From Auriga To Orion

(by fameisficklefood)

Petr Horálek on Instagram

Canaries Sky

Credits: A. Vannini, G. Li Causi, A. Ricciardi, A. Garatti

Nois7 on Instagram

Clearest image of Phobos ever taken, Moon of Mars

Rippling dust and gas lanes are what give the Flaming Star Nebula its name. The orange and purple colors of the nebula are present in different regions and are created by different processes. The bright star AE Aurigae, visible toward the middle of the image to the left, is so hot it is blue, emitting light so energetic it knocks electrons away from surrounding gas. When a proton recaptures an electron, red light is frequently emitted (depicted here in orange). The purple region's color is a mix of this red light and blue light emitted by AE Aurigae but reflected to us by surrounding dust. The two regions are referred to as emission nebula (the orange portion) and reflection nebula (the purple portion).

Pictured here in the Hubble color palette, the Flaming Star Nebula, officially known as IC 405, lies about 1500 light years distant, spans about 5 light years, and is visible with a small telescope toward the constellation of the Charioteer (Auriga).



Image Credit & Copyright: Eric Coles and Mel Helm

Moon minerals

The Gamma Cygni Nebula Image Credit: Min Xie, Chen Wu, Yizhou Zhang, and Benchu Tang

Cygnus Wall

Juno Passes Jupiter