Gallery: The Most Dazzling Photos From Space This Year
<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1520/">ESO</a>01ESO’s Very Large Telescope images the Medusa Nebula
Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Chile have captured the most detailed image ever taken of the Medusa Nebula. As the star at the heart of this nebula made its transition into retirement, it shed its outer layers into space, forming this colourful cloud. The image foreshadows the final fate of the Sun, which will eventually also become an object of this kind.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/where-alice-in-wonderland-meets-albert-einstein.html">X-ray: NASA/CXC/UA/J.Irwin et al; Optical: NASA/STScI</a>02SPoW-November27-003b
The “Cheshire Cat” galaxies are so named because of their grinning features, but not all of them are nearby. Some are distant galaxies whose light has been stretched and bent by large amounts of mass contained in the foreground galaxies. This is known as “gravitational lensing” and is one of the key factors of Einstein’s general relativity published 100 years ago this month. This photo from Chandra X-Ray Observatory finds evidence that the Cheshire Cat group are slamming into one another and the left “eye” contains a supermassive black hole.
<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1521/">ESO</a>03eso14xxa-vv391
__The star forming cloud RCW 34.__ In the brightest region of this glowing nebula called RCW 34, gas is heated dramatically by young stars and expands through the surrounding cooler gas. Once the heated hydrogen reaches the borders of the gas cloud, it bursts outwards into the vacuum like the contents of an uncorked champagne bottle — this process is referred to as champagne flow. But the young star-forming region RCW 34 has more to offer than a few bubbles; there seem to have been multiple episodes of star formation within the same cloud.
<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/pluto-dazzles-in-false-color">NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI</a>04SPoW-06
A new false color image of Pluto released by New Horizons. The photo was enhanced to show differences in the dwarf planet’s texture and composition.
<a href="http://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1517/">NASA, ESA, J. Trauger (Jet Propulson Laboratory)</a>05SPoW-July26-Aug1-07
This photo shows the Nebula Lagoon in the constellation of Sagittarius. The region’s name might sound peaceful, but it’s actually the exact opposite. The center of the nebula is home to extreme winds from hot stars, tumultuous funnels of gas and active star formation. The distinctive star buried in dark clouds is Herschel 36 and influences the surrounding cloud’s shape.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/hubble-peers-into-the-heart-of-a-galactic-maelstrom">ESA/Hubble & NASA</a>06SPoW-Oct11-17-06
NGC 4639 is a beautiful example of a type of galaxy known as a barred spiral. It lies over 70 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo and is one of about 1,500 galaxies that make up the Virgo Cluster. NGC 4639 is a beautiful example of a type of galaxy known as a barred spiral. In this image, one can clearly see the bar running through the bright, round core of the galaxy. The galaxy’s spiral arms are sprinkled with bright regions of active star formation. Each of these tiny jewels is actually several hundred light-years across and contains hundreds or thousands of newly formed stars. But NGC 4639 also conceals a dark secret in its core — a massive black hole that is consuming the surrounding gas.
<a href="http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4722">NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona</a>07SPoW-Sept27-Oct3-05
New findings from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) provide the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars. Using an imaging spectrometer on MRO, researchers detected signatures of hydrated minerals on slopes where mysterious streaks are seen on the Red Planet.
<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1537/?lang">ESO</a>08SPoW-Sept20-26-03
This new image of the rose-colored star forming region Messier 17 was captured by the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. It is one of the sharpest images showing the entire nebula. It not only reveals its full size but also retains fine detail throughout the cosmic landscape of gas clouds, dust and newborn stars.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/hubble-sees-the-wings-of-a-butterfly-the-twin-jet-nebula"> ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt</a>09SPoW-Aug23-29-03
The Twin Jet Nebula has beautiful, illuminated “wings” of gas caused by the last stages of an old star “of low to intermediate mass.” The star’s outer layers are gone, leaving the core exposed and glowing. The Twin Jet Nebula is a bipolar nebula, meaning it contains two stars. Astronomers believe this is the reason for the distinctive wing shape as the dying stars expel gases.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/veil-nebula-supernova-remnant">NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team</a>10SPoW-Sept20-26-05
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has unveiled a small section of the expanding remains of a massive star that exploded about 8,000 years ago. Known as the Veil Nebula, the debris is one of the best-known supernova remnants, deriving its name from its delicate, draped filamentary structures. The entire nebula is 110 light-years across, covering six full moons on the sky as seen from Earth, and resides about 2,100 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus, the Swan.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/new-perspective-on-a-galaxy-cluster”> X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Waterloo/A.Vantyghem et al; Optical: NASA/STScI; Radio: NRAO/VLA</a>11SPoW-Oct18-24-06
The galaxy cluster MS 0735.6+7421 is home to one of the most powerful eruptions ever observed. Within the Chandra data, holes, or cavities, can be seen. These cavities were created by an outburst from a supermassive black hole at the center of the cluster, which ejected the enormous jets detected in radio waves (pink) detected by the Very Large Array. This image is part of a collection of new images released from the Chandra archive to celebrate American Archive Month.
