PIX4620436: North America and Pelican Nebulae in the Swan - North America and Pelican Nebulae in the Swan - The North America Nebula (NGC 7000) is a large emission nebula located near the Deneb star (the bright star to the right of the image) in the constellation of Swan. Between NGC 7000 and Deneb, the Pelican nebula, IC 5070 / Bridgeman Images
PIX4620499: North America nebula in Cygnus - North America nebula in Cygnus - The North America nebula (NGC 7000) is a large emission nebula located near the star Deneb in the constellation Swan. NGC 7000 is the North America Nebula in Cygnus. Located just 3 degrees east - southeast of Deneb, the brightest star in Cygnus, this large 2 x 3 degree area of red hydrogen - alpha emission nebulosity is a complex star - forming region choked with gas and obscuring dust. It is located about 1,500 light years away / Bridgeman Images
PIX4620654: Nebula NGC 7635 in Cassiopee - This nebula is located about 7800 light years from Earth. A massive star, called Wolf - Rayet, is responsible for the formation of this bubble; it is the star BD+60* 2522, 40 times more massive than our Sun. Image obtained by Isaac Newton 2.5m telescope from La Palma / Bridgeman Images
PIX4620865: Nebula N70 in the Great Magellan Cloud - The N 70 nebula in Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) - The Henize 70 nebula extends for about 400 years - light, it is located in the Great Magellan Cloud. In the center, a small group of very massive and extremely hot stars, stars of Wolf - Rayet. Image obtained by Siding Spring's 3.9m telescope. At the centre of this remarkable bubble - like nebula nebula is a small group of extremely hot stars. Some of these stars are rapdly losing mass and have stellar winds blowing from their surfaces with velocities that approach 4000 kilometers per second. Such stars are known as Wolf - Rayet stars and are found in galaxies capable of forming massive stars. There are many such stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) but not all of them are associated with distinctive nebulae. The outward flowing streams of energetic particles from Wolf - Rayet (and other energetic stars) eventually interact with the relatively stationary interstellar medium pervading the LMC, releasing much of their energy as a thin spherical shell of luminous material. The hollow structure accounts for the shape we see in the sky. This nebula is almost 400 light years across, about 100 times the distance from the Sun to the nearest star. The LMC is about 160,000 light years away and is the closest galaxy to the Milky Way / Bridgeman Images
PIX4619010: Nebula NGC 3372 in the Carene in fake colors - NGC 3372 Carina nebula in narrow band - The nebula of the Carene is located about 8000 years - light from Earth. It is home to many hot stars, including the massive star Eta Carinae in the centre of the nebula. Image obtained by the 1.2m Schmidt UK Telescope of Siding Spring through 3 different filters that highlight oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur. Although no bright naked - eye stars are associated with the Carina nebula now, 150 years ago there blazed forth here one of the most unusual and peculiar stars ever seen. The star is known as Eta Carinae and for a few months in 1843 it was the second or third brightest star in the sky. Since then it has faded and is today about 1000 times fainter than it was at its brightest as the nebula it created during its outburst has cooled and become opaque. The whole region around Eta Carinae is rich in hot stars of which Eta is an extreme example and it is their combined radiation that produces the spectacular Carina nebula that dominates this picture. The nebula and its peculiar star are about 8000 light years away / Bridgeman Images
PIX4619114: Birth of stars in the nebula NGC 3372 - Star formation in the Carina Nebula - Detail of the Carene nebula (NGC 3372) obtained by the Hubble space telescope. The image shows a column of gas eroded by ultraviolet radiation emitted by young stars. Jets are also visible, showing the presence of emerging stars. NGC 3372 is located about 7500 light years away from Earth. The colors used in this image correspond to the emissions of different gases: sulfur in red, hydrogen in green and oxygen in blue. The NASA Hubble Space Telescope photograph captures the chaotic activity atop a three - light - year - tall pillar of gas and dust that is being eaten away by the brilliant light from nearby bright stars. The pillar is also being assaulted from within, as infant stars buried inside it fire off jets of gas that can be seen streaming from towering peaks. This turbulent cosmic pinnacle lies within a tempestuous stellar nursery called the Carina Nebula, located 7,500 light - years away in the southern constellation Carina. Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 observed the pillar on Feb. 1 - 2, 2010. The colors in this composite image correspond to the glow of oxygen (blue), hydrogen and nitrogen (green), and sulfur (red) / Bridgeman Images
