ScienceDaily: Nebula News

Hubble reveals the Ring Nebula’s true shape

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:32:32 EDT

The Ring Nebula's distinctive shape makes it a popular illustration for astronomy books. But new observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope of the glowing gas shroud around an old, dying, sun-like star reveal a new twist.

Spectacular stellar nursery: ESO's Very Large Telescope celebrates 15 years of success

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:29:29 EDT

With this new view of a spectacular stellar nursery ESO is celebrating 15 years of the Very Large Telescope — the world's most advanced optical instrument. This picture reveals thick clumps of dust silhouetted against the pink glowing gas cloud known to astronomers as IC 2944. These opaque blobs resemble drops of ink floating in a strawberry cocktail, their whimsical shapes sculpted by powerful radiation coming from the nearby brilliant young stars.

Orion's hidden fiery ribbon

Wed, 15 May 2013 08:52:52 EDT

A dramatic new image of cosmic clouds in the constellation of Orion reveals what seems to be a fiery ribbon in the sky. This orange glow represents faint light coming from grains of cold interstellar dust, at wavelengths too long for human eyes to see.

Hubble sees the remains of a star gone supernova

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:16:16 EDT

A new image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows delicate wisps of gas that make up an object known as SNR B0519-69.0, or SNR 0519 for short. The thin, blood-red shells are actually the remnants from when an unstable progenitor star exploded violently as a supernova around 600 years ago. There are several types of supernovae, but for SNR 0519 the star that exploded is known to have been a white dwarf star -- a Sun-like star in the final stages of its life.

Hubble sees the remains of a star gone supernova

Fri, 03 May 2013 15:15:15 EDT

These delicate wisps of gas make up an object known as SNR B0519-69.0, or SNR 0519 for short. The thin, blood-red shells are actually the remnants from when an unstable progenitor star exploded violently as a supernova around 600 years ago. There are several types of supernovae, but for SNR 0519 the star that exploded is known to have been a white dwarf star -- a sun-like star in the final stages of its life.

An anarchic region of star formation

Thu, 02 May 2013 08:22:22 EDT

The Danish 1.54-meter telescope located at the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory in Chile has captured a striking image of NGC 6559, an object that showcases the anarchy that reigns when stars form inside an interstellar cloud.

Universality of circular polarization in star- and planet-forming regions: Implications for the origin of homochirality of life

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 09:09:09 EDT

A research team in Japan has performed deep imaging linear and circular polarimetry of the 'Cat's Paw Nebula' (NGC 6334) located in the constellation Scorpius, successfully detecting high degrees of circular polarization (CP) of as much as 22% in NGC 6334. The detected CP degree is the highest ever observed.

NASA's Hubble sees a horsehead of a different color

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 09:41:41 EDT

Astronomers have used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to photograph the iconic Horsehead Nebula in a new, infrared light.

Ghostly green bubble: Detailed image of planetary nebula

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 08:27:27 EDT

An intriguing new picture shows the glowing green planetary nebula IC 1295 surrounding a dim and dying star located about 3300 light-years away in the constellation of Scutum (The Shield). This is the most detailed picture of this object ever taken.

Taken under the 'wing' of the small magellanic cloud: First detection of X-ray emission from young stars with masses similar to our Sun outside our Milky Way galaxy

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 10:42:42 EDT

The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is one of the Milky Way's closest galactic neighbors. In fact, it was so bright that many navigators used this object to make their way across the oceans. A new composite image shows this galaxy like Ferdinand Magellan, who lends his name to the SMC, could never have imagined. New Chandra data of the SMC have provided the first detection of X-ray emission from young stars with masses similar to our Sun outside our Milky Way galaxy.

Hubble sees J 900 masquerading as a double star

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 10:19:19 EDT

A new image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows Jonckheere 900 or J 900, a planetary nebula -- glowing shells of ionized gas pushed out by a dying star. Discovered in the early 1900s by astronomer Robert Jonckheere, the dusty nebula is small but fairly bright, with a relatively evenly spread central region surrounded by soft wispy edges.

