ScienceDaily: ESA News

Shining a light on cool pools of gas in the galaxy

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:48:48 EDT

Newly formed stars shine brightly, practically crying out, "Hey, look at me!" But not everything in our Milky Way galaxy is easy to see. The bulk of material between the stars in the galaxy -- the cool hydrogen gas from which stars spring -- is nearly impossible to find.

A Hubble view of NGC 1579: The Trifid of the North

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:36:36 EDT

Unlike the venomous fictional plants that share its name, the Trifid of the North, otherwise known as the Northern Trifid or NGC 1579, poses no threat to your vision. The nebula's moniker is inspired by the better-known Messier 20, the Trifid Nebula, which lies very much further south in the sky and displays strikingly similar swirling clouds of gas and dust.

Cassini sees precursors to aerosol haze on Saturn's largest moon, Titan

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 13:58:58 EDT

Scientists working with data from NASA's Cassini mission have confirmed the presence of a population of complex hydrocarbons in the upper atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, that later evolve into the components that give the moon a distinctive orange-brown haze. The presence of these complex, ringed hydrocarbons, known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), explains the origin of the aerosol particles found in the lowest haze layer that blankets Titan's surface. Scientists think these PAH compounds aggregate into larger particles as they drift downward.

Rare stellar alignment offers opportunity to hunt for planets

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 18:32:32 EDT

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope will have two opportunities in the next few years to hunt for Earth-sized planets around the red dwarf Proxima Centauri. The opportunities will occur in October 2014 and February 2016 when Proxima Centauri, the star nearest to our sun, passes in front of two other stars.

Hubble sees the messy result of a galactic collision

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 12:39:39 EDT

A new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captures an ongoing cosmic collision between two galaxies -- a spiral galaxy is in the process of colliding with a lenticular galaxy. The collision looks almost as if it is popping out of the screen in 3-D, with parts of the spiral arms clearly embracing the lenticular galaxy's bulge.

Mapping sea salt from orbit: Building better ocean and climate models

Fri, 31 May 2013 10:17:17 EDT

Climate is greatly influenced by the flow of heat energy carried by ocean currents. But precisely quantifying the mixing between the ocean and the atmosphere is hampered by a lack of detail in models of the ocean and of the water cycle. And in both models, knowing the salt content of the water is essential.

NASA completes first part of Webb Telescope's 'eye surgery' operation

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:52:52 EDT

Much like the inside of an operating room, in the clean room at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., engineers worked meticulously to implant part of the eyes of the James Webb Space Telescope. They scrubbed up and suited up to perform one of the most delicate performances of their lives. That part of the eyes, the MIRI, or Mid-Infrared Instrument, will glimpse the formation of galaxies and see deeper into the universe than ever before.

Scientists shape first global topographic map of Saturn's moon Titan

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:39:39 EDT

Scientists have created the first global topographic map of Saturn's moon Titan, giving researchers a valuable tool for learning more about one of the most Earthlike and interesting worlds in the solar system.

Dead stars 'polluted' with planetary debris: Signs of Earth-like planets found

Thu, 09 May 2013 12:36:36 EDT

Astronomers have found signs of Earth-like planets in an unlikely place: the atmospheres of a pair of burnt-out stars in a nearby star cluster. The white dwarf stars are being polluted by debris from asteroid-like objects falling onto them. This discovery suggests that rocky planet assembly is common in clusters, say researchers.

Milky Way black hole snacks on hot gas

Tue, 07 May 2013 20:15:15 EDT

The Herschel space observatory has made detailed observations of surprisingly hot gas that may be orbiting or falling towards the supermassive black hole lurking at the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

Hubble sees the remains of a star gone supernova

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:16:16 EDT

A new image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows delicate wisps of gas that make up an object known as SNR B0519-69.0, or SNR 0519 for short. The thin, blood-red shells are actually the remnants from when an unstable progenitor star exploded violently as a supernova around 600 years ago. There are several types of supernovae, but for SNR 0519 the star that exploded is known to have been a white dwarf star -- a Sun-like star in the final stages of its life.

