of observations covering Jupiter's complete circumference 60 degrees north and south of the equator were combined in an animated cylindrical projection map of the planet. As in the familiar rectangular-shaped wall maps of the Earth's surface , the relative sizes and shapes of features are correct near the equator but become progressively more distorted approaching the polar regions . In the Cassini movie, which also features guest appearances by moons Io and Europa , the smallest cloud structures visible at the equator are about 600 kilometers across.
- Explanation: How big is the Jovian moon Io ? The most volcanic body in the Solar System, Io (usually pronounced "EYE-oh") is 3,600 kilometers in diameter, about the size of planet Earth's single large natural satellite . Gliding past Jupiter at the turn of the millennium, the Cassini spacecraft captured this awe inspiring view of active Io with the largest gas giant as a backdrop, offering a stunning demonstration of the ruling planet's relative size . Although in the picture Io appears to be located just in front of the swirling Jovian clouds, Io hurtles around its orbit once every 42 hours at a distance of 420,000 kilometers or so from the center of Jupiter . That puts it nearly 350,000 kilometers above Jupiter's cloud tops , roughly equivalent to the distance between Earth and Moon . The Cassini spacecraft itself was about 10 million kilometers from Jupiter when recording the image data.
- Explanation: The surface of Venus is perpetually covered by a veil of thick clouds and remains hidden from even the powerful telescopic eyes of earth-bound astronomers. But in the early 1990s, using imaging radar, the Venus orbiting Magellan spacecraft was able to lift the veil from the face of Venus and produced spectacular high resolution images of the planet's surface . Colors used in this computer generated picture of Magellan radar data are based on color images from the surface of Venus transmitted by the Soviet Venera 13 and 14 landers. The bright area running roughly across the middle represents the largest highland region of Venus known as Aphrodite Terra .
- Explanation: Arachnoids are large structures of unknown origin that have been found only on the surface of Venus . Arachnoids get their name from their resemblance to spider -webs. They appear as concentric ovals surrounded by a complex network of fractures, and can span 200 kilometers. Radar echoes from the Magellan spacecraft that orbited Venus from 1990 to 1994 built up this image. Over 30 arachnoids have been identified on Venus , so far. The Arachnoid might be a strange relative to the volcano , but possibly different arachnoids are formed by different processes.
- Explanation: If you could look at Venus with radar eyes - this is what you might see. This computer reconstruction of the surface of Venus was created from data from the Magellan spacecraft . Magellan orbited Venus and used radar to map our neighboring planet 's surface between 1990 and 1994. Magellan found many interesting surface features, including the large circular domes , typically 25-kilometers across, that are depicted above . Volcanism is thought to have created the domes , although the precise mechanism remains unknown. Venus ' surface is so hot and hostile that no surface probe has lasted more than a few minutes.
- Explanation: Next stop: Saturn . The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft is approaching Saturn and will fire its engines to break into orbit around the ringed giant on July 1. The robot spacecraft was launched in 1997 and rounded Jupiter in 2001. As Cassini orbits Saturn over the next four years, it will swoop past many of Saturn's moons for unprecedented close-ups and even drop a probe onto Titan . Pictured above , Cassini imaged Saturn two weeks ago as it closed to only 24 million kilometers out. Visible are complex cloud patterns , thousands of rings , a shadow angle not visible from Earth, and a moon (if you can find it ).
- Explanation: Now a bright speck of light wandering through Earth's night sky, magnificent planet Saturn lies nearly 1.5 billion kilometers from the Sun . But after an interplanetary voyage of seven years the planet's stunning rings nearly fill the field of the Cassini spacecraft's narrow angle camera in this image recorded on March 27. Tip to tip, the ring system spans about 270,000 kilometers. Named for discoverers , the large, easily visible gap in the rings is known as the Cassini division, while the narrower outer gap is the Encke division. Illuminated from below and to the right, the rings cast a shadow on Saturn's upper hemisphere, interrupted where sunlight streams through the Cassini division and creates a light blue streak. At the left, Saturn also casts a stark shadow across the planet girdling rings. On July 1, the Cassini spacecraft is scheduled to fire its main engine and enter Saturn orbit.
- Explanation: What colors are Saturn's rings? Recent images from the Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn confirm that different rings have slightly different colors. The above image shows their sometimes-subtle differences in brightness and color. The rings reflect sunlight and so, even if they were perfectly reflecting, would appear the color of the Sun . The ring particles are mostly light water-ice, although these particles can be shaded by an unknown type of darker dirt . Thinner and more isolated rings also naturally appear darker. The brightest section pictured above is Saturn's B ring .
- Explanation: As a present to APOD readers, digital imager Mattias Malmer offers a very high resolution view of big beautiful Saturn. A labor of love, his full mosaic, composite image is contained in a large 5 megabyte jpeg file ( preview here, download here) and spans the gorgeous gas giant from ring tip to ring tip. It was pieced together from 102 frames (N00020905 to N00021033) recorded by the Cassini spacecraft ISS on October 6, 2004. The red, green, and blue frames are all uncalibrated, unvalidated images available to the public through the Cassini web site . Malmer's full panorama has a pixel size of 8400 by 3300, so only a substantially cropped version appears above. Enjoy the view and have a safe and Happy Holiday Season!
- Explanation: What colors are Saturn's rings? Recent images from the Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn confirm that different rings have slightly different colors. The above image shows their sometimes-subtle differences in brightness and color. The rings reflect sunlight and so, even if they were perfectly reflecting, would appear the color of the Sun . The ring particles are mostly light water-ice, although these particles can be shaded by an unknown type of darker dirt . Thinner and more isolated rings also naturally appear darker. The brightest section pictured above is Saturn's B ring .
- Explanation: This color view from Titan gazes across a suddenly familiar but distant landscape on Saturn's largest moon . The scene was recorded by ESA's Huygens probe after a 2 1/2 hour descent through a thick atmosphere of nitrogen laced with methane. Bathed in an eerie orange light at ground level, rocks strewn about the scene could well be composed of water and hydrocarbons frozen solid at an inhospitable temperature of - 179 degrees C. The light-toned rock below and left of center is only about 15 centimeters across and lies 85 centimeters away. Touching down at 4.5 meters per second (16 kilometers per hour), the saucer-shaped probe is believed to have penetrated 15 centimeters or so into a surface with the consistency of wet sand or clay. Huygen's batteries are now exhausted but the probe transmitted data for more than 90 minutes after landing. Titan's bizarre chemical environment may bear similarities to planet Earth's before life evolved .
