Tag: Galaxies, Stars, & Black Holes

Peering Into the Tendrils of NGC 604 with NASA’s Webb

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4 Min Read Peering Into the Tendrils of NGC 604 with NASA’s Webb Star-forming region NGC 604. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI The formation of stars and the chaotic environments they inhabit is one of the most well-studied, but also mystery-shrouded, areas of cosmic investigation. The intricacies of these processes are now being unveiled like never before by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Two new images from Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) showcase star-forming region NGC 604, located in the Triangulum galaxy (M33), 2.73 million light-years away…

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Stellar Beads on a String

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Galaxy cluster SDSS J1531+3414 X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/O. Omoruyi et al.; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI/G. Tremblay et al.; Radio: ASTRON/LOFAR; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk Astronomers have discovered one of the most powerful eruptions from a black hole ever recorded in the system known as SDSS J1531+3414 (SDSS J1531 for short). As explained in our press release, this mega-explosion billions of years ago may help explain the formation of a striking pattern of star clusters around two massive galaxies, resembling “beads on a string.” SDSS J1531 is a massive galaxy cluster containing hundreds of individual galaxies and huge reservoirs of hot gas and dark…

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NASA Telescopes Find New Clues About Mysterious Deep Space Signals

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6 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) In an ejection that would have caused its rotation to slow, a magnetar is depicted losing material into space in this artist’s concept. The magnetar’s strong, twisted magnetic field lines (shown in green) can influence the flow of electrically charged material from the object, which is a type of neutron star. NASA/JPL-Caltech Using two of the agency’s X-ray telescopes, researchers were able to zoom in on a dead star’s erratic behavior as it released a bright, brief burst of…

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NASA’s Webb Depicts Staggering Structure in 19 Nearby Spiral Galaxies

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6 Min Read NASA’s Webb Depicts Staggering Structure in 19 Nearby Spiral Galaxies Webb’s set of 19 PHANGS images of face-on spiral galaxies. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Janice Lee (STScI), Thomas Williams (Oxford), and the PHANGS team It’s oh-so-easy to be absolutely mesmerized by these spiral galaxies. Follow their clearly defined arms, which are brimming with stars, to their centers, where there may be old star clusters and – sometimes – active supermassive black holes. Only NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope can deliver highly detailed scenes of nearby galaxies…

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NASA Collaborating on European-led Gravitational Wave Observatory in Space

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4 min read NASA Collaborating on European-led Gravitational Wave Observatory in Space The LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission, led by ESA (European Space Agency) with NASA contributions, will detect gravitational waves in space using three spacecraft, separated by more than a million miles, flying in a triangular formation. Lasers fired between the satellites, shown in this artist’s concept, will measure how gravitational waves alter their relative distances. AEI/MM/Exozet The first space-based observatory designed to detect gravitational waves has passed a major review and will proceed to the construction of…

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Large Magellanic Fireworks

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NASA, STScI/AURA The Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of a stellar explosion throwing out sheets of debris in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy on July 7, 2003. Since its 1990 launch, Hubble has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe; with over 1.5 million observations and 20,000+ papers published on its discoveries, Hubble is the most productive science mission in the history of NASA. See more stunning images from Hubble – and experience some of the images through sound. Image Credit: NASA, STScI/AURA

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Seeing Sagittarius C in a New Light

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The NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s reveals a portion of the Milky Way’s dense core in a new light. An estimated 500,000 stars shine in this image of the Sagittarius C (Sgr C) region, along with some as-yet unidentified features. A large region of ionized hydrogen, shown in cyan, contains intriguing needle-like structures that lack any uniform orientation. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and S. Crowe (University of Virginia) A star-forming region, named Sagittarius C (Sgr C), is seen in exceptional detail in this image from…

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Construction on NASA Mission to Map 450 Million Galaxies Is Under Way

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6 min read Construction on NASA Mission to Map 450 Million Galaxies Is Under Way Sara Susca, deputy payload manager and payload systems engineer for NASA’s SPHEREx mission, looks up at one of the spacecraft’s photon shields. These concentric cones protect the telescope from light and heat from the Sun and the Earth, which can overwhelm the telescope’s detectors. NASA/JPL-Caltech SHPEREx Photon Shield Fabrication at Applied Aerospace Structures Corp. in Stockton CA Requester: Kaitlyn Soares Photographer: Gregory M. Waigand Date: 2023-07-12 Photolab order: 107469-11.02.03 AACS Key elements are coming together…

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NASA’s Roman Mission Gears Up for a Torrent of Future Data

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NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team is exploring ways to support community efforts that will prepare for the deluge of data the mission will return. Recently selected infrastructure teams will serve a vital role in the preliminary work by creating simulations, scouting the skies with other telescopes, calibrating Roman’s components, and much more. Their work will complement additional efforts by other teams and individuals around the world, who will join forces to maximize Roman’s scientific potential. The goal is to ensure that, when the mission launches by May 2027,…

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