Photos of galaxies from Hubble. A series of photos from the Hubble Space Telescope

Original taken from osmiev V

The Hubble Space Telescope is an automatic observatory in orbit around the Earth, named after Edwin Hubble. The Hubble Telescope is a joint project of NASA and the European Space Agency; it is one of NASA's Large Observatories. Placing a telescope in space makes it possible to detect electromagnetic radiation in ranges in which the earth's atmosphere is opaque; primarily in the infrared range. Due to the absence of atmospheric influence, the resolution of the telescope is 7-10 times greater than that of a similar telescope located on Earth. We now invite you to see the best images from this unique telescope over the past few years. In the photo: The Andromeda Galaxy is the closest to ours Milky Way from giant galaxies. Most likely, our Galaxy looks about the same as the Andromeda Galaxy. These two galaxies dominate the Local Group of galaxies.

The hundreds of billions of stars that make up the Andromeda Galaxy combine to produce a visible, diffuse glow. The individual stars in the image are actually stars in our Galaxy, located much closer to the distant object. The Andromeda Galaxy is often called M31 because it is the 31st object in Charles Messier's catalog of diffuse celestial objects.

At the center of the Doradus star-forming region is a gigantic cluster of the largest, hottest, and most massive stars known to us. These stars form the R136 cluster captured in this image.

NGC 253: Brilliant NGC 253 is one of the brightest spiral galaxies we see, yet one of the dustiest. Some call it the “Silver Dollar Galaxy” because it is shaped like that in a small telescope. Others simply call it the “Sculptor Galaxy” because it lies within the southern constellation Sculptor. This dusty galaxy is located 10 million light years away.

Galaxy M83 is one of the closest spiral galaxies to us. From the distance that separates us from her, equal to 15 million light years, she looks completely ordinary. However, if we take a closer look at the center of M83 using the largest telescopes, the region appears to be a turbulent and noisy place.

The group of galaxies is Stefan's Quintet. However, only four galaxies in the group, located three hundred million light years away, participate in the cosmic dance, moving closer and further away from each other. The four interacting galaxies - NGC 7319, NGC 7318A, NGC 7318B and NGC 7317 - have yellowish colors and curved loops and tails, the shape of which is caused by the influence of destructive tidal gravitational forces. The bluish galaxy NGC 7320, pictured above left, is much closer than the others, just 40 million light-years away.

A giant cluster of stars distorts and splits the image of the galaxy. Many of them are images of a single unusual, beady, blue ring-shaped galaxy that happens to be located behind a giant cluster of galaxies. According to recent research, in total, at least 330 images of individual distant galaxies can be found in the picture. This stunning photograph of the galaxy cluster CL0024+1654 was taken in November 2004.

Spiral galaxy NGC 3521 lies just 35 million light-years away in the direction of the constellation Leo. It has features such as ragged spiral sleeves irregular shape, decorated with dust, pinkish star-forming regions and clusters of young bluish stars.

Spiral galaxy M33 is a medium-sized galaxy from the Local Group. M33 is also called the Triangulum galaxy after the constellation in which it is located. M33 is near the Milky Way, its angular dimensions are more than twice that of full moon, i.e. it is perfectly visible with good binoculars.

Lagoon Nebula. The bright Lagoon Nebula contains many different astronomical objects. Particularly interesting objects include a bright open star cluster and several active star forming regions. When viewed visually, the light from the cluster is lost against the overall red glow caused by hydrogen emission, while the dark filaments arise from the absorption of light by dense layers of dust.

The Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) is one of the most famous planetary nebulae in the sky.

Small constellation Chameleon is located near the south pole of the world. The picture reveals the amazing features of the modest constellation, which reveals many dusty nebulae and colorful stars. Blue reflection nebulae are scattered across the field.

The dark, dusty Horsehead Nebula and the glowing Orion Nebula contrast in the sky. They are located 1,500 light years away in the direction of the most recognizable celestial constellation. The familiar Horsehead Nebula is a small, dark cloud in the shape of a horse's head, silhouetted against a background of red glowing gas in the lower left corner of the picture.

Crab Nebula. This confusion remained after the star exploded. The Crab Nebula is the result of a supernova explosion observed in 1054 AD. At the very center of the nebula is a pulsar, a neutron star with a mass equal to the mass of the Sun, which fits into an area the size of a small town.

This is a mirage from a gravitational lens. The bright red galaxy (LRG) shown in this photograph has been distorted by its gravity to the light from a more distant blue galaxy. Most often, such a distortion of light leads to the appearance of two images of a distant galaxy, but in the case of a very precise superposition of the galaxy and the gravitational lens, the images merge into a horseshoe - an almost closed ring. This effect was predicted by Albert Einstein 70 years ago.

