http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/nebulae/ Nebula News. Double helix nebula, cosmic spider, tarantula nebula and more. Fantastic images and full text science articles. Free. en-us Tue, 13 May 2008 06:05:01 EDT Tue, 13 May 2008 06:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/nebulae/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428081732.htm Chondritic meteorites have a similar chemical composition to the sun and are therefore reliable witnesses as to what the solar nebula, from which the planets formed, was composed of. This can be used to deduce what the Earth consists of chemically. However, researchers have now discovered that strictly speaking this fundamental geological assumption is not true. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428081732.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401155107.htm Two "supernova factories", rare clusters of Red Supergiant (RSG) stars, have been located in the Galactic Bar of the Milky Way. "RSGs represent the final brief stage in a massive star's lifecycle before it goes supernova. They are very rare objects, so to find this many in the same place is remarkable. Together they contain 40 RSGs, which is nearly 20% of all the known RSGs in the Milky Way. These stars are all at the brink of going supernova," said one of the astronomers. Wed, 02 Apr 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401155107.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080310131505.htm New studies may vindicate a 300-year-old astronomical 'mistake.' Astronomers have announced that low-mass stars and possibly even super-Jupiter-sized planets may be responsible for creating some of the most breathtaking objects in the sky. The news is ironic because the name "planetary" nebula has always been considered a misnomer. Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080310131505.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080307095223.htm Astronomers have measured the distribution of mass inside a dark filament in a molecular cloud with an amazing level of detail and to great depth. The measurement is based on a new method that looks at the scattered near-infrared light or 'cloudshine' and was made with ESO's New Technology Telescope. Associated with the forthcoming VISTA telescope, this new technique will allow astronomers to better understand the cradles of newborn stars. Sun, 09 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080307095223.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080304125346.htm Probing a glowing bubble of gas and dust encircling a dying star, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reveals a wealth of previously unseen structures. The object, called NGC 2371, is a planetary nebula, the glowing remains of a Sun-like star. The remnant star visible at the center of NGC 2371 is the super-hot core of the former red giant, now stripped of its outer layers. Its surface temperature is a scorching 240,000 degrees Fahrenheit. NGC 2371 lies about 4,300 light-years away in the constellation Gemini. Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080304125346.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080212142525.htm Newborn stars peek out from beneath their natal blanket of dust in this dynamic image of the Rho Ophiuchi dark cloud from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Called "Rho Oph" by astronomers, it's one of the closest star-forming regions to our own solar system. Located near the constellations Scorpius and Ophiuchus, the nebula is about 407 light years away from Earth. Rho Oph is a complex made up of a large main cloud of molecular hydrogen, a key molecule allowing new stars to form from cold cosmic gas, with two long streamers trailing off in different directions. Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080212142525.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080210183859.htm Taking advantage of the presence of light echoes, a team of astronomers have used an ESO telescope to measure, at the 1 percent precision level, the distance of a Cepheid -- a class of variable stars that constitutes one of the first steps in the cosmic distance ladder. Thu, 14 Feb 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080210183859.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080124161617.htm Contrary to expectations for a small icy body, much of the comet dust returned by the Stardust mission formed very close to the young sun and was altered from the solar system's early materials. Surprisingly, the Wild 2 comet sample better resembles a meteorite from the asteroid belt rather than an ancient, unaltered comet. Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080124161617.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080111204625.htm What superficially resembles a giant moth floating in space is giving astronomers new insight into the formation and evolution of planetary systems. This is not your typical flying insect. It has a wingspan of about 22 billion miles. The wing-like structure is actually a dust disk encircling the nearby, young star HD 61005, dubbed "The Moth." Its shape is produced by starlight scattering off dust. Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080111204625.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080110102327.htm The Gemini South Multi-Object Spectograph recently captured a dramatic image of a vast cloud complex named DEM L316 located in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The peanut-shaped nebula appears to be a single object, but the latest research indicates that it is really comprised of two distinct gas and dust clouds formed by different types of supernova explosions. Tue, 15 Jan 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080110102327.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080102155439.htm New observations have challenged scientists' conventional understanding of white dwarfs. Observers had believed white dwarfs were inert stellar corpses that slowly cool and fade away, but the new data tell a completely different story. Thu, 03 Jan 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080102155439.