Space Pictures of the Week: "UFO Galaxy," Triple Sunset, More

Delicate Swan

Image courtesy Caltech/NASA

Tendrils of hot dust and gas glow against a background of stars in a new picture from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer, or GALEX. The spacecraft's ultraviolet vision allows scientists to study space objects across ten billion years of cosmic history.

Situated about 1,500 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus, the swan, the nebula is the remnant of a supernova that occurred between 5,000 and 8,000 years ago. The wispy structure glows because its gases are still being heated by the shockwave from the star explosion.

Published March 30, 2012

Triple Fantasy

Illustration courtesy L. Calçada, ESO

Three stars—including the red dwarf Gliese 667 C (far left)—set over the "super Earth" Gliese 667 Cc in an artist's conception.

Such rocky worlds abound around red dwarfs (stars smaller and cooler than our sun), according to new results from the HARPS (High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher) telescope, the European Southern Observatory announced Wednesday. Radial velocity is a planet-hunting technique that looks for wobbles in a star's light, which can indicate the gravitational tugs of orbiting worlds.

"Because red dwarfs are so common—there are about 160 billion of them in the Milky Way—this leads us to the astonishing result that there are tens of billions of these planets in our galaxy alone," HARPS team leader Xavier Bonfils said in a statement.

Published March 30, 2012

Christmas in March

Image courtesy Louie Atalasidis, My Shot

The bright stars of the Christmas Tree Cluster light up the diffuse dust and gases of the Cone Nebula in a newly released picture taken by a backyard astronomer in Australia.

Also known collectively as NGC 2264, the star cluster and nebula lie about 2,700 light-years away in the constellation Monoceros, the unicorn.

Published March 30, 2012

Galactic Glow

Image courtesy University of Manchester and ESA/NASA

Like a rift opening in time and space, the bright infrared glow of the spiral galaxy NGC 891, which we see edge-on from Earth, seems to slash across the sky in a new picture from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

Published March 30, 2012

Martian Mashup

Image courtesy University of Manchester and ESA/NASA

The surface of Mars becomes a riot of color in a new picture of the Nili Fossae region from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

The color-enhanced closeup shows material that was kicked up by an ancient impact. Different minerals are represented by their own colors, making the rocks look like a shattered rainbow.

Published March 30, 2012

UFO Galaxy

Image courtesy ESA/NASA

The barred spiral galaxy known as NGC 2683 seems to hover like a flying saucer—earning it the nickname the UFO Galaxy-in a recently released picture from the Hubble Space Telescope.  

Discovered in 1788, the galaxy resembles our Milky Way but it's seen from the side, allowing astronomers to study fine structures in the dusty lanes of the galaxy's spiral arms silhouetted against the bright glow from the galactic core.

Published March 30, 2012

"Beautiful" Crater

Image courtesy JHUAPL/CIW/NASA

A high-resolution image of Mercury's Hodgkins crater offers a "great look at the beautiful interior" and resulting debris from a fresh impact, according to NASA's MESSENGER team.

MESSENGER, which settled into orbit around Mercury in 2011, is helping scientists unlock key mysteries about the planet, such as its geologic history, density, and core composition.

(Related: "Mercury MESSENGER 101.")

Published March 30, 2012

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Photograph courtesy NASA

Published March 30, 2012