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This image of a pair of spiral galaxies NGC 4302 and NGC 4298 was released to celebrate the 27th anniversary of the launch of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Image credit: NASA / ESA / M. Mutchler, STScI.

Hubble Celebrates 27th Anniversary with Photo of Galaxy Pair NGC 4302-NGC 4298

Apr 20, 2017 by News Staff

In celebration of the 27th anniversary of the launch of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in 1990, astronomers used the legendary telescope to take a...

This composite of 30 images of the asteroid 2014 JO25 was generated with radar data collected using NASA’s Goldstone Solar System Radar. The radar images were collected on April 18, 2017. At the time, 2014 JO25 was 1.9 million miles (3 million km) from Earth. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / GSSR.

2014 JO25: Stunning Images of Large Asteroid Captured by NASA Radar — Just Before Earth Flyby

Apr 19, 2017 by Natali Anderson

Using NASA’s Goldstone Solar System Radar in Mojave Desert, California, astronomers have captured radar images of the rotating, two-lobed asteroid 2014...

The super-Earth exoplanet LHS 1140b is located in the liquid water habitable zone surrounding its parent star, LHS 1140. Image credit: M. Weiss, CfA.

LHS 1140b: Potentially Habitable Super-Earth Found Orbiting Nearby Red Dwarf

Apr 19, 2017 by Sergio Prostak

Astronomers have discovered a ‘super-Earth’ exoplanet in the habitable zone of LHS 1140, a small, cool star in the constellation of Cetus, approximately...

Ahn et al found two ultra-compact dwarf galaxies, VUCD3 and M59cO, with supermassive black holes. The findings suggest that these dwarf galaxies are likely tiny leftovers of larger galaxies that were stripped of their outer layers after colliding into other, larger galaxies Messier 87 and Messier 59, respectively. Image credit: NASA / Space Telescope Science Institute.

Researchers Find Supermassive Black Holes in Two Ultra-Compact Dwarf Galaxies

Apr 18, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers and astrophysicists, led by University of Utah, has detected supermassive black holes in two ultra-compact dwarf galaxies:...

This artist’s concept shows a hypothetical aquaplanet around the binary star system of Kepler-35. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Study: Earth-Like Circumbinary Exoplanets Could Be Habitable

Apr 17, 2017 by News Staff

A study by Dr. Siegfried Eggl of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Dr. Max Popp of Princeton University and the Max Planck Institute of Meteorology...

This Hubble image shows a few of the tenuous threads that comprise Sh2-308. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

Hubble Space Telescope Snaps Picture of Cosmic ‘Bubble’

Apr 17, 2017 by News Staff

A new image taken recently by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captured a faint and wispy shell of gas in the constellation of Canis Major. This Hubble...

Artist concept of the planetary body 2014 UZ224. Image credit: Alexandra Angelich / NRAO / AUI / NSF.

ALMA Observes Trans-Neptunian Planetary Body 2014 UZ224

Apr 13, 2017 by News Staff

Researchers using Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have uncovered new clues about the recently-discovered planetary body UZ224. The...

Dark matter filaments (shown in red) bridge the space between galaxies (shown in white) on this false color map. Image credit: Seth Epps & Michael Hudson, University of Waterloo.

Astronomers Create ‘Image’ of Dark Matter Bridge that Connects Galaxies

Apr 12, 2017 by News Staff

A duo of scientists at the University of Waterloo, Canada, has been able to capture the first composite image of a dark matter bridge that connects galaxies...

Jupiter’s Great Cold Spot (a dark spot). Image credit: Stallard et al.

‘Great Cold Spot’ Discovered in Jupiter’s Upper Atmosphere

Apr 12, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of researchers, led by University of Leicester planetary astronomer Tom Stallard, has detected a localized region of cooling —...

Artist’s impression of the super-Earth GJ 1132b. Image credit: MPIA.

Astronomers Detect Atmosphere around Super-Earth GJ 1132b

Apr 10, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers, led by Keele University researcher John Southworth, has managed to detect an atmosphere around GJ 1132b, a ‘super-Earth’...

This image snapped by Hubble reveals a detailed view of part of the spiral galaxy NGC 4536. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

Hubble Takes Close Look at NGC 4536

Apr 10, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has taken the most detailed image so far of a spectacular part of the spiral galaxy NGC 4536. This image snapped by...

