The EDGE

Inbox Astronomy: NASA's Hubble Tracks New Decagon Encircling Saturn=?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=99s_?=South Pole

2026-09-02T18:10:37.183+00:00

INBOX ASTRONOMY

NASA's Hubble Tracks New Decagon Encircling Saturn’s South Pole

Release date: Wednesday, September 2, 2026 2:00:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

10-sided wave appears to strengthen in year-over-year Hubble observations

Stunning portraits of the gas giants in our solar system over the last several decades can make these planets seem like familiar, unchanging worlds. Jupiter’s Great Red Spot and Saturn’s famous northern hexagon are recognizable features that have persisted for years, reinforcing that message.

However, astronomers know that these planets are actually constantly in motion, changing much like our own Earth. The latest major discovery from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope offers a striking example: a newly formed, 10-sided atmospheric wave, called a decagon, encircling Saturn’s south pole.

Researchers are just beginning to piece together the history of this new feature and investigate what its evolution can reveal about the dynamic atmospheres of gas giant planets.

Find additional resources at www.stsci.edu

Please do not reply to this message.
You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to the Inbox Astronomy mailing list.

Produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute's Office of Public Outreach

Inbox Astronomy: Hubble Solves Merger Mystery From Milky Way=?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=99s_?=Early Years

2026-08-17T16:46:20.120+00:00

INBOX ASTRONOMY

Hubble Solves Merger Mystery From Milky Way’s Early Years

Release date: Monday, August 17, 2026 11:00:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Astronomers find strong evidence for a massive merger 1.8 billion years earlier than the oldest previously known significant merger.

The early universe was a chaotic place, crowded with young galaxies that smashed together and agglomerated into larger and larger galaxies over billions of years. Our own Milky Way experienced such collisions, but the details are difficult to tease out since they occurred so long ago. Researchers using the Hubble Space Telescope have now extended our knowledge of the Milky Way’s history 1.8 billion years farther back in time than ever before, finding strong evidence that it merged with another galaxy in the earliest phases of its evolution.

Find additional resources at www.stsci.edu

Please do not reply to this message.
You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to the Inbox Astronomy mailing list.

Produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute's Office of Public Outreach

Inbox Astronomy: Lion Nebula Roars to Life With NASA=?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=99s_?=Webb

2026-08-10T14:18:18.777+00:00

INBOX ASTRONOMY

Lion Nebula Roars to Life With NASA’s Webb

Release date: Monday, August 10, 2026 10:00:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

It’s the circle of life and it moves us all — even stars.

The James Webb Space Telescope has gazed across the open “plains” of space to capture a snapshot of NGC 2392, also known as the Lion Nebula. This feline-shaped planetary nebula is the “mane” event, at least temporarily. After several thousand years in the making, it’s finally roaring to life before it will eventually disperse in approximately 10,000 years. In infrared light, Webb reveals complex structures of gas and dust that are illuminated by and migrating away from the source that is powering it all: the dying central star.

Find additional resources at www.stsci.edu

Please do not reply to this message.
You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to the Inbox Astronomy mailing list.

Produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute's Office of Public Outreach