- Explanation: Rhea is the second largest moon of Saturn , behind Titan , and the largest without an atmosphere. It is composed mostly of water ice, but has a small rocky core. Rhea 's rotation and orbit are locked together (just like Earth's Moon ) so that one side always faces Saturn. A consequence of this is that one side always leads the other. Rhea's leading surface is much more heavily cratered than its trailing surface. The above photograph was taken with the Voyager 1 spacecraft in 1980. NASA's Cassini spacecraft is currently on route to Saturn and will arrive in 2004.
- Explanation: Uranus is the third largest planet in our Solar System after Jupiter and Saturn . Uranus is composed mostly of rock and ices, but with a thick hydrogen and helium atmosphere. The blue hue of Uranus' atmosphere arises from the small amount of methane which preferentially absorbs red light. This picture was snapped by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1986 - the only spacecraft ever to visit Uranus. Uranus has many moons and a ring system . Uranus, like Venus , has a rotation axis that is greatly tilted and sometimes points near the Sun. It remains an astronomical mystery why Uranus' axis is so tilted. Uranus and Neptune are quite similar: Uranus is slightly larger but less massive.
- Explanation: The rings of Uranus are thin, narrow, and dark compared to other planetary ring systems. Brightened artificially by computer, the ring particles reflect as little light as charcoal, although they are really made of ice chucks darkened by rock. This false-color, infrared picture from the Hubble Space Telescope taken in July 1995 shows the rings in conjunction to the planet. The infrared light allows one to see detail in different layers of Uranus' atmosphere, which has been digitally enhanced with false color. Three other planets in our Solar System are known to have rings: Jupiter , Saturn , and Neptune . Four of Uranus ' moons are visible outside the ring plane. The rings of Uranus were discovered from ground-based observations in 1977.
- Neptun
- Explanation: In the 1960s spring came to the southern hemisphere of Neptune, the Solar System's outermost gas giant planet. Of course, since Neptune orbits the Sun once every 165 earth-years , it's still springtime for southern Neptune, where each season lasts over four decades. Astronomers have found that in recent years Neptune has been getting brighter as illustrated in this Hubble Space Telescope image made in 2002. Compared to Hubble pictures taken as early as 1996, the 2002 image shows a dramatic increase in reflective white cloud bands in Neptune's southern hemisphere. Neptune's equator is tilted 29 degrees from the plane of its orbit, about the same as Earth's 23.5 degree tilt, and Neptune's weather seems to be dramatically responding to the similar relative seasonal increase in sunlight -- even though sunlight is 900 times less intense for the distant gas giant than for planet Earth. Meanwhile, summer is really just around the corner, coming to Neptune's southern hemisphere in 2005.
- Explanation: Today marks the 150th anniversary of the discovery of Triton. On October 10 1846, William Lassell was observing the newly discovered planet Neptune . He was attempting to confirm his observation, made just the previous week, that Neptune had a ring. But this time he discovered that Neptune had a satellite as well. Lassell soon proved the ring was product of his new telescope's distortion, but the satellite Triton remained. The above picture of Triton was taken in 1989 by the only spacecraft ever to pass Triton : Voyager 2. Voyager 2 found fascinating terrain , a thin atmosphere, and even evidence for ice volcanoes on this world of peculiar orbit and spin. Ironically, Voyager 2 also confirmed the existence of complete thin rings around Neptune - but these would have been quite invisible to Lassell!
- Explanation: Neptune has spots. The Solar System 's outermost gas giant shows a nearly uniform blue hue created by small amounts of methane drifting in a thick atmosphere of nearly colorless hydrogen and helium . Dark spots do appear, however, that are anti-cyclones : large high-pressure systems that swirl in Neptune's cold cloud tops . Two dark spots are visible in the above picture taken by the robot Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1989: an Earth -sized Great Dark Spot located on the far left, and Dark Spot 2 located near bottom. A bright cloud dubbed Scooter accompanies the Great Dark Spot. Recent computer simulations indicate that scooters are methane clouds that might commonly be found near dark spots. Subsequent images of Neptune by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1994 indicated that both of these dark spots had dissipated , but another had been created .
- Explanation: Two hours before closest approach to Neptune in 1989, the Voyager 2 robot spacecraft snapped this picture . Clearly visible for the first time were long light-colored cirrus -type clouds floating high in Neptune's atmosphere . Shadows of these clouds can even be seen on lower cloud decks. Most of Neptune's atmosphere is made of hydrogen and helium , which is invisible. Neptune's blue color therefore comes from smaller amounts of atmospheric methane , which preferentially absorbs red light. Neptune has the fastest winds in the Solar System , with gusts reaching 2000 kilometers per hour. Speculation holds that diamonds may be created in the dense hot conditions that exist under the clouds-tops of Uranus and Neptune.
- Explanation: The discovery of Sedna ( aka 2003 VB12 ), the most distant known object orbiting the Sun, presents a mystery . Pluto's orbit averages about 40 AU in radius, where an AU (Astronomical Unit) is the Earth-Sun distance . But the closest point in Sedna's eccentric orbit scarcely comes within 75 AU, while its farthest point extends to nearly 1,000 AU. So how did something as large as Sedna get so far out there? Exploring the problem with computer simulations, astronomers Alessandro Morbidelli and Harold Levison suggest that while Sedna was not formed in its current location, it was also not moved there by encounters with other solar system objects. Instead, they find it more likely that Sedna resides in its present orbit because of an encounter with another star . In one scenario, objects like Sedna are yanked out of closer orbits by the gravitational pull of a Sun-sized star passing near the solar system during its formative years . Alternatively Sedna could have formed of material from another system entirely, captured during an early encounter with a much smaller star . Both Sedna-forming stellar encounter scenarios are consistent with idea that the Sun itself was born in an ancient, dense, cluster of stars .
- Explanation: One of the most spectacular solar sights is a prominence. A solar prominence is a cloud of solar gas held above the Sun's surface by the Sun's magnetic field . Last month, NASA's Sun-orbiting SOHO spacecraft imaged an impressively large prominence hovering over the surface, pictured above . The Earth would easily fit under the hovering curtain of hot gas. A quiescent prominence typically lasts about a month, and may erupt in a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) expelling hot gas into the Solar System . Although somehow related to the Sun's changing magnetic field , the energy mechanism that creates and sustains a Solar prominence is still a topic of research .
- Explanation: An unexpectedly large sunspot region is now crossing the Sun. The active region is home to rivers of hot plasma , explosive flares , strong magnetic fields , a powerful Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), and a sunspot group so large it can be seen by the protected eye without magnification. In fact, this region appears larger than Venus did when it crossed the Sun last month. Pictured above is a close-up of this sunspot group , officially tagged AR 10652 , taken just four days ago. The region is now nearing the Sun's eastern limb and will disappear from view in a few days. Energetic ions from sunspot group 652 continue to impact the Earth and create rare purple auroras .