Hubble sees the remains of a star gone supernova

Fri, 03 May 2013 15:15:15 EDT

These delicate wisps of gas make up an object known as SNR B0519-69.0, or SNR 0519 for short. The thin, blood-red shells are actually the remnants from when an unstable progenitor star exploded violently as a supernova around 600 years ago. There are several types of supernovae, but for SNR 0519 the star that exploded is known to have been a white dwarf star -- a sun-like star in the final stages of its life.

Herschel completes its 'cool' journey in space

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:24:24 EDT

The Herschel observatory, a European space telescope for which NASA helped build instruments and process data, has stopped making observations after running out of liquid coolant as expected. The European Space Agency mission, launched almost four years ago, revealed the universe's "coolest" secrets by observing the frigid side of planet, star and galaxy formation.

Entire galaxies feel the heat from newborn stars: Bursts of star birth can curtail future galaxy growth

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:33:33 EDT

Astronomers have shown for the first time that bursts of star formation have a major impact far beyond the boundaries of their host galaxy. These energetic events can affect galactic gas at distances of up to twenty times greater than the visible size of the galaxy -- altering how the galaxy evolves, and how matter and energy is spread throughout the Universe.

Jupiter's atmosphere still contains water supplied by the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet impact

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:23:23 EDT

Researchers are reporting Herschel observations of water in Jupiter's stratosphere. It is a clear remnant of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet impact on Jupiter nearly 20 years ago.

Hubble sees a unique cluster: One of the hidden 15

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:13:13 EDT

Palomar 2 is part of a group of 15 globulars known as the Palomar clusters. These clusters, as the name suggests, were discovered in survey plates from the first Palomar Observatory Sky Survey in the 1950s, a project that involved some of the most well-known astronomers of the day, including Edwin Hubble. They were discovered quite late because they are so faint -- each is either extremely remote, very heavily hidden behind blankets of dust, or has a very small number of remaining stars.

For the very first time, two spacecraft will fly in formation with millimeter precision

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:42:42 EDT

A new project aims to demonstrate that two satellites can move as one single object with sub-millimeter precision. This configuration will enable the creation of enormous space telescopes with the lens and detector hundreds of meters apart.

Titan's methane: Going, going, soon to be gone?

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:41:41 EDT

By tracking a part of the surface of Saturn's moon Titan over several years, NASA's Cassini mission has found a remarkable longevity to the hydrocarbon lakes on the moon's surface.

NASA's asteroid initiative: Robotically capture small near-Earth asteroid and explore it

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 11:34:34 EDT

NASA's FY2014 budget proposal includes a plan to robotically capture a small near-Earth asteroid and redirect it safely to a stable orbit in the Earth-moon system where astronauts can visit and explore it.

Retired star found with planets and debris disc

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:12:12 EDT

The European Space Agency's Herschel space observatory has provided the first images of a dust belt -- produced by colliding comets or asteroids -- orbiting a subgiant star known to host a planetary system.

NASA selects Explorer investigations for formulation

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 05:52:52 EDT

NASA's Astrophysics Explorer Program has selected two missions for launch in 2017: a planet-hunting satellite and an International Space Station instrument to observe X-rays from stars.

NASA provides a super-speed look at Webb Telescope progress

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 11:39:39 EDT

NASA released a new sped-up, 32-second video that shows engineers working on some of the James Webb Space Telescope's flight components to integrate them together to ensure they will work perfectly together in space.

Hubble digs up galactic glow worm

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 09:51:51 EDT

The image of a charming and bright galaxy, known as IRAS 23436+5257, was captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. It is located in the northern constellation of Cassiopeia, which is named after an arrogant, vain, and yet beautiful mythical queen.

