Category Archives: Hubble Telescope

The Hubble telescope has taken an amazing picture of a hybrid galaxy, which is part spiral, like our own, and part lenticular, so lacks many new stars.

The galaxys tremendous size also makes it stand out, with a mass four times that of our own Milky Way.

Its called UGC 12591 and lies 400 million light-years away in the Pisces-Perseus Supercluster, which is a chain of galaxy clusters hundreds of light-years long.

The galaxy is part of a chain of them hundreds of light-years long (ESA/Hubble & NASA)

It also spins much faster than the Milky Way a neck-breaking 1.8 million km/h compared with our own leisurely 828,000 km/h.

Scientists think its massive size could be because it either collided with another galaxy or just keeps growing, but more pictures from Hubble should help them work it out.

The telescope was launched into space in 1990 and has been taking fantastic pictures unobstructed by the Earths light pollution, atmosphere or weather ever since.

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The Hubble Space Telescope has photographed a stunning hybrid galaxy - BreakingNews.ie

The most advanced space telescope in the world --and beyond -- is being built in our own backyard. (Photo courtesy NASA)

BALTIMORE (WBFF) -- The most advanced space telescope in the world --and beyond -- is being built in our own backyard.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), is slated for launch from French Guiana in October of 2018.

Dr. John Mather is the Senior Project Scientist and is one of thousands working on the infrared telescope, which will be a successor to the Hubble Telescope.

The technology is undergoing extensive tests to ensure it will survive the launch.

When this telescope is a million miles away there's no way to fix it, so potential problems are solved at Goddard's facility in Maryland.

"We have the capability here and we might be the only place in the entire universe that can do this," Dr. Mather said. "We are certainly the only place in NASA that can lead this project."

Next, parts will ship to California where the observatory is being built but once the telescope is in space, it will be monitored right from Baltimore.

"The operations of the observatory are going to be in Baltimore," Dr. Mather said. "At the Space Telescope Science Institute where they also run the operations for the Hubble Telescope."

Scientists are eagerly awaiting the launch. There's no telling what the findings will reveal about the universe.

"We think we will be able to see the first galaxies being born,the first black holes being born," Dr. Mather said, adding, "if we guess right about how they actually do. How the galaxies grow."

He is confident about the team in place preparing the advanced technology for its deep space mission.

"We have a wonderful team here," Dr. Mather said. "The engineers are are some of the best I've met. They make things happen you could only wish for. Eventually we will point the telescope at the sky and discover things you've never knew about."

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Hubble Telescope's successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, being built in Maryland - Fox Baltimore

A team of astronomers in Garching, Germany, discovered a comet-like object in a distant galaxy 170 light-years from Earth that is similar in composition to the famed Halleys comet however, this one is about 100,000 times bigger. New Hubble Space Telescope findings are evidence for a belt of comet-like bodies orbiting the white dwarf, similar to our solar systems Kuiper Belt.

The international team of astronomers observed the white dwarf WD 1425+540 in the constellation Botes (the Herdsman) . While studying the white dwarfs atmosphere using both the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the W. M. Keck Observatory the team found evidence that an object rather like a massive comet was falling onto the star, getting tidally disrupted while doing so.

The team determined that the object had a chemical composition similar to the famous Halleys Comet in our own Solar System, but it was 100 000 times more massive and had twice the proportion of water as its local counterpart. Spectral analysis showed that the destroyed object was rich in the elements essential for life, including carbon, oxygen, sulphur and even nitrogen .

This makes it the first detection of nitrogen in the debris falling onto a white dwarf. Lead author Siyi Xu of the European Southern Observatory, Germany, explains the importance of the discovery: Nitrogen is a very important element for life as we know it. This particular object is quite rich in nitrogen, more so than any object observed in our Solar System.

