January 5, 2014 G292.0+1.8, a supernova remnant in Centaurus Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Penn State/S.Park et al.; Optical: Pal.Obs. DSS G292.0+1.8 (SNR G292.0+1.8) is the rapidly expanding remnant of a supernova that exploded about 1,600 years ago. It is located within our Milky Way, at a distance of approximately 20,000 light-years away from the Earth in [continue reading]

  Using the new capabilities of the upgraded Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), scientists have discovered previously-unseen binary companions to a pair of very young protostars. The discovery gives strong support for one of the competing explanations for how double-star systems form. Binary star formation through disk fragmentation starts (left) with a young [continue reading]

January 4, 2014 Messier 69, a globular cluster in Sagittarius Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA Messier 69 (also known as NGC 6637) is a globular cluster of roughly 85 light-years across, with an estimated mass of 300,000 solar masses and an age of 13.06 billion years. It is located some 29,700 light-years away from Earth [continue reading]

January 3, 2013  The Eskimo Nebula, a planetary nebula in Gemini Image Credit: NASA, Andrew Fruchter and the ERO Team [Sylvia Baggett and Zoltan Levay (STScI), and Richard Hook (ST-ECF)] The Eskimo Nebula (NGC 2392, and sometimes also called the Clownface Nebula) is a bipolar double-shell planetary nebula of about 0.68 light-year across, located over [continue reading]

January 2, 2014 NGC 4725 & NGC 4712, spiral galaxies in Coma Berenices Image Credit & Copyright: Robert Gendler, Subaru Telescope (NAOJ), Hubble Legacy Archive Color Data Courtesy: Adam Block, Bob Franke and Maurice Toet Image Assembly and Processing : Robert Gendler NGC 4725 is a barred spiral galaxy of more than 100 thousand light-years across, [continue reading]

January 1, 2014 The Wreath Nebula, an emission nebula in Perseus Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/WISE Team The Wreath Nebula (also known as Barnard 3 or IRAS Ring G159.6-18.5) is an emission nebula and H II region of about 22 light-years across (ring diameter), located only some 1,000 light-years away within our Milky Way galaxy in the Perseus [continue reading]