Post #47

Closing out the year with a bang 💥 The NASA Hubble space telescope captured a side-on view of a barred spiral galaxy roughly 57 million light-years from the Milky Way in the constellation Centaurus. In 2014, a sudden flare of light caused by the explosion accompanying the death of a massive star in our galaxy was discovered by amateur astronomers who are part of the Backyard Observatory Supernova Search in New Zealand. This wealth of knowledge provided by Hubble paves the way for future science as NASA Webb makes its way to Lagrange Point 2, where it will begin its orbit. Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3 have made connections between young stars and the clouds of cold gas in which they form. Webb’s ability to observe at infrared wavelengths will be able to peer through the clouds of gas and dust in stellar nurseries and observe the fledgling stars within.