The Universe

Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Galaxies
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Spiral Galaxies
The Universe
In this image, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope peers into the spiral galaxy NGC 1317 in the constellation Fornax, located more than 50 million light-years from Earth. Visible in this galaxy image is a bright blue ring that hosts hot, young stars. NGC 1317 is one of a pair, but its rowdy larger neighbor, NGC […]
Posted May 14, 2025
Astrophysics
Goddard Space Flight Center
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
Science & Research
Stars
The Universe
Is frozen water scattered in systems around other stars? Astronomers have long expected it is, partially based on previous detections of its gaseous form, water vapor, and its presence in our own solar system. Now there is definitive evidence: Researchers confirmed the presence of crystalline water ice in a dusty debris disk that orbits a […]
Posted May 14, 2025
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Galaxies
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Spiral Galaxies
The Universe
The spiral galaxy NGC 3596 is on display in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image that incorporates six different wavelengths of light. NGC 3596 is situated 90 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo, the Lion. British astronomer Sir William Herschel first documented the galaxy in 1784.
Posted May 9, 2025
Astrophysics
Goddard Space Flight Center
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
Nebulae
Science & Research
Star-forming Nebulae
Stars
The Universe
In July 2022, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope made its public debut with a series of breathtaking images. Among them was an ethereal landscape nicknamed the Cosmic Cliffs. This glittering realm of star birth is the subject of a new 3D visualization derived from the Webb data. The visualization, created by NASA’s Universe of Learning […]
Posted May 7, 2025
IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer)
Astrophysics
Black Holes
Marshall Astrophysics
Marshall Science Research & Projects
Marshall Space Flight Center
Supermassive Black Holes
The Universe
The blazar BL Lacertae, a supermassive black hole surrounded by a bright disk and jets oriented toward Earth, provided scientists with a unique opportunity to answer a longstanding question: How are X-rays generated in extreme environments like this?
Posted May 6, 2025
Astrophysics
Black Holes
Galaxies, Stars, & Black Holes
Galaxies, Stars, & Black Holes Research
International Space Station (ISS)
ISS Research
NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer)
Science & Research
Supermassive Black Holes
The Universe
X-ray Astronomy
Lee esta nota de prensa en español aquí. For the first time, astronomers have probed the physical environment of repeating X-ray outbursts near monster black holes thanks to data from NASA’s NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer) and other missions.
Posted May 6, 2025
Astrophysics
Exoplanets
Goddard Space Flight Center
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
Science & Research
The Universe
Though they don’t orbit around our Sun, sub-Neptunes are the most common type of exoplanet, or planet outside our solar system, that have been observed in our galaxy. These small, gassy planets are shrouded in mystery…and often, a lot of haze. Now, by observing exoplanet TOI-421 b, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is helping scientists […]
Posted May 5, 2025
SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe and Ices Explorer)
Astrophysics
Exoplanets
Galaxies
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
The Search for Life
The Universe
After weeks of preparation, the space observatory has begun its science mission, taking about 3,600 unique images per day to create a map of the cosmos like no other. Launched on March 11, NASA’s SPHEREx space observatory has spent the last six weeks undergoing checkouts, calibrations, and other activities to ensure it is working as […]
Posted May 2, 2025
Chandra X-Ray Observatory
General
Marshall Astrophysics
Marshall Space Flight Center
Neutron Stars
Pulsars
Stars
The Universe
Astronomers have discovered a likely explanation for a fracture in a huge cosmic “bone” in the Milky Way galaxy, using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and radio telescopes. The bone appears to have been struck by a fast-moving, rapidly spinning neutron star, or pulsar.
Posted May 1, 2025
Active Galaxies
Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope
Galaxies
The Universe
Did you know some of the brightest sources of light in the sky come from the regions around black holes in the centers of galaxies? It sounds a little contradictory, but it’s true! They may not look bright to our eyes, but satellites have spotted oodles of them across the universe.  One of those satellites […]
Posted April 30, 2025
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