#cosntellation

[wonders-of-the-cosmos]

Remnant of supernova toward the constellation of Vela, which exploded 11,000 years ago. 

Image credit: NASA / Chandra x-ray Observatory

[wonders-of-the-cosmos]

IRAS 20324: Evaporating Protostar

Will this caterpillar-shaped interstellar cloud one day evolve into a butterfly-shaped nebula? No one is sure. What is sure is that IRAS 20324+4057, on the inside, is contracting to form a new star. On the outside, however, energetic winds are blowing and energetic light is eroding away much of the gas and dust that might have been used to form the star. Therefore, no one is sure what mass the resulting star will have, and, therefore, no one knows the fate of this star. Were the winds and light to whittle the protostar down near the mass of the Sun, the outer atmosphere of this new star may one day expand into a planetary nebula, possibly even one that looks like a butterfly. Alternatively, if the stellar cocoon retains enough mass, a massive star will form that will one day explode in a supernova. The eroding protostellar nebula IRAS 20324+4057 spans about one light year and lies about 4,500 light years away toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus). The above image of IRAS 20324+4057 was taken with the Hubble Space Telescope in 2006. The battle between gravity and light will likely take over 100,000 years to play out, but clever observations and deductions may yet yield telling clues well before that.

Image credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), and IPHAS

[wonders-of-the-cosmos]

The Andromeda Galaxy will collide with the Milky Way about 4.5 billion years

Image credit: Adam Evans

[wonders-of-the-cosmos]

The dust and gas in the pillars is seared by the intense radiation from young stars and eroded by strong winds from massive nearby stars. With these new images comes better contrast and a clearer view for astronomers to study how the structure of the pillars is changing over time.

Credit: NASA/ESA & Hubble

[wonders-of-the-cosmos]

This infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Helix Nebula. The nebula, located about 700 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius, belongs to a class of objects called planetary nebulae. 

Image credit: NASA/Spitzer

[wonders-of-the-cosmos]

Messier 77 It is a spiral galaxy in the direction of the constellation Cetus. The M77 galaxy was discovered by Pierre Méchain on October 29, 1780.

Image credit: Judy Schmidt

[wonders-of-the-cosmos]

Animation of Barnard’s Star from 2007 to July 2015 as it tracked north through Ophiuchus at the rate of 10.3 arc seconds per year. Amateur Rick Johnson photographed it once each year to create the movie. 

Credit: Rick Johnson

[omegaforums]

Brilliant Vintage OMEGA Constellation Chronometer With Original Black Dial Circa 1950s