<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1535/">ESO</a>12SPoW-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/goddard/hubbles-galactic-sunflower">ESA/Hubble & NASA</a>13SPoW-Sept9-12-03
The arrangement of the spiral arms in the galaxy Messier 63, seen here in an image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, recall the pattern at the center of a sunflower. So the nickname for this cosmic object — the Sunflower Galaxy — is no coincidence. Galactic arms, sunflowers and whirlpools are only a few examples of nature’s apparent preference for spirals. For galaxies like Messier 63 the winding arms shine bright because of the presence of recently formed, blue–white giant stars and clusters, readily seen in this Hubble image.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/hubble-view-smoke-ring-for-a-halo/">ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt</a>14SPoW-Oct26-31-06
This is a photo of the star system DI Cha. It’s a quadruple system containing two sets of binary stars, but in the photo only two stars are apparent, shining through a ring of cascading dust. It’s part of the Chamaeleon I dark cloud --- one of three such clouds that comprise a large star-forming region known as the Chamaeleon Complex.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/hubble-finds-a-little-gem">ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt</a>15SPoW-Aug2-8-03
Another colorful bubble known as the Little Gem Nebula, located in the constellation of Sagittarius (The Archer) from 6,000 light-years away. The rich glow of the cloud is only half a light-year across, but still bright and gorgeous.
<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1540/”>ESO/M.-R. Cioni/VISTA Magellanic Cloud survey. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit</a>16SPoW-Oct18-24-02
This image shows the location of VFTS 352 — the hottest and most massive double star system to date where the two components are in contact and sharing material. The two stars in this extreme system lie about 160 000 light-years from Earth in the Large Magellanic Cloud. This intriguing system could be heading for a dramatic end, either merging to form a single giant star or forming a binary black hole.
<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>17SPoW-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.eso.org/public/images/potw1523a/">ESO / Manu Mejias</a>18SPoW-June7-13-08
A photo of the Crab Nebula, a remnant of a supernova explosion. Remains of the exploded star are still expanding about 1500 kilometres per second.
<a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/raw/rawimagedetails/index.cfm?imageID=342275">NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute</a>19N00249426-crop
The 18-year-old Cassini spacecraft made its closest-ever flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus this week, delivering some spectacular images. [See a full gallery of them here.](https://www.wired.com/2015/10/check-out-these-awesome-images-of-enceladus-from-cassini/) This raw (uncalibrated, unvalidated) image was taken on October 14, 2015 and received on Earth on October 15, 2015.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/a-hubble-cosmic-couple"> ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt</a>20SPoW-06b
The Hubble captured a gorgeous cosmic couple that is the star Hen 2-427 and the nebula M1-67 some 15,000 light-years from Earth. The bright center is Hen 2-427, a Wolf-Rayet star known for its intense heat and explosions. The colorful gases surrounding are the nebula M1-67. At barely 10,000 years old, they make the perfect pair and a stunning sight.
<a href="https://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1526/">ESA/Hubble & NASA</a>21SPoW-Dec18-03
Hubble spots turbulent activity in the stormy Orion B molecular cloud complex, located in the Milky Way. The two brilliant streams crossing this image are jets of energized gas, spewing out from a young star. If the jets collide with the surrounding gas and dust they can clear vast spaces, and create curved shock waves, seen as knotted clumps called Herbig-Haro objects.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/rosetta-comet-outburst-captured"> ESA/Rosetta/MPS</a>22SPoW-Aug9-15B
Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko had an outburst, a shooting jet of gas and dust as the object reached perihelion (when the comet gets closest to the sun). When comets get near the sun, its icy surface begins to turn into gas which eventually forms the tail. Scientists have been following this comet for nearly a year and can now watch it more from its dormant to active phase.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/psychedelic-pluto">NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI</a>23Pluto-Rainbow-01
New Horizons scientists use a technique called “principal component analysis” to transform Pluto into a rainbow of false color. The image shows off the planet’s many and distinctive regions.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/chandra-finds-evidence-for-serial-black-hole-eruptions.html">X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/S.Randall et al., Optical: SDSS</a>24SPoW-June7-13-06
A composite of NGC 5813, a group of galaxies with a supermassive black hole in its center. The black hole has had multiple eruptions over the last 50 million years.
<a href="http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA19836"> NASA/JPL-Caltech</a>25SPoW-Aug16-20-05
This is star forming region is NGC 2174, nicknamed the “Monkey Head” for certain clouds that supposedly resemble a monkey face when seen in visible light. This infrared image makes the monkey disappear, but allows scientists to see the beginnings of new clusters of stars that will be born over the next 1,000 years. The red lights are actually infant stars surrounded by warm dust. These processes could not be seen with the naked eye, but only made possible through infrared.
<a href="http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2015-365">NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA</a>26SPoW-Dec11-07
Ceres, one of the largest objects in the asteroid belt, has more than 130 bright spots. This representation of Ceres’ Occator Crater in false color highlights the differences in the surface. Studies suggest these bright spots are consistent with salts, such as sulfates, and were mostly like revealed through asteroid impacts.