Supernova remnant 1987A continues to reveal its secrets

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 20:28:28 EDT

A team of astronomers has succeeded in observing the death throes of a giant star in unprecedented detail. In February of 1987, astronomers observing the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby dwarf galaxy, noticed the sudden appearance of what looked like a new star. In fact they weren't watching the beginnings of a star but the end of one and the brightest supernova seen from Earth in the four centuries since the telescope was invented. By the next morning news of the discovery had spread across the globe and southern hemisphere stargazers began watching the aftermath of this enormous stellar explosion, known as a supernova.

Sprial galaxy: Hidden depths of Messier 77 revealed

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:51:51 EDT

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured this vivid image of spiral galaxy Messier 77, one of the most famous and well-studied galaxies in the sky. The patches of red across this image highlight pockets of star formation along the pinwheeling arms, with dark dust lanes stretching across the galaxy's energetic center.

Sun block for the 'Big Dog': Astronomers detect titanium oxide and titanium dioxide around the giant star VY Canis Majoris

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:38:38 EDT

Astronomers have successfully identified two titanium oxides in the extended atmosphere around a giant star. The object VY Canis Major is one of the largest stars in the known universe and close to the end of its life. The star ejects large quantities of material which forms a dusty nebula.

How to build a very large star

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 09:23:23 EDT

Stars ten times as massive as the Sun, or more, should not exist: as they grow, they tend to push away the gas they feed on, starving their own growth. Scientists have been struggling to figure out how some stars overcome this hurdle. Now, a group of researchers suggests that baby stars may grow to great mass if they happen to be born within a corral of older stars.

A youthful 'star wreck': Youngest-known supernova remnants in our Milky Way galaxy

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:13:13 EDT

While performing an extensive X-ray survey of our galaxy's central regions, NASA's Swift satellite has uncovered the previously unknown remains of a shattered star. Designated G306.3.9 after the coordinates of its sky position, the new object ranks among the youngest-known supernova remnants in our Milky Way galaxy.

Astronomers find 'lost' supernova

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:16:16 EST

Supernova explosions of massive stars are common in spiral galaxies like the Milky Way, where new stars are forming all the time. They are almost never seen in elliptical galaxies where star formation has nearly ceased. As a result, astronomers were surprised to find a young-looking supernova in an old galaxy.

Hubble observes glowing, fiery shells of gas

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 16:10:10 EST

A new image from the Hubble Space Telescope may look like something from "The Lord of the Rings," but this fiery swirl is actually a planetary nebula known as ESO 456-67. Set against a backdrop of bright stars, the rust-colored object lies in the constellation of Sagittarius (The Archer), in the southern sky.

New Greek observatory sheds light on old star

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:58:58 EST

Continuing a tradition stretching back more than 25 centuries, astronomers have used the new 2.3-meter 'Aristarchos' telescope, sited at Helmos Observatory (2340m high) in the Pelοponnese Mountains in Greece, to determine the distance to and history of an enigmatic stellar system, discovering it to likely be a binary star cocooned within an exotic nebula.

Sweeping dust from a cosmic lobster

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:47:47 EST

Located around 8000 light-years away in the constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion), NGC 6357 -- sometimes nicknamed the Lobster Nebula due to its appearance in visible-light images -- is a region filled with vast clouds of gas and tendrils of dark dust. These clouds are forming stars, including massive hot stars which glow a brilliant blue-white in visible light.

Supernova remnants produce cosmic rays

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 19:41:41 EST

A new study reveals the first clear-cut evidence the expanding debris of exploded stars produces some of the fastest-moving matter in the universe. This discovery is a major step toward understanding the origin of cosmic rays, one of Fermi's primary mission goals.

Clues to the mysterious origin of cosmic rays

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 14:18:18 EST

Very detailed new observations of the remains of a thousand-year-old supernova have revealed clues to the origins of cosmic rays. For the first time the observations suggest the presence of fast-moving particles in the supernova remnant that could be the precursors of such cosmic rays.

