From glorious galaxies to spectacular supernova explosions, outer space is filled with some truly incredible wonders. Thanks to the book, Deep Space by Robert Harvey, you can sit back and marvel at these stunning images that capture the beauty of our universe and learn about the science behind them too.
Named after the Northern Hemisphere constellation where it’s located, the Andromeda Galaxy (or M31) is the largest member of our Local Group of galaxies. As a barred spiral galaxy similar to the Milky Way, it has a central bar shaped structure made of stars. The Andromeda Galaxy is estimated to contain a whopping one trillion stars, which is at least double the number of stars of the Milky Way.
Nebulae are giant clouds made of dust and gasses such as hydrogen and helium, and are found in space between the stars. This Crescent Nebula, or NGC 6888 to give it its scientific name, was formed around 300,000 years ago, and is a shell of gas and light that looks a lot like a brain. The nebula was created from gas that was ejected by a Wolf-Rayet star (a huge star that has a final burst of activity before it dies) at its centre after it became a red giant star. The star continues to shed its outer layers, burning fuel at a staggering rate and is likely to end its life as a spectacular supernova explosion.
Although pretty faint at 1,800 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Cygnus, the North America Nebula makes up for it in its sheer size. Its distinct shape was formed by a band of interstellar dust absorbing light from parts of the nebula. This light absorption resulted in the dark patch in the middle of the nebula that looks a little like the Gulf of Mexico. On the left, the red area includes the Cygnus Wall, home to the most concentrated regions of star formation in the nebula.
Situated in the constellation Scorpius, the Butterfly (or Bug) Nebula has one of the most complex structures ever seen in a planetary nebula. At the core, there’s a white dwarf star, with a mass of roughly two thirds of the Sun, compressed to the size of a small planet. With a surface temperature measuring a sweltering 250,000°C (450,032°F) the Butterfly Nebula is one of the hottest known stars in the galaxy.
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Around 15 million light-years away from Earth is the breathtaking barred spiral galaxy known as the Southern Pinwheel (or M83). Located in the constellation Hydra, it lies in the middle of one of the closest groups of galaxies to our own. With an estimated magnitude of 7.5 (a scale of brightness: the lower the number the brighter the object), the Southern Pinwheel is one of the brightest spiral galaxies of the night sky.
Named after the 17th century astronomer Johannes Kepler, this incredible star occurred around 20,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Ophiuchus. In 1604, sky-watchers were stunned by the appearance of the bright new star, which was visible for roughly a year. At its peak, Kepler had a magnitude of -2.5 and could be seen in daylight. This dramatic image was taken in 2004 by the Hubble Space Telescope, showing the remains of the supernova’s explosion four centuries later.
Pictured here is the black hole at the heart of our Milky Way. Shrouded from our view by a mass of densely packed dust, stars and gas, the vast black hole has an estimated mass of around four million times bigger than our Sun.
Captured here by the Hubble Space Telescope, the Carina Nebula is one of the largest diffuse nebulae (clouds of interstellar matter but without defined boundaries) in our skies. Roughly 7,500 light-years from Earth, the nebula is home to several young star clusters, many that were formed within the last million years. Alongside its stars, the Carina Nebula contains a dramatic pillar of dust and gas known as Mystic Mountain, which can be seen on the right.
Located within the constellation Perseus around 950 light-years away, the LRLL 54361 is thought to be only a few hundred thousand years old, making it a binary protostar. With its young age, the star helps provide an insight into the early stages of star formation, when large masses of dust and gas are built up by growing stars.
Estimated to be between 1,780 and 3,000 light-years away from Earth within the constellation Musca, NGC 5189, as it’s also known, is a pretty spiral planetary nebula. Its intricate ‘S’ shape was caused by two central stars creating two dense low-ionisation regions within the nebula which move apart alongside symmetrical knots of gas.
Pictured here are the Magellanic Clouds, which are two dwarf galaxies just outside of the Milky Way. Visible to the naked eye, it's thought that Indigenous people from Africa and South America have known of the galaxies since ancient times. Measuring the size of roughly 10 billion solar masses, the Large Magellanic Cloud on the right is the fourth-largest galaxy in the Local Group. On the left, the Small Magellanic Cloud is a dwarf irregular galaxy with a total mass of seven billion solar masses.
Over 150-light-years away, this stunning swirl of dust and gas is situated in the satellite galaxy orbiting our own, known as the Large Magellanic Cloud. Forming huge young stars from its molecular clouds, their strong stellar winds and vibrant radiation have shaped the dust and gas of the nebula, resulting in Papillon’s glorious glow.
Resembling an under-the-sea scene, these spectacular giant red and blue nebulae are part of a huge star-forming region also within the Large Magellanic Cloud. In the heart of the Cosmic Reef lies a group of big sparkling stars, which measure up to 20 times bigger than our Sun. On the right, these bubble-like shapes were formed by strong winds from charged particles blasting away low-density gas. These young stars are searing with ultraviolet radiation as they illuminate the sky.