Star V838 Mon. For unknown reasons, in January 2002, the outer shell of the star V838 Mon suddenly expanded, making it the brightest star in the entire Milky Way. Then she became weak again, also suddenly. Astronomers have never observed such stellar flares before.

Ring Nebula. She really looks like a ring in the sky. Therefore, hundreds of years ago, astronomers named this nebula according to its unusual shape. The Ring Nebula is also designated M57 and NGC 6720.

Column and jets in the Carina Nebula. This cosmic column of gas and dust is two light years wide. The structure is in one of the most large regions star formation in our Galaxy. The Carina Nebula is visible in the southern sky and is 7,500 light-years away.

Trifid Nebula. The beautiful, multi-colored Trifid Nebula allows you to explore cosmic contrasts. Also known as M20, it lies about 5,000 light-years away in the nebula-rich constellation Sagittarius. The size of the nebula is about 40 light years.

Known as NGC 5194, this large galaxy with a well-developed spiral structure may have been the first spiral nebula discovered. It is clearly visible that its spiral arms and dust lanes pass in front of its satellite galaxy - NGC 5195 (left). The pair are located about 31 million light years away and officially belong to the small constellation Canes Venatici.

Centaurus A. A fantastic bunch of young blue star clusters, giant glowing gas clouds and dark dust veins surround central region active galaxy Centaurus A.

Butterfly Nebula. Bright clusters and nebulae in Earth's night sky are often named after flowers or insects, and NGC 6302 is no exception. The central star of this planetary nebula is exceptionally hot: its surface temperature is about 250 thousand degrees Celsius.

An image of a supernova that exploded in 1994 on the outskirts of a spiral galaxy.

Galaxy Sombrero. Galaxy M104's appearance resembles a hat, which is why it is called the Sombrero Galaxy. The image shows distinct dark lanes of dust and a bright halo of stars and globular clusters. The reasons why the Sombrero Galaxy looks like a hat are the unusually large central stellar bulge and the dense dark lanes of dust located in the galaxy's disk, which we see almost edge-on.

M17: view close-up. Formed by stellar winds and radiation, these fantastic wave-like formations are found in the M17 (Omega Nebula) nebula. The Omega Nebula is located in the nebula-rich constellation Sagittarius and is 5,500 light-years away. The patchy clumps of dense, cold gas and dust are illuminated by radiation from the stars in the image at top right and could become sites of star formation in the future.

What does the IRAS 05437+2502 nebula illuminate? There is no exact answer. Particularly puzzling is the bright, inverted V-shaped arc that outlines the top edge of the mountain-like clouds of interstellar dust near the center of the image.

The Hubble Space Telescope was launched on April 24, 1990, and since then has continuously documented every cosmic event it can get its hands on. His mind-blowing images are reminiscent of the exquisite paintings of surrealist artists, but these are all completely real, physical, iconic phenomena occurring around our planet.

But like all of us, the great telescope is getting old. There are only a few years left before NASA lets Hubble drift to a fiery death in the Earth's atmosphere: a fitting end for a true warrior of knowledge. We decided to collect several best pictures telescope that will always remind humanity how big the world around us is.

Galaxy rose
The telescope took this picture on its own “coming of age” day: Hubble turned exactly 21 years old. The unique object represents two galaxies in the constellation Andromeda, passing through each other.

Triple star
It may seem to some that this is an old VHS cover of budget science fiction. However, this is a very real Hubble image of the open cluster of stars Pismis 24.

Black hole dance
Most likely (astronomers themselves are not sure here), the telescope managed to capture the rarest moment of the merger of black holes. The visible jets are particles that extend over an incredible distance of several thousand light years.

Restless Sagittarius
The Lagoon Nebula attracts astronomers with the huge cosmic storms that rage here constantly. This region is filled with intense winds from hot stars: old ones die and new ones immediately take their place.

Supernova
Since the 1800s, astronomers with much less powerful telescopes have observed flares occurring in the Eta Carinae system. In early 2015, scientists concluded that these explosions are so-called “false supernovae”: they appear like ordinary supernovae, but do not destroy the star.

Divine trace
A relatively recent image taken by the telescope in March of this year. Hubble captured the star IRAS 12196-6300, located at an incredible distance of 2300 light years from Earth.

Pillars of Creation
Three deathly cold pillars of gas clouds envelop star clusters in the Eagle Nebula. This is one of the telescope's most famous images, called the "Pillars of Creation."

Heavenly fireworks
Inside the image, you can see many young stars gathered in a hazy haze of cosmic dust. Columns consisting of dense gas become incubators where new cosmic life is born.

NGC 3521
This flocculent spiral galaxy appears fuzzy in this image due to its stars shining through dusty clouds. Although the image appears incredibly clear, the galaxy is actually 40 million light-years away from Earth.

