This image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows the top of a column of gas and dust in the Carina Nebula.
Such cosmic objects are of interest to astronomers not only for their beauty: this cosmic column is a cradle for new stars hidden within it.
"You don't have to
know anything about art
to appreciate it
or to look at it.
There aren't hidden secrets
or things that you are
supposed to understand"
- (Keith Haring)
~
Painting by Karin Jurick.
Is this what will become of our Sun?
The image shows the Dumbbell Nebula, or M27. It is one of the brightest planetary nebulae in the sky.
The nebula was formed by the star shedding its outer layers, just as the Sun will do in approximately 6 billion years.
You're looking at the Butterfly Nebula, a dying star 3,800 light-years away throwing a tantrum so beautiful it looks like the universe made art on purpose.
Hubble
This isn’t a canvas. It’s Jupiter.
This gas giant is orbiting the Sun hundreds of millions of kilometres away from Earth, a journey that takes even light more than 30 minutes to travel!
Captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, this image reveals the planet in false colours (since our eyes cannot see infrared light).
The bright white spots and streaks are massive storms, while the red glows at the poles are auroras.
NASA, ESA, CSA