Galaxy Drift Challenges Ideas About Universe's Evolution
Two astronomers have discovered that our own Milky Way galaxy and most of its neighboring galaxies, contained within a huge volume of the universe, one billion light-years in diameter, are drifting with respect to the more distant universe. This startling result may imply that the universe is "lumpier" on a much larger scale than can be readily explained by any current theory. "The new observations thus strongly challenge our understanding of how the universe evolved," says Dr. Tod Lauer of the National Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO).
Hubble Uncovers a Hidden Quasar in a Nearby Galaxy (Cygnus A)
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (HST) have found, to their surprise, that a relatively nearby galaxy harbors a powerful quasar. This active galaxy, known as Cygnus A, is the second strongest radio source in the sky.
Hubble Identifies Huge Clouds of Intergalactic Gas
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have discovered evidence that clouds of hydrogen found between galaxies at distances of billions of light-years from Earth are at least ten times larger than previously thought - at least one million light-years in diameter - and may have a remarkable sheet-like structure.
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has helped solve a two-decade-old cosmic mystery by showing that mysterious clouds of hydrogen in space may actually be vast halos of gas surrounding galaxies.
"This conclusion runs contrary to the longstanding belief that these clouds occur in intergalactic space," says Ken Lanzetta of the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Observations with the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT) of the most massive star currently known have revealed new features of its hot outer layers, which are being blown away from the star at speeds of up to 2300 miles per second due to its extreme luminous energy output. These features in turn provide information about physical characteristics of the star, such as its temperature, luminosity, chemical composition, age, and mass, or the total amount of matter it contains.
Astronomers Rule Out Starburst Galaxies as Contributing to the Far-Ultraviolet Background
Astronomers using the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT), flown aboard the Shuttle ASTRO-2 mission, have been able to exclude one explanation for the mysterious far ultraviolet background radiation that existed when the universe was young. They find that starburst galaxies -- galaxies forming new stars at an extremely high rate -- were largely opaque to the UV radiation from hot newborn stars embedded within them. Contrary to earlier ideas, this means that starburst galaxies did not contribute significantly to heating, or ionizing, the early universe.
For First Time Ever, K-12 Students Get Hands on the Hubble Space Telescope as Part of Innovative "Passport to Knowledge" Project
The planets Neptune and Pluto have been selected as targets for original observations by students who will soon be serving as Hubble Space Telescope (HST) "Co-Investigators", working alongside some of America's foremost astronomers.
In Spring 1996, for the first time ever, students in grades K-12 will have a chance to help do real science using the HST. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), which oversees Hubble's science program for NASA and the European Space Agency, contributed three HST orbits to the PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE educational project for this purpose.
Hubble Opens Doorway to Systematic Search for Black Holes
Hubble Space Telescope's ongoing black hole hunt has bagged yet another supermassive black hole in the universe. The compact object - equal to the mass of two billion suns - lies at the heart of the edge-on galaxy NGC 3115, located 30 million light-years away in the constellation Sextans.
This result promises to open the way to systematic demographic studies of very massive black holes that might once have powered quasars - objects that are incredibly small, yet release a gusher of light and other radiation.
Hubble Telescope Measures Diameters of Pulsating Stars
The Hubble telescope has been used successfully to measure the diameters of a special class of pulsating star called a Mira variable, which rhythmically change size. The results suggest these gigantic, old stars aren't round but egg-shaped.
Knowing more about these enigmatic stars is crucial to understanding how stars evolve, and may preview the fate of our Sun, five billion years from now. Due to their distance, the stars are too small for their disks to be resolved in conventional visible-light pictures, so astronomers used Hubble's Fine Guidance Sensors to measure the widths of two Mira variables, R Leonis and W. Hydrae.
Hubble Provides Multiple Views of How to Feed a Black Hole
Astronomers have obtained an unprecedented look at the nearest example of galactic cannibalism - a massive black hole hidden at the center of a nearby giant galaxy that is feeding on a smaller galaxy in a spectacular collision. Such fireworks were common in the early universe, as galaxies formed and evolved, but are rare today.
The Hubble telescope offers a stunning unprecedented close-up view of a turbulent firestorm of star birth along a nearly edge-on dust disk girdling Centaurus A, the nearest active galaxy to Earth. The picture at upper left shows the entire galaxy. The blue outline represents Hubble's field of view. The larger, central picture is Hubble's close-up view of the galaxy. Brilliant clusters of young blue stars lie along the edge of the dark dust lane. Outside the rift the sky is filled with the soft hazy glow of the galaxy's much older resident population of red giant and red dwarf stars.
NASA Selects Home for Next Generation Space Telescope
The duties of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., will be expanded to include the management of science operations for the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST), NASA officials announced today.
The Space Telescope Science Institute, located at the Johns Hopkins University, has been operating the science program for the Hubble telescope since 1983. The illustration represents the four designs NASA is considering for NGST.
Expanding its broadcast universe far beyond the Baltimore area and into cyberspace, the popular WJHU radio program "The Marc Steiner Show" (WJHU, FM 88.1) has teamed up with the Space Telescope Science Institute to take listeners on a Hubble Space Telescope tour of the cosmos via the Internet.
