So today's theme is things that are hard to see with the naked eye. Some are not visible light, some are from unusual points of view, and a couple may be art. Guess which ones are art; answers next week.
Today's soundtrack is by a German group Schiller, named after my other favorite Schiller, Friedrich. You may recall him as the lyricist of the famous "Ode to Joy."
This is very not visible light.
Jupiter is not only the king of the planets, but also a cosmic light noise.
— Black Hole (@konstructivizm) May 22, 2025
Aurorae rage at its poles, shining not just beautifully, but in X-rays! Yes, this is not a joke - due to collisions of high-energy particles with the atmosphere, Jupiter literally emits X-rays.
In the… pic.twitter.com/y4bsVFMaGy
Ever had a sunburn? This is the reason.
The Sun in Ultraviolet
— Black Hole (@konstructivizm) May 22, 2025
The SDO (Solar Dynamics Observatory) spacecraft captured the Sun in the extreme ultraviolet range, tracking its activity for a month. The image shows bright areas - these are flares and active regions where the magnetic field is especially intense. Such… pic.twitter.com/5PURz26tta
First X-ray, now infrared.
Jupiter, in infrared
— Black Hole (@konstructivizm) May 22, 2025
NASA pic.twitter.com/lp1ilPBMtI
The thing about black holes is you literally can't see them — but you can see around them.
Comparison of the earliest images of a black hole and a neutron star.
— Black Hole (@konstructivizm) May 22, 2025
1. A black hole is a point in space-time where gravity is so strong that not even light can escape. We witnessed the first ever image of a black hole in 2019, taken by the Event Horizon Telescope team. This… pic.twitter.com/zIJO4kIujV
More infrared. I know I've mentioned it before, but remember JWST is not a visible light telescope. Every JWST image is infrared. This lets JWST see much farther into the universe — and therefore, because the speed of light is limited, farther into the past — than a visible light telescope like the Hubble.
Saturn by JWST pic.twitter.com/NR54jrmpD7
— Black Hole (@konstructivizm) May 22, 2025
I still want to see this in person. Does anyone know of any openings for a gimpy computer scientist astronaut?
Soooooo much going on in this picture. This shot came from a time-lapse sequence that I set up in the Cupola.
— Nichole “Vapor” Ayers (@Astro_Ayers) May 22, 2025
You can see Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama, with South America off in the distance.
The first eye-catching thing is the lightning strike just north of Panama City.… pic.twitter.com/XFPDADFC0R
These black hole pictures have this same sort of Art Deco Saturn look. But the light curving up over the top of the black hole is actually light bent around the black hole from behind.
The closest known black hole to Earth is just 1,560 light-years away. pic.twitter.com/8p20NBKH5h
— Black Hole (@konstructivizm) May 22, 2025Still looking for that job posting.
Still looking for that job posting. Contact me in care of PJ Media.
NASA astronaut Don Pettit photographs “cosmic colors at sunrise.” From 250 miles above aboard the ISS pic.twitter.com/nQLvEtwjQg
— Black Hole (@konstructivizm) May 22, 2025
We miss so much.
Milky Way over the Sea by Aaron Jenkin. pic.twitter.com/ANE5l1qg0m
— Julio Maiz (@maiz_julio) May 22, 2025
I was in an astronomy club for a while, but taking hours-long exposures outside at night in the freezing cold got to be too much. I'm sure glad other people do it, though.
M8 Lagoon Nebula https://t.co/qTiqeGQvyY pic.twitter.com/Pf5WeJfqOu
— Alienigena11 (@Madriles6211) May 22, 2025
And sometimes visible light it good too.
The Butterfly Nebula from Hubble pic.twitter.com/UpZurAwBsp
— Black Hole (@konstructivizm) May 22, 2025
That's it for this week. Come back next week for more Sky Candy. As always, comment and feel free to share, And don't forget that there are daily posts of astronomy and space stuff at my Substack The Stars Our Destination.
Buenas Noches vuelvo a mi planeta hasta mañana. pic.twitter.com/nM75xsQoIO
— Julio Maiz (@maiz_julio) May 22, 2025