The Large Magellanic Cloud is also home to an emission nebula called the N44 Superbubble. Characterised by its superbubble structure, N44 is shaped by the radiation pressure of a cluster of gleaming blue stars near its centre. The stellar wind of the stars is thought to have created a large dark hole in the gas visible on the left of the image.
Nicknamed the ‘Witch Head Nebula’ for its resemblance to an evil fairy tale creature, the IC 2118 can be found in the constellation of Orion. Known as an extremely faint reflection nebula, its luminous glow is caused by light reflected from Rigel, a supergiant star that is close by.
Possibly the brightest stellar event on record, the spectacular supernova pictured here first made an appearance in 1006 in the constellation Lupus. When first described by observers, the supernova was thought to be a lucky sign or a bad omen for plague and famine. With an estimated visible magnitude of -7.5, the supernova’s cosmic explosion was roughly 16 times the brightness of Venus.
Situated in the constellation Cygnus this beautiful image is of the Veil Nebula, a cloud of heated ionised gas and dust from the remains of a supernova. Exploding around 21,000 years ago, the star was 20 times bigger than the Sun. Since then, the Veil Nebula’s remains have expanded across a vast area approximately 36 times that of the full Moon.
Originally several times larger than the mass of our Sun, the Ring Nebula (or M57) has become a Sun-like or white dwarf star with a blistering temperature of over 100,000°C (180,032°F). Although small, the nebula emits hundreds of times more radiation than the Sun. This radiation causes the beautiful rainbow of colours of the ionising gas in the surrounding nebula shown in this image.
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This incredible cosmic bubble was created by a huge explosion around 300,000 years ago. Known as a Wolf-Rayet, the Bubble Nebula or NGC 7635 is rapidly getting rid of its fuel before it becomes a supernova. Radiation from the nebula’s central star has caused the gas to ionise, causing its vibrant glow.
This pretty picture shows the remains of an unstable star that dramatically exploded as a supernova around 600 years ago. Also located within the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Supernova Remnant E0519-69.0 is thought to have been a white dwarf star in the final few moments of its life.
This infrared image taken by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope captures the cluster of stars around the Galactic Centre of our Milky Way. The blue haze comes from stars while the green patches are carbon-rich dust molecules lit up by starlight as they twist around our galaxy’s core. The yellow and reds from the thermal glow of warm dust, together with the blues and greens, create this beautiful mix of colours.
Another photo from the Hubble Space Telescope, the iconic Pinwheel Galaxy is considered one of the best known examples of a ‘grand design spiral’ galaxy. This image of the galaxy is known as one of the biggest and most incredibly intricate pictures of a spiral galaxy ever taken with the telescope.
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With its unusual shape, the Horsehead Nebula is one of the most recognised nebulae in the sky. Its red tones come from ionised hydrogen beyond the cloud while the horse head shape is an area of thick dust blocking out light from the stars, called an absorption nebula. The bright spots just below are young stars beginning to form.
Famed for its magnificent shape, the Heart Nebula stretches over 260 light-years across and covers an area of sky that is 16 times that of the full Moon. Located in the constellation Cassiopeia, the nebula looks similar to the cross-section of a human heart and is made up of ionised hydrogen and free electrons. The small cluster of stars, which can be seen near the middle is what causes the ionisation, resulting in the nebula’s pinkish-red colour.
This image shows a small section of M78, a reflection nebula situated in the constellation Orion. Roughly 1,600 light-years away from Earth, the mystic cloud of interstellar dust contains a cluster of stars that can be seen in the infrared.
Stretching across an area of sky nearly 10 times more than the full Moon, this colossal cloud of gas and dust is located in the constellation Monoceros. Home to a plethora of stars, a crowd of new bright stars can be found in Rosette’s centre, whose stellar winds created a hollow in the nebula. The dark strands in the photo named Bok Globules are also where active star formation takes place.
Within the constellation Taurus, this breathtaking picture shows the remains of the Crab Nebula supernova. First recorded by astronomers as a ‘guest star’ in 1054, when the supernova exploded it was brighter than any other objects in the sky except the Sun and Moon. The nebula contains a powerful magnetic field that pulses radiation as it rotates called a pulsar. With its luminous glow, the Crab Nebula is one of the brightest persistent gamma-ray sources in the sky.
First discovered in 2015 by the Kepler Space Telescope 124 light-years from Earth, this image is an artist’s impression of the Exoplanet K2-18b orbiting a red dwarf. With a 33-day orbit within the exoplanet’s habitable region, it is possible that liquid may actually exist on its surface. Analysis has found significant amounts of water vapour within the exoplanet’s atmosphere.
All images were taken with permission from the book Deep Space by Robert Harvey published by Amber Books and is available via Amazon.