Celestial

By ESA/Hubble August 8, 2022Hubble Space Telescope captures the colorful region surrounding the Herbig-Haro object HH 505. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Bally, Acknowledgment: M. H. ÖzsaraçThis vibrant celestial cloudscape from the <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>NASA</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Established in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the…

In an intriguing celestial event, a collapsed dense neutron star was caught shredding and devouring its stellar companion to become one of the heaviest neutron stars ever spotted. The star has a mass 2.35 times that of the Sun and spins at a speed of 707 rounds per second. The finding may now give astronomers an insight into the weird quantum state of matter inside such dense objects. They believe that with such massive size if the star grows further, it will completely collapse and vanish as a black hole.The observation…

The comet C/2017 K2 has offered a spectacular celestial show for stargazers and astronomers as it hurtled past Earth this week. In its closest approach to our planet, which was on July 14, the comet was about 270 million kilometres away. Now, while the comet may have crossed its closest point to Earth, the celestial show is not over yet. It is expected that the comet is now on its journey towards the Sun and may appear brighter when it gets closer to the star in December this year.The comet named C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS) or…

NASA is set to reveal rare celestial objects, taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, like one of the largest and brightest nebulae in the sky, a giant planet outside our solar system composed mainly of gas, and first compact galaxy group ever discovered in 1877, among others.The US space agency will showcase these cosmic objects on July 12 and each image will simultaneously be made available on social media as well as on the agency's website.These targets represent the first wave of full-colour scientific images and…

Today, NASA released a list of celestial targets that will be revealed next week when the agency publishes the first full-color images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST. The targets include galaxies, nebulas, and a giant planet outside our Solar System. JWST is NASA’s massive new deep-space observatory, which launched on Christmas Day in 2021. Sporting a large gold-coated mirror spanning more than 21 feet across, the observatory is set to transform the field of astrophysics by collecting light from the…

Kroger Co. and other grocery chains said they are asking brands to prove why higher prices are necessary before accepting them, and warning manufacturers that they will stop carrying products if food companies won’t negotiate prices. Some companies said they are switching to new meat suppliers with cheaper products, and are delaying price changes for items like canned goods. “We don’t just accept cost increases,” said Don Clark, chief merchandising officer of…

This image, taken by astronomers using the US Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, captures the galaxy NGC 1566 as it twirls, flinging its arms through the vastness of space. Colloquially nicknamed the Spanish Dancer, this spiral galaxy is often studied by astronomers learning about galaxy groups, stars of different ages, and galactic black holes. Credit: Dark Energy…

Our planet also changes positions. In six months, the Earth will go from one side of the sun to the other. This is a change in distance of almost 300 million kilometers, and it's enough to cause a noticeable apparent position change for some of the nearest stars. In fact, parallax is an important tool for measuring the distance to these stars. (Here are the other ways to measure stellar distances.)So, yes, constellations change—but not that much.Finding Your LongitudeHere’s how to find your longitude with a clock and a…

The May celestial calendar for looks exciting for skygazers. The month begins and ends with a couple of great planet-spotting opportunities and NASA has shared a full list of those events as part of its monthly, “What's Up” series. The agency called on all moon gazers to mark their calendars for the month's highlight: the next total lunar eclipse, which will be visible in the Western Hemisphere on March 15-16. Lunar eclipses are incredible celestial events when the Earth comes in between the Sun and the Moon. No…

NASA has shared an image of what astronomers say is the first observation of a giant debris cloud formed by a massive collision of celestial bodies. Astronomers observed the cloud as it passed in front of its star and briefly blocked its light. Astronomers have long found evidence of collision among celestial bodies. But those observations did not provide many details about the collisions, such as the size of the objects involved. This observation was fresh in that sense. The passing by of the debris cloud in front of a…