There are already more than a dozen white dwarfs known to be polluted with infalling debris from rocky, asteroid-like objects, but this is the first time a body made of icy, comet-like material has been seen polluting a white dwarfs atmosphere. These findings are evidence for a belt of comet-like bodies, similar to our Solar Systems Kuiper Belt, orbiting the white dwarf. These icy bodies apparently survived the stars evolution from a main sequence star similar to our Sun to a red giant and its final collapse to a small, dense white dwarf.

The team that made this discovery also considered how this massive object got from its original, distant orbit onto a collision course with its parent star. The change in the orbit could have been caused by the gravitational distribution by so far undetected, surviving planets which have perturbed the belt of comets. Another explanation could be that the companion star of the white dwarf disturbed the belt and caused objects from the belt to travel toward the white dwarf. The change in orbit could also have been caused by a combination of these two scenarios.

The Kuiper Belt in the Solar System, which extends outward from Neptunes orbit, is home to many dwarf planets, comets, and other small bodies left over from the formation of the Solar System. The new findings now provide observational evidence to support the idea that icy bodies are also present in other planetary systems and have survived throughout the history of the stars evolution

Siyi Xu of the European Southern Observatory, who led the team that made the discovery, says this is the first time nitrogen has been detected in the planetary debris that falls onto a white dwarf.

The Daily Galaxy via NASA and ESA ( Z. Levy image)

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NASA's Hubble Telescope Observes a Comet 100,000-Times ... - The Daily Galaxy (blog)

NASA and the European Space Agency's Hubble telescope captured a rare photo of the Calabash Nebula, a protoplanetary nebula formed from a dying star that's 1.4 light years long and approximately 5,000 light years from Earth.

"This image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the star going through a rapid transformation from a red giant to a planetary nebula, during which it blows its outer layers of gas and dust out into the surrounding space," the ESA said last week. "The recently ejected material is spat out in opposite directions with immense speed the gas shown in yellow is moving close to a million kilometers an hour."

A protoplanetary nebula is an astronomical object that occurs during a star's transition between its late asymptotic giant branch phase and the planetary nebula phase.

The Calabash Nebula is also called the Rotten Egg Nebula due to its sulphur content, which smells like rotten eggs when it comes into contact with other elements.

The photo is especially rare because the phase occurs in an instant, at least by astronomical standards. Scientists predict the nebula will evolve into a planetary nebula over the next thousand years.

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NASA Hubble telescope captures 'Rotten Egg' nebula - KCRA Sacramento

Part of the constellation of Sagittarius, known as The Archer, was imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera in fantastic details. Stars across the photo twinkle with reds, blues, silvers and golds.

Thousands of stars and galaxies set a phenomenal backdrop in thisHubble Space Telescope image that includes a section of the constellation of Sagittarius.

"The region is rendered in exquisite detail deep red and bright blue stars are scattered across the frame, set against a background of thousands of more distant stars and galaxies," NASA officials wrote in an image description. "Two features are particularly striking: the colors of the stars, and the dramatic crosses that burst from the centers of the brightest bodies."NASA released the image on Jan. 19.

Scientists used Hubble's Advanced Cameras for Surveys to capture the stars of Sagittarius, a constellation that is also known as The Archer. The fascinating crosses seen in the brighter stars are known as diffraction spikes. [See more amazing space photos by Hubble]

"The crosses are nothing to do with the stars themselves, and, because Hubble orbits above Earth's atmosphere, nor are they due to any kind of atmospheric disturbance," NASA officials wrote in the description, adding that the crosses are caused by part of Hubble itself. "Like all big modern telescopes, Hubble uses mirrors to capture light and form images. Its secondary mirror is supported by struts, called telescope spiders, arranged in a cross formation, and they diffract the incoming light."

The Hubble Space Telescope is a joint venture between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency).The telescope launched on April 24, 1990. After four servicing missions, the craft has worked for more than 25 years snapping images of the Universe for astronomers and scientists to study. Hubble has traveled more than of 3 billion (with a 'B') miles while orbiting Earth and has made more than 1.3 million observations.

