NASA

NASA

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Cosmic fireworks in time for the Fourth of July⁣ ⁣ A fiery hourglass marks this cosmic object that’s turning into a star. @NASAWebb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument spotted this protostar 460 light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus.⁣ ⁣ A protostar is a collection of interstellar gas and dust, whose gravitational pull is causing it to collapse on itself and form a star. This protostar is growing in the neck of the hourglass, accumulating material from a thin protoplanetary disk, seen edge-on here as a dark line.⁣ ⁣ Just in time for the Fourth of July, the protostar is decked out in red, white, and blue—adapted from Webb’s infrared vision. The more diffuse blue light and the filament-like structures in the image come from organic compounds known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), while the red at the center of this image is an energized, thick layer of gas and dust that surrounds the protostar. The region in between, which shows up in white, is a mixture of PAHs, ionized gas, and other molecules.⁣ ⁣ Image description: A growing protostar embedded within a molecular cloud. The center of the image shows a bright, red region, where the protostar resides, with a thin, gray lane cutting through it horizontally, which is the protostar’s accretion disk. Above and below this region are white and blue triangular-shaped cavities in the molecular cloud, which give the overall object an hourglass shape. The areas of the cavities closest to the central protostar have more pronounced plumes of white gas and dust that fade to a blue color further from the center. There are red, yellow, orange, blue, and green stars and galaxies scattered across the image.⁣ ⁣ Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI⁣ ⁣ #NASA #Space #Universe #JWST #Stars #Hourglass #Cloud #FourthOfJuly #Festive