'A drop of ink on the luminous sky:' Wide Field Imager snaps cosmic gecko

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 08:24:24 EST

This part of the constellation of Sagittarius (The Archer) is one of the richest star fields in the whole sky -- the Large Sagittarius Star Cloud. The huge number of stars that light up this region dramatically emphasize the blackness of dark clouds like Barnard 86, which appears at the center of this new picture.

The wings of the Seagull Nebula

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 09:47:47 EST

A new image from the European Southern Observatory shows a section of a cloud of dust and glowing gas called the Seagull Nebula. These wispy red clouds form part of the "wings" of the celestial bird and this picture reveals an intriguing mix of dark and glowing red clouds, weaving between bright stars.

WISE space telescope feels the heat from Orion's sword

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:22:22 EST

The tangle of clouds and stars that lie in Orion's sword is showcased in a new, expansive view from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE.

Are super-Earths actually mini-Neptunes?

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 09:46:46 EST

In the last two decades astronomers have found hundreds of planets in orbit around other stars. One type of these so-called 'exoplanets' is the super-Earths that are thought to have a high proportion of rock but at the same time are significantly bigger than our own world. Now a new study suggests that these planets are actually surrounded by extended hydrogen-rich envelopes and that they are unlikely to ever become Earth-like. Rather than being super-Earths, these worlds are more like mini-Neptunes.

3-D fireworks of a star: Astronomers reconstruct journey of emitted gas

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 12:34:34 EST

In 1901 the star GK Persei gave off a powerful explosion that has not stopped growing and astonishing ever since. Now astronomers have reconstructed the journey of the emitted gas in 3-D which, contrary to predictions, has hardly slowed down its speed of up to 1,000 km/s after all this time.

Setting the Dark on Fire: Beautiful view of clouds of cosmic dust in region of Orion

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 09:45:45 EST

In space, dense clouds of cosmic gas and dust are the birthplaces of new stars. In visible light, this dust is dark and obscuring, hiding the stars behind it. So much so that, when astronomer William Herschel observed one such cloud in the constellation of Scorpius in 1774, he thought it was a region empty of stars and is said to have exclaimed, "Truly there is a hole in the sky here!"

Microquasar makes a giant manatee nebula

Sat, 19 Jan 2013 18:50:50 EST

A new view of a 20,000-year old supernova remnant demonstrates the upgraded imaging power of the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array and provides more clues to the history of this giant cloud that resembles a beloved endangered species, the Florida Manatee.

Hidden treasure in Large Magellanic Cloud

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 10:58:58 EST

Nearly 200,000 light-years from Earth, the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, floats in space, in a long and slow dance around our galaxy. Vast clouds of gas within it slowly collapse to form new stars. In turn, these light up the gas clouds in a riot of colors, visible in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

Light from darkness: Brilliant stars emerging from dusty stellar nursery

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 09:14:14 EST

An evocative new image from the European Southern Observatory shows a dark cloud where new stars are forming, along with a cluster of brilliant stars that have already emerged from their dusty stellar nursery.

Cloudy mystery solved: A puzzling cloud near the galaxy's center may hold clues to how stars are born

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 14:21:21 EST

It's the mystery of the curiously dense cloud. And astronomers are on the case. Despite being very dense, the cloud -- situated near the crowded galactic center -- does not form many stars. But now astronomers have discovered why.

A jumble of exotic stars: New VISTA snap of star cluster 47 Tucanae

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 07:54:54 EST

A new infrared image from the European Southern Observatory's VISTA telescope shows the globular cluster 47 Tucanae in striking detail. This cluster contains millions of stars, and there are many nestled at its core that are exotic and display unusual properties. Studying objects within clusters like 47 Tucanae may help us to understand how these oddballs form and interact.

Next-generation adaptive optics brings remarkable details to light in stellar nursery

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:58:58 EST

A new image reveals how Gemini Observatory's most advanced adaptive optics system will help astronomers study the universe with an unprecedented level of clarity and detail by removing distortions due to the Earth's atmosphere.

