Alpha Centauri

Welcome to Alpha Centauri. You'll find a lot of astronomy and nature, along with science of almost any kind and whatever else makes me smile. No promises. Enjoy!

[brightestofcentaurus]

Hello all! Just a brief admin note - as spam bots are on the rise, I'm being much freer with the report/block button as I get new followers. I hate the thought of blocking someone who isn't a bot, so if you don't want to get blocked, please:

1) Change your icon from the default.

2) Add a title!

3) Post or reblog something - anything! A note saying hi, a picture you like. Just not a suspicious link :)

The first thing I look for is default icons and untitled blogs. Then I check for empty blogs or blogs with only suspicious links.

This is all pretty standard for tumblr - if you're new here, welcome! Consider this some friendly advice on how not to look like a spam bot :)

Thanks all, and have a great day!

[world-beauty]

The Hubble 5 Planetary Nebula

Credits: U. Washington, WFPC2, HST, NASA

[the-wolf-and-moon]

NGC 1514, Crystal Ball

[wonders-of-the-cosmos]

The Gemini North telescope on Maunakea in Hawaii observed NGC 1514, also known as the Crystal Ball Nebula. It is located 1,500 light-years away and was discovered by William Herschel in 1790. apod.nasa.gov

[world-beauty]

M46 Plus Two

Credits: Denis Priou

[wonders-of-the-cosmos]

What are these strange space globs? Situated in rich star fields and glowing hydrogen gas, these opaque clouds of interstellar dust and gas are so large they might be able to form stars. Their home is known as IC 2944, a bright stellar nursery located about 7,600 light years away toward the constellation of the Centaur (Centaurus). 

Image Credit: John Hayes

[world-beauty]

Inside the Flame Nebula

Credits: DSS, NASA/JPL-Caltech, CXC, K.Getman,E.Feigelson, M.Kuhn & the MYStIX team

[spacewonder19]

The Cave Nebula: Star formation © chucksastrophoto1

[the-wolf-and-moon]

NGC 3169 and NGC 3166, Galaxy Eyes

[apod]

2026 May 22

The Nebulous Realm of WR 134 Image Credit & Copyright: Luigi Morrone and Telescope Live

Explanation: This cosmic snapshot covers a field of view over twice as wide as the full Moon within the boundaries of the high-flying constellation Cygnus. Made using astronomical narrowband filters, the image highlights the bright edge of a ring-like nebula traced by the glow of ionized hydrogen and oxygen gas. Embedded in the region’s expanse of interstellar clouds, the complex, glowing arcs are sections of shells of material swept up by the wind from Wolf-Rayet star WR 134, the brightest star near image center. Distance estimates put WR 134 about 6,000 light-years away, making this telescopic frame over 100 light-years across. Shedding their outer envelopes in powerful stellar winds, massive Wolf-Rayet stars have burned through their nuclear fuel at a prodigious rate and end their final phase of massive star evolution in a spectacular supernova. Their stellar winds and final supernova explosion enrich the interstellar material with heavy elements to be incorporated in future generations of stars.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260522.html

[livingforstars]

The Center of Centaurus A - May 22nd, 1998.

"A fantastic jumble of young blue star clusters, gigantic glowing gas clouds, and imposing dark dust lanes surrounds the central region of the active galaxy Centaurus A. This mosaic of Hubble Space Telescope images taken in blue, green, and red light had been processed to present a natural colour picture of this cosmic maelstrom. Infrared images from Hubble also showed that hidden at the center of this activity are what seem to be disks of matter spiraling into a black hole with a billion times the mass of the Sun! Centaurus A itself is the result of a collision of two galaxies and the left over debris is steadily being consumed by the black hole. Astronomers believe that such black hole "central engines" generate the radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray energy radiated by Centaurus A and other active galaxies. But for an active galaxy Centaurus A is close, a mere 10 million light-years away, and is a relatively convenient laboratory for exploring these powerful sources of energy."

