Hubble Views Hen 3-1475, A Planetary Nebula in the Making
The Hubble Space Telescope captured an image of Hen 3-1475, a planetary nebula in the making that is located roughly 18,000 light-years away from Earth…
Astronomy News
Satellites Monitor the Colliding Winds of O-Type Stars
The combined effort of NASA’s Swift satellite, the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton observatory, and several ground-based facilities has allowed scientists to X-ray the colliding stellar…
Cosmic Spiral Around Red Giant Star R Sculptoris Could Elucidate Stellar Evolution
R Sculptoris, an elderly star, located 1,500 light-years from Earth, has been observed in the final stages of stellar life, slowly shedding the outer layers…
Distant Exoplanets Form Planetary Syzygy Celestial Alignment
Astronomers have discovered that two exoplanets are overlapping in the skies as they cross their star. The phenomenon is new enough that it doesn’t have…
Astronomers Discover Star Orbiting the Black Hole at Center of the Milky Way
A team of scientists discovered a star called S0-102 that orbits the black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy in 11.5 years….
Curiosity Assesses a Small Plastic Object Found on the Surface of Mars
NASA’s Curiosity rover continues to assess a small plastic object discovered on the surface of Mars. It is believed that the object is something from…
Herschel Discovers Water Vapor in a Molecular Cloud on the Verge of Star Formation
The Herschel space observatory has discovered water vapor in a pre-stellar core in the constellation of Taurus known as Lynds 1544. This is the first…
Hubble Views the Cosmic Riches of Messier 69
This Hubble image shows the globular cluster Messier 69, also known as NGC 6637, which is located 29,700 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius. This…
Images of the Necklace Nebula
The Necklace Nebula (PN G054.2-03.4) is a planetary nebula situated in the northern constellation Sagitta, and is located about 15,000 light-years away. It was first…
NASA Satellite Discovers a New Black Hole in the Milky Way
NASA’s Swift satellite detected high-energy X-rays a few degrees from the center of our galaxy, toward the constellation Sagittarius. Produced by a rare X-ray nova,…
Scientists Explore How Order Emerges From Chaos in the Cosmos
A newly published paper details how scientists created a model for exploring how electromagnetic fields help organize ionized gas in astrophysical settings, giving scientists a…
A Closer Look at Interacting Galaxies
Scientists look at how galaxy collisions can distort the shapes of the galaxies involved, including the shapes and orientations of the regions around their central…
Curiosity Prepares to Take Its First Scoop of Soil for Analysis
NASA scientists are preparing Curiosity to take its first scoop of soil for analysis, which will likely occur at the “Rocknest” site – a windblown,…
Measuring the Expansion of Universe – A Newly Refined Value for the Hubble Constant
Using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have greatly improved the cosmic distance ladder used to measure the expansion rate of the universe, as well as…
New Image of the Helix Nebula Unraveling Into Space
650 light-years away in the constellation of Aquarius, the Helix nebula is putting on a show as the star’s dusty outer layers are unraveling into…
Twin US Spy Telescopes Could Further American Astronomy
In the cavernous area of Building 1230, located at the ITT Exelis facility in Rochester, New York, there are two 2.4-meter (7.9-foot) telescopes, each as…
ISON Comet May Become Brightest Object in the Night Skies
The comet ISON was recently discovered and it could possibly become the brightest object in the night skies. The comet was discovered a week ago…
Titan Experiences Seasonal Changes
Astronomers have been researching Saturn’s moon Titan for roughly 30 years, discovering that the moon experiences seasonal changes that affect it more than previously thought….