DI Cha star system
The unique bright spot at the center consists of two stars shining through rings of dust. The system is notable for the presence of two pairs of double stars, and in addition, it is here that the so-called Chameleon Complex is located - an area where entire galaxies of new stars are born.

Earth is a planet of amazing beauty, captivating with its incredible landscapes. But if you look into the depths of space using powerful telescopes, you understand: there is also something to admire in space. And photographs taken by NASA satellites are therefore confirmation.

1. Sunflower Galaxy

The Sunflower Galaxy is one of the most beautiful cosmic structures known to man in the Universe. Its sweeping spiral arms are composed of new blue-white giant stars.

2. Carina Nebula

Although many people think this image is photoshopped, it is actually a real photo of the Carina Nebula. Giant accumulations of gas and dust stretch over more than 300 light years. This region of active star formation is located at a distance of 6,500 - 10,000 light years from Earth.

3. Clouds in the atmosphere of Jupiter

This infrared image of Jupiter shows clouds in the planet's atmosphere, colored differently depending on their height. Because the a large number of methane in the atmosphere limits penetration sunlight, yellow areas are the clouds at the highest altitude, red are at the middle level, and blue are the lowest clouds.

What's really amazing about this image is that it shows the shadows of all three of Jupiter's largest moons - Io, Ganymede and Callisto. An event like this occurs approximately once every ten years.

4. Galaxy I Zwicky 18

Zwicky 18's shot of Galaxy I looks more like a scene from Doctor Who, which adds a special cosmic beauty to the image. The dwarf irregular galaxy puzzles scientists because some of its star formation processes are typical of the formation of galaxies in the earliest years. early days Universe. Despite this, the galaxy is relatively young: its age is only about a billion years.

5. Saturn

The faintest planet that can be seen from Earth with the naked eye, Saturn is generally considered the favorite planet for all budding astronomers. Its remarkable ring structure is the most famous in our Universe. The photo was taken in infrared radiation to show the subtle nuances of Saturn's gaseous atmosphere.

6. Nebula NGC 604

More than 200 very hot stars make up the nebula NGC 604. The Hubble Space Telescope was able to capture the nebula's impressive fluorescence caused by ionized hydrogen.

7. Crab Nebula

Compiled from 24 individual images, this photograph of the Crab Nebula shows a supernova remnant in the constellation Taurus.

8. Star V838 Mon

The red ball in the center of this image is the star V838 Mon, surrounded by many dust clouds. This incredible photo was taken after a starburst caused a so-called "light echo" that pushed dust further away from the star and into space.

9. Westerlund 2 Cluster

The Westerlund 2 cluster was photographed in infrared and visible light. It was published in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Hubble telescope in Earth orbit.

10. Hourglass

One of the creepy images (in fact, the only one of its kind) that NASA took is the nebula Hourglass. It was named so because of the unusually shaped gas cloud that was formed under the influence of stellar wind. It all looks like a creepy eye that looks from the depths of space to Earth.

11. Witch's broom

The image of part of the Veil Nebula, which is 2,100 light-years from Earth, shows all the colors of the rainbow. Due to its elongated and thin shape, this nebula is often called the Witch's Broom Nebula.

12. Constellation Orion

In the constellation Orion you can see a real giant lightsaber. It is actually a jet of gas under enormous pressure that creates a shock wave upon contact with surrounding dust.

13. Explosion of a supermassive star

This image shows the explosion of a supermassive star that looks more like a birthday cake than a supernova. Two loops of star remnants extend unevenly, while a ring in the center surrounds the dying star. Scientists are still searching for a neutron star or black hole at the center of the former giant star.

14. Whirlpool Galaxy

Although the Whirlpool Galaxy looks magnificent, it hides a dark secret (literally) - the galaxy is full of ravenous black holes. On the left, the Maelstrom is shown in visible light (i.e., its stars), and on the right, in infrared light (its dust cloud structures).

15. Orion Nebula

In this image, the Orion Nebula looks like the open mouth of a Phoenix bird. The image was taken in infrared, ultraviolet and visible light to create an incredibly colorful and detailed image. The bright spot where the bird's heart used to be is four giant stars, about 100,000 times brighter than the Sun.

16. Ring Nebula

As a result of the explosion of a star similar to our Sun, the Ring Nebula was formed - beautiful hot layers of gas and remnants of the atmosphere. All that remains of the star is a small white dot in the center of the picture.

17. Milky Way

If anyone needed to describe what hell looks like, they could use this infrared image of the core of our galaxy, the Milky Way. Hot, ionized gas swirls at its center in a giant vortex, and massive stars are born in various locations.

