NGC 3521
Galaxy in a Bubble⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Gorgeous spiral galaxy NGC 3521 is a mere 35 million light-years away, toward the constellation Leo. Relatively bright in planet Earth's sky, NGC 3521 is easily visible in small telescopes but often overlooked by amateur imagers in favor of other Leo spiral galaxies, like M66 and M65.
The Keyhole Nebula in Eta Carinae
This is a region of the Keyhole Nebula in Eta Carinae (NGC3372)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀The dark dusty Keyhole Nebula gets its name from its unusual shape. The looping Keyhole, in this featured classic image by the Hubble Space Telescope, is a smaller region inside the larger Carina Nebula.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Dramatic dark dust knots and complex features are sculpted by the winds and radiation of the Carina Nebula‘s many massive and energetic stars.
A dying star’s toxic legacy
The Westbrook Nebula — also known as PK166-06, CRL 618 and AFGL 618 — is a protoplanetary nebula.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀The strange and irregular bundle of jets and clouds in this curious composite image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is the result of a burst of activity late in the life of a star. As its core runs out of nuclear fuel, the star’s unstable outer layers are puffing out a toxic concoction of gases including carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide.⠀⠀⠀⠀
Celestial Fireworks
Celestial Fireworks. This is a composite image of the Helix Nebula. The Helix is a planetary nebula, the glowing gaseous envelope expelled by a dying, sun-like star. The Helix resembles a simple doughnut as seen from Earth. But looks can be deceiving. New evidence suggests that the Helix consists of two gaseous disks nearly perpendicular to each other.
The Whirlpool Galaxy
The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) lies about 23 million light-years from Earth toward the northern constellation Canes Venatici. Actually a pair of galaxies locked in a gravitational embrace, the large spiral's structure resulted when the smaller companion came from behind and passed through its disk.
NGC 1309
NGC 1309 is a spiral galaxy located approximately 120 million light-years away, appearing in the constellation Eridanus. It is about 75,000 light-years across, and is about 3/4s the width of the Milky Way. Its shape is classified as SA(s)bc, meaning that it has moderately wound spiral arms and no ring. Bright blue areas of star formation can be seen in the spiral arms, while the yellowish central nucleus contains older-population stars. NGC 1309 is one of over 200 members of the Eridanus Group o
The Hourglass Nebula
The Hourglass Nebula (MyCn18) is a young planetary nebula located about 8,000 light years away in Musca Constellation.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀The central star of the Hourglass Nebula is a hot Wolf-Rayet (WR) star, with a temperature of about 110,000 K. The star has ejected its material and is now responsible for the nebula’s glow.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀MyCn18 is approaching us at an approximate velocity of 67.8 kilometers per second.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀The Hourglass Nebula expands at 10 kilometers per second.
Planets in the making
Planets in the making, a hazardous process.Protoplanetary Disks in the Orion Nebula:These four snapshots, taken by NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, show dust disks around embryonic stars in the Orion Nebula being 'blowtorched' by a blistering flood of ultraviolet radiation from the region's brightest star. Within these disks are the seeds of planets. The doomed systems look like hapless comets, with wayward tails of gas boiling off the withering, pancake-shaped disks.