Located 17,000 light-years away, a very special nebula, carved by a young, pulsing, rapidly spinning neutron star, looks like an enormous cosmic hand, reaching out through the void.
But this isn’t a cosmic hand at all: it’s a region of interstellar space filled with cosmic particles, heated and energized by the surrounding environment, with a special role played by the young pulsar.
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), primarily designed to observe stars and detect exoplanets, captured images of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS as early as May, two months before its official discovery in July. This early detection, along with previous findings from the Vera Rubin Observatory, indicates that 3I/ATLAS may have been active during that time.
Recent data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) at Kitt Peak National Observatory reveal that dark energy’s effect on the universe may be evolving over time, suggesting matter could be transforming into dark energy. These findings also provide new insights into neutrino masses, aligning theoretical frameworks with observed cosmic phenomena.
Source for events and links are In-The-Sky.org, Dominic Ford, Editor. The links provide details for each event including a scale on how difficult they are to observe.