Source: NASA Image of the Day

Hubble Sees a Horsehead of a Different Color

Astronomers have used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to photograph the iconic Horsehead Nebula in a new, infrared light to mark the 23rd anniversary of the famous observatory’s launch aboard the space shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990. 

Looking like an apparition rising from whitecaps of interstellar foam, the iconic Horsehead Nebula has graced astronomy books ever since its discovery more than a century ago. The nebula is a favorite target for amateur and professional astronomers. It is shadowy in optical light. It appears transparent and ethereal when seen at infrared wavelengths. The rich tapestry of the Horsehead Nebula pops out against the backdrop of Milky Way stars and distant galaxies that easily are visible in infrared light.

Hubble has been producing ground-breaking science for two decades. During that time, it has benefited from a slew of upgrades from space shuttle missions, including the 2009 addition of a new imaging workhorse, the high-resolution Wide Field Camera 3 that took the new portrait of the Horsehead.

Image Credit: NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team

Reposted from http://lies.tumblr.com/post/48377413429.

colchrishadfield:

The full moon rises over the only planet we have ever called home.

The image above will make most people think of Earthrise, the photo astronaut William Anders took during the Apollo 8 mission. But it reminds me even more of this one:

STS107-E-05697 (26 January 2003) —- A quarter moon is visible in this oblique view of Earth’s horizon and airglow, recorded with a digital still camera aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia.

Most of the data collected during Columbia’s final mission was destroyed when the craft broke up over Texas during re-entry, but a number of photos, including the one above, had already been downloaded.

I wrote about those images here. Another image I really liked from that set was this one:

STS107-E-05688 (26 January 2003) —- Ilan Ramon, STS-107 payload specialist, looks at Earth’s horizon through a window of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Ramon represents the Israeli Space Agency.

There’s no way to sugar-coat it: Space is a fucking dangerous place for human beings. It just is. That there are people willing to go there anyway, and send back images so those of us safe on Earth can get an idea of what it’s like, makes me proud of my species.

colchrishadfield is a Tumblr hero for real.

Reposted from http://lies.tumblr.com/post/43532950787.