Zaid Mir
LightNews LightNews
banner
zaidmir.bsky.social
Zaid Mir
@zaidmir.bsky.social
830 followers 72 following 200 posts
Looking at the sky in search of answers.🌌🔭
Posts Replies Media Videos
zaidmir.bsky.social
The Milky Way Beyond Earth's Horizon.🔭

International Space Station
This celestial image captured by NASA astronaut Don Pettit using a camera with low light and long duration settings pointed out a window on the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft shows the Milky Way beyond Earth's horizon crowned by an atmospheric glow. The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are also distinguishable as the International Space Station orbited 257 miles above the Pacific Ocean.
February 22, 2025 at 2:41 AM
zaidmir.bsky.social
The Manicouagan Crater from Space.🔭

The Manicouagan Crater Quebec, Canada.

International Space Station
An UltraFex solar array, one of two cymbal-shaped solar arrays on the Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter, is pictured in the foreground as the International Space Station orbited 261 miles above the 214 million-year-old Manicouagan crater in Quebec, Canada.
February 19, 2025 at 2:21 AM
zaidmir.bsky.social
Two weeks ago.
February 14, 2025 at 6:23 PM
zaidmir.bsky.social
Happy Pale Blue Dot Day.🔭
Picture of the Earth taken from a large distance.
February 14, 2025 at 4:17 PM
zaidmir.bsky.social
New composite image of the Tarantula Nebula from Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-Ray Observatory and ALMA Radio Telescope.🔭
Picture of the Tarantula Nebula.
February 12, 2025 at 7:03 PM
zaidmir.bsky.social
Wow, just look at this perfect Einstein ring captured by the Euclid Telescope. It is almost a perfect circle.🔭
The ring of light surrounding the center of the galaxy NGC 6505, captured by ESA’s Euclid telescope, is an example of an Einstein ring. NGC 6505 is acting as a gravitational lens, bending light from a galaxy far behind it. A close-up view of the center of the NGC 6505 galaxy, with the bright Einstein ring aligned with it, captured by ESA’s Euclid space telescope.
February 11, 2025 at 2:24 PM
zaidmir.bsky.social
Hubble has captured this image of the nine rings of LEDA 1313424, nicknamed the Bullseye.

Its observations helped confirm a blue dwarf galaxy (seen to its left) flew through the Bullseye 50 million years ago, leaving these rings behind.🔭

Credit:
NASA, ESA, I. Pasha (Yale), P. van Dokkum (Yale)
Picture of the Galaxy LEDA 1313424
February 6, 2025 at 4:29 AM
zaidmir.bsky.social
We are the way for the cosmos to know itself.

~ Carl Sagan
Picture of Carl Sagan.
February 5, 2025 at 6:22 AM
zaidmir.bsky.social
Wolf-Rayet Star 124: Stellar Wind Machine.🔭

Credit: Hubble Legacy Archive, NASA, ESA; Processing & License: Judy Schmidt
Picture of Wolf-Rayet Star 124
February 3, 2025 at 2:07 PM
zaidmir.bsky.social
The Cartwheel Galaxy from Webb.🔭

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STSCI, Webb ERO Production Team
Picture of the Cartwheel Galaxy.
February 3, 2025 at 5:30 AM
zaidmir.bsky.social
M57: The Ring Nebula from Hubble.🔭

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Legacy Archive; Processing: Judy Schmidt
Picture of the Ring Nebula.
February 2, 2025 at 4:28 AM
zaidmir.bsky.social
Saturn at Night.🔭

Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Space Science Institute, Mindaugas Macijauskas

Cassini-Huygens
Night side of Planet Saturn.
February 1, 2025 at 11:17 AM
zaidmir.bsky.social
A Vortex Aurora over Iceland.🔭

Image Credit & Copyright: Christophe Suarez
A bright vortex shaped green aurora fills the night sky, creating wavy curtains of light that arch over a snowy landscape. Below, mountains appear dark against the sky, and a white car sits on snowy ground. Snow covers most of the ground, with some dark rocks and earth showing through.
January 30, 2025 at 4:41 AM
zaidmir.bsky.social
NGC 2442: Galaxy in Volans.🔭

Image Credit & Copyright: Processing: Robert Gendler & Roberto Colombari

Data: Hubble Legacy Archive, European Southern Observatory
Picture of the Galaxy NGC 2442.
January 29, 2025 at 9:55 AM
zaidmir.bsky.social
Comet G3 ATLAS over Uruguay.🔭

