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18.4°N 226°E // Pretelos
Posts tagged "astronomy"

the-star-stuff:

Orion and Nebulas

The Orion constellation featuring several nebulas. The huge Barnard Loop is visible as a band on the right of the constellation. The nebulosity around lambda orionis is also visible. 

To the bottom right you can see the Rosette nebula and on the top left next to Rigel the witchhead nebula. Inside Orion M42, the horsehead and flame nebulas are visible.

Orion is a wonderful constellation full of bright and interest objects and you can never get bored of it. Annotated version available.

Photographed by Luis Argerich

mothernaturenetwork: Most earth-like planet possibly foundWith a radius that is just 1.5 times that of Earth, the potential planet is what a so-called ‘super-Earth,’ meaning it is just slightly larger than the Earth. The candidate planet orbits a star similar to the sun at a distance that falls within the ‘habitable zone’ — the region where liquid water could exist on the planet’s surface. Scientists say the planet, if confirmed, could be a prime candidate to host alien life.

mothernaturenetwork:

Most earth-like planet possibly found
With a radius that is just 1.5 times that of Earth, the potential planet is what a so-called ‘super-Earth,’ meaning it is just slightly larger than the Earth. The candidate planet orbits a star similar to the sun at a distance that falls within the ‘habitable zone’ — the region where liquid water could exist on the planet’s surface. Scientists say the planet, if confirmed, could be a prime candidate to host alien life.

ikenbot: NGC 922: Collisional Ring Galaxy Why does this galaxy have so many big black holes? No one is sure. What is sure is that NGC 922 is a ring galaxy created by the collision of a large and small galaxy about 300 million years ago. Image Credit: NASA, ESA; Acknowledgement: Nick Rose Like a rock thrown into a pond, the ancient collision sent ripples of high density gas out from the impact point near the center that partly condensed into stars. Pictured above is NGC 922 with its beautifully complex ring along the left side, as imaged recently by the Hubble Space Telescope. Observations of NGC 922 with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, however, show several glowing X-ray knots that are likely large black holes. The high number of massive black holes was somewhat surprising as the gas composition in NGC 922 — rich in heavy elements — should have discouraged almost anything so massive from forming. Research is sure to continue. NGC 922 spans about 75,000 light years, lies about 150 million light years away, and can be seen with a small telescope toward the constellation of the furnace (Fornax).

ikenbot:

NGC 922: Collisional Ring Galaxy

Why does this galaxy have so many big black holes? No one is sure. What is sure is that NGC 922 is a ring galaxy created by the collision of a large and small galaxy about 300 million years ago.

Image Credit: NASA, ESA; Acknowledgement: Nick Rose

Like a rock thrown into a pond, the ancient collision sent ripples of high density gas out from the impact point near the center that partly condensed into stars. Pictured above is NGC 922 with its beautifully complex ring along the left side, as imaged recently by the Hubble Space Telescope. Observations of NGC 922 with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, however, show several glowing X-ray knots that are likely large black holes.

The high number of massive black holes was somewhat surprising as the gas composition in NGC 922 — rich in heavy elements — should have discouraged almost anything so massive from forming. Research is sure to continue. NGC 922 spans about 75,000 light years, lies about 150 million light years away, and can be seen with a small telescope toward the constellation of the furnace (Fornax).