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The Helix Nebula: Bigger in Death than Life

A dying star is refusing to go quietly into the night, as seen in this combined infrared and ultraviolet view from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), which NASA has lent to the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. In death, the star’s dusty outer layers are unraveling into space, glowing from the intense ultraviolet radiation being pumped out by the hot stellar core.

This object, called the Helix nebula, lies 650 light-years away in the constellation of Aquarius. Also known by the catalog number NGC 7293, it is a typical example of a class of objects called planetary nebulae. Discovered in the 18th century, these cosmic works of art were erroneously named for their resemblance to gas-giant planets. (more…)

Lifting Space Exploration to New Heights

By Guest PostOctober 23, 2011Sciencealien planets, atmosphere, chris walker, craig kulesa, evolution and architecture of planetary systems, exoplanetary circumstellar environments and disk explorer, explorer, george rieke, glenn schneider, glow of the sky at sundown, habitable zone, high altitude balloon, laird close, large magellanic cloud, michael lesser, milky way galaxy, NASA, olivier guyon, philip hinz, research balloon, roger angel, signposts, space telescope, steward observatory, stratospheric thz observatory, university of arizona, zodiacal light

*A new space telescope designed to peer into the inner reaches of far-away solar systems and a balloon riding the jet stream 120,000 feet above ground are two UA research proposals selected by NASA for further evaluation as potential future science missions.*

A research balloon circling the Earth in the outer fringes of the atmosphere and a space telescope peering through the dust swirls of far-away solar systems in search of alien planets are among the winning proposals selected by NASA for further study as part of NASA’s Explorer Mission program.

Both project proposals, called EXCEDE and GUSSTO, are led by astronomers at the University of Arizona’s Steward Observatory and are among 11 selected by NASA for evaluation as potential future science missions. (more…)

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The Helix Nebula: Bigger in Death than Life

Lifting Space Exploration to New Heights