18. Cat's Eye Nebula

The stunning Cat's Eye Nebula is made up of eleven rings of gas that predate the formation of the nebula itself. The irregular internal structure is believed to be the result of a fast-moving stellar wind that "torn" the bubble shell at both ends.

19. Omega Centauri

More than 100,000 stars cluster together in the Omega Centauri globular cluster. The yellow dots are middle-aged stars, like our Sun. The orange dots are older stars, and the large red dots are stars in the red giant phase. After these stars "reset" outer layer hydrogen gas, they turn bright blue.

20. Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula

One of NASA's most popular photographs of all time is the Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula. These giant formations of gas and dust were captured in visible light. The pillars change over time as they are "weathered" by stellar winds from nearby stars.

21. Stefan Quintet

Five galaxies, known as Stephen's Quintet, are constantly fighting with each other. Although the blue galaxy is on the left top corner much closer to Earth than the others, the other four are constantly "stretching" each other apart, distorting their shapes and tearing their arms.

22. Butterfly Nebula

Informally known as the Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302 is actually the remnant dying star. Her ultraviolet radiation causes the gases ejected by the star to glow brightly. The butterfly's wings extend over two light years, or half the distance from the Sun to the nearest star.

23. Quasar SDSS J1106

Quasars are the result of supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies. Quasar SDSS J1106 is the most energetic quasar ever found. About 1,000 light-years from Earth, SDSS J1106's emission is roughly equal to 2 trillion Suns, or 100 times that of the entire Milky Way.

24. War and Peace Nebula

The nebula NGC 6357 is one of the most dramatic works in the sky and it is not surprising that it has been unofficially dubbed "War and Peace". Its dense network of gas forms a bubble around the bright star cluster Pismis 24, then uses its ultraviolet radiation to heat the gas and push it out into the Universe.

25. Carina Nebula

One of the most breathtaking images of space is the Carina Nebula. The interstellar cloud, composed of dust and ionized gases, is one of the largest nebulae visible in Earth's sky. The nebula consists of countless star clusters and even the brightest star in the Milky Way galaxy.

We present to you a selection of photographs taken using orbital telescope Hubble. It has been in orbit of our planet for more than twenty years and continues to reveal to us the secrets of space to this day.

1. NGC 5194
Known as NGC 5194, this large galaxy with a well-developed spiral structure may have been the first spiral nebula discovered. It is clearly visible that its spiral arms and dust lanes pass in front of its satellite galaxy, NGC 5195 (left). The pair are located about 31 million light years away and officially belong to the small constellation Canes Venatici.

2. Spiral Galaxy M33
Spiral galaxy M33 is a medium-sized galaxy from the Local Group. M33 is also called the Triangulum galaxy after the constellation in which it is located. About 4 times smaller (in radius) than our Milky Way Galaxy and the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), M33 is much larger than many dwarf galaxies. Because M33 is close to M31, some think it is a satellite of this more massive galaxy. M33 is not far from the Milky Way, its angular dimensions are more than twice the size of the full Moon, i.e. it is perfectly visible with good binoculars.

3. Stefan Quintet
The group of galaxies is Stefan's Quintet. However, only four galaxies in the group, located three hundred million light years away, participate in the cosmic dance, moving closer and further away from each other. It's quite easy to find extra ones. The four interacting galaxies - NGC 7319, NGC 7318A, NGC 7318B and NGC 7317 - have yellowish colors and curved loops and tails, the shape of which is caused by the influence of destructive tidal gravitational forces. The bluish galaxy NGC 7320, pictured above left, is much closer than the others, just 40 million light-years away.

4. Andromeda Galaxy
The Andromeda Galaxy is the closest giant galaxy to our Milky Way. Most likely, our Galaxy looks about the same as the Andromeda Galaxy. These two galaxies dominate the Local Group of galaxies. The hundreds of billions of stars that make up the Andromeda Galaxy combine to produce a visible, diffuse glow. The individual stars in the image are actually stars in our Galaxy, located much closer to the distant object. The Andromeda Galaxy is often called M31 because it is the 31st object in Charles Messier's catalog of diffuse celestial objects.

5. Lagoon Nebula
The bright Lagoon Nebula contains many different astronomical objects. Particularly interesting objects include a bright open star cluster and several active star forming regions. When viewed visually, the light from the cluster is lost against the overall red glow caused by hydrogen emission, while the dark filaments arise from the absorption of light by dense layers of dust.

6. Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543)
The Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) is one of the most famous planetary nebulae in the sky. Its haunting, symmetrical shape is visible in the central portion of this dramatic false-color image, specially processed to reveal a huge but very faint halo of gaseous material, some three light-years in diameter, that surrounds the bright, familiar planetary nebula.

