Our latest Picture of the Week features a snapshot the massive galaxy cluster Abell 1351, captured in this image by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys. This galaxy cluster lies in the constellation Ursa Major in the northern hemisphere.
This image is filled with streaks of light, which are actually the images of distant galaxies. The streaks are the result of gravitational lensing, an astrophysical phenomenon that occurs when a massive celestial body such as a galaxy cluster distorts spacetime sufficiently strongly to affect the path of light passing through it — almost as if the light were passing through a gigantic lens. Gravitational lensing comes in two varieties — strong and weak — and both can give astronomers an insight into the distribution of mass within a lensing galaxy cluster such as Abell 1351.
This observation is part of an astronomical album comprising snapshots of some of the most massive galaxy clusters. This menagerie of massive clusters demonstrates interesting astrophysical phenomena such as strong gravitational lensing, as well as showcasing spectacular examples of violent galaxy evolution. To obtain this astronomical album, astronomers proposed a Snapshot Program to be slotted into Hubble’s packed observing schedule. These Snapshot Programs are lists of separate, relatively short exposures which can fit into gaps between longer Hubble observations. Having a large pool of Snapshot candidates to dip into allows Hubble to use every second of observing time possible and to maximise the scientific output of the observatory.
For more information check the link in bio.
Image credit: @europeanspaceagency / @hubbleesa & NASA , H. Ebeling
Acknowledgement: L. Shatz
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One Amongst Millions
Looking deep into the Universe, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope catches a passing glimpse of the numerous arm-like structures that sweep around this barred spiral galaxy, known as NGC 2608. Appearing as a slightly stretched, smaller version of our Milky Way, the peppered blue and red spiral arms are anchored together by the prominent horizontal central bar of the galaxy.
In Hubble photos, bright Milky Way stars will sometimes appear as pinpoints of light with prominent lens flares. A star with these features is seen in the lower right corner of the image, and another can be spotted just above the pale centre of the galaxy. The majority of the fainter points around NGC 2608, however, lack these features, and upon closer inspection they are revealed to be thousands of distant galaxies. NGC 2608 is just one among an uncountable number of kindred structures.
Image credit: @europeanspaceagency / @hubbleesa & NASA / A. Riess et al.
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Archival data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope helped detect the spectral signature of the vaporised debris that revealed a combination of rocky-metallic and icy material, the ingredients of planets. The findings help describe the violent nature of evolved planetary systems and the composition of its disintegrating bodies.
The findings are based on analysing material captured by the atmosphere of the nearby white dwarf star G238-44. A white dwarf is what remains of a star like our Sun after it sheds its outer layers and stops burning fuel through nuclear fusion.
This illustration shows a white dwarf star syphoning off debris from shattered objects in a planetary system.
For more information check the link in bio.
Illustration credit: NASA / @europeanspaceagency , J. Olmsted ( @space_telescopes )
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Our latest Picture of the Week features a cosmic treasure chest! This star-studded image shows the globular cluster Terzan 9 in the constellation Sagittarius, towards the centre of the Milky Way. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captured this glittering scene using its Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys.
Globular clusters are stable, tightly bound groupings of tens of thousands to millions of stars. As this image demonstrates, the hearts of globular clusters can be densely packed with stars; the night sky in this image is strewn with so many stars that it resembles a sea of sequins or a vast treasure chest crammed with gold.
This starry snapshot is from a Hubble programme investigating globular clusters located towards the heart of the Milky Way. The central region of our home galaxy contains a tightly packed group of stars known as the Galactic bulge, which is also rich in interstellar dust. This dust has made globular clusters near the Galactic centre difficult to study, as it absorbs starlight and can even change the apparent colours of the stars in these clusters. Hubble's sensitivity at both visible and infrared wavelengths has allowed astronomers to measure how the colours of these globular clusters have been changed by interstellar dust, and thereby to establish their ages.
For more information check the link in bio.
Image credit: @europeanspaceagency / @hubbleesa & NASA , R. Cohen
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Stellar Snowflakes
Almost like snowflakes, the stars of the globular cluster NGC 6441 sparkle peacefully in the night sky, about 13 000 light-years from the Milky Way’s galactic centre. Like snowflakes, the exact number of stars in such a cluster is difficult to discern. It is estimated that together the stars weigh 1.6 million times the mass of the Sun, making NGC 6441 one of the most massive and luminous globular clusters in the Milky Way.
NGC 6441 is host to four pulsars that each complete a single rotation in a few milliseconds. Also hidden within this cluster is JaFu 2, a planetary nebula. Despite its name, this has little to do with planets. A phase in the evolution of intermediate-mass stars, planetary nebulae last for only a few tens of thousands of years, the blink of an eye on astronomical timescales.
