Found Images: 2021 January

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Have you seen a great image or video somewhere that you think would make a great APOD? Nominate it for APOD! Please post as much information here as you have about the image/video with a link to any source(s) for it you know of here, and the editors will take a look.

When posting the image itself, please do not post anything larger than a thumbnail here; please honor the copyright holder's copyright.

Please keep hotlinked images under 500K.

Thank you!

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NGC 300
http://www.cielaustral.com/galerie/photo123.htm
Copyright: Ciel Austral

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NGC 3972
https://esahubble.org/images/potw1810a/
Copyright: NASA, ESA and A. Riess (STScI/JHU)

Click to view full size image

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NGC 55
http://www.karelteuwen.be/photo_page.ph ... 9&album=18
Copyright: Karel Teuwen

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Omega Centauri (NGC 5139)
http://www.starpointing.com/ccd/ngc5139.html
Copyright: Fabian Neyer

[bystander]

A Galaxy to Take Your Breath Away
ESA Hubble Picture of the Week | 2021 Jan 04

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Leroy, K. S. Long

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The galaxy NGC 6946 is nothing short of spectacular. In the last century alone, NGC 6946 has experienced 10 observed supernovae, earning its nickname as the Fireworks Galaxy. In comparison, our Milky Way averages just 1-2 supernova events per century. This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the stars, spiral arms, and various stellar environments of NGC 6946 in phenomenal detail.

We are able to marvel at NGC 6946 as it is a face-on galaxy, which means that we see the galaxy “facing” us, rather than seeing it from the side (known as edge-on). The Fireworks Galaxy is further classified as an intermediate spiral galaxy and as a starburst galaxy. The former means the structure of NGC 6946 sits between a full spiral and a barred spiral galaxy, with only a slight bar in its centre, and the latter means it has an exceptionally high rate of star formation.

The galaxy resides 25.2 million light-years away, along the border of the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus (The Swan).

[bystander]

A Behemoth Seen from Above
ESO Picture of the Week | 2021 Jan 04

Image Credit: ESO/Gerhard Hüdepohl

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ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) is one of the most advanced optical and infrared observatories in the world. This magnificent astronomical detective comprises an array of four individual Unit Telescopes — the large cylindrical domes visible in this image — each hosting a main mirror measuring 8.2 metres in diameter. It also includes four movable 1.8-metre diameter Auxiliary Telescopes — the, comparatively, small white, round domes seen to the left of the Unit Telescopes.

The VLT has contributed to groundbreaking observations and discoveries, including snapping the first image of an extrasolar planet and observing the visible counterpart to a gravitational wave source. In this picture, the telescopes are resting, their domed eyelids firmly closed as they slumber at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile — but at night they will awaken to observe the Universe and make more fantastic discoveries.

[Ann]

A Galaxy to Take Your Breath Away
ESA Hubble Picture of the Week | 2021 Jan 04

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Leroy, K. S. Long

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The galaxy NGC 6946 is nothing short of spectacular. In the last century alone, NGC 6946 has experienced 10 observed supernovae, earning its nickname as the Fireworks Galaxy. In comparison, our Milky Way averages just 1-2 supernova events per century. This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the stars, spiral arms, and various stellar environments of NGC 6946 in phenomenal detail.

We are able to marvel at NGC 6946 as it is a face-on galaxy, which means that we see the galaxy “facing” us, rather than seeing it from the side (known as edge-on). The Fireworks Galaxy is further classified as an intermediate spiral galaxy and as a starburst galaxy. The former means the structure of NGC 6946 sits between a full spiral and a barred spiral galaxy, with only a slight bar in its centre, and the latter means it has an exceptionally high rate of star formation.

The galaxy resides 25.2 million light-years away, along the border of the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus (The Swan).

The Fireworks Galaxy, NGC 6946, in optical light. The large stellar association and super star cluster are visible as a blue blob at 3 o'clock. Photo: Adam Block, Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter, U. Arizona

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The greatest stellar association and super star cluster of NGC 6946.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Leroy, K. S. Long

The ESA/Hubble image has been taken in infrared light, while Adam Block's image at left has been taken in optical light.

NGC 6946 looks more delicate in infrared than in optical light, in my opinion. The arms are more transparent and less obviously dusty, since infrared light penetrates dust.

I would have loved to see an even better closeup of the greatest stellar association and super star cluster in NGC 6946. The association can be seen at upper left in the attachment I posted at right. The super star cluster inside the association is visible as a white blob.

