Nasa reveals mind-blowing photos of exploding stars and ‘cartwheel galaxies’ taken with mega-telescope

NASA has released a treasure trove of images snapped by one of its most powerful space telescopes. The array of cosmic delights includes incredible snaps of exploding stars and clusters of faraway galaxies. Published on Nasa’s website last week, the collection was captured over several decades by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The X-ray space telescope […]

NASA has released a treasure trove of images snapped by one of its most powerful space telescopes.

The array of cosmic delights includes incredible snaps of exploding stars and clusters of faraway galaxies.

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This image of a ‘planetary nebula’ shows what a star looks like when it runs out of fuel[/caption]

Published on Nasa’s website last week, the collection was captured over several decades by the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

The X-ray space telescope was launched in 1999 and orbits Earth at a distance of up to 65,000 miles (105,000 km).

“In these past two decades, Chandra has made profound discoveries,” Nasa says on its websites.

“The telescope has contributed invaluable information about the cosmos and the wondrous objects within it.”

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This image of the Abell 2744 galaxy cluster was snapped by the Chandra space telescope[/caption]

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This galaxy resembles a bull’s eye, partly due to a smaller galaxy that passed through the middle of it[/caption]

Nasa posted a compilation of six of Chandra’s best images on September 3.

One image shows a “planetary nebula” – the process a star goes through when it runs out of fuel and the core rapidly shrinks.

Astronomers expect our Sun will experience this in about five billion years.

Another snap details the Abell 2744 galaxy cluster, one of the largest objects in the universe held together by gravity.

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Eta Carinae is a star in the Milky Way that Nasa scientists say could be our galaxy’s next star to go supernova[/caption]

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Messier 82, or M82, is a nearby galaxy that is oriented edge-on to Earth[/caption]

Eta Carinae, a star in the Milky Way that Nasa scientists say could be our galaxy’s next star to go supernova, also features.

Nasa said it released the compilation to showcase how its various telescopes can shed light on some of the universe’s most fascinating sights.

“This compilation gives examples of images from different missions and telescopes being combined to better understand the science of the universe,” Nasa said.

“Each of these images contains data from Nasa’s Chandra X-ray Observatory as well as other telescopes.”

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The Large Magellanic Cloud (pictured) was one of the brightest supernova explosions in centuries[/caption]

Chandra specialises in X-ray radiation, allowing it to peer at cosmic events that no other telescope can.

The probe is sensitive to X-rays fired out by stars, galaxies and more that are 100 times fainter than those detectable by any previous X-ray telescope.

It has helped scientists make breakthrough discoveries about the life cycles of stars, black holes and more.

Chandra’s mission was only supposed to last for five years but it’s still going strong more than two decades after its launch.

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Nasa said it released the compilation to showcase how its various telescopes can shed light on some of the universe’s most fascinating sights[/caption]

In other space news, alien life may be lurking within a mysterious cave under the surface of Mars, scientists claim.

Scientists think they’ve found the first known ‘alien protein’ inside a meteorite.

And, Elon Musk recently revealed a Starship rocket with a scantily clad ‘battle angel’ on its side.

Would you travel to Mars if you got the chance? Let us know in the comments…

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