NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has zoomed in on one side of a cosmic tug-of-war that will rage between two galaxies for tens of millions of years. Frustratingly, this is one competition in which a clear winner may never emerge, as the two galaxies could well be drawn together to merge into one at the end […]
A stunning new Hubble Space Telescope image shows a huge ‘bridge of stars’ extending from one of the galaxies in a galactic grouping to another. The image focuses on the galaxy Arp 295a, from which the 250,000 light-year-long streamer of stars is stretching, as it is seen edge-on by Hubble and surrounded by a milky-colored […]
NASA has composed a beautiful melody to represent the cosmic collision of two galaxies. The lenticular galaxy NGC 274 and barred spiral galaxy NGC 275, collectively known as Arp 140, are in the process of merging to form a single new structure. Following such a collision, the combination of interstellar material will trigger a burst […]
Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered that the atmosphere of a relatively small planet outside the solar system is rich with water vapor. Don’t plan a vacation to this destination just yet, however. The planet’s surface is hot enough to melt lead, meaning it’s a steamy world inhospitable to life as we know […]
Star formation is in business in a pair of merging galaxies recently photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope. The spiral galaxies UGC 05028 and UGC 05029 — collectively known as Arp 300 — are in the process of merging. Otherwise known as interacting, or colliding, galaxies, the smaller galaxy (UGC 05028) has been tugged and […]
A new Hubble Space Telescope image shows the tiny galaxy UGC 5189A, located about 150 million light-years away in the constellation Leo, in stunning detail. The space telescope, which has been observing the universe in infrared since 1990, has been studying this galaxy since 2010, with scientists using this investigation to learn more about a […]
The brightest fast radio burst ever observed emerged from a group of ancient galaxies that appear to be merging, observations by the Hubble Space Telescope have revealed. The finding surprised astronomers, as the vast majority of known fast radio bursts (FRBs) has come from single galaxies much closer to Earth. The FRB in question brightened […]
The Hubble Space Telescope has seen cyclones raging in the dynamic atmosphere of a hot Jupiter located 880 light years away, thanks to observations and computer modeling that could one day be applied to characterize weather on smaller, rocky exoplanets. The planet, dubbed WASP-121b, has a mass about 1.16 times greater than our solar system’s […]
Hubble spied a collection of spiral galaxies, located at various distances from Earth and gathered for a stunning festive image released on Christmas Day. The largest galaxy in the Hubble Space Telescope image from Monday (Dec. 25) is NGC 1356, which can be seen on the right side of the picture. This spiral galaxy is […]
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. The Hubble Space Telescope captured a newly revealed image of the mysterious, ghostly shadows on Saturn’s rings — the latest sighting of the so-called “spokes” that continue to baffle scientists. The composite photo, released Thursday […]
It’s been about 30 years since NASA astronauts saved the Hubble Space Telescope on an immensely daring mission. At the time, it was perhaps the most daring mission scientists had conceived of.. In short, Hubble was launched in 1990 with faulty optics that produced blurred images. Fortunately, however, the space telescope, which orbits Earth, was […]
Even if dreams of a white Christmas fail to come true this year, the Hubble Space Telescope has ensured at least one snowball gets thrown during the festive season. Hubble collected data that was used to build a stunning image of a tightly bound cluster of stars that looks like a cosmic snowball. It’s situated […]