A cosmic transformation 🌀 Pictured here in this 2016 Hubble image, NGC 4388 is one of more than 1,300 galaxies within the Virgo Cluster. By being part of such a tightknit galactic group, NGC 4388 feels the effects of gravitational interactions with its neighbors. While the galaxy’s outskirts appear somewhat smooth, a classic feature of an elliptical galaxy, its center displays remarkable dust lanes constrained within two symmetric spiral arms, which emerge from the galaxy’s glowing core – one of the obvious features of a spiral galaxy. This unusual combination of features likely happened due to interactions within the Virgo Cluster. Image description: A spiral galaxy stretches diagonally across the image, from lower left to upper right. The galaxy has a faint yellow core and arms laced through with dark brown dust and bright blue stars, all against black space. Image credit: ESA/NASA #HubbleClassic #NASA #Hubble #galaxy #space #stars #science #astronomy #universe #telescope

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20小时前

Say cheese, Arp 184! 📸 This stunning galaxy view was captured by Hubble as part of a "Snapshot" observing program. These are short observations slotted into the time gaps between other Hubble proposals. Arp 184 was imaged for its peculiar appearance. This unusual galaxy has only one broad, star-speckled spiral arm that appears to stretch toward us! Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Dalcanton, R. J. Foley (UC Santa Cruz), C. Kilpatrick Music credit: "Cold Space" by Layla Pavey [PRS] and Samuel John Chase [PRS] via Zone Music LTD [PRS] and Universal Production Music #NASA #Hubble #space #science #galaxy #stars #universe #astronomy #telescope #cosmos

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2天前

A massive, spacetime-warping cluster of galaxies swarms this week's new #HubbleFriday view! Called Abell 209, this galaxy cluster is a whopping 2.8 billion light-years away. The huge mass of Abell 209 leads to an effect called gravitational lensing, seen as the curved, streaky galaxies within the cluster's golden glow. This happens because Abell 209's mass is powerful enough to warp spacetime, which magnifies and distorts the light traveling to Hubble from galaxies located behind the cluster. For more information, check out the link in our bio! Image description: A cluster of distant, mainly elliptical galaxies. They appear as brightly shining points radiating golden light that each take the shape of a smooth, featureless oval. They crowd around one that is extremely large and bright. A few spiral galaxies of comparable size appear too, bluer in color and with unique shapes. Of the other more small and distant galaxies covering the scene, a few are warped into long lines. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Postman, P. Kelly #NASA #Hubble #Friday #galaxy #space #science #astronomy #universe #cosmos

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5天前

A jewelry box of stars 🌟 Messier 72 is a collection of stars about 50,000 light-years from Earth. It's classified as a globular cluster, meaning that it's a roughly spherical collection of stars held together by their mutual gravitational attraction. This Hubble image includes ultraviolet observations, which is one of the telescope's unique capabilities. The variety of colors seen here indicates groups of different types of stars. Blue stars were originally more massive and have reached hotter temperatures after burning through much of their hydrogen fuel; the bright red objects are lower-mass stars that have become red giants. Music credit: "Whimsical Touch" by Richard Dennis Stanley Collins [PRS] via Aurora [PRS] and Universal Production Music Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Sarajedini, G. Piotto, M. Libralato #NASA #Hubble #stars #space #science #astronomy #universe #cosmos #telescope #astrophotography

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7天前

It's estimated that roughly two-thirds of the spiral galaxies in our universe contain a bar of stars at their centers. That includes our home galaxy, the Milky Way, and the galaxy pictured in this 2016 Hubble image: IC 5201. This galaxy resides 40 million light-years away in the southern constellation Grus (The Crane), and was originally discovered in 1900 at the Cape Town Observatory by astronomer Joseph Lunt. Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys resolves individual stars in the galaxy, allowing astronomers to learn more about how stars form, evolve, and die throughout our universe. Image description: A hazy, yellow bar of stars sits at the center of a faint spiral galaxy. Several stars are visible throughout, along with small patches of bright blue star formation. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA #HubbleClassic #NASA #Hubble #galaxy #space #stars #telescope #science #universe #cosmos

