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Visible and Infrared Visualization of the Orion Nebula

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This visualization explores the Orion Nebula using both visible and infrared light. Two correlated computer models were created based on visible-light observations from the Hubble Space Telescope and infrared-light observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope.

As the camera flies into the star-forming region, the sequence cross-fades back and forth between the visible and infrared views. The glowing gaseous landscape has been illuminated and carved by the high-energy radiation and strong stellar winds from the massive hot stars in the central cluster. The infrared observations generally show cooler temperature gas at a deeper layer of the nebula that extends well beyond the visible image. In addition, the infrared showcases many faint stars that shine primarily at longer wavelengths. The higher resolution visible observations show finer details including the wispy bow shocks and tadpole-shaped proplyds. In this manner, the movie illustrates the contrasting features uncovered by multi-wavelength astronomy.

Read the news release: http://hubblesite.org/news_release/news/2018-04

Hubble Observes Atmospheres of TRAPPIST-1 Exoplanets in the Habitable Zone

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Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have conducted the first spectroscopic survey of Earth-sized planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system’s habitable zone. Hubble reveals that at least the inner five planets do not seem to contain puffy, hydrogen-rich atmospheres similar to gaseous planets such as Neptune. This means the atmospheres may be more shallow and rich in heavier gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and oxygen.

CREDITS:
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and K. Jackson;
Music: “Deep Groove” by Danny McCarthy [ASCAP] and Thomas Dill [ASCAP]; Soundcast Music SESAC; Chronic Trax; Killer Tracks Production Music

The Fiery Fate of Exoplanets

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The Fiery Fate of Exoplanets
Joleen Carlberg of the Space Telescope Science Institute

What happens to planets when their stars begin to die? For many planets discovered outside our solar system, the answer is a trip into the fiery depths of their host star. The most successful ways that astronomers discover exoplanets are biased toward finding both large planets and planets orbiting close to their host stars. Consequently, the population of known exoplanets includes a sizeable subpopulation of massive planets in tiny orbits. During the late stages of its life, a star will expand 10 to 100 times—well beyond the orbits of many of these exoplanets. Such planetary engulfment can alter the properties of the host star. Dr. Joleen Carlberg will discuss various scenarios of these planet swallowing events as well as the observational clues they may leave behind.

Host: Dr. Frank Summers of the Space Telescope Science Institute

Recorded live on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

More information: https://hubblesite.org/resource-gallery/learning-resources/public-lecture-series

The Deaths and Afterlives of Massive Stars

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The Deaths and Afterlives of Massive Stars
Dan Milisavljevic of Purdue University

The catastrophic death of a massive star, a supernova explosion, is among the most powerful and important events in the cosmos. These brilliant bursts produce not only spectacular nebulae, but also exotic remnant objects, including neutron stars, black holes, and gamma-ray bursts. They strongly shape the structure and chemistry of their host galaxies. Perhaps most significantly, the stellar debris ejected into interstellar space is chock-full of the heavy elements that make planets and life possible. Professor Milisavljevic will vividly describe the ways that supernovae critically influence our universe. Breakthrough science opportunities are becoming possible through new synergies between the Hubble Space Telescope and observing facilities sensitive to electromagnetic energy, neutrinos, and gravitational waves.

Host: Dr. Frank Summers, Space Telescope Science Institute

Recorded live on Tuesday, April 23, 2019, at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

More information: http://hubble.stsci.edu/about_us/public_talks/

A Zoom to the Black Hole in M87

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A zoom into the giant elliptical galaxy Messier 87 (M87) from a wide field view of the entire galaxy to the supermassive black hole at its core. This series of nine images starts with visible light views, but quickly transitions to radio wavelengths. The final image from the Event Horizon Telescope has a resolution 2500 times better than the Hubble Space Telescope.

Visualization: Frank Summers, Space Telescope Science Institute
Music: “First Day of Spring”, David Hilowitz, CC BY-NC

A Galaxy Grouping in 2D and 3D: Stephan’s Quintet

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In 1877, Edouard Stephan discovered a tight visual grouping of five galaxies located in the constellation Pegasus. The galaxies of Stephan’s Quintet are both overlapping and interacting, and have become the most famous among the compact groups of galaxies. Astronomers have long known that four of the galaxies (all of which are yellowish-white in this video) form a physical group in space, while the fifth (bluish) is a foreground galaxy. In addition, a sixth galaxy (yellowish-white and on the far left) is likely to be part of the physical grouping. Hence, this 2D quintet that is a 3D quartet may actually be a 2D sextet that is a 3D quintet.

This visualization makes apparent the spatial distribution of these galaxies. The video starts with a view that matches our 2D perspective. As the sequence travels in 3D, the foreground blue spiral, NGC 7320, quickly passes by the camera. The possible sixth galaxy member on the left, NGC 7320C, is seen at roughly the same distance as the remaining four galaxies. The camera turns to pass between two strongly interacting galaxies, NGC 7319 (left) and NGC 7318B (right), with each galaxy’s spiral structure distorted by the gravitational interaction. In contrast, NGC 7318B overlaps in 2D with the more distant elliptical NGC 7318A, but does not have a strong interaction. The other elliptical, NGC 7317, is also seen as more distant than the strongly interacting pair. In 3D, the four or five galaxies in this group are gathered together by their mutual gravity, and may collide and merge together in the future.

Credits: G. Bacon, J. DePasquale, F. Summers, Z. Levay (STScI)