Latest news with #Apus
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Ominous 'Chamaeleon' is hiding a stellar secret: Space photo of the week
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. QUICK FACTS What it is: The Chamaeleon I star-forming cloud Where it is: 522 light-years away, in the constellations Chamaeleon, Apus, Musca, Carina and Octans When it was shared: June 10, 2025 Stars form within dark molecular clouds of gas and dust called nebulae, but it's rare to capture these stellar nurseries clearly. A dramatic new image from the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) in Chile unveils the Chamaeleon I dark cloud — the closest such place to the solar system — in unprecedented detail. The dark patches exposed in the new image give Chamaeleon I an ominous look, but within the thick veils of interstellar dust are pockets of light created by newly formed stars. Chamaeleon I is approximately 2 billion years old and is home to around 200 to 300 stars. Those young stars, now emerging from swirling gaseous plumes, are lighting up three nebulae — Cederblad 110 (at the top of the image), the C-shaped Cederblad 111 (center) and the orange Chamaeleon Infrared Nebula (bottom). In astronomy, the word "nebula" is used to describe a diverse range of objects. It was initially used to describe anything fuzzy in the sky that wasn't a star or a planet, and it also refers to planetary nebulae, shells of gas ejected from dying stars. Related: 28 gorgeous nebula photos that capture the beauty of the universe However, these three are reflection nebulae, which glow brightly only because they're illuminated by starlight. That's in contrast to the famous Orion Nebula, which emits its own light because the intense radiation of stars within or near the nebula energizes its gas, according to NASA. MORE SPACE PHOTOS —James Webb telescope takes best look at 'Sombrero Galaxy' in 244 years —Pink 'raindrops' on the sun captured in greatest detail ever —Violent galaxies seen 'jousting' near the dawn of time Chamaeleon I is just one part of the expansive Chamaeleon Cloud Complex — imaged in 2022 by the Hubble Space Telescope — which includes the smaller Chamaeleon II and III clouds. Chamaeleon I has been imaged many times before, most recently by the James Webb Space Telescope in 2023. What makes this new image stand out is its spectacular detail. Mounted on the National Science Foundation's Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, DECam's 570-megapixel sensor reveals an intriguing faint red path of nebulosity between Cederblad 110 and Cederblad 111. Formed when streams of gas ejected by young stars collided with slower-moving clouds of gas, they're known as Herbig-Haro objects and are embedded throughout Chamaeleon I. For more sublime space images, check out our Space Photo of the Week archives.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
El Cono: The mysterious sacred 'pyramid' hidden deep in the Amazon rainforest
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. QUICK FACTS Name: Cerro El Cono, also known as "Montaña Cónica" Location: Sierra del Divisor, Peruvian Amazon rainforest Coordinates: -7.963010971488621, -73.78224313086483 Why it's incredible: El Cono stands alone in the rainforest and has a mysterious pyramidal shape. Cerro El Cono is a 1,310-foot-tall (400 meters), pyramid-like formation in the Amazon rainforest. It rises steeply from the relatively flat jungle landscape of eastern Peru, making it visible from as far west as the Andes — 250 miles (400 kilometers) away — on a clear day. The formation, whose name translates to "cone hill," is located in a mountainous region on the border between Peru and Brazil known as the Sierra del Divisor. The mountains are visible in the background of most photographs of Cerro El Cono, but the formation is isolated from the other peaks and has an unusual pyramidal shape, making it stand out from the rest of the mountain range. The origins of the strange peak have remained mysterious due to its remote location. While some sources suggest that the cone could be an extinct volcano, others say it might simply be an unusual rock formation. Related: Mount Roraima: The 'lost world' isolated for millions of years that Indigenous people call the 'house of the gods' Indigenous people have another explanation for the bizarre mountain: According to the Peruvian newspaper La República, Cerro El Cono is a spiritual entity for local tribes and groups, some of which revere the peak as an "Andean Apu" — a sacred mountain god or spirit. In the mythologies of Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, Apus emerged from Earth to guide and protect the people living close by. A fourth explanation — one for which there is no evidence — is that Cerro El Cono sits on the ruins of a pyramid built by ancient Indigenous tribes, according to La República. MORE INCREDIBLE PLACES —Iran's folded rocks: The crumpled mountains at the intersection of Asia and Europe —Wilkes Land crater: The giant hole in East Antarctica's gravitational field likely caused by a meteorite —Rainbow Mountains: China's psychedelic landscape created when 2 tectonic plates collided Cerro El Cono stands adjacent to the Ucayali River, which is a major tributary of the Amazon River. The surrounding jungle is a biodiversity hotspot and home to several vulnerable species, including giant armadillos (Priodontes maximus), jaguars (Panthera onca) and various types of monkeys, according to The Guardian. The peak itself is forested and forms part of a large area that has been considered a biodiversity conservation priority since the 1990s. Concern that this ecosystem may become degraded by infrastructure, illegal logging and gold mining prompted the creation of the Sierra del Divisor National Park in 2015. But recent surveys indicate that the protected park, which is 1.5 times the size of Yellowstone National Park, has not removed threats from illegal deforestation and wildlife poaching. Discover more incredible places, where we highlight the fantastic history and science behind some of the most dramatic landscapes on Earth.
