Latest news from Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) on News en-us Copyright 2024 News 115 31 / /images/newswise-logo-rss.gif /articles/nasa-s-hubble-finds-sizzling-details-about-young-star-fu-orionis/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-hubble-finds-sizzling-details-about-young-star-fu-orionis/?sc=rsin Thu, 21 Nov 2024 13:00:15 EST Young star FU Orionis is pretty shocking! Astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope to observe the sizzling star in ultraviolet light. At 16,000 kelvins, nearly three times our sun's surface temperature, its disk is nearly twice as hot as prior models have calculated. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-hubble-sees-aftermath-of-galaxy-s-scrape-with-milky-way/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-hubble-sees-aftermath-of-galaxy-s-scrape-with-milky-way/?sc=rsin Thu, 14 Nov 2024 10:00:15 EST Hubble witnessed a dwarf galaxy crashing through the Milky Way galaxy's gaseous halo and living to tell the tale...though a bit worse for wear! Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-hubble-webb-probe-surprisingly-smooth-disk-around-vega/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-hubble-webb-probe-surprisingly-smooth-disk-around-vega/?sc=rsin Fri, 01 Nov 2024 10:00:21 EST Combining the power of the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes, astronomers revisited the legendary star Vega and found a smooth disk surrounding it--a surprise to astronomers who expected to see evidence of one or more large planets plowing through the disk, which is common around other young stars. But Vega is forcing astronomers to rethink the range and variety of planetary systems around stars. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/blood-soaked-eyes-nasa-s-webb-hubble-examine-galaxy-pair/?sc=rsin /articles/blood-soaked-eyes-nasa-s-webb-hubble-examine-galaxy-pair/?sc=rsin Thu, 31 Oct 2024 10:05:33 EST This ghastly galactic "countenance" recalls mythological human-hunters like the Algonquian wendigo -- an emaciated figure with ashen flesh and glowing eyes that grows larger and larger as it feasts, and is never satiated. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-hubble-sees-a-stellar-volcano/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-hubble-sees-a-stellar-volcano/?sc=rsin Wed, 16 Oct 2024 10:00:49 EST The Hubble Space Telescope has provided a dramatic and colorful close-up look at R Aquarii, one of the most rambunctious stars in our galaxy, weaving a huge spiral pattern among the stars. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-hubble-new-horizons-team-up-for-a-simultaneous-look-at-uranus/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-hubble-new-horizons-team-up-for-a-simultaneous-look-at-uranus/?sc=rsin Wed, 09 Oct 2024 14:40:40 EST Uranus, the planet second most distant from our Sun, has been described as mysterious, strange, and fairly unknown to those of us here on Earth. However, in astronomy, these terms are pretty relative. Compared to the remote, dark stretches of the early universe or oddball exoplanets dozens of light-years from our solar system, researchers actually know a lot about Uranus. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-hubble-watches-jupiter-s-great-red-spot-behave-like-a-stress-ball/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-hubble-watches-jupiter-s-great-red-spot-behave-like-a-stress-ball/?sc=rsin Wed, 09 Oct 2024 14:15:00 EST Using Hubble, astronomers have discovered that Jupiter's Great Red Spot (GRS) is not as stable as it might look. Hubble measurements of the GRS's size, shape, brightness, color, and vorticity showed it can change dimensions--looking like a slightly skinnier or fatter red oval over 90 days. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-webb-reveals-unusual-jets-of-volatile-gas-from-icy-centaur-29p/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-webb-reveals-unusual-jets-of-volatile-gas-from-icy-centaur-29p/?sc=rsin Wed, 02 Oct 2024 10:10:14 EST Using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, a team of astronomers observed Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, one of the most active and intriguing objects in the outer solar system. The high degree of detail captured by the telescope led to the discovery of new, previously unknown jets of gas, which is helping inform theories about how centaurs and planets are formed. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-hubble-finds-that-a-black-hole-beam-promotes-stellar-eruptions/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-hubble-finds-that-a-black-hole-beam-promotes-stellar-eruptions/?sc=rsin Thu, 26 Sep 2024 10:00:33 EST Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have discovered that the blowtorch-like jet blasting from a supermassive black hole at the core of galaxy M87 seems to cause stars to erupt along its trajectory. The stars, called novae, are not caught inside the jet, but are apparently in a dangerous neighborhood nearby. Hubble found twice as many novae going off near the jet as elsewhere in the giant galaxy during the surveyed time period. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/in-odd-galaxy-nasa-s-webb-finds-potential-missing-link-to-first-stars/?sc=rsin /articles/in-odd-galaxy-nasa-s-webb-finds-potential-missing-link-to-first-stars/?sc=rsin Wed, 25 Sep 2024 10:05:04 EST Amid a crowded field of galaxies captured by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, one otherwise inconspicuous galaxy stands out for emitting a light signature that astronomers have never seen before. Together, an observational astronomer and a theorist investigated potential causes. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/webb-provides-another-look-into-galactic-collisions/?sc=rsin /articles/webb-provides-another-look-into-galactic-collisions/?sc=rsin Wed, 18 Sep 2024 10:10:06 EST Arp 107, a pair of interacting galaxies, shines brightly in high-resolution infrared light. A collision, which occurred hundreds of millions ago, created a tenuous bridge of gas and dust that connects the two galaxies, and started a new wave of star formation that NASA's James Webb Space Telescope captures clearly. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-hubble-finds-more-black-holes-than-expected-in-the-early-universe/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-hubble-finds-more-black-holes-than-expected-in-the-early-universe/?sc=rsin Tue, 17 Sep 2024 10:00:39 EST Using Hubble, astronomers have found more black holes in the early universe than previously thought. They went black hole hunting in the landmark Hubble Ultra Deep Field, first revealed in 2004, and in following observations to look for supermassive black holes. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-webb-peers-into-the-extreme-outer-galaxy/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-webb-peers-into-the-extreme-outer-galaxy/?sc=rsin Thu, 12 Sep 2024 10:05:39 EST How do environmental factors affect the star formation process? To help answer this question, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope examined the fringes of our Milky Way galaxy. Webb's near- and mid-infrared imaging capabilities enabled scientists to examine a star-forming area reminiscent of our galaxy during its early formation. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-hubble-chandra-find-supermassive-black-hole-duo/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-hubble-chandra-find-supermassive-black-hole-duo/?sc=rsin Mon, 09 Sep 2024 10:00:05 EST Hubble and Chandra have uncovered a pair of supermassive black holes that are just 300 light-years apart. They are buried deep inside the heart of a pair of colliding galaxies that will eventually merge to make a bigger black hole. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-hubble-maven-help-solve-the-mystery-of-mars-escaping-water/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-hubble-maven-help-solve-the-mystery-of-mars-escaping-water/?sc=rsin Thu, 05 Sep 2024 10:00:46 EST A Martian mystery: What happened to the water that once covered the Red Planet? Scientists know some of it went deep underground, but what became of the rest? Hubble and MAVEN teamed up to help scientists understand the history of water on Mars. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-webb-reveals-distorted-galaxy-forming-cosmic-question-mark/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-webb-reveals-distorted-galaxy-forming-cosmic-question-mark/?sc=rsin Wed, 04 Sep 2024 10:05:13 EST Astronomers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope were surprised to find a distant, red galaxy distorted into the shape of a question mark. A specific, rarely-seen type of natural gravitational lens is causing the galaxy to appear multiple times. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-roman-space-telescope-to-investigate-galactic-fossils/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-roman-space-telescope-to-investigate-galactic-fossils/?sc=rsin Thu, 29 Aug 2024 10:10:09 EST The universe may seem static, only capable of being captured in still frames, but that is far from the truth. It is actually ever-changing, just not on timescales clearly visible to humans. NASA's upcoming Roman Space Telescope will bridge this gap in time, opening the way to the dynamic universe. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/new-horizons-spacecraft-answers-question-how-dark-is-space/?sc=rsin /articles/new-horizons-spacecraft-answers-question-how-dark-is-space/?sc=rsin Wed, 28 Aug 2024 13:05:23 EST NASA's New Horizons spacecraft measured the feeble background glow that comes from myriad galaxies filling the universe. The finding has settled a long-standing mystery about the source of background light. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/webb-finds-early-galaxies-weren-t-too-big-for-their-britches-after-all/?sc=rsin /articles/webb-finds-early-galaxies-weren-t-too-big-for-their-britches-after-all/?sc=rsin Mon, 26 Aug 2024 10:05:14 EST Not long after the James Webb Space Telescope began science operations in July 2022, breathless headlines proclaimed that observations of distant galaxies were "breaking theories of cosmic evolution." Astronomers had found galaxies that appeared much brighter than expected. If all of that light came from stars, then those galaxies would have formed so many stars, so quickly, that the leading theory for the universe's formation and evolution could not explain them. New research finds that some of those early galaxies are in fact much less massive than they first appeared. Much of their light came, not from stars, but from a hot accretion disk surrounding a supermassive black hole. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-webb-images-cold-exoplanet-12-light-years-away/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-webb-images-cold-exoplanet-12-light-years-away/?sc=rsin Wed, 24 Jul 2024 11:00:00 EST If alien astronomers in a nearby star system had a telescope like NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, and they pointed it toward our solar system, then Jupiter might look very much like this new Webb image of the exoplanet Epsilon Indi Ab. It is one of the coldest exoplanets to be directly detected, with an estimated temperature of 35 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius). Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)