- Explanation: Why is the belt of Orion surrounded by a bubble? Although glowing like an emission nebula , the origin of the bubble, known as Barnard's Loop , is currently unknown. Progenitor hypotheses include the wind s from bright Orion stars and the supernovas of stars long gone. Barnard's Loop is too faint to be identified with the unaided eye. The nebula was discovered only in 1895 by E. E. Barnard on long duration film exposures. Orion's belt is seen as the three bright stars across the center of the image, the upper two noticeably blue. Just to the right of the lowest star in Orion's belt is a slight indentation in an emission nebula that, when seen at higher magnification , resolves into the Horsehead Nebula . To the right of the belt stars is the bright, famous, and photogenic Orion Nebula .
- Explanation: At the edge of a dense molecular cloud , filaments of gas, cosmic dust, and a multitude of young stars beckon in this penetrating image of the Orion Nebula . Alluring structures in the well-known star forming region are revealed here in infrared light as viewed by a new Hawaiian eye - WFCAM - a powerful wide field camera commissioned at the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope ( UKIRT ) on Mauna Kea . Only a fraction of WFCAM's full field, this picture covers about 11 light-years at the 1,500 light-year distance of the nebula. In the image, otherwise invisible infrared light has been mapped into visible colors. Red represents narrow-band infrared emission from hydrogen molecules at a wavelength of 2.12 microns , green is emission at 2.2 microns, and blue is emission at 1.25 microns. Visible light has a wavelength of about 0.5 microns ( micro meters).
- Explanation: The Great Nebula in Orion is a colorful place. Visible to the unaided eye, it appears as a small fuzzy patch in the constellation of Orion . Long exposure, digitally sharpened images like this, however, show the Orion Nebula to be a busy neighborhood of young stars, hot gas, and dark dust . The power behind much of the Orion Nebula (M42) is the Trapezium - four of the brightest stars in the nebula. Many of the filamentary structures visible are actually shock wave s - fronts where fast moving material encounters slow moving gas. The Orion Nebula spans about 40 light years and is located about 1500 light years away in the same spiral arm of our Galaxy as the Sun .
- Explanation: The Horsehead Nebula is one of the most famous nebulae on the sky. It is visible as the dark indentation to the red emission nebula seen above and to the right of center in the above photograph . The bright star on the left is located in the belt of the familiar constellation of Orion . The horse-head feature is dark because it is really an opaque dust cloud which lies in front of the bright red emission nebula . Like clouds in Earth's atmosphere , this cosmic cloud has assumed a recognizable shape by chance. After many thousands of years, the internal motions of the cloud will alter its appearance. The emission nebula 's red color is caused by electrons recombining with protons to form hydrogen atoms. Also visible in the picture are blue reflection nebulae , which preferentially reflect the blue light from nearby stars.
- M16 - Gas PIllars Entfernung : Grösse : 1-2 Lichtjahre Durchmesser. Ereignis : Staubwolken mit grosser Aktivität und Sternenbildung.
- M16 - Gas PIllars Entfernung : Grösse : 1-2 Lichtjahre Durchmesser. Ereignis : Staubwolken mit grosser Aktivität und Sternenbildung.
- Explanation: How did a star create the Helix nebula ? The shapes of planetary nebula like the Helix are important because they likely hold clues to how stars like the Sun end their lives. Recent observations by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope and the 4-meter Blanco Telescope in Chile , however, have shown the Helix is not really a simple helix . Rather, it incorporates two nearly perpendicular disks as well as arcs, shocks, and even features not well understood . Even so, many strikingly geometric symmetries remain. How a single Sun-like star created such beautiful yet geometric complexity is a topic of research. The Helix Nebula is the nearest planetary nebula to Earth, lies only about 700 light years away toward the constellation of Aquarius , and spans about 3 light-years.
- Explanation: The first hint of what will become of our Sun was discovered inadvertently in 1764 . At that time, Charles Messier was compiling a list of diffuse objects not to be confused with comets. The 27th object on Messier's list , now known as M27 or the Dumbbell Nebula, is a planetary nebula , the type of nebula our Sun will produce when nuclear fusion stops in its core. M27 is one of the brightest planetary nebulae on the sky, and can be seen in the constellation Vulpecula with binoculars. It takes light about 1000 years to reach us from M27, shown above , digitally sharpened, in three standard colors. Understanding the physics and significance of M27 was well beyond 18th century science. Even today, many things remain mysterious about bipolar planetary nebula like M27, including the physical mechanism that expels a low-mass star's gaseous outer-envelope, leaving an X-ray hot white dwarf .
- Explanation: Like delicate cosmic petals, these clouds of interstellar dust and gas have blossomed 1,300 light-years away in the fertile star fields of the constellation Cepheus . Sometimes called the Iris Nebula and dutifully cataloged as NGC 7023, this is not the only nebula in the sky to evoke the imagery of flowers . Still, the beautiful digital image shows off the Iris Nebula's range of colors and symmetries in impressive detail. Within the Iris, dusty nebular material surrounds a massive, hot, young star in its formative years. Central filaments of cosmic dust glow with a reddish photoluminesence as some dust grains effectively convert the star's invisible ultraviolet radiation to visible red light. Yet the dominant color of the nebula is blue, characteristic of dust grains reflecting starlight. Dark, obscuring clouds of dust and cold molecular gas are also present and can lead the eye to see other convoluted and fantastic shapes. Infrared observations indicate that this nebula may contain complex carbon molecules known as PAHs . As shown here, the Iris Nebula is about 6 light-years across.
- Explanation: What's happening to the Pelican Nebula ? The light from young energetic stars is slowly transforming the Pelican 's cold gas to hot gas, with the advancing boundary between the two known as an ionization front. Most of these bright stars lie off the top of the image, but part of the bright ionization front crosses on the upper right. Particularly dense and intricate filaments of cold gas are visible along the front. Millions of years from now this nebula might no longer be known as the Pelican , as the balance and placement of stars and gas will leave something that appears completely different. The above image was taken with the Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona , USA . The large circular artifact below the image center is not real. The nebula, also known as IC 5070 , spans about 30 light years and lies about 1800 light years away toward the constellation of Cygnus .
