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Saturday 26 September 2015

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S BEST SPACE PICTURES THIS WEEK LXXIX


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Week's Best Space Pictures: The Veil Nebula Shimmers
By Jane J. Lee,
National Geographic News, 25 September 2015.

Feed your need for heavenly views of the universe every Friday with our picks of the most awe-inspiring space pictures. This week, ribbons of water trail between islands, and two of Saturn's moons play coy.

1. A Beautiful Death

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The Veil Nebula is the lingering result of a supernova that exploded about 8,000 years ago. The ripples and veins of colour arise when the explosion's shock wave collides with cooler, denser pockets of gas in space.

2. Peekaboo

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Two of Saturn's moons - Prometheus (centre, near top of rings) and Pandora (right) - are barely visible above the planet's F ring in this Cassini image. The moons orbit alongside the ring, making them hard to spot.

3. Ribbons

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Streaks of blue wend their way between small islands in the Bahamas. An astronaut on board the International Space Station took a picture of these tidal channels - from space, they're one of the most recognizable spots on Earth.

4. Burn Scars

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A false-colour composite image of northern California's Valley Fire shows areas scorched by the fast-moving blaze. Recently burned patches show up as an angry red or orange, unburned forest is grey, and buildings are white.

5. Medium

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NGC 1313X-1 is an ultraluminous x-ray source that's now been identified as a new mid-size black hole. It's nestled in a galaxy roughly 14 million light-years away in the southern constellation Reticulum.

[Source: National Geographic News. Edited. Some links added.]

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