The universe, an endless expanse of mysteries, is slowly revealing its secrets thanks to space agencies like NASA. NASA consistently shares awe-inspiring images and videos from space, bringing the wonders of the cosmos closer to us. Here are 10 remarkable NASA images that provide a rare glimpse into the universe and its captivating mysteries.
In 1895, Wilhelm Röntgen’s groundbreaking discovery of X-rays revolutionized medical diagnostics by enabling the visualization of bones. Now, two of NASA’s X-ray space telescopes have combined their powers to unveil the magnetic field ‘bones’ of a remarkable hand-shaped structure in space. This extraordinary collaboration reveals the behavior of a dead collapsed star, which continues to exist through plumes of energized matter and antimatter.
Wispy tendrils of hot dust and gas glow brightly in this ultraviolet image of the Cygnus Loop nebula, captured by NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer. Located about 1,500 light-years away, the nebula is a supernova remnant, a cosmic vestige left behind after a massive star exploded between 5,000 and 8,000 years ago. The Cygnus Loop, extending over three times the size of the full moon in the night sky, nestles next to one of the ‘swan’s wings’ in the constellation of Cygnus.
The ‘Pillars of Creation,’ a celestial masterpiece, has captivated humanity for decades. This ethereal beauty, nestled in the heart of the Eagle Nebula, was first captured by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in the 1990s. A 3D video of the ‘Pillars of Creation’ allows viewers to virtually fly past these pillars, experiencing their magnificent three-dimensional structure. Visible light images of the ‘Pillars of Creation’ have been captured by Hubble, while infra-red photos have been taken by NASA’s Webb Telescope.
Cassiopeia A (Cas A), the remnant of a massive star that exploded about 300 years ago, presents an X-ray image showcasing an expanding shell of hot gas generated by the explosion. While the spiral feature in the upper portion of a Hubble image might resemble a galaxy’s arm or a cosmic storm’s heart, it’s actually a small part of Caldwell 20 (NGC 7000), also known as the North America Nebula.
Discovered by William Herschel in 1786 and aptly nicknamed for its resemblance to the continent of North America, Caldwell 20 is situated approximately 1,800 light-years from Earth. It occupies a space in the constellation Cygnus that appears more than three times larger than the full moon. NASA’s captivating image reveals gigantic jets soaring from a thunderstorm towards the Himalayas in China and Bhutan, capturing four massive jets occurring only minutes apart. These phenomena, documented only in this century, are lightning discharges between certain thunderstorms and Earth’s ionosphere high above them.
V838 Monocerotis, a distant star located around 20,000 light-years away from Earth at the Milky Way Galaxy’s outer edge, showcases a light echo – an expanding illumination of never-before-seen spirals of dust. Westerlund 2, a giant cluster of 3,000 stars, resides in a turbulent stellar breeding ground known as Gum 29. The Hubble Space Telescope pierced through the dusty veil shrouding the stellar nursery by observing near-infrared light, providing astronomers with a clear view of the nebula and the dense concentration of stars in the central cluster. The cluster measures between 6 and 13 light-years across. This giant star cluster, only about 2 million years old, contains some of our galaxy’s hottest, brightest, and most massive stars.
This cosmic portrait, captured with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3, presents a stunning view of the spiral galaxy NGC 4571, located approximately 60 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Coma Berenices. The constellation’s name, translating to ‘Bernice’s Hair,’ is derived from an Egyptian queen who lived over 2,200 years ago.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured the ‘antics’ of a pair of actively forming young stars, known as Herbig-Haro 46/47, in high-resolution near-infrared light. To locate them, trace the bright pink and red diffraction spikes until you reach the center, where you’ll find the stars within the orange-white splotch. They are deeply embedded in a disk of gas and dust that fuels their growth as they continue to gain mass. While the disk is not visible, its shadow can be seen in the two dark, conical regions surrounding the central stars.
