Carnival of Space 449: Best Space Stories of the Week!

By on Mar 12, 2016 in Carnival of Space | 1 comment

Welcome to the Carnival of Space issue 449! If this is your first time coming across this series then let me give you a brief introduction. Carnival of Space is hosted by amazing space science bloggers across the globe where they share their best space stories. It makes your life a lot easier in tracking down these awesome stories and even some exposure to our grass roots community. We hope you enjoy these stories and learn something new today! Without further adieu here they are:     CHIMERA: New Instrument to Help Astronomers Discover Kuiper Belt Objetcs and NEAs Asteroids Here’s a post (in español) from our friends over at Vega00.com about how a new instrument called CHIMERA or Caltech HIgh-speed Multi-color camERA, will help astronomers discover more small Kuiper Belt Objects (KBO) and near-Earth asteroids. Check out the full post here.    Edge-On: Good for...

The Destructive Fate of the Comet Galaxy

By on Mar 9, 2016 in Galaxies | 1 comment

Galaxies all come in different shapes and sizes and it plays on our imagination of what life could be like in other galaxies. However, the Comet Galaxy brings something new to the table. It’s what astronomers and scientists discovered about this galaxy that made it so intriguing. The galaxy is ripping itself apart while flying through space at incredible speeds.   At the top left you can see the infamous Comet Galaxy leaving a trail of stars and gas as it’s flying through at 3.5 million kilometers/hr or 972 kilometers per second!! So you can imagine that this thing is just barely holding on to its mass and stars as it’s flying through. The Comet Galaxy is located 3.2 billion light years away in Abell 2667, so really it takes a very powerful telescope to even see this thing. The temperatures in the galaxy are estimated between 10 – 100 million degrees...

The Giant Stellar Nursery NGC 604 that’s 100x the Orion Nebula

By on Mar 7, 2016 in Pictures | 0 comments

The universe is no stranger to freakishly large objects. Well, enter NGC 604, it’s 1,520 light years across! As stated in the title it’s over 100 times bigger than the famous Orion Nebula. However, if you plan to take a trip there it would take you 2.7 million light years to get there. It’s located in an entire different galaxy called the Triangulum Galaxy. Here’s a photo of the Orion Nebula in comparison to NGC 604: If you want to get a sense of how far Orion Nebula is…well then just look at NGC 604. Its size is the distance from Earth to the Orion Nebula! If NGC 604 was at the distance of Orion Nebula (1,350 light years) it would take up 50 degrees in the night sky! To get an idea, hold up your fist in the air, and extend your thumb and pinky out. Now that distance between your thumb and pinky is 25 degrees. Two of those would give you an idea of how big...

In the Heart Nebula lies Melotte 15

By on Mar 3, 2016 in Pictures | 0 comments

In the beautiful constellation Cassiopeia located 7,500 light years away from Earth, is a gorgeous star cluster called Melotte 15. It lays in the famous Heart Nebula and stretches for 30 light years in the image below, which would amount to 300 trillion km! The cosmic landscape of gorgeous colors represent different elements and gasses. In red we have sulfur, green is hydrogen (most abundant in the universe), and finally blueish hue is oxygen. This nebula and star cluster was only formed 1.5 million years ago, which is still considered a baby in the universe time-scale. Who knows what planets and species may already be present in this part of the universe, or what the future may hold for this star cluster. For now humans can look upon this nebula and star cluster with a sense of wonder and appreciation for how incredible the universe is.   Finally, where Molette is comfortably...

Gorgeous Emission Nebula NGC 6188

By on Mar 2, 2016 in Pictures | 0 comments

Here’s a beautiful image of NGC 6188. It’s amazing this no one has coined a term yet (maybe it’s your chance to suggest one!) but this stunning emission nebula is located in the constellation Ara. It’s still within our Milky Way located 4,000 light years away. The sculptures you see here in the cosmic gas are caused by young stars that are born and emitting intense ultraviolet radiation. NGC 6188 formed a few million years ago so it’s relatively young in the cosmic perspective. The colors here also represent different elements that emit different colors of light. Red is sulfur, green is hydrogen, and blue hues are oxygen atoms. Astronomers estimate that this image spans about 200 light years across!   Further reading and sources used: Astrobin APOD APOD (2nd photo)

The Incredibly Beautiful Lagoon Nebula

By on Mar 1, 2016 in Pictures | 0 comments

The Lagoon Nebula has got to be one of the most beautiful and photogenic emission nebulae out there. This nebula is located about 4000-6000 light years away from Earth in the constellation of Sagittarius (the Archer). Astronomers believe it was discovered as early as 1654. Interestingly it is the one of only two star-forming nebulae that you can see faintly with the human eye. However, the real show is when you start examining it with the large telescopes. It’s an absolute must-see. In this post I’ll just be showcasing images of the Lagoon Nebula. So sit back and grab a nice cup of tea or coffee and get lost in the universe… **Make sure to enlarge these photos for the full effect A star nursery where you can see many young stars being born. Look for the bright blue stars which are indicators of young stars that have just formed. A gorgeous interstellar canvas that is...

The Strange Wonders of Jupiter’s Moon Callisto

By on Feb 29, 2016 in Solar System | 0 comments

Imagine a moon where your typical view is the gargantuan planet Jupiter. It never seems to move across the sky and just stares right back at you. This is probably a typical view from most of the moons around Jupiter but there is one that separates itself from the rest; enter Callisto. Quick Facts About Callisto Discovered in 1610 by Galileo 16 Earth day orbital & rotation periods (synchronous) Average radius: 2,410 km (Earth’s moon = 1,737 km) Callisto is a very intriguing planet when you start getting a closer look at it. Its cratered filled surface tells a story of ancient turmoil since the early solar system. We know that its other comparable siblings – Io, Europa, and Ganymede – experiences tidal heating as a result of orbital resonance. Meaning the enormous effect of a tug of war between Jupiter’s gravity and these moons causes some internal heating....

The Opulent Vela Supernova Remnant

By on Feb 27, 2016 in Pictures, Supernova | 0 comments

If there’s one thing I can’t get enough of it’s the gorgeous supernovae remnant photos. The cosmos sculpts magnificent scenes from hundreds or hundred of thousands light years away from Earth. The beautiful image you see here is our friend called the Vela Supernova Remnant, located 800 light years away from Earth. This remnant exploded about 11,000 – 12,300 years ago. To give you some context 11,000 years ago on Earth was the emergence of the oldest city still around today called Jericho. Humans who settled there may have been able to see this supernova in the sky. The gorgeous filaments you see here are traces of expanding shockwaves in the X-ray wavelength. As these gasses of elements such as hydrogen and oxygen fly away from the detonated star, they smash into each other and eventually form into young stars. The blue points of light in the photo are the...