7 stunning ‘Astronomy Pictures of the Day’ shared by NASA
Ritik Raj
While some may mistake this nebula for a fish's head, IC 1795, a star-forming region in the northern constellation Cassiopeia, is actually home to glowing gas and obfuscating dust clouds.
Magnificent on a genuinely cosmic scale, M100 is fittingly referred to as a spiral galaxy with a grand design.
Only two of the three nebulas in the picture are known to be associated with the star system GK Per; at 1500 light years away, Nova Persei 1901 (also known as GK Persei) was the second closest nova ever observed.
The central ring of the Ring Nebula (M57) is easily visible and measures about one light-year across, but this remarkably deep exposure hides the ring's complexity.
Automated sky surveys are finding more and more of these stellar tidal disruption events, which can shine as brightly as a supernova.
Computer simulations of these emissions were consistent with a star being torn apart by a far-off supermassive black hole.
In the Chilean Atacama Desert, at Paranal Observatory, are enclosures housing 1.8 metre Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs).