Gallery: Space Photos of the Week: A Galaxy That's a Bit Outta Whack
<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1535/">ESO</a>01SPoW-Sept30-Aug5-01
The Prawn Nebula is one of constant "cosmic recycling." It's been a hotbed for star production over millions of years because of the many aging stars and supernova explosions that keep new stars forming.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/pia19817/rocks-here-sequester-some-of-mars-early-atmosphere">NASA/JPL-Caltech/JHUAPL/Univ. of Arizona</a>02SPoW-Sept30-Aug5-02
A photo of Mars’ Nili Fossae plains, the largest deposit of carbonate minerals on the planet. Scientists analyzed this spot and learned the planet’s atmosphere would have had to have double the amount of carbon that it does today.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/hubble-peers-into-the-heart-of-a-galactic-maelstrom">ESA/Hubble & NASA and the LEGUS Team, Acknowledgement: R. Gendler</a>03SPoW-Sept30-Aug5-03
Messier 96 is a bit out of whack. The gorgeous spiral galaxy’s core isn’t quite centered, and the spiral arms asymmetrically spread out from the pull of other nearby galaxies in the M96 Group. Messier 96 is the same size of the Milky Way and some 35 million light-years away.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/hubble-survey-unlocks-clues-to-star-birth-in-neighboring-galaxy">: NASA, ESA, J. Dalcanton, B.F. Williams, L.C. Johnson (University of Washington), and the PHAT team</a>04SPoW-Sept30-Aug5-04
Hubble has taken 2,753 images of blue star clusters in the Andromeda galaxy in order to learn about star formation. This photo is a combination of 414 images showing a multitude of stars and star clusters as bright blue bunches. Scientists are using the image to determine the Initial Mass Function (IMF), the percentage of stars that have a specific mass within a cluster.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/hubble-survey-unlocks-clues-to-star-birth-in-neighboring-galaxy">: NASA, ESA, J. Dalcanton, B.F. Williams, L.C. Johnson (University of Washington), and the PHAT team</a>05SPoW-Sept30-Aug5-05
This photo is a close up of six clusters extracted from the previous image, each one 150 light-years across. Through the study, astronomers have learned the universe produces stars in steady batches from large to small. It’s the same throughout the galaxy regardless of the varying size and age.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s-new-horizons-spacecraft-begins-intensive-data-downlink-phase">NASA-JHUAPL-SwRI</a>06SPoW-Sept30-Aug5-06
New Horizons has returned another close-up of Pluto, showing young mountains rising some 11,000 feet. It’s been dubbed the Norgay Mountains and was shot during the spacecraft’s closest approach to the dwarf planet. Even more detailed images are to come on September 5.
