The Universe

Galaxies
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
Spiral Galaxies
The Universe
NGC 4254, a spiral galaxy, is resplendent in orange and blue in this Jan. 29, 2024, image from the James Webb Space Telescope. This is one of 19 nearby spiral galaxies recently imaged by the telescope as part of the long-standing Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) program supported by more than […]
Posted February 13, 2024
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Galaxies
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Irregular Galaxies
Missions
The Universe
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows a densely packed field of stars laid upon a background of dust, gas, and light from more distant celestial objects. There are so many stars in this image’s field of view that it may be a little tricky to discern that you are in fact looking at a […]
Posted February 9, 2024
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Galaxies
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Missions
The Universe
Contrary to what you might think, galaxy collisions do not destroy stars. In fact, the rough-and-tumble dynamics trigger new generations of stars, and presumably accompanying planets. Now NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has homed in on 12 interacting galaxies that have long, tadpole-like tidal tails of gas, dust, and a plethora of stars.
Posted February 8, 2024
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
Dark Energy
Galaxies, Stars, & Black Holes
Goddard Space Flight Center
Missions
Stars
Supernovae
The Universe
Astronomers investigating one of the most pressing mysteries of the cosmos – the rate at which the universe is expanding – are readying themselves to study this puzzle in a new way using NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Once it launches by May 2027, astronomers will mine Roman’s wide swaths of images for gravitationally […]
Posted February 7, 2024
Dark Energy
Dark Matter
Euclid
Galaxies
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe and Ices Explorer)
Stellar Evolution
The Big Bang
The Universe
Some 13.8 billion years ago, the universe began with a rapid expansion we call the big bang. After this initial expansion, which lasted a fraction of a second, gravity started to slow the universe down. But the cosmos wouldn’t stay this way. Nine billion years after the universe began, its expansion started to speed up, […]
Posted February 5, 2024
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Galaxies
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Missions
Spiral Galaxies
The Universe
This image of the softly luminous spiral galaxy UGC 11105 is from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. It lies about 110 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Hercules. Astronomers have different ways of quantifying how bright celestial objects are. Apparent magnitude is one of those methods.
Posted February 2, 2024
Astrophysics Division
Galaxies
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Missions
Spiral Galaxies
The Universe
UGC 3912 is classified as a spiral galaxy … but you wouldn’t know it from this detailed NASA Hubble Space Telescope image. UGC 3912’s distorted shape is typically indicative of a gravitational encounter with another galaxy. When galaxies interact – either brush up against each other’s gravitational fields or even collide – their stars, dust, […]
Posted February 1, 2024
Astrophysics Division
Galaxies
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Missions
The Universe
The galaxy NGC 5427 shines in this new NASA Hubble Space Telescope image. It’s part of the galaxy pair Arp 271, and its companion NGC 5426 is located below this galaxy and outside of this image’s frame. However, the effects of the pair’s gravitational attraction is visible in the galactic distortion and cosmic bridge of […]
Posted January 31, 2024
Astrophysics Division
Galaxies
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Missions
Seyfert Galaxies
Spiral Galaxies
The Universe
Looking like a baseball lobbed into the depths of the universe, ESO 420-G013 is a face-on spiral galaxy and a Seyfert galaxy. Dark lanes of dust are visible against the background glow of the galaxy’s many stars.  About 10 percent of all the galaxies in the universe are thought to be Seyfert galaxies. They are […]
Posted January 30, 2024
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