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Dans Night sky

The night sky tested by our eyes

Par Le 29/12/2024

As astronomy enthusiasts, we take great pleasure in gazing up at the sky on clear nights to admire the beauty of the universe. We observe a multitude of luminous points, varying in distance, size, and hue, along with diffuse bright spots and, under ideal conditions, even streaks of color. But what exactly are we seeing? How much of the universe is truly revealed to us? When we believe that the universe is accessible to us through our naked eyes alone, we are quite mistaken. Let’s put things into perspective. Allow me to guide you on a journey through our night sky. Let’s start with the closest celestial objects.
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Image of the week

The Tarentula nebula - NGC 2070

The Tarantula Nebula (NGC 2070), the largest and brightest star-forming region in our cosmic neighborhood, located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, this dwarf galaxy is a neighbor of our own : check the week 25 : Archives. This cloud of gas and dust is indeed a place where new stars are formed from the very same dust left behind by long-dead stars. The nebula is observed in the infrared (since the JWST only detects infrared light, invisible to our eyes), and the colors in the image are chosen arbitrarily by scientists based on what they represent (the image initially appears in black and white). Here, blue is assigned to the most energetic and thus hottest regions, followed by yellow, orange, and red in descending order of energy. These colors therefore simultaneously reveal what each of these regions is made of. The blue color appears as thousands of points at the center of the image, which are nothing but young stars, very hot and energetic. Surrounding this, the cooler regions in yellow, orange, and red are composed of more complex elements, such as hydrocarbons, identified by the spectrum that characterizes them. These heavier elements contain carbon, an atom that is only created in the cores of stars. In this way, these orange-colored regions are the remnants of long-exploded stars. It is indeed in these places that new stars are formed. This is one of my favorite images of the universe. This nebula, as seen through Webb’s eyes, I believe, beautifully represents the majestic, magical, and mysterious nature of the universe.

Image credits : NASA, ESA, CSA, STScl, Webb ERO Production Team

 

 

 

 

 

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