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Thomas Carpentier

@thocarp.bsky.social

PhD Researcher at the EUI in Firenze, studying the history of the European Space Agency. Processing space telescopes data for fun 28 He/him

960 Posts7607 Follower549 Folgt
ESO@eso.org · last wk.

The conclusion of a century-long quest 😲 Our VLT obtained firm evidence that Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star in the Orion constellation and one of the most famous stars in the night sky, is not alone! 🔭 🧪 1/4

A collage of various astronomical images. The background image shows a wide view of a starry night sky, with blue lines connecting the stars of the Orion constellation. An inset image zooms into the star Betelgeuse, showing its orange surface. A second inset shows a bright companion next to the star. Image by ESO/M. Montargès et al. Background: N. Rissinger (skysurvey.org).
Thomas Carpentier@thocarp.bsky.social · 2w ago

The JWST will never cease to amaze me... 🔭 This is the HH-1019 region, in the Orion Nebula, and everything here is incredible! I suspect there even is a planetary nebula on this image, which looks amazing! (It really looks like NGC-6072 to me) HD: flic.kr/p/2sqVKuS

HH-1019 seen by the JWST/NIRCam. A huge orange gas cloud formation can be seen on the left part of the image, from where some smaller gas cloud are "ejected". Some objects looking like blobs can also be spotted: small gas cloud chunk from where stars are born! In the bottom middle part of the image, a planetary nebula can be seen: the remnant of a small/medium size star that died and slowly ejecting its outer layers. A focus on the planetary nebula.
Thomas Carpentier@thocarp.bsky.social · 4w ago

It has been a long time since I posted new pictures (who would've thought that doing a PhD was that time-consuming??), but here are two JWST pictures of Centaurus A! 🔭 A NIRCam picture of the full galaxy (you probably have seen the press release yesterday!), and a focus on the nucleus by MIRI

A vertical view of a lenticular or elliptical galaxy by the JWST in near-infrared wavelength. The gas structures are seen in red and orange colours, stretching from the top of the image to the bottom. In the middle lies the centre of the galaxy, looking really bright as this galaxy hosts an active galactical nucleus. Many nebulae of the galaxy can be spotted here and there, with stars in the galaxy appearing like small dots.The centre of that same galaxy in mid-infrared wavelength as seen by the JWST. The gas in the galaxy appears like a fluffy ensemble in orange and yellow-ish colours. The AGN is appearing as bright as in the other picture.
ESA Space Science@science.esa.int · last mo.

No less than 60 million stars in one image. It's possible thanks to ESA's Euclid mission. For just one day, Euclid turned its gaze to the crowded heart of the Milky Way and captured the largest, most detailed photo ever taken of our galaxy's centre in visible light. Let's dive deeper 👇 🔭 🧪 ☄️ 1/8

A dense field of tiny stars fills this square image taken by the European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope. The lower and central areas are dominated by bright yellow and gold colours, forming a textured background similar to fine glitter or sand. Dark brown and black patches cut irregularly through the yellow regions, like ink stains or clouds of smoke. Toward the upper left, the colours shift to purple and reddish tones, blending gently into the surrounding star field. Small blue points of light are scattered across the image.
Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans@astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 3mo ago

🔊Calling UK science & physics teachers. Could you lend me your voice to help us fight the devastating funding cuts planned for UK astronomy and particle physics? Please sign this open letter, which we will be delivering to the UKGov next week. 🧪🔭⚛️🎢 #STFC ✍️ ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre... Thank you!

