My Universe

The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent. If we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death, our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfilment. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light. — Stanley Kubrick

https://sal9000.net/post/165035194070

Hubble spectroscopically confirms remotest galaxy today This illustration shows a timeline of the Universe, stretching from the present day (left) back to the Big Bang, 13.8 billion years ago (r...

https://sal9000.net/post/161061633965

GALACTIC WHEELS WITHIN WHEELS How many rings do you see in this new image of the galaxy Messier 94, also known as NGC 4736? While at first glance one might see a number of them, astronomers bel...

https://sal9000.net/post/139291408175

TRIPLE PLAY What looks like a pair of Saturnian satellites is actually a trio upon close inspection. Here, Cassini has captured Enceladus (313 miles or 504 kilometers across) above the rings ...

https://sal9000.net/post/139290943070

GLOWING STELLAR NURSERIES It reveals how an expanding bubble of ionised gas about ten light-years across is causing the surrounding material to collapse into dense clumps where new stars are th...

https://sal9000.net/post/139120331840

A HALF-ENCELADUS This half-lit view of Enceladus bears a passing resemblance to similar views of Earth’s own natural satellite, but the similarities end there. Earth’s rocky moon is covered...

https://sal9000.net/post/139119148635

SMOKE RING FOR A HALO Two stars shine through the centre of a ring of cascading dust in this image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The star system is named DI Cha , and while only ...

https://sal9000.net/post/132077389720

TAKEN UNDER THE ‘WING’ OF THE SMALL MAGELLANIC CLOUD The spiral galaxy seen in the lower corner is actually behind this nebula. Other distant galaxies located hundreds of millions of light-y...

https://sal9000.net/post/132076814230

CHANCE MEETING CREATES CELESTIAL DIAMOND RING Most stars with masses similar to that of our Sun will end their lives as white dwarfs — small, very dense, and hot bodies that slowly cool down ...

https://sal9000.net/post/82342891221

PROTOSTAR HH-34 IN ORION This object has a remarkable, very complicated appearance that includes two opposite jets that ram into the surrounding interstellar matter. This structure is produced ...

https://sal9000.net/post/79152993307

EMBRYONIC STARS EMERGE FROM INTERSTELLAR “EGGS” This eerie, dark structure, resembling an imaginary sea serpent’s head, is a column of cool molecular hydrogen gas (two atoms of hydrogen i...

https://sal9000.net/post/78842984590

NGC 2467 AND SURROUNDINGS Area surrounding the stellar cluster NGC 2467, located in the southern constellation of Puppis (“The Stern”). With an age of a few million years at most, it is a v...

https://sal9000.net/post/78739135081

HERSCHEL’S VIEW OF THE HORSEHEAD NEBULA The Horsehead Nebula resides in the constellation Orion, about 1300 light-years away, and is part of the vast Orion Molecular Cloud complex. The Horseh...

https://sal9000.net/post/78643360843

THE HIDDEN FIRES OF THE FLAME NEBULA This image, the first to be released publicly from VISTA, the world’s largest survey telescope, shows the spectacular star-forming region known as the Fla...

https://sal9000.net/post/78633211834

A ROSE MADE OF GALAXIES This image of a pair of interacting galaxies called Arp 273 was released to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the launch of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The d...

https://sal9000.net/post/78604360443

STAR ON A HUBBLE DIET The star cluster Pismis 24 lies in the core of the large emission nebula NGC 6357 that extends one degree on the sky in the direction of the Scorpius constellation. Part ...

https://sal9000.net/post/78532054813

HUBBLE’S NEWEST CAMERA IMAGES GHOSTLY STAR-FORMING PILLAR OF GAS AND DUST Resembling a nightmarish beast rearing its head from a crimson sea, this celestial object is actually just a pillar o...

https://sal9000.net/post/78531630224

THE ORION NEBULA CREDIT: ESO

https://sal9000.net/post/78421932654

OUT OF THIS WHIRL: THE WHIRLPOOL GALAXY (M51) AND COMPANION GALAXY The graceful, winding arms of the majestic spiral galaxy M51 (NGC 5194 ) appear like a grand spiral staircase sweeping throug...

https://sal9000.net/post/78165933780

ESO’S VLT REVEALS THE CARINA NEBULA’S HIDDEN SECRETS This broad image of the Carina Nebula, a region of massive star formation in the southern skies, was taken in infrared light using the H...

https://sal9000.net/post/77901167584