7. Small constellation Chameleon
The small constellation Chameleon is located near the south pole of the World. The picture reveals the amazing features of the modest constellation, which reveals many dusty nebulae and colorful stars. Blue reflection nebulae are scattered across the field.

8. Nebula Sh2-136
Cosmic dust clouds glowing faintly with reflected starlight. Far from familiar places on planet Earth, they lurk on the edge of the Cephei Halo molecular cloud complex, 1,200 light-years away. Nebula Sh2-136, located near the center of the field, is brighter than other ghostly apparitions. Its size is more than two light years, and it is visible even in infrared light.

9. Horsehead Nebula
The dark, dusty Horsehead Nebula and the glowing Orion Nebula contrast in the sky. They are located 1,500 light years away in the direction of the most recognizable celestial constellation. And in today's remarkable composite photograph, the nebulae occupy opposite corners. The familiar Horsehead Nebula is a small dark cloud in the shape of a horse's head, silhouetted against a background of red glowing gas in the lower left corner of the picture.

10. Crab Nebula
This confusion remained after the star exploded. The Crab Nebula is the result of a supernova explosion observed in 1054 AD. The supernova remnant is filled with mysterious filaments. The filaments are not just complex to look at. The extent of the Crab Nebula is ten light years. At the very center of the nebula is a pulsar - a neutron star with a mass equal to the mass of the Sun, which fits into an area the size of a small town.

11. Mirage from a gravitational lens
This is a mirage from a gravitational lens. The bright red galaxy (LRG) shown in this photograph has been distorted by its gravity to the light from a more distant blue galaxy. Most often, such a distortion of light leads to the appearance of two images of a distant galaxy, but in the case of a very precise superposition of the galaxy and the gravitational lens, the images merge into a horseshoe - an almost closed ring. This effect was predicted by Albert Einstein 70 years ago.

12. Star V838 Mon
For unknown reasons, in January 2002, the outer shell of the star V838 Mon suddenly expanded, making it the brightest star in the entire Milky Way. Then she became weak again, also suddenly. Astronomers have never seen a stellar flare like this before.

13. Birth of planets
How are planets formed? To try to find out, the Hubble Space Telescope was tasked with taking a closer look at one of the most interesting of all nebulae in the sky: the Great Orion Nebula. The Orion Nebula can be seen with the naked eye near the belt of the constellation Orion. The insets in this photo show numerous proplyds, many of them stellar nurseries that likely house forming planetary systems.

14. Star cluster R136
At the center of the star-forming region 30 Doradus lies a gigantic cluster of the largest, hottest, and most massive stars known to us. These stars form the R136 cluster, captured in this image taken in visible light by the upgraded Hubble Space Telescope.

15. NGC 253
Brilliant NGC 253 is one of the brightest spiral galaxies we see, yet one of the dustiest. Some call it the “Silver Dollar Galaxy” because it is shaped like that in a small telescope. Others simply call it the “Sculptor Galaxy” because it lies within the southern constellation Sculptor. This dusty galaxy is located 10 million light years away.

16. Galaxy M83
Galaxy M83 is one of the closest spiral galaxies to us. From the distance that separates us from her, equal to 15 million light years, she looks completely ordinary. However, if we take a closer look at the center of M83 using the largest telescopes, the region appears to be a turbulent and noisy place.

17. Ring Nebula
She really looks like a ring in the sky. Therefore, hundreds of years ago, astronomers named this nebula according to its unusual shape. The Ring Nebula is also designated M57 and NGC 6720. The Ring Nebula belongs to the class of planetary nebulae; these are gas clouds that emit stars similar to the Sun at the end of their lives. Its size exceeds the diameter. This is one of Hubble's early images.

18. Column and jets in the Carina Nebula
This cosmic column of gas and dust is two light years wide. The structure is located in one of the largest star-forming regions of our Galaxy, the Carina Nebula, which is visible in the southern sky and is 7,500 light-years away.

19. Center of the Omega Centauri globular cluster
At the center of the globular cluster Omega Centauri, the stars are packed ten thousand times more densely than the stars in the vicinity of the Sun. The image shows many faint yellow-white stars smaller than our Sun, several orange red giants, and the occasional blue star. If two stars suddenly collide, they can form one more massive star, or they can form a new binary system.

20. A giant cluster distorts and splits the image of the galaxy
Many of them are images of a single unusual, beady, blue ring-shaped galaxy that happens to be located behind a giant cluster of galaxies. According to recent research, in total, at least 330 images of individual distant galaxies can be found in the picture. This stunning photograph of the galaxy cluster CL0024+1654 was taken by the NASA Space Telescope. Hubble in November 2004.

21. Trifid Nebula
The beautiful, multi-colored Trifid Nebula allows you to explore cosmic contrasts. Also known as M20, it lies about 5,000 light-years away in the nebula-rich constellation Sagittarius. The size of the nebula is about 40 light years.

