Category Astronomy/Space

The Calabash Nebula, OH 231.8+04.2 — is a spectacular example of the death of a low-mass star like the sun.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt

The Calabash Nebula – which has the technical name OH 231.8+04.2 – is a spectacular example of the death of a low-mass star like the sun. NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the star going through a rapid transformation from a red giant to a planetary nebula, during which it blows its outer layers of gas and dust out into the surrounding space. The recently ejected material is spat out in opposite directions with immense speed – the gas shown in yellow is moving close to 1M km/hr (621,371 miles/hr).

Astronomers rarely capture a star in this phase of its evolution because it occurs within the blink of an eye – in astronomical...

1. Ahuna Mons seen in a simulated perspective view. The elevation has been exaggerated by a factor of two. The view was made using enhanced-color images from NASA’s Dawn mission.
Credit: NASA
2. Ceres’ mysterious mountain Ahuna Mons is seen in this mosaic of images from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft. Dawn took these images from 385 kilometers (240 miles ) above the surface, in December 2015. The resolution of the image is 35 meters (120 feet) per pixel.
Credit: NASA

A recently discovered solitary ice volcano on the dwarf planet Ceres may have some hidden older siblings, say scientists who have tested a likely way such mountains of icy rock – called cryovolcanoes – might disappear over millions of years. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft discovered Ceres’s 2.5-mile tall Ahuna Mons cryovolcano in 2015...

Artist’s impression of a stray black hole storming through a dense gas cloud. The gas is dragged along by the strong gravity of the black hole to form a narrow gas stream. Credit: Keio University

By analyzing the gas motion of an extraordinarily fast-moving cosmic cloud in a corner of the Milky Way, astronomers found hints of a wandering black hole hidden in the cloud. This result marks the beginning of the search for quiet black holes; millions of such objects are expected to be floating in the Milky Way although only dozens have been found to date.

It is difficult to find black holes, because they are completely black. In some cases black holes cause effects which can be seen...

Something slammed into the surface of Mars 1 million years ago, hitting a volcano or lava plain. This impact ejected rocks into space. Fragments of these rocks crossed Earth’s orbit and fell as meteorites. Credit: Image courtesy of University of Houston

Analysis of a Martian meteorite found in Africa in 2012 has uncovered evidence of at least 2 billion years of volcanic activity on Mars. This confirms that some of the longest-lived volcanoes in the solar system may be found on the Red Planet. Shield volcanoes and lava plains formed from lava flowing over long distances, similar to the formation of the Hawaiian Islands. The largest Martian volcano, Olympus Mons, is nearly 17 miles high. That’s almost triple the height of Earth’s tallest volcano, Mauna Kea, at 6.25 miles...