NGC 1365 is a huge barred spiral galaxy in Fornax, about 56 million light-years away and roughly twice the size of the Milky Way. A new James Webb (MIRI) infrared image shows its core, dusty spiral arms, and bright newborn star clusters in striking detail. The bar appears to drive gas and dust inward, fueling intense star formation and possibly feeding its central supermassive black hole.
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Janice Lee (NOIRLab) - Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
CTB 1 is a faint supernova remnant in Cassiopeia formed ~10,000 years ago. Its glowing gas shell—nicknamed the Medulla Nebula—comes from the star’s explosion and shock-heated interstellar gas. Its X-ray glow is still debated, possibly powered by a fast-moving pulsar ejected from the blast. Despite appearing Moon-sized, it’s extremely faint and required 84 hours of exposure to image.
Our Solar System seems fairly typical: interstellar visitor Comet 3I/ATLAS looks chemically and visually similar to regular comets, with a green coma and tails. It passed the Sun in October, will pass Earth in mid-December, and then leave forever. Image Credit & Copyright: Victor Sabet & Julien De Winter
The image shows crater Plato and the Montes Alpes on the Moon, formed by a massive impact that created the Mare Imbrium. The smooth mare contrasts with the rugged mountains, cut by the 160-km Alpine Valley. One peak is called Mont Blanc. With no atmosphere or snow, the lunar Alps aren’t ski-friendly—though gravity would make you much lighter there.
The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51/NGC 5194) is a bright, classic Sc-type spiral galaxy about 30 million light-years away and 60,000 light-years across. It’s visible with binoculars in the constellation Canes Venatici and is the dominant member of its galaxy group. Its striking spiral structure is thought to result from gravitational interaction with a smaller companion galaxy. A featured deep image from Lijiang, China combines 58 hours of multi-color exposures to show it in detail.
The “Waterfall Nebula” (Herbig–Haro 222) is a roughly 10-light-year gaseous structure in the Orion Molecular Cloud that looks like a waterfall but is actually a huge bow shock—like a wave formed by a fast-moving ship. It’s likely driven by a jet from the nearby multiple star system V380 Orionis. Instead of gas flowing down the “waterfall,” the entire structure is moving toward the upper right. Its exact origin is still being studied. It’s located about 1,500 light-years away in Orion, and the described image was taken recently from El Sauce Observatory in Chile.
Kepler’s Supernova was first seen in 1604, after a white dwarf star exploded in our galaxy 17000 light years away. NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory captured its expanding debris in 2000, 2004, 2006, 2014, and 2025. The 25-year time-lapse shows material racing outward at up to ~13.8 million mph, with slower motion in denser regions. These changes reveal how the remnant interacts with its surroundings and how supernova debris evolves over time.
Jan 10: Jupiter reaches opposition, appearing its biggest and brightest of the year in the constellation Gemini.
Jan 23: The Moon and Saturn appear close together in a conjunction in the western sky.
All month: The Beehive Cluster (M44) is visible in the eastern sky after sunset, best seen mid-January, with binoculars or a small telescope (and sometimes by eye under dark skies).
New Horizons
New Horizons
Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1365 from Webb
NGC 1365 is a huge barred spiral galaxy in Fornax, about 56 million light-years away and roughly twice the size of the Milky Way. A new James Webb (MIRI) infrared image shows its core, dusty spiral arms, and bright newborn star clusters in striking detail. The bar appears to drive gas and dust inward, fueling intense star formation and possibly feeding its central supermassive black hole.
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Janice Lee (NOIRLab) - Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
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New Horizons
CTB 1: The Medulla Nebula
CTB 1 is a faint supernova remnant in Cassiopeia formed ~10,000 years ago. Its glowing gas shell—nicknamed the Medulla Nebula—comes from the star’s explosion and shock-heated interstellar gas. Its X-ray glow is still debated, possibly powered by a fast-moving pulsar ejected from the blast. Despite appearing Moon-sized, it’s extremely faint and required 84 hours of exposure to image.
Image Credit: Pierre Konzelmann
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New Horizons
3I/ATLAS: Tails of an Interstellar Comet
Our Solar System seems fairly typical: interstellar visitor Comet 3I/ATLAS looks chemically and visually similar to regular comets, with a green coma and tails. It passed the Sun in October, will pass Earth in mid-December, and then leave forever.
Image Credit & Copyright: Victor Sabet & Julien De Winter
4 days ago | [YT] | 3
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New Horizons
Plato and the Lunar Alps
The image shows crater Plato and the Montes Alpes on the Moon, formed by a massive impact that created the Mare Imbrium. The smooth mare contrasts with the rugged mountains, cut by the 160-km Alpine Valley. One peak is called Mont Blanc. With no atmosphere or snow, the lunar Alps aren’t ski-friendly—though gravity would make you much lighter there.
Image Credit & Copyright: Luigi Morrone
6 days ago | [YT] | 4
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New Horizons
M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy
The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51/NGC 5194) is a bright, classic Sc-type spiral galaxy about 30 million light-years away and 60,000 light-years across. It’s visible with binoculars in the constellation Canes Venatici and is the dominant member of its galaxy group. Its striking spiral structure is thought to result from gravitational interaction with a smaller companion galaxy. A featured deep image from Lijiang, China combines 58 hours of multi-color exposures to show it in detail.
Image Credit & Copyright: Michael Sleeman
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New Horizons
HH-222: The Waterfall Nebula
The “Waterfall Nebula” (Herbig–Haro 222) is a roughly 10-light-year gaseous structure in the Orion Molecular Cloud that looks like a waterfall but is actually a huge bow shock—like a wave formed by a fast-moving ship. It’s likely driven by a jet from the nearby multiple star system V380 Orionis. Instead of gas flowing down the “waterfall,” the entire structure is moving toward the upper right. Its exact origin is still being studied. It’s located about 1,500 light-years away in Orion, and the described image was taken recently from El Sauce Observatory in Chile.
Image Credit & Copyright: Mike Selby.
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New Horizons
Kepler’s Supernova was first seen in 1604, after a white dwarf star exploded in our galaxy 17000 light years away.
NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory captured its expanding debris in 2000, 2004, 2006, 2014, and 2025.
The 25-year time-lapse shows material racing outward at up to ~13.8 million mph, with slower motion in denser regions.
These changes reveal how the remnant interacts with its surroundings and how supernova debris evolves over time.
1 week ago | [YT] | 2
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New Horizons
January 2026 offers great skywatching:
Jan 10: Jupiter reaches opposition, appearing its biggest and brightest of the year in the constellation Gemini.
Jan 23: The Moon and Saturn appear close together in a conjunction in the western sky.
All month: The Beehive Cluster (M44) is visible in the eastern sky after sunset, best seen mid-January, with binoculars or a small telescope (and sometimes by eye under dark skies).
#astronomy #space #milkyway
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New Horizons
https://youtu.be/3gRO6_koXHI?si=EKN08...
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New Horizons
Which is the largest Galaxy in the observable universe?
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