 |
Huge clouds of matter – known today as the Homunculus Nebula – consist of byproducts from the binary star system Eta Carinae, which experienced a supernova impostor event in 1843. This is the closest star system to Earth which could experience true supernova status in the near future. (The near future in space-time could still mean a million years from now.)
|
 |
Asian observers recorded this supernova remnant nearly 1,000 years ago, in 1054.The Crab Nebula, as it’s known, is all that’s left of the fantastic stellar explosion.
|
 |
This is the dwarf galaxy NGC 4214, alive with baby stars and a haze of glowing hydrogen gas produced during star birth.
|
 |
Just 15 million light years away from the constellation Hydra is the spiral galaxy M83, also glowing with new star formations. It is also known as the Southern Pinwheel.
|
 |
Young, blue-colored stars clustered in the dark pathways of the giant elliptical galaxy known as Centaurus A. In the center is a supermassive black hole, not visible here.
|
 |
It may seem obvious why these particular planetary nebulae are named the Cat’s Eye Nebula, but it’s actually more akin to a shell, a tree, or an onion. NASA states of this formation, “Observations suggest the star ejected its mass in a series of pulses at 1,500-year intervals. These convulsions created dust shells, each of which contain as much mass as all of the planets in our solar system combined (still only one percent of the Sun’s mass). These concentric shells make a layered, onion-skin structure around the dying star. The view from Hubble is like seeing an onion cut in half, where each skin layer is discernible.
|
 |
The iconic Horsehead Nebula may be one of the more readily recognizable images taken from the Hubble; it has been included in astronomy books in some form since its discovery over a century ago.
|
 |
Another famous star nursery, the Carina Nebula is shown here with its three-light-year-tall pillars and jets of gasses emanating from the young stars.
Watch: The Hubble Ultra Deep Field in 3D
|