A telescope in Chile has captured a stunning new picture of the Butterfly Nebula, a grand and graceful cosmic wonder. The National Science Foundation's NoirLab released the picture Wednesday. Snapped last month by the Gemini South telescope, the aptly named Butterfly Nebula is 2,500 to 3,800 light-years away. At the heart of this bipolar nebula is a white dwarf star that cast aside its outer layers of gas long ago. The discarded gas forms the butterflylike wings billowing from the aging star. Schoolchildren in Chile chose this astronomical target to celebrate 25 years of operation by the International Gemini Observatory.
Astronomers have discovered a strange new object in our Milky Way galaxy. The celestial object is emitting X-rays around the same time it's shooting out radio waves. Located 15,000 light-years away, scientists say this object could be a star, pair of stars or something else entirely. Findings were published Wednesday in the journal Nature. NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory spotted the X-ray emissions by chance last year while focusing on a supernova remnant, or the remains of an exploded star. The hyperactive phase of this object appeared to last about a month.
Twice a month, the San Mateo County Astronomical Society gathers in San Carlos’ Crestview Park to share a glimpse of the luminaries of the night sky.
The latest solar storm has triggered northern lights farther south than normal including into parts of Germany, the United Kingdom, New England and New York City. There were no immediate reports of disruptions to power and communications from Thursday's storm. Friday forecast shows continued higher-than-normal activity, but the chances for another overnight show are slim farther south of Canada and the northern Plains states. The sun is near the peak of its current 11-year cycle, sparking all the recent solar activity. In May, Earth got slammed by severe solar storms, the strongest in more than two decades.
