{"id":25066,"date":"2021-10-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=25066"},"modified":"2021-10-21T12:28:24","modified_gmt":"2021-10-21T12:28:24","slug":"eye-on-the-sky-pretty-peculiar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/2021\/10\/21\/eye-on-the-sky-pretty-peculiar\/","title":{"rendered":"Eye on the Sky: Pretty Peculiar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The odd-looking Centaurus A galaxy is revealed in incredible detail in this new image<\/p>\n\n

V\u00cdCTOR M BLANCO 4-METRE TELESCOPE, 31 AUGUST 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

It may not have the conventional looks of a galaxy, but Centaurus A (also known as NGC 5128) is no less spectacular. It\u2019s one of the brightest objects in the night sky and, at just 12 million lightyears away, is a popular target for Southern Hemisphere observers. This new image from the Dark Energy Camera on the Victor M Blanco Telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CITO) in the Chilean Andes, captures Centaurus A in extraordinary detail.<\/p>\n\n

Its unorthodox appearance is the result of a shroud of dust and gas that blots out the elliptical galaxy\u2019s bright nucleus. These intricate, dark wisps are sprinkled with faint blue stars born from red clouds of hydrogen. They are the remnants of Centaurus A\u2019s last big meal: a spiral galaxy.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

What this image doesn\u2019t show, are the gigantic jets of matter shooting from the supermassive black hole at its centre, recently captured by the Event Horizon Telescope (see inset).<\/p>\n\n

Twinkle, twinkle<\/h4>\n\n

TIANGONG SPACE STATION, 30 JULY 2021 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Thousands of lights across north Africa gleam as the Tiangong Space Station glides overhead. Chinese astronauts Tang Hongbo, Nie Haisheng and Liu Boming spent three months living in the station\u2019s brand-new Tianhe core module \u2013 China\u2019s longest crewed space mission to date \u2013 before landing safely back on Earth on 17 September. Two more modules will be fitted to the station in 2022, which will eventually include science labs, a gym and the Hubble-class Xuntian telescope.<\/p>\n\n

Jupiter takes a hit<\/h4>\n\n

JOS\u00c9 LUIS PEREIRA, 13 SEPTEMBER 2021 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

A Brazilian amateur astrophotographer captured this bright flash on Jupiter\u2019s surface while filming the transit of Io\u2019s shadow. Other observers have confirmed the sighting of what\u2019s thought to be a large object, possibly a fragment of a passing comet or asteroid, hitting the planet. Jupiter has long been considered a \u2018buffer\u2019 in our Solar System, its massive gravity pulling in space debris that might otherwise head towards Earth.<\/p>\n\n

Like a rolling stone<\/h4>\n\n

GOLDSTONE DEEP SPACE COMMUNICATIONS COMPLEX, 3 SEPTEMBER 2021 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

This series of pictures shows the 1.3km-wide Asteroid 2016 AJ193 as it tumbled past Earth in August. Detected by the 70m-diameter Deep Space Station 14 antenna in NASA\u2019s Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex, the radar images reveal the asteroid\u2019s ridges, small hills and flat areas, as well as what might be boulders on its surface. Although classed as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid, 2016 AJ193\u2019s stable, 5.9-year orbital path around the Sun has kept it at least 3.4 million kilometres away from Earth.<\/p>\n\n

Burning bright <\/h4>\n\n

WILL GATER, SOMERSET, UK, 27 SEPTEMBER 2021 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

The Centaur upper stage of an Atlas V rocket \u2013 which had just delivered the Landsat 9 satellite mission into orbit \u2013 passes over the UK, venting fuel into space, after carrying out a deorbit burn.<\/p>\n\n

The clouds produced by the venting and burn are scattering sunlight and so appear bright against the starry sky.<\/p>\n\n

