Articles tagged with Space Telescopes
Two of Pluto's moons, Nix and Hydra, wobble unpredictably due to a constantly shifting gravitational field created by the double planet system of Pluto and Charon. This effect is strengthened by the non-spherical shape of the moons, which may be similar for the other two moons, Kerberos and Styx.
Astronomers have discovered a rare collision between two high-speed knots of ejected matter in a supermassive black hole jet. The finding suggests that shocks produced by collisions within the jet accelerate particles and brighten the regions of colliding material.
Astronomers discovered a peculiar Wolf-Rayet star, Nasty 1, with a vast pancake-shaped gas disk encircling it. The disk may have formed from an unseen companion star through mass transfer in a binary system.
Researchers at Yale University and the University of California-Santa Cruz have detected an exceptionally luminous galaxy more than 13 billion years in the past, EGS-zs8-1. The galaxy is one of the brightest and most massive objects in the early universe, with a mass equivalent to over 15% of our Milky Way.
The Milky Way's star formation rate peaked 10 billion years ago, but our sun formed about 5 billion years ago. This may have fostered the growth of our solar system's planets by enriching the galaxy with heavier elements.
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured wispy, goblin-green objects outside quasar-host galaxies, revealing insights into galaxy behavior and energetic cores. These 'ghostly' structures are believed to have been illuminated by powerful ultraviolet radiation from supermassive black holes.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have captured rare split images of a distant supernova using the Hubble Space Telescope. The images, caused by gravitational lensing, provide insight into dark matter distribution and the expansion rate of the universe.
Astronomers have used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to capture the most detailed edge-on picture yet of a large disk of gas and dust encircling Beta Pictoris. The disk is distorted by the gravitational pull of an embedded giant planet, allowing scientists to study the effects of planetary formation on young star systems.
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured a rare triple-moon conjunction of Jupiter's largest moons Europa, Callisto, and Io. The event occurred on January 24, 2015, with the moons' orbital velocities slowing down as they approached Jupiter's cloud tops.
Researchers found standard stars have about two habitable environments where liquid water can exist, providing conditions for life. However, the existence of intelligent civilizations remains uncertain due to unknown bottlenecks or self-destruction.
Astronomers witness billowing clouds of gas towering above and below the plane of our galaxy, driven by a titanic eruption in the galactic core. The Hubble Space Telescope measures velocity and composition of the mystery lobes, revealing unique information about the expanding gas.
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured the sharpest large composite image of the Andromeda galaxy, revealing over 100 million stars in a 61,000-light-year-long stretch. This panoramic view provides unprecedented insights into the galaxy's structure and evolution.
The new images show the pillars as eerie, wispy silhouettes against a background of stars, with newborn stars hidden within. The infrared view reveals dense knots of dust and gas at the pillar's ends, underscoring the dynamic and violent nature of star-forming regions.
Scientists at RIT and NASA are exploring a new type of space telescope using swarms of particles controlled by laser to form large-aperture lenses. This concept could lead to unprecedented resolution and detail in astrophysical imaging and remote sensing.
Engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center tested a 'tripod' supporting the James Webb Space Telescope's secondary mirror in a successful deployment. The system was designed to unfurl in space to 8 meters long and was tested using the Pathfinder backplane structure.
The largest visible-light imaging survey of dusty debris disks has been conducted around stars as young as 10 million years old and as mature as over 1 billion years. The diversity of these systems suggests gravitational effects from unseen exoplanets or interactions with interstellar material.
The Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope withstood 116 days of extremely cold temperatures, simulating conditions found in space. The successful test ensures the telescope will function correctly at its final destination one million miles away from Earth.
Astronomers use a cosmic magnifying glass to spot a tiny, faint galaxy more than 13 billion light-years away. The discovery provides insight into the early universe and suggests that small, faint galaxies existed about 500 million years after the big bang.
Astronomers have mapped the temperature and water vapor on WASP-43b, a hot exoplanet with turbulent conditions. The findings provide insights into atmospheric dynamics and how giant planets like Jupiter are formed.
Researchers found a tiny galaxy, M60-UCD1, hosting a supermassive black hole with a mass of 21 million suns. The discovery suggests many ultracompact dwarf galaxies may contain huge black holes. The team used Gemini North and Hubble Space Telescope observations to estimate the black hole's mass.