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071220102247.htm Astronomers are shedding new light on some of the most energetic objects in our galaxy, but objects that remain shrouded in mystery. These cosmic powerhouses pour out vast amounts of energy, and they accelerate particles to almost the speed of light. But very little is known about these sources because they were discovered only recently. Tue, 25 Dec 2007 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071220102247.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071210112009.htm A collaboration of over 50 astronomers has released the first comprehensive optical digital survey of our own Milky Way. Conducted by looking at light emitted by hydrogen ions the survey contains stunning red images of nebulae and stars. Mon, 17 Dec 2007 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071210112009.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071211232758.htm The planets in our solar system weren't always in the order they are today. Four billion years ago, early in the solar system's evolution, Uranus and Neptune switched places, according to new work by a Arizona State University researcher, who based this conclusion on calculations of the surface density of the solar nebula. The solar nebula is the disk of gas and dust out of which all of the planets formed. Thu, 13 Dec 2007 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071211232758.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071130101202.htm Right in time for the festive season, ESA's XMM-Newton X-ray observatory has discovered a huge cloud of high-temperature gas resting in a spectacular nearby star-forming region, shaped somewhat like the silhouette of Santa Claus. Sun, 02 Dec 2007 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071130101202.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071030090740.htm Two galaxies perform an intricate dance in this new Hubble Space Telescope image. The galaxies, containing a vast number of stars, swing past each other in a graceful performance choreographed by gravity. Thu, 01 Nov 2007 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071030090740.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071023164005.htm A spectacular new image shows how complex a star's afterlife can be. By studying the details of an amazing image, astronomers can better understand how some stars die and disperse elements like oxygen into the next generation of stars and planets. Wed, 24 Oct 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071023164005.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071009160230.htm Recent observations from NASA and Japanese X-ray observatories have helped clarify one of the long-standing mysteries in astronomy -- the origin of cosmic rays. Outer space is a vast shooting gallery of cosmic rays. Discovered in 1912, cosmic rays are not actually rays at all; they are subatomic particles and ions (such as protons and electrons) that zip through space in all directions at near-light speed, with energies tens of thousands of times greater than particles produced in Earth's largest particle accelerators. Thu, 11 Oct 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071009160230.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070927113205.htm Using ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer and its unique ability to see small details, astronomers have uncovered a flat, nearly edge-on disc of silicates in the heart of the magnificent Ant Nebula. The disc seems, however, too 'skinny' to explain how the nebula got its intriguing ant-like shape. Wed, 03 Oct 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070927113205.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071002100453.htm The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a spectacular image of NGC 3603, a giant nebula hosting one of the most prominent massive young clusters in the Milky Way, thus supplying a prime template for star formation studies. NGC 3603 is a prominent star-forming region located in the Carina spiral arm of the Milky Way, about 20,000 light-years away from our Solar System. Tue, 02 Oct 2007 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071002100453.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070927113202.htm Astronomers have used ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer and its razor-sharp eyes to discover a reservoir of dust trapped in a disc that surrounds an elderly star. The discovery provides additional clues about the shaping of planetary nebulae. Tue, 02 Oct 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070927113202.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070914184304.htm The colorful, intricate shapes in these NASA Hubble Space Telescope images reveal how the glowing gas ejected by dying Sun-like stars evolves dramatically over time. These gaseous clouds, called planetary nebulae, are created when stars in the last stages of life cast off their outer layers of material into space. Ultraviolet light from the remnant star makes the material glow. Planetary nebulae last for only 10,000 years, a fleeting episode in the 10-billion-year lifespan of Sun-like stars. Sat, 15 Sep 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070914184304.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070829192102.htm Edwin Hubble once called IC 10 "one of the most curious objects in the sky," and new observations of the extremely faint, lightweight dwarf galaxy are giving scientists new clues about how populations of stars are born. Though the properties of stars is one of the most well-studied topics in astronomy, scientists still don't fully understand all the mechanisms involved in star formation and evolution, particularly in galaxies with low levels of oxygen, nitrogen and other heavy elements. But scientists studying the IC 10 galaxy may soon understand how stars might have looked like in the distant past, when the universe was in a younger, more pristine form. Tue, 04 Sep 2007 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070829192102.