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8天前

Two telescopes for two star clusters! ✨ This new mosaic combines observations from @NASAHubble and @NASAWebb to bring a broader understanding of NGC 460 and NGC 456, two open star clusters. Open star clusters consist of anywhere from a few dozen to a few thousand young stars loosely bound together by gravity. These particular clusters are part of an extensive complex of star clusters and nebulae that are likely linked to one another. As clouds of gas collapse, stars are born. These young, hot stars expel intense stellar winds that shape the nebulae around them, carving out the clouds and triggering other collapses, which in turn give rise to more stars. Hubble’s visible-light view captures the glowing, ionized gas as stellar radiation blows “bubbles” in the clouds of gas and dust (blue), while Webb’s infrared vision highlights the clumps and delicate structures of dust (red). The nodules visible in these images are scenes of active star formation, with stars ranging from just one to 10 million years old. In contrast, our Sun is 4.5 billion years old. Visit the link in @NASAHubble’s bio to read more! Image description: Bluish clouds of gas are wound through with red-glowing lanes and filaments of dust. The clouds contain cavities filled with stars and many more stars are visible in the background and scattered throughout the clouds. The clouds are concentrated in the upper right and the lower middle of the image. Tiny background galaxies are also sprinkled throughout the image. Image credit: NASA, ESA, and C. Lindberg (The Johns Hopkins University); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) #NASA #Hubble #Webb #space #science #astronomy #stars #nebula #universe #telescope

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8天前

Happy #FourthOfJuly from Hubble! 🇺🇸 Stars shine red, white, and blue in this new Hubble image of globular cluster ESO 591-12, or Palomar 8. Globular clusters are spherical collections of tens of thousands to millions of stars bound tightly together by gravity. They are typically formed in gas and dust-rich regions of early galaxies. The multicolor appearance of the globular cluster is due to the differing temperatures of the stars. Hotter stars are bluer, giving off shorter wavelengths of light, and red stars are cooler, emitting longer wavelengths. Image description: Bright stars cluster against a black background. The stars are more densely concentrated in the center of the image. The stars appear mostly white, but bright red and blue stars are also visible sprinkled throughout the image. Image credit: NASA, ESA, and D. Massari (INAF — Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) #NASA #Hubble #FourthOfJuly #IndependenceDay #space #stars #astronomy #science #telescope #universe

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12天前

Eagle’s wings or galaxy 🦅? This is IRAS 16399-0937, a galaxy hosting a double nucleus that is enshrouded in wings of dust clouds. The nuclei are two distinct cores in the process of merging, which intensely radiates energy. This produces a megamaser, a phenomenon 100 million times brighter than a maser, which is essentially a laser that emits microwaves rather than visible light. Hubble’s Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer was key to discovering these twin nuclei, with its excellent sensitivity, resolution, and field of view. The two components are over 11,000 light-years apart, but they are still interacting within the same cosmic gas and dust swirl. Image description: A galaxy glowing with blue and yellow stars is wreathed by dark brown dust, all against black space. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgment: Judy Schmidt (Geckzilla) #HubbleClassic #NASA #Hubble #galaxy #space #science #stars #astronomy #universe #cosmos

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14天前

Eye of the storm 👁️🌀 NGC 5643 is a grand design spiral galaxy, which refers to its two large, symmetrical spiral arms. The galaxy’s arms are home to young bright blue stars, as well as star-forming regions in pink and dust clouds that lace throughout in a dark reddish-brown. Forty million light-years away in the constellation Lupus, NGC 5643 hosts a galactic nucleus that shines bright. This core is powered by a supermassive black hole, which traps gas in a spinning disk that heats to hundreds of thousands of degrees. This releases wavelengths of light across the electromagnetic spectrum, but especially in X-ray wavelengths. Music credit: "Open World" by Dylan Forster Rogers [PRS] via Ninja Tune Production Music [PRS] and Universal Production Music Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Riess, D. Thilker, D. De Martin (ESA/Hubble), M. Zamani (ESA/Hubble) #NASA #Hubble #galaxy #science #space #universe #astronomy #cosmos #astrophotography #telescope

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15天前