22. Centaurus A
A fantastic array of young blue star clusters, giant glowing gas clouds and dark dust lanes surround the central region of the active galaxy Centaurus A. Centaurus A is close to Earth, 10 million light years away.

23. Butterfly Nebula
Bright clusters and nebulae in Earth's night sky are often named after flowers or insects, and NGC 6302 is no exception. The central star of this planetary nebula is exceptionally hot: its surface temperature is about 250 thousand degrees Celsius.

25. Two colliding galaxies with merging spiral arms
This remarkable cosmic portrait shows two colliding galaxies with merging spiral arms. Above and to the left of the large spiral galaxy pair NGC 6050 can be seen a third galaxy that is also likely involved in the interaction. All of these galaxies are located about 450 million light-years away in the Hercules cluster of galaxies. At this distance, the image covers an area of more than 150 thousand light years. And although this appearance seems quite unusual, scientists now know that collisions and subsequent mergers of galaxies are not uncommon.

26. Spiral Galaxy NGC 3521
Spiral galaxy NGC 3521 lies just 35 million light-years away in the direction of the constellation Leo. The galaxy, which extends over 50,000 light-years, has features such as ragged, irregular spiral arms festooned with dust, pinkish star-forming regions and clusters of young bluish stars.

27. Jet structure details
Although this unusual emission was first noticed in the early twentieth century, its origin is still the subject of debate. The image shown above, taken in 1998 by the Hubble Space Telescope, clearly shows details of the jet's structure. The most popular hypothesis suggests that the source of the ejection was heated gas orbiting a massive black hole at the center of the galaxy.

28. Galaxy Sombrero
Galaxy M104's appearance resembles a hat, which is why it is called the Sombrero Galaxy. The image shows distinct dark lanes of dust and a bright halo of stars and globular clusters. The reasons why the Sombrero Galaxy looks like a hat are the unusually large central stellar bulge and the dense dark lanes of dust located in the galaxy's disk, which we see almost edge-on.

29. M17: close-up view
Formed by stellar winds and radiation, these fantastic wave-like formations are found in the M17 (Omega Nebula) nebula and are part of a star-forming region. The Omega Nebula is located in the nebula-rich constellation Sagittarius and is 5,500 light-years away. The patchy clumps of dense, cold gas and dust are illuminated by radiation from the stars in the image at top right and could become sites of star formation in the future.

30. Nebula IRAS 05437+2502
What does the IRAS 05437+2502 nebula illuminate? There is no exact answer yet. Particularly puzzling is the bright, inverted V-shaped arc that outlines the top edge of the mountain-like clouds of interstellar dust near the center of the image. Overall, this ghost-like nebula includes a small star-forming region filled with dark dust. It was first spotted in infrared images taken by the IRAS satellite in 1983. Shown here is a remarkable, recently released image from the Hubble Space Telescope. Although it shows many new details, the cause of the bright, clear arc could not be determined.

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The science

Space full of unexpected surprises and incredibly beautiful landscapes that today astronomers can capture in photographs. Sometimes space or ground-based spacecraft take such unusual photographs that scientists still They've been wondering for a long time what it is.

Space photos help make amazing discoveries, see the details of the planets and their satellites, draw conclusions regarding them physical properties, determine the distance to objects and much more.

1) Glowing gas of the Omega Nebula . This nebula, open Jean Philippe de Chaizeau in 1775, located in the area constellation Sagittarius Milky Way galaxy. The distance to us from this nebula is approximately 5-6 thousand light years, and in diameter it reaches 15 light years. Photo taken by special digital camera during the project Digitized Sky Survey 2.

New images of Mars

2) Strange lumps on Mars . This photo was taken by the panchromatic context camera of the automatic interplanetary station Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which explores Mars.

Visible in the photo strange formations, which formed on lava flows interacting with water on the surface. Lava, flowing down the slope, encircled the bases of the mounds, then swelled. Lava Swelling- a process in which the liquid layer, which appears under the hardening layer of liquid lava, lifts the surface slightly, forming such a relief.

These formations are located on the Martian plain Amazonis Planitia- a huge territory that is covered with frozen lava. The plain is also covered thin layer reddish dust, which slides down steep slopes, forming dark stripes.

Planet Mercury (photo)

3) Beautiful colors Mercury . This colorful image of Mercury was created by combining large number images taken by NASA's interplanetary station "Messenger" for a year of work in Mercury orbit.

Of course it is not the real colors of the planet closest to the Sun, but the colorful image reveals the chemical, mineralogical and physical differences in Mercury's landscape.

4) Space lobster . This image was taken by the VISTA telescope European Southern Observatory. It depicts a cosmic landscape, including a huge glowing cloud of gas and dust, which surrounds young stars.

