Tag Archive for 'Cepheid'

This artist’s impression shows the evolution of the Universe beginning with the Big Bang on the left followed by the appearance of the Cosmic Microwave Background. The formation of the first stars ends the cosmic dark ages, followed by the formation of galaxies. Image credit: M. Weiss / Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Webb Validates Hubble’s Distance Measurements

Dec 11, 2024 by News Staff

New observations from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope confirms previous measurements by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of distances between...

This Hubble image shows NGC 2090, a spiral galaxy some 40 million light-years away in the southern constellation of Columba. The color image was made from separate exposures taken in the ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared regions of the spectrum with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). It is based on data obtained through six filters. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / D. Thilker.

Hubble Space Telescope Looks at Flocculent Spiral: NGC 2090

Nov 25, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured an amazing new photo of the spiral galaxy NGC 2090. This Hubble image shows NGC 2090,...

This Hubble image shows NGC 4414, an unbarred spiral galaxy located 51 million light-years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / O. Graur / S.W. Jha / A. Filippenko.

Hubble Revisits Majestic Spiral Galaxy: NGC 4414

Oct 28, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured a magnificent new image of the unbarred spiral galaxy NGC 4414. This Hubble image shows...

This false-color image of Polaris, captured by the CHARA Array in April 2021, reveals large bright and dark spots on the star’s surface. Image credit: Evans et al., doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad5e7a.

Astronomers Find Spots on Surface of Polaris

Aug 20, 2024 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) Array have observed Polaris, a member of a triple system and the nearest and...

This image of NGC 5468, a galaxy located some 142 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo, combines data from Hubble and s Webb. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / A. Riess, JHU & STScI.

Webb Measurements Shed New Light on ‘Hubble Tension’ Mystery

Mar 12, 2024 by News Staff

When you are trying to solve one of the biggest conundrums in cosmology, you should triple check your homework. The puzzle, called the Hubble Tension,...

This Hubble image shows NGC 6956, a barred spiral galaxy some 215 million light-years away in the constellation of Delphinus. Image credit: NASA / ESA / D. Jones, University of California, Santa Cruz / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Space Telescope Spots Cepheid Variables in NGC 6956

Dec 17, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have imaged the barred spiral galaxy NGC 6956, which is found in the constellation of Delphinus. This...

This image shows Valparaiso 1, a young open cluster located 7,500 light-years away in the constellation of Scutum. Image credit: Gabriel Pérez Díaz, SMM & IAC.

New Open Cluster Discovered: Valparaiso 1

Jun 3, 2021 by Natali Anderson

Using astrometric, photometric and optical spectroscopy data from ESA’s Gaia mission and the 2MASS survey, astronomers have discovered a large, populous,...

Astronomers Create New 3D Map of Milky Way Galaxy

Aug 2, 2019 by News Staff

By measuring the distance from the Sun to thousands of classical Cepheid stars and the associated young stellar populations scattered across the Milky...

This image shows the entire Large Magellanic Cloud, with some of the brightest objects marked. Image credit: Robert Gendler / ESO.

Universe is Expanding 9% Faster than Expected, New Hubble Measurements Show

Apr 26, 2019 by News Staff

Measurements of today’s expansion rate do not match the rate that was expected based on how the Universe appeared shortly after the Big Bang over 13...

From a great distance, our Milky Way Galaxy would look like a thin disk of stars that orbits once every few hundred million years around its central region, where hundreds of billions of stars provide the gravitational ‘glue’ to hold it all together. But this pull of gravity is much weaker in the Galaxy’s far outer disk. There, the hydrogen atoms making up most of the Milky Way’s gas disk are no longer confined to a thin plane, instead they give the disk an S-like, or warped, appearance. Image credit: Xiaodian Chen.

New 3D Map of Milky Way Reveals True Shape of Its Stellar Disk

Feb 5, 2019 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers has used 1,339 classical Cepheid stars — pulsating variable stars each up to 100,000 brighter than our Sun —...

This Hubble image shows RS Puppis, one of the most luminous in the class of Cepheid variable stars. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble Heritage Team / STScI / AURA / H. Bond, STScI and Pennsylvania State University.

