The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has established an extraordinary new benchmark: detecting the light of a star that existed within the first billion years after the Universe’s birth in the Big Bang (at a redshift of 6.2) — the most distant individual star ever seen.
This sets up a major target for the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope in its … Read the rest of this article
…And Here’s What That Means for Astronomy…
Early observations of stars in the local universe will pave the way for years of discovery across a range of science topics
The combination of high resolution and infrared-detecting instruments on NASA’s upcoming James Webb Space Telescope will provide astronomers with a wealth of detailed data on individual stars in the local universe.… Read the rest of this article
NASA launched its Spitzer Space Telescope into orbit around the Sun on Aug. 25, 2003. Since then, the observatory has been lifting the veil on the wonders of the cosmos, from our own solar system to faraway galaxies, using infrared light.
Managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, Spitzer enabled scientists to confirm the presence of seven rocky, … Read the rest of this article
The James Webb Space Telescope is undergoing final integration and testing that will require more time to ensure a successful mission. Following a new assessment of the remaining tasks on the highly complex space observatory, the launch window is now targeted for about May 2020.
“The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a daring endeavour and we need to … Read the rest of this article
Launched in December 2013, Gaia is destined to create the most accurate map yet of the Milky Way. By making accurate measurements of the positions and motions of stars in the Milky Way, it will answer questions about the origin and evolution of our home galaxy.
The first intermediate data release, detailed in the video above, containing among other things … Read the rest of this article
Astronaut John Mace Grunsfeld remembers a quirky discovery back in 1999. He had just arrived at the Hubble Space Telescope and climbed out of the airlock of Space Shuttle Discovery to begin a servicing mission. Clinging to a handrail running down the side of Hubble’s gleaming exterior, he ran his eyes over the blue planet 350 miles below and tried … Read the rest of this article
New maps from ESA’s Planck satellite uncover the ‘polarised’ light from the early Universe across the entire sky, revealing that the first stars formed much later than previously thought.
The history of our Universe is a 13.8 billion-year tale that scientists endeavour to read by studying the planets, asteroids, comets and other objects in our Solar System, and gathering light … Read the rest of this article
In 2015, Hubble will celebrate its 25th anniversary. Check out the new Hubble25 site for a host of festivities centered on Hubble’s history and explorations. The site will reminisce about the telescope’s greatest hits and look forward to its future discoveries. New events, stories and images will be added throughout 2015 in a year-long astronomy jubilee. … Read the rest of this article
Here on Earth, under the protection of the layers of our atmosphere, we can still find the heat from the Sun sometimes almost unbearable. This is also a problem for space-based telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
Once in its operational orbit, JWST will be exposed directly to the Sun’s intense glare – not ideal when most of … Read the rest of this article
The Herschel Space Observatory has uncovered a weird ring of dusty material while obtaining one of the sharpest scans to date of a huge cloud of gas and dust, called NGC 7538. The observations have revealed numerous clumps of material, a baker’s dozen of which may evolve into the most powerful kinds of stars in the universe. Herschel is a … Read the rest of this article
The Sun Now (Visible light)
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The Sun Now (H-Alpha light)
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Aurora Oval
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Aurora Oval
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