Hubble News

Photo Release: Hubble Inspects a Contorted Spiral Galaxy

Thu, 27 May 2021 13:00:00 +0200

This spectacular image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the trailing arms of NGC 2276, a spiral galaxy 120 million light-years away in the constellation of Cepheus. At first glance, the delicate tracery of bright spiral arms and dark dust lanes resembles countless other spiral galaxies. A closer look reveals a strangely lopsided galaxy shaped by gravitational interaction and intense star formation.

Photo Release: Hubble Celebrates 31st Birthday with Giant Star on the Edge of Destruction

Fri, 23 Apr 2021 15:00:00 +0200

In celebration of the 31st anniversary of the launching of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers aimed the celebrated observatory at one of the brightest stars seen in our galaxy to capture its beauty.

Science Release: Hubble Sees New Atmosphere Forming on a Rocky Exoplanet

Thu, 11 Mar 2021 15:00:00 +0100

For the first time, scientists using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have found evidence of volcanic activity reforming the atmosphere on a rocky planet around a distant star. The planet, GJ 1132 b, has a similar density, size, and age to those of Earth.

Science Release: Hubble Uncovers Concentration of Small Black Holes

Thu, 11 Feb 2021 16:00:00 +0100

Scientists were expecting to find an intermediate-mass black hole at the heart of the globular cluster NGC 6397, but instead they found evidence of a concentration of smaller black holes lurking there. New data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have led to the first measurement of the extent of a collection of black holes in a core-collapsed globular cluster.

Photo Release: Hubble Pinpoints Supernova Blast

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 10:00:00 +0100

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has observed the supernova remnant named 1E 0102.2-7219. Researchers are using Hubble’s imagery of the remnant object to wind back the clock on the expanding remains of this exploded star in the hope of understanding the supernova event that caused it 1700 years ago.

Photo Release: When Galaxies Collide: Hubble Showcases 6 Beautiful Galaxy Mergers

Thu, 07 Jan 2021 10:00:00 +0100

To celebrate a new year, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has published a montage of six beautiful galaxy mergers. Each of these merging systems was studied as part of the recent HiPEEC survey to investigate the rate of new star formation within such systems. These interactions are a key aspect of galaxy evolution and are among the most spectacular events in the lifetime of a galaxy.

Science Release: Hubble Identifies Strange Exoplanet That Behaves Like the Long-Sought “Planet Nine”

Thu, 10 Dec 2020 17:00:00 +0100

The 11-Jupiter-mass exoplanet called HD106906 b occupies an unlikely orbit around a double star 336 light-years away and it may be offering clues to something that might be much closer to home: a hypothesized distant member of our Solar System dubbed “Planet Nine.” This is the first time that astronomers have been able to measure the motion of a massive Jupiter-like planet that is orbiting very far away from its host stars and visible debris disc.

Photo Release: Hubble Captures Fading of the Stingray Nebula

Thu, 03 Dec 2020 16:00:00 +0100

Astronomers have caught a rare glimpse of a rapidly fading shroud of gas around an aging star. Archival data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveal that the nebula Hen 3-1357, nicknamed the Stingray nebula, has faded precipitously over just the past two decades. Witnessing such a swift rate of change in a planetary nebula is exceedingly without precedent, researchers say.

Science Release: New Hubble Data Explains Missing Dark Matter

Thu, 26 Nov 2020 15:00:00 +0100

New data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope provides further evidence for tidal disruption in the galaxy NGC 1052-DF4. This result explains a previous finding that this galaxy is missing most of its dark matter. By studying the galaxy’s light and globular cluster distribution, astronomers have concluded that the gravity forces of the neighbouring galaxy NGC 1035 stripped the dark matter from NGC 1052-DF4 and are now tearing the galaxy apart.

Photo Release: Hubble Observes Spectacular Supernova Time-Lapse

Thu, 01 Oct 2020 16:00:00 +0200

The NASA/ESA’s Hubble Space Telescope has tracked the fading light of a supernova in the spiral galaxy NGC 2525, located 70 million light years away. Supernovae like this one can be used as cosmic tape measures, allowing astronomers to calculate the distance to their galaxies. Hubble captured these images as part of one of its major investigations, measuring the expansion rate of the Universe, which can help answer fundamental questions about our Universe’s very nature.