- NGC 3132 Entfernung : 2.000 Lichtjahre Grösse : 0,5 Lichtjahre Ereignis : Explodierender Stern in expansiver Phase. NGC 3132: The Eight Burst Nebula Credit: Hubble Heritage Team ( AURA / STScI / NASA ) Explanation: It's the dim star, not the bright one, near the center of NGC 3132 that created this odd but beautiful planetary nebula . Nicknamed the Eight-Burst Nebula and the Southern Ring Nebula , the glowing gas originated in the outer layers of a star like our Sun . In this representative color picture , the hot blue pool of light seen surrounding this binary system is energized by the hot surface of the faint star. Although photographed to explore unusual symmetries, it's the asymmetries that help make this planetary nebula so intriguing. Neither the unusual shape of the surrounding cooler shell nor the structure and placements of the cool filamentary dust lanes running across NGC 3132 are well understood.
- Explanation: What is creating the strange texture of IC 418? Dubbed the Spirograph Nebula for its resemblance to drawings from a cyclical drawing tool , planetary nebula IC 418 shows patterns that are not well understood. Perhaps they are related to chaotic winds from the variable central star, which changes brightness unpredictably in just a few hours. By contrast, evidence indicates that only a few million years ago, IC 418 was probably a well-understood star similar to our Sun . Only a few thousand years ago, IC 418 was probably a common red giant star. Since running out of nuclear fuel , though, the outer envelope has begun expanding outward leaving a hot remnant core destined to become a white-dwarf star , visible in the image center. The light from the central core excites surrounding atoms in the nebula causing them to glow. IC 418 lies about 2000 light-years away and spans 0.3 light-years across. This false-color image taken from the Hubble Space Telescope reveals the unusual details.
- M2-9 Planetary Nebula Entfernung : Grösse : Ereignis : Explanation: Are stars better appreciated for their art after they die? Actually, stars usually create their most artistic displays as they die. In the case of low-mass stars like our Sun and M2-9 pictured above , the stars transform themselves from normal stars to white dwarfs by casting off their outer gaseous envelopes. The expended gas frequently forms an impressive display called a planetary nebula that fades gradually over thousand of years. M2-9 , a butterfly planetary nebula 2100 light-years away shown in representative colors, has wings that tell a strange but incomplete tale . In the center, two stars orbit inside a gaseous disk 10 times the orbit of Pluto . The expelled envelope of the dying star breaks out from the disk creating the bipolar appearance . Much remains unknown about the physical processes that cause planetary nebulae .
- IC 418 - Planetary Nebula Entfernung : 2.000 Lichtjahre. Grösse : Ereignis : Überreste eines explodierenden (sterbenden) Sterns.
- Explanation: Staring across interstellar space, the alluring Cat's Eye nebula lies 3000 three thousand light-years from Earth. A classic planetary nebula , the Cat's Eye (NGC 6543) represents a final, brief yet glorious phase in the life of a sun-like star. This nebula's dying central star may have produced the simple, outer pattern of dusty concentric shells by shrugging off outer layers in a series of regular convulsions. But the formation of the beautiful, more complex inner structures is not well understood . Seen so clearly in this sharp Hubble Space Telescope image, the truly cosmic eye is over half a light-year across. Of course, gazing into the Cat's Eye , astronomers may well be seeing the fate of our sun, destined to enter its own planetary nebula phase of evolution ... in about 5 billion years .
- Explanation: Sprawling across hundreds of light-years, emission nebula IC 1396 mixes glowing cosmic gas and dark dust clouds . Stars are forming in this area, only about 3,000 light-years from Earth. This particularly colorful view of the region is a composite of digital images recorded through narrow band filters. The filters actually block out most of the light ... but narrowly transmit wave lengths characteristic of specific glowing atoms in the nebula. In fact, the color scheme used here makes it easy to trace some of the elements which contribute to the emission from IC 1396. Emission from sulfur atoms is shown in red, hydrogen atoms green, and oxygen in blue. The beautiful and useful result is still very different from what the eye might see . IC 1396 lies in the high and far off constellation of Cepheus .
- Explanation: Oh what a tangled web a planetary nebula can weave. The Red Spider Planetary Nebula shows the complex structure that can result when a normal star ejects its outer gases and becomes a white dwarf star. Officially tagged NGC 6537 , this two-lobed symmetric planetary nebula houses one of the hottest white dwarfs ever observed, probably as part of binary star system. Internal winds emanating from the central stars, visible in the center, have been measured in excess of 1000 kilometers per second. These winds expand the nebula, flow along the nebula's walls, and cause waves of hot gas and dust to collide. Atoms caught in these colliding shocks radiate light shown in the above representative-color picture . The Red Spider Nebula lies toward the constellation of Sagittarius . It's distance is not well known but estimated by some to be about 4000 light-years . Explanation: Oh what a tangled web a planetary nebula can weave. The Red Spider Planetary Nebula shows the complex structure that can result when a normal star ejects its outer gases and becomes a white dwarf star . Officially tagged NGC 6537, this two-lobed symmetric nebula houses one of the hottest white dwarfs ever observed, probably as part of binary star system . Internal winds emanating from the central stars, shown in the central inset, have been measured in excess of 300 kilometers per second. These hot winds expand the nebula, flow along the nebula's walls, and cause gas and dust to collide. Atoms caught in these colliding shocks radiate light shown in the above representative-light picture.
- Explanation: The bright clusters and nebulae of planet Earth's night sky are often named for flowers or insects , and NGC 6302 is no exception. With an estimated surface temperature of about 250,000 degrees C, the central star of this particular planetary nebula is exceptionally hot though -- shining brightly in ultraviolet light but hidden from direct view by a dense torus of dust. Above is a dramatically detailed close-up of the dying star's nebula recorded by the Hubble Space Telescope. Cutting across a bright cavity of ionized gas, the dust torus surrounding the central star is in the upper left corner of this view, nearly edge-on to the line-of-sight. Surprisingly, minerals including water ice, along with complex hydrocarbon molecules have been detected in this hot star's dusty cosmic shroud. NGC 6302 lies about 4,000 light-years away in the arachnologically correct constellation Scorpius .
- Explanation: The beautiful Trifid Nebula (aka M20) , a photogenic study in cosmic contrasts, lies about 5,000 light-years away toward the nebula rich constellation Sagittarius. A star forming region in the plane of our galaxy, the Trifid fittingly illustrates three basic types of astronomical nebulae; red emission nebulae dominated by light from hydrogen atoms, blue reflection nebulae produced by dust reflecting starlight, and dark absorption nebulae where dense dust clouds appear in silhouette. The bright red emission nebula, roughly separated into three parts by obscuring dust lanes, lends the Trifid its popular name. In this gorgeous wide view , the red emission region is also surrounded by the telltale blue haze of reflection nebulae. Light-year long pillars and jets sculpted by newborn stars - visible here below the center of the emission nebula - appear in Hubble Space Telescope close-up images of the region.