<a href="http://www.gemini.edu/node/12379">Gemini Observatory/AURA </a>27Liller1-Med
A cluster called Liller 1 where the stars are so densely packed that it might be one of the few places in our galaxy where astronomers think stars can collide.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/nh/nh-finds-blue-skies-and-water-ice-on-pluto"> NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI</a>28SPoW-Oct8-01
New Horizons give us the first color photos of Pluto’s atmospheric hazes, which was a beautiful blue. The haze is likely from chemical reactions of nitrogen and methane cause by the sun, leading to small, soot-like particles (or tholins) that grow as they settle toward the surface.
<a href="http://www.gemini.edu/node/12429">Gemini Observatory/AURA/B. Reipurth, C. Aspin, T. Rector</a>29SPoW-Sept27-Oct3-02
A stunningly detailed photo of emerging gas jets streaming from a region of newborn stars. The Herbig-Haro 24 Complex contains no less than six jets streaming from a small cluster of young stars embedded in molecular cloud.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/hubble-sees-an-aging-star-wave-goodbye"> ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Serge MeunierESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Serge Meunier</a>30SPOW-Oct8-09
This is planetary nebula called PK 329-02.2 (sometimes referred to as Menzel 2, or Mz 2). A planetary nebula is formed when a star around the mass of the sun reaches the end of its life. They shed outer layers which appear as glowing clouds of gas. While not usually symmetrical, the Menzel 2 has blue clouds that perfectly align with two stars at its center. The nebula will continue this display for tens of thousands of years, but will eventually fade away and become a white dwarf.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/cassinis-final-breathtaking-close-views-of-dione"> NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute</a>31SPoW-Aug16-20-01
An up-close shot of Dione, Saturn’s icy moon. The Cassini spacecraft captured the moon at its best resolution ever, passing 295 miles above the surface. The dark gray background is actually Saturn looming just behind the moon, its rings barely visible.
<a href="http://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1511/">Artist's Illustration: ESA/Hubble, L. Calçada (ESO)</a>32SPW-May29-08
Large Hubble survey confirms link between mergers and supermassive black holes with relativistic jets. In the most extensive survey of its kind ever conducted, a team of scientists have found an unambiguous link between the presence of supermassive black holes that power high-speed, radio-signal-emitting jets and the merger history of their host galaxies. Almost all of the galaxies hosting these jets were found to be merging with another galaxy, or to have done so recently. The results lend significant weight to the case for jets being the result of merging black holes and will be presented in the Astrophysical Journal.
<a href="https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/2015-19">NASA/JPL-Caltech</a>33SPoW-Sept20-26-04
ASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, stellar winds flowing out from the fast-moving star Zeta Ophiuchi are creating a bow shock seen as glowing gossamer threads, which, for this star, are only seen in infrared light.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/cassini/unusual-red-arcs-spotted-on-icy-saturn-moon">NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute</a>34SPoW-July26-Aug1-04
The Cassini spacecraft captures reddish streaks on Tethys, Saturn’s icy moon. The color is somewhat of a rarity when it comes to Saturn’s moons. Photos indicate the streaks are only a few miles wide but several hundreds miles long. Scientists speculate the features might be exposed ice with chemical impurities or a result of outgassing from inside the moon.
<a href="http://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1513/">ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2</a>35SPoW-June7-13-04
NGC 6503 is a spiral galaxy at the edge of the “Local Void,” a seemingly empty section of space nearly 150 million light-years across.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/pluto-s-close-up-now-in-color">NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI</a>36SPoW-Dec11-10
Pluto gets another close-up, this time in full color. The enhanced color mosaic is a combination of the some of the sharpest views of Pluto from the New Horizons’ flyby on July 14. The image reveals features smaller than half a city block on the dwarf planet’s surface, capturing various cratered, mountainous and glacial terrains.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/sdo-sees-mid-level-solar-flare">NASA/SDO</a>3720150625-m7.9flare
A M7.9-class solar flare on June 25. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere, but the flares can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.
<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1532/">ESO</a>38SPoW-Aug2-8-01
This is the South Owl Nebula captured by the Very Large Telescope in northern Chile. Planetary nebulae are quite a common phenomenon, made from the ejected and expanding gas of dying stars. They exist briefly (only a few tens of thousands of years) and create beautiful bubbles which eventually fade away as the stars grow dimmer.
<a href="http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA19808"> NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS</a>39SPoW-Aug16-20-03
The Curiosity Mars Rover takes a “low-angle self-portrait” on a rock target called “Buckskin,” where it was drilling for samples. The rover created created the portrait from multiple images snapped by a camera mounted on its robotic arm. August 5 was the rover’s 1,065th Martian day.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/hubble-sees-a-youthful-cluster"> ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt</a>40SPoW-Aug23-29-04
Hubble snapped this photo of the globular cluster NGC 1783, one of the biggest in the Large Magellanic Cloud. A globular cluster is where stars are densely held together by their own gravity. Astronomers measure the color and brightness of each star and predict the age of a cluster. NGC 1783 is fairly young at only 1.5 billion years old and has already had two different periods of star formation.