No doubt this super star cluster of NGC 6946 is comparable to R136 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, seen here in an image by NASA, ESA and P. Crowther.

Ann

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Te J2102.1+4710
https://www.astrobin.com/l2ydny/
Copyright: Mark Stiles

A scientific paper can be found here.

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AMU 1
https://www.astrobin.com/zlgm5v/
Copyright: Boris Chausov

A scientific paper can be found here.

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DeHt 2
https://pbase.com/skybox/image/171284831
Copyright: Kevin Quin

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Dr 26
https://www.imagingdeepspace.com/dr-26.html
Copyright: Peter Goodhew

The Dr catalogue by Marcel Drechsler can be found here.

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M61
https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1901a/
Copyright: ESO

Click to view full size image

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M100
http://astro-kooperation.com/?attachment_id=2082
Copyright: Stefan Heutz, Wolfgang Ries and Michael Breite

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M101
http://afesan.es/Deepspace/slides/M101% ... or%29.html
Copyright: Antonio Sánchez

[Meli]

NGC 1003
https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2101a/
Credit:
KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA
Acknowledgments:
PI: M T. Patterson (New Mexico State University)
Image processing: Travis Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage), Mahdi Zamani & Davide de Martin

Click to view full size image

[bystander]

Rose of Star Formation Around
Distant Supermassive Black Hole
ESO Picture of the Week | 2021 Jan 11

Image Credit: ESO/TIMER Survey

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Captured with the MUSE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), this image of the distant spiral galaxy NGC 1097 shows a textbook example of a star-bursting nuclear ring. Located 45 million light-years away from Earth, in the constellation of Fornax, this ring lies at the very centre of its galaxy. It spans only 5,000 light years across, being dwarfed by the full size of its host galaxy, which extends some tens of thousands of light-years beyond its centre.

The darker lanes seen in this MUSE image show dust, gas and debris from the galaxy (or possibly from a satellite galaxy), which are being funneled into the supermassive black hole at its centre. This process heats up the surrounding matter forming an accretion disc around the black hole and launching huge amounts of energy into the surrounding area. Nearby dust is heated up and star formation accelerates in the area around the supermassive black hole, forming the star-bursting nuclear ring shown in pink and purple tones in the image.

MUSE, which stands for Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, is attached to Yepun, one of the four, 8.2-metre telescopes that make up the VLT at ESO’s Paranal Observatory. Its unique design has allowed researchers to map complex mechanisms within many galaxies and analyse the formation of stars and star clusters.

[bystander]

Sculpted in Sculptor
ESA Hubble Picture of the Week | 2021 Jan 11

Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, G. Folatelli

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First discovered in 1798 by German-English astronomer William Hershel, NGC 613 is a galaxy which lies in the southern constellation of Sculptor 67 million light-years away.

Featured here in a new image frorm the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, NGC 613 is a lovely example of a barred spiral galaxy. It is easily distinguishable as such because of its well defined central bar and long arms, which spiral loosely around its nucleus. As revealed by surveys, about two thirds of spiral galaxies, including our own Milky Way galaxy, contain a bar.

Recent studies have shown that bars are more common in galaxies now than they were in the past, which gives us important clues about galaxy formation and evolution.

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G296.2-2.8
https://www.astrophotocologne.de/portfo ... large-jpg/
Copyright: Frank Sackenheim

The bright nebula near the centre is IC 2966. Part of the Running Chicken Nebula can be seen near the top right corner.

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Sh2-223 and Sh2-224
https://www.astrobin.com/ikwyzq/
Copyright: Andreas Bringmann

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NGC 4273
https://www.hansonastronomy.com/ngc4273
Copyright: Mark Hanson

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NGC 3359
https://www.astrobin.com/h0kbu3/
Copyright: Vadim Kozatchenko and Mikhail Boksimer

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NGC 891
https://noirlab.edu/public/images/iotw2023a/
Copyright: KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA
Acknowledgements: PI: M T. Patterson (New Mexico State University)
Processing: Travis Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage), Mahdi Zamani & Davide de Martin

Click to view full size image

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LDN 1148 region
http://www.astrosurf.com/ilizaso/orriak ... Q_U16m.htm
Copyright: Iñaki Lizaso

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PN G237.9-07.2
http://members.pcug.org.au/~stevec/png2 ... 0_RC14.htm
Copyright: Steve Crouch