Constellations are drawn as stick figures connecting bright stars in the sky. This two-dimensional representation gives the impression that the stars are all at the same distance. In addition, the idea of a “bright star” can be misleading, as the apparent brightness we see depends upon both the star’s intrinsic brightness and its distance from Earth. This scientific visualization addresses both of these issues by viewing the Orion constellation from a three-dimensional perspective. The true space distribution of the constellation as well as how stellar brightness changes with viewing position is revealed by circling around the stars.

The camera begins with a pan across the sky to Orion. The lines of the 2D stick figure constellation are drawn in. As the camera slowly begins to circle around the centroid of the stars, the stick figure quickly breaks into a long, extended 3D structure. The camera backs up to keep the entire figure onscreen for the complete circle. At the end of the circle, the camera pushes forward to finish at the location of the Earth/Sun (to avoid an obvious distraction, the Sun is not included in the visualization).

During that final camera push, notice how Sirius grows in apparent brightness (bottom of frame, just left of center). While Sirius is the brightest star in our night sky, a major contribution of its apparent brightness comes from its proximity to the Sun.

For more information or to download this video, visit: http://hubblesite.org/videos/video_details/5-the-true-shape-of-orion

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The Carina Nebula is a vast, star-forming region in our Milky Way Galaxy. Within the nebula, new stars form out of dense, dark clouds of gas and dust. The bright, high-energy radiation from massive young stars erodes away the dark gas. Tall pillars, such as the ones featured in this sequence, form when dense pockets of gas resist that erosion. The illuminating stars for these pillars are located well off the top of the image. At the peaks of two pillars, jets of emission serve as the birth announcements of new stars buried within the clouds. The image is nicknamed “Mystic Mountain” and was released in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Like most astronomical objects, the Carina Nebula is too far away for the Hubble Space Telescope to see in a three-dimensional perspective. This scientific visualization separates the stars and layers of the nebula to create depth from the 2D image. A virtual camera flies into the resulting 3D model, which is informed by astronomical knowledge but is not scientifically accurate. Distances, in particular, have been greatly compressed.

For more information or to download this video, visit: http://hubblesite.org/videos/video_details/1-mystic-mountain-bright-pillar-in-the-carina

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This video is the stereo 3D version of “Mystic Mountain: Bright Pillar in the Carina Nebula.”

The Carina Nebula is a vast, star-forming region in our Milky Way Galaxy. Within the nebula, new stars form out of dense, dark clouds of gas and dust. The bright, high-energy radiation from massive young stars erodes away the dark gas. Tall pillars, such as the ones featured in this sequence, form when dense pockets of gas resist that erosion. The illuminating stars for these pillars are located well off the top of the image. At the peaks of two pillars, jets of emission serve as the birth announcements of the new stars buried within the clouds. The image is nicknamed “Mystic Mountain” and was released in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Like most astronomical objects, the Carina Nebula is too far away for the Hubble Space Telescope to see in a three-dimensional perspective. This scientific visualization separates the stars and layers of the nebula to create depth from the 2D image. A virtual camera flies into the resulting 3D model, which is informed by astronomical knowledge but is not scientifically accurate. Distances, in particular, have been greatly compressed.

For more information or to download this video, visit: http://hubblesite.org/videos/video_details/2-mystic-mountain-3d-bright-pillar-in-the-carina

For more videos, visit: http://hubblesite.org/videos/

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the next of NASA’s Great Observatories; following in the line of the Hubble Space Telescope, the Compton Gamma-ray Observatory, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Spitzer Space Telescope. JWST combines qualities of two of its predecessors, observing in infrared light, like Spitzer, with fine resolution, like Hubble.

The telescope has a 6.5 meter mirror composed of 18 hexagonal segments in a honeycomb pattern. Protecting the sensitive research instruments is a large sunsheild about the size of a tennis court. Further protection comes from the observatory’s remote location in a place called the second LaGrange point (L2). Orbiting the Sun at L2, JWST will be about a million miles from Earth (roughly four times more distant than the Moon) and will always have Earth and the Sun in the same direction.

This animation, designed as an homage to a shot from “2001: A Space Odyssey”, flies by and circles around a model of JWST at L2. The opening of the sequence illustrates the L2 location, showing the Moon in the foreground, Earth in the mid-ground, and the Sun in the background.

This video is the stereo 3D version of “Flyby of JWST at L2 Point”.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the next of NASA’s Great Observatories; following in the line of the Hubble Space Telescope, the Compton Gamma-ray Observatory, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Spitzer Space Telescope. JWST combines qualities of two of its predecessors, observing in infrared light, like Spitzer, with fine resolution, like Hubble.

The telescope has a 6.5 meter mirror composed of 18 hexagonal segments in a honeycomb pattern. Protecting the sensitive research instruments is a large sunsheild about the size of a tennis court. Further protection comes from the observatory’s remote location in a place called the second LaGrange point (L2). Orbiting the Sun at L2, JWST will be about a million miles from Earth (roughly four times more distant than the Moon) and will always have Earth and the Sun in the same direction.

This animation, designed as an homage to a shot from “2001: A Space Odyssey”, flies by and circles around a model of JWST at L2. The opening of the sequence illustrates the L2 location, showing the Moon in the foreground, Earth in the mid-ground, and the Sun in the background.

For more information or to download this video, visit: http://hubblesite.org/videos/video_details/14-flyby-of-jwst-at-l2-point-in-3d

For more videos, visit: http://hubblesite.org/videos/