New approach for simulating supernovas

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:22:22 EST

Researchers are trying to bridge the gap between studies of supernova blasts and the remnants they leave behind. They hope to use a relatively new computer code to show more of the evolution from blast to remnant.

Hubble eyes the needle galaxy: IC 2233, one of the flattest galaxies known

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 10:05:05 EST

Like finding a silver needle in the haystack of space, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has produced a beautiful image of the spiral galaxy IC 2233, one of the flattest galaxies known.

A cosmic holiday ornament, Hubble-style

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 09:42:42 EST

Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have photographed a festive-looking nearby planetary nebula called NGC 5189. The intricate structure of this bright gaseous nebula resembles a glass-blown holiday ornament with a glowing ribbon entwined.

Exploding star missing from formation of solar system

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 09:10:10 EST

A new study challenges the notion that the force of an exploding star forced the formation of the solar system.

Image of the Carina Nebula marks inauguration of VLT Survey Telescope

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 12:19:19 EST

A spectacular new image of the star-forming Carina Nebula has been captured by the VLT Survey Telescope at the European Southern Observatory's Paranal Observatory and released on the occasion of the inauguration of the telescope in Naples today. The picture was taken with the help of Sebastián Piñera, President of Chile, during his visit to the observatory on June 5, 2012.

Hubble sees a galaxy hit a bullseye

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 09:45:45 EST

In Hubble’s image, NGC 922 clearly reveals itself not to be a normal spiral galaxy. The spiral arms are disrupted, a stream of stars extends out towards the top of the image, and a bright ring of nebulae encircles the core. New observations reveal more chaos in the form of ultraluminous X-ray sources dotted around the galaxy.

Hubble eyes a loose spiral galaxy

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 09:37:37 EST

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has spotted the spiral galaxy ESO 499-G37, seen here against a backdrop of distant galaxies, scattered with nearby stars.

Born-again star foreshadows fate of Solar System

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:23:23 EST

Astronomers have found evidence for a dying Sun-like star coming briefly back to life after casting its gassy shells out into space, mimicking the possible fate our own Solar System faces in a few billion years.

Life and death in a star-forming cloud

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 11:38:38 EST

The aftershock of a stellar explosion rippling through space is captured in this new view of supernova remnant W44, which combines far-infrared and X-ray data from ESA's Herschel and XMM-Newton space observatories.

Cosmic sprinklers explained: Odd pair of aging stars sculpt spectacular shape of planetary nebula

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 14:09:09 EST

Astronomers have discovered a pair of stars orbiting each other at the center of one of the most remarkable examples of a planetary nebula. The new result confirms a long-debated theory about what controls the spectacular and symmetric appearance of the material flung out into space.

Finding a binary star inside curved-jet-shooting nebula

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 07:30:30 EST

Astronomer have discovered a pair of stars circling inside one of the strangest known planetary nebulae. The researchers used his new model to confirm a long-debated theory on the spectacular and symmetrical appearance of matter hurled into space by binary stars.

Hubble sees a planetary nebula in the making

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 14:23:23 EDT

The Universe is filled with mysterious objects. Many of them are as strange as they are beautiful. Among these, planetary nebulae are probably one of the most fascinating objects to behold in the night sky. No other type of object has such a large variety of shapes and structures. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has provided a striking image of Hen 3-1475, a planetary nebula in the making.

Sweeping X-ray imaging survey of dying stars is 'uncharted territory'

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 14:14:14 EDT

The death throes of dying stars are the focus of a sweeping new survey using NASA's Chandra X-ray satellite observatory. More than two dozen astronomers have aligned their research goals to use Chandra to image a set of dying stars in the neighborhood of the Sun. The resulting X-ray images of these dying stars -- called planetary nebulae -- are shedding light on the violent "end game" of a Sun-like star's life.

Surprising spiral structure spotted by astronomers

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 13:14:14 EDT

Astronomers have discovered a surprising spiral structure in the gas around the red giant star R Sculptoris. This means that there is probably a previously unseen companion star orbiting the star. The astronomers were also surprised to find that far more material than expected had been ejected by the red giant.

