The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has released the first images taken by its record-breaking 3,200-megapixel digital camera—the most powerful ever built for astronomy.
Perched atop Cerro Pachón in northern Chile, the observatory is expected to revolutionize the way we observe the cosmos. In its initial test run, lasting just ten hours, the massive 8.4-meter (27.6-foot) telescope and car-sized camera captured millions of stars and galaxies within the Milky Way, as well as thousands of previously undetected asteroids. Over the next decade, the observatory will scan the entire southern sky to track changes in real time.
One of the standout early images shows the Trifid and Lagoon nebulae in striking detail: two colossal clouds of colorful gas located nearly 9,000 light-years from Earth.
From black holes to giant stars and distant planets, there are innumerable celestial objects out there for us to study, probe, and marvel at. Certainly, the most visually beautiful and awe-inspiring of all are nebulae. Usually consisting of gases and stardust dispersed by ancient explosions and implosions of stars known as supernovas, nebulae, when viewed through telescopes, take the form of heavenly celestial paint splashed across the deep, dark canvas of space.
Click on to see some of the most beautiful nebulae in the sky.