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Noirlab

All articles tagged with #noirlab

Cosmic Atlas: 5.6-Trillion-Pixel Map Reveals 4 Billion Objects Across Most of the Sky
space14 days ago

Cosmic Atlas: 5.6-Trillion-Pixel Map Reveals 4 Billion Objects Across Most of the Sky

Astronomers using the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys have released the largest 2D map of the universe to date — a 5.6‑trillion‑pixel panorama spanning roughly three‑quarters of the sky and detailing nearly four billion celestial objects. Built from more than 263,000 telescope exposures over a decade and covering visible to near‑infrared wavelengths, the map provides the 2D foundation for DESI’s much larger 3D cosmic map and will aid dark‑energy studies, galaxy evolution research, and training AI systems for future observatories.

via Space|
#astronomy#cosmology#dark-energy
Streaking Meteor Dazzles Sky Over Kitt Peak Observatory
space2 months ago

Streaking Meteor Dazzles Sky Over Kitt Peak Observatory

A meteor blaze lit up the night above Arizona’s Kitt Peak National Observatory, captured by Petr Horálek, NOIRLab Audiovisual Ambassador. The image frames the WIYN telescope domes and nearby constellations (Orion and Canis Major), illustrating how rare and difficult it is to photograph a meteor in motion and highlighting the observatory’s place on Tohono O’odham Nation land as part of NOIRLab.

via Space|
#astrophotography#kitt-peak#meteor
Sombrero Galaxy reveals enormous diffuse halo in new deep-sky image
science3 months ago

Sombrero Galaxy reveals enormous diffuse halo in new deep-sky image

Astronomers using the 570-megapixel Dark Energy Camera in Chile captured a vast, diffuse halo around the Sombrero Galaxy (M104), extending far beyond its dusty disk and revealing a faint stellar stream that suggests past interactions with a smaller satellite galaxy. The image showcases both the bright central bulge and the faint outer structures in one frame, thanks to the camera’s sensitivity to extremely faint light.

via Yahoo|
#dark-energy-camera#halo#m104
Sombrero Galaxy reveals a colossal halo and faint stellar stream in a new deep-sky image
space3 months ago

Sombrero Galaxy reveals a colossal halo and faint stellar stream in a new deep-sky image

A new 570-megapixel image from the Dark Energy Camera at Cerro Tololo reveals an enormous, diffuse halo around the Sombrero Galaxy (M104) that extends beyond the bright disk by more than three times, plus a faint stellar stream suggesting past interactions with a smaller satellite. The image also sharpens the central bulge and dust lanes, highlighting star formation regions and the galaxy’s distinctive hat-like shape, thanks to NOIRLab’s deep-sky imaging capabilities, building on recent JWST mid-infrared observations.

via Live Science|
#dark-energy-camera#halo#m104
Cosmic Hat on Display: The Sombrero Galaxy Revealed
space3 months ago

Cosmic Hat on Display: The Sombrero Galaxy Revealed

Space.com spotlights Messier 104, the Sombrero Galaxy, a spiral galaxy about 28 million light-years away in Virgo whose distinctive wide, hat-like disk earns it its nickname. The image was captured with the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Blanco 4-meter telescope at Cerro Tololo, part of NOIRLab, and the galaxy hosts roughly 2,000 globular clusters. It’s too faint to see with the naked eye, though binoculars or a small telescope reveal its silhouette. This piece marks Space photo of the day for April 29, 2026.

via Space|
#astronomy#decam#messier-104
Four-Hour Ground-Based Shot Reveals Neighboring Galaxy in Unprecedented Detail
science3 months ago

Four-Hour Ground-Based Shot Reveals Neighboring Galaxy in Unprecedented Detail

A ground-based image of the Small Magellanic Cloud captured from Cerro Pachón, Chile by Petr Horálek using a standard camera with a wide-aperture telephoto lens over four hours shows telescope-like detail, including intricate star fields and dust structures, underscoring how optimal conditions can make Earth-based imaging competitive with space telescopes and highlighting NOIRLab’s outreach through public-facing astrophotography.

via The Daily Galaxy|
#astrophotography#ground-based-imaging#noirlab
Ground-based shot captures dazzling view of the Small Magellanic Cloud
space3 months ago

