保护地球，探索宇宙，发现文明
2023年1月29日 Barnard 68: Dark Molecular Cloud Image Credit: FORS Team, 8.2-meter VLT Antu, ESO Explanation: Where did all the stars go? What used to be considered a hole in the sky is now known to astronomers as a dark molecular cloud. Here, a high concentration of dust and molecular gas absorb practically all the visible light emitted from background stars. T...
2023年1月5日 Messier 45: The Daughters of Atlas and Pleione Image Credit & Copyright: Stefan Thrun Explanation: Hurtling through a cosmic dust cloud a mere 400 light-years away, the lovely Pleiades or Seven Sisters open star cluster is well-known for its striking blue reflection nebulae. It lies in the night sky toward the constellation Taurus and the Orio...
2022年12月19日 The Tadpole Nebula in Gas and Dust Image Credit & Copyright: Craig Stocks (Utah Desert Remote Observatories) Explanation: What’s causing the commotion in the Tadpole Nebula? Star formation. Dusty emission in the Tadpole Nebula, IC 410, lies about 12,000 light-years away in the northern constellation of the Charioteer (Auriga). The clou...
2022年11月15日 Wolf’s Cave Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Gianni Lacroce Explanation: The mysterious blue reflection nebula found in catalogs as VdB 152 or Ced 201 really is very faint. It lies at the tip of the long dark nebula Barnard 175 in a dusty complex that has also been called Wolf’s Cave. At the center of this deep telescopic view, t...
2022年11月4日 InSight’s Final Selfie Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Mars InSight Explanation: The Mars InSight lander returned its first image from the Red Planet’s flat, equatorial Elysium Planitia after a successful touchdown on November 26, 2018. The history making mission to explore the martian Interior using Seismic investigations, geodesy, a...
2022年10月17日 X-Ray Rings Around a Gamma Ray Burst Image Credit: NASA Swift Obs.; Data: B. Cenko (NASA’s GSFC), A. Beardmore (U. Leicester) et al.; Processing: J. Miller (U. Michigan) Explanation: Why would x-ray rings appear around a gamma-ray burst? The surprising answer has little to do with the explosion itself but rather with light reflected off are...
2022年9月21日 The Horsehead Nebula in Infrared from Hubble Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble; Processing: Alexandra Nachman Explanation: While drifting through the cosmos, a magnificent interstellar dust cloud became sculpted by stellar winds and radiation to assume a recognizable shape. Fittingly named the Horsehead Nebula, it is embedded in the vast and complex...
2022年9月5日 Carina Cliffs from the Webb Space Telescope Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI Explanation: Stars created these cliffs. Specifically, the destructive winds and energetic light from the stars in the open cluster NGC 3324 eroded away part of a mountain of dark interstellar dust in the northern part of the Carina Nebula. Several of these stars are vi...
2022年8月10日 Dust Clouds of the Pacman Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Douglas J. Struble (Future World Media) Explanation: Stars can create huge and intricate dust sculptures from the dense and dark molecular clouds from which they are born. The tools the stars use to carve their detailed works are high energy light and fast stellar winds. The heat they...
2022年8月5日 A Beautiful Trifid Image Credit & Copyright: Vikas Chander Explanation: The beautiful Trifid Nebula is a cosmic study in contrasts. Also known as M20, it 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 does illustrate three different types of astro...