May’s Stunning Space Pictures
(Inside Science) -- For the month of May, we feature a series of images that could change your perspective on the great unknown. Astronomers have outdone themselves this month in capturing the unusual and spectacular phenomena in space, from a kaleidoscopic image of the distant Crab Nebula to the strange dark dunes of our neighbor Mars.
Hubble opened the month by debuting an explosive new look at the Crab Nebula. Located 6,500 light-years away, the nebula is the vestige of a supernova initially observed almost a thousand years ago. Each color in this image tells a different story, conveying data that span the breadth of the electromagnetic spectrum. Astronomers hope the new details found in the composite will grant greater understanding of the nebula. (Hubble/STScI)
Though it may resemble an illustration from a fantasy novel, this ocular look-alike is actually a composite image of a young planetary system. Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array data, represented in orange, shows a fully formed debris disk circling the Fomalhaut star system. This is the first complete view of the disk that astronomers have captured. (ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), M. MacGregor; NASA/ESA Hubble, P. Kalas; B. Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF)
The Juno spacecraft snapped this shot of Jupiter from below one of the planet’s poles, changing the perspective on Jupiter’s familiar profile. The result is beautifully alien, as Jupiter’s trademark bands disappear to showcase ripples and storms the size of Mars. The Juno spacecraft continues its innovative mission, sending home new discoveries about Jupiter’s composition and atmosphere. (NASA/SwRI)
This month, NASA published snapshots from Curiosity’s trip to the beach. The black dunes of Mars’ Ogunquit Beach aren’t what one might typically find on Earth, however. With no shells in sight, Curiosity collected samples of the dark sand for further study. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
A seemingly ordinary landscape photo, this picture of Mars holds evidence that widens the timeframe for potential Martian life. It depicts “halos,” paler bedrock comprised of high concentrations of silica. The halos indicate that Mars had liquid water for much longer than previously believed. Now that it has topped off the month with another pioneering image, the Curiosity rover will continue its mission to find out whether Mars was once habitable. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
