Tag Archives: Images
Webb Images Giant Exoplanet Candidate in Habitable Zone of Alpha Centauri A
This planet candidate, Alpha Centauri Ab, could be a gas giant, orbiting 1 to 2 times the distance between Sun and Earth, according to two papers to be published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. If confirmed, this planet would be the closest to Earth that orbits in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star. However, because the planet is a gas giant, astronomers say it would not support life as we know it.This artist’s concept shows what a gas giant orbiting Alpha Centauri A could look like. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / Robert L. Hurt, Caltech & IPAC.Located in the constellation of Centaurus, Alpha Centauri is the closest stellar system to Earth.
Also known as Rigil Kentaurus, Rigil Kent and Gliese 559, the system is made up of the bright binary...
Hubble Images a Grand Spiral
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the glorious spiral galaxy NGC 5643, which is located roughly 40 million light-years away in the constellation Lupus, the Wolf. NGC 5643 is a grand design spiral, which refers to the galaxy’s symmetrical form with two large, winding spiral arms that are clearly visible. Bright-blue stars define the galaxy’s spiral arms, along with lacy reddish-brown dust clouds and pink star-forming regions.
As fascinating as the galaxy appears at visible wavelengths, some of NGC 5643’s most interesting features are invisible to the human eye. Ultraviolet and X-ray images and spectra of NGC 5643 show that the galaxy hosts an active galactic nucleus: an especially bright galactic core powered by a feasting supermassive black hole. When a supermassive black hole ensnares gas from its surroundings, the gas collects in a disk...
NASA Nighttime Images Reveal Arctic Industrial Activity
The Arctic, once defined by its frozen, inhospitable climate and long winter nights, is experiencing dramatic transformations as the region warms almost four times faster than the global average.
This rapid warming has spurred increased industrial activity and development, changes now illuminated in striking detail by nighttime satellite observations.
An international team of researchers, leveraging data from the U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, has discovered that artificial lighting in the Arctic increased by 5 percent annually between 1992 and 2013.
Over this 21-year span, 234,000 square miles of the Arctic landscape transitioned from dark to lit.Nighttime lights in the Arctic from 1992 to 2013. The Arctic became 5 percent brighter per year over the study period as industrial activities have increased.Wanmei Liang/Akandil, C., et al. 2024/NASA Earth Observatory "Only 15 percent of the lit-up areas of the...
NASA Images Reveal Eerie ‘Ghost Forests’ Spreading in North Carolina
NASA Space Technology Pictures of spooky "ghost forests" in North Carolina have been snapped from space, and a comparison of NASA images show how the bald cypress forests are being killed off.In 2024, the forests along the coastline of North Carolina's Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula have grown increasingly brown, compared to the verdant green of the same region in 2005.Ghost forests are coastal woodlands where trees have died due to rising sea levels, leading to saltwater intrusion and erosion. The salty water of the sea contaminates the groundwater that these forests rely on, affecting the soil chemistry and tree health, slowly killing the forests near the coast, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).Eventually, the dead trees fall over and decompose, but while they're still standing, they appear eerily zombielike against the healthy surrounding landscape.Drag...
