Space, Galaxies and Stars

image source: NASA

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Thackeray's Globules

These dense, dark dust clouds, named "Thackeray's globules" after astronomer A.D. Thackeray, are silhouetted against stars and bright gas clouds of the star-forming region IC 2944. The largest globule is actually two separate, overlapping clouds.

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Planetary Nebula NGC 2440

Planetary nebula NGC 2440 is a relic of a star once like our Sun that has cast off its outer layers of gas, forming a colorful cocoon around the star's remaining core.

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Asteroid (6478) Gault

Hubble viewed the gradual self-destruction of the asteroid (6478) Gault caused by the long-term effects of sunlight. Dusty material ejected from the asteroid formed two comet-like tails 500,000 and 3,000 miles long.

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Galaxy Cluster MACS J0717.5+3745

Nearly every object in this image is a distant galaxy in the cluster MACS J0717.5+3745. Some faint arcs and streaks in the image are even farther galaxies whose light has been bent by the powerful gravity of the massive cluster.

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Bow Shock Around LL Orionis

Named for the crescent-shaped wave made by a ship as it moves through water, a bow shock can be created in space when streams of gas collide. This image captures the bow shock around the star LL Orionis.

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Carina Nebula Pillars

These cosmic pinnacles lie within a tempestuous stellar nursery called the Carina Nebula. Infant stars buried inside the pillars fire off jets of gas that stream away from the towering peaks.

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Starfield in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Over 10,000 stars appear in this image, which covers a region about 130 light-years wide in a nearby galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud. The faintest stars in the picture are some 100 million times dimmer than the human eye can see.

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Galaxy NGC 5584

The brilliant, blue glow of young stars traces the graceful spiral arms of galaxy NGC 5584. Thin, dark dust lanes appear to be flowing from the yellowish core, where older stars reside.

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Galaxy NGC 2787

Galaxy NGC 2787 is located 24 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. Arms of dark dust encircle the galaxy's bright center. The points of light scattered around the galaxy are huge collections of old stars known as globuar clusters.

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Comet 332P/Ikeya-Murakami

This image reveals the ancient comet 332P/Ikeya-Murakami disintegrating as it approaches the Sun in 2016. It is one of the sharpest views ever captured of an icy comet breaking apart. The comet debris consists of building-size chunks near the center of the image. The main nucleus of the comet is the bright object at lower left.

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Galaxy NGC 4013

A dark band of dust bisects the spiral galaxy NGC 4013. This edge-on galaxy is located 55 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major.

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Jupiter and Moons

Three of Jupiter's moons cast their shadows on the planet. Callisto and Io are visible in the lower left and upper right, respectively, but Europa (whose shadow is on Jupiter's left edge) is out of the frame.

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Ceres

Dwarf planet Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and it's the only dwarf planet located in the inner solar system. It resides with tens of thousands of other asteroids in the main asteroid belt. It is approximately 590 miles across, about the size of Texas. Ceres is named for the Roman goddess of corn and harvests.

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Reflection Nebula NGC 1999

NGC 1999 is a reflection nebula. It does not emit any visible light of its own but shines only because the light from the star just to the left of the center illuminates the nebula's dust.

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Whirlpool Galaxy M51

This image captures the winding arms of the Whirlpool galaxy. It highlights the galaxy's graceful, curving arms, pink star-forming regions and brilliant blue strands of star clusters.

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Galaxy NGC 4163

This swarm of stars is the dwarf galaxy NGC 4163, located 10 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici. Irregularly shaped red blobs are regions of active star formation.

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Supernova 1987A

The remnant of Supernova 1987A, located in a neighboring galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud, appears at the center of this image. The red, gaseous clouds that surround it fuel a firestorm of new star formation.