This infrared image shows the nebula NGC 6357 in the constellation Scorpion, which is presented in a new light. The photo was taken during the project Via Láctea. Scientists are currently scanning the Milky Way in an attempt to map the more detailed structure of our galaxy and explain how it was formed.

Mysterious mountain of the Carina Nebula

5) Mysterious mountain . The image shows a mountain of dust and gas rising from the Carina Nebula. The top of a vertical column of cooled hydrogen, which is about 3 light years, is carried away by radiation from nearby stars. Stars located in the area of the pillars release jets of gas that can be seen at the tops.

Traces of water on Mars

6) Traces of an ancient water flow on Mars . This is a high resolution photo that was taken January 13, 2013 by using spacecraft European Space Agency Mars Express, offers to see the surface of the Red Planet in real colors. This is a shot of the area southeast of the plain Amenthes Planum and north of the plain Hesperia planum.

Visible in the photo craters, lava channels and valley, along which liquid water probably once flowed. The valley and crater floors are covered in dark, wind-blown deposits.

7) Dark space gecko . The picture was taken with a ground-based 2.2-meter telescope European Southern Observatory MPG/ESO in Chile. The photo shows a bright star cluster NGC 6520 and its neighbor - a strangely shaped dark cloud Barnard 86.

This cosmic couple is surrounded by millions of luminous stars in the brightest part of the Milky Way. The area is so filled with stars that you can hardly see the dark background of the sky behind them.

Star formation (photo)

8) Star Education Center . Several generations of stars are shown in an infrared image taken by NASA's space telescope. "Spitzer". In this smoky area known as W5, new stars are formed.

The oldest stars can be seen as blue bright dots. Younger stars highlight pinkish glow. In brighter areas, new stars form. Heated dust is shown in red, and green color indicates dense clouds.

Unusual nebula (photo)

9) Valentine's Day Nebula . This is an image of a planetary nebula, which may remind some of rosebud, was obtained using a telescope Kitt Peak National Observatory in USA.

Sh2-174- an unusual ancient nebula. It was formed during the explosion of a low-mass star at the end of its life. What remains of the star is its center - white dwarf.

Usually white dwarfs are located very close to the center, but in the case of this nebula, its the white dwarf is located on the right. This asymmetry is associated with the interaction of the nebula with the environment that surrounds it.

10) Heart of the Sun . In honor of the recent Valentine's Day, another one appeared in the sky. unusual phenomenon. More precisely it was done photo of an unusual solar flare, which is depicted in the photo in the shape of a heart.

Saturn's satellite (photo)

11) Mimas - Death Star . A photograph of Saturn's moon Mimas was taken spaceship NASA "Cassini" while it approaches the object at the closest distance. This satellite is something looks like the Death Star– a space station from a science fiction saga "Star Wars".

Herschel Crater has a diameter 130 kilometers and covers most of right side satellite in the photo. Scientists continue to explore this impact crater and its surrounding areas.

Photos were taken February 13, 2010 from a distance 9.5 thousand kilometers, and then, like a mosaic, assembled into one clearer and more detailed photo.

12) Galactic duo . These two galaxies, shown in the same photo, have absolutely different shapes. Galaxy NGC 2964 is a symmetrical spiral, and the galaxy NGC 2968(top right) is a galaxy that has a fairly close interaction with another small galaxy.

13) Mercury colored crater . Although Mercury does not boast a particularly colorful surface, some areas on it still stand out with contrasting colors. The pictures were taken during the spacecraft mission "Messenger".

Halley's Comet (photo)

14) Halley's Comet in 1986 . This famous historical photo of the comet as it approached Earth last time, was made 27 years ago. The photo clearly shows how the Milky Way is illuminated on the right by a flying comet.

15) Strange hill on Mars . This photo shows a strange spiky formation near South Pole Red planet. The surface of the hill appears to be layered and shows signs of erosion. Its height is estimated 20-30 meters. The appearance of dark spots and stripes on the hill is associated with the seasonal thawing of a layer of dry ice (carbon dioxide).

Orion Nebula (photo)

16) Orion's beautiful veil . This beautiful image includes cosmic clouds and stellar wind around the star LL Orionis, which interacts with the stream Orion Nebula. The star LL Orionis produces winds that are stronger than those of our own middle-aged star, the Sun.

Galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici (photo)

17) Spiral galaxy Messier 106 in the constellation Canes Venatici . NASA Space Telescope "Hubble" with the participation of an amateur astronomer, took one of the best photographs of a spiral galaxy Messier 106.

Located at a distance of about 20 million light years away, which is not that far away by cosmic standards, this galaxy is one of the brightest galaxies, and also one of the closest to us.

