Cometary Globule CG4 (God's Hand) Imaged by VLT

The VLT Survey Telescope, the largest telescope designed to exclusively survey the skies in visible light, imaged cometary globule CG4 or God's Hand as it is also known.

Cometary globules are faint, dimly lit, and hard to detect gas clouds that resemble comets although they have no relation to them. Cometary globules are identified by their small size and are found to have isolated, relatively small clouds of neutral gas and dust surrounded by hot ionised material.

It is a mystery to astronomers as to how cometary globules are formed.

God's Hand is 1300 light years from Earth and can be found in the constellation Puppis (The Poop, or Stern). CG4 gas a diameter if 1.5 light years and its tail is 8 light years long. Compared to other celestial objects, the dimensions of CG4 are small.

This picture comes from the ESO Cosmic Gems programme, an outreach initiative to produce images of interesting, intriguing or visually attractive objects using ESO telescopes, for the purposes of education and public outreach. The programme makes use of telescope time that cannot be used for science observations. All data collected may also be suitable for scientific purposes, and are made available to astronomers through ESO’s science archive.

Star Cluster NGC 3293 Nestled Against Clouds of Gas and Dust in the Carina Constellation

ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile released a striking image of star cluster NGC 3293 with clouds of glowing red gas and streaks of dust in the background. NGC is composed of young stars are believed to be less than ten million years old and is about 8000 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Carina (The Keel).

Using the Wide Field Imager (WFI) installed on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the observatory, astronomers study young star clusters such as NGC 3293 to learn more about the evolution of stars.

Star cluster are groups of stars that are held together by their own gravitational fields. Open star clusters and globular are the two types of clusters. NGC 3293 is an open star cluster; loosely clustered groups of young stars. The gravitational attraction between the stars in an open star cluster may be weak or non existent.

Globular star clusters are made up of hundreds of thousands of very old stars that are gravitationally bound. These stars are attracted to each other and form a very tight sphere. The stars within a globular star cluster orbit a galactic core and the amount of stars within get denser going toward the center.

These open clusters each formed from a giant cloud of molecular gas and their stars are held together by their mutual gravitational attraction. But these forces are not enough to hold a cluster together against close encounters with other clusters and clouds of gas as the cluster’s own gas and dust dissipates. So, open clusters will only last a few hundred million years, unlike their big cousins, the globular clusters, which can survive for billions of years, and hold on to far more stars.

Star Cluster Messier 7 Shines Bright At The Tail End of The Scorpion

Star Cluster Messier 7 can be found shining brightly at the end of the tail end of the constellation Scorpius (The Scorpion). This group of stars is also known as Ptolemy's Cluster in honor of Claudius Ptolemy who discovered this star cluster around 130 AD. As the name implies, it is the 7th entry of Charles Messier's Catalog of Nebulae and Star Clusters done in 1764.

Messier 7 is about 800 light years from the Earth and is comprised of about 100 stars. It is a bright patch of stars that is visible to the naked eye found near the tail of the Scorpius constellation.

The latest images from the European Southern Observatory's Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope shows Messier 7 shining like diamonds against the backdrop of a multitude of stars.

These bright stars are believed to be close to exploding into a supernova as it is over 200 million years old.

Messier 7 is an open star cluster. Open star clusters are loose clustered groups of stars that are held together by a very weak gravitational attraction to each other.

VLT Successfully Maps Surface Features Of Brown Dwarf Luhman 16B

The European Southern Observatory for the first time has mapped the surface of a brown dwarf. ESO's Very Large Telescope charted the dark and light surface of Luhman 16B, an astronomical object known as a brown dwarf.

Brown Dwarfs are also known as a substar since these objects are too large to be planets but are not massive enough to be called stars. These objects are believed to be formed the way stars are formed but did not have enough density at the core to start a nuclear fusion.

The surface map of Luhman 16B is the first charting of the brown star which included the light and dark features of the surface. It is also the first mapping of the weather on the surface of Luhman 16B.

The brown dwarf, discovered in 2013, is only six light years from Earth and can be found in the southern constellation of Vela (The Sail). Luhman 16B forms a pair with Luhman 16A which is the brighter of the two components. The pair is collectively referred to as Luhman 16AB.

