In a new study, astronomers used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to study a red dwarf star weighing just one-tenth as much as our Sun. No known planets have formed around this young star yet, which is just one to two million years old. The team found that the gas in the planet-forming region of the star is rich in carbon-bearing molecules.
A team in Denmark examining archival data from the James Webb Space Telescope recently found a trio of distant galaxies that are in the process of gathering gas when the universe was only a few hundred million years old. Their detection and characterization are remarkable achievements that only Webb is currently capable of, thanks to its specialization in infrared light.
Why is the warm gas-giant exoplanet WASP-107 b so, so puffy? With a moderate temperature and an ultra-low density on par with a microwaved marshmallow, it seems to defy standard theories of planet formation and evolution. Two independent teams of researchers think they’ve figured it out.
STScI assistant astronomer John Wu has been named 2024 Outstanding Young Scientist by the Maryland Academy of Sciences. Using machine-learning methods that he developed, he has pioneered the discovery of low-mass galaxy candidates and contributed to theoretical models of galaxies, dark matter halos, and their cosmic surroundings.
The universe’s earliest stars, known as Population III stars, are notoriously hard to detect with even our most powerful observatories due to their great distance and short lifetime.
These days, detecting a planetary atmosphere tens or even hundreds of light-years from Earth might not sound like such a big deal. Scientists have found signs of atmosphere surrounding dozens of exoplanets over the past two decades.
Sometimes not finding something is just as exciting and useful as finding it. Take hot Jupiter WASP-43 b, for example. This tidally locked world has a searing hot permanent dayside and a somewhat cooler nightside. Astronomers using Webb to map the temperature and analyze the atmosphere around the planet expected to detect methane, a common carbon molecule, on the nightside.
The Horsehead Nebula is prancing across the cosmic stage in new infrared views from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Extreme close-ups of the horse’s “mane” from Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) showcase a dynamic region that transitions from a mostly neutral, warm area of gas and dust within the nebula (represented in blue) to surrounding hot, ionized gas (red).
To celebrate Hubble’s 34th launch anniversary, NASA released the telescope’s new observation of the Little Dumbbell Nebula. Also known as Messier 76, or M76, it is composed of a ring, seen edge-on as the central bar structure, where a central red giant star burned out, and two lobes of gas and dust that are on either opening of the ring.
Astronomers and volunteer citizen scientists used Hubble's unique capabilities to identify a largely unseen population of very small asteroids. The treasure hunt required perusing 37,000 archived Hubble images spanning 19 years. The payoff? Finding 1,701 asteroid trails, with 1,031 of the asteroids previously uncatalogued. About 400 of these uncatalogued asteroids are smaller than 1 kilometer.
Stars are born spinning rapidly, but slow down over billions of years. (Our 4.5-billion-year-old Sun spins about once per month.) After about one billion years, stars of the same mass and age will spin at the same rate. Therefore, if you know a star’s mass and rotation rate, you potentially can estimate its age. NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is poised to measure the spin rates, and calculate the ages, of hundreds of thousands of stars after it launches by May 2027.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has set its sights on the starburst galaxy Messier 82 (M82), a small but mighty environment that features rapid star formation.
The highly competitive NASA Hubble Fellowship Program (NHFP) has named 24 new fellows to its 2024 roster. These young scientists will begin their programs in the fall of 2024 at a university or research center of their choosing in the United States.
ULLYSES, the largest Hubble program ever, collected information about almost 500 young stars over a three-year period. It aims to help researchers gain new insights about the stars’ formation, evolution, and impact on their surroundings.
A Hubble telescope survey has found that brown dwarfs—objects smaller than stars but bigger than planets—live a lonely life as they age. Over time they lose the companion brown dwarf that was born alongside them and the objects drift their separate ways.
The giant planet Jupiter, in all its banded glory, is revisited by Hubble in images taken Jan. 5-6, 2024, capturing both sides of the planet. The many large storms and small white clouds are a hallmark of activity in Jupiter's atmosphere.
A new Webb study of two protostars, so young that they have not yet formed planets, has found a variety of molecules ranging from relatively simple ones like methane to complex compounds like acetic acid (familiar to cooks as an ingredient in vinegar). These molecules constitute key ingredients for worlds that might one day host life.
The best measurements from Hubble show the universe is now expanding faster than predicted based on observations of how it looked shortly after the big bang. Some scientists suggested that Hubble observations are wrong due to some creeping inaccuracy in its deep-space yardstick. However, Webb’s sharp infrared views of milepost markers known as Cepheids agree with Hubble data.
In the astronomy field, the term “nearby” is quite relative. Neighboring galaxies to our home galaxy, the Milky Way, are a few million light-years away. In contrast, some of the most distant galaxies ever detected, closer to the Big Bang, are billions of light-years away.
Space Telescope Live provides an interactive way to explore the most accurate, up-to-date, publicly available information on current, past, and upcoming observations by NASA’s Hubble and Webb space telescopes.
RSS
Medicine keyboard_arrow_right
Sciencekeyboard_arrow_right
Life keyboard_arrow_right
Business keyboard_arrow_right
Journal News keyboard_arrow_right
By Location keyboard_arrow_right
Meetings, Grants, and Events keyboard_arrow_right