Dear Lord Vallance, Cuts to funding for astronomy and space science We are writing to you as physics teachers in secondary schools and sixth form colleges, to express our grave concern at the cuts to funding for astronomy and space science, and particle and nuclear physics, proposed by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). As you know, these amount to 30% overall, and project groups have been asked to plan for budget reductions of up to 60%. We urge you to take prompt action to reverse these cuts, the scale of which are without precedent in modern times.
Royal Astronomical Society@royalastrosoc.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Are you a physics teacher in the UK? We need your help! 🧑‍🔬🧑‍🏫 We've created an open letter for teachers to sign and express their grave concern at the devastating proposed cuts to astronomy, space science and particle and nuclear physics. ✍️ 👉️ ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre... #STFC #UKRI

Thomas Carpentier@thocarp.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Bona Diada de Sant Jordi a tothom! 🌹🐉 This is the best tradition in my own opinion: people gifting themselves roses and books, so much beauty into that! So here's my own-processed gift: a cosmic rose seen by Hubble, the well known Arp 273 merger! 🔭

Two galaxies merging looking exactly like a rose (the bottom galaxy being the peduncle, the upper one being the pistil and the petals) seen in visible light. Dozens of background galaxies can be spotted as well.
Thomas Carpentier@thocarp.bsky.social · 4mo ago

My processed image of the JWST observation of Sharpless 305, a star-forming region inside our Milky Way! 🔭 This emission nebula is located ~14,000 light-years away, with several dozens of Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) having been discovered inside this nebula. HD: flic.kr/p/2s5qkHF

A gigantic gas cloud seen in infrared spreading across the entire image. The gas appears mostly in orange, although a blue-ish veil can be spotted in the area where new born stars pushed the gas away. Hundreds of stars can be spotted as well, mostly appearing in blue. On the top-left corner, a huge star can be seen with gas probably being pushed away.
Thomas Carpentier@thocarp.bsky.social · 5mo ago

I welcome you to the heart of the Carina Nebula! 🔭 These are the HH1159-HH1164 protostars inside the Carina Nebula as seen by the JWST, using data obtained through the 5408 program led by Dr. Megan Reiter. These patches look like cosmic jellyfishes if you ask me! HD: flic.kr/p/2s3ieDg

Red patches of gas looking like jellyfishes seen in infrared light. A red and grey veil of gas can also be spotted in the entire image. The background is full of stars and galaxies.
Thomas Carpentier@thocarp.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Seeing this beautiful picture reminded me of an earlier JWST observation of the same nebula, during its calibration days in 2022. So I went on to combine the Euclid's VIS data with this single MIRI filter (F560W) to create this image! 🔭

The Cat's Eye Nebula picture combining Euclid/VIS (visible light) and JWST/MIRI (mid-infrared) data. At the very centre lies the dying star, appearing like a bright dot. The nebula itself looks, as its name hints, like an eye. The expanding gas is appearing brownish, orange and blue.
ESA Space Science@science.esa.int · 5mo ago

🤝 Hubble has teamed up with Euclid to image the intricate Cat’s Eye Nebula! 😻 Combining their focused views highlights the nebula’s exquisite structure, while placing it within the broader context. Read more 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl... 🔭 🧪

Two images of a planetary nebula in space. The image to the left, labelled “Euclid & Hubble”, shows the whole nebula and its surroundings. A star in the very centre is surrounded by white bubbles and loops of gas, all shining with a powerful blue light. Farther away a broken ring of red and blue gas clouds surrounds the nebula. The background shows many stars and distant galaxies. A white box indicates the centre of the nebula and this region is the image to the right, labelled “Hubble”. It shows the multi-layered bubbles, pointed jets and circular shells of gas that make up the nebula, as well as the central star, in greater detail.
Phil Plait@philplait.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Fuck Trump. Fuck the puppeteers behind him. Fuck the GOP, especially congressional Republicans and quisling Democrats, who enabled him. Fuck the people who voted for this, and fuck the media for never reporting on him realistically. Fuck them all, for they have truly fucked us and the world.