Supercomputer helps Planck mission expose ancient light

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:02:02 EDT

Like archeologists carefully digging for fossils, scientists with the Planck mission are sifting through cosmic clutter to find the most ancient light in the universe. The Planck space telescope has created the most precise sky map ever made of the oldest light known, harking back to the dawn of time. This light, called the cosmic microwave background, has traveled 13.8 billion years to reach us. It is so faint that Planck observes every point on the sky an average of 1,000 times to pick up its glow. The task is even more complex than excavating fossils because just about everything in our universe lies between us and the ancient light. Complicating matters further is "noise" from the Planck detectors that must be taken into account. That's where a supercomputer helps out. Supercomputers are the fastest computers in the world, performing massive amounts of calculations in a short amount of time.

Best map ever made of universe's oldest light: Planck mission brings universe into sharp focus

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 08:42:42 EDT

The Planck space mission has released the most accurate and detailed map ever made of the oldest light in the universe, revealing new information about its age, contents and origins.

Herschel discovers some of the youngest stars ever seen

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 19:28:28 EDT

Astronomers have found some of the youngest stars ever seen, thanks to the Herschel space observatory. Dense envelopes of gas and dust surround the fledgling stars known as protostars, making their detection difficult. The 15 newly observed protostars turned up by surprise in a survey of the biggest site of star formation near our solar system, located in the constellation Orion. The discovery gives scientists a peek into one of the earliest and least understood phases of star formation.

NASA's Webb Telescope gets its wings

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:38:38 EDT

A massive backplane that will hold the primary mirror of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope nearly motionless while it peers into space is another step closer to completion with the recent assembly of the support structure's wings.

Hubble gazes on one ring to rule them all

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:36:36 EDT

Galaxies can take many forms -- elliptical blobs, swirling spiral arms, bulges, and disks are all known components of the wide range of galaxies we have observed using telescopes like the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. However, some of the more intriguing objects in the sky around us include ring galaxies like the one pictured in a new image -- Zw II 28.

Blue bursts of hot young stars captured by Hubble

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:45:45 EDT

A new Hubble image, speckled with blue, white and yellow light, shows part of the spiral galaxy IC 5052. Surrounded in the image by foreground stars in our own galaxy, and distant galaxies beyond, it emits a bright blue-white glow which highlights its narrow, intricate structure. It is viewed side-on in the constellation of Pavo (The Peacock), in the southern sky.

Cassini returns images of battered Saturn's moon Rhea

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:41:41 EDT

Following its last close flyby of Saturn's moon Rhea, NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured these raw, unprocessed images of the battered icy moon. They show an ancient, cratered surface bearing the scars of collisions with many space rocks. Scientists are still trying to understand some of the curious features they see in these Rhea images, including a curving, narrow fracture or a graben, which is a block of ground lower than its surroundings and bordered by cliffs on either side. This feature looks remarkably recent, cutting most of the craters it crosses, with only a few small craters superimposed.

Cassini makes last close flyby of Saturnian moon Rhea

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 08:23:23 EST

NASA's Cassini spacecraft will be swooping close to Saturn's moon Rhea on Saturday, March 9, the last close flyby of Rhea in Cassini's mission. The primary purpose will be to probe the internal structure of the moon by measuring the gravitational pull of Rhea against the spacecraft's steady radio link to NASA's Deep Space Network here on Earth. The results will help scientists understand whether the moon is homogeneous all the way through or whether it has differentiated into the layers of core, mantle and crust.

Southampton scientist investigates Russian meteor

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 11:04:04 EST

Dr Hugh Lewis from the University of Southampton has analysed the recent extraordinary Russian meteor event using the "NEOImpactor" tool, which was developed by researchers from the University and designed to investigate the risks faced by the Earth from asteroid impacts.

Probing extreme matter through observations of neutron stars

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:38:38 EST

Neutron stars, the ultra-dense cores left behind after massive stars collapse, contain the densest matter known in the Universe outside of a black hole. New results have provided one of the most reliable determinations yet of the relation between the radius of a neutron star and its mass. These results constrain how nuclear matter – protons and neutrons, and their constituent quarks – interact under the extreme conditions found in neutron stars.