18) Starburst galaxy . Galaxy Messier 82 or Galaxy Cigar located at a distance from us 12 million light years in the constellation Big Dipper. The formation of new stars occurs quite quickly in it, which puts it at a certain phase in the evolution of galaxies, according to scientists.

Because the Cigar Galaxy is experiencing intense star formation, it 5 times brighter than our Milky Way. This photo was taken Mount Lemmon Observatory(USA) and required a holding time of 28 hours.

19) Ghost Nebula . This photo was taken using a 4 meter telescope (Arizona, USA). The object, called vdB 141, is a reflection nebula located in the constellation Cepheus.

Several stars can be seen in the nebula area. Their light gives the nebula an unattractive yellowish-brown color. Photo taken August 28, 2009.

20) Powerful hurricane of Saturn . This colorful photo taken by NASA "Cassini", depicts Saturn's strong northern storm, which at that moment reached its greatest power. The contrast of the image has been increased to show troubled areas (in white) that stand out from other details. The photo was taken March 6, 2011.

Photo of the Earth from the Moon

21) Earth from the Moon . Being on the surface of the Moon, our planet will look exactly like this. From this angle, the Earth too phases will be noticeable: Part of the planet will be in shadow, and part will be illuminated by sunlight.

Andromeda Galaxy

22) New images of Andromeda . In a new image of the Andromeda Galaxy, obtained using Herschel Space Observatory, the bright streaks where new stars are forming are visible in especially detail.

The Andromeda Galaxy or M31 is the closest large galaxy to our Milky Way. It is located at a distance of about 2.5 million years, and is therefore an excellent object for studying the formation of new stars and the evolution of galaxies.

23) Star cradle of the constellation Unicorn . This image was taken using a 4-meter telescope Inter-American Observatory of Cerro Tololo in Chile January 11, 2012. The image shows part of the Unicorn R2 molecular cloud. This is a site of intense new star formation, especially in the red nebula region just below the center of the image.

Satellite of Uranus (photo)

24) Ariel's scarred face . This image of Uranus's moon Ariel is made up of 4 different images taken by the spacecraft. "Voyager 2". The pictures were taken January 24, 1986 from a distance 130 thousand kilometers from the object.

Ariel has a diameter about 1200 kilometers, most of its surface is covered with craters with a diameter of 5 to 10 kilometers. In addition to craters, the image shows valleys and faults in the form of long stripes, so the landscape of the object is very heterogeneous.

25) Spring "fans" on Mars . In high latitudes every winter carbon dioxide condenses from the atmosphere of Mars and accumulates on its surface, forming seasonal polar ice caps. In the spring, the sun begins to heat the surface more intensely and the heat passes through these translucent layers of dry ice, heating the soil underneath.

Dry ice evaporates, immediately turning into gas, bypassing the liquid phase. If the pressure is high enough, the ice cracks and gas escapes from the cracks, forming "fans". These dark "fans" are small fragments of material that are carried away by the gas escaping from the cracks.

Galactic merger

26) Stefan Quintet . This group is from 5 galaxies in the constellation Pegasus, located in 280 million light years from the earth. Four of the five galaxies are undergoing a violent merger phase and will crash into each other, eventually forming a single galaxy.

The central blue galaxy appears to be part of this group, but this is an illusion. This galaxy is much closer to us - at a distance only 40 million light years. The image was obtained by researchers Mount Lemmon Observatory(USA).

27) Soap Bubble Nebula . This planetary nebula was discovered by an amateur astronomer Dave Jurasevich July 6, 2008 in the constellation Swan. The picture was taken with a 4-meter telescope Mayall National Observatory Kitt Peak V June 2009. This nebula was part of another diffuse nebula, and it is also quite faint, so it was hidden from the eyes of astronomers for a long time.

Sunset on Mars – photo from the surface of Mars

28) Sunset on Mars. May 19, 2005 NASA Mars rover MER-A Spirit I took this amazing photo of the sunset while being on the edge of Gusev crater. The solar disk, as you can see, is slightly smaller than the disk that is visible from Earth.

29) Hypergiant star Eta Carinae . In this incredibly detailed image taken by NASA's space telescope "Hubble", you can see huge clouds of gas and dust from the giant star Eta of Kiel. This star is located at a distance from us more than 8 thousand light years, A general structure comparable in width to our solar system.

Near 150 years ago a supernova explosion was observed. Eta Carinae became the second most luminous star after Sirius, but quickly faded away and ceased to be visible to the naked eye.

30) Polar Ring Galaxy . Amazing Galaxy NGC 660 is the result of the merger of two different galaxies. It is located at a distance 44 million light years from us in the constellation Pisces. On January 7, astronomers announced that this galaxy has powerful flash, which is most likely the result of the massive black hole at its center.