November’s Stellar Space Pictures
This month, the new Sloan Digital Sky Survey was announced. This cutaway illustration shows the parts of our universe that the survey intends to observe.
Robin Dienel/Carnegie Institution for Science/SDSS
(Inside Science) -- This month, we look at planets and galaxies that astronomers have pictured through the latest surveys and observations. From interstellar visitors to our solar system to the alien planets of nearby galaxies, we explore the cosmic objects that surround us with these stunning images.
The Zwicky Transient Facility -- located in San Diego, California -- began this month by taking its very first image of the night sky. Astronomers call such inaugural events a first light. Shown here, the picture showcases the facility’s unique ability to capture myriad galaxies and stars in one photo. (Caltech Optical Observatories )
Illustrated here is the first known interstellar object to visit our solar system -- an oddball object whose stretched shape denotes faraway origins. Astronomers have named it Oumuamua to acknowledge its discovery at the Pan-STARRS1 survey telescope on Haleakala in Hawaii. The name is Hawaiian for a messenger from afar arriving first.” Despite its distant alien origin and peculiar shape, researchers have found that its composition is similar to objects in our own system. (ESO/M. Kornmesser )
ESO/M. Kornmesser
In collating more than ten years’ worth of data from the European Southern Observatory’s High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher, a team at the La Silla Observatory in Chile discovered this planet, Ross 128 B. The planet, illustrated here, orbits an inactive red dwarf star and has a size and temperature similar to Earth’s. Located only 11 light-years away, Ross 128 B is the second-closest planet yet discovered with the potential to support life. (ESO/M. Kornmesser )
ESO/M. Kornmesser
The closest star to Earth is known as Proxima Centauri, located 4.25 light-years away. This month, ALMA Observatory spotted emissions from cold cosmic dust circling the star. The dust, illustrated here, implies an elaborate planetary system at the star, building on the discovery of the planet Promixa B first seen orbiting the star in 2016. (ESO/M. Kornmesser )
ESO/M. Kornmesser
In another artist’s impression, we see a cutaway view of the entire Milky Way along with nearby galaxies and objects that constitute part of what’s known as our local group. This illustration accompanied the announcement of the next generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. With this new survey, astronomers intend to observe the entire sky in both hemispheres. This will be the fifth incarnation of the survey, designated SDSS-V. (Robin Dienel/Carnegie Institution for Science/SDSS )
