保护地球，探索宇宙，发现文明
2020 May 10 The Porpoise Galaxy from Hubble Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble, HLA; Reprocessing & Copyright: Raul Villaverde Explanation: What’s happening to this spiral galaxy? Just a few hundred million years ago, NGC 2936, the upper of the two large galaxies shown, was likely a normal spiral galaxy — spinning, creating stars — and mi...
2020 March 17 M77: Spiral Galaxy with an Active Center Image Credit: Hubble, NASA, ESA; Processing & License: Judy Schmidt Explanation: What’s happening in the center of nearby spiral galaxy M77? The face-on galaxy lies a mere 47 million light-years away toward the constellation of the Sea Monster (Cetus). At that estimated distance, this gorgeous...
2020 February 7 NGC 7331 Close Up Image Credit & License: ESA/Hubble & NASA/D. Milisavljevic (Purdue University) Explanation: Big, beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 7331 is often touted as an analog to our own Milky Way. About 50 million light-years distant in the northern constellation Pegasus, NGC 7331 was recognized early on as a spiral nebula and is ac...
2020 January 25 Rubin’s Galaxy Image Credit: NASA, ESA, B. Holwerda (University of Louisville) Explanation: In this Hubble Space Telescope image the bright, spiky stars lie in the foreground toward the heroic northern constellation Perseus and well within our own Milky Way galaxy. In sharp focus beyond is UGC 2885, a giant spiral galaxy about 232 milli...
2020 January 16 NGC 247 and Friends Image Credit & Copyright: Acquisition – Eric Benson, Processing – Dietmar Hager Explanation: About 70,000 light-years across, NGC 247 is a spiral galaxy smaller than our Milky Way. Measured to be only 11 million light-years distant it is nearby though. Tilted nearly edge-on as seen from our perspective, it ...
这个巨型螺旋星系或许会被称为“哥斯拉星系”（Godzilla galaxy），因为该星系有可能是其所在宇宙中已知的最大星系。该星系名为UGC 2885，比银河系宽2.5倍，其恒星数量则是银河系的10倍。 不过研究人员表示，UGC 2885星系是一个“温和的巨人”，因为它看上去没有与其他大型星系碰撞而过着相对静态的生活。在过去数十亿年间，它逐渐从星系间的丝状结构中吸收积累了氢，以缓慢而稳定的速度制造新恒星，其恒星诞生速率约为银河系的一半。事实上，该星系的超大质量中心黑洞也是一个沉睡的巨人。因为该星系似乎并不吞噬比它小得多的卫星星系，从而缺乏流入的气体。 肯塔基州路易斯维尔大学的本尼•霍尔维达（Benne Holwerda）用美国国家航空航天局（NASA）的哈勃太空望远镜对UGC 2885星系进行了观测，并以天文学...
2019 September 9 M31: The Andromeda Galaxy Image Credit & Copyright: Amir H. Abolfath (TWAN) Explanation: How far can you see? The most distant object easily visible to the unaided eye is M31, the great Andromeda Galaxy, over two million light-years away. Without a telescope, even this immense spiral galaxy appears as an unremarkable, faint, nebulous clo...
2019 August 23 NGC 1499: The California Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Sara Wager Explanation: Drifting through the Orion Arm of the spiral Milky Way Galaxy, this cosmic cloud by chance echoes the outline of California on the west coast of the United States. Our own Sun also lies within the Milky Way’s Orion Arm, only about 1,500 light-years from...
2019 July 2 NGC 1566：西班牙舞者螺旋星系 影像提供: NASA, ESA, Hubble; 图像处理与版权: Leo Shatz 说明: 如果长成这个模样还不够完美的话，那么至少这个螺旋星系是最上相者之一。拥有数十亿颗成员星，位在剑鱼座方向约4千万光年远处的宇宙岛 NGC 1566，以壮丽的正面对着我们。分类为宏伟螺旋星系的NGC 1566，拥有二道鲜明且优雅的螺旋臂，上头镶着明亮的泛蓝星团和黝黑的尘埃带。 哈伯太空望远镜过去曾为NGC 1566拍下大量的影像，以研究这个星系的恒星诞生、超新星和异常活跃的星系核。其中部分的影像存放在在线的哈伯遗珍数据库里，后来为由一位勤勉的业余工作者，免费下载、组合和数字处理成这幅主题影像。NGC 1566闪耀的星系核，让它成为离我们最近也最亮的西佛型螺旋星...