Herschel space observatory to complete its mission soon

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:17:17 EST

The Herschel space observatory is expected to exhaust its supply of liquid helium coolant in the coming weeks, after spending more than three years studying the cool universe and surpassing the expectations of the international team of scientists involved.

Gravitational telescope creates space invader mirage

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 10:09:09 EST

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is one of the most powerful available to astronomers, but sometimes it too needs a helping hand. This comes in the form of Einstein's general theory of relativity, which makes galaxy clusters act as natural lenses, amplifying the light coming from very distant galaxies.

Cassini spies bright Venus from Saturn orbit

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 12:53:53 EST

A distant world gleaming in sunlight, Earth's twin planet, Venus, shines like a bright beacon in images taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft in orbit around Saturn.

NASA's NuSTAR helps solve riddle of black hole spin

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:25:25 EST

Two X-ray space observatories, NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton, have teamed up to measure definitively, for the first time, the spin rate of a black hole with a mass 2 million times that of our sun.

European Space Agency's AIDA mission now has a target: asteroid Didymos

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 11:11:11 EST

The European Space Agency's proposed Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment mission now has a target: asteroid Didymos. The recent Russian meteor and, on the same day, our planet's close encounter with an even larger chunk of celestial debris underline the need for us to learn more about these high-speed space rocks.

NASA and JPL contribute to European Jupiter mission

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 21:42:42 EST

NASA has selected key contributions to a 2022 European Space Agency (ESA) mission that will study Jupiter and three of its largest moons in unprecedented detail. The moons are thought to harbor vast water oceans beneath their icy surfaces.

Sun's next-door twin: Cool layer in the atmosphere of Alpha Centauri A

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 09:24:24 EST

The European Space Agency's Herschel space observatory has detected a cool layer in the atmosphere of Alpha Centauri A, the first time this has been seen in a star beyond our own Sun. The finding is not only important for understanding the Sun's activity, but could also help in the quest to discover proto-planetary systems around other stars.

Sweeping dust from a cosmic lobster

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:47:47 EST

Located around 8000 light-years away in the constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion), NGC 6357 -- sometimes nicknamed the Lobster Nebula due to its appearance in visible-light images -- is a region filled with vast clouds of gas and tendrils of dark dust. These clouds are forming stars, including massive hot stars which glow a brilliant blue-white in visible light.

Cassini sheds light on cosmic particle accelerators

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:32:32 EST

During a chance encounter with what appears to be an unusually strong blast of solar wind at Saturn, NASA's Cassini spacecraft detected particles being accelerated to ultra-high energies. This is similar to the acceleration that takes place around distant supernovas.

Russian asteroid strike: Numerous injuries, significant damage

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 19:21:21 EST

A space rock a few metres across exploded in Earth's atmosphere above the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia today (Feb. 15, 2013) at about 03:15 GMT. The numerous injuries and significant damage remind us that what happens in space can affect us all.

NASA set for new round of J-2X Testing at Stennis Space Center

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 14:08:08 EST

NASA's progress toward a return to deep space missions continues with a new round of upcoming tests on the next-generation J-2X rocket engine, which will help power the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) to new destinations in the solar system.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to lead U.S. science team for dark energy mission

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 14:01:01 EST

The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected three NASA-nominated science teams to participate in their planned Euclid mission, including one team led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Cassini sees Saturn's moon Titan cooking up smog

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 19:05:05 EST

Newly published research using data from NASA's Cassini mission describes in more detail than ever before how aerosols in the highest part of the atmosphere are kick-started at Saturn's moon Titan. Scientists want to understand aerosol formation at Titan because it could help predict the behavior of smoggy aerosol layers on Earth.

