Fair play, @NASA!
For #Halloween2020
, @NASAJPL has released a set of "Galaxy of Horrors" postersâfun, stylish examples of places in space that will kill you without a second thought.
Shall we take a look, friends?
For #Halloween2020

Shall we take a look, friends?



First up, we have "Galactic Graveyard"âwhere the MACS 2129-1 galaxy, 10 *billion* lightyears from Earth, is full of dying, red stars and is nothing but a horrifying, celestial cemetery...
What horrors might live within??
What horrors might live within??
Next up: dark matter!
Remember that regular (baryonic) matter makes up less than about 5% of the known universe, with dark matter comprising up to 85%.
It's all around us. It's inside us.
What's it waiting for?!
Remember that regular (baryonic) matter makes up less than about 5% of the known universe, with dark matter comprising up to 85%.
It's all around us. It's inside us.
What's it waiting for?!
Now for a real treatâgamma-ray bursts!
The most powerful explosions in the universe, GRBs occur when massive stars explode and turn into neutron stars or black holes, or when two neutron stars merge.
If you're anywhere near one when it goes off... it's lights out for you!
The most powerful explosions in the universe, GRBs occur when massive stars explode and turn into neutron stars or black holes, or when two neutron stars merge.
If you're anywhere near one when it goes off... it's lights out for you!
Ever feel like throwing a tantrum?!
Well, AU Microscopii sure does. This young star is only about 12 million years oldâand every five days or so it blasts a Neptune-sized planet orbiting it with lethal doses of X-rays and other radiation.
Stay clear, friends...
Well, AU Microscopii sure does. This young star is only about 12 million years oldâand every five days or so it blasts a Neptune-sized planet orbiting it with lethal doses of X-rays and other radiation.
Stay clear, friends...
Imaging orbiting a long-dead star that now pulses non-stop until the end of time itself...
That's the fate of the three planets orbiting Lich, or PSR B1257+12, a pulsar 2,300 lightyears away. Draugr, Poltergeist, and Phobetor are doomed to circle that pulsar forever...
That's the fate of the three planets orbiting Lich, or PSR B1257+12, a pulsar 2,300 lightyears away. Draugr, Poltergeist, and Phobetor are doomed to circle that pulsar forever...
Finally, do you ever find yourself annoyed when it rains, my friends?
Well fret not, for it could be worse.
It also rains on HD 189733b, but instead of water it's MOLTEN GLASS blowing at over 2 kilometres per second.
An umbrella won't save you!
Well fret not, for it could be worse.
It also rains on HD 189733b, but instead of water it's MOLTEN GLASS blowing at over 2 kilometres per second.
An umbrella won't save you!
Seriously, these are really good (and timely) examples of effective science communication.
But they're also a valuable PSA: space is just awful, and it will kill you every chance it gets.
Stay safe out there... and keep watching the skies

But they're also a valuable PSA: space is just awful, and it will kill you every chance it gets.
Stay safe out there... and keep watching the skies


