The Hanscom Family Weblog

A composite x-ray image shows the galaxy cluster 1E 0657-56, also known as the “Bullet Cluster.” Most of the matter in the clusters (blue) is clearly separate from the normal matter (pink), giving direct evidence that nearly all of the matter in the clusters is dark. REUTERS/NASA

NASA’s new Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft is mapping the sky like never before. Among its first images is Comet Siding Spring, which flashes across the sky impressively in this infrared image. Observers in Australia discovered the comet, also known as C/2007 Q3, in 2007.

Our neighboring galaxy, Andromeda, also goes by the names Messier 31 or M31. Here, it is captured in full in this new image taken by NASA’s WISE space telescope.

Chandra
STAR A Type 1a supernova is seen to the bottom left of a galaxy in the Virgo cluster.

Astronaut Nicholas Patrick participates in extravehicular activity as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the spacewalk, Patrick and fellow astronaut Robert Behnken removed insulation blankets and launch restraint bolts from each of the Cupola observatory module’s seven windows on Feb. 11, 2010.

A NASA image of the debris of an exploded star, known as supernova taken from NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory. Astronomers who have long used supernovas as cosmic mile markers to help measure the expansion of the universe now have an answer to the nagging question of what sparks the massive stellar explosions. (AFP/NASA/File)

Star’s End
Advanced optics reveals sharp details of the planetary nebula M2-9, a result of gas outflows from a dying star. Astronomers used the Altair adaptive optics system on the Gemini North telescope of the Gemini Observatory to build this view of the M2-9 nebula, which sits about 2,100 light-years from Earth. This image was featured in a press release on October 28, 2005. This image was featured as our Image of the Day
Image Credit: Gemini Observatory/Travis Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage

This stunning view reveals another look at the space shuttle Endeavour silhouetted against a stunning backdrop of Earth’s horizon. The image was taken by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station just before Endeavour docked just after midnight on Feb. 10, 2010 during the STS-130 mission. Credit: NASA