Richard Talcott

2 weeks ago | astronomy.com | Richard Talcott

Sometimes even scientists get lucky. Yale University astronomer Imad Pasha was scanning some ground-based images when he stumbled across a galaxy boasting several rings. Because the object’s name, LEDA 1313424, doesn’t roll off the tongue, his team nicknamed it the Bullseye. This Hubble image reveals why it’s an apt moniker: The galaxy boasts nine rings, six more than any other known.

3 weeks ago | astronomy.com | Richard Talcott

How did we get here?Few topics in astronomy intrigue us more than this simple five-word query. Yet the simplicity hides multiple layers of complexity. How did the universe come into existence? How did stars form out of an initial mix of mostly hydrogen and helium gas? How did planets grow in the dusty disks surrounding these stars? And even the answers to these questions can’t explain how life and intelligence appeared.

1 month ago | astronomy.com | Richard Talcott

The Orion Nebula (M42) and Carina Nebula (NGC 3372) may reign supreme among star-forming regions in the Milky Way, but they pale in comparison to the Tarantula Nebula (NGC 2070). The Tarantula resides in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own located 160,000 light-years away. This nebula spans roughly 1,000 light-years and contains nearly a million stars, dozens of which weigh more than 100 Suns. And the Tarantula holds enough gas to forge hundreds of thousands of future stars.

2 months ago | astronomy.com | Richard Talcott

The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy (M83) in Hydra checks almost every box an amateur astronomer could desire. This stunning barred spiral spans a hefty 14′ and, at magnitude 7.5, ranks among the sky’s 10 brightest galaxies. Its only drawback is location — at a declination of –30°, it lies farther south than any other galaxy in Messier’s catalog.

Mar 18, 2025 | astronomy.com | Richard Talcott

You could forgive M17 for having an identity crisis. Observers refer to this emission region as the Omega, the Swan, and even the Checkmark Nebula. M17 doesn’t even know what constellation to call home — most of it lies in Sagittarius, but its northern edge crosses into Serpens. Yet no one can deny the stellar nursery’s good looks. This infrared view penetrates much of the dust that obscures the budding star cluster emerging within M17.