Galaxies, nebulae, and the cosmos beyond planets.
Test your knowledge with these top questions!
Which region inside the Triangulum Galaxy is a giant stellar nursery?
NGC 604 is M33's largest star-forming region and one of the Local Group's biggest stellar nurseries.
The Crab Nebula's blue-white glow mostly comes from what process?
Near-light-speed electrons from the Crab Pulsar spiral through magnetic fields, creating the nebula's blue synchrotron glow.
What type of galaxy is the Whirlpool Galaxy?
Astronomers classify the Whirlpool Galaxy as grand-design because its arms stay sharply defined and orderly.
What compact object lies at the center of the Andromeda Galaxy?
Andromeda's central black hole weighs millions of Suns and sits inside the galaxy's dense central bulge.
The Crab Nebula appears in which constellation?
The nebula lies near Zeta Tauri, the bright star marking one of Taurus's horns.
Which famous feature appears in the Eagle Nebula?
The Pillars are dense columns of cold hydrogen gas and dust where new stars can form.
What do the Eagle Nebula's Pillars of Creation help form?
Dense gas inside the pillars collapses under gravity, producing protostars before they ignite.
The Crab Nebula gets energy from what central object?
The Crab Pulsar is a neutron star; rotation drives a high-energy particle wind through the surrounding nebula.
What process occurs in the Sombrero Galaxy's dark dust lane?
Cold gas and dust in the lane provide raw material for forming new stars.
What gives the Sombrero Galaxy its famous hat-like shape?
The bright bulge forms the crown while a dark dust lane forms the brim in our nearly edge-on view.