Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have imaged the largest protoplanetary disk ever observed circling a young star. For the first time in visible light, Hubble has revealed the disk is unexpectedly chaotic and turbulent, with wisps of material stretching much farther above and below the disk than astronomers have seen in any similar system. […]
Category: Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Glimpses Galactic Gas Making a Getaway
A sideways spiral galaxy shines in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image. Located about 60 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo (the Maiden), NGC 4388 is a resident of the Virgo galaxy cluster. This enormous cluster of galaxies contains more than a thousand members and is the nearest large galaxy cluster to the Milky […]
NASA’s Hubble Sees Asteroids Colliding at Nearby Star for First Time
Like a game of cosmic bumper cars, scientists think the early days of our solar system were a time of violent turmoil, with planetesimals, asteroids, and comets smashing together and pelting the Earth, Moon, and the other inner planets with debris. Now, in a historical milestone, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has directly imaged similar catastrophic […]
NASA’s Fermi Spots Young Star Cluster Blowing Gamma-Ray Bubbles
For the first time, astronomers using NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have traced a budding outflow of gas from a cluster of young stars in our galaxy — insights that help us understand how the universe has evolved as NASA explores the secrets of the cosmos for the benefit of all. The cluster, called Westerlund […]
NASA’s Webb Observes Exoplanet Whose Composition Defies Explanation
Scientists using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have observed a rare type of exoplanet, or planet outside our solar system, whose atmospheric composition challenges our understanding of how it formed. Officially named PSR J2322-2650b, this Jupiter-mass object appears to have an exotic helium-and-carbon-dominated atmosphere unlike any ever seen before. Soot clouds likely float through the […]
NASA’s IMAP Mission Captures ‘First Light,’ Looks Back at Earth
All 10 instruments aboard NASA’s newly launched IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) mission have successfully recorded their first measurements in space. With these “first light” observations, the spacecraft is now collecting preliminary science data as it journeys to its observational post at Lagrange point 1 (L1), about 1 million miles from Earth toward the […]
NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory Reveals ‘First Light’ Images
NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory has captured its first images from space, revealing rare views of Earth and the Moon in ultraviolet light. Taken on Nov. 17 — still months before the mission’s science phase begins — these “first light” images confirm the spacecraft is healthy while hinting at the incredible views to come. The initial […]
NASA’s Roman Telescope Will Observe Thousands of Newfound Cosmic Voids
Lee esta nota de prensa en español aquí. Our universe is filled with galaxies, in all directions as far as our instruments can see. Some researchers estimate that there are as many as two trillion galaxies in the observable universe. At first glance, these galaxies might appear to be randomly scattered across space, but they’re not. […]
NASA’s Webb, Curiosity Named in TIME’s Best Inventions Hall of Fame
Two icons of discovery, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and NASA’s Curiosity rover, have earned places in TIME’s “Best Inventions Hall of Fame,” which recognizes the 25 groundbreaking inventions of the past quarter century that have had the most global impact, since TIME began its annual Best Inventions list in 2000. The inventions are celebrated […]
NASA Announces Plan to Map Milky Way With Roman Space Telescope
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team has released detailed plans for a major survey that will reveal our home galaxy, the Milky Way, in unprecedented detail. In one month of observations spread across two years, the survey will unveil tens of billions of stars and explore previously uncharted structures. “The Galactic Plane Survey will […]