Goddard Space Flight Center
Swift snaps our best-ever ultraviolet image of neighboring Andromeda Galaxy
In a galaxy far, far away … about 2.5 million light years, in fact, lie approximately 20,000 hot, young stars and dense clusters that comprise the Andromeda Galaxy. The galaxy, known as M31 in the constellation Andromeda, was recently captured by an ultraviolet optical telescope aboard NASA’s Swift satellite, and delivers the highest-resolution view of a neighboring spiral galaxy ever attained in the ultraviolet. Read More
Astronomers like what they see from rejuvenated NASA Hubble Space Telescope
New images from the rejuvenated, more powerful Hubble Space Telescope have universally delighted astronomers. Last week, observations from four of its six operating science instruments were released by NASA. They include colorful, multi-wavelength pictures of far-flung galaxies, a densely-packed star cluster, an eerie ‘pillar of creation’, and a ‘butterfly’ nebula. Read More
After the Phoenix lander has finished scraping away at Martian soil, the MAVEN spacecraft will examine the atmosphere of the red planet. The US$485 million Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN program is the second stage of NASA’s Mars Scout program, following the successful Phoenix mission. The MAVEN craft will study the planet’s atmospheric gases, upper atmosphere, solar wind, ionosphere, planetary corona, solar EUV and SEPS, and investigate past climate change. Read More
April 7, 2008 Using measurements taken by the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer satellite, NASA scientists have identified the smallest known black hole in the universe. At 3.8 times the mass of our Sun and estimated at only 15 miles in diameter, the black hole known as XTE J1650 is also close to the smallest size thought to be theoretically possible for such an object. Read More
January 7, 2007 A record three long-duration, sub-orbital flights were launched and operated in Antarctica during this current Southern-Hemisphere summer, marking a new milestone for the almost 20-years of scientific ballooning in the region. The achievement was the result of a partnership between the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with NSF providing infrastructure and logistics and NASA providing the satellite communications link. Read More
