Estimated 1,500 light years away from planet Earth, lies a tale of two nebulae dancing in the cosmos. We’ll start with one of the most famous nebulae in astronomy: the Horsehead Nebula.  This gorgeous nebula is a dark nebula in the constellation Orion. The red emission nebula behind it acts like a gorgeous cosmic backdrop to show the curves and structure of this hydrogen gas beast. The head itself is about 2 to 3 light years across. In kilometers this would be about 20 – 30 trillion kilometers!   On the left hand side you’ll see its partner, famously known as, the Flame Nebula. This nebula is a star nursery for more than 800 young stars. Just right of the Flame Nebula, underneath the Horsehead Nebula, you’ll see a blue reflection nebula reflecting blue light from nearby stars. One of the most famous images of the Horsehead Nebula is the magnified image of...

Take a Gorgeous Peak at the Rosette Nebula!     Ah, the Rosetta Nebula or what’s also known as Caldwell 49. This is a true beauty of among the cosmos that’s often showed a lot during romantic holidays like valentines day. This nebula is 5,200 light years distant from Earth and measures in 130 light years in diameter! If you can imagine, the mass of this emission nebula is 10,000 that of our sun! The stars you see surrounding the gas are actually only a few million years old. The colors you see here are not it’s natural ones but they help scientists understand which elements are present in this gas cloud. The ones highlighted in red are sulfur, green is hydrogen, and the blue is oxygen. There are actually tons of images of the Rosette Nebula taken by Hubble Space telescope and amazing astrophotographers. Here are some of my favorites:      ...

Three Beautiful Galaxies in Draco     Here are three beautiful galaxies in the Draco constellation. These three galaxies are (from left to right) NGC 5981, NGC 5982, and NGC 5985, which lie 100 million light years from Earth. The sharp-edged shell details on NGC 5982 hint at a previous galaxy merger. To many deep sky observers this is also known as the “Draco Trio.” Seeing two barred spiral galaxies at different angles is a rare sight to see in one image. There are a few mysteries bubbling in some of these galaxies. For example, NGC 5982 has been said by researcher Simões Lopes, that the galaxy may house a supermassive black hole within its active galactic nucleus. “This result demonstrates a strong correlation between the presence of circumnuclear dust and accretion onto the central, supermassive black hole in elliptical and lenticular galaxies. Current...

How the Tulip Nebula (Sh2-101) is More than Just a Gorgeous Image     This image really takes my breath away. Everyone, say hello to the beautiful cosmic flower called the Tulip Nebula (Sh2-101). This gorgeous nebula is about 8,000 light years away from Earth. You can find this in the constellation of Cygnus which is located within our Milky Way. The Tulip Nebula was first discovered in 1959 by astronomer Stewart Sharpless. What’s cool about this image is it’s a composite image that maps the emission. The red gasses in this image represent ionized sulfur, the green is hydrogen, and finally blue is the lovely oxygen. The ultraviolet radiation from young energetic O star called HDE 227018 ionizes the atoms and powers the Tulip Nebula. HDE 227018 can be seen glowing brilliantly right in the middle of this image near the blue arc. Also, one more little piece of...

Beautiful Reflection Nebula of M78     This is a beautiful image of a reflection nebula called M78. It’s located in the constellation Orion and is 1600 light years away from Earth. A reflection nebula is a cloud of interstellar dust that reflects the light of nearby stars. The nebula itself is 5 light years across and glows blue because it’s reflecting blue light from young hot stars in the region. Dark dust lanes can be easily traced through this beautiful skyscape. An interesting antidote about reflection nebulas is that the energy from nearby stars are insufficient to ionize the gas of the nebulae to create an emission nebula. However, when you do see ionized gas in a nebulae it is giving you clues that a hot star is entering the stages of a dying star. M78 is a beautiful example of a reflection nebula and is one breath taking image. For more information you...