Hubble Observes Variable Star RS Puppis and Surrounding Nebula

Dec 25, 2018 by News Staff

NASA has released a striking photo taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of RS Puppis, a Cepheid type variable star. The brightest star in the Hubble...

Using NASA/ESA Hubble and ESA’s Gaia space telescopes, Riess et al have made the most precise measurements to date of the Universe’s expansion rate. This is calculated by gauging the distances between nearby galaxies using special types of stars called Cepheid variables as cosmic yardsticks. By comparing their intrinsic brightness as measured by Hubble, with their apparent brightness as seen from Earth, scientists can calculate their distances. Gaia further refines this yardstick by geometrically measuring the distances to Cepheid variables within the Milky Way Galaxy. This allowed astronomers to more precisely calibrate the distances to Cepheids that are seen in outside galaxies. Image credit: NASA / ESA / A. Field, STScI.

Universe’s Expansion Measured with Greatest Precision Yet

Jul 16, 2018 by News Staff

Astronomers have used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and ESA’s Gaia space observatory to make the most precise measurements of the expansion rate...

This illustration shows three steps Professor Riess and co-authors used to measure the Hubble constant to an unprecedented accuracy, reducing the total uncertainty to 2.3%. Image credit: NASA / ESA / A. Field, STScI / A. Riess, STScI & JHU.

Hubble Measures Universe Expansion, Gets Intriguing Hints of ‘New Physics’

Mar 12, 2018 by News Staff

A team of U.S. astronomers has used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to make a new measurement of the Hubble constant, the rate at which the Universe...

An artist’s concept of the implied distribution of Cepheids (blue) in the Milky Way. With the exception of a small clump in the Galactic center, the central 8,000 light years appear to have very few Cepheids, and hence very few young stars. Image credit: University of Tokyo.

Large Stellar Void Found in Our Milky Way Galaxy

Aug 4, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers has found that there is a huge region in the inner part of the Galactic disc that is devoid of stars known as Cepheids. An...

Cosmic distance ladder. Image credit: NASA /ESA / A. Field, STScI / A. Riess, STScI & JHU.

Universe is Expanding Faster than Previously Thought

Jun 2, 2016 by News Staff

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have discovered that the Universe is expanding between 5% and 9% faster than previously calculated. Cosmic...

This diagram shows the locations of the newly-discovered Cepheids in an artist’s rendering of our Milky Way Galaxy; the yellow star indicates the position of our Solar System. Image credit: ESO / Microsoft WorldWide Telescope.

Astronomers Discover New Component of Milky Way Galaxy

Oct 28, 2015 by News Staff

Using data from the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea Survey (VVV) ESO Public Survey, astronomers have discovered a previously unknown component of the...

This is a Hubble Space Telescope photo of NGC 3021. Image credit: NASA / ESA / A. Riess, STScI.

Gorgeous New Image from Hubble Space Telescope Shows Spiral Galaxy NGC 3021

Mar 30, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured a stunning new image of the spiral galaxy...

This image shows the famous Trifid Nebula to the right of center; it appears as faint and ghostly at these infrared wavelengths when compared to the familiar view at visible wavelengths; this transparency has brought its own benefits - many previously hidden background objects can now be seen clearly; among these are two newly discovered Cepheid variable stars, the first ever spotted on the far side of our Milky Way Galaxy near its central plane. Image credit: ESO / VVV consortium / D. Minniti.

Astronomers Zoom in on Trifid Nebula, Discover Two Distant Cepheids

Feb 4, 2015 by News Staff

A team of astronomers led by Dr István Dékány from Millennium Institute of Astrophysics and the Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile, has...

This image shows the variable star RS Puppis. Image credit: NASA / ESA / the Hubble Heritage Team / STScI / AURA / Hubble-Europe Collaboration / H. Bond, STScI and Penn State University.

Hubble Zooms in on Variable Star RS Puppis

Dec 26, 2013 by News Staff

Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have observed RS Puppis – a type of star known as a Cepheid variable star – over a period...