Nascent Characteristics of the Cosmos

How Do You Fit into the Cosmic Scheme of Things?

1. The Cosmos is ethical.

2. The Cosmic Elements are altruistic.

The Cosmos Supports Life

Star Formation in Henize 206

Within the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a nearby and irregularly-shaped galaxy seen in the Southern Hemisphere, lies a star-forming region heavily obscured by interstellar dust. NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has used its infrared eyes to poke through the cosmic veil to reveal a striking nebula where the entire lifecycle of stars is seen in splendid detail.

The LMC is a small satellite galaxy gravitationally bound to our own Milky Way. Yet the gravitational effects are tearing the companion to shreds in a long-playing drama of ‘intergalactic cannibalism.’ These disruptions lead to a recurring cycle of star birth and star death. (Source)

Image Details

Object Name: Henize 206
Object Type: Star formation region in an emission nebula
Position (J2000): RA: 05h31m15.2s Dec: -71d03m58s
Distance: 163,000 light-years (50 kiloparsecs)
Constellation: Dorado (the Dolphinfish)

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/V. Gorjian (JPL)

The Structure of Cosmos is Altruistic

Spiral galaxy M51 [“Whirlpool Galaxy”]

NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has captured these infrared images of the “Whirlpool Galaxy,” revealing strange structures bridging the gaps between the dust-rich spiral arms, and tracing the dust, gas and stellar populations in both the bright spiral galaxy and its companion.  (Source)

Image Details

Object Name: Messier 51
Object Type: Galaxy Pair
Position (J2000): RA: 13h29m55.7s Dec: +47d13m53s
Distance: 37,000,000 light-years or 11 Mpc
Magnitude: 8.4
Constellation: Canes Venatici

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Kennicutt (Univ. of Arizona)

Nature and You

A Place in the Cosmos

The time has come for humanity, you, to consider a fundamental issue about your place within the cosmos. Can you answer the following questions?

• How important is your role to the cosmos?
• Do you have a role to play?
• Can nature do without you?
• How do you make your role indispensable?

Violent death of an old sun-like star!

Dusty Eye of the Helix Nebula [NGC 7293] Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/K. Su (Univ. of Ariz.)

An infrared image of the Helix nebula, a cosmic starlet known for its vivid colors and eerie resemblance to a giant eye. The nebula, located about 700 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius, belongs to a class of objects called planetary nebulae—the carcasses of deceased sun-like stars.

When sun-like stars die, they blow out their outer gaseous layers. The layers are heated by the hot core of the dead star, called a white dwarf, and shine with infrared and visible colors. (Source: Spitzer Space Telescope )

NEW Stars Are Born!

N90 is one of the star-forming regions in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The rich populations of infant stars found here are formed in an environment that is very different from the Milky Way Galaxy. Image taken buy the Hubble Space Telescope. (ESA/NASA)