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070828084421.htm New, detailed observations of a supernova show evidence that a white dwarf star "fed" off a red giant to gain the critical mass needed for explosion. When white dwarf stars explode, they leave behind a rapidly expanding cloud of 'stardust' known as a Type Ia supernova. These exploding events, which shine billions of times brighter than our sun, are all presumed to be extremely similar, and thus have been used extensively as cosmological reference beacons to trace distance and the evolution of the Universe. Astronomers have now -- for the first time ever -- provided a unique set of observations obtained with the ESO Very Large Telescope in Chile and the 10-meter Keck telescope in Hawaii, enabling them to find traces of the material that had surrounded a white dwarf star before it exploded. Thu, 30 Aug 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070828084421.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070814150630.htm Intriguing new evidence of lifelike structures that form from inorganic substances in space have just been revealed. The findings hint at the possibility that life beyond earth may not necessarily use carbon-based molecules as its building blocks. They also point to a possible new explanation for the origin of life on earth. Wed, 15 Aug 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070814150630.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070805132542.htm Although we don't usually think about it, the stars twinkling in the night sky don't shine forever. How long a star lives depends on how big and heavy it is. The bigger the star, the shorter its life. When a star significantly heavier than our Sun runs out of fuel, it collapses and blows itself apart in a catastrophic supernova explosion. A supernova releases so much light that it can outshine a whole galaxy of stars put together. The exploding star sweeps out a huge bubble in its surroundings, fringed with actual stellar debris along with material swept up by the blast wave. This glowing, brightly-coloured shell of gas forms a nebula that astronomers call a 'supernova remnant'. Such a remnant can remain visible long after the initial explosion fades away. Mon, 06 Aug 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070805132542.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070731153432.htm Picture a cool place, teeming with a multitude of hot bodies twirling about in rapidly changing formations of singles and couples, partners and groups, constantly dissolving and reforming. If you were thinking of the dance floor in a modern nightclub, think again. It's a description of the shells around dying stars, the place where newly formed elements make compounds and life takes off. Wed, 01 Aug 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070731153432.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070719013733.htm The first clear evidence of how gases from Jupiter's tiny moon's volcanoes can lead to the largest visible gas cloud in the solar system has been announced. Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, has a moon named Io that is just 100 km larger in radius than Earth's Moon. According to new research, there are over 100 active volcanic sites on Io making it the most active place for volcanic activity known anywhere. Mon, 23 Jul 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070719013733.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070711134450.htm One year after the beginning of its scientific operations, the high-capability infrared satellite AKARI continues to produce stunning views of the infrared universe. Fri, 13 Jul 2007 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070711134450.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070619125647.htm The world is abuzz with the discovery of an extrasolar, Earthlike planet around the star Gliese 581 that is relatively close to our Earth at 20 light years away in the constellation Libra. Scientists have worked on computer models that can provide hints to what comprises the atmosphere of such planets and better-known celestial bodies in our own solar system. Thu, 21 Jun 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070619125647.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070620112225.htm A new composite image of the Eta Carinae from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope shows the remnants of a massive eruption from the star during the 1840s. Eta Carinae is a mysterious, extremely bright and unstable star located a mere stone's throw -- astronomically speaking -- from Earth at a distance of only about 7500 light years. The star is thought to be consuming its nuclear fuel at an incredible rate, while quickly drawing closer to its ultimate explosive demise. Thu, 21 Jun 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070620112225.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070530184432.htm A team of astronomers has recalculated the explosion date of the famous Crab Nebula supernova and found excellent agreement between their measurements and the classic date of the 1054 A.D. appearance of a bright "guest star" seen in the constellation of Taurus the Bull. Thu, 31 May 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070530184432.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070519133208.htm The James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) on Mauna Kea in Hawaii has a new way to look at the Universe, thanks to two revolutionary instruments called HARP and ACSIS. These instruments operate together, and they recently sliced through the Orion Nebula, recording for the first time the internal movements of its star-forming gases. Mon, 21 May 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070519133208.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070424091427.htm One of the largest panoramic images ever taken with Hubble's cameras has been released to celebrate the 17th anniversary of the launch and deployment of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The image shows a 50 light-year-wide view of the tumultuous central region of the Carina Nebula where a maelstrom of star birth -- and death -- is taking place. Wed, 25 Apr 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070424091427.