Light emitted by astronomical bodies is one of the major clues found in the vast universe. With light, astronomers and astrophysicists can see beyond the stunning brilliance of the celestial bodies found in our galaxy. The Sun is probably one of the most brilliant celestial bodies that we have seen and the nearest to Earth. The Sun emits light in epic proportions and supports life here on Earth. The Sun has a photosphere – a region where the light received [...]

Thanks to Viktor Ambartsumian, a Soviet physicist, who proposed the existence of a protostar. Because of that much is known today about how stars are formed, dispelling unfounded beliefs of their origin.

In the simplest sense, a radio galaxy, as the name connotes, is a galaxy that serves as a strong source of electromagnetic radiation or radio waves. The discovery of radio galaxies provides proof of the ability of the universe to expand contrary to the steady state it was once perceived to be. One of the strong contributors of the expanding universe theory, Martin Ryle, gave proof that galaxies in collision emit radio waves.

A short-period comet is a comet that has a relatively short lifespan for any observation can be made for comparative studies. That period is known to be shorter than two hundred years. Recently, short-period comets have been subdivided into the Jupiter-type comets, like that of Temple 2 and Encke, which typically have periods of just twenty years; and the Halley-type comets, with intermediate periods of between twenty to about two hundred years.

The invention of technological gadgets has made the universe seemingly small. Today, however, people have learned that the sun is just a star and is seen as big because of its proximity to Earth, which is about 150 million km away.

A planetary nebula is not a planet, although its name often gives that initial impression. It is actually the accumulation of gas and plasma given off by a star that is about to bade farewell to the universe. They are so named because their appearance through a small optical telescope closely resembles a giant planet. The man who coined the name, William Herschel,

In astronomy, the term protoplanetary disk refers to the circumstellar disk of space matter, composing of space dust, different types of gas, specifically the types of nitrogen, hydrogen or other elemental gas. It is said that this type of astronomical marvel is the basis or essential structure for forming planetary systems, and eventually galaxies.

Comets are spectacular sights in the night sky. Despite their burning appearance, comets are actually made of ice, small rock particles, and dust. But comets, unlike meteors, are rarely seen in the night sky. Comets have different orbital periods, which can range from several years to hundreds of thousand years. Comets are classified according to the range of their orbital periods, namely long and short period comets. Short period comets are collectively known as periodic comets with orbital periods of [...]

NGC 5139 or commonly known as the Omega Centauri is considered to be the largest and brightest among other star clusters found and archived throughout the years. It is usually found in the southern skies or in the southern hemisphere and slowly moves up north during the season of spring.

A group of up to a thousand young stars that were produced from one giant molecular cloud held together by joint gravitation is better known as an Open cluster. It is found in irregular and spiral galaxies where there is active star formation. It is sometimes referred to as Galactic clusters, because they are almost absolutely found in the galactic plane of the Milky Way.