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Decoding Nebulae

We can agree that nebulae are some of the most majestic-looking objects in the universe. But what are they exactly? Nebulae are giant clouds of gas and dust in space. They’re commonly associated with two parts of the life cycle of stars: First, they can be nurseries forming new baby stars. Second, expanding clouds of gas and dust can mark where stars have died.

Not all nebulae are alike, and their different appearances tell us what's happening around them. Since not all nebulae emit light of their own, there are different ways that the clouds of gas and dust reveal themselves. Some nebulae scatter the light of stars hiding in or near them. These are called reflection nebulae and are a bit like seeing a street lamp illuminate the fog around it.

In another type, called emission nebulae, stars heat up the clouds of gas, whose chemicals respond by glowing in different colors. Think of it like a neon sign hanging in a shop window!

Finally there are nebulae with dust so thick that we’re unable to see the visible light from young stars shine through it. These are called dark nebulae.

Our missions help us see nebulae and identify the different elements that oftentimes light them up.

The Hubble Space Telescope is able to observe the cosmos in multiple wavelengths of light, ranging from ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared. Hubble peered at the iconic Eagle Nebula in visible and infrared light, revealing these grand spires of dust and countless stars within and around them.

The Chandra X-ray Observatory studies the universe in X-ray light! The spacecraft is helping scientists see features within nebulae that might otherwise be hidden by gas and dust when viewed in longer wavelengths like visible and infrared light. In the Crab Nebula, Chandra sees high-energy X-rays from a pulsar (a type of rapidly spinning neutron star, which is the crushed, city-sized core of a star that exploded as a supernova).

The James Webb Space Telescope will primarily observe the infrared universe. With Webb, scientists will peer deep into clouds of dust and gas to study how stars and planetary systems form.

The Spitzer Space Telescope studied the cosmos for over 16 years before retiring in 2020. With the help of its detectors, Spitzer revealed unknown materials hiding in nebulae — like oddly-shaped molecules and soot-like materials, which were found in the California Nebula.

Studying nebulae helps scientists understand the life cycle of stars. Did you know our Sun got its start in a stellar nursery? Over 4.5 billion years ago, some gas and dust in a nebula clumped together due to gravity, and a baby Sun was born. The process to form a baby star itself can take a million years or more!

After billions more years, our Sun will eventually puff into a huge red giant star before leaving behind a beautiful planetary nebula (so-called because astronomers looking through early telescopes thought they resembled planets), along with a small, dense object called a white dwarf that will cool down very slowly. In fact, we don’t think the universe is old enough yet for any white dwarfs to have cooled down completely.

Since the Sun will live so much longer than us, scientists can't observe its whole life cycle directly ... but they can study tons of other stars and nebulae at different phases of their lives and draw conclusions about where our Sun came from and where it's headed. While studying nebulae, we’re seeing the past, present, and future of our Sun and trillions of others like it in the cosmos.

To keep up with the most recent cosmic news, follow NASA Universe on Twitter and Facebook.

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I am exhausted. Ask me questions and the next ten will be answered with the full truth.

~Sasha

I just saw this ad and holy fuck. If you are prone to epilepsy or flashing light triggered migraines if you see the top of THIS ad -

[image of cropped tumblr ad. Text reads ‘sponsored by WordAds. 5 Unique and Awesome Lightsabers. Not all lightsabers are created equal.]

Do NOT pass go. Do not try to scroll past. It is LONG and consists of a single incredibly stretched gif of random moving and flashing lights without distinct colours. It is seems as if it was DESIGNED to tigger flashing light sensitive issues.

Anyway, fuck this ad & pass on the warning to any who see it.

Ahhh, sitting in front of the television and getting Razputin and Milla to watch Dinner For One with me. Good times. (James still gets me after all those years.)

So, I decided to search for my name after a little bird (Razputin) told me that there is a lot of content about the Psychonauts to be found. I have not scrolled far but I feel very honored. (I also appreciate the fact that you drew me as an anxious mess, it really is my constant state of emotion. /hj)

I really enjoy the art!

some psychonauts sketches I meant to post early dec

DRAGON ATTACK!!!!!!

Introduction

Hello. My name is Sasha Nein or, if you want, Sasha Otto Nein, and I work for the Psychonauts. That means I am a psychic agent, stationed in the United States of America to be exact. My pronouns are he/him and they/them as I consider myself a masculine aligned agender person. (Pronouns, of course, do not equal gender but these are the ones I chose for myself.) I was born in Germany and lived there for 15 years, then I immigrated to America for reasons too heavy to talk about in this post. (Please do not mention my accent if talking to me, it makes me self-conscious.)

I am diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, often abbreviated to ASD, dyspraxia, extreme photosensitivity, short-sightedness and an (extremely annoying) tinnitus.

I am an avid enjoyer of classical music and have a special interest in space. You may tag me in posts including these (especially space and extra terrestrial life forms.)

I also am biromantic and asexual. Sexual posts and analogies make me extremely uncomfortable, please make sure to tag them properly. Other things I ask you to tag properly: Sexual abuse, abuse in general, child neglect, parent death, ableism, yelling, homophobia/transphobia including talk about misgendering, bright colours, and flashing gifs

You may ask me about everything but please be aware that I will ignore your ask if it makes me uncomfortable.

Stay safe out there, children. -Sasha Nein [He/They]