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070419123747.htm Astronomers based at Jodrell Bank Observatory have found evidence that giant whirlpools form in the wake of stars as they move through clouds in interstellar space. Scientists used the COBRA supercomputer to simulate in three-dimensions the movement of a dying star through surrounding interstellar gas. At the end of their life, Sun-sized stars lose their grip on their outer layers and as much as half of their mass drifts off into space. Mon, 23 Apr 2007 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070419123747.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070419140905.htm Iowa State University researchers built the four cameras for the VERITAS telescope system in Arizona. The new $20 million telescope system detects gamma rays and will help astrophysicists explore distant regions of space, look for evidence of dark matter and help explain the origins of the most energetic radiation in the universe. Mon, 23 Apr 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070419140905.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070419112829.htm Astronomers have collaborated to create the most detailed image ever produced of the Rosette Nebula (NGC 2237), a giant stellar nursery. The Rosette nebula is a vast cloud of dust and gas spanning 100 light years and lying about 4500 light-years away. Inside the nebula lies a cluster of bright, massive, young stars, whose strong stellar winds and radiation have cleared a hole in the nebula's centre. Ultraviolet light from these hot stars excites the surrounding nebula, causing it to glow. Fri, 20 Apr 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070419112829.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070418140451.htm Astronomers have laid down the cosmic equivalent of yellow "caution" tape around super hot stars, marking the zones where cooler stars are in danger of having their developing planets blasted away. Thu, 19 Apr 2007 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070418140451.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070415130628.htm The Seven Sisters, also known as the Pleiades, seem to float on a bed of feathers in a new infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Clouds of dust sweep around the stars, swaddling them in a cushiony veil. Mon, 16 Apr 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070415130628.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070326120846.htm Fantastic new images and clues about stars at different stages of their evolution, and interstellar material hosting black holes, are just a few of the latest results obtained by AKARI, the newest infrared sky-surveyor mission on the scene. Fri, 30 Mar 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070326120846.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070307101507.htm A team of European astronomers offer new evidence that high-mass stars could form in a similar way to low-mass stars, that is, from accretion of gas and dust through a disk surrounding the forming star. Their article, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, reports the discovery of a jet of molecular hydrogen arising from a forming high-mass star located in the Omega nebula (M17). Wed, 07 Mar 2007 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070307101507.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070213142649.htm A brand new image taken with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 shows the planetary nebula NGC 2440 -- the chaotic structure of the demise of a star. Sun, 04 Mar 2007 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070213142649.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070218135120.htm A team of astronomers from France and South Africa announced the first catalog of a new type of gamma-ray source, a dozen clouds of "relic" radiation from dead stars that reveal information about the energetic past of these celestial objects. Mon, 19 Feb 2007 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070218135120.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070215144117.htm A new look at the famous "Pillars of Creation" with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has allowed astronomers to peer inside the dark columns of gas and dust. This penetrating view of the central region of the Eagle Nebula reveals how much star formation is happening inside these iconic structures. Fri, 16 Feb 2007 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070215144117.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070111093307.htm The three iconic space pillars photographed by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in 1995 might have met their demise, according to new evidence from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. A new, striking image from Spitzer shows the intact dust towers next to a giant cloud of hot dust thought to have been scorched by the blast of a star that exploded, or went supernova. Thu, 11 Jan 2007 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070111093307.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070109172212.htm February 2007 marks the 20th anniversary of the nearest and brightest supernova humans have seen in 400 years. Called SN1987A, it burned for weeks in the Large Magellanic Cloud, and provided astronomers with new information that forced them to rethink theories of how massive stars explode. Now UC Berkeley astronomer Nathan Smith says that theory needs rethinking again. Exploding stars like SN1987A may have been luminous blue variables, not blue supergiants. Wed, 10 Jan 2007 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070109172212.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070109142252.htm A superbubble in space, caught in the act of forming, can help scientists better understand the life and death of massive stars, say researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Wed, 10 Jan 2007 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070109142252.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070108145732.htm A new image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows N90, one of the star-forming regions in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The rich populations of infant stars found here enable astronomers to examine star forming processes in an environment that is very different from that in our own Milky Way. Tue, 09 Jan 2007 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070108145732.htm