- Explanation: Unspeakable beauty and unimaginable bedlam can be found together in the Trifid Nebula . Also known as M20, this photogenic nebula is visible with good binoculars towards the constellation of Sagittarius . The energetic processes of star formation create not only the colors but the chaos . The red-glowing gas results from high-energy starlight striking interstellar hydrogen gas. The dark dust filaments that lace M20 were created in the atmospheres of cool giant stars and in the debris from supernovae explosions. Which bright young stars light up the blue reflection nebula is still being investigated . The light from M20 we see today left perhaps 3000 years ago, although the exact distance remains unknown. Light takes about 50 years to cross M20 .
- Explanation: Would the Rosette Nebula by any other name look as sweet ? The bland New General Catalog designation of NGC 2237 doesn't appear to diminish the appearance of the this flowery emission nebula . Inside the nebula lies an open cluster of bright young stars designated NGC 2244 . These stars formed about four million years ago from the nebular material and their stellar winds are clearing a hole in the nebula's center, insulated by a layer of dust and hot gas. Ultraviolet light from the hot cluster stars causes the surrounding nebula to glow. The Rosette Nebula spans about 100 light-years across, lies about 5000 light-years away , and can be seen with a small telescope towards the constellation of Monoceros .
- Explanation: The Trifid Nebula, aka M20 , is easy to find with a small telescope, a well known stop in the nebula rich constellation Sagittarius . But where visible light pictures show the nebula divided into three parts by dark, obscuring dust lanes, this penetrating infrared image reveals filaments of luminous gas and newborn stars. The spectacular false-color view is courtesy of the Spitzer Space Telescope . Astronomers have used the Spitzer infrared image data to count newborn and embryonic stars which otherwise can lie hidden in the natal dust and glowing clouds of this intriguing stellar nursery . As seen here, the Trifid is about 30 light-years across and lies only 5,500 light-years away.
- Explanation: From afar, the whole thing looks like an Eagle . A closer look at the Eagle Nebula , however, shows the bright region is actually a window into the center of a larger dark shell of dust . Through this window, a brightly-lit workshop appears where a whole open cluster of stars is being formed. In this cavity tall pillars and round globules of dark dust and cold molecular gas remain where stars are still forming. Already visible are several young bright blue stars whose light and winds are burning away and pushing back the remaining filaments and walls of gas and dust. The Eagle emission nebula , tagged M16, lies about 6500 light years away, spans about 20 light-years, and is visible with binoculars toward the constellation of Serpens . The above picture combines three specific emitted colors and was taken with the 0.9-meter telescope on Kitt Peak , Arizona , USA
- Explanation: What powers the Heart Nebula? The large emission nebula dubbed IC 1805 looks, in whole, like a human heart . The nebula glows brightly in red light emitted by its most prominent element: hydrogen . The red glow and the larger shape are all created by a small group of stars near the nebula's center. A close up spanning about 30 light years contains many of these stars is shown above in a recent image taken by the Canada France Hawaii Telescope . This open cluster of stars contains a few bright stars nearly 50 times the mass of our Sun, many dim stars only a fraction of the mass of our Sun, and an absent microquasar that was expelled millions of years ago. The Heart Nebula is located about 7,500 light years away toward the constellation of Cassiopeia .
- Explanation: Sprawling across hundreds of light-years, emission nebula IC 1805 is a mix of glowing interstellar gas and dark dust clouds. Only about 7,500 light-years away, stars were born in this region whose nickname - the Heart Nebula - derives from its suggestive shape (seen here sideways). This gorgeous, deep telescopic image of the nebula is very colorful, but if you could travel there and gaze across these cosmic clouds with your own eyes, are those the colors you would really see? The short answer is no, even though the image was made with light visible to the human eye . Light from this and other glowing gas clouds surrounding hot, young stars comes in very narrow bands of emission characteristic of energized atoms within the clouds. In fact, the nebular glow is often dominated by hydrogen atoms emitting light in only a small fraction of that broad region of the spectrum that we see as the color red. Adopting an artificial color scheme commonly used for narrow band images of emission nebulae , this beautifully detailed view shows the light from sulfur atoms in red hues, with hydrogen in green, and oxygen atoms in blue.
- Explanation: Many vast star fields in the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy are rich in clouds of dust, and gas. First and foremost, visible in the above picture are millions of stars, many of which are similar to our Sun . Next huge filaments of dark interstellar dust run across the image and block the light from millions of more stars yet further across our Galaxy . The bright red region on the left is part of the Omega Nebula , an emission nebula of mostly hot hydrogen gas also known as M17 . A small bright grouping of stars near the image center is the open cluster M18 , while the long bright streak of stars just right of center is M24 . On the far right of the image is the picturesque red emission nebula IC 1283 flanked by two blue reflection nebula s NGC 6589 and NGC 6590 . These objects are visible with a small telescope toward the constellation of Sagittarius .
- NGC 2392 - Eskimo Nebula Entfernung : Grösse : Einzelne Blasen etwa 1 Lichtjahr in Durchmesser. Ereignis : Überreste eines explodierenden (sterbenden) Sterns. Kollisionen von Gassubstanzen. Gas wird mit 115.000 km/Std. Aus dem Zentrum ausgeschleudert Explanation: In 1787, astronomer William Herschel discovered the Eskimo Nebula . From the ground, NGC 2392 resembles a person's head surrounded by a parka hood. In 2000, the Hubble Space Telescope imaged the Eskimo Nebula . From space, the nebula displays gas clouds so complex they are not fully understood. The Eskimo Nebula is clearly a planetary nebula , and the gas seen above composed the outer layers of a Sun -like star only 10,000 years ago. The inner filaments visible above are being ejected by strong wind of particles from the central star. The outer disk contains unusual light-year long orange filaments
- Explanation: Have you heard a lot about ringed planets lately? Well, consider this gorgeous celestial vista centered on the Milky Way's own planetary nebula M57, the famous Ring Nebula . The wide view is a composite of three exposures; one to record the details of the inner roughly one light-year span of the familiar nebula , one to record the surprisingly intricate but faint outer rings of glowing hydrogen gas, and one to pick up the rich assortment of distant background galaxies. By chance, one of the background galaxies, IC 1296 at the upper left, is close enough to show its barred, spiral structure making an attractive visual comparison with M57 . Interestingly, though IC 1296 is 200 million light-years away compared to only 2 thousand light-years for M57, a faint ring is also apparent around the outer reaches of the distant spiral galaxy.