Large water reservoirs at the dawn of stellar birth

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 11:12:12 EDT

The European Space Agency's Herschel space observatory has discovered enough water vapor to fill Earth's oceans more than 2000 times over, in a gas and dust cloud that is on the verge of collapsing into a new Sun-like star. Stars form within cold, dark clouds of gas and dust -- 'pre-stellar cores' -- that contain all the ingredients to make solar systems like our own.

How pulsars slow down with age

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 09:15:15 EDT

Researchers have developed a model which explains how the spin of a pulsar slows down as the star gets older. A pulsar is a highly magnetized rotating neutron star which was formed from the remains of a supernova - an explosion which happens after a massive star runs out of nuclear fuel. A pulsar emits a rotating beam of electromagnetic radiation, rather like that of a lighthouse. This beam can be detected by powerful telescopes when it points towards and sweeps past the Earth.

NASA's Swift satellite discovers a new black hole in Milky Way galaxy

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 16:28:28 EDT

NASA's Swift satellite recently detected a rising tide of high-energy X-rays from a source toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The outburst, produced by a rare X-ray nova, announced the presence of a previously unknown stellar-mass black hole.

The Helix Nebula: Bigger in death than life

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 12:18:18 EDT

A dying star is refusing to go quietly into the night, as seen in a combined infrared and ultraviolet view from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), which NASA has lent to the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. In death, the star's dusty outer layers are unraveling into space, glowing from the intense ultraviolet radiation being pumped out by the hot stellar core.

Supernova SN 1006: Cause of brightest stellar event in recorded history illuminated

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 09:15:15 EDT

Between April 30 and May 1 of the year 1006, the brightest stellar event ever recorded in history occurred: a supernova, or stellar explosion, that was widely observed by various civilizations from different places on Earth. More than a thousand years later, researchers have found that the supernova of 1006 (SN 1006) probably occurred as a result of the merger of two white dwarfs.

Rich colors of a cosmic seagull

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 09:29:29 EDT

A new image from the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory shows part of a stellar nursery nicknamed the Seagull Nebula. This cloud of gas, formally called Sharpless 2-292, seems to form the head of the seagull and glows brightly due to the energetic radiation from a very hot young star lurking at its heart.

Hubble catches glowing gas and dark dust in a side-on spiral

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 09:39:39 EDT

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has produced a sharp image of NGC 4634, a spiral galaxy seen exactly side-on. Its disk is slightly warped by ongoing interactions with a nearby galaxy, and it is crisscrossed by clearly defined dust lanes and bright nebulae.

First planets found around sun-like stars in a cluster

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 13:34:34 EDT

Astronomers have, for the first time, spotted planets orbiting sun-like stars in a crowded cluster of stars. The findings offer the best evidence yet that planets can sprout up in dense stellar environments. Although the newfound planets are not habitable, their skies would be starrier than what we see from Earth.

A celestial witch’s broom? A new view of the Pencil Nebula

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 08:48:48 EDT

The Pencil Nebula is pictured in a new image from ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. This peculiar cloud of glowing gas is part of a huge ring of wreckage left over after a supernova explosion that took place about 11,000 years ago.

Was Kepler's supernova unusually powerful?

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 13:26:26 EDT

A new analysis of Kepler's supernova suggests that the supernova explosion was not only more powerful, but might have also occurred at a greater distance, than previously thought.

New approach to cosmic lithium in the early universe

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 16:14:14 EDT

Astrophysicists have explored a discrepancy between the amount of lithium predicted by the standard models of elemental production during the Big Bang and the amount of lithium observed in the gas of the Small Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy near to our own.

In quest of the cosmic origins of silver: Silver and gold materialized in different stellar explosions

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 07:40:40 EDT

In the quest for the cosmic origins of heavy elements, a researcher has established that silver can only have materialized during the explosion of clearly defined types of star. These are different from the kind of stars producing gold when they explode. The evidence for this comes from the measurement of various high-mass stars with the help of which the stepwise evolution of the components of all matter can be reconstructed.