Astronomers used Hubble and ground observations to find the M60-UCD1 dwarf galaxy containing a massive black hole. The discovery suggests compact galaxies may be remnants of larger galaxies torn apart during collisions.
Astronomers have observed the earliest stages of massive galaxy construction, dubbed 'Sparky', which contains about twice as many stars as our Milky Way. The discovery was made possible through combined observations from NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes.
Astronomers have discovered a compact galactic core, nicknamed Sparky, which is seen as it appeared 11 billion years ago. The infant galaxy contains twice as much mass as the Milky Way and is producing 300 stars per year, a rate three times faster than our galaxy.
Astronomers discovered a star system that could have left behind a 'zombie star' after an unusually weak supernova explosion. The team used Hubble Space Telescope images taken years before the stellar explosion to identify a blue companion star feeding energy to a white dwarf.
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope found three 'hot Jupiters' with significantly lower than expected water vapor levels, challenging current theories on planet formation and migration. The discovery may require instruments to be designed with higher sensitivity for future space telescopes searching for water in potentially...
The Advanced Technology Large-Aperture Space Telescope (ATLAST) mission aims to study dark energy, the mysterious form of energy that accelerates the universe's expansion. ATLAST would also detect signatures of life in the atmospheres of Earth-like planets and resolve stars in distant galaxies.
Astronomers have spotted an unusual structure in the universe, resembling a corkscrew-shaped string of pearls, that winds around the cores of two colliding galaxies. The discovery has sparked excitement among researchers, who are still trying to understand the physical processes behind this phenomenon.
A team of astronomers from RIT helped analyze data showing two elliptical galaxies coalescing in a dense galaxy cluster. The study reveals rare insights into elliptical galaxy mergers and finds a string-of-pearl star formation structure with 19 young blue clusters.
A team of 20 scientists monitored the 'heartbeats' of young stars using data from two space telescopes. They found that emerging stars pulsate slowly at first, then faster as they near ignition, revealing insights into their internal structures and ages.
Researchers have discovered a rapidly moving gas streamer blocking X-rays from the galaxy's nucleus, indicating a significant decrease in radiation. This phenomenon may regulate the growth of both the supermassive black hole and its host galaxy.
An international team of astronomers discovered a clumpy gas stream flowing quickly outward and blocking 90 percent of the X-rays emitted by the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy NGC 5548. The researchers believe this activity provides new insights into the interaction of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies.
An international team discovered that black hole outflows obscure observations and x-rays, shedding light on their impact on structure formation. The research provides a better understanding of these outflows and their role in regulating growth, using data from multiple space observatories.
Astronomers have captured a rare and violent image of colliding galaxy clusters, revealing unique phenomena triggered by the collisions. The new observations provide insights into the complex interactions during cluster mergers.
Researchers have discovered five new debris disks around young stars in the Hubble archive, providing insights into planetary system formation and evolution. The disks are composed of dust particles formed from asteroid collisions and offer a glimpse into the early solar system.
Using spatial scanning, astronomers can now measure the distance of stars up to 10,000 light-years away with enhanced accuracy. This new technique is expected to provide insight into dark energy and refine estimates of the universe's expansion rate.
The James Webb Space Telescope's Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) is now complete with the installation of its four science instruments, including NIRSpec. This instrument will help scientists unlock the history of our universe by analyzing light from distant objects and revealing their chemical composition, mass, distance, ...
The James Webb Space Telescope features a primary mirror composed of 18 smaller lightweight mirror segments, each with precise actuators to align and shape the mirror. The segments are designed to work together as one giant mirror, capturing light from distant galaxies and stars in space.
Asteroid P/2013 R3 broke apart into 10 smaller pieces as it approached the sun, with fragments drifting away at a leisurely pace. Scientists believe the asteroid's weak interior and gradual rotation rate may be responsible for its disintegration.
Astronomers have witnessed the first-ever breakup of an asteroid into as many as 10 smaller pieces using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The discovery suggests that sunlight may be responsible for this type of disintegration, which is a subtle effect known as YORP torque.
The spiral galaxy ESO 137-001 is zooming through the Norma cluster at nearly 4.5 million miles per hour, stripping gas from its home and forming new stars in intergalactic space. Astronomers hope that studying this galaxy can help them understand how galaxies form stars and evolve over time.
