The Helix Nebula in New Light… Again!
- By Sara Mitchell
- February 8, 2012
- 3 Comments
Credit: NASA, ESA, C.R. O’Dell (Vanderbilt University), and M. Meixner, P. McCullough The Helix Nebula is an iconic astronomical object – it’s been imaged again and again, by a variety of satellites. It’s one of those objects that gets turned into desktop wallpapers, posters, and postcards. It was even featured … Continue Reading →
Astronomical Eye Candy
- By Koji Mukai
- March 25, 2011
- 3 Comments
The HEASARC Picture of the Week for the week for Mar 21 is titled “The Ring.” Maggie posted the same image on Blueshift on Valentine’s Day, with a caption based on a Chandra press release. It sure is a pretty picture, combining Hubble and Chandra data, with a romantic connotation. … Continue Reading →
Podcast: The Science of Pretty Pictures
- By Maggie Masetti
- August 31, 2009
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Earlier this summer, Nobel Laureate Dr. John Mather told us that data are beautiful when they have meaning. Astronomical images communicate information about the way the Universe works and how we know what we know. But can a pretty picture be just as lovely even if you don’t know what … Continue Reading →
Podcast: Making Hubble’s Great Orion Mosaic
- By Maggie Masetti
- August 14, 2009
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Click to listen! (7.5MB MP3, right-click to save) Transcript (Text, PDF) The Hubble Space Telescope is famous for its beautiful images of celestial objects – from planets in our own Solar System to far away galaxies. The Orion Nebula (known to astronomers as Messier object 42, or M42) is a … Continue Reading →
Podcast: Astronomical Data’s Long Road Home
- By Sara Mitchell
- June 30, 2009
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Click to listen! (7MB MP3, right-click to save) Transcript (Text, PDF) It’s easy to think of a satellite as a fancy digital camera – just point, shoot, and look at the pretty picture that emerges. But it’s not that simple. Astronomical data has a far longer journey to make it … Continue Reading →
Podcast: Making Data Beautiful
- By Sara Mitchell
- June 18, 2009
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To kick off our special summer series about data, we interviewed 2006 Nobel Laureate John Mather about the importance of imagery in communicating science and sharing data with the public. More than just “pretty pictures,” data can be used to tell a story and explain the mysteries of the cosmos. … Continue Reading →
Podcast: Zooming Through the Universe
- By Sara Mitchell
- February 17, 2009
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Click to listen! (5.5MB MP3, right-click to save) Transcript (Text, PDF) Have you ever wondered where Google Sky gets the data that lets you pan and zoom your way around the cosmos? Much of it comes from NASA’s SkyView Virtual Observatory, a database of astronomy data from a variety of different sources. … Continue Reading →
