The text and images in this article were originally published on October 2, 2003, and reflect information about M104 available at that time. HUBBLE MOSAIC OF THE MAJESTIC SOMBRERO GALAXY NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has trained its razor-sharp eye on one of the universe's most stately and photogenic galaxies, the Sombrero galaxy, Messier 104 (M104).... Continue Reading →
It was 1950 when astronomer Art Hoag published the first description of this object which has come to be named after him. Although he thought it most likely resembled a planetary nebula in some ways, he was skeptical because the size of the object and the properties of its nucleus in comparison to the rest... Continue Reading →
The text and images in this article were originally published on September 5, 2002, and reflect information about Hoag's Object available at that time. HOAG'S OBJECT: A WHEEL WITHIN A WHEEL A nearly perfect ring of hot, blue stars pinwheels about the yellow nucleus of an unusual galaxy known as Hoag's Object. This image from NASA's... Continue Reading →
The text and images in this article were originally published on August 1, 2002, and reflect information about Gomez's Hamburger available at that time. HUBBLE ASTRONOMERS FEAST ON AN INTERSTELLAR HAMBURGER Hold the pickles; hold the lettuce. Space is serving up giant hamburgers. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has snapped a photograph of a strange object... Continue Reading →
The text and images in this article were originally published on August 29, 2013, and reflect information about IRAS 20324+4057 available at that time. NASA's Hubble Sees a Cosmic Caterpillar This light-year-long knot of interstellar gas and dust resembles a caterpillar on its way to a feast. But the meat of the story is not... Continue Reading →
What Is the #DrawToLifeChallenge? The #DrawToLifeChallenge is a fun summer activity series produced by the Office of Public Outreach at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) where we invite everyone to transform our Hubble images. Whether it be in the form of a GIF, an electronically created painting, a scanned crayon creation, or an original... Continue Reading →
Approximately one billion people on Earth watched as the first human set foot on the moon 50 years ago on July 20, 1969. This will long be remembered as a crowning achievement not just of our nation, but a game-changer for human civilization. This was our first step toward becoming an extraterrestrial species that pursues... Continue Reading →
A supernova explosion is a staggering event to imagine. At the core of an evolved star, runaway nuclear processes release a tremendous amount of energy in a fraction of a second. The mass of the star is blown apart at speeds of millions of miles per hour. A vast shock wave streams across interstellar space, followed by the blast... Continue Reading →
One of the more philosophical concepts that astronomers have to deal with on an everyday basis is the commingling of space and time in astronomical images. The underlying idea is straightforward. The speed of light is finite. Light from a star or nebula or galaxy takes a measurable amount of time to cross the space... Continue Reading →
