Hubble Image of the Week – Wild Cosmic Ducks
This star-studded image shows us a portion of Messier 11, an open star cluster in the southern constellation of Scutum (The Shield). Messier 11 is…
Astronomy
New Visualization Provides Ultra HD View of Our Galaxy Center
Want to take a trip to the center of the Milky Way? Check out a new immersive, ultra-high-definition visualization. This 360-movie offers an unparalleled opportunity…
Juno Spacecraft Captures Striking View of Jupiter
This striking view of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot and turbulent southern hemisphere was captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft as it performed a close pass of…
‘Galactic Chimneys’ Funnel Matter Away From Milky Way’s Center
The center of our galaxy is a frenzy of activity. A behemoth black hole — 4 million times as massive as the sun — blasts…
New Results Help Refine Current Models of AGN Activity
All massive galaxies are believed to host supermassive black holes (SMBH) at their centers that grow by accreting mass from their environment. The current picture…
Fermi Discovers ‘Cannonball’ Pulsar Speeding Through Space
Astronomers found a pulsar hurtling through space at nearly 2.5 million miles an hour — so fast it could travel the distance between Earth and…
Hubble Image of Elliptical Galaxy With 200 Billion Stars
This fuzzy orb of light is a giant elliptical galaxy filled with an incredible 200 billion stars. Unlike spiral galaxies, which have a well-defined structure…
VLT Captures Glimpse of Ethereal Nebula Hidden in Orion Constellation
Hidden in one of the darkest corners of the Orion constellation, this Cosmic Bat is spreading its hazy wings through interstellar space two thousand light-years…
OSIRIS-REx Gets Close Up View of Bennu’s Northern Hemisphere
This trio of images acquired by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft shows a wide shot and two close-ups of a region in asteroid Bennu’s northern hemisphere. The…
Chandra Reveals Galactic Storm Raging in Teacup Galaxy
Fancy a cup of cosmic tea? This one isn’t as calming as the ones on Earth. In a galaxy hosting a structure nicknamed the “Teacup,”…
Scientists Simulate Alien Atmospheres on Earth
Researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, are cooking up an alien atmosphere right here on Earth. In a new study, JPL scientists…
Scientists Discover 83 Quasars Powered by Supermassive Black Holes
Astronomers from Japan, Taiwan and Princeton University have discovered 83 quasars powered by supermassive black holes in the distant universe, from a time when the…
Astronomers Have A New Theory On Interstellar Rock ‘Oumuamua
Astronomers at Yale and Caltech say that ‘Oumuamua, the much-discussed interstellar space rock, is best viewed as a comet with odd properties — and not…
Surprising Discovery Revealed After Sifting Through Solar System Dust
Just as dust gathers in corners and along bookshelves in our homes, dust piles up in space too. But when the dust settles in the…
Astronomers Detect Pre-Biotic Molecule Glycolonitrile in Space
Heterocyclic molecules are those containing atoms of at least two different elements (plus hydrogen) arranged in a ring structure. Nitrogen heterocycles are key components in…
Astronomers Discover Closest High-Mass Stellar Objects Ever Measured
Astronomers have discovered a binary star system with the closest high-mass young stellar objects ever measured, providing a valuable “laboratory” to test theories on high…
Hubble Image Of The Week – Nebulous, But No Nebula
This Hubble Picture of the Week shows Messier 28, a globular cluster in the constellation of Sagittarius (The Archer), in jewel-bright detail. It is about…
Hubble & Gaia Reveal Weight of the Milky Way: 1.5 Trillion Solar Masses
In a striking example of multi-mission astronomy, measurements from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the ESA Gaia mission have been combined to improve the…