Picture This – Page 24 – Astronomy Now

A tangled web this supernova weaves

30 November 2018 Astronomy Now

Tangled clouds of gas from a destroyed star can be seen weaving their way through space in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the remnants of a Type 1a supernova that consumed a white dwarf in a once glorious blaze of light. Such supernovae are critical to measuring cosmic distances.

Hubble peers into a globular cluster on the outskirts of the LMC

28 November 2018 Astronomy Now

An unusual globular cluster on the outskirts of the Large Magellanic Cloud, seen here in an image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, features an unusual mix of young an old stars, possibly the result of an encounter with a giant gas cloud in the distant past.

A glorious globular, M22 delights amateurs and professionals alike

23 November 2018 Astronomy Now

Messier 22 is a stunning sight in even small telescopes, but nothing rivals this spectacular view of the globular cluster’s crowded heart as imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope in visible and infrared light.

Juno images Io rising over the immense limb of Jupiter

18 November 2018 Astronomy Now

Last week, we posted a dramatic view of Jupiter’s churning clouds as recently seen by NASA’s Juno orbiter. Here is another mesmerising JunoCam view of the solar system’s largest planet with the volcanically tortured moon Io rising above the horizon in the black of space.

Juno orbiter captures another stunning view of Jupiter

14 November 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Juno spacecraft recently completed its 16th close flyby of Jupiter, capturing more stunning views of the giant planet’s turbulent atmosphere with anticyclonic storms and bright white “pop-up” clouds.

Astronomers spot black hole-powered ‘galactic fountain’

9 November 2018 Astronomy Now

A supermassive black hole at the heart of the brightest galaxy in a cluster a billion light years away is powering a vast “galactic fountain” of gas that shoots out into space and then rains back inward to fuel another cycle.

Foundation takes shape for Extremely Large Telescope

4 November 2018 Astronomy Now

The foundation of the European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope is taking shape atop a mountain in Chile’s Atacama Desert, home to what will be the world’s largest optical instrument, a gargantuan telescope with a segmented primary mirror 39 metres (128 feet) across.

Chinese photographer captures Insight competition’s ‘best newcomer’ award

1 November 2018 Astronomy Now

Chinese photographer Tianhong Li won “best newcomer” honours in the 2018 Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition for this captivating view of the Milky Way and the vast clouds of stars, gas and dust making up the core and the galactic plane stretching skyward.

Aurora provides spectacle, and Insight photography award

30 October 2018 Astronomy Now

France’s Nicolas Lefaudeux won top honours in the 2018 Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition’s aurorae category with this view of a gossemar-like auroral band above Sirkka, Finland, a view that lasted about one minute and gave the impression of speeding toward a greenish horizon.

A dust-strewn starscape wins Insight photography award

28 October 2018 Astronomy Now

Italian photographer Mario Cogo captured this view of the Corona Australis dust complex with a six-hour exposure under a dark sky in Namibia, winning first place in the “Stars and Nebulae” category of the 2018 Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.