Stellar explosions are often associated with supernovae, the powerful and catastrophic deaths of stars. But new ALMA observations of the Orion Nebula complex provide insights into explosions at the other end of the stellar life cycle -- star birth. The colors in the ALMA data represent the relative Doppler shifting of the millimeter-wavelength light emitted by carbon monoxide gas. The blue color represents gas approaching at the highest speeds; the red color is from gas moving toward us more slowly. The background image includes optical and near-infrared imaging from both the Gemini South and ESO’s Very Large Telescope. The famous Trapezium Cluster of hot young stars appears towards the bottom of this image. Image credit: ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO / J. Bally / H. Drass et al.

ALMA Captures Star Birth in Orion Molecular Cloud

Apr 8, 2017 by News Staff

Around 500 years ago, two protostars had a perilously close encounter that blasted their stellar nursery apart. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter...

Hubble Space Telescope Observes Jupiter at Opposition

Apr 7, 2017 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope observed the Solar System’s largest planet on April 3, 2017 — just days before it is in opposition on April...

This is an artist impression of a progenitor of Milky Way-like galaxies in the early Universe with a background quasar shining through a ‘super halo’ of hydrogen gas surrounding the galaxy. New ALMA observations of two such galaxies reveal that these vast halos extend well beyond the galaxies’ dusty, star-forming disks. Image credit: A. Angelich / NRAO / AUI / NSF.

ALMA Spots Two Young Milky Way-Like Galaxies in Early Universe

Apr 3, 2017 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have observed a pair of massive, dusty galaxies seen when the Universe was only...

This is a composite image of the giant planet Uranus by NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft and two different observations made by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope (one for Uranus’ ring system and one for the planet’s auroras). Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / L. Lamy.

Stunning New Views of Uranus’ Auroras

Apr 3, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of astronomers has captured new images of auroras above the gas giant Uranus. This is a composite image of the giant planet Uranus...

CDF-S XT1 became 1,000 times brighter over a few hours before fading dramatically in about a day. Image credit: NASA / CXC / Pontifical Catholic University / F.Bauer et al.

NASA’s Chandra Observatory Records Mysterious Explosion 10.7 Billion Light-Years Away

Mar 31, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers have discovered a mysterious flash of X-rays using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, in the deepest X-ray image...

This Hubble image shows the supernova remnant N103B (top of the image). N103B was a Type Ia supernova, located in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Owing to its relative proximity to Earth, astronomers observe the remnant to search for a potential stellar survivor of the explosion. The orange-red filaments visible in the image show the shock fronts of the supernova explosion. These filaments allow astronomers to calculate the original centre of the explosion. The filaments also show that the explosion is no longer expanding as a sphere, but is elliptical in shape. Astronomers assume that part of material ejected by the explosion hit a denser cloud of interstellar material, which slowed its speed. The shell of expanding material being open to one side supports this idea. The gas in the lower half of the image and the dense concentration of stars in the lower left are the outskirts of the rich star cluster NGC 1850. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

Astronomers Observe Type Ia Supernova Remnant in Large Magellanic Cloud

Mar 30, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers has used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to observe N103B, a supernova remnant in our neighboring galaxy the Large...

Swift J0042.6+4112 is brighter at high energies than the Andromeda galaxy’s entire black hole population. The inset image shows the pulsar candidate in blue, as seen in X-ray light by NASA’s NuSTAR mission. The background image of the Andromeda galaxy was taken by NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer in UV light. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / GSFC / JHU.

Astronomers Solve Mystery of Andromeda’s Hard X-Rays

Mar 28, 2017 by News Staff

The Andromeda galaxy (also known as Messier 31) features a dominant source of hard X-rays, but its identity was mysterious until now. An international...

SDO image of the solar corona in UV light (yellow lines represent the magnetic field on the surface of the Sun). Image credit: NASA / SDO / AIA / LMSAL.

Astronomers Detect Planetary Waves on Sun

Mar 28, 2017 by News Staff

Using data from NASA’s SDO (Solar Dynamics Observatory) and STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) missions, astronomers have detected so-called...