NASA Releases Stunning Space Photos To Kick Off The 'International Year Of Light'

The United Nations has declared 2015 the International Year of Light in order to "highlight to the citizens of the world the importance of light and optical technologies in their lives, for their futures, and for the development of society." NASA seems more than eager to help with the effort. It's just released a set of spectacular photos (see below) taken by its Chandra X-Ray Observatory space telescope. "From a distant galaxy to the relatively nearby debris field of an exploded star, these images demonstrate the myriad ways that information about the universe is communicated to us through light," the agency said. When a massive star exploded in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way, it left behind an expanding shell of debris called SNR 0519-69.0. Here, multimillion degree gas is seen in X-rays from Chandra (blue). The outer edge of the explosion (red) and stars in the field of view are seen in visible light from Hubble. (Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Rutgers/J.Hughes; Optical: NASA/STScI) This galaxy, nicknamed the "Whirlpool," is a spiral galaxy, like our Milky Way, located about 30 million light years from Earth. This composite image combines data collected at X-ray wavelengths by Chandra (purple), ultraviolet by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX, blue); visible light by Hubble (green), and infrared by Spitzer (red). (Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; UV: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Optical: NASA/STScI; IR: NASA/JPL-Caltec...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news