NGC 2440: NGC 2440 is another planetary nebula ejected by a dying star, but it has a much more chaotic structure than NGC 2346. The central star of NGC 2440 is one of the hottest known, with a surface temperature near 200,000 degrees Celsius. The complex structure of the surrounding nebula suggests to some astronomers that there have been periodic oppositely directed outflows from the central star, somewhat similar to that in NGC2346, but in the case of NGC 2440 these outflows have been episodic, and in different directions during each episode. The nebula is also rich in clouds of dust, some of which form long, dark streaks pointing away fromthe central star. In addition to the bright nebula, which glows becauseof fluorescence due to ultraviolet radiation from the hot star, NGC 2440 is surrounded by a much larger cloud of cooler gas which is invisible in ordinary light but can be detected with infrared telescopes. NGC 2440 lies about 4,000 light-years from Earth in thedirection of the constellation Puppis. The Hubble Heritage team made this image from observations of NGC 2440acquired by Howard Bond (STScI) and Robin Ciardullo (Penn State).

Name: NGC 2440
Type: Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary
Category: Nebulae
Constellation: Puppis
Distance: 4000 light years
Release date: 7 October 1999, 18:00
Credit: NASA/ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI).

Hubble identifies source of ultraviolet light in an old nebula: Hubble Space Telescope's exquisite resolution has allowed astronomers to resolve, for the first time, hot blue stars deep inside an elliptical galaxy. The swarm of nearly 8, 000 blue stars resembles a blizzard of snowflakes near the core (lower right) of the neighboring galaxy M 32, located 2.5 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda.

Name: Messier 32, NGC 221
Type: Local Universe : Star : Grouping : ClusterLocal Universe : Galaxy : Type : Elliptical
Category: Galaxies
Constellation: Andromeda
Release date: 26 October 1999, 07:00
Credit: NASA/ESA and Thomas M. Brown, Charles W. Bowers, Randy A. Kimble, AllenV. Sweigart (NASA/ESA Goddard Space Flight Center) and Henry C. Ferguson ( Space Telescope Science Institute )

A grazing encounter between two spiral galaxies: In the direction of the constellation Canis Major, two spiral galaxies pass by each other like majestic ships in the night. The near-collision has been caught in images taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and its Wide Field Planetary Camera 2.

Name: IC 2163, NGC 2207
Type: Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting
Category: Galaxies
Constellation: Canis Major
Distance: 110 million light years
Release date: 4 November 1999, 07:00
Credit: NASA/ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI)

The Trifid Nebula: stellar sibling rivalry: Massive newborn stars are creating in this dramatic torn apart image of the Trifid Nebula.The Trifid Nebula is home to many thousands of newly created stars. The source of the jet is a young very hot star buried in the cloud. This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of the Trifid Nebula reveals a stellar nursery being torn apart by radiation from a nearby, massive star. The picture also provides a peek at embryonic stars forming within an ill-fated cloud of dust and gas, which is destined to be eaten away by the glare from the massive neighbor. This stellar activity is a beautiful example of how the life cycles of stars like our Sun is intimately connected with their more powerful siblings.

Name: Messier 20, Trifid Nebula
Type: Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Star Formation
Category: Nebulae
Constellation: Sagittarius
Distance: 9000 light years
Release date: 9 November 1999, 19:00
Credit: NASA/ESA and Jeff Hester (Arizona State University)

Close-up look at a jet near a black hole in galaxy M87 (ground-based view): This radio image of the galaxy M 87, taken with the Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope in February 1989, shows giant bubble-like structures where radio emission is thought to be powered by the jets of subatomic particles coming from the the galaxy's central black hole. The false colour corresponds to the intensity of the radio energy being emitted by the jet. M 87 is located 50 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo.

Name: IRAS 12282+1240, M 87, Messier 87, NGC 4486, Virgo Galaxy
Type: Local Universe : Nebula : Type : Jet
Category: Quasars and Black Holes
Release date: 27 October 1999, 20:00
Credit: National Radio Astronomy Observatory/National Science Foundation

Close-up Look at a Jet near a Black Hole in Galaxy M87 (Hubble WFPC2 View): A visible light image of the giant elliptical galaxy M 87, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 in February 1998, reveals a brilliant jet of high-speed electrons emitted from the nucleus (diagonal line across image). The jet is produced by a 3-billion-solar-mass black hole.

Name: M 87, Messier 87, NGC 4486, Virgo Galaxy
Type: Local Universe : Planet : SatelliteLocal Universe : Galaxy : Size : GiantLocal Universe : Galaxy : Component : Central Black Hole
Category: Quasars and Black Holes
Constellation: Virgo
Distance: 55 million light years
Release date: 27 October 1999, 20:00
Credit: NASA/ESA and John Biretta (STScI/JHU)