Illusions in the Cosmic Clouds

Illusions in the Cosmic Clouds
by Staff Writers
Pasadena CA (JPL) Oct 27, 2014

Do you see any recognizable shapes in this nebulous region captured by NASA's WISE and Chandra missions?

Pareidolia is the psychological phenomenon where people see recognizable shapes in clouds, rock formations, or otherwise unrelated objects or data. There are many examples of this phenomenon on Earth and in space.

When an image from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory of PSR B1509-58 - a spinning neutron star surrounded by a cloud of energetic particles - was released in 2009, it quickly gained attention because many saw a hand-like structure in the X-ray emission.

In a new image of the system, X-rays from Chandra in gold are seen along with infrared data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) telescope in red, green and blue.

Pareidolia may strike again as some people report seeing a shape of a face in WISE's infrared data. What do you see?

NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, also took a picture of the neutron star nebula in 2014, using higher-energy X-rays than Chandra.

PSR B1509-58 is about 17,000 light-years from Earth.

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Related Links
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Astronomy News from Skynightly.com

Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks

del.icio.us

Digg

Google

Slow-Growing Galaxies Offer Window to Early Universe
Pasadena CA (JPL) Oct 16, 2014
What makes one rose bush blossom with flowers, while another remains barren? Astronomers ask a similar question of galaxies, wondering how some flourish with star formation and others barely bloom. A new study published in the Oct. 16 issue of the journal Nature addresses this question by making some of the most accurate measurements yet of the meager rates at which small, sluggish galaxie ... read more

Strengthening thin-film bonds with ultrafast data collection

Triplet threat from the sun

What a Star Wars laser bullet really looks like

Engineers Harvest and Print Parts for New Breed of Aircraft

Canadian military communications getting upgrade

Russia to Orbit 9 MilCom Satellites by 2020

Thales providing satcom capability to Qatar

Development of software for electronic warfare resumes

SpaceX may soon start landing rockets on a platform

SpaceX returns to Earth loaded with lab results

Proton-M Lofts Express-AM6 Satellite

China Completes Country's Largest Spaceport

Russian Bank Offers 5 Billion Rubles for GLONASS

Galileo duo handed over in excellent shape

With IRNSS-1C, India a Step Closer to Own Navigation Satellite System

ISRO to Launch India's Third Navigation Satellite on October 16

Charles River Analytics awarded NASA contract to improve aviation safety

Brazil inks deal for Gripen aircraft

US agrees deal to buy 43 more F-35 fighters: Pentagon

Brazil, Argentina to negotiate over Gripen aircraft

Quantum holograms as atomic scale memory keepsake

Precise and programmable biological circuits

Superconducting circuits, simplified

Researchers develop world's thinnest electric generator

Copernicus operations secured until 2021

ECOSTRESS Will Monitor Plant Health

China Launches New Satellite Via Orbital Carrier Rocket

China to help map Guyana's mineral resources: minister

Delhi chokes on toxic smog after festival of lights

Major breakthrough could help detoxify pollutants

US hid troop exposure to chemical agents in Iraq: report

Days of heavy air pollution blight northern China

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.