Despite our growing oeuvre of knowledge regarding the mysteries of the universe, a peek into outer space continues to reveal yet more ethereal and previously unseen sights.
A recent such sight was seen when space research agency NASA shared an image of the volatile Fireworks Galaxy, which is known to have frequent supernovae.
The image was captured using NASA's Hubble Telescope and shared on the official handle of Hubble Telescope on Friday with the hashtag #HubbleFriday.
It also contained a post detailing the exploits of the mysterious and majestic Fireworks Galaxy. "In the last century alone, the Fireworks Galaxy (or NGC 6946) has experienced 10 observed supernovae. For context, our Milky Way Galaxy averages just one to two supernova events per century!"
NASA further added that the Fireworks Galaxy was located 25.2 million light-years away from Earth, and was situated "along the border of the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus".
The image has been going viral on social media ever since being posted on the photo-sharing site with many expressing their amazement at the sight of the faraway galaxy.
The image is just one of the many hundreds of breathtaking photos of celestial objects that the Hubble telescope has collected from remote corners of the universe. Last year in December, as Hubble turned 30-years-old, NASA released 30 previously unseen images of beautiful celestial objects showing stunning cosmic sights from the Caldwell Catalog inspired by the Messier Catalog. The newly released images include a collection of 50 Hubble captures featuring 30 objects which are bright enough to be observed by amateur astronomers across the world.
Hubble turned 30 this year, and it has a birthday present to share with you! 🎁Newly released Hubble images of 30 celestial objects from the Caldwell Catalog show stunning cosmic sights. In this video, explore some of these amazing images with experts! https://t.co/ppRoPBgSfs
— Hubble (@NASAHubble) December 12, 2020
The Caldwell Catalog is an astronomical catalogue comprising 109-star clusters, nebulae and galaxies. Some objects, part of Caldwell, feature in more than one new capture that was taken by the Hubble telescope throughout its career. They were additionally used by scientists for engineering tests or research. Nonetheless, it is the first time that NASA treated the images for public release to honour Hubble's 30th anniversary year.
Even more recently, a spectacular image of the 'Molten Ring' (GAL-CLUS-022058s), taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope went viral. According to ESA, the Molten Ring, located in the southern hemisphere constellation of Fornax (also known as the 'Furnace'), is the largest and one of the most complete Einstein rings ever discovered in our universe. The “Molten Ring” is part of Einstein’s ring which is being studied by astronomers.