Ground-based shot captures dazzling view of the Small Magellanic Cloud

A ground-based image taken from Cerro Pachón, Chile, captures the Small Magellanic Cloud—a dwarf galaxy containing hundreds of millions of stars about 200,000 light-years from Earth—with a wide-aperture telephoto lens in a four‑hour exposure; the result, taken by NOIRLab ambassador Petr Horálek, looks like a image from a space telescope but was photographed on the ground, highlighting the SMC’s visibility to the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere.

via Space|
#astronomy#astrophotography#cerro-pachon
Ultra‑High‑Res Portrait: Sombrero Galaxy Revealed by 570‑MP Camera
space4 months ago

Ultra‑High‑Res Portrait: Sombrero Galaxy Revealed by 570‑MP Camera

The NSF’s 570‑megapixel Dark Energy Camera on the Victor M. Blanco 4‑meter telescope in Chile captured an ultra‑high‑resolution image of Messier 104 (the Sombrero Galaxy), detailing its dusty disk, extensive halo, thousands of globular clusters, and a tidal stellar stream that hints at a past merger, enabling deeper study of its structure and star formation.

via PetaPixel|
#astronomical-imaging#dark-energy-camera#messier104
Constante de Hubble medida con precisión récord de ~1% aviva la posibilidad de nueva física
science4 months ago

Constante de Hubble medida con precisión récord de ~1% aviva la posibilidad de nueva física

Un esfuerzo internacional reporta la medición directa más precisa de la tasa de expansión local: la constante de Hubble es 73.50 ± 0.81 km/s/Mpc (~1%), resultado de la red de distancias locales (H0DN) que combina diversas técnicas y datos de NOIRLab (CTIO y KPNO). Este hallazgo refuerza la tensión con las predicciones del Universo temprano, lo que podría indicar nueva física más allá del modelo cosmológico estándar.

via NOIRLab|
#cepheids#h0-tension#hubble-constant
Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) fractures in the Sun’s glare, captured by Gemini North
space6 months ago

Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) fractures in the Sun’s glare, captured by Gemini North

Discovered in May 2025 by ATLAS, Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) was photographed by the Gemini North telescope breaking apart as it emerged from behind the Sun in Oct 2025. By early November its nucleus had fragmented into at least three pieces, a fate not uncommon for sun‑baked comets. The event, part of Live Science’s Space Photo of the Week coverage, underscores the volatile survival of comets near perihelion and foreshadows another sungrazer, 3I/ATLAS MAPS, potentially facing a similar solar encounter.

via Live Science|
#comet-c2025-k1-atlas#gemini-north#noirlab
Cyberattack Forces Shutdown of Top Astronomical Observatories
science-and-technology3 years ago

Cyberattack Forces Shutdown of Top Astronomical Observatories

The International Gemini Observatory, a key player in global astronomical research, has temporarily suspended operations following a cyberattack. The Gemini North and South Telescopes, along with the Gemini.edu website, have been taken offline as a precaution. The National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab), backed by the National Science Foundation, is working to restore normal operations and investigate the cyberattack. The culprits and their motives remain unknown, but previous cyberattacks on astronomical observatories and NASA have highlighted the need for enhanced cybersecurity in the space sector.

via Gizmodo|
#astronomical-observatories#cyberattack#gemini-observatory
"World's Top Telescopes Paralyzed by Hackers"
cybersecurity3 years ago

"World's Top Telescopes Paralyzed by Hackers"

Hackers have targeted two of the world's most advanced telescopes, the Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii and Gemini South Telescope in Chile, along with other telescopes on Cerro Tololo in Chile, causing temporary shutdowns. The National Science Foundation's National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab) is working with cybersecurity experts to investigate the cyberattacks and restore operations. The nature and origin of the attacks remain unclear. The incident occurred shortly before the United States National Counterintelligence and Security Center issued a bulletin warning about the threat of cyberattacks and espionage targeting American space companies and research organizations. This is not the first time astronomical observatories have been targeted, with previous attacks on the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and NASA.

via Space.com|
#astronomical-observatories#cyberattacks#cybersecurity