The Big Impact of Small Telescopes

NASA Webb Uncovers Unusual Galaxy Shaped by Cosmic Collision

In new images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to celebrate its fourth science anniversary, a familiar galaxy transforms into something far richer, and far more complex, than ever seen before. Webb’s unprecedented sensitivity across near- and mid-infrared wavelengths cuts through the thick lanes of dust that obscure Centaurus A’s center in visible light, showing []

60 million stars shine in Euclid telescope's new image of the Milky Way

The European Space Agency on Wednesday released the largest and most detailed visible-light image of the Milky Way's center. The picture shows more than 60 million stars in the galactic bulge, glistening along with nebulae and star clusters. It is a mosaic of nine separate pointings, each covering a patch of sky somewhat larger than a full Moon. — Read the rest The post 60 million stars shine in Euclid telescope's new image of the Milky Way appeared first on Boing Boing.

60 million stars: Euclid space telescope snaps the largest-ever close-up photo of the Milky Way's crowded heart

60 million stars: Euclid space telescope snaps the largest-ever close-up photo of the Milky Way's crowded heart

Largest digital camera ever built begins decade-long survey of universe

The largest digital camera ever built is starting to capture images of unseen corners of the universe. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has officially begun its cosmic survey, meant to capture swathes of the sky in more depth and detail. Perched on a Chilean mountaintop, the telescope will point its eye at the southern sky []

A New Space Race Could Turn the Night Sky Into a Permanent Light Show

A new study by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) warns that current plans to deploy more than 1.7 million satellites in Earth's orbit could cause serious damage to ground-based astronomy. To preserve the capabilities of modern telescopes, the total number of spacecraft in low Earth orbit should remain below 100,000, provided the satellites maintain low visibility. Since 2019, the number of satellites in orbit has grown rapidly and now exceeds 14,000, largely because of Starlink, developed by SpaceX. The situation could change dramatically in the coming years as additional large-scale projects move forward. Satellite Expansion Could Reshape the Night Sky Beyond SpaceX's plans for orbital data centers, several other initiatives are under development, including E-Space with its Cinnamon constellation, as well as China's CTC-1 and CTC-2 systems. Together, these projects involve the launch of hundreds of thousands of additional satellites.