  • \"\"
    Globular cluster NGC 6717- \nHUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE, 6 SEPTEMBER 2021- \nImage credit: ESA\/Hubble and NASA, A. Sarajedini \n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
  • \"\"
    Protoplanetary disc around young star HD 163296 – \nALMA, 15 SEPTEMBER 2021 – Image\nCredit: ALMA (ESO\/NAOJ\/NRAO)\/D. Berry (NRAO), K. \u00d6berg et al (MAPS)\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
  • \"\"
    Galaxy cluster MACSJ 0138 – \nALMA\/HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE, 22 SEPTEMBER 2021 – \nImage Credit: ALMA (ESO\/NAOJ\/NRAO)\/S. Dagnello (NRAO), STScI, K. Whitaker et al\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
  • \"\"
    Asteroid 216 Kleopatra from different angles – \nVERY LARGE TELESCOPE, 2017-2019 – Image Credit: ESO\/Vernazza, Marchis et al.\/MISTRAL algorithm (ONERA\/CNRS)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
  • \"\"
    Flocculent galaxy NGC 7793 – \nGEMINI OBSERVATORY, 8 SEPTEMBER 2021 – \nImage Credit: International Gemini Observatory\/NOIRLab\/NSF\/AURA\nAcknowledgment: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage\/NSF\u2019s NOIRLab), J. Miller (Gemini Observatory\/NSF\u2019s NOIRLab), M. Zamani & D. de Martin (NSF\u2019s NOIRLab)\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
  • \"\"
    Spiral galaxy NGC 5728 – \nHUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE, 27 SEPTEMBER 2021 – \nImage Credit: ESA\/Hubble, A. Riess et al., J. Greene\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
  • \"\"
    Selfie after successfully drilling two rock core samples – \nPERSEVERANCE MARS ROVER, 20 SEPTEMBER 2021 – \nImage Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
  • \"\"
    Galaxies in the Fornax Cluster – \nV\u00cdCTOR M BLANCO 4-METRE TELESCOPE, 23 SEPTEMBER 2021 – \nImage Credit: CTIO\/NOIRLab\/DOE\/NSF\/AURA\nAcknowledgment: Image processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage\/NSF\u2019s NOIRLab), J. Miller (Gemini Observatory\/NSF\u2019s NOIRLab), M. Zamani (NSF\u2019s NOIRLab) & D. de Martin (NSF\u2019s NOIRLab)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n
    <\/div>
    \n

    MORE ONLINE <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    A gallery of these and more stunning space images<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

    Photos: CTIO\/NOIRLAB\/DOE\/NSF\/AURA, RADBOUD UNIV. NIJMEGEN; CSIRO\/ATNF\/I. FEAIN ET AL., R. MORGANTI ET AL., N. JUNKES ET AL.; ESO\/WFI; MPIFR\/ESO\/APEX\/A. WEISS ET AL.; NASA\/CXC\/CFA\/R. KRAFT ET AL.; TANAMI\/C. M\u00dcLLER ET AL.; EHT\/M. JANSSEN ET AL; TANG HONGBO\/CHINA MANNED SPACE ENGINEERING OFFICE, JOS\u00c9 LUIS PEREIRA, NASA\/JPL-CALTECH, ESA\/HUBBLE AND NASA, WILL GATER<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The odd-looking Centaurus A galaxy is revealed in incredible detail in this new image<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":25455,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"6","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"6","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_6-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_6-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"November-2021","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"November-2021","purple_external_id":"November-2021-6-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"November-2021-6-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000086546||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000086546||","purple_android_product":"com.im.skyatnight.198","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.skyatnight.198","purple_ios_product":"com.im.skyatnight.198","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.skyatnight.198","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"075fab74-0a21-4201-866a-899d6c41c40c","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[14],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2021\/10\/60DUJ95R52UQ42Q0Q60ZRM56Y9EC-1.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"5","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2021\/10\/60DUJ95R52UQ42Q0Q60ZRM56Y9EC-1.jpg",2048,1456,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2021\/10\/60DUJ95R52UQ42Q0Q60ZRM56Y9EC-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2021\/10\/60DUJ95R52UQ42Q0Q60ZRM56Y9EC-1-300x213.jpg",300,213,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2021\/10\/60DUJ95R52UQ42Q0Q60ZRM56Y9EC-1-768x546.jpg",768,546,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2021\/10\/60DUJ95R52UQ42Q0Q60ZRM56Y9EC-1-1024x728.jpg",800,569,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2021\/10\/60DUJ95R52UQ42Q0Q60ZRM56Y9EC-1-1536x1092.jpg",1536,1092,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2021\/10\/60DUJ95R52UQ42Q0Q60ZRM56Y9EC-1.jpg",2048,1456,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The odd-looking Centaurus A galaxy is revealed in incredible detail in this new image","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25066"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25066"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26426,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25066\/revisions\/26426"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}