- PPARC -- A British-led team of astronomers have discovered an object that appears to be an invisible galaxy made almost entirely of dark matter - the first ever detected. A dark galaxy is an area in the universe containing a large amount of mass that rotates like a galaxy, but contains no stars. Without any stars to give light, it could only be found using radio telescopes. It was first seen with the University of Manchester's Lovell Telescope in Cheshire, and the sighting was confirmed with the Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico. The unknown material that is thought to hold these galaxies together is known as 'dark matter', but scientists still know very little about what that is. Dr. Jon Davies, one of the team of astronomers from Cardiff University, says; "The Universe has all sorts of secrets still to reveal to us, but this shows that we are beginning to understand how to look at it in the right way. It's a really exciting discovery!" When astronomers observe the visible Universe it is like looking out at the darkest night from a well-lit room. It is easy to see the street lights, car headlights and other well-lit rooms, but not the trees, the hedges and the mountains because they don't emit any light. We live on a planet close to a star, so as astronomers our observing 'room' is always well-lit. This can make it difficult to find the dark, hidden objects. The international team from the UK, France, Italy and Australia has been searching for dark galaxies using not visible light, but radio waves. They have been studying the distribution of hydrogen atoms throughout the Universe. Hydrogen gas releases radiation that can be detected at radio wavelengths. In the Virgo cluster of galaxies they found a mass of hydrogen atoms a hundred million times the mass of the Sun. The Virgo cluster is a large group of galaxies about 50 million light years away. Dr Robert Minchin from Cardiff University is one of the UK astronomers who discovered the mysterious galaxy, named VIRGOHI21. He explains, "From the speed it is spinning, we realised that VIRGOHI21 was a thousand times more massive than could be accounted for by the observed hydrogen atoms alone. If it were an ordinary galaxy, then it should be quite bright and would be visible with a good amateur telescope."
- Explanation: Eta Carinae may be about to explode. But no one knows when - it may be next year, it may be one million years from now. Eta Carinae 's mass - about 100 times greater than our Sun - makes it an excellent candidate for a full blown supernova . Historical records do show that about 150 years ago Eta Carinae underwent an unusual outburst that made it one of the brightest stars in the southern sky . Eta Carinae , in the Keyhole Nebula , is the only star currently thought to emit natural LASER light . This image , taken in 1996, resulted from sophisticated image-processing procedures designed to bring out new details in the unusual nebula that surrounds this rogue star . Now clearly visible are two distinct lobes, a hot central region , and strange radial streaks. The lobes are filled with lanes of gas and dust which absorb the blue and ultraviolet light emitted near the center. The streaks remain unexplained. Will these clues tell us how the nebula was formed? Will they better indicate when Eta Carinae will explode?
- Explanation: What does our Milky Way Galaxy look like from afar? Since we are stuck inside, and since opaque dust truncates our view in visible light , nobody knows for sure. Drawn above , however, is a good guess based on many different types of observations. In the Milky Way's center is a very bright core region centered on a large black hole . The Milky Way 's bright central bulge is now thought to be an asymmetrical bar of relatively old and red stars. The outer regions are where the spiral arms are found, dominated in appearance by open clusters of young, bright, blue stars, by red emission nebula , and by dark dust. The spiral arms reside in a disk dominated in mass by relatively dim stars and loose gas composed mostly of hydrogen . What is not depicted is a huge spherical halo of invisible dark matter that dominates the mass of the Milky Way as well as the motions of stars away from the center.
- Explanation: Why isn't this ant a big sphere? Planetary nebula Mz3 is being cast off by a star similar to our Sun that is, surely, round. Why then would the gas that is streaming away create an ant -shaped nebula that is distinctly not round? Clues might include the high 1000-kilometer per second speed of the expelled gas, the light-year long length of the structure, and the magnetism of the star visible above at the nebula's center. One possible answer is that Mz3 is hiding a second, dimmer star that orbits close in to the bright star. A competing hypothesis holds that the central star's own spin and magnetic field are channeling the gas. Since the central star appears to be so similar to our own Sun, astronomers hope that increased understanding of the history of this giant space ant can provide useful insight into the likely future of our own Sun and Earth .
- Explanation: The grand , winding arms are almost mesmerizing in this face-on view of NGC 7424, a spiral galaxy with a prominent central bar . About 40 million light-years distant in the headlong constellation Grus , this island universe is also about 100,000 light-years across making it remarkably similar to our own Milky Way . Following along the winding arms, many bright bluish clusters of massive young stars can be found. The star clusters themselves are several hundred light-years in diameter. And while massive stars are born in the arms of NGC 7424, they also die there. Notably, this galaxy was home to a powerful stellar explosion, supernova SN 2001ig , which faded before this deep European Southern Observatory image was recorded .
- Explanation: The Tarantula Nebula is a giant emission nebula within our neighboring galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud . Inside this cosmic arachnid lies a huge central young cluster of massive stars, cataloged as R136 and partially visible on the upper right. The energetic light and winds from this cluster light up the nebula and sculpt the surrounding gas and dust into vast complex filaments . These "tentacles" give the Tarantula Nebula its name. In this impressive color image from the Wide-Field Imager camera on ESO's 2.2-meter telescope at La Silla Observatory , intricacies of the nebula's complex array of dust and gas are visible. A 300 light-year portion of the Tarantula Nebula is imaged. The Tarantula Nebula , also dubbed 30 Doradus, lies 170,000 light years away toward the constellation of Dorado .
- Explanation: A satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, the Small Magellanic Cloud ( SMC ) is a wonder of the southern sky, a mere 210,000 light-years distant in the constellation Tucana . Found among the SMC's clusters and nebulae NGC 346 is a star forming region about 200 light-years across, pictured above by the Hubble Space Telescope. Exploring NGC 346 , astronomers have identified a population of embryonic stars strung along the dark, intersecting dust lanes visible here on the right. Still collapsing within their natal clouds , the stellar infants' light is reddened by the intervening dust. A small , irregular galaxy, the SMC itself represents a type of galaxy more common in the early Universe. But these small galaxies are thought to be a building blocks for the larger galaxies present today. Within the SMC, stellar nurseries like NGC 346 are also thought to be similar to those found in the early Universe .
