M77 is a spiral galaxy located about 35 Mly away in the constellation of Cetus.
It is a type II Seyfert galaxy, meaning that is contains an active supermassive black hole in its core. #astronomy
Though identified as a specific type of nebula different from other kinds about 400 years ago by William Herschel, we really didn't know what they were until the 1950s when we worked out they were an end stage of stars like the Sun.
NGC 6765 is a planetary nebula located about 7600 ly away in the constellation of Lyra. #astronomy
This shows that much of the way we see things in space can be a projection effect.
M57, The Ring Nebula, is a planetary nebula located about 2600 ly away in the constellation of Lyra.
Kinematic studies of M57 suggest that it is barrel shaped. It appears as a ring to us because we are looking down the barrel. #astronomy
Our May general meeting (online only via Zoom) has been announced! Check out the link in bio for more information!
WEIGH THE UNIVERSE – WITH YOUR BATHROOM SCALE with Jason Nishiyama (@evilscientistca.bsky.social)
🗓️ Thursday, May 21, 2026 @ 7:30 PM MDT
Just when you think the UCP has hit bottom….
NGC 5866 is a lenticular galaxy located about 50 Mly away in the constellation of Draco.
NGC 5866 is the most likely candidate for M102, a Messier object the location of which is ambiguous. #astronomy
The UCP want to GERRYMANDER the 2027 Alberta election. Their hand-picked commissioners proposed slicing Calgary & Edmonton into rural-urban ‘pizza pie’ ridings to drown out urban voters.
#abpoli
#USDemocracy
#Pinks
open.substack.com/pub/colenotc...
Poilievre is the gift that keeps on giving to the Liberals.
Its blizzard-y out…
Yep!
Welcome to the world of tomorrow! 😉
One of the ways we search for objects in the solar system is to take an image, wait for a period of time, then take another image and see what moved.
This GIF animation shows Pluto on two separate nights. See if you can find it. #astronomy
Ready to meet the cosmic bat? 🦇
Hidden in one of the darkest corners of the Orion constellation, NGC 1788 resembles a bat. This nebula is spreading its hazy "wings" through interstellar space two thousand light-years away.
Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1904/
🔭
M47 is an open cluster located about 1600 ly away in the constellation of Puppis.
When Messier added this object to his list he put the wrong sign on how far it was from the star he used as a reference, causing confusion. #astronomy
NGC 2392 is a planetary nebula located about 6500 ly away in the constellation of Gemini.
It is a star in its death throes. A star between 1 and 6 times the mass of the Sun has used up its nuclear fuel and has blown off it's outer atmosphere. Eventually only a white dwarf will be left. #astronomy
M67 is an open cluster located about 2750 ly away in the constellation of Cancer.
It is a very old cluster, between 3 and 5 billion years old. #astronomy
M84 is an elliptical galaxy located about 55 Mly away in the constellation of Virgo.
Observations suggest that a 1.5 billion solar mass super massive black hole resides in its core. #astronomy
Try being a scientist...
However Trump is apparently devoid of reason. He blusters, then backs down.
TACO Tuesday...
M16 is an emission nebula located about 5700 ly away in the constellation of Serpens.
An active star formation region, M16 contains the "Pillars of Creation", a famous image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. The Pillars are visible at centre. #astronomy
M4 is a globular cluster located about 6000 ly away in the constellation of Scorpius.
It is the closest of our Galaxy's globular clusters to our solar system. #astronomy
A full disc image of Earth, as seen from the Orion Crew Module. The planet is a pale blue, swirling with white clouds and glowing slightly lighter blue in place from reflected light. At lower left, a large brown landmass is Africa, with Spain and Portugal with twinkling lights where the planet curves. At top right, auroras glow in a thin green glow, just barely separated from the planet's surface. Earth is set against the black of space (pic: NASA/R.Wiseman)
More context on this #Artemis II image:
* This is the night side, lit by moonlight. You can see city lights in Spain & Portugal, & a sliver of day at lower right
* The Sun is entirely behind Earth, which makes it a kind of solar eclipse, but w/ Earth doing the eclipsing instead of the Moon:
☀️🌍🚀🌕
Supernova are such energetic events they often outshine their host galaxy.
See if you can spot the supernova that happened in M101 in 2011 in the image on the left. An image of M101 without the supernova is on the right. #astronomy
SNR are important as they allow elements heavier than iron (created in the SN) to be dispersed into the Galaxy.
The Veil nebula is a supernova remnant located about 2400 ly away in the constellation of Cygnus.
It is what is left of a star that exploded in a supernova explosion 10000 to 20000 years ago. #astronomy
Comets are icy messengers from space. Made of ices (mostly water and methane) and dust, the tail develops as the comet approaches the Sun. The Sun's heat melts the ices and the tail is formed by the gas and dust being blown back by the solar wind and by photonic pressure. (C2023A3 shown) #astronomy
The colours of this image are due to it being taking through filters that see only light from oxygen, hydrogen and sulpher.
