Top 5 Cosmic Fireworks Displays

No, the universe isn’t really celebrating Independence Day, but we can pretend it is. And it’s pretty. Here are the top five most beautiful, most magnificent, and most energetic shows in the cosmos.

July 01, 2021

By: Paul M. Sutter

Show: Space Out

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5) Orion Nebula

The good ol’ Orion Nebula gets on the list because it’s one of the few deep-space objects visible to the naked eye. If you look in the constellation Orion (hence the name) below the triplet of stars that make up the famous hunter’s belt, you’ll see a star that looks a little out of focus. No, it’s not your astigmatism, it’s really a nebula. The complex of gas, dust, and newborn stars stretches over 24 lightyears across and sits over 1,300 lightyears away. Grab a small telescope or even some binoculars and you’ll be saying ooh and ah at the Trapezium, an open cluster of bright, hot stars that are illuminating the rest of the nebula.

4) Fireworks Galaxy

I mean, come on, it’s literally called the Fireworks Galaxy. Formally known as NGC 6946, the Fireworks (as we’ll continue to call it), sits over 25 million lightyears away. Even though our own galaxy, the Milky Way, has about twice as many stars as the Fireworks, that galaxy boasts a star formation rate over 10 times that of our own. We’re not exactly sure what’s causing such an intense round of star formation, but it sure is pretty, with its brilliant spiral arms lit up like the skies over DC on July 4th.

3) Cygnus A

Okay, this one isn’t too brilliant in visible light, but all forms of electromagnetic radiation count, right? When viewed with a radio telescope, Cygnus A looks like a gigantic double-sided flamethrower, with long thin lets of plasma spewing out tens of thousands of light-years beyond the host galaxy. Those jets inflate enormous plumes of super-heated gas, which appear to us as two giant lobes on either side of the galaxy. It’s pretty…pretty dangerous. It’s an active galaxy, meaning that its central supermassive black hole is pitching a righteous fit.

2) Andromeda Galaxy

The Andromeda Galaxy scores points for being the furthest object you can see with the naked eye. If you find yourself in the southern hemisphere, look in the direction of the constellation Andromeda and you’ll find a fuzzy patch about the size of your outstretched fist. At first glance it’s not too impressive, but gaze through some optical power and you’ll find millions upon millions of stars, wound up in a spectacular spiral pattern. If you want an up-close view, however, you’re in for a heck of a road trip: Andromeda sits over 2.5 million light-years away from us.

1) Crab Nebula

About a thousand years ago, astronomers around the world – including court astrologers in imperial China and possibly the Chaco people of present-day New Mexico – noticed a new star appear in their sky. The star was bright enough to be seen during the day, but after a few weeks it faded back to obscurity. What they saw was a supernova, the death of a massive star. In its place today is the Crab Nebula, the tangled, mangled remnants of that once brilliant light. Good thing that when that star went off, it was safely over 6,500 light-years away.