New video brings Webb Telescope's third mirror to light

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 09:25:25 EST

There are four types of mirrors that will fly on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. They're called the "primary, secondary, tertiary" and fine steering mirrors. Although the 18 primary mirror segments make the biggest splash, the other mirrors are equally as important. A new video takes viewers behind the scenes for a special look at the tertiary mirror.

NASA launches next-generation communications satellite

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 23:22:22 EST

The first of NASA's three next-generation Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS), known as TDRS-K, launched at 8:48 p.m. EST Wednesday (Jan. 30) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The TDRS system provides tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services for numerous science and human exploration missions orbiting Earth. These include the International Space Station and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

Cool, new views of Andromeda galaxy

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 22:41:41 EST

Two new eye-catching views from the Herschel space observatory are fit for a princess. They show the elegant spiral galaxy Andromeda, named after the mythical Greek princess known for her beauty.

NASA officially joins ESA's 'dark universe' mission

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:07:07 EST

NASA has joined the European Space Agency's (ESA's) Euclid mission, a space telescope designed to investigate the cosmological mysteries of dark matter and dark energy.

Setting the Dark on Fire: Beautiful view of clouds of cosmic dust in region of Orion

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 09:45:45 EST

In space, dense clouds of cosmic gas and dust are the birthplaces of new stars. In visible light, this dust is dark and obscuring, hiding the stars behind it. So much so that, when astronomer William Herschel observed one such cloud in the constellation of Scorpius in 1774, he thought it was a region empty of stars and is said to have exclaimed, "Truly there is a hole in the sky here!"

Hubble focuses on the 'Great Attractor'

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 11:24:24 EST

A busy patch of space has been captured in an image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Scattered with many nearby stars, the field also has numerous galaxies in the background.

NASA signs agreement for a European-provided Orion service module

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 11:05:05 EST

NASA signed an agreement in mid-December for the European Space Agency (ESA) to provide a service module for the Orion spacecraft's Exploration Mission-1 in 2017.

NASA'S Webb Telescope team completes optical milestone

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 11:03:03 EST

Engineers working on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope met another milestone recently with they completed performance testing on the observatory's aft-optics subsystem at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp's facilities in Boulder, Colo. Ball is the principal subcontractor to Northrop Grumman for the optical technology and lightweight mirror system.

Betelgeuse braces for a collision: Red supergiant star to crash into dusty 'wall'

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 10:56:56 EST

Multiple arcs are revealed around Betelgeuse, the nearest red supergiant star to Earth, in a new image from the European Space Agency's Herschel space observatory. The star and its arc-shaped shields could collide with an intriguing dusty 'wall' in 5,000 years.

Hidden treasure in Large Magellanic Cloud

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 10:58:58 EST

Nearly 200,000 light-years from Earth, the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, floats in space, in a long and slow dance around our galaxy. Vast clouds of gas within it slowly collapse to form new stars. In turn, these light up the gas clouds in a riot of colors, visible in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

Asteroid deflection mission seeks smashing ideas

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 09:28:28 EST

A space rock several hundred metres across is heading towards our planet and the last-ditch attempt to avert a disaster -- an untested mission to deflect it -- fails. This fictional scene of films and novels could well be a reality one day. But what can space agencies do to ensure it works?

New sunspots producing space weather

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:21:21 EST

On Jan. 13, 2013, at 2:24 a.m. EST, the sun erupted with an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection or CME. Not to be confused with a solar flare, a CME is a solar phenomenon that can send solar particles into space and reach Earth one to three days later.

Herschel spacecraft eyes asteroid Apophis

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 20:06:06 EST

Scientists using the Herschel Space Observatory made new observations of asteroid Apophis as it approached Earth this past weekend. The data show the asteroid to be bigger than first estimated, and less reflective.

Hubble image: The galaxy puzzle in the constellation of Centaurus

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 17:45:45 EST

The Universe loves to fool our eyes, giving the impression that celestial objects are located at the same distance from Earth. A good example can be seen in a new spectacular image produced by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The galaxies NGC 5011B and NGC 5011C are imaged against a starry background.