Thomas Carpentier@thocarp.bsky.social · 5mo ago

I was waiting all day for the data release of those observations, I am clearly not disappointed!🔭 This is the Cranium Nebula, a planetary nebula, as seen by the JWST with NIRCam (l) and MIRI (r). Processing this data was so fun, this plan. nebula is incredible! HD: flic.kr/p/2rYiLSJ

The slow death of a star seen in infrared. The star is ejecting its outer layers at a slow pace, creating what looks like an expecting bubble of gas. The material ejected by the star is appearing as orange/red here, looking like a skull (hence its name). Dozens of stars in our galaxy and background galaxies can be spotted everywhere around it (and even behind it!).The same planetary nebula seen in mid-infrared. The skull and the bubble are still clearly visible.
Thomas Carpentier@thocarp.bsky.social · 5mo ago

I was waiting all day for the data release of those observations, I am clearly not disappointed!🔭 This is the Cranium Nebula, a planetary nebula, as seen by the JWST with NIRCam (l) and MIRI (r). Processing this data was so fun, this plan. nebula is incredible! HD: flic.kr/p/2rYiLSJ

The slow death of a star seen in infrared. The star is ejecting its outer layers at a slow pace, creating what looks like an expecting bubble of gas. The material ejected by the star is appearing as orange/red here, looking like a skull (hence its name). Dozens of stars in our galaxy and background galaxies can be spotted everywhere around it (and even behind it!).The same planetary nebula seen in mid-infrared. The skull and the bubble are still clearly visible.
European Space History@eurospacehistory.bsky.social · 6mo ago

😎 This weekend, ESA marks 18 years of Europe’s Columbus laboratory in orbit, and we’ve got a couple of these epic ‘How Columbus Learnt to Fly’ books to give away! Just share this post for a chance to win!👍

ESA’s How Columbus Learnt to Fly book
ESA Exploration@exploration.esa.int · 6mo ago

Happy launch anniversary, Columbus! 🥳 18 years ago today, @esa.int's Columbus laboratory ascended to orbit, nestled in Space Shuttle Atlantis. This engineering & scientific marvel became the first permanent European research facility in space. 102 000 + orbits later: www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

LIRA astro@liraastro.bsky.social · 6mo ago

🪐 LENS – LIRA | L’Encadré de la Semaine Première planète imagée grâce au coronographe français du JWST Découverte de TWA 7b, une jeune planète de masse comparable à Saturne, dix fois moins massive que les exoplanètes déjà imagées. Une première mondiale. 👉 urls.fr/v7Wrf-

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Thomas Carpentier@thocarp.bsky.social · 6mo ago

This is one of my favorite JWST observation ever! 🔭 💙 This is HH288, a star heavier than the Sun being born in front of our eyes! The jets are the result of that process. There is even another star being born near it, as the perpendicular jets are showing. HD: flic.kr/p/2rUKqvx

Two jets, appearing red and violet, being ejected by a central protostar, hidden behind gas. The jets are extending to the left and right parts of the image. Two perpendicular thinner jets can be seen as well, coming from another protostar. Hundreds of stars can be seen in the background of the image, appearing like bright dots with the JWST trademark diffraction spikes.
Thomas Carpentier@thocarp.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Clearly not as impressive as the images of Northern Europe, but still impressive to catch auroras in Fiesole/Florence, Italy 🔭 🥰 My very first auroras in 28 years, I'm really moved right now 🥺

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Thomas Carpentier@thocarp.bsky.social · 7mo ago

And now the MIRI version! 🔭 The observation was made during the night, and just like with NIRCam, the fragments and the tail are beautiful! HD: flic.kr/p/2rPp5EV

Another infrared observation of the C/2025 K1 comet, seen by the JWST/MIRI. On the left, the main part of the comet, seen as a bright dot, and its coma. On the right, two small dots which are fragments of the comet.
Thomas Carpentier@thocarp.bsky.social · 7mo ago

I am not really good with this kind of observation, but here's my processed version of the JWST observation of the C/2025 K1 comet, which was made today! 🔭 The multiple fragments are clearly visible there, in full beauty HD: flic.kr/p/2rPhQUz

An infrared observation of a comet, C/2025 K1, seen by the JWST. On the left, the main part of the comet, seen as a bright dot, and its coma. On the right, two small dots which are fragments of the comet.