Paperclippe in the City

NGC 6752 contains a high number of “blue straggler” stars, some of which are visible in this image. These stars display characteristics of stars younger than their neighbors, despite models suggesting that most of the stars within globular clusters should have formed at approximately the same time. Their origin is therefore something of a mystery. Studies of NGC 6752 may shed light on this situation. It appears that a very high number — up to 38 percent — of the stars within its core region are binary systems. Collisions between stars in this turbulent area could produce the blue stragglers that are so prevalent.

Behold, one of the most ancient celestial clusters in the Universe

The striking features in this image are the big red emission regions Barnards Loop and the Lambda Orionis Nebula (around Orions “head”), both predominantly visible in the light of ionized hydrogen (H-alpha, 656nm). Barnards Loop is a remnant of one or maybe several Supernova explosions. This loop is, as known from radio-astronomy, much more extended than it can be seen here. Just the inner part of the material is ionized by high energetic radiation of the Orion OB1-Association. This are the blue, hot and massive stars of Orions “belt” and the surrounding. A completely different star color is shown by Beteigeuze (Alpha Orionis, left “shoulder”) with its intensive orange. The surface temperature is with 3500 K very low and so the maximum of the radiated energy spectrum is positioned in red.

(via Orion with Barnards Loop and Lambda Orionis Nebula)

Within this chunk of mineral unearthed in Russia’s Koryak mountains are crystalline structures that likely originated in space and were delivered to Earth via meteorite, a new study claims.

(via Nobel-Winning Quasicrystals Appear to Have Come From Space | Popular Science)

About a month ago, a Galaxy Zoo contributor named Bruno discovered a very unique galaxy merger in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data. The merger appeared to be a triple, or possibly quadruple system, which are indeed quite rare, and it includes curiously thin and long tidal tails. The Galaxy Zoo team has been informally referring to this merger as the “Violin Clef” or the “Integral” based on the unique shape as shown above. (via Galaxy Zoo Reveals Curious ‘Violin Clef’ Quadruple Galaxy Merger)

scienceisbeauty:

The Hertzsprung–Russell diagram is a scatter graph of stars showing the relationship between the stars’ absolute magnitudes or luminosities versus their spectral types or classifications and effective temperatures. Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams are not pictures or maps of the locations of the stars. Rather, they plot each star on a graph measuring the star’s absolute magnitude or brightness against its temperature and color.

Interesting tool

Source: Investigating Stars, Investigating Astronomy, TERC

Zodiacal Light and the False Dawn

Once considered a false dawn, this triangle of light is actually Zodiacal Light, light reflected from interplanetary dust particles.

Credit & Copyright: Stefan Seip

(Source: ikenbot)

The Mark of a Dying Star

Six hundred and fifty light-years away in the constellation Aquarius, a dead star about the size of Earth, is refusing to fade away peacefully. In death, it is spewing out massive amounts of hot gas and intense ultraviolet radiation, creating a spectacular object called a “planetary nebula.”

In this false-color image, NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes have teamed up to capture the complex structure of the object, called the Helix nebula, in unprecedented detail. The composite picture is made up of visible data from Hubble and infrared data from Spitzer.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA

(Source: ikenbot)

ohscience:

Scientist Edson Ramirez was in for a surprise August 16 as he was studying glaciers in the Bolivian Andes: A large object fell from the sky, leaving a trail of smoke over the mountain peaks known as Huayna Potosí and Tuni Condoriri.

Based on Ramirez’s picture, planetary scientist Rubber Munoz Sanchez, of the Max Schreier Planetarium in La Paz, told Reuters that he thinks the object was a meteor up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) wide.

cwnl:

Warped Spiral Galaxy ESO 510-13

Credit: C. Conselice (U. Wisconsin/STScI) et al., Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), NASA

It’s like a pizza!

Oh come on.  You were all thinking it.

(Source: ikenbot)

(via Gallery - The year’s best astronomy photos - Image 5 - New Scientist)