Hubble photographed Saturn and its rings on July 4, during summer in Saturn’s northern hemisphere. This image is taken as part of the Outer Planets Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) project. OPAL is helping scientists understand the atmospheric dynamics and evolution of our solar system’s gas giant planets.
Tag: Hubble Space Telescope
Thermonuclear blast sends supernova survivor star hurtling across the Milky Way
Bizarre white dwarf star shows evidence of a ‘partial supernova’ in observations using the Hubble Space Telescope, led by University of Warwick astronomers
Stellar Fireworks Celebrate Birth of Giant Cluster
Astronomers created a stunning new image showing celestial fireworks in star cluster G286.21+0.17.
Hubble Sees a Cosmic Flapping ‘Bat Shadow’
A disk around a young star is casting a huge shadow resembling a pair of wings on a distant cloud. In 2018, Hubble astronomers nicknamed the phenomenon the Bat Shadow. Now, they see those “wings” flapping!
Hubble Provides Holistic View of Stars Gone Haywire
New images from the Hubble Space Telescope have helped researchers identify rapid changes in material blasting off stars at the centers of two planetary nebulas NGC 6302 and NGC 7027— causing them to reconsider what is happening at their cores.
Intense Flash from Milky Way’s Black Hole Illuminated Gas Far Outside of Our Galaxy
Not long ago, the center of our galaxy exploded. Our primitive ancestors, already afoot in Africa, probably saw the resulting flare. Now Hubble detects that flash’s signature in a huge tail of gas orbiting the galaxy some 200,000 light-years away.
In Planet Formation, It’s Location, Location, Location
When it comes to the best region to form planets, it’s all about location. Planets in the nearby star cluster Westerlund 2 may have a rough time forming in the crowded core. Astronomers using Hubble find that energy from hefty stars is blowing away planet-forming dust clouds from smaller stars.
Seeing the Universe Through New Lenses
Like crystal balls for the universe’s deeper mysteries, galaxies and other massive space objects can serve as lenses to more distant objects and phenomena along the same path, bending light in revelatory ways. Gravitational lensing was first theorized by Albert…
Telescopes and Spacecraft Join Forces to Probe Deep into Jupiter’s Atmosphere
Thanks to the teamwork of the Hubble Space Telescope, the Gemini Observatory, and the Juno spacecraft, scientists are able to probe deep into Jupiter’s storm systems and investigate sources of lightning outbursts, map cyclonic vortices, and unravel the nature of enigmatic features within the Great Red Spot.
No Blue Skies for Super-Hot Planet WASP-79b
Combined observations of WASP-79b from Hubble and other telescopes reveal a weird super-hot planet where the sky is yellow instead of blue due to lack of an atmospheric effect called Rayleigh scattering, which makes Earth’s sky blue.
Hubble Watches Comet ATLAS Disintegrate Into More Than Two Dozen Pieces
This pair of Hubble photos of comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS), taken on April 20 and 23, 2020, provide the sharpest views yet of the breakup of the solid nucleus of the comet. Hubble distinguishes as many as 30 pieces that are roughly the size of a house.
Extrasolar Planet Apparently Disappears in Latest Hubble Observations
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have come to the jaw-dropping conclusion that a planet orbiting another star has seemingly disappeared after appearing in several years’ worth of Hubble images. A team of astronomers from the University of Arizona believe this is forensic evidence of a titanic collision between two asteroid-sized bodies orbiting a nearby star, Fomalhaut.
Hubble Probes Alien Comet’s Chemical Makeup
Zooming through space, the first bonafide interstellar comet discovered passing through our solar system is yielding chemical clues to its origin. An abundance of carbon monoxide contained in comet Borisov suggests it was born around a cool red dwarf star.
Celebrating 30 Years of Hubble: Discoveries Continue to Wow Scientists, Public
Peering into the darkness to see what we could not previously see, the Hubble Space Telescope has been delighting scientists and the general public with revealing details and images of galaxies and celestial phenomena. The American Institute of Physics recognizes and celebrates the momentous occasion of the 30th anniversary of its launch and Physics Today is highlighting the anniversary in its April issue with a look back at the history of the telescope and analysis of Hubble’s discoveries over the past 30 years.
Hubble Finds Best Evidence for Elusive Mid-Sized Black Hole
A team of astronomers have found the best evidence yet that the culprit in a stellar homicide is a mid-sized black hole, the long-sought “missing link” in the black hole family. Multiple lines of evidence pointed to the elusive type of black hole, including investigations using Hubble and Chandra.
Quasar Tsunamis Rip Across Galaxies
A team of astronomers using Hubble have found the most energetic outflows ever witnessed in the universe. These outflows emanate from quasars and tear across interstellar space like tsunamis, wreaking havoc on the galaxies in which the quasars live.
Slime Mold Simulations Used to Map the Dark Matter Holding the Universe Together
A team of researchers designed a computer algorithm based on slime mold behavior to generate a filamentary map of the universe, which they then confirmed with archival observations from the Hubble Space Telescope.
Hubble Team Wins the 2020 Michael Collins Trophy
The operations people behind the Space Telescope’s 30 years of breakthrough science are honored by the National Air and Space Museum.
Beyond the Brim, Sombrero Galaxy’s Halo Suggests a Turbulent Past
Hubble Space Telescope observations suggest that the broad “brim” of the Sombrero galaxy may conceal a turbulent past. Clues to a rough-and tumble history lie in the galaxy’s extended halo.
Supercomputer Simulations Reveal Details of Galaxy Clusters
A new study published late last year in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society explored the molecular gas within and surrounding the intracluster medium, which fills the space between galaxies in a galaxy cluster.
Cosmic Magnifying Glasses Yield Independent Measure of Universe’s Expansion
Astronomers using Hubble have made the most precise measurement yet of the universe’s expansion rate using the gravitational lensing method, which is independent
from the usual cosmic distance ladder.
Goldilocks Stars Are Best Places to Look for Life
Hubble observations suggest that orange stars, slightly cooler than our Sun, are better hangouts for life. There are more of them in our galaxy, they live much longer than our Sun, and unleash less deadly radiation than red dwarf stars.
Hubble Detects Smallest Known Dark Matter Clumps
Using Hubble and a new observing technique, astronomers have uncovered the smallest clumps of dark matter ever detected. Dark matter is an invisible
substance that makes up most of the universe’s mass and forms the scaffolding upon which galaxies are built.
NASA’s Hubble Surveys Gigantic Galaxy
Hubble has photographed a majestic spiral galaxy, UGC 2885, located 232 million light-years away. The galaxy is 2.5 times wider than our Milky Way and contains 10 times as many stars. Astronomers want to know how it got so big.
NASA’s Great Observatories Help Astronomers Build a 3D Visualization of Exploded Star
Astronomers and visualization specialists have combined the visible, infrared and X-ray vision of NASA’s Great Observatories to create a 3D representation of the dynamic Crab Nebula—the tattered remains of an exploded star.
Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov Swings Past the Sun
Hubble captured interstellar comet 2I/Borisov streaking past the Sun in a pair of images taken on November 16 and December 9. It is the first confirmed interstellar comet known to have passed through the solar system.
Hubble Observes First Confirmed Interstellar Comet
Hubble has taken the sharpest view to date of interstellar comet 2I/Borisov whose speed and trajectory indicate it has come from beyond our solar system. The image, taken October 12, 2019, reveals a central concentration of dust around the comet’s nucleus.