There are about 150 known globular clusters in the Milky Way. Globular clusters contain some of the first stars to be produced in a galaxy, but the details of their origins and evolution still elude astronomers.
Image credit: @europeanspaceagency / @hubbleesa & NASA / G. Piotto
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Test your Sherlock Holmes 🕵 abilities on our latest Picture of the Week.
Just like the magnifying glass of the great detective, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has been used to peer into an astronomical mystery in search of clues. In this Picture of the Week, the enigma in question concerns the globular cluster Ruprecht 106, which is pictured in this image. While the constituent stars of globular clusters all formed at approximately the same location and time, it turns out that almost all globular clusters contain groups of stars with distinct chemical compositions. These distinct chemical fingerprints are left by groups of stars with very slightly different ages or compositions from the rest of the cluster. A tiny handful of globular clusters do not possess these multiple populations of stars, and Ruprecht 106 is a member of this enigmatic group.
Here is your detective challenge: in this image, some bright spots are stars and some are galaxies. There is one particular elliptical galaxy, close to the centre of the cluster, that looks orange and does not have spikes. Can you find it?
We'll post the answer later in our story!
Check the link in bio to learn more about the mystery of the globular cluster Ruprecht 106.
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A sharp view of the Triangulum Galaxy
A staggering 665 million pixels make up this image of the Triangulum Galaxy - also known as Messier 33 or NGC 598 - which shows the eye-catching central part of the galaxy and its spiral arms.
Under excellent dark-sky conditions, the Triangulum Galaxy can be seen with the naked eye as a faint, blurry object in the constellation of Triangulum (the Triangle), where its ethereal glow is an exciting target for amateur astronomers.
At only three million light-years from Earth, the Triangulum Galaxy is a notable member of the Local Group — it is the group’s third-largest galaxy, but also the smallest spiral galaxy in the group. It measures only about 60 000 light-years across, compared to the 200 000 light-years of the Andromeda Galaxy; the Milky Way lies between these extremes at about 100 000 light-years in diameter
Image credit: @europeanspaceagency / NASA / M. Durbin / J. Dalcanton & B. F. Williams ( @uofwa )
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Hubble helps explain why Uranus and Neptune are different colours. Using observations from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, as well as @geminiobs & the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, researchers have developed a single atmospheric model that matches observations of both planets.
👉 The model reveals that excess haze on Uranus builds up in the planet’s stagnant, sluggish atmosphere and makes it appear a lighter tone than Neptune.
👉 Neptune and Uranus have much in common — similar masses, sizes, and atmospheric compositions — yet their appearances are notably different. Astronomers now have an explanation for why the two planets are different colours.
👉 New research suggests that a layer of concentrated haze that is present on both planets is thicker on Uranus than on Neptune and therefore ‘whitens’ Uranus’s appearance more than Neptune’s. In its absence, both would appear almost equally blue.
👉 “This is the first model to simultaneously fit observations of reflected sunlight from ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths,” said lead author Patrick Irwin, Professor of Planetary Physics at @oxford_uni .
👉 The team’s model consists of three layers of aerosols at different heights. The key layer that affects the colours is the middle layer, which is a layer of haze particles that is thicker on Uranus than on Neptune.
👉 To create this model, Irwin’s team analysed archival data spanning several years from Hubble
Image credit: NASA / @europeanspaceagency A. Simon ( @nasagoddard ), and M. H. Wong ( @ucberkeleyofficial ) and the OPAL team
For more information check the link in bio.
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Our latest Picture of the Week is a result of "galactic birdwatching". This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the barred spiral galaxy NGC 7496, which lies over 24 million light-years away in the constellation Grus. This constellation, whose name is Latin for crane, is one of four constellations collectively known as the Southern Birds. The others are Pavo, Phoenix and Tucana, which depict a peacock, phoenix, and toucan respectively. The rest of the night sky is also home to a flock of ornithological constellations, including an eagle (Aquilla), swan (Cygnus), crow (Corvus), and dove (Columba).
This image comes from a collection of observations delving into the relationship between young stars and the cold, dense clouds of gas in which they form. In addition to observations with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys, the astronomers behind this project gathered data using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), one of the largest radio telescopes in the world.
As well as shedding light on the speed and efficiency of star formation in a variety of galactic environments, this project is also creating a treasury of data incorporating both Hubble and ALMA observations. This treasure trove of data from two of the world’s most capable observatories will contribute to wider research into star formation, as well as paving the way for future science with @esawebb .
For more information check the link in bio.
Image credit: @europeanspaceagency / @hubbleesa & NASA , J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team
Acknowledgement: J. Schmidt
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