Astronomers Unveil Stunning Photo of Spiral Galaxy

No matter how many times we see photos of different galaxies in outer space, they never cease to amaze.
On Wednesday, astronomers in Chile revealed a glimpse at Sculptor, a spiral galaxy that is 11 million light-years away. The massive galaxy stretches a span of about 65,000 light-years.
According to Marcia Dunn of the Associated Press, scientists used the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope to capture the stunning image.
The galaxy, which is officially named NGC 253, was observed for around 50 hours and 100 exposures were put together to create the picture.
'The Sculptor galaxy is in a sweet spot,' leading researcher Enrico Congiu said. 'It is close enough that we can resolve its internal structure and study its building blocks with incredible detail, but at the same time, big enough that we can still see it as a whole system.'
Scientists also revealed that Sculptor, which is considered a starburst galaxy, contains thousands of different colors.
According to NASA, starburst galaxies see star formation "at a tremendous rate," and that leads to an accelerated use of the gas in the galaxy. Many hot blue stars with short lifespans are created as a result of this process.
There are believed to be two different causes for these starburst galaxies, including "gravitational interactions with other galaxies" and "when gas is packed into a small region."
Astronomers Unveil Stunning Photo of Spiral Galaxy first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 18, 2025

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Gizmodo

an hour ago

• Gizmodo

NASA Aircraft Set to Perform Wild Low-Altitude Stunts Around These U.S. Cities

NASA is getting ready to fly two planes over mid-Atlantic states and parts of California, where they will be carrying out special maneuvers at a close distance while collecting valuable data about our changing planet. The two research aircraft, named P-3 Orion (N426NA) and a King Air B200 (N46L), are set to fly over Baltimore, Philadelphia, the Virginia cities of Hampton, Hopewell, and Richmond, in addition to the Los Angeles Basin, Salton Sea, and Central Valley, according to NASA. The flights will take place along the eastern coast between Sunday, June 22 and Thursday, June 26, and in California between Sunday, June 29 to Wednesday, July 2. It'll be a good opportunity to catch the two planes as they will fly at lower altitudes than most commercial flights, while pulling off specialized maneuvers like vertical spirals between 1,000 and 10,000 feet (304 to 3,048 meters), circling above power plants, landfills, and urban areas. The planes will also make missed approaches at local airports and low-altitude flybys along runways to collect air samples near the surface. The P-3, operated out of NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, is a four-engine turboprop aircraft, carrying six science instruments. The King Air B200 is a twin-engine aircraft owned by Dynamic Aviation and contracted by NASA. The aircraft will carry out 40 hours of data collection for NASA's Student Airborne Research Program (SARP) on each U.S. coast. SARP is an eight-week summer internship program at NASA that provides undergraduate students with hands-on experience in various scientific areas. The low-altitude flights will be used to gather atmospheric data through the on board science instruments, which will be operated by the students. 'Despite SARP being a learning experience for both the students and mentors alike, our P-3 is being flown and performing maneuvers in some of most complex and restricted airspace in the country,' Brian Bernth, chief of flight operations at NASA Wallops, said in a statement. 'Tight coordination and crew resource management is needed to ensure that these flights are executed with precision but also safely.' NASA uses low altitude flights for Earth science, gathering high-resolution data that satellites can't capture at the same level of detail. These flights have typically supported research on climate change, natural disasters, and atmospheric science. The upcoming flights will take place near populated areas, so there will be plenty of chances to see the aircraft flying overhead.

Miami Herald

2 hours ago

• Miami Herald

Unexpected explosion in the Milky Way creates a new star. Where you can see it

Sky watchers around the world have a new star to hunt for in the night sky, thanks to a recently detected explosion in our galaxy. The nova, named V462 Lup, is located within the southern constellation Lupus, according to the American Association of Variable Star Observers database. However, people in North America may be able to see it with the naked eye 'close to the southern horizon, just after sunset,' LiveScience reported. Astronomers from Ohio State University's All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae first detected the new point of light, with a magnitude of +8.7, on June 12. On June 14, Yusuke Tampo, an astronomer at the South African Astronomical Observatory, reported the nova did not exist in previous photometric surveys, confirming it as new, according to email records shared by The Astronomer's Telegram. Astronomer Dawid Moździerski, who photographed V462 Lup from Chile's Atacama desert, said the star's magnitude had increased to +5.7, making it visible without the need for a telescope or binoculars, according to an image shared on A nova is 'a sudden, short-lived explosion from a compact star not much larger than Earth,', according to NASA. 'The explosion happens when a collapsed star known as a white dwarf circles so close to a normal star that a stream of gas flows between them,' experts said. This gas accumulates on the surface of the white dwarf 'until it reaches a flash point and detonates in a runaway thermonuclear explosion,' NASA said. Astronomers estimate that 'between 20 and 50 novae occur each year in our galaxy,' most of which go unnoticed, according to experts. Online star charts like SkyLive can help you find which constellations are visible in your area and how to locate certain objects in the night sky.

Yahoo

2 hours ago

• Yahoo

Summer solstice 2025: 1st day of summer is here

Get ready for sun-soaked days and warmer weather, as the summer solstice 2025 is just around the corner. This year, the summer solstice falls on Friday, June 20. The astronomical event marks the official start of summer and the beginning of an extended period of daylight in the northern hemisphere as we transition out of the darker, colder months. The solstice occurs twice a year when one of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt toward the sun, according to NASA. The word "solstice" comes from the Latin solstitium, meaning "sun stands still," referring to the moment when the sun's apparent path pauses before reversing direction, according to Royal Museums Greenwich. Across the globe, cultures have long celebrated the summer solstice with unique traditions from watching the sunrise align with Stonehenge in England to dancing around maypoles in Sweden and lighting bonfires in Norway. Here's everything you need to know about the 2025 summer solstice. The 2025 summer solstice falls on Friday, June 20, at 10:42 p.m. ET, according to NASA and the Old Farmer's Almanac. This marks the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, when the Earth's tilt positions it closest to the Sun. June's full strawberry moon: See photos and what it means for your zodiac "The situation is reversed for the southern hemisphere, where it's the shortest day of the year," NASA states. The summer solstice occurs at the point in Earth's orbit when the sun shines most directly on the northern hemisphere, according to NASA. "Astronomers consider this the beginning of the Summer in the northern hemisphere," NASA states. While it marks the start of summer in the north, the event marks the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere, where sunlight is at its lowest angle. The longest day of the year in 2025 will occur on Friday, June 20, for those in the northern hemisphere. On this day, the sun reaches its highest point in the sky, resulting in the most daylight hours of the year. NASA notes this happens when "the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer," located at 23.5 degrees north latitude. Yes, astronomers recognize the summer solstice as the official first day of summer in the northern hemisphere, according to NASA. The National Centers for Environmental Information explains that solstices and equinoxes mark the start of the astronomical seasons. These events occur when the sun reaches its most extreme position relative to the equator, either directly overhead or crossing it. Meteorological seasons split the year into three-month groups based on temperature cycles and "are more closely tied to our monthly civil calendar than the astronomical seasons are," according to the agency. According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, the summer solstice doesn't always occur on the same date. It can fall on June 20, 21, or 22, depending on the year. This is because the timing of the solstice isn't tied to a fixed calendar date. Instead, it's determined by the exact moment the sun reaches its northernmost point from the celestial equator during Earth's orbit. On the day of the summer solstice, the sun reaches its highest point in the sky at noon, and its position changes very little for several days before and after, according to the National Weather Service. This results in the longest day of the year and the shortest night. While the term "longest day" doesn't refer to the number of hours in the day, it does mean the day with the most sunlight.