保护地球，探索宇宙，发现文明
2023年10月28日 The Ghosts of Gamma Cas Image Credit & Copyright: Guillaume Gruntz, Jean-François Bax Explanation: Gamma Cassiopeiae shines high in northern autumn evening skies. It’s the brightest spiky star in this telescopic field of view toward the constellation Cassiopeia. Gamma Cas shares the ethereal-looking scene with ghostly interstellar clou...
2023年10月4日 IC 2118: The Witch Head Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Abdullah Alharbi Explanation: Does this nebula look like the head of a witch? The nebula is known popularly as the Witch Head Nebula because, it is said, the nebula’s shape resembles a Halloween-style caricature of a witch’s head. Exactly how, though, can be a topic of imagi...
2023年9月26日 IC 4592: The Blue Horsehead Reflection Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Antoine & Dalia Grelin Explanation: Do you see the horse’s head? What you are seeing is not the famous Horsehead nebula toward Orion, but rather a fainter nebula that only takes on a familiar form with deeper imaging. The main part of the here-imaged molecular ...
2023年9月2日 NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Lorand Fenyes Explanation: These cosmic clouds have blossomed 1,300 light-years away in the fertile starfields of the constellation Cepheus. Called the Iris Nebula, NGC 7023 is not the only nebula to evoke the imagery of flowers. Still, this deep telescopic image shows off the Iris NebulaR...
2023年6月22日 Stars and Dust across Corona Australis Image Credit & Copyright: Alessandro Cipolat Bares Explanation: Cosmic dust clouds cross a rich field of stars in this telescopic vista near the northern boundary of Corona Australis, the Southern Crown. Part of a sprawling molecular cloud complex this star forming region is a mere 500 light-years away. ...
2023年4月22日 NGC 1333: Stellar Nursery in Perseus Image Credit: Science – NASA, ESA, STScI, Processing – Varun Bajaj (STScI), Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Jennifer Mack (STScI) Explanation: In visible light NGC 1333 is seen as a reflection nebula, dominated by bluish hues characteristic of starlight reflected by interstellar dust. A mere 1,000 light-...
2023年2月2日 Reflections on the 1970s Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel Stern Explanation: The 1970s are sometimes ignored by astronomers, like this beautiful grouping of reflection nebulae in Orion – NGC 1977, NGC 1975, and NGC 1973 – usually overlooked in favor of the substantial glow from the nearby stellar nursery better known as the Orion N...
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...
2022年6月26日 Light Echoes from V838 Mon Image Credit: NASA, ESA, H. E. Bond (STScI) Explanation: What caused this outburst of V838 Mon? For reasons unknown, star V838 Mon’s outer surface suddenly greatly expanded with the result that it became one of the brighter stars in the Milky Way Galaxy in early 2002. Then, just as suddenly, it shrunk and faded. A ...