The imaging was made possible with the CRyogenic high-resolution InfraRed Echelle Spectrograph (CRIRES) attached to the VLT.

APEX Telescope To See Further into the Universe with ArTeMiS Camera

The Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEx) telescope used to capture detailed images of the Universe got a significant boost with the addition of the ArTeMiS camera. Artemis will help APEX take images faster and with higher pixel resolutions.

The ArTeMiS camera is a large bolometer camera in the submillimeter range on APEX. A bolometer is a device that is used to measure infrared, or heat, radiation. ARTEMIS stands for Architectures de bolomètres pour des Télescopes à grand champ de vue dans le domaine sub-Millimétrique au Sol which in English translates to the Bolometer arrays for wide-field submillimetre ground-based telescopes.

The image above is the Cat's Paw Nebula in the southern constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion) as captured by the Artemis camera. This detailed image is significantly clearer than previous images captured by the APEX telescope alone.

The APEX project is a collaboration between the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR), the Onsala Space Observatory (OSO) and the Eurpean Southern Observatory (ESO). Operation of APEX at Chajnantor is entrusted to ESO.

Sharpest Image of Prawn Nebula (IC 4628) and Star Cluster Collinder 316 Imaged by the ESO

The European Southern Observatory just released the sharpest image of the Prawn Nebula (IC 4628) and the star cluster star, Collinder 316. The Prawn Nebula is 6,000 light years away in the constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion)

A nebula is a cloud of dust and gas where stars are made. Ionized gasses such as helium and hydrogen combine with interstellar dust and start to gain mass. Over milions of years, the mass gets more dense and starts to generate heat. Once thermonuclear fusion starts a star starts to form.

The image of the Prawn Nebula was taken by the largest telescope in the world, the VLT Survey Telescope (VST). It is a 2.6-metre telescope built around the OmegaCAM camera that contains 32 CCD detectors that can create 268-megapixel images. This new 24 000-pixel-broad image is a mosaic of two such images and is one of the largest single images released by ESO so far.

This is the 1000th press release by the ESO. A milestone that started in 1985 when it featured an image of Halley's comet by the ESO 1 metre Schmidt telescope at La Silla on December 9, 1985 .

Lightest Exoplanet, HD95086b, Discovered by VLT 300 Light Years Away

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The Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the ESO has directly imaged an exoplanet that is about four to five times the mass of Jupiter. This makes this planet, the lightest exoplanet imaged.

The planet, known as HD95086 b, orbits a young star that is a bit more massive than the sun known as HD 95086. It's orbit is around two times the distance that Neptune orbits the sun and this star system is around 300 light years from the Earth.

HD95086 b is the first exoplanet in nine years that was directly imaged. Only around 12 exoplanets have been directly observed so far. Most other exoplanets were spotted by observing the dips of brightness produced when planets crossed in front of the stars it has been orbiting (transit method). Others have been discovered by studying the wobbling of a star caused by the gravitational pull of the orbiting planet known as the radial-velocity method.

There are over 3000 discovered exoplanets, 779 of these have been identified. The remaining 2300+ are being observed by the Kepler space telescope for confirmation.

Combination Reflection Nebula and Emission Nebula in NGC 6559 Imaged

The Danish 1.54-metre telescope located at ESO’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.

An interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen, helium and other ionized gases is called a nebula. This region of space is where stars are formed. The materials needed to form stars such as hydrogen and other gases are abundant in a nebula. Stars are formed when dust and gas start to clump together and gain mass. As the mass gets more dense and generates heat, thermonuclear fusion starts and a star starts to form.

NGC 6559 is a nebula that was imaged by the Danish Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera (DFOSC) in La Silla Observatory. The colors radiated of the object are from the light given off by the newly formed stars and because of the gasses present in the center gives the nebula a reddish glow and the dust cloud beside it blocks light which gives the nebula a dark and bluish tinge in that area. It is this combination of gas and dust that makes NGC 6559 both an emission nebula in the red part, and a diffusion nebula in the darker area.

Bright Blue Young Stars in Star Cluster NGC 2547

This pretty sprinkling of bright blue stars is the cluster NGC 2547, a group of recently formed stars in the southern constellation of Vela (The Sail). This image was taken using the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile.