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The Brilliant Stars of Sagittarius Glitter for Hubble Telescope - Space.com

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Explosive, stinky star death captured by Hubble telescope Fox 59 The Hubble Telescope captured the spectacular death of a star -- an event that has rarely been seen by astronomers. The dying star, known as a red giant, in its final stages blows out its outer layers, leaving clouds of gas and dust, which is called a ...

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Explosive, stinky star death captured by Hubble telescope - Fox 59

Officials Mull Proposal for Manned Mission to Refurbish Hubble Telescope Wall Street Journal President Donald Trump's advisers are considering an industry proposal to send a manned spacecraft to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope within the next few years, according to people familiar with the matter. The discussions are still ...

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Officials Mull Proposal for Manned Mission to Refurbish Hubble Telescope - Wall Street Journal

located approx. 170 light years away from Earth

This artists concept shows a massive, comet-like object falling toward a white dwarf. New Hubble Space Telescope findings are evidence for a belt of comet-like bodies orbiting the white dwarf, similar to our solar systems Kuiper Belt. (NASA, ESA, Z. Levy image)

(AOL BUZZ60) A team of astronomers in Garching, Germany, discovered a comet-like object in a distant galaxy that is similar in composition to the famed Halleys comet however, this one is about 100,000 times bigger.

Using NASAs Hubble Space Telescope, researchers discovered the massive object was rich in the elements essential for life, including nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, and sulfur.

The comet is in the process of being ripped apart and scattered in the atmosphere of a white dwarf, dubbed WD 1425+540, which is located approximately 170 light years away from Earth.

Siyi Xu of the European Southern Observatory, who led the team that made the discovery, says this is the first time nitrogen has been detected in the planetary debris that falls onto a white dwarf.

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Using NASAs Hubble Space Telescope, researchers discovered the massive object was rich in the elements essential for life, including nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, and sulfur.

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NASA's Hubble Telescope, Astronomers Discover Comet 100000-Times Bigger Than Halley's - SpaceCoastDaily.com

(CNN) -- The Hubble Telescope captured the spectacular death of a star -- an event that has rarely been seen by astronomers.

The dying star, known as a red giant, in its final stages blows out its outer layers, leaving clouds of gas and dust, which is called a planetary nebula.

NASA and the European Space Agency released the photo of the Calabash Nebula. The gas, seen in yellow, was ejected as fast as 621,371 miles per hour, according to the ESA.

Astronomers rarely get to see this kind transition because it occurs "within the blink of an eye -- in astronomical terms," the ESA said.

The nebula is also known as the Rotten Egg Nebula, because it contains a lot of sulfur, which smells like rotten eggs. Luckily, this is happening about 5,000 light-years away in the constellation of Puppis, according to the ESA.

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Explosive, stinky star death captured by Hubble telescope ...

Unless youve been totally cut off from all news lately, youve probably noticed that things arent going so well here on earth. The environment is being destroyed, Trump is signing executive orders without bothering to even reading them, and Tom Brady has yet another ring to add to his collection. Unfortunately, things in space arent much different.

NASAs Hubble Telescope just took a photo of a star dying. According to Time, the snapshot captured the star transforming from a red giant to a planetary nebula - or as NASA is calling it, the Calabash Nebula.

The photo shows the red giant blowing dust and sulphuric gases into space at a speed of 621,371 miles per hour. Because of its stinky, sulphur strewn into the galaxy, scientists also call the nebula the Rotten Egg Nebula.

Over the next thousand years, the cloud will turn into a fully formed planetary nebula, but for NASA, the split second when that the star exploded was the key moment, a rarity that they were lucky, and skilled, enough to catch on camera.

Now lets just hope that NASA can retain some funding to remind us that theres still some beauty left in this universe, even if it takes a telescope to see it.

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NASA's Hubble Telescope Snapped a Rare Photo of a Dying Star ... - MERRY JANE