display Latest news from Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) on Newswise en-us Copyright 2024 Newswise 115 31 / /images/newswise-logo-rss.gif /articles/nasa-s-webb-peers-into-the-extreme-outer-galaxy/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-webb-peers-into-the-extreme-outer-galaxy/?sc=rsin Thu, 12 Sep 2024 10:05:39 EST How do environmental factors affect the star formation process? To help answer this question, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope examined the fringes of our Milky Way galaxy. Webb's near- and mid-infrared imaging capabilities enabled scientists to examine a star-forming area reminiscent of our galaxy during its early formation. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-hubble-chandra-find-supermassive-black-hole-duo/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-hubble-chandra-find-supermassive-black-hole-duo/?sc=rsin Mon, 09 Sep 2024 10:00:05 EST Hubble and Chandra have uncovered a pair of supermassive black holes that are just 300 light-years apart. They are buried deep inside the heart of a pair of colliding galaxies that will eventually merge to make a bigger black hole. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-hubble-maven-help-solve-the-mystery-of-mars-escaping-water/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-hubble-maven-help-solve-the-mystery-of-mars-escaping-water/?sc=rsin Thu, 05 Sep 2024 10:00:46 EST A Martian mystery: What happened to the water that once covered the Red Planet? Scientists know some of it went deep underground, but what became of the rest? Hubble and MAVEN teamed up to help scientists understand the history of water on Mars. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-webb-reveals-distorted-galaxy-forming-cosmic-question-mark/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-webb-reveals-distorted-galaxy-forming-cosmic-question-mark/?sc=rsin Wed, 04 Sep 2024 10:05:13 EST Astronomers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope were surprised to find a distant, red galaxy distorted into the shape of a question mark. A specific, rarely-seen type of natural gravitational lens is causing the galaxy to appear multiple times. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-roman-space-telescope-to-investigate-galactic-fossils/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-roman-space-telescope-to-investigate-galactic-fossils/?sc=rsin Thu, 29 Aug 2024 10:10:09 EST The universe may seem static, only capable of being captured in still frames, but that is far from the truth. It is actually ever-changing, just not on timescales clearly visible to humans. NASA's upcoming Roman Space Telescope will bridge this gap in time, opening the way to the dynamic universe. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/new-horizons-spacecraft-answers-question-how-dark-is-space/?sc=rsin /articles/new-horizons-spacecraft-answers-question-how-dark-is-space/?sc=rsin Wed, 28 Aug 2024 13:05:23 EST NASA's New Horizons spacecraft measured the feeble background glow that comes from myriad galaxies filling the universe. The finding has settled a long-standing mystery about the source of background light. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/webb-finds-early-galaxies-weren-t-too-big-for-their-britches-after-all/?sc=rsin /articles/webb-finds-early-galaxies-weren-t-too-big-for-their-britches-after-all/?sc=rsin Mon, 26 Aug 2024 10:05:14 EST Not long after the James Webb Space Telescope began science operations in July 2022, breathless headlines proclaimed that observations of distant galaxies were "breaking theories of cosmic evolution." Astronomers had found galaxies that appeared much brighter than expected. If all of that light came from stars, then those galaxies would have formed so many stars, so quickly, that the leading theory for the universe's formation and evolution could not explain them. New research finds that some of those early galaxies are in fact much less massive than they first appeared. Much of their light came, not from stars, but from a hot accretion disk surrounding a supermassive black hole. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-webb-images-cold-exoplanet-12-light-years-away/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-webb-images-cold-exoplanet-12-light-years-away/?sc=rsin Wed, 24 Jul 2024 11:00:00 EST If alien astronomers in a nearby star system had a telescope like NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, and they pointed it toward our solar system, then Jupiter might look very much like this new Webb image of the exoplanet Epsilon Indi Ab. It is one of the coldest exoplanets to be directly detected, with an estimated temperature of 35 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius). Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-webb-investigates-eternal-sunrises-sunsets-on-distant-world/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-webb-investigates-eternal-sunrises-sunsets-on-distant-world/?sc=rsin Mon, 15 Jul 2024 11:15:32 EST Since the first exoplanet was discovered in 1992, thousands of planets orbiting stars outside of our solar system have been confirmed through a myriad of different methods, including direct imaging, gravitational microlensing, measuring transits, and astrometry. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/vivid-portrait-of-interacting-galaxies-marks-webb-s-second-anniversary/?sc=rsin /articles/vivid-portrait-of-interacting-galaxies-marks-webb-s-second-anniversary/?sc=rsin Fri, 12 Jul 2024 10:05:52 EST The James Webb Space Telescope operates around the clock, frequently astonishing researchers with its highly detailed -- and incredibly precise -- infrared images and data. These wavelengths of light, which lie beyond what our eyes can see, were largely out of reach at this level of detail until Webb began taking science observations July 12, 2022. