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How to see five planets align in the sky this weekend

In the early morning on 17 June you will be able to see Mercury, Uranus, Jupiter, Neptune and Saturn appear in the sky together – here's how you can spot them, wherever you are in the world

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The JWST is already delivering on its promise to transform cosmology

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What looks much like craggy mountains on a moonlit evening is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on NASA???s James Webb Space Telescope, this image reveals previously obscured areas of star birth. Called the Cosmic Cliffs, the region is actually the edge of a gigantic, gaseous cavity within NGC 3324, roughly 7,600 light-years away. The cavernous area has been carved from the nebula by the intense ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds from extremely massive, hot, young stars located in the center of the bubble, above the area shown in this image. The high-energy radiation from these stars is sculpting the nebula???s wall by slowly eroding it away. NIRCam ??? with its crisp resolution and unparalleled sensitivity ??? unveils hundreds of previously hidden stars, and even numerous background galaxies. Several prominent features in this image are described below. ??? The ???steam??? that appears to rise from the celestial ???mountains??? is actually hot, ionized gas and hot dust streaming away from the nebula due to intense, ultraviolet radiation. ??? Dramatic pillars rise above the glowing wall of gas, resisting the blistering ultraviolet radiation from the young stars. ??? Bubbles and cavities are being blown by the intense radiation and stellar winds of newborn stars. ??? Protostellar jets and outflows, which appear in gold, shoot from dust-enshrouded, nascent stars. ??? A ???blow-out??? erupts at the top-center of the ridge, spewing gas and dust into the interstellar medium. ??? An unusual ???arch??? appears, looking like a bent-over cylinder. This period of very early star formation is difficult to capture because, for an individual star, it lasts only about 50,000 to 100,000 years ??? but Webb???s extreme sensitivity and exquisite spatial resolution have chronicled this rare event. Located roughly 7,600 light-years away, NGC 3324 was first cat

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Fast-growing galaxy seen by JWST offers window on the early universe

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Astronomers are using a new supernova to search for alien signals

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Orion Nebula in Infrared NASA ID: PIA25434 This new image of the Orion Nebula produced using previously released data from three telescopes shows two enormous caverns carved out by unseen giant stars that can release up to a million times more light than our Sun. All that radiation breaks apart dust grains there, helping to create the pair of cavities. Much of the remaining dust is swept away when the stars produce wind or when they die explosive deaths as supernovae. This infrared image shows dust but no stars. Blue light indicates warm dust heated by unseen massive stars. Observed in infrared light ? a range of wavelengths outside what human eyes can detect ? the views were provided by NASA's retired Spitzer Space Telescope and the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), which now operates under the moniker NEOWISE. Spitzer and WISE were both managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, ...more 508 Description:This infrared image of the Orion Nebula features plenty of dust but no stars. In these infrared wavelengths, it's possible to see hot spots where new stars are forming, while unseen bright, massive stars have carved out caverns of empty space. Date Created:2022-11-22 Center:JPL Keywords: Herschel Space Observatory , Spitzer Space Telescope , Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) , Orion Nebula Secondary Creator Credit: ESA/NASA/JPL-Caltech Visit JPL Website

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Under Alien Skies review: A terrific guide to our spectacular universe

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2CNWGJN Ophiuchus star constellation, Night sky, Cluster of stars, Deep space,?Serpentarius, Serpent bearer

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How to spot Ophiuchus, the thirteenth zodiacal constellation

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Astronomers race to observe rare supernova in a nearby galaxy

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Astronomers have spotted the biggest cosmic explosion ever seen

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Saturn now has over 100 known moons - more than any other planet

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How to spot Mars travelling through Gemini this week

No matter where you live, Mars is currently taking a little stroll through Gemini, so it is a great time to get to know this constellation with its twin stars, Castor and Pollux, and take a look at the Red Planet too, says Abby Beall

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2GYKRJN The waxing crescent Moon near the stars Castor and Pollux in Gemini, with Mars below, as the last of the winter stars set into the western twilight on

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What was the universe's first second like? These particles can tell us

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SpaceX's efforts to make satellites less bright aren't working well

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How to watch the Lyrids meteor shower peak this weekend

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Distant world breaks record for heaviest element on an exoplanet

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