HMX

HMX · Wikimedia Commons

Science in focus

Explore sport, space and scientific discovery through photos and video.

Photo from Wikimedia Commons

CURATED COLLECTION

Science photos and videos

Wikimedia Commons · reviewed before publication

Ritchey–Chrétien under the Milky Way at White Mound.webm

Space · Video

Ritchey–Chrétien under the Milky Way at White Mound.webm

A 20 cm (8 inch) Ritchey–Chrétien telescope images under the dark skies of White Mount County Park, Sauk County, WI. The telescope, mount, and other equipment are marked with glow-in-the-dark tape, which was initially charge with a UV light, and can be seen fading rapidly as the video begins. The telescope initially collected luminance data on NGC 5434 and surrounding galaxies, then was directed over to the Eagle Nebula to gather a small amount of near infrared data as astronomical dark ended. The end of astronomical dark can be seen in the last few seconds of the time-lapse. Many satellites can be seen in the night sky, moving at different speeds. There are also some unusual flashes of light, mostly visible on the right half of the frame above the tree, which I cannot explain (but one suggestion that seems sensible is that they're flaring satellites in similar orbits).

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0 · ♥ 0

Vela Pulsar Jet- Firehose-Like Jet Observed In Action (2003-vela pulsar).webm

Space · Video

Vela Pulsar Jet- Firehose-Like Jet Observed In Action (2003-vela pulsar).webm

The Chandra images in this montage show the erratic variability of a jet of high energy particles that is associated with the Vela pulsar, a rotating neutron star. These images are part of a series of 13 images made over a period of two and a half years that has been used to make a time-lapse movie of the motion of the jet. Much like an untended firehose, the jet bends and whips about spectacularly at half the speed of light. Bright blobs move in the jet at similar speeds. The jet is half a light year (3 trillion miles) in length and is shooting out ahead of the moving neutron star. The extremely high-energy electrons or positrons that compose the jet were created and accelerated by the combined action of the fast rotation of the neutron star and its intense magnetic field. These particles produce X-rays as they spiral outward around the magnetic field of the jet. Over its entire length, the width of the jet (about 200 billion miles) remains approximately constant. This suggests that the jet is confined by magnetic fields generated by the charged particles flowing along the axis of the jet. Laboratory studies of beams of particles confined in this manner have shown that they can change rapidly due to an effect called the "firehose instability". This is the first time such behavior has been observed in astrophysical jets. To picture how the firehose instability works, imagine a firehose lying on the ground. When the water is turned on, different parts of the hose will kink and move rapidly in different directions, pushed by the increased pressure at the bends in the hose. The Vela jet resembles a hose made of magnetic fields, which confines the charged particles. The bright blobs in the jet are thought to be a manifestation of the increased magnetic field and particle pressure at the kinks in the jet. The instability could be triggered by the strong headwind created as the pulsar moves through the surrounding gas at a speed of about 200,000 miles per hour. The activity of the Vela pulsar jet could also help to understand the nature of the enormous jets coming from supermassive black holes. Those jets may also vary, but on time scales of millions of years, instead of weeks as in the Vela pulsar jet.

Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · ♥ 0

Moon Phase and Libration, 2025 (hourly, mobile).webm

Space · Video

Moon Phase and Libration, 2025 (hourly, mobile).webm

The phase and libration of the Moon for 2025, at hourly intervals. The vertical (portrait) aspect ratio is targeted for viewing on mobile devices. Includes supplemental graphics that display the Moon's orbit, subsolar and sub-Earth points, and the Moon's distance from Earth at true scale. Craters near the terminator are labeled, as are Apollo landing sites.

Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · ♥ 0

Using Infrared to Survey Our Galaxy’s Far Side (SVS14521 Galactic Plane Infrared Roman good).webm

Space · Video

Using Infrared to Survey Our Galaxy’s Far Side (SVS14521 Galactic Plane Infrared Roman good).webm

Similar to above video, but with a specific Roman Space Telescope referenceObservatories with smaller views of space have provided exquisite images of other galaxies, revealing complex structures. But studying our own galaxy’s anatomy is surprisingly difficult. The plane of the Milky Way covers such a large area on the sky that studying it in detail can take a very long time. Astronomers also must peer through thick dust that obscures distant starlight. Infrared light can pass through that dust and is a key tool for learning about the far side of our galaxy.The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope's combination of a large field of view, crisp resolution, and the ability to peer through dust make it the ideal instrument to study the Milky Way. And seeing stars in different wavelengths of light – optical and infrared – will help astronomers learn things such as the stars’ temperatures. That one piece of information unlocks much more data, from the star’s evolutionary stage and composition to its luminosity and size. Roman will offer new insights about the structure of the central region known as the bulge, the “bar” that stretches across it, and the spiral arms that extend from it. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic: "Time Shift Equalibrium" from Universal Production MusicComplete transcript available.

Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · ♥ 0

Identifying Eclipsing Star Systems using Light Curves (SVS5290 - eclipsing binary light curves explainer 2160p60).webm

Space · Video

Identifying Eclipsing Star Systems using Light Curves (SVS5290 - eclipsing binary light curves explainer 2160p60).webm

This data visualization presents a comprehensive view of four different hypothetical binary star systems, highlighting their stellar orbits and light curves. The top row offers a top-down perspective of each binary system, illustrating the stars (white spheres) and their elliptical orbits around each other. The middle row provides a side-on view of the same systems, offering a simulated perspective as if observed from Earth, assuming the systems' orbital planes are aligned similarly to the ecliptic plane of our Solar System. The bottom row displays the observed light curves for each system, graphically representing the cumulative brightness of the stars over time.

Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · ♥ 0

Zooming in on the PDS 70 system (eso2111c).webm

Space · Video

Zooming in on the PDS 70 system (eso2111c).webm

This sequence takes the viewer towards the southern constellation of Centaurus. We zoom in on the orange dwarf star PDS 70, which is located about 400 light-years away and has at least two planets orbiting it. The final shot shows the spectacular new image, taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) of the PDS 70 system, where a moon-forming disc is visible around planet PDS 70c.

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0 · ♥ 0

Artist's animation of the triple system with the closest black hole.webm

Space · Video

Artist's animation of the triple system with the closest black hole.webm

This animation shows the orbits and movements of the objects in the HR 6819 triple system. This system includes an inner binary with one star (orbit indicated in blue) and a newly discovered black hole (orbit indicated in red). As we move away from this inner pair, we see the outer object in the system, another star in a much wider orbit (in blue). The team originally believed there were only two objects, the two stars, in the system. However, as they analysed their observations, they were stunned when they revealed a third, previously undiscovered body in HR 6819: a black hole, the closest ever found to Earth. The black hole is invisible, but it makes its presence known by its gravitational pull, which forces the luminous inner star into an orbit. The objects in this inner pair have roughly the same mass and circular orbits. The observations, with the FEROS spectrograph on the 2.2-metre telescope at La Silla, showed that the inner visible star orbits the black hole every 40 days, while the second star is at a large distance from this inner pair.

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0 · ♥ 0

Flying Past Pluto.webm

Space · Video

Flying Past Pluto.webm

This dramatic view of the Pluto system is as NASA's New Horizons spacecraft saw it in July 2015. This animation, made with real images taken by New Horizons, begins with Pluto flying in for its close-up on July 14; we then pass behind Pluto and see the atmosphere glow in sunlight before the sun passes behind Pluto’s largest moon, Charon. The movie ends with New Horizons' departure, looking back on each body as thin crescents. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Stuart Robbins http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Multimedia/Science-Photos/image.php?page=2&gallery_id=2&image_id=267

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0 · ♥ 0

A Huge Solar Filaments Erupts.webm

Space · Video

A Huge Solar Filaments Erupts.webm

Credit: NASA's GSFC, SDO AIA Team, ESA Details: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160731.html Details: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/potw/item/295

Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · ♥ 0

The White House Under the Stars.webm

Space · Video

The White House Under the Stars.webm

Meet two teenage prodigies, Caroline Moore and Lucas Bolyard, on their visit to a special night of astronomy at the White House. (public domain)

Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · ♥ 0

Total lunar eclipse observed from Prishtina Observatory 13.jpg

Space · Photo

Total lunar eclipse observed from Prishtina Observatory 13.jpg

The image shows visitors participating in a public astronomy event at the Prishtina Observatory, where they observed a total lunar eclipse through telescopes during an organized outreach activity.

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0 · ♥ 0

Uranus new moon 2025 JWST.png

Space · Photo

Uranus new moon 2025 JWST.png

Discovery photo of Uranus' 29th moon by James Webb Space Telescope

Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · ♥ 0

Imaging the Orion Nebula at Mud Lake.webm

Space · Video

Imaging the Orion Nebula at Mud Lake.webm

An 8" Ritchey–Chrétien telescope images panels of an Orion Nebula mosaic at Mud Lake Wildlife Area in Columbia County, Wisconsin, USA. The session is briefly interrupted by clouds.

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0 · ♥ 0