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-hubble-traces-dark-matter-in-dwarf-galaxy-using-stellar-motions/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-hubble-traces-dark-matter-in-dwarf-galaxy-using-stellar-motions/?sc=rsin Thu, 11 Jul 2024 10:00:00 EST Measuring the dynamic movements of stars can help us improve our understanding of dark matter and how this invisible "glue" is dispersed in galaxies. A team of astronomers set their sights on the Draco dwarf galaxy, a system located about 250,000 light-years from Earth. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-hubble-finds-strong-evidence-for-intermediate-mass-black-hole-in-omega-centauri/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-hubble-finds-strong-evidence-for-intermediate-mass-black-hole-in-omega-centauri/?sc=rsin Wed, 10 Jul 2024 11:00:00 EST Astronomers have identified the nearest black hole to Earth-weighing an estimated 8,200 solar masses-using 20 years of Hubble telescope observations. It is in the heart of the globular star cluster Omega Centauri, located 17,700 light-years away. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-webb-captures-celestial-fireworks-around-forming-star/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-webb-captures-celestial-fireworks-around-forming-star/?sc=rsin Tue, 02 Jul 2024 10:10:55 EST NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is celebrating U.S. Independence Day with an observation of the protostar, hidden inside the dark molecular cloud L1527 in mid-infrared light, as it evolves. This vibrant new view highlights the behavior of this young object and traces the different concentrations of gas and dust surrounding the protostar. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/pillars-of-creation-star-in-new-visualization-from-nasa-s-hubble-and-webb-telescope/?sc=rsin /articles/pillars-of-creation-star-in-new-visualization-from-nasa-s-hubble-and-webb-telescope/?sc=rsin Wed, 26 Jun 2024 10:05:01 EST Combining data from NASA's Hubble and James Webb space telescopes, a team from NASA's Universe of Learning at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland has produced a breathtaking new 3D visualization of the towering "Pillars of Creation" in the Eagle Nebula. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/first-of-its-kind-detection-made-in-striking-new-webb-image/?sc=rsin /articles/first-of-its-kind-detection-made-in-striking-new-webb-image/?sc=rsin Thu, 20 Jun 2024 10:10:39 EST Some of the greatest, and most interesting, astronomical discoveries have come as a surprise to researchers, even when examining the most well-studied areas of the sky. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/investigating-the-origins-of-the-crab-nebula-with-nasa-s-webb/?sc=rsin /articles/investigating-the-origins-of-the-crab-nebula-with-nasa-s-webb/?sc=rsin Mon, 17 Jun 2024 10:05:12 EST NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has provided a new view of the Crab, including the highest-quality infrared data yet available to aid scientists as they explore the detailed structure and chemical composition of the remnant. These clues are helping to unravel the unusual way that the star exploded about 1,000 years ago. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-hubble-finds-surprises-around-a-star-that-erupted-40-years-ago/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-hubble-finds-surprises-around-a-star-that-erupted-40-years-ago/?sc=rsin Mon, 10 Jun 2024 15:15:49 EST Astronomers have used new and archival data from Hubble to revisit one of the strangest stars in our galaxy-40 years after it burst onto the scene as an extraordinarily bright and long-lived nova. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/nasa-s-webb-opens-new-window-on-supernova-science/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-s-webb-opens-new-window-on-supernova-science/?sc=rsin Mon, 10 Jun 2024 15:15:00 EST Using data from a deep Webb survey of the early universe, a team has identified 10 times more far-off supernovae than were previously known. This study is the first significant step toward more extensive surveys of ancient supernovae with Webb. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/webb-finds-plethora-of-carbon-molecules-around-young-star/?sc=rsin /articles/webb-finds-plethora-of-carbon-molecules-around-young-star/?sc=rsin Thu, 06 Jun 2024 14:00:00 EST In a new study, astronomers used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to study a red dwarf star weighing just one-tenth as much as our Sun. No known planets have formed around this young star yet, which is just one to two million years old. The team found that the gas in the planet-forming region of the star is rich in carbon-bearing molecules. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) /articles/galaxies-actively-forming-in-early-universe-caught-feeding-on-cold-gas/?sc=rsin /articles/galaxies-actively-forming-in-early-universe-caught-feeding-on-cold-gas/?sc=rsin Thu, 23 May 2024 14:00:00 EST A team in Denmark examining archival data from the James Webb Space Telescope recently found a trio of distant galaxies that are in the process of gathering gas when the universe was only a few hundred million years old. Their detection and characterization are remarkable achievements that only Webb is currently capable of, thanks to its specialization in infrared light. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)