Picture This – Page 68 – Astronomy Now

Hubble’s high-definition panoramic view of the Andromeda Galaxy

13 January 2015 Astronomy Now

A large swathe of the Andromeda Galaxy, our galactic next-door neighbour, is mapped in unprecedented detail in the largest NASA Hubble Space Telescope image ever assembled.

Hubble Revisits the Iconic ‘Pillars of Creation’

5 January 2015 Astronomy Now

In celebration of its 25th anniversary, the Hubble Space Telescope has revisited the famous “Pillars of Creation”, providing astronomers with a sharper and wider view.

Ten years ago Cassini imaged Saturn’s moon Iapetus

31 December 2014 Astronomy Now

A decade ago, the Cassini probe made a New Year’s Eve close approach to Saturn’s moon Iapetus and captured astonishing views of its remarkable surface.

Polar scars on Saturn’s moon Mimas

29 December 2014 Astronomy Now

This image from the Cassini probe of Saturn’s moon Mimas shows the scars of numerous impacts near the north pole.

Hubble sees the beautiful side of galaxy IC 335

25 December 2014 Astronomy Now

Located in the Fornax Galaxy Cluster some 60 million light-years from Earth, IC 335 is an edge-on lenticular system — an intermediate state in galaxy morphological classification schemes between true spiral and elliptical galaxies.

The darker side of Saturn’s rings

23 December 2014 Astronomy Now

This image, taken by the Cassini probe, depicts Saturn’s main rings much darker than normal.

Is that a moon behind you?

21 December 2014 Astronomy Now

Tethys appears to be peeking out from behind Rhea in this image from the Cassini probe. Scientists believe that Tethys’ surprisingly high albedo is due to the water ice jets emerging from its neighbour, Enceladus.

Philae’s first landing: it’s all a blur

20 December 2014 Astronomy Now

The European Space Agency’s Philae lander captured this blurred view during its first bounce after first contacting the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in November.

The hot blue stars of Messier 47

17 December 2014 Astronomy Now

This spectacular image of the brilliant young blue stars and contrasting red giants of open cluster Messier 47 in the southern constellation of Puppis was taken with the 2.2-metre MPG/ESO telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile.

Galactic get-together has impressive light display

12 December 2014 Astronomy Now

NGC 2207 and IC 2163 are two colliding galaxies in the constellation of Ursa Major some 130 million light-years from Earth. Between them they have produced one of the most bountiful collections of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) known.