- Andromeda 2 Millionen LA
- Explanation: The center of the Andromeda galaxy is beautiful but strange. Andromeda , indexed as M31, is so close to our own Milky Way Galaxy that it gives a unique perspective into galaxy composition by allowing us to see into its core. Billions of stars swarm around a center that has two nuclei and likely houses a supermassive black hole over 5 million times the mass of our Sun . M31 is about two million light years away and visible with the unaided eye towards the constellation of Andromeda, the princess . Pictured above , dark knots of dust are seen superposed on the inner 10,000 light years of M31's core. The brighter stars are foreground stars located in our Milky Way Galaxy Se deplaseaza catre noi cu o viteza de 100 Km/sec
- Explanation: How old is this galaxy? The nearby Local Group galaxy dubbed the Sagittarius Dwarf Irregular Galaxy (SagDIG) is not only very small but also has relatively few elements more massive than helium . Now the lack of heavy elements might mean that SagDIG is very young, so that component stars had little time to create and disperse massive elements. Conversely, SagDIG 's diminutive size could indicate that it formed in the early universe, being a surviving building block of modern large galaxies . The above detailed image from the Hubble Space Telescope has now resolved enough stars to solve this mystery : SagDIG is ancient. Although SagDIG does have some groups of young stars, many stars are very old, and the galaxy as a whole helps astronomers to understand how the universe evolved , and show that at least one metal-poor galaxy is almost as old as the universe. Pictured above , SagDIG spans about 1,500 light years and lies about 3.5 million light years away toward the constellation of Sagittarius .
- Explanation: Intriguing galaxy pair M81 and M82 shine in this full-field view from the orbiting GALEX observatory. GALEX - the Galaxy Evolution Explorer - scans the cosmos in ultraviolet light , a view that follows star formation and galaxy evolution through the Universe . Near the bottom, magnificent spiral galaxy M81 , similar in size to our own Milky Way, shows off young stars in winding spiral arms. Less than 100 million years old, the young stars are blue in the false-color GALEX image and seen to be well separated from the older yellowish stars of the galactic core. But near the top, turbulent, irregular galaxy M82 shows the results of extreme rates of star birth and death. Supernovae, the death explosions of massive stars, contribute to a violent wind of material expelled from M82's central regions. The striking irregular and spiral galaxy pair are located only about 10 million light-years away in the northern constellation Ursa Major .
- Explanation: This gorgeous island universe , cataloged as NGC 2683 , lies a mere 16 million light-years distant in the northern constellation Lynx . A spiral galaxy comparable to our own Milky Way, NGC 2683 is seen nearly edge-on in this cosmic vista , with more distant galaxies scattered in the background. Blended light from a large population of old yellowish stars forms the remarkably bright galactic core. Starlight silhouettes the dust lanes along winding spiral arms, dotted with the telltale pink glow of ionized hydrogen gas from this galaxy's star forming regions.
- Explanation: The Whirlpool Galaxy is a classic spiral galaxy. At only 30 million light years distant and fully 60 thousand light years across, M51 , also known as NGC 5194, is one of the brightest and most picturesque galaxies on the sky. The above image is a digital combination of a ground-based image from the 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory and a space-based image from the Hubble Space Telescope highlighting sharp features normally too red to be seen. Anyone with a good pair of binoculars , however, can see this Whirlpool toward the constellation of Canes Venatici . M51 is a spiral galaxy of type Sc and is the dominant member of a whole group of galaxies . Astronomers speculate that M51 's spiral structure is primarily due to its gravitational interaction with a smaller galaxy just off the top of this digitally sharpened image.
- Explanation: The Whirlpool Galaxy is a classic spiral galaxy. At only 30 million light years distant and fully 60 thousand light years across, M51 , also known as NGC 5194, is one of the brightest and most picturesque galaxies on the sky. The above image is a digital combination of a ground-based image from the 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory and a space-based image from the Hubble Space Telescope highlighting sharp features normally too red to be seen. Anyone with a good pair of binoculars , however, can see this Whirlpool toward the constellation of Canes Venatici . M51 is a spiral galaxy of type Sc and is the dominant member of a whole group of galaxies . Astronomers speculate that M51 's spiral structure is primarily due to its gravitational interaction with a smaller galaxy just off the top of this digitally sharpened image.
- Explanation: Galaxies abound in this cosmic scene , a well chosen telescopic view toward the northern constellation of Ursa Major . Most noticeable are the striking pair of spiral galaxies - NGC 3718 (above, right) and NGC 3729 (below center) - a mere 52 million light-years distant. In particular, NGC 3718 has dramatic dust lanes sweeping through its bright central region and extensive but faint spiral arms. Seen about 150 thousand light-years apart, these two galaxies are likely interacting gravitationally , accounting for the warped and peculiar appearance of NGC 3718. While a careful study of the deep image reveals a number of fainter and more distant background galaxies, another remarkable galaxy grouping known as Hickson Group 56 can be found just to the right of NGC 3718. Hickson Group 56 contains five interacting galaxies and lies over 400 million light-years away.
- NGC 4414 - Spiral Galaxy Entfernung : 60 millionen Lichtjahre. Grösse : 60.000 Lichtjahre. Ereignis :
- Explanation: Big, beautiful, barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300 lies some 70 million light-years away on the banks of the constellation Eridanus . This Hubble Space Telescope composite view of the gorgeous island universe was released at this week's meeting of the American Astronomical Society as one of the largest Hubble images ever made of a complete galaxy. NGC 1300 spans over 100,000 light-years and the Hubble image reveals striking details of the galaxy's dominant central bar and majestic spiral arms. In fact, on close inspection the nucleus of this classic barred spiral itself shows a remarkable region of spiral structure about 3,000 light-years across. Unlike other spiral galaxies, including our own Milky Way, NGC 1300 is not presently known to have a massive central black hole .
- NGC 4650 - Polar Ring Galaxy Entfernung : 130 Millionen Lichtjahre Grösse : 60.000 Lichtjahre. Gewicht von 20 Milliarden Sonnen. Ereignis :
- NGC 2207 und IC 2163 - Spiral Galaxies Entfernung : Grösse : Ereignis : Explanation: Billions of years from now, only one of these two galaxies will remain. Until then, spiral galaxies NGC 2207 and IC 2163 will slowly pull each other apart, creating tides of matter, sheets of shocked gas , lanes of dark dust , bursts of star formation , and streams of cast-away stars . Astronomers predict that NGC 2207, the larger galaxy on the left, will eventually incorporate IC 2163, the smaller galaxy on the right. In the most recent encounter that peaked 40 million years ago, the smaller galaxy is swinging around counter-clockwise, and is now slightly behind the larger galaxy. The space between stars is so vast that when galaxies collide , the stars in them usually do not collide.
