Here’s this week’s image for the Where In The Universe Challenge, to test your visual knowledge of the cosmos (late again — sorry!) You know what to do: take a look at this image and see if you can determine where in the universe this image is from; give yourself extra points if you can name the instrument responsible for the image. We’ll provide the image today, but won’t reveal the answer until tomorrow. This gives you a chance to mull over the image and provide your answer/guess in the comment section. Please, no links or extensive explanations of what you think this is — give everyone the chance to guess.
UPDATE: The answer has now been posted below.
This is the Stingray Nebula, as seen by Hubble’s Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 back in 1996.
In this image, the bright central star is in the middle of the green ring of gas. Its companion star is diagonally above it at 10 o’clock. A spur of gas (green) is forming a faint bridge to the companion star due to gravitational attraction.
The nebula is as large as 130 solar systems, but, at its distance of 18,000 light-years, it appears only as big as a dime viewed a mile away. The Stingray is located in the direction of the southern constellation Ara (the Altar constellation).
On September 26th, 2022, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) collided with the asteroid Dimorphos,…
Universe Today has had some fantastic discussions with researchers on the importance of studying impact…
Since its launch in 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has made some amazing…
Solar sails rely upon pressure exerted by sunlight on large surfaces. Get the sail closer…
From its vantage point at the Sun-Earth L2 point, the ESA's Euclid spacecraft is measuring…
Fresh imagery from the Event Horizon Telescope traces the lines of powerful magnetic fields spiraling…