Hazy, cloudy, colorful, spellbinding nebulae may be the most beautiful objects in the universe. Under a workaday telescope, they appear hazy, like a cloud. You might exclaim, “What’s this in my way? I am searching for a nebula!” when, in fact, you have already found one.
But with a more powerful instrument—say, a space telescope like Hubble—those dull clouds suddenly pop with intricate detail. Nebulae are some of the Milky Way’s most active star-forming regions. For the youngest and brightest stellar objects, look no further than the Rho Ophiuchi cloud and the Carina Nebula.
Closer to home, the Juno spacecraft is also producing jaw-dropping images, but of Jupiter. The probe orbits the planet every 53 days, revealing new facets of its tempestuous atmosphere with every revolution. Our solar system’s largest member is famous for its bands of high speed winds and storms, including an “anticyclone.”
We all love our youngest and brightest, especially in space. Gaze at the full collection of Wired’s space photos here.
