This shimmering cosmic curtain shows interstellar gas and dust that has been heated by the flashbulb explosion of a long-ago supernova. The gas then glows infrared light in what is known as a thermal light echo. As the supernova illumination travels through space at the speed of light, the echo appears to expand. NASA’s James … Read more
In December 2022, less than six months after commencing science operations, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope revealed something never seen before: numerous red objects that appear small on the sky, which scientists soon called “little red dots” (LRDs). Though these dots are quite abundant, researchers are perplexed by their nature, the reason for their unique … Read more
Every shell is racing away from the stars at more than 1,600 miles per second (2,600 kilometers per second), almost 1% the speed of light. “We are used to thinking about events in space taking place slowly, over millions or billions of years,” added Jennifer Hoffman, a co-author and a professor at the University of … Read more
Throughout the week, experts at the NASA Exhibit Booth will deliver science talks about missions including NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (also called “Webb” or “JWST”), Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), and NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer), an X-ray telescope on the International Space Station that will be … Read more
This is a James Webb Space Telescope image of NGC 346, a massive star cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that is one of the Milky Way’s nearest neighbors. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Olivia C. Jones (UK ATC), Guido De Marchi (ESTEC), Margaret Meixner (USRA) Source link
Hubble (Visible) , Hubble’s view of the Sombrero galaxy. In this view, the galaxy is an oblong, pale white disk with a glowing core over the inner disk. The outer disk is darker and clumpy. Webb (MIRI) , Webb’s view of the Sombrero galaxy. In this view, the galaxy is a very oblong, blue disk … Read more
Teams of astronomers used the combined power of NASA’s Hubble and James Webb space telescopes to revisit the legendary Vega disk. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, S. Wolff (University of Arizona), K. Su (University of Arizona), A. Gáspár (University of Arizona) Source link
Hubble (UV+Visible) , The Hubble View cut from two views of the same object shown side by side.. The Hubble observation is at left, and the Webb observation is at right. Both show an angled pair of spiral galaxies, IC 2163 at top left, and NGC 2207, at bottom right. IC 2163 is smaller than … Read more
“Centaurs can be considered as some of the leftovers of our planetary system’s formation. Because they are stored at very cold temperatures, they preserve information about volatiles in the early stages of the solar system,” said Sara Faggi of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and American University in Washington, DC, lead author … Read more
The collision isn’t as bad as it sounds. Although there was star formation occurring before, collisions between galaxies can compress gas, improving the conditions needed for more stars to form. On the other hand, as Webb reveals, collisions also disperse a lot of gas, potentially depriving new stars of the material they need to form. … Read more