There comes a time in any star's life when it has to move out from its childhood home. This is part of the Tarantula Nebula, a stellar nursery. As the stars reach maturity, their stellar winds will push the remaining gas of the nebula away, leaving behind an open star cluster. (1/3) #Astronomy ⚛️🧪🛰️

On Mercury, you'd get celebrate your birthday not once, but twice a day, every day! A solar day (from noon to noon) is longer than a year (one lap around the Sun) on Mercury. One day there lasts 176 Earth days, while one Mercurian year is exactly half as much at 88 Earth days. (1/3) #Astronomy ⚛️🧪🛰️

The objects featured here are HH49 and HH50, as captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. HH stands for Herbig–Haro object, which is a type of nebula formed when narrow jets of gas are created from newborn stars colliding with the nearby gas clouds they formed out of. #Astronomy ⚛️🧪🛰️

Looks like I posted too soon. After experiencing problems in the wet dress rehearsal, including a fuel leak, NASA has delayed the launch date. They are now aiming for the March 6-11 launch window at the earliest. 🔭🧪🛰️ Here's an article from Space.com about the delay: www.space.com/space-explor...

We're potentially mere days away from the launch of Artemis II. As early as February 8, a crew of four could be on their way towards the Moon. In my newest article, I break down the historic mission and its timeline of events. Read it here: www.amidthestarstours.com/post/shoot-f... #ArtemisII 🔭🧪🛰️

We've all seen the grand spiral structures of galaxies, but have you ever seen the finer structure within? Usually, the interstellar dust that creates this form is invisible, but the James Webb Space Telescope is equipped to reveal the hidden detail using its infrared imaging. (1/3) #Astronomy ⚛️🧪

Space has a smell. When astronauts return from a spacewalk, they often report a distinct smell that lingers in their airlock from exposure to the vacuum of space. It's something like the aroma of a seared steak. (1/3) #Astronomy ⚛️🧪

This is an up-close photo of Saturn's rings, but it also shows so much more. Those two little dots are actually the Earth and Moon as seen from over 1.4 billion kilometers away by the Cassini spacecraft. Everything you know and love is on that dot. #Astronomy ⚛️🧪

We search for worlds beyond our own. We've found over 6,000 exoplanets in the past 30 years. We hunt with methods of all kinds. In my recent article, I break down exoplanets and the strategies used to find them. Read it here: www.amidthestarstours.com/post/planet-... #Astronomy #Exoplanets ⚛️🧪

It might rain diamonds on Uranus and Neptune. It's hypothetically possible for diamonds to form thousands of miles deep in the atmospheres of the planets, causing them to rain down on the lower layers. #Astronomy #PlanetaryScience ⚛️🧪

NGC 6357, known as the Lobster Nebula, is a diffuse nebula over 1,000 light-years across. This image is actually a composite of three different spectrums. The blue is visible light, the orange is infrared, and the pink is X-ray. #Astronomy ⚛️🧪