07.05 03:07

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Resembling the fury of a raging sea, this image from our @NASAHubble telescope actually shows a bubbly ocean of glowing hydrogen gas. The Omega Nebula, found about 5,500 light-years from Earth, is a hotbed of star formation, where wave-like patterns of gas have been sculpted and illuminated by a torrent of ultraviolet radiation coming from new stars lurking just outside this picture (above and to the left). The ultraviolet radiation is carving and heating the surfaces of cold hydrogen gas clouds. The warmed surfaces glow orange and red in this photograph. The intense heat and pressure cause some material to stream away from those surfaces, creating the glowing veil of even hotter greenish gas that masks background structures. The pressure on the tips of the waves may trigger new stars forming within them. This image was released in 2003 to commemorate the thirteenth anniversary of Hubble's launch on April 24, 1990. Hubble continues to study the cosmos, helping astronomers and scientists make sense of our universe. Image description: A colorful, hazy nebula. Shades of green and blue dominate the top-left corner, with orange, red and dark waves of gas taking up the bottom and right sides. A handful of stars peek through the gaseous nebula. Credit: NASA, ESA and J. Hester (ASU) #NASA #Space #Universe #Astrophotography #Nebula
A stellar “jewel box” 20,000 light-years away⁣ ⁣ Thousands of sparkling young stars are nestled within a giant nebula, or vast region of dust and gas, in this image by our @NASAHubble Space Telescope. The nebula, NGC 3603, is a prominent star-forming region in the Carina spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy.⁣ ⁣ This nebula was first discovered by Sir John Herschel in 1834. This image spans roughly 17 light-years and was taken Dec. 29, 2005 with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys.⁣ ⁣ Image description: Thousands of stars and vast regions of dust and gas are seen in this deep space image. At the center of the image is a central star cluster, with a surrounding nebula on either side. At the top right corner is a small cluster of dark clouds called “Bok” globules.⁣ ⁣ Credit: NASA, @EuropeanSpaceAgency, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration⁣ ⁣ #Nebula #Stars #Universe #NASA #Hubble #HubbleClassic #DeepSpace
NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick captured this photo of Hurricane Beryl in the Caribbean on July 1, 2024, while aboard the @ISS. NASA studies hurricanes from space through photos like this one, as well as observations from satellites. Hurricane first responders use this data, as well as scientists who want to understand how climate change impacts hurricanes. Hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones are all the same type of storm – tropical cyclones – and they all form the same way. When warm, moist air over the ocean rises upward from near the surface, an area of lower air pressure is created. Air from surrounding areas with higher air pressure pushes into the low-pressure area. That “new” air becomes warm and moist and rises, too. As the air rises, though, it cools off and creates clouds. The whole system of clouds and wind spins and grows, fed by the ocean’s heat and water evaporating from the surface. The distinctive “eye” of the storm is made by the system turning faster and faster. Tropical cyclones are categorized from 1-5 based on wind speed. For example, a Category 1 hurricane has winds of 74-95 mph (119-153 kph). A Category 4 hurricane, like Hurricane Beryl was at the time this image was captured, has winds of 130-156 mph (209-251 kph). Image description: A view of Hurricane Beryl from the International Space Station. The hurricane is a big white circle of clouds, with spiral arms visible at far right and bottom middle. The surrounding water is various shades of blue: lighter blue at the top and deeper blue at the bottom of the photo. Earth’s curve is visible in the back, up against the darkness of space. Credit: NASA/Matthew Dominick #NASA #SpaceStation #Hurricane #Beryl #TropicalCyclone
Vivid auroras in Jupiter’s atmosphere Eight years ago today, our @NASAHubble Space Telescope observed stunning light shows in the atmosphere of the largest planet in our solar system. Astronomers used Hubble’s ultraviolet capabilities to take this image on June 30, 2016. Auroras are created when high-energy particles enter a planet’s atmosphere near its magnetic poles and collide with atoms of gas. At the time this image was captured, our Juno spacecraft was in the solar wind near Jupiter, on its way to entering Jupiter’s orbit on July 4, 2016. While Hubble observed and measured the auroras on Jupiter, Juno measured the properties of the solar wind itself: a perfect collaboration between a telescope and a space probe. Image description: A full disc image of the planet Jupiter, with swirling cloud tops seen across the large, gas giant planet. The Great Red Spot is seen in the lower right of Jupiter, and bright purple auroras illuminate its northern polar region. Credit: NASA, @EuropeanSpaceAgency, and J. Nichols (University of Leicester) #Jupiter #SolarSystem #Aurora #NASA #Space #OTD
You’re the sunflower 🎵 Millions of light-years away in the small, northern constellation Canes Venatici, the spiral Sunflower galaxy (Messier 63) spreads its many arms – or so it seems. The Sunflower galaxy is a flocculent spiral galaxy. That means its spiral arms aren’t well defined, so it looks like there are many that appear to be winding around its yellow core. In reality, there are just two. The arms shine bright thanks to recently formed, blue–white giant stars. Star formation is one of the most important processes in shaping the universe. In addition to birthing new stars, it gives rise to planetary systems and plays a pivotal role in the evolution of galaxies. Scientists don’t fully know how stars form in flocculent spiral galaxies, so Messier 63 is a perfect one to study with images like this one from @nasahubble. Image description: Slightly right of center, the galaxy’s core glows in yellow. The galaxy’s arms spiral outward from the core, filling the image with blue-tinged gas and dust. There are bright blue dots studded throughout these spiral arms; these are young blue-white giant stars. Very little of the darkness of space can be seen in this image, except at the very bottom. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA #NASA #Hubble #ESA #Galaxy #Sunflower #Stars #Constellation #Astronomy
Go with the floe 🧊 These swirling ice floes are spinning off the shore of Greenland, as seen in this photo taken from space on June 4, 2024. Sea ice from the Arctic drifts down the Fram Strait, a 450-kilometer (280-mile)-wide passage that connects the Arctic Ocean with the Greenland Sea. Along the way, it breaks into smaller pieces and starts to melt in warmer ocean waters, creating the smoke-like swirls seen here. In recent years, more of the Arctic Ocean's sea ice has become too young and thin to make the journey south. The movement of sea ice and freshwater out of the Arctic is part of the ocean circulation patterns that distribute heat around the planet, contributing to climate conditions worldwide — so scientists are keeping a close eye on how these floes flow. Follow @NASAEarth for more updates from across our home planet. Image description: An icy shore and dark blue ocean, as seen from space. In between, chunks of ice float in the water; some are large enough to show up as discrete blocks, but others are so small that they swirl through the ocean like cream in coffee. Credit: Wanmei Liang, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview #NASA #Earth #Greenland #Iceberg #GoWithTheFlow
Dreaming of Saturn 🪐 Saturn’s graceful lanes of orbiting ice — its iconic rings — wind their way around the planet to pass beyond the horizon in this view taken on Aug. 12, 2017 by the wide-angle camera on the @NASASolarSystem Cassini spacecraft. Look closely at the upper right of this image: Saturn’s small moon Pandora (25.3 miles, or 40.7 km, in mean radius) can be seen orbiting just beyond the F ring. The image was obtained at a distance of approximately 581,000 miles (935,000 km) from Saturn. The Cassini mission, which ended on Sept. 15, 2017, after two decades in space, was a cooperative project of NASA, ESA (the @EuropeanSpaceAgency) and the Italian Space Agency. It studied Saturn and its complex system of rings and moons in unprecedented detail, returning an enormous collection of data that will continue to yield new discoveries for decades. Image description: A close-up view of Saturn in black and white looking toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 19 degrees above the ringplane. Saturn’s moon Pandora is visible as a tiny dot in the upper right of the image just beyond the F ring. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute #Saturn #SolarSystem #NASA #RingsOfInstagram #CloseUp
U GO, GOES-U! 🛰 @NOAA’s GOES-U weather satellite launched from @NASAKennedy on June 25, 2024, at 5:26 p.m. EDT (2126 UTC) atop a @SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. GOES-U is the last in the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES)-R Series, a series of advanced satellites that provide fast, high-resolution imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth’s Western Hemisphere, real-time mapping of lightning activity, and monitoring of solar activity and space weather. Aboard GOES-U are seven instruments, including a new, operational Compact Coronagraph-1 instrument. The coronagraph will observe the Sun’s outermost layer, called the corona, for large explosions of plasma that could produce geomagnetic solar storms. These solar storms can impact satellites and communications systems on Earth. Image descriptions: 1. A white SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying GOES-U lifts off. Flames shoot out from under it as white smoke billows around the launchpad. A tall, black structure called the gantry with criss-cross metals bars disappearing into the white smoke is in front of the rocket. A white water tower with the words “SpaceX” across the top, rounded section can be seen on the left. 2. The white rocket flies upward through the deep blue sky, flames still blazing. Credit: NASA/Amber Jean Notvest #NASA #Space #Launch #FalconHeavy #Rocket #Satellite #Liftoff #Meteorology
Rhapsody in blue 🎶 This cosmic nebula, a cloud of gas and dust where new stars are born, was spotted by our orbiting @NASAHubble telescope. Located just over 5,300 light-years from Earth, this nebula is home to a number of young, developing stars called protostars, which show up as some of the smaller sparkles in this image. The Hubble data in this image came from the telescope's Wide Field Camera 3, which peered through the nebula's cocoon of gas with near-infrared vision to study the stars within. This particular nebula is rich with hydrogen ions which are excited by the ultraviolet radiation coming from the nebula's protostars, giving it the pinkish glow seen here. Image description: A dreamlike stellar landscape, with a pinkish arc of gas standing out against dark blue swirls. A number of stars of various sizes, each accentuated by four diffraction spikes, are abundantly scattered through the image. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Tan (Chalmers University & University of Virginia), R. Fedriani #NASA #Space #Universe #Astrophotography #Hubble #HubbleTelescope #Nebula
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