Space Station Threshold

Our first glimpse into the intricacies of Centaurus A was the big picture. We soon found out that not only was the first photograph a deep study, but the study of NGC 5128 was going to go deeper as well. One of the most obvious of all features is the central dust lane [...]

Before you dismiss this as just another photo of Centaurus A, you better look again. It's way deeper… First discovered by James Dunlop on August 4, 1826 this incredible galaxy known as Centaurus A (NGC 5128) has been tickling the imagination of astronomers since John Herschel described it as "two semi-ovals of elliptically [...]

There are wonderful tales which surround the circumpolar constellation of Draco. According to Greek legend, Draco represents the dragon killed by Cadmus before founding the city of Thebes - or perhaps it represented the dragon which guarded the golden fleece and was eventually killed by Jason and his famous Argonauts. To the Romans, [...]

As the very last of the summer flowers bloom in the dusty grasses of the northern hemisphere, so a cosmic flower blooms in the dusty star fields of the northern constellations. While this image conjures up a vision of an iris delicately opening its 6 light year wide petals some 1300 light years [...]

Summertime conjurs up great images of enjoying a double dip ice cream cone, and what more wonderful way to enjoy than with two flavors? Would you like to have some fun while the Moon waxes this coming week? Then invite someone along for the ride and let's take a look at how differently people [...]

Out in the deep reaches of space, a cocoon has formed. Here on Earth, a cocoon represents the casing of a pupae - the child/insect which is about to undergo a magnificent transformation into a beautiful moth or butterfly. So what does the cosmic cocoon, IC 5146, hide inside? Let's take a [...]

Over the weeks we've taken a look at some very curious objects which have often raised some wonderful questions. One such question dealt with what could be observed should a supernova event involve a planetary system. In this case, it's not quite the explosive mass destruction scenario - but a planetary nebula that consumed its [...]

For those of us old enough to remember riding on an old fashioned carousel, there was once a quaint custom where the operator would hold a brass ring out and the lucky contestant who captured it could ride again for free. Before you dismiss this astrophotograph as just another colorful look at a [...]

Over the weeks we've looked at a lot of curious objects and today is no exception. NGC 6302 is often called the "Bug Nebula", but its resemblance to an insect isn't what makes it unique - it's the complex structure. Deep inside this bipolar planetary nebula lay an unseen star… One of the [...]

If you think we're looking straight down the maul of the "Doomsday Machine", you'd be pretty much correct. While the fictionalized Star Trek account had the planet killer slowly destroying a distant solar system, this particular "star eater" is very real and still exists along the Auriga-Taurus ...