[the-wolf-and-moon]

M104, Sombrero Galaxy

[apod]

2026 May 21

A Collision of Galaxy Clusters Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/CfA/C. Watson et al.; Optical: PanSTARRS; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk and P. Edmonds Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

Explanation: This big beautiful spiral shines in X-ray light. It is about 20 times larger than our Galaxy. It belongs to Abell 2029, a galaxy cluster one billion light-years away. (To see only the galaxies, hover your cursor over the image, or follow this link.) Galaxy clusters are the largest structures in the universe that are supported by gravity. Abell 2029 is formed by thousands of galaxies, surrounded by a huge cloud of hot gas and the equivalent of hundreds of trillions times the mass of the Sun in dark matter. The spiral is made of gas, mostly hydrogen and helium, heated to tens of millions of degrees. It was found in a recent study that used data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to show that Abell 2029 had a collision with a smaller cluster four billion years ago. The collision affected the gravitational field and caused the intracluster gas to slosh, like wine moving in a wine glass, shaping the spiral.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260521.html

[itsfullofstars]

ASTRONOMY PICTURE OF THE DAY May 19, 2026 at 05:00PM A dark wolf lies in gum. No, this isn’t a riddle! Today's image features the Dark Wolf Nebula (Sandqvist–Lindroos 17), a spooky dust cloud embedded within the Gum 55 (RCW 113) Nebula in the Scorpius constellation. While dust is a pest to us, it serves a vital role in creating the necessary conditions for stars to be born. The Dark Wolf absorbs the intense ultraviolet and visible light emitted by young stars in Gum 55 and re-emits it at longer, mainly infrared, wavelengths. This prevents the higher energy light from heating up the gas in the region. When a region of gas is cool enough, gravity takes over and causes the gas to collapse into a star. Not only does dust act as an interstellar thermostat, but it is also the meet-cute for single hydrogen atoms forming molecular hydrogen, the building block for stars. The seemingly sinister Dark Wolf is actually a harbinger of cosmic life. Image: https://ift.tt/HQzjbIN via NASA https://ift.tt/6GvBx9c APOD --> https://ift.tt/mvinb0N

[the-wolf-and-moon]

NGC 2170, Angel

[apod]

2026 May 19

NGC 2170: The Angel Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Jason Marriott

Explanation: Is this a painting or a photograph? In this celestial abstract art composed with a cosmic brush, dusty nebula NGC 2170, also known as the Angel Nebula, shines just above the image center. Reflecting the light of nearby hot stars, NGC 2170 is joined by other bluish reflection nebulae, a red emission region, many dark absorption nebulae, and a backdrop of colorful stars. Like the common household items that abstract painters often choose for their subjects, the clouds of gas, dust, and hot stars featured here are also commonly found in a setting like this one – a massive, star-forming molecular cloud in the constellation of the Unicorn (Monoceros). The giant molecular cloud Mon R2, is impressively close, estimated to be only 2,400 light-years or so away. At that distance, this canvas would be over 60 light-years across.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260519.html

[itsfullofstars]

ASTRONOMY PICTURE OF THE DAY May 18, 2026 at 05:00PM Is this a painting or a photograph? In this celestial abstract art composed with a cosmic brush, dusty nebula NGC 2170, also known as the Angel Nebula, shines just above the image center. Reflecting the light of nearby hot stars, NGC 2170 is joined by other bluish reflection nebulae, a red emission region, many dark absorption nebulae, and a backdrop of colorful stars. Like the common household items that abstract painters often choose for their subjects, the clouds of gas, dust, and hot stars featured here are also commonly found in a setting like this one -- a massive, star-forming molecular cloud in the constellation of the Unicorn (Monoceros). The giant molecular cloudMon R2, is impressively close, estimated to be only 2,400 light-years or so away. At that distance, this canvas would be over 60 light-years across. Image: https://ift.tt/JLRjW6K via NASA https://ift.tt/a6mlUKv APOD --> https://ift.tt/l30x7XH