BellaOnline Forums Education Astronomy Mother's Day - an Astronomy Bouquet

Flowers from the florist are popular for Mother's Day. But for really stellar mothers, here is a cosmic floral tribute with links to some dazzling astronomical images.

Mother's Day - an Astronomy Bouquet

What a great article. You make astronomy accessible to laypeople. Thank you for educating and entertaining us all.

Thank you for your kind words, glad you enjoyed the article. And welcome back to Bellonline.

The ring Nebula is a dying star. [Photo: NASA, ESA, and C. R. O’Dell (Vanderbilt University) and Robert Gendler]

It reminds me a lot of a camellia.

I love this pairing of photos of the Rosette Nebula and a red rose by J-P Metsavainio.

This is a real zinnia in space, not a nebula. It was the first flower grown in the Veggie plant growth system on the International Space Station. On Jan. 16, 2016, Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly shared photographs and declared "Yes, there are other life forms in space!"

And for Mother's Day itself, here are the Heart and Soul Nebulae. The two nebulae are located about 6000 light years away in the constellation Cassiopeia. [Note: Cassiopeia herself was not a very good mother!] Their red color is from hydrogen gas energized by hot young stars.

Image credit: Mario Zauner