2022 NASA's Astrophoto Challenges (Summer)
About Event
Make Your Own Image of the Eta Carinae star system and the Carina Nebula with NASA’s Astrophoto Challenges
Join NASA's Universe of Learning for an exciting opportunity to use real astronomical data and tools to create your own images of the eruptive Eta Carinae star system and the nebula in which it resides - the Carina Nebula. Use your images to explore the impact of Eta Carinae in the environment of the Carina Nebula, or just create an image that you think is beautiful. You can capture your own real-time telescope image using the MicroObservatory robotic telescope network. You can also work with an archived set of data files taken with three multi-wavelength NASA space telescope missions (Hubble, Chandra, and Spitzer) and two ground-based telescopes (NOIRLab's Curtis Schmidt and Carnegie's Magellan).
Visit the NASA’s Astrophoto Challenges page for more detail on how to work with NASA data from past challenges.
The NASA’s Astrophoto Challenges provide learners of all familiarity levels authentic experiences using real astrophysics data, including those from NASA space-based missions. Participants engage in the scientific practices of a scientist through accessible data tools and experiences while they create and share their composite images.
The NASA’s Astrophoto Challenges include instructions on how to turn the data into beautiful composite images with a simple and free web-based image processing tool used by professional astronomers. The JS9 image processing tool is widely used by the astronomical community to process and analyze the data from the world’s premiere research telescopes. NASA’s Astrophoto Challenges uses a version of this tool, JS9-4L, developed for learners.
The challenges also feature short videos by professional astronomers. These subject matter experts provide science content knowledge of Eta Carinae and the Carina Nebula as observed across the electromagnetic spectrum. Submit your creations to the challenges and they may be highlighted as standout entries commented on by scientists.