Hubble Captures Crisp New Portrait of Jupiter's Storms

More massive than all the other planets combined, Jupiter truly is the king of our solar system. The swirling clouds, arranged in colorful, banded structures, change from year to year. The rich colors are produced by trace compounds in Jupiter’s predominantly hydrogen/helium atmosphere. Hurricane-force winds propel these clouds, and upwelling currents...

2w

Hubble Observations Suggest a Missing Ingredient in Dark Matter Theories

While studying the Coma galaxy cluster in 1933, astronomer Fritz Zwicky uncovered a problem. The mass of all the stars in the cluster added up to only a few percent of the heft needed to keep member galaxies from escaping the cluster's gravitational grip. He predicted that the "missing mass," now known as dark matter, was the glue that was holding the...

2w

Hubble Observations Suggest a Missing Ingredient in Dark Matter Theories

While studying the Coma galaxy cluster in 1933, astronomer Fritz Zwicky uncovered a problem. The mass of all the stars in the cluster added up to only a few percent of the heft needed to keep member galaxies from escaping the cluster's gravitational grip. He predicted that the "missing mass," now known as dark matter, was the glue that was holding the...

3w

Hubble Observations Suggest a Missing Ingredient in Dark Matter Theories

While studying the Coma galaxy cluster in 1933, astronomer Fritz Zwicky uncovered a problem. The mass of all the stars in the cluster added up to only a few percent of the heft needed to keep member galaxies from escaping the cluster's gravitational grip. He predicted that the "missing mass," now known as dark matter, was the glue that was holding the...

3w

Hubble Maps a Giant Halo Around the Andromeda Galaxy

Looks can be deceiving. The Andromeda spiral, the nearest major galaxy to our Milky Way, can be seen as a small, fuzzy, spindle-shaped object in the autumn skies of the Northern Hemisphere. What can’t be seen because it is too faint is a vast halo of hot, rarified gas that would stretch out from the Andromeda galaxy to the width of three Big Dippers....

4w

Hubble Maps a Giant Halo Around the Andromeda Galaxy

Looks can be deceiving. The Andromeda spiral, the nearest major galaxy to our Milky Way, can be seen as a small, fuzzy, spindle-shaped object in the autumn skies of the Northern Hemisphere. What can’t be seen because it is too faint is a vast halo of hot, rarified gas that would stretch out from the Andromeda galaxy to the width of three Big Dippers....

4w

Hubble Maps a Giant Halo Around the Andromeda Galaxy

Looks can be deceiving. The Andromeda spiral, the nearest major galaxy to our Milky Way, can be seen as a small, fuzzy, spindle-shaped object in the autumn skies of the Northern Hemisphere. What can’t be seen because it is too faint is a vast halo of hot, rarified gas that would stretch out from the Andromeda galaxy to the width of three Big Dippers....

5w

Hubble Snaps Close-Up of Celebrity Comet NEOWISE

Whether it’s a surprise asteroid, colorful aurora or a heart-stopping eclipse, the landscape of the night sky is constantly changing. When a new visitor appears in view, it’s guaranteed to grab the attention of professional astronomers and casual sky gazers alike. Well, consider the Hubble Space Telescope the paparazzi of the sky, as it’s managed to...

Aug 2020

Hubble Finds that Betelgeuse's Mysterious Dimming Is Due to a Traumatic Outburst

The aging, bright-red supergiant star Betelgeuse has captivated sky watchers since antiquity. The ancient astronomer Ptolemy was one of the first to note the monster star's red color. It is one of the brightest stars in the night sky and appears even more luminous because it is so close to Earth, only 725 light-years away. But the star also periodically...

Aug 2020

Hubble Finds that Betelgeuse's Mysterious Dimming Is Due to a Traumatic Outburst

The aging, bright-red supergiant star Betelgeuse has captivated sky watchers since antiquity. The ancient astronomer Ptolemy was one of the first to note the monster star's red color. It is one of the brightest stars in the night sky and appears even more luminous because it is so close to Earth, only 725 light-years away. But the star also periodically...

Aug 2020