Astrophysics Division

Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Galaxies
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Spiral Galaxies
The Universe
While it may appear as just another spiral galaxy among billions in the universe, this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveals a galaxy with plenty to study. The galaxy, NGC 7456, is located over 51 million light-years away in the constellation Grus (the Crane). This Hubble image reveals fine detail in the galaxy’s […]
Posted September 5, 2025
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Galaxies
Galaxy clusters
Goddard Space Flight Center
Gravitational Lensing
Hubble Space Telescope
A massive, spacetime-warping cluster of galaxies is the setting of today’s NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image. The galaxy cluster in question is Abell 209, located 2.8 billion light-years away in the constellation Cetus (the Whale). This Hubble image of Abell 209 shows more than a hundred galaxies, but there’s more to this cluster than even […]
Posted July 11, 2025
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Science-enabling Technology
Technology Highlights
A unique new material that shrinks when it is heated and expands when it is cooled could help enable the ultra-stable space telescopes that future NASA missions require to search for habitable worlds. One of the goals of NASA’s Astrophysics Division is to determine whether we are alone in the universe. NASA’s astrophysics missions seek […]
Posted July 1, 2025
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Binary Stars
Citizen Science
TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)
When two stars orbit one another in such a way that one blocks the other’s light each time it swings around, that’s an eclipsing binary. A new paper from NASA’s Eclipsing Binary Patrol citizen science project presents more than 10,000 of these rare pairs – 10,001 to be precise. These objects will help future researchers study […]
Posted June 26, 2025
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Galaxies
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Irregular Galaxies
The Universe
This portrait from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope puts the nearby galaxy NGC 4449 in the spotlight. The galaxy is situated just 12.5 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici (the Hunting Dogs). It is a member of the M94 galaxy group, which is near the Local Group of galaxies that the Milky Way […]
Posted June 20, 2025
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Galaxies
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Spiral Galaxies
The Universe
A galaxy ablaze with young stars is the subject of this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image. Named NGC 685, this galaxy is situated about 64 million light-years away in the constellation Eridanus (the River). NGC 685 is a barred spiral because its feathery spiral arms sprout from the ends of a bar of stars at […]
Posted June 6, 2025
IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer)
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Marshall Astrophysics
Marshall Science Research & Projects
Marshall Space Flight Center
The Universe
What happens when the universe’s most magnetic object shines with the power of 1,000 Suns in a matter of seconds? Thanks to NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer), a mission in collaboration with ASI (Italian Space Agency), scientists are one step closer to understanding this extreme event.  Magnetars are a type of young neutron star […]
Posted June 5, 2025
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Galaxies
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Spiral Galaxies
Stars
The Universe
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a luminous tangle of stars and dust called the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1385, located about 30 million light-years away. Hubble released an earlier image of NGC 1385, but the two images are notably different. This more recent image has far more pinkish-red and umber shades, whereas cool […]
Posted June 3, 2025
Andromeda Galaxy
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Galaxies
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Interacting Galaxies
The Milky Way
The Universe
As far back as 1912, astronomers realized that the Andromeda galaxy — then thought to be only a nebula — was headed our way. A century later, astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope were able to measure the sideways motion of Andromeda and found it was so negligible that an eventual head-on collision with the […]
Posted June 2, 2025
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Galaxies
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Spiral Galaxies
The Universe
A single member of a galaxy pair takes centerstage in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image. This beautiful spiral galaxy is NGC 3507, which is situated about 46 million light-years away in the constellation Leo (the Lion). NGC 3507’s classification is a barred spiral because the galaxy’s sweeping spiral arms emerge from the ends of […]
Posted May 30, 2025
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