For the show's first time, host Marc Steiner's discussion and interview with his guests will be available on the World Wide Web, courtesy of the institute's Office of Public Outreach.
Second Hubble Web Simulcast Takes Listeners on a Tour of the Cosmos
The popular National Public Radio program "The Marc Steiner Show" (WJHU, FM 88.1) and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., will again team up to take listeners on a tour of the cosmos via the Internet on October 14, 1998.
This is the second in a series of programs in which host Marc Steiner's discussion and interview with his guests will be made available on the World Wide Web, courtesy of the institute's Office of Public Outreach. This is also the first time the institute will utilize multimedia technology to stream video of the science images along with real-time audio from the radio show.
The Universe "Down Under" is the Latest Target for Hubble's Latest Deep-View
Turning its penetrating vision toward southern skies, the Hubble telescope has peered down a 12- billion-light-year-long corridor loaded with a dazzling assortment of thousands of never-before-seen galaxies. The observation, called the Hubble Deep Field South, doubles the number of far-flung galaxies available to astronomers for deciphering the history of the universe.
This new far-look complements the original Hubble "deep field" taken in late 1995, when Hubble was aimed at a small patch of space near the Big Dipper. Hubble's sharp vision allows astronomers to sort galaxy shapes. The image is dominated by beautiful pinwheel-shaped disk galaxies, which are like our Milky Way.
The Maryland Science Center's new Outer Space Place offers visitors a chance to explore the wonders of the universe as seen through the eyes of the Hubble telescope. In collaboration with the Space Telescope Science Institute, the latest findings from Hubble are colorfully showcased and explained in a permanent exhibit gallery and high-tech space information center.
The Maryland Science Center first established a permanent Hubble exhibit in 1990. Hubble has made many discoveries since then, and the science center has now upgraded its Hubble exhibit to display and interpret the very latest Hubble telescope findings.
April 24 Marks a Triumphant Ten Years in Space for Hubble Space Telescope
In its first ten years, the 12.5-ton Earth-orbiting NASA's Hubble has studied 13,670 objects, has made 271,000 individual observations, and has returned 3.5 terabytes of data, which have been archived as a scientific treasure trove for future generations of astronomers. Its rapid-fire scientific achievements have resulted in over 2,651 scientific papers. Hubble's photographic hall of fame includes the deepest view ever of the Universe in visible light; a peek into the environs of supermassive galactic black holes; the majestic birth of stars in monstrous stellar clouds; planetary systems forming around other stars; extraordinary arcs, shells, and ribbons of glowing gas sculpted by the deaths of ordinary stars; mega-megaton blasts produced by the impact of a comet into the cloud tops of Jupiter; the surface of mysterious Pluto; and galaxies at the edge of space and time.
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have carried out the most complete inventory to date of brown dwarfs, one of the universe's most elusive types of objects, which dwell in limbo between stars and planets. The Hubble census provides new and compelling evidence that stars and planets form in different ways. Because the brown dwarfs "bridge the gap" between stars and planets, their properties reveal new and unique insights into how stars and planets form.
See What NASA's Hubble Sees, with the Click of a Mouse
How old is the universe? How big is it? What is its fate? Where did the planets, stars, and galaxies come from? Are we alone here? Scientists seeking answers to these age-old questions?which have eluded humankind for centuries?have made astounding progress using NASA's orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. Now anyone with access to the World Wide Web can go online to visit Hubble Space Telescope: New Views of the Universe, a popular Smithsonian exhibition highlighting Hubble's unique contributions to our understanding of the universe. The new Web site seeks to simulate the experience of visiting the actual exhibition, which is now touring the United States.
Hubble Space Telescope: New Views of the Universe is a special feature of HubbleSite (HubbleSite - Out of the ordinary...out of this world.), Hubble's official online home and the Web's most comprehensive source of Hubble news, pictures, information, and educational resources.
$10 Million NSF Grant to Fund "National Virtual Observatory"
The National Virtual Observatory (NVO) will unite astronomical databases of many earthbound and orbital observatories, taking advantage of the latest computer technology and data storage and analysis techniques. The goal is to maximize the potential for new scientific insights from the data by making them available in an accessible, seamlessly unified form to professional researchers, amateur astronomers, and students. The new project is funded by a five- year, $10 million Information Technology Research grant from the National Science Foundation. Organizers characterize their goal as "building the framework" for the National Virtual Observatory.
New Instrument Package to Expand Space Telescope's Vision
NASA's Servicing Mission 3B for the Hubble Space Telescope will give the orbiting observatory a new camera that will significantly increase Hubble's abilities and enable a broad array of new astronomical discoveries. The Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) covers twice the area, has twice the sharpness, and is up to five times more sensitive to light than Hubble's workhorse camera, the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. The servicing mission will begin on Feb. 28 with the launch of the space shuttle Columbia. The simulated image [above, right] depicts how the cosmos will look through the "eyes" of the ACS.