- Explanation: These two mighty galaxies are pulling each other apart. Known as " The Mice " because they have such long tails, each spiral galaxy has likely already passed through the other. They will probably collide again and again until they coalesce. The long tails are created by the relative difference between gravitational pulls on the near and far parts of each galaxy. Because the distances are so large, the cosmic interaction takes place in slow motion -- over hundreds of millions of years. NGC 4676 lies about 300 million light-years away toward the constellation of Coma Berenices and are likely members of the Coma Cluster of Galaxies . The above picture was taken with the Hubble Space Telescope 's Advanced Camera for Surveys which is more sensitive and images a larger field than previous Hubble cameras. The camera's increased sensitivity has imaged, serendipitously, galaxies far in the distance scattered about the frame.
- 400 Explanation: Posing for this cosmic family photo are the galaxies of HCG ( Hickson Compact Group ) 87, about four hundred million light-years distant toward the amphibious constellation Capricornus . The large edge-on spiral near picture center, the fuzzy elliptical galaxy immediately to its right, and the spiral near the top of the image are identified members of the group, while the small spiral galaxy in the middle is likely a more distant background galaxy. In any event, a careful examination of the deep image reveals other galaxies which certainly lie far beyond HCG 87 . While not exactly locked in a group hug , the HCG 87 galaxies are interacting gravitationally, influencing their fellow group members' structure and evolution. This image is from the commissioning phase of an instrument on the Gemini Observatory's South Telescope at Cerro Pachon, Chile. It compares favorably with views of this photogenic galaxy group recorded by the Hubble Space Telescope
- Explanation: Is this one galaxy or two? This question came to light in 1950 when astronomer Art Hoag chanced upon this unusual extragalactic object. On the outside is a ring dominated by bright blue stars, while near the center lies a ball of much redder stars that are likely much older. Between the two is a gap that appears almost completely dark. How Hoag's Object formed remains unknown, although similar objects have now been identified and collectively labeled as a form of ring galaxy . Genesis hypotheses include a galaxy collision billions of years ago and perturbative gravitational interactions involving an unusually shaped core. The above photo taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in July 2001 reveals unprecedented details of Hoag's Object and may yield a better understanding . Hoag's Object spans about 100,000 light years and lies about 600 million light years away toward the constellation of Serpens . Coincidentally, visible in the gap (at about one o'clock) is yet another ring galaxy that likely lies far in the distance .
- Explanation: Here is one of the largest objects that anyone will ever see on the sky. Each of the fuzzy blobs in the above picture is a galaxy, together making up the Perseus Cluster , one of the closest clusters of galaxies . The cluster is seen through the foreground of faint stars in our own Milky Way Galaxy . It takes light roughly 300 million years to get here from this region of the Universe, so we see this cluster as it existed before the age of the dinosaurs . Also known as Abell 426, the center of the Perseus Cluster is a prodigious source of X-ray radiation , and so helps astronomers explore how clusters formed and how gas and dark matter interact. The Perseus Cluster of Galaxies is part of the Pisces-Perseus supercluster of galaxies, which spans over 15 degrees and contains over 1000 galaxies.
- Explanation: These are galaxies of the Hercules Cluster , an archipelago of "island universes" a mere 650 million light-years distant. This cluster is loaded with gas and dust rich, star forming, spiral galaxies but has relatively few elliptical galaxies , which lack gas and dust and the associated newborn stars . Colors in the composite image show the star forming galaxies with a blue tint and ellipticals with a slightly yellowish cast. In this cosmic vista many galaxies seem to be colliding or merging while others seem distorted - clear evidence that cluster galaxies commonly interact. Over time, the galaxy interactions are likely to affect the the content of the cluster itself. Researchers believe that the Hercules Cluster is significantly similar to young galaxy clusters in the distant, early Universe and that exploring galaxy types and their interactions in nearby Hercules will help unravel the threads of galaxy and cluster evolution .
- Explanation: Two billion light-years away, galaxy cluster Abell 1689 is one of the most massive objects in the Universe. In this view from the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys, Abell 1689 is seen to warp space as predicted by Einstein's theory of gravity -- bending light from individual galaxies which lie behind the cluster to produce multiple, curved images. The power of this enormous gravitational lens depends on its mass, but the visible matter, in the form of the cluster's yellowish galaxies, only accounts for about one percent of the mass needed to make the observed bluish arcing images of background galaxies. In fact, most of the gravitational mass required to warp space enough to explain this cosmic scale lensing is in the form of still mysterious dark matter. As the dominant source of the cluster's gravity, the dark matter's unseen presence is mapped out by the lensed arcs and distorted background galaxy images.
- Abell 2218 - Distant Galaxy Cluster Entfernung : 2.000 Millionen Lichtjahre Grösse : 50 Galaxien im Bild sichtbar. Ereignis : Erstes Bild nach Reparatur von Hubble Telescope in 1999. “Gravitational lensing”.
- In Zeiten der Not, des Unglücks und der Mutlosigkeit haben schon viele ratlos gefragt: „Wie ist die Welt nur in eine solche Lage geraten? Woher sind Sünde und Satan gekommen? Warum lässt ein allmächtiger Gott zu, dass solche Verhältnisse in seinem Universum weiterbestehen?“ Diese Fragen verlangen eine Antwort, und wir wollen unsere Antworten in der Bibel suchen.
- Explanation: Welcome to Planet Earth, the third planet from a star named the Sun. The Earth is shaped like a sphere and composed mostly of rock. Over 70 percent of the Earth's surface is water. The planet has a relatively thin atmosphere composed mostly of nitrogen and oxygen. Earth has a single large Moon that is about 1/4 of its diameter and, from the planet's surface, is seen to have almost exactly the same angular size as the Sun. With its abundance of liquid water, Earth supports a large variety of life forms, including potentially intelligent species such as dolphins and humans. Please enjoy your stay on Planet Earth.
- Explanation: Except for the rings of Saturn, the Ring Nebula (M57) is probably the most famous celestial band. This planetary nebula's simple, graceful appearance is thought to be due to perspective -- our view from planet Earth looking straight into what is actually a barrel-shaped cloud of gas shrugged off by a dying central star. Astronomers of the Hubble Heritage Project produced this strikingly sharp image from Hubble Space Telescope observations using natural appearing colors to indicate the temperature of the stellar gas shroud. Hot blue gas near the energizing central star gives way to progressively cooler green and yellow gas at greater distances with the coolest red gas along the outer boundary. Dark, elongated structures can also be seen near the nebula's edge. The Ring Nebula is about one light-year across and 2,000 light-years away in the northern constellation Lyra.