June’s Stunning Space Pictures
June’s Stunning Space Pictures lead image
NASA/JPL-Caltech
(Inside Science) -- We welcome the first month of summer with a collection of spectacular astronomy photos. Experience secondhand the extreme heat on planet KELT-9b and extreme cold of the Boomerang Nebula, as well as a peaceful snapshot taken by the spacecraft Cassini in our own solar system.
The summer heat might be bearing down on the Northern Hemisphere this month, but be happy you’re not on KELT-9b, a planet 620 light-years away that’s hotter year-round than most suns. It’s illustrated in a scorching red hue to reflect the 7,800 degrees Fahrenheit of the planet’s dayside. Its star, KELT-9, is even hotter, and potentially threatens to evaporate the planet over time. (NASA/JPL-Caltech )
In the heat of burning stars, one might wonder where to go to cool off in the cosmos. Pictured here is a composite image of the coldest known object in the universe -- the Boomerang Nebula. The temperature here is a bone-chilling minus 458.5 degrees Fahrenheit. ALMA data, in orange, highlight the nebula’s ultra-cold outflow, which astronomers theorize is the result of a companion star merging with the dying red giant that produced this nebula. (ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO); NASA/ESA Hubble; NRAO/AUI/NSF )
NRAO/AUI/NSF/(NRAO/AUI/NSF)
During a survey, the Hubble Space Telescope observed this image of an unusual spiral galaxy – one that looks more like a puff in the sky than an iconic spiral galaxy with twisting arms. This is ESO 486-21, located about 30 million light-years away. It is currently forming new stars from clouds of dust and gas, lending to its gauzy appearance. (ESA/Hubble & NASA )
ESA/Hubble & NASA
Here in the ARP 299 system two galaxies are merging in a cosmic marble pattern dotted with bright pink points. New data from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory revealed fourteen of those glowing points as super strong emitters of X-rays. Such a high concentration of these X-ray sources is rare, undoubtedly due to the system’s dramatic merger happening some 140 million light-years from Earth. (X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Crete/K. Anastasopoulou et al, NASA/NuSTAR/GSFC/A. Ptak et al; Optical: NASA/STScI )
Closer to home, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft observed a serene sunrise on Saturn. The unlit side of the planet’s rings sweeps into the foreground, framing this tranquil snapshot, taken from about 7 degrees below the ring plane. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute )
