Astrophysics Division

Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Science-enabling Technology
Technology Highlights
One of the ultimate goals in astrophysics is the discovery of Earth-like planets that are capable of hosting life. While thousands of planets have been discovered around other stars, the vast majority of these detections have been made via indirect methods, that is, by detecting the effect of the planet on the star’s light, rather […]
Posted February 18, 2025
Goddard Space Flight Center
Astrophysics Division
Astrophysics Pioneers
Kennedy Space Center
Launch Services Office
Launch Services Program
Space Operations Mission Directorate
NASA has selected SpaceX of Starbase, Texas, to provide the launch service for the agency’s Pandora mission, which will study at least 20 known exoplanets and their host stars to find out how changes in stars affect our observations of exoplanet atmospheres.
Posted February 10, 2025
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Galaxies
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
The Universe
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured a cosmic bullseye! The gargantuan galaxy LEDA 1313424 is rippling with nine star-filled rings after an “arrow” — a far smaller blue dwarf galaxy — shot through its heart.
Posted February 4, 2025
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Galaxies
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Stars
Supernovae
The subject of this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image is a supernova-hosting galaxy located about 600 million light-years away in the constellation Gemini. Hubble captured this image roughly two months after a supernova named SN 2022aajn was discovered. The supernova is visible as a blue dot at the center of the image, brightening the hazy […]
Posted January 31, 2025
SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe and Ices Explorer)
Astrophysics Division
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Kennedy Space Center
Launch Services Program
Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH)
Science Mission Directorate
NASA will host a news conference at 12 p.m. EST Friday, Jan. 31, to discuss a new telescope that will improve our understanding of how the universe evolved and search for key ingredients for life in our galaxy. Agency experts will preview NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and […]
Posted January 27, 2025
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Nebulae
Protostars
Stars
The Universe
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image peers into the dusty recesses of the nearest massive star-forming region to Earth, the Orion Nebula (Messier 42, M42). Just 1,500 light-years away, the Orion Nebula is visible to the unaided eye below the three stars that form the ‘belt’ in the constellation Orion. The nebula is home to […]
Posted January 16, 2025
Andromeda Galaxy
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Galaxies
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Spiral Galaxies
The Universe
In the years following the launch of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have tallied over 1 trillion galaxies in the universe. But only one galaxy stands out as the most important nearby stellar island to our Milky Way — the magnificent Andromeda galaxy (Messier 31). It can be seen with the naked eye on a […]
Posted January 16, 2025
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Exoplanet Atmosphere
Exoplanet Exploration Program
Exoplanet Science
Exoplanet Transits
Exoplanets
Goddard Space Flight Center
Studying Exoplanets
The Universe
Pandora, NASA’s newest exoplanet mission, is one step closer to launch with the completion of the spacecraft bus, which provides the structure, power, and other systems that will enable the mission to carry out its work. “This is a huge milestone for us and keeps us on track for a launch in the fall,” said […]
Posted January 16, 2025
Andromeda Galaxy
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Stars
The Universe
For humans, the most important star in the universe is our Sun. The second-most important star is nestled inside the Andromeda galaxy. Don’t go looking for it — the flickering star is 2.2 million light-years away, and is 1/100,000th the brightness of the faintest star visible to the human eye. Yet, a century ago, its […]
Posted January 15, 2025
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Stars
The name “blue lurker” might sound like a villainous character from a superhero movie. But it is a rare class of star that NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope explored by looking deeply into the open star cluster M67, roughly 2,800 light-years away. Forensics with Hubble data show that the star has had a tumultuous life, mixing […]
Posted January 13, 2025
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