Five Dazzling Astronomy Images from February
An artist's rendition of the possible surface of newly discovered planet TRAPPIST-1f.
(Inside Science) -- Humans have been captivated by the beauty of the night sky for millennia. But it wasn't until recent decades that we've sent scientific instruments into space to snap up-close photos of celestial wonders and gather new cosmic insights. Inside Science has compiled five awe-inspiring astronomy images from the month of February. They range from unprecedentedly detailed images of our own solar system's planets to new pictures of stars hundreds of thousands of light years away. Check them out in the slideshow below.
This detail showcases the Cat’s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334) on the upper right, and the Lobster Nebula (NGC 6357) on the lower left. This image, taken by the VLT Survey Telescope at the European Southern Observatory, is one of the largest images the observatory has ever produced. (Credit: ESO)
This region within Saturn’s outer B ring shows a dusting of stellar objects visible through the planet's rings. This level of detail is twice as high as previous observations by the Cassini spacecraft. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)
From the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter comes a rare glimpse of Mars’ exposed bedrock. The photo was taken in a region where the planet’s bedrock is usually obscured by fine-grained materials. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona)
Last week, the announcement of TRAPPIST-1, a dwarf star system orbited by 7 rocky planets, stirred up visions of possible life-sustaining worlds. Above is an illustration by Robert Hurt of the inspiring discovery. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Spitzer Space Telescope/Robert Hurt)
This Hubble Space Telescope image shows a detail of Supernova 1987A within the Large Magellanic Cloud. Thirty years ago this month, this supernova became the closest exploding star to be discovered in 400 years. (Credit: NASA/ESA/R.Kirshner (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation), and M. Mutchler and R. Avila (STScl))