'Behold - the Best Space Images of 2023' (scientificamerican.com) 5
As the year comes to a close, "one constant, reliable source of awe and beauty is the sky over our head..." writes astronomer Phil Plait in Scientific America
"And every year we see new things, or old things in new ways, and I've been set the wonderful task of selecting my favorites and relaying them and their import to you." End-of-year lists, especially those displaying astronomical imagery, tend to be splashy and colorful. That's understandable, but what they sometimes miss are the more subtle photographs, those that hide momentous discoveries in minor visual details or offer fresh perspectives on familiar objects. They may not leap off the page, but they still have an impact. That's what I've kept in mind while sorting through this year's celestial treasure trove. This gallery is by no means complete, but it shows what I think are some of the most interesting astronomical portraits to have emerged in 2023.
No gallery such as this would be complete without something from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), our newest infrared eye on the sky. This monster observatory has already brought so many small revolutions to astronomy that picking one from the past year is no small task. Should it be a baby star throwing an immense tantrum or a massive old star shedding material at colossal rates before it inevitably explodes as a supernova? Or should it be a map of a mind-stomping 100,000 galaxies?
Well, how about something very, very different — such as the skeletal structure of a nearby galaxy's intricate web of dust [also displayed at the top of Scientiic American's article]...? [I]t has a beautiful spiral structure and shows the effects of a smaller galaxy colliding with it. In the phenomenally sharp and decidedly eerie false-color view from JWST's Mid-Infrared Instrument, we see countless clouds of cosmic dust in a skeletonlike pattern. Each of these clouds is made up of small grains of rocky and sooty carbon-based molecules expelled by dying stars...
Astronomers captured this image to better understand how stars are born in stellar nurseries and how they evolve over time.
"And every year we see new things, or old things in new ways, and I've been set the wonderful task of selecting my favorites and relaying them and their import to you." End-of-year lists, especially those displaying astronomical imagery, tend to be splashy and colorful. That's understandable, but what they sometimes miss are the more subtle photographs, those that hide momentous discoveries in minor visual details or offer fresh perspectives on familiar objects. They may not leap off the page, but they still have an impact. That's what I've kept in mind while sorting through this year's celestial treasure trove. This gallery is by no means complete, but it shows what I think are some of the most interesting astronomical portraits to have emerged in 2023.
No gallery such as this would be complete without something from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), our newest infrared eye on the sky. This monster observatory has already brought so many small revolutions to astronomy that picking one from the past year is no small task. Should it be a baby star throwing an immense tantrum or a massive old star shedding material at colossal rates before it inevitably explodes as a supernova? Or should it be a map of a mind-stomping 100,000 galaxies?
Well, how about something very, very different — such as the skeletal structure of a nearby galaxy's intricate web of dust [also displayed at the top of Scientiic American's article]...? [I]t has a beautiful spiral structure and shows the effects of a smaller galaxy colliding with it. In the phenomenally sharp and decidedly eerie false-color view from JWST's Mid-Infrared Instrument, we see countless clouds of cosmic dust in a skeletonlike pattern. Each of these clouds is made up of small grains of rocky and sooty carbon-based molecules expelled by dying stars...
Astronomers captured this image to better understand how stars are born in stellar nurseries and how they evolve over time.
Well, depends. (Score:2)
one constant, reliable source of awe and beauty is the sky over our head...
Not if you live in a big city, or near one, or if a streak of someone's attempt at "taking over space" flies over your head.
Michael Bay Presents the JWST (Score:2)
Why does no one talk about all of the images from the James Webb Telescope looking like they have astigmatism? Is it really a nicer picture if it has got a million lens flares and lines of light streaking through everything?
Re:Michael Bay Presents the JWST (Score:5, Informative)
Why does no one talk about all of the images from the James Webb Telescope looking like they have astigmatism? Is it really a nicer picture if it has got a million lens flares and lines of light streaking through everything?
If you're referring to the diffraction spikes [wikipedia.org], they're due to how the multi-segment mirror and support struts are made/assembled and, as far as I know, can't be helped.
Where do James Webb’s unique “spikes” come from? [bigthink.com]
Webb’s Diffraction Spikes [webbtelescope.org]
The Hubble telescope had them too, only fewer as it was made/assembled differently.
Insert Elon Musk snark (Score:2)
>> one constant, reliable source of awe and beauty is the sky over our head...
> Not if you live in a big city, or near one, or if a streak of someone's attempt at "taking over space" flies over your head.
City lights would have more effect.
See also this site (Score:1)