To celebrate Hubble’s 34th launch anniversary, NASA released the telescope’s new observation of the Little Dumbbell Nebula. Also known as Messier 76, or M76, it is composed of a ring, seen edge-on as the central bar structure, where a central red giant star burned out, and two lobes of gas and dust that are on either opening of the ring.
Tag: Wide Field Camera 3
Hubble Goes Hunting for Small Main Belt Asteroids
Astronomers and volunteer citizen scientists used Hubble’s unique capabilities to identify a largely unseen population of very small asteroids. The treasure hunt required perusing 37,000 archived Hubble images spanning 19 years. The payoff? Finding 1,701 asteroid trails, with 1,031 of the asteroids previously uncatalogued. About 400 of these uncatalogued asteroids are smaller than 1 kilometer.
Hubble Celebrates Halloween With A Glowering, Dying Star
Hubble celebrates Halloween with a striking view of the aging red giant star CW Leonis. The orange-red cobweb-like shells are dusty clouds of sooty carbon engulfing the dying star. Bright searchlight beams poke through the dust.
Lopsided Galaxy NGC 2776
The magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 2276 looks a bit lopsided in this Hubble Space Telescope snapshot. A bright hub of older yellowish stars normally lies directly in the center of most spiral galaxies. But the bulge in NGC 2276 looks offset to the upper left.
Hubble Tracks Down Fast Radio Bursts to Galaxies’ Spiral Arms
Astronomers are on the trail of one of the universe’s most enigmatic events: powerful bursts of radio waves that disappear in the blink of an eye. Using Hubble, they have traced the radio bursts to the spiral arms of distant galaxies.
Hubble Watches How a Giant Planet Grows
Researchers using Hubble directly measured the mass growth rate of PDS 70b for the first time by using the observatory’s unique ultraviolet sensitivities to capture radiation from extremely hot gas falling onto the planet.
Hubble Catches Possible ‘Shadow Play’ of the Disk Around a Black Hole
This Hubble image of a disk of material feeding a monster black hole in nearby galaxy IC 5063 may be casting its shadow into space. The shadow is interspersed with bright rays that extend across the galaxy. This unique effect offers insight into the structure of the disk.
Hubble Sees Summertime on Saturn
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.