Lighting up a Dead Star's Layers
The Light and Dark Sides of a Distant Planet
Fire and Ice Planet (Artist Concept) Movie without DataMovie with DataThis artist's animation shows a blistering world revolving around its nearby "sun." NASA's infrared Spitzer Space Telescope observed a planetary system like this one, as the planet's sunlit and dark hemispheres swung alternately into the telescope's view. Based on the rise and fall of the planet's infrared light, or heat, Spitzer was able to measure the difference in temperature between the two sides of the planet -- about 1,400 degrees Celsius (2,550 degrees Fahrenheit). According to the astronomers, this means that the sunlit side of the planet is always as hot as fire, while the dark side is potentially as cold as ice. The movie illustrates what the system might looks like to infrared eyes. It begins by showing an overhead view of the star Upsilon Andromedae and its planet Upsilon Andromedae b, the closest of three planets orbiting the star and the object of the Spitzer study. This planet whips around its star in 4.6 days. The animation then shifts to show Spitzer's view of the system. The planet is shown with winds that circulate quickly around the surface, though astronomers believe the planet is "tidally locked." Our moon is similarly locked to Earth, always showing us the same face. Spitzer measured the infrared light,coming from both the star and the planet at five points during the planet's orbit. The temperature levels went and up and down depending on which face of the planet, sunlit or dark, was in Spitzer's line of sight. The actual data collected by Spitzer are displayed over the animation (see Movie with Data). The difference between the peak and trough of the orange curve represents the difference in temperature across the surface of the planet. These results indicate that, even if strong winds blow across this planet, its sun-baked atmosphere will cool off before reaching the planet's dark side. View all Images
Mission: Spitzer Space TelescopeSpacecraft: Spitzer Space TelescopeViews: 5,802
Astronomers have made the most detailed study yet of an extremely massive young galaxy cluster using three of NASA's Great Observatories. This rare galaxy cluster, located 10 billion light-years from Earth, is almost as massive as 500 trillion suns.
Galaxy Cluster IDCS J1426
The discovery of likely Eta Carinae 'twins' in other galaxies will help scientists better understand this brief phase in the life of a massive star with images such as this from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.
WFPC2 Image of the Variable Star Eta Carinae
Researchers found likely twins of the giant, erupting star Eta Carinae by comparing infrared images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (top) and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.
A Full Panel of Twins