Infinity Cosmos

  A mosaic of Mars’ Valles Marineris hemisphere, captured by 102 Viking Orbiter images, shows the vast 2,000 km-long canyon system from 2,500 km above. The image reveals the Tharsis volcanoes, ancient river channels, and cratered southern terrain. Mars, the Red Planet, has always been a bit of a mystery. Why is it so… well, red? Scientists have long known that iron oxides (aka rust) are to blame, but a new study published on February 25 in *Nature Communications* suggests there’s more to the story. Meet ferrihydrite, a water-rich iron mineral that might be the real MVP behind Mars’ iconic dusty red look.   Why Ferrihydrite? Ferrihydrite forms in the presence of cool water, which is a big deal because it hints at a time when Mars was wetter and potentially more habitable. Unlike other iron minerals like hematite, ferrihydrite doesn’t need scorching temperatures to form. This means Mars might have had a cooler, wetter past before it turned into the dry, dusty desert we know...

The spiral galaxy UGC 5460 gleams in this stunning NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image, located 60 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. ESA/Hubble & NASA, W. Jacobson-Galán, A. Filippenko, J. Mauerhan When it comes to cosmic eye candy, NASA and ESA’s Hubble Space Telescope never disappoints. This time, it’s trained its lens on UGC 5460, a dazzling spiral galaxy located about 60 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major (aka the Big Dipper). But wait—there’s a twist! Hidden in the upper left corner of the image is a sneaky little imposter: a star from our own galaxy, just 577 light-years away. Talk about photobombing!   What’s So Special About UGC 5460? UGC 5460 is a classic spiral galaxy, complete with a central bar of stars, winding spiral arms, and bright blue star clusters that look like cosmic glitter. But this galaxy isn’t just pretty—it’s also been the site of some serious cosmic drama. Over the past decade, it’s hosted *two* sup...

  NASA’s SPHEREx mission will explore the Milky Way to detect water ice and other essential life ingredients, focusing on molecular clouds like this one captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA. Imagine a space telescope playing detective, scouring the galaxy for clues about where water—the key ingredient for life—is hiding. That’s exactly what NASA’s SPHEREx mission is set to do when it launches no earlier than February 27, 2025. This cosmic detective, short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer, will search for water ice and other life-essential compounds like carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. And guess what? It’s going to do it in 3D!   Why Water? The Perseus Molecular Cloud, 1,000 light-years away, was imaged by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. SPHEREx will search for water ice and other compounds in similar gas and dust clouds. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Water is like the VIP of the ...

  This artist's concept shows the supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A, at the center of the Milky Way, surrounded by a swirling accretion disk. The black hole’s gravity bends light, creating an illusion of wrapping, while both bright flares and rapid flickers, originating close to the black hole, are observed. Move over, disco balls—there’s a new light show in town, and it’s coming from the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy! Thanks to NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, scientists have caught Sagittarius A* (pronounced “A-star”) putting on a dazzling display of flares that could give any EDM festival a run for its money.   For years, Sagittarius A has been the mysterious, brooding neighbor at the heart of the Milky Way. But now, Webb’s sharp eyes have revealed that this black hole is anything but quiet. It’s surrounded by a swirling disk of gas and dust, called an accretion disk, which is constantly flaring up with bursts of energy. Some flares last ju...

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image showcases clouds of gas and dust near the Tarantula Nebula, situated in the Large Magellanic Cloud, 160,000 light-years away. ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Murray The universe is often depicted as a vast expanse of empty space, but it's far from devoid of material. A breathtaking new image captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveals swirling clouds of gas and dust near the Tarantula Nebula, located approximately 160,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud. This nebula is nestled within the constellations Dorado and Mensa and is renowned as the most productive star-forming region in the nearby universe, home to some of the largest and most massive stars ever discovered. The colorful clouds of gas and dust in the image feature intricate wispy tendrils and dark patches, showcasing the complex nature of this stellar nursery. Unlike the dust found in our homes, which consists of skin cells, hair, and dirt, the cosmic dust in ...

NASA has released an awe-inspiring composite image capturing the deepest X-ray view ever of 30 Doradus, a spectacular star-forming region known as the Tarantula Nebula. This stunning image combines X-ray data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope, and radio data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), bringing the cosmos to life in a dazzling display of colors. 30 Doradus, located about 160,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), is one of the brightest and most active stellar nurseries in the local group of galaxies, which includes the Milky Way and Andromeda. It's a key target for astronomers aiming to understand how stars form and evolve. The nebula's immense energy and fuel have sustained star formation for at least 25 million years, making it the most powerful stellar nursery nearby. The young, massive stars in 30 Doradus emit strong cosmic winds, carving out dramatic arcs, pillars, and bubb...

Spectroscopic data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is overlaid on an image of the Phoenix cluster, combining observations from Hubble, Chandra, and VLA, revealing the cooling gas driving intense star formation. Credit: NASA, CXC, NRAO, ESA, M. McDonald (MIT), M. Reefe (MIT), J. Olmsted (STScI) Researchers utilizing NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have solved a longstanding puzzle about the Phoenix galaxy cluster, a massive galaxy grouping located 5.8 billion light-years from Earth. Their findings, which build on over a decade of studies using the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, and ground-based telescopes, provide groundbreaking insights into the cluster's unusually high star formation rate. The Phoenix cluster has long captivated astronomers due to its paradoxical behavior. Despite housing a supermassive black hole with around 10 billion times the mass of the Sun at its core, the cluster is forming stars at an exceptional rate. In most similar galaxy cl...