Image Credit & Copyright: Mauricio Salazar
A bright comet with a long, glowing tail streaks across the night sky, leaving a luminous trail. The sky is filled with stars, and the horizon is bathed in a soft golden hue, due to the setting sun. In the foreground, a silhouette of a tree line stretches across the frame, adding depth and contrast to the celestial scene. The comet appears to be moving downward, enhancing the dramatic effect.
January 28, 2025 at 2:32 PM
zaidmir.bsky.social
Pleiades over Half Dome.🔭

Image Credit & Copyright: Dheera Venkatram
A towering rock formation dominates the foreground, with its rugged surface marked by deep grooves and sheer vertical faces. The dark silhouette of the rock contrasts sharply against the night sky, which is filled with countless stars. In the upper right portion of the sky, a bright blue star cluster stands out prominently. This cluster, known as the Pleiades, consists of several luminous stars enveloped in a faint, hazy glow. The blue color of the stars contrasts beautifully with the surrounding star field, adding a striking visual element to the composition. The scene captures a balance between the solid, imposing presence of the rock formation and the vast, infinite expanse of the star-filled sky. The interplay of light and shadow enhances the texture of the rock, while the celestial background evokes a sense of wonder and grandeur.
January 27, 2025 at 2:45 PM
zaidmir.bsky.social
The TV fulfilled its purpose.
YouTube comment by a user named "thomaslong8401." The comment describes their experience of buying a used TV in college just a week before the show Cosmos aired. They mention watching every episode, and after the series concluded, their TV stopped working. The commenter reflects on this coincidence, feeling as though they were meant to watch the show, and expresses gratitude for the experience.
January 26, 2025 at 5:50 AM
zaidmir.bsky.social
Milky Way over a Turquoise Wonderland.🔭

Image Credit & Copyright: Petr Horálek / Institute of Physics in Opava, Sovena Jani
A breathtaking night-time beach scene features bioluminescent waves gently washing onto the shore, emitting a vibrant blue glow. The glow is produced by bioluminescent organisms, likely phytoplankton, which light up when disturbed by the movement of the water. The dark sandy beach contrasts sharply with the glowing shoreline, creating a mesmerizing visual effect. In the background, lush palm trees and dense vegetation are illuminated by warm artificial lights, adding depth and warmth to the scenery. Above, the night sky is filled with countless stars, with the Milky Way galaxy stretching across it in a faint, colorful band, enhancing the ethereal beauty of the scene.
January 26, 2025 at 5:30 AM
zaidmir.bsky.social
NGC 7814: Little Sombrero.🔭

Image Credit & Copyright: Mike Selby
Picture of the "Little Sombrero" galaxy.
January 23, 2025 at 7:56 PM
zaidmir.bsky.social
The Blue Marble Earth.🔭

📷 : NASA
Picture of the planet Earth.
January 22, 2025 at 4:37 AM
zaidmir.bsky.social
M94: A Double Ring Galaxy.🔭

Image Credit & Copyright: Brian Brennan
Picture of M94.
January 21, 2025 at 12:16 PM
zaidmir.bsky.social
A picture of Carl Sagan with his quote "You can't convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, it's based on a deep seated need to believe".
January 21, 2025 at 10:12 AM
zaidmir.bsky.social
Carina Nebula North.🔭

Image Credit & Copyright: Carlos Taylor.

More details: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap23050...
The image shows in great detail the northernmost part of the Carina Nebula. On the bottom left is the Gabriela Mistral Nebula consisting of an emission nebula of glowing gas (IC 2599) surrounding the small open cluster of stars (NGC 3324). Above the image center is the larger star cluster NGC 3293, while to its right is the emission nebula Loden 153. The most famous occupant of the Carina Nebula, however, is not shown. Off the image to the lower right is the bright, erratic, and doomed star known as Eta Carinae.
January 20, 2025 at 5:06 PM
zaidmir.bsky.social
Full Moon, Full Mars.🔭

Image Credit & Copyright: David Bowman
This composite image sequence follows the evening lunar occultation before, during, and after the much anticipated celestial spectacle. The telescopic time series is constructed from an exposure made every two minutes while tracking the Moon over the hours encompassing the event. As a result, the Red Planet's trajectory seems to follow a gently curved path due to the Moon's slightly different rate of apparent motion.
January 20, 2025 at 4:27 AM
zaidmir.bsky.social
The first flight of New Glenn: NG-1

Photo: NASASpaceflight
The first flight of New Glenn: NG-1
January 16, 2025 at 7:56 AM