Bugs
Glowing Worm
by CritterKeeper on Mar.09, 2010, under Bugs
J. Morse/STScI, and NASA
A three trillion mile-long jet called HH-47 resembles a glowing worm in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image. Jets are common around newly formed stars. They are the exhaust product of the chaotic formation of the star.
Martian Millipedes
by CritterKeeper on Mar.02, 2010, under Bugs
NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Sand dunes resembling millipedes march across Mars in this image from the HiRISE camera aboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Chaotic Butterfly
by CritterKeeper on Feb.23, 2010, under Bugs
Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Chaos reigns in the center of this butterfly-shaped nebula in the constellation Puppis. NGC 2440 is a planetary nebula and is the remains of a star like our Sun. The complex structure within the center of this nebula suggest to astronomers that the star has ejected material periodically in various directions.
Starry Bug
by CritterKeeper on Feb.03, 2010, under Bugs
Credit: NASA & ESA
Floating like a bug under a microscope, I Zwicky 18 is an odd-looking galaxy. Astronomers previously thought this peculiar galaxy was very young because it resembles galaxies typically found in the early universe. But images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope show older stars within the galaxy leading scientists to update their ideas. They now believe I Zwicky 18 was born about the same time as the Milky Way Galaxy and the Andromeda Galaxy.
Galaxian Dragonfly
by CritterKeeper on Jan.27, 2010, under Bugs
Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)
This galaxian dragonfly, wings folded, rests deep in space. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope clearly shows a pair of merging, edge-on galaxies called NGC 6670. Astronomers believe the two galaxies have already had one close encounter with each other and are making a second pass. The galaxies are just 50,000 light years apart. For comparison, our Milky Way Galaxy is 100,000 light-years wide and the nearest large galaxy to it is the Andromeda Galaxy at two million light-years away.
Black Widow
by CritterKeeper on Jan.18, 2010, under Bugs
Credit: NASA/JPL–Caltech/E. Churchwell (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and the GLIMPSE Team
A cosmic spider-shaped nebula hides in a dark corner of space. Astronomers looking toward the constellation Circinus with earth-based telescopes saw only a fuzzy, hourglass-shaped patch of light. But when they turned the dust-piercing, infrared light gathering NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope at this spot in the sky, they discovered a nebula blooming with clusters of massive young stars. Astronomers called it the “Black Widow Nebula.”
Smoky Worm
by CritterKeeper on Jan.13, 2010, under Bugs
Credit: NASA & ESA
This wispy smoke-like cloud of gas flies through space in this image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
Praying Mantis in the Cloud
by CritterKeeper on Jan.08, 2010, under Bugs
Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
The dark silhouette of a mantis stands out in this cloud of glowing gas. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope reveals details inside the star-producing nebula N81 in the Small Magellanic Cloud.
Small Galactic Caterpillar
by CritterKeeper on Jan.07, 2010, under Bugs
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/STScI
A long tail flows behind this galactic caterpillar. NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope takes a big view of the Small Magellanic Cloud.
Centipede of Mars
by CritterKeeper on Dec.09, 2009, under Bugs
Credit: NASA, JPL, and University of Arizona
Martian winds whip around this rock causing leg-like patterns in the sand.
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Welcome to Starry Critters!
Thanks for dropping by! This site combines incredible imagery from the Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope and other great observatories with the imagination of children. Explore and share the patterns you see in the nebula, galaxies and star clusters.Note to Parents and Educators:
The main focus of the site are the images of space. We believe the explanations are best suited for parents, educators and upper grade students. Parents may find it helpful to view the site with their children and explore the universe together using the explanatory text as a guide. Background text is provided to let you know the real story behind the image. Links, very useful for parents and teachers, include definitions and will take you to other sites for even more detail.
Zoom in and out and pan around the images to find your own patterns in the stars. Be creative and think outside the box.Tell us your stories and let us know what you find! Feel free to join the discussion by leaving comments, and stay updated by subscribing to the RSS feed.
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