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Comet ISON

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Comet ISON - NASA
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope took this picture of Comet ISON

Since its discovery in 2012, Comet ISON (C/2012 S1) generated a lot of interest and intrigue before meeting its end at the hands of the Sun. It was named “ISON” after the organization where its discovery was made, using the initials of the Russian International Scientific Optical Network. The Hubble Space Telescope took this picture of Comet ISON in July 2013 as it was rocketing toward the Sun at a whopping speed of 48,000 mph. The comet itself was believed to be very cold thanks to an icy nucleus and a tail streaming copious amounts of gas and dust. It disintegrated into the Sun on December 1-2, 2013.

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Blue Tadpole Protostar

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Proto-star - NASA
This clump of gas and dust, the Blue Tadpole, is a proto-star

The Blue Tadpole is a clump of gas and dust, and is officially named IRAS 20324+4057. The intense blue glow seen in this Hubble picture is caused by nearby stars firing ultraviolet radiation towards it. The “head” of the tadpole contains multiple burgeoning new stars,  though the glowing yellow one in this image is the largest and most luminous.  Protostars eventually emerge as young stars once they have gathered enough mass from their  surrounding environment. IRAS 20324+4057 as seen here is about 4,700 light years from Earth, making its way through the constellation Cygnus.

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Stars in the Flame Nebula

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Flame Nebula - NASA
A cluster of stars, NGC 2024, in the Flame Nebula in the constellation of Orion

1,400 light years away from Earth lies the Flame Nebula in the constellation of Orion. Within it lie star clusters that are being studied by astronomers as they try and learn more about the birth of stars. This composite image was created using data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope. According to the latest research which combined the Chandra and Spitzer data, the stars at the center of this cluster (NGC 2024)  could be approximately 200,000 years old while those on the outskirts are likely to be about 1.5 million years in age.

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X4 Solar Flare and CME

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X4 Flare - NASA
X4 Solar Flare and Coronal Mass Ejection (CME)

This February 25, 2014 solar event was a major X-class (X4) solar flare and coronal mass ejection (CME). The image captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shows the massive and powerful x-class ejection from the Sun, which looks a lot like a shrimp. Thankfully there was no major damage to electrical systems on Earth or on the many satellites in orbit.

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Miranda

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Miranda - NASA
Miranda, the moon or satellite of planet Uranus

The moon of Uranus, Miranda, was discovered by the Dutch-American astronomer Gerard Peter Kuiper in 1948. It was named after the the daughter of the wily Prospero in Shakespeare’s classic “The Tempest.” This picture of Miranda was taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1986 and the NASA mission greatly increased the amount of data scientists had to study this natural satellite of Uranus. The surface of Miranda, is composed of ice and rock and its rare planetary geology features numerous cliffs and valleys.

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