Tag: Hubble
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Space Science in 2026: New lunar explorers, Mars missions, and space telescopes
With many missions on the manifest, the new year promises to be packed with space science. Two interplanetary spacecraft will arrive at their destinations as another Mars window opens in late 2026. Meanwhile, multiple space telescopes have their launch dates set for this year, and the schedule promises an increased cadence for lunar missions. The…
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Hubble observes dead star devouring Pluto-like object
With help from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in low-Earth orbit, scientists recently observed a Pluto-like object being “eaten” by its host star. Hubble’s unique sensitivity to ultraviolet light allowed it to study the planetary system, which lies around 260 light-years away from Earth. The hungry star is a white dwarf — the dense, stellar core…
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Webb reveals structures in planetary nebula, sheds new light on the Hubble Ultra Deep Field
The joint NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope recently observed the remnants of a dying star shedding its outer layers. The resulting colorful cloud is known as a planetary nebula, and structures in this nebula revealed by Webb hint at the presence of a companion star. Meanwhile, a team of scientists used…
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Webb investigates protoplanetary disk in extreme detail, observes glowing interstellar material
The joint NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) James Webb Space Telescope, located at the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 2, recently utilized its extraordinary suite of infrared instruments to investigate and image a protoplanetary disk around a newborn star. Webb’s observations provided scientists with unprecedented views of the disk, material jets, and…
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Space science in 2024: Moon missions, Martian milestones, astrophysics discoveries, and more
2024 was another busy year for space science, with many new missions, successes, and discoveries across the solar system and beyond. Three new missions were launched to the Moon, while one mission was canceled, and Curiosity and Perseverance continued to explore and make discoveries in their respective regions on Mars. Beyond the Earth-Moon system and…
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Jared Isaacman nominated as next NASA administrator
Jared Isaacman has been nominated by President-Elect Donald Trump of the United States of America to become the next NASA Administrator after Senator Bill Nelson’s term ends. Isaacman is expected to be sworn in on Jan. 20, 2025, the first day of Trump’s upcoming term. Isaacman has a long history in the aerospace industry. He…
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Astronomers use Hubble to discover rare intermediate-mass black hole in Omega Centauri
Using the joint NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) Hubble Space Telescope in low-Earth orbit, an international team of astronomers has discovered a rare black hole within Omega Centauri — the largest and brightest known globular cluster in the Milky Way. Globular clusters are large collections of stars and other cosmic material that can span…
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How the Space Shuttle completed a final, daring Hubble repair 15 years ago
The Hubble Space Telescope continues to operate to this day in part due to the work performed 15 years ago by the crew of STS-125. Dubbed Hubble Servicing Mission 4 (HSM 4), scientists knew this would be their final chance to use the space shuttle to visit and upgrade the orbiting laboratory. As we look…
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Using Hubble and Webb, scientists investigate galaxies responsible for the reionization of the universe
Utilizing the infrared-sensitive instruments of the joint NASA, European Space Agency, and Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope, as well as observations from the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists recently collected the first spectroscopic observations of some of the oldest galaxies in the universe, some being born during the first one billion years of the…
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Using Hubble, scientists observe weather on exoplanet
Using data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, an international team of astronomers has detected atmospheric variability on an exoplanet called WASP-121 b. The team analyzed observations taken with Hubble over several years and used computer simulations to demonstrate that the observed variations in the atmosphere could be explained by weather patterns. WASP-121 b, also known…