Star Clusters are groups of stars that are held together by each other's gravity.

There are two kinds of star clusters; open star clusters and globular star clusters. Of the two, globular star clusters are more dense and compact. They form a spherical grouping of stars which gets denser as it gets to the center. Some globular star clusters have black holes in the heart of it. Globular star clusters contain hundreds of thousands of stars.

Open star clusters are less compact and loosely clustered groups of stars. They usually contain a few hundred stars and are very young. Some of these stars travel the universe losing some stars and attracting others as well.

The Universe is an old neighbourhood — roughly 13.8 billion years old. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is also ancient — some of its stars are more than 13 billion years old (eso0425). Nevertheless, there is still a lot of action: new objects form and others are destroyed. In this image, you can see some of the newcomers, the young stars forming the cluster NGC 2547.

Planet Forming In Gas Cloud Near Star HD 100546 Discovered

The European Southern Observatory's VLT (Very Large Telescope) has discovered what is likely a forming planet within a thick disc of gas and dust.

This is the first time such a discovery has been made. Up until now, scientists have not directly observed or have discovered a planet that is in the process of forming. This discovery, when confirmed, may greatly advance planet formation theories and test current theories against the observation.

In 1995, a planet orbiting a sun-like star outside of the Solar System was discovered. Soon after, several hundred exoplanets and planetary systems outside of the Solar System has been found. Currently, there are only theories on how planets are formed based on observation of the Solar System and the planets within (which are all estimated to be more than 4 billion years old).

Compared to the Earth, the protoplanet (forming planet) has an orbit 70 times further from its star than the Earth does from the Sun. The distance of the orbit does not fit with current planet formation theories. It may be that the planet formed within the inner orbital regions and drifted outwards. Although there is still a slim possibility that the planet formed in its current position.

Lobster Nebula NGC 6357 Imaged In Infrared By VISTA Telescope

The Lobster Nebula (NGC 6357) is captured in an infrared image by the European Southern Observatory's VISTA Telescope in infrared. The image shows the object in a surprising new light.

A Nebula is a region where stars are fromed. Nebulae (or nebulas) are made up of clouds of gas and dust. Over millions of years. these gas and dust clouds start massing together to form stars.

The Lobster Nebula is the informal name for Messier 17, also known as NGC 6357. This nebula is imaged in infrared which shows features of the nebula that is not picked up in visible-light images. This may happen because the object is too cold, blocked by the thick dust in the nebula, or is very far that the light that can be detected is in the red end of the spectrum. The farther an object is, the closer to the red spectrum (infrared) it is. Closer objects shift more to the blue spectrum of light.

In the case of the Lobster Nebula, the infrared image penetrates most of the clouds of dust blocking the light.

Lobster Nebula

Seagull Nebula IC 2177 Shows Off Its Wings

Entire Seagull Nebula

Nebulae or nebulas are regions in space where astronomers believe stars are formed. Nebulae are composed of clouds gas and dust that start to clump together to form stars and even planets.

Just like the clouds in the sky, these nebulae also seem to form various forms that resemble animals or things such as the Seagull Nebula or IC 2177.

The Seagull Nebula are clouds of gas that resemble the head of a seagull with both its wings spread out. This was previously also imaged by ESO’s La Silla Observatory late last year. The bright color manifested by the nebula is caused by strong ultraviolet radiation from a very hot young star (HD 53367) in its core . The whole form of the seagull is made up of three clouds of gas that when observed forms it's head, left wing and right wing.

The Seagull Nebula can be located on the border between the constellations of Monoceros (The Unicorn) and Canis Major (The Great Dog). It is near Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky.

A new image of IC 2177 was released by the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory in Chile. It focused on the intricate structure of the Seagull's wings which is formed by dark and glowing red clouds.

