Universe images

Nebulas, which are both hubs of star birth and products of stars' demise, explode and transform with light and color as the stellar life cycle unfolds within them. These giant clouds of dust and gas that fill the space between stars have long captivated onlookers with their ethereal beauty. Here's a look at 25 of the most breathtaking nebulas in the universe. (Image credit: NASA Goddard) Known for its simple, graceful shape, the Ring Nebula is 2,000 light-years away in the constellation Lyra and stretches 1 light-year across. Its color fades with temperature; hot blue gas at the center fades to cooler green and yellow around the edges. It's a popular object of study for amateur astronomers. (Image credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) The Twin Jet Nebula is a binary planetary nebula. Rather than holding a single star at its center, this nebula has two stars orbiting in a binary system, giving the nebula its iridescent wings. It's also known as Minkowski's butterfly, after Hermann Minkowski, the scientist who discovered it. (Image credit: NASA Goddard) The Horsehead Nebula, located in the constellation Orion, is one of the most recognized and photographed nebulas in the sky, according to NASA. Like a majestic cosmic cloud, the nebula appears transparent here because the photo was taken with infrared imaging. In visual wavelengths, the nebula is dark and red. 6. Cat's Eye Nebula (Image credit: ESA and the PACS, SPIRE & HSC consortia, F. Motte AIM Saclay,CEA/IRFU - CNRS/I...

ViewSpace gives you the opportunity to explore our planet, solar system, galaxy, and universe. Provided free with the support of NASA, ViewSpace is developed by a team of scientists, educators, and communication specialists who collaborate to ensure that content is accurate, up-to-date, engaging, relevant, and accessible to a wide audience. Interactives ViewSpace interactives allow you to explore objects and materials from different perspectives, discovering how we can combine information to better understand the universe. Hidden objects: Unveil invisible light to reveal hidden objects like the stars forming inside Mystic Mountain, a pillar of gas and dust 7,500 light-years from Earth. Videos ViewSpace videos tell the stories of the planets, stars, galaxies, and universe, giving viewers the opportunity to experience space and Earth as seen with satellites and telescopes. ViewSpace is produced by the Office of Public Outreach at the , in partnership with the NASA's Universe of Learning project and NASA's Earth Observing System, Hubble Space Telescope Project, and James Webb Space Telescope Project. ViewSpace has been exhibited in museums, planetariums, and science centers across the country since 2000. Stars, Galaxies, and Dark Matter What objects and materials make up the universe, and how do we study the invisible as well as the visible? Data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-Ray Observatory are used to create a map of dark matter (blue) in galaxy cluster M...

• The new images come from a variety of missions and telescopes that show off the universe. The photos show a number of different galaxies, supernovas and stars, including: • Messier 82, or M82 • Abell 2744 • Supernova 1987A (SN 1987A) • Eta Carinae — a star that could explode as a supernova. • Cartwheel Galaxy View the images below, courtesy of Messier 82, or M82, is a galaxy that is oriented edge-on to Earth. This gives astronomers and their telescopes an interesting view of what happens as this galaxy undergoes bursts of star formation. X-rays from Chandra (appearing as blue and pink) show gas in outflows about 20,000 light years long that has been heated to temperatures above 10 million degrees by repeated supernova explosions. Optical light data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (red and orange) shows the galaxy. When a star like the Sun runs out of fuel, it expands and its outer layers puff off, and then the core of the star shrinks. This phase is known as a “planetary nebula,” and astronomers expect our Sun will experience this in about 5 billion years. This Helix Nebula images contains infrared data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope (green and red), optical light from Hubble (orange and blue), ultraviolet from NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer (cyan), and Chandra’s X-rays (appearing as white) showing the white dwarf star that formed in the center of the nebula. The image is about four light years across. What will be the next star in our Milky Way galaxy to explo...