Picture This – Page 19 – Astronomy Now

A cosmic seagull soaring through space on wings of ionised gas

7 August 2019 Astronomy Now

The European Southern Observatory’s VLT Survey Telescope caught the Seagull Nebula in flight on the border between Canis Major and Monoceros 3,700 light years away, a vast assembly of hot gas and dust giving birth to new stars.

Another look at Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, courtesy of Juno

6 August 2019 Astronomy Now

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot may be shrinking, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at spectacular pictures from the Juno orbiter captured during a 21 July flyby.

Planet-hunting telescopes capture intriguing view of Centaurus A

1 August 2019 Astronomy Now

The SPECULOOS planet-hunting telescopes at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile captured a spectacular view of Centaurus A, a galaxy 11 million light years away harbouring the nearest active galactic nuclei, a supermassive black hole 100 million times more massive than the Sun.

NASA’s Mars 2020 rover looking more and more like a rover

28 July 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Mars 2020 rover, scheduled for launch on 17 July 2020, is rapidly maturing at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, where engineers recently tested the spacecraft’s multi-joint robot arm as critical instruments and other systems are installed and tested.

Up and over a spiral galaxy

27 July 2019 Astronomy Now

A sharply angled perspective, such as the one shown in Hubble Space Telescope image of the spiral galaxy NGC 3169, can make it seem as if we, the viewers, are craning our necks to see over a barrier into the galaxy’s bright centre.

Curiosity Mars rover spotted from orbit

13 July 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover can be seen in this image taken from space on 31 May 2019, by the high resolution camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

Totality over the observatory domes

7 July 2019 Astronomy Now

The path of totality of a solar eclipse touched the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory on 2 July 2019. This rare astronomical event occurred as the observatory celebrated its 50th year of operation.

A Warhol-like look at the Whirlpool, courtesy of Spitzer

30 June 2019 Astronomy Now

Combining visible-light and multi-wavelength infrared views of the Whirlpool galaxy reveals a Warhol-like series of images highlighting the dust lanes and star-forming regions of the glorious spiral and the relatively featureless nature of the smaller companion.

Juno orbiter captures more stunning views of Jupiter

24 June 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Juno orbiter, making its 20th pass by Jupiter in May, provided another remarkable view of the giant planet’s turbulent atmosphere thanks to processing by a citizen scientist.

Mars 2020 rover ready to rock (hunt) and roll

21 June 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Mars 2020 rover now has the wheels it will need to explore Jezero Crater when it lands in 2021. Says a proud engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory: “Now that’s a Mars rover.”