Reflection Nebula NGC 1999 in Orion Imaged By APEX LABOCA Camera

A new image from the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope in Chile shows a beautiful view of clouds of cosmic dust in the region of Orion. While these dense interstellar clouds seem dark and obscured in visible-light observations, APEX’s LABOCA camera can detect the heat glow of the dust and reveal the hiding places where new stars are being formed. The image shows the region around the reflection nebula NGC 1999 in visible light, with the APEX observations overlaid in brilliant orange tones that seem to set the dark clouds on fire.
Credit: ESO/APEX (MPIfR/ESO/OSO)/T. Stanke et al./Digitized Sky Survey 2

A nebula is a cloud of dust and gas in outer space. These are where stars are formed. The gas and dust in the cloud start to collapse into each other gaining mass and density until it forms a star (which takes millions of years). Nebula is latin for cloud.

There are different types of nebulae such as Emission nebulae, reflection nebulae, dark nebulae, planetary nebulae and supernova remnants.

Some nebulae emit light because of the surrounding gas getting ionized. Dark nebulae are nebulae that do not emit light and appear as a dark spot or cloud in the sky.

A reflection nebula, just like NGC 1999, is a nebula that reflects light from nearby stars. It is similar to a dark nebula but they are less dense than dark nebula which allows the reflected light to scatter.

The boundaries of a reflection nebula is not defined by the size of the dust cloud but rather the area over which their brightness remains above the point of detection.

Supernova Remnant W50 Resembles A Manatee

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory has adopted a new nickname for W50 of "The Manatee Nebula," because the likeness between it and a resting Florida Manatee is too uncanny to ignore. Left: The W50 supernova remnant in radio (green) glows against the infrared background of stars and dust (red). Right: A Florida Manatee rests underwater in Three Sisters Springs in Crystal River, Florida.
Credit: Left: NSF's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), NRAO/AUI/NSF, K. Golap, M. Goss; NASA’s Wide Field Survey Explorer (WISE). Right: Tracy Colson

A supernova remnant found in the constellation of Aquila has been imaged and is found to resemble a resting Florida Manatee.

When a star runs out of fuel or reaches critical mass, it explodes into a supernove. The explosion expels stellar material at a rate of about 30,000 kilometers per second (10% of the speed of light).

The structure that results from the supernova is called a Supernova Remnant (SNR). It is bounded by the shockwave from the supernova and is made up of the ejected material from the explosion.

The Crab Nebula is an example of a supernova remnant.

Some of the SNR found in the sky resemble common objects or animals such as the Owl Nebula, The Crab Nebula, or the Veil Nebula.

Star Forming Molecular Cloud Lupus 3 Captured In Amazing Detail

Most interstellar clouds of dust and gas are where stars are formed. The surrounding matter start to form large masses which will eventually become stars. Planets and other objects are also formed within these regions. Clouds like Lupus 3 are called 'dark clouds' or 'molecular clouds'.

A molecular cloud is a type of star forming region where molecules, most commonly molecular hydrogen (H₂), are formed. The stars formed in the image are called Herbig Ae/Be stars (named after astronomer George Howard Herbig).

Herbig Ae/Be stars are still in their star forming space and are not yet burning hydrogen for fuel. Instead, they shine by converting gravitational potential energy into heat as they contract.

Wired Science Presents Best Space Photos of 2012

The Flame Nebula

For the past year, Wired has been featuring amazing and breathtaking photographs of space and everything in it. Wired Science Space Photo of the Day has shown around 240 pictures since it started the section in February 2012.

Now, Wired has chosen 18 photographs and named it the best space photographs from the collection. The photographs features amazing epic photographs like the The Flame Nebula (pictured above) to the Cookie Monster crater in Mercury and even the Blue Dunes of Mars.

The space images have been sourced from space organizations like NASA, ESO, and ESA, and the quality and resolution are absolutely top notch. Some of the images have even been shown here in Quantum Day since Quantum Day is recognized as Press for ESO, ESA, and Hubble Space Telescope.

Check out the link below to visit the site.

2012 In Science: One Year of ScienceShots Images

The journal Science collated all the images they posted on their ScienceShots section for the year 2012. ScienceShots features short news items where the picture is often as stunning as the story itself.

There are 350 plus images featured this year and each of these images have an interesting story to tell. Aside from this, Science also posted a separate article their favorite images from the collection.

Earlier this week, Science also announced the scientific breakthrough for 2012 which was the discovery of the Higgs Boson.

Science is published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).