Astronomers have found a new superpowered small black hole named MQ1 in galaxy M83, which is classed as a microquasar with jets that heat and sweep away surrounding gas. The discovery sheds light on early universe evolution and provides insight into the growth of quasars.
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured an image of SN 2014J, a Type Ia supernova discovered in the galaxy M82. The observations will help refine distance measurements to these explosions, which are essential for understanding the accelerating expansion of the universe.
The James Webb Space Telescope is nearing completion, with all 18 primary mirror segments and four science instruments delivered to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The telescope will be the most powerful space telescope ever built, capable of observing distant objects in the universe.
The Hubble Space Telescope has revealed a glittering treasure trove of more than 800,000 stars and protostars embedded inside the Tarantula Nebula. The observations were obtained as part of the Hubble Tarantula Treasury Program, which will produce a large catalog of stellar properties.
AAS meeting highlights four unusually bright galaxies, a galaxy cluster image, and sampling of galaxies thought to be responsible for most stars in the universe. These ultra-bright, young galaxies are forming stars approximately 50 times faster than our Milky Way galaxy.
The final three of 18 primary mirrors for the James Webb Space Telescope have arrived at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The mirrors, built by Ball Aerospace, will form a 6.5-meter-diameter primary mirror when integrated with a stable structure.
The Hubble Space Telescope observed a 'light echo' phenomenon as RS Puppis variable star pulsed, measuring its distance to 6,500 light-years with high accuracy. The star's fluctuations and reflected light allowed astronomers to narrow down the distance using light echoes.
Researchers have discovered huge active plumes containing water vapour being released from the surface of Europa, a liquid ocean lies beneath its icy crust. The plumes, comparable to earth geysers in size, will aid further investigations of the moon and potentially make life discoveries
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has discovered water vapour erupting from the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa, in one or more localised plumes near its south pole. This finding strengthens Europa's position as a top candidate for potential habitability, but the origin and connection to subsurface liquid water are still unknown.
Researchers have found evidence of iron and nickel in the jets from a typical black hole, revealing that these heavy atoms carry more energy than lighter particles. This discovery suggests that black holes' accretion disks power jets, which could generate detectable gamma rays and neutrinos.
Astronomers have discovered an unusual asteroid with six comet-like tails, which change dramatically over just 13 days. The object's rotation rate may be causing its surface to fly apart, ejecting dust in episodic eruptions.
Astronomers have observed an asteroid, P/2013 P5, spouting six comet-like tails of dust, defying the typical appearance of asteroids. The unusual tail structures change dramatically in just 13 days, sparking debate over their origin and suggesting a possible rotational breakup.
Researchers use spectroscopy to confirm distance of newly discovered galaxy, z8-GND-5296, which forms stars at a rate ~300 times that of the Milky Way. The discovery sheds light on the earliest formation of galaxies and provides insights into the evolution of galaxies throughout the universe's age.
Researchers detect z8_GND_5296 galaxy using Hubble Space Telescope data, revealing universe's earliest conditions. The discovery sheds light on the era when the universe transitioned from opaque to translucent state.
New research reveals that 'red nugget' galaxies, previously thought to be extinct, were actually hidden within previous survey data. These compact galaxies may represent a missing link between distant 'red nuggets' and nearby elliptical galaxies.
Recent study reveals that coldest brown dwarfs are warmer than initially thought, with temperatures around 250-350 degrees Fahrenheit. This challenges current understanding of their behavior and raises questions about the role of other factors in driving chemistry at their surfaces.
Astronomers have created time-lapse movies of a jet of superheated gas emanating from a supermassive black hole at the center of galaxy M87. The research team analyzed Hubble data to study the details of this process in understanding galaxy formation and black hole physics.
Astronomers use Hubble to study distant galaxies 11 billion years ago, confirming the Hubble Sequence holds true as far back as 8 billion years. The study finds that all galaxies fit into different classifications of the sequence, with blue star-forming galaxies and massive red galaxies dominating at these early times.
Researchers have found that mature-looking galaxies existed 11.5 billion years ago, pushing back the timeline of galaxy formation by 2.5 billion years. This discovery confirms the Hubble Sequence, a classification system used to describe galaxy morphology, even at early stages of the universe's history.
Astronomers using Hubble Space Telescope have solved the mystery of the Magellanic Stream's origin, finding most of the gas came from the Small Magellanic Cloud two billion years ago. A second region was formed more recently from the Large Magellanic Cloud, contradicting previous computer models.