PIX4619380: Nebula NGC 6334 in Scorpio - Cat's Paw nebula (NGC 6334) in Scorpius - The nebula NGC 6334 is located about 5500 years - light from Earth. It is a vast region of star formation. The Cat's Paw Nebula (NGC 6334) is a vast region of star formation. NGC 6334 lies about 5500 light - years from Earth in the constellation of Scorpius. The whole gas cloud is about 50 light - years across. NGC 6334 is one of the most active nurseries of massive stars in our galaxy and has been extensively studied by astronomers / Bridgeman Images
PIX4619585: View of the nebula of the Lagoon (M8/NGC 6523). Located in Sagittarius, at a distance of 5800 light years, it is visible to the naked eye in good conditions. It is a star-forming region illuminated by several large O-type stars that belong to the open cluster NGC 6530 visible in the center of the image. The brightest part of the nebula is called the hourglass nebula whose gases are excited mainly by two massive supergeant stars Herschel 36 and 9 Sagittarii. M8 has at least 60 Giant B stars, 3 to 4 times more than the Orion nebula - The Lagoon nebula (M8), can be visible to the unaided eye as a small bright patch above the large Sagittarius star cloud in the Milky Way. The Lagoon nebula is a star-forming region about 5800 light years from us. The nebula is illuminated by several O-type giants within the open cluster NGC 6530 near the center of the nebula. The brightest part of the nebula is known as the “hourglass nebula”” and its gases are excited primarily by two massive O-type supergiants designated Herschel 36 and 9 Sagittarii. These two stars lie to the west of NGC 6530 and are separated from it by a dark lane dividing the nebula like a black lagoon, giving it its name. Twisted funnel shaped clouds are visible close to the illuminating stars, especially Herschel 36. They are due to shear forces between the hot excited gases at the surface and the cold interior of the clouds. At least 60 B-type giants are embedded in the nebula which make M8 3 to 4 times richer in massive stars than the Orion nebula: Nebula of the Lagoon (M8) in Sagittarius / Bridgeman Images
PIX4601779: Astronaut Daniel Tani resting in ISS - Daniel Tani rests in the international space station - Astronaut Daniel Tani sleeps in his sleeping bag in the Unity module of the International Space Station. Mission STS - 120 - 2 November 2007. 2 Nov. 2007. Astronaut Daniel Tani, Expedition 16 flight engineer, sleeps in his sleeping bag in the Unity node of the International Space Station while Space Shuttle Discovery is docked with the station / Bridgeman Images
PIX4601875: The International Space Station (ISS) 02/2008 - The International Space Station (ISS) 02/2008 - The International Space Station (ISS) seen from Shuttle Atlantis before returning to Earth on February 18, 2008. Backdropped by Earth's horizon and the blackness of space, the International Space Station is seen from Space Shuttle Atlantis as the two spacecraft begin their relative separation. Earlier the STS - 122 and Expedition 16 crews concluded almost nine days of cooperative work onboard the shuttle and station. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 3:24 a.m. (CST) on Feb. 18, 2008 / Bridgeman Images
PIX4601901: The International Space Station (ISS) 02/2008 - The International Space Station (ISS) 02/2008 - Detail of the international space station with its new element, the European Columbus laboratory connects to the Harmony module, seen from the Atlantis shuttle before returning to Earth on 18 February 2008. A close - up view of the Columbus laboratory (top right), the newest addition to the International Space Station, is featured in this image photographed by a STS - 122 crewmember on Space Shuttle Atlantis shortly after the undocking of the two spacecraft. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 3:24 a.m. (CST) on Feb. 18, 2008 / Bridgeman Images