Picture This – Page 44 – Astronomy Now

Mars Express spies an ancient impact crater

24 July 2016 Astronomy Now

This striking perspective view from ESA’s Mars Express shows an unnamed but eye-catching impact crater on Mars. This region sits south-west of a dark plain named Mare Serpentis (literally ‘the sea of serpents’), which in turn is located in Noachis Terra (literally ‘the land of Noah’).

A moon and stars at Saturn

23 July 2016 Astronomy Now

Numerous stars provide a serene background in this view of Saturn’s moon Enceladus captured by the Cassini spacecraft while the moon was in eclipse, within the ringed planet’s shadow.

Hubble looks to the Final Frontier on 50th anniversary of “Star Trek”

21 July 2016 Astronomy Now

The TV series “Star Trek” captured the public’s imagination with the signature phrase, “To boldly go where no one has gone before.” The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope doesn’t “boldly go” deep into space, but it is “boldly peering” deeper into the universe than ever before to explore the warping of space and time and uncover some of the farthest objects ever seen.

Hubble reveals a galaxy fit to burst

18 July 2016 Astronomy Now

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image reveals the vibrant core of the galaxy NGC 3125, approximately 50 million light-years away. Discovered by John Herschel in 1835, NGC 3125 is a great example of a starburst galaxy — a galaxy in which unusually high numbers of new stars are forming, springing to life within intensely hot clouds of gas.

A view from Dawn’s low altitude swoop over Ceres

15 July 2016 Astronomy Now

This image from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft records an oblique look across Ceres towards the limb of the dwarf planet. The ion-propelled Dawn probe has been exploring Ceres, the largest body in the asteroid belt, since March 2015.

Tethys Tops Saturn

12 July 2016 Astronomy Now

An illusion of perspective, Saturn’s moon Tethys seems to hang above the planet’s north pole in this view from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft.

NOAA satellite shows Moon crossing face of Earth for second time in a year

12 July 2016 Astronomy Now

On 5 July 2016, the Moon passed between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s DSCOVR satellite and Earth. NASA’s EPIC camera aboard DSCOVR snapped these images over a period of about four hours. In this set, the far side of the Moon, which is never seen from Earth, passes by. The last time EPIC captured this event was 16-17 July 2015.

Hubble sees a lonely starburst galaxy

11 July 2016 Astronomy Now

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows an isolated starburst galaxy named MCG+07-33-027. The galaxy lies some 300 million light-years away from us, and is currently experiencing an extraordinarily high rate of star formation — a starburst. Normal galaxies produce only a couple of new stars per year, but starburst galaxies can produce a hundred times more than that!

Pandemonium in Saturn’s rings

8 July 2016 Astronomy Now

Pan and moons like it have profound effects on Saturn’s rings. The effects can range from clearing gaps, to creating new ringlets, to raising vertical waves that rise above and below the ring plane. All of these effects, produced by gravity, are seen in this image from the Cassini probe.

Hubble captures the beating heart of the Crab Nebula

7 July 2016 Astronomy Now

This new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image reveals the beating heart of one of the most visually appealing, and most studied, supernova remnants known — the Crab Nebula in the constellation Taurus. At the centre of this nebula the spinning core of a deceased star breathes life into the gas that surrounds it.