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Seeing Stars in Serpens
| Title |
Seeing Stars in Serpens |
| Description |
Infant stars are glowing gloriously in this infrared image of the Serpens star-forming region, captured by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The reddish-pink dots are baby stars deeply embedded in the cosmic cloud of gas and dust that collapsed to create it. A dusty disk of cosmic debris, or "protoplanetary disk," that may eventually form planets, surrounds the infant stars. Wisps of green throughout the image indicate the presence of carbon rich molecules called, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). On Earth, PAHs can be found on charred barbecue grills and in automobile exhaust. Blue specks sprinkled throughout the image are background stars in our Milky Way Galaxy. The Serpens star-forming region is located approximately 848 light-years away in the Serpens constellation. The image is a three-channel false-color composite, where emission at 4.5 microns is blue, emission at 8.0 microns is green, and 24 micron emission is red. |
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Cosmic Epic Unfolds in Infra
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| Title |
Cosmic Epic Unfolds in Infrared |
| Description |
This majestic view taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope tells an untold story of life and death in the Eagle nebula, an industrious star-making factory located 7,000 light-years away in the Serpens constellation. The image shows the region's entire network of turbulent clouds and newborn stars in infrared light. The color green denotes cooler towers and fields of dust, including the three famous space pillars, dubbed the "Pillars of Creation," which were photographed by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in 1995 (right of center, see related image below for exact location). But it is the color red that speaks of the drama taking place in this region. Red represents hotter dust thought to have been warmed by the explosion of a massive star about 8,000 to 9,000 years ago. Since light from the Eagle nebula takes 7,000 years to reach us, this "supernova" explosion would have appeared as an oddly bright star in our skies about 1,000 to 2,000 years ago. According to astronomers' estimations, the explosion's blast wave would have spread outward and toppled the three pillars about 6,000 years ago (which means we wouldn't witness the destruction for another 1,000 years or so). The blast wave would have crumbled the mighty towers, exposing newborn stars that were buried inside, and triggering the birth of new ones. The pillars of the Eagle nebula were originally sculpted by radiation and wind from about 20 or so massive stars hidden from view in the upper left portion of the image. The radiation and wind blew dust away, carving out a hollow cavity (center) and leaving only the densest nuggets of dust and gas (tops of pillars) flanked by columns of lighter dust that lie in shadow (base of pillars). This sculpting process led to the creation of a second generation of stars inside the pillars. If a star did blow up in this region, it is probably located among the other massive stars in the upper left portion of the image. Its blast wave might have already caused a third generation of stars to spring from the wreckage of the busted pillars. This image is a composite of infrared light detected by Spitzer's infrared array camera and multiband imaging photometer. Blue is 4.5-micron light, green is 8-micron light, and red is 24-micron light. |
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Stellar Families
| Title |
Stellar Families |
| Description |
Human families may be bonded by blood, but stellar families are united by gravity. A family of stars, or star cluster, can contain hundreds or thousands of members. In this image, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope spots the Serpens South star cluster, which consists of a relatively dense group of 50 young stars -- 35 of which are protostars, or stellar infants, that are just beginning to form. Stellar members of Serpens South star cluster can be seen as the green, yellow, and orange tinted specks sitting atop the black dust lane running down the center of the image. Like raindrops, stars form when thick patches of cosmic clouds condense. Tints of green in the image represent hot hydrogen gas excited when high-speed jets of gas ejected by infant stars collide with the cool gas in the surrounding cloud. Wisps of red in the background are organic molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are being excited by stellar radiation from a neighboring star-forming region located to the east of this image, called W40. On Earth PAHs are found on charred barbeque grills and in the sooty automobile exhaust. This Spitzer picture is composed of three images taken with the telescope's Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) at 3.6 (blue), 4.5 (green), and 5.8 (red) microns. |
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Unwrapping the Pillars
| Title |
Unwrapping the Pillars |
| Description |
This image composite highlights the pillars of the Eagle nebula, as seen in infrared light by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (bottom) and visible light by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (top insets). The top right inset focuses on the three famous pillars, dubbed the "Pillars of Creation," which were photographed by Hubble in 1995. Hubble's optical view shows the dusty towers in exquisite detail, while Spitzer's infrared eyes penetrate through the thick dust, revealing ghostly transparent structures. The same effect can be seen for the pillar outlined in the top left box. In both cases, Spitzer's view exposes newborn stars that were hidden inside the cocoon-like pillars, invisible to Hubble. These stars were first uncovered by the European Space Agency's Infrared Satellite Observatory. In the Spitzer image, two embedded stars are visible at the tip and the base of the left pillar, while one star can be seen at the tip of the tallest pillar on the right. |
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Wanted: Galactic Thief Who S
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| Title |
Wanted: Galactic Thief Who Steals Gas |
| Description |
A big galaxy is stealing gas right off the "back" of its smaller companion in this new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The stolen gas is hot, but it might eventually cool down to make new stars and planets. The robber galaxy, called 3C 326 North, and its victim, 3C 326 South, are located about a billion light-years away from Earth in the Serpens constellation. They are both called radio galaxies, because the relativistic jets streaming out of their centers give off a great deal of radio waves. Other dots in the picture are foreground stars and background galaxies. When astronomers first collected data on the 3C 326 galaxies with Spitzer's infrared spectrometer, they were surprised to find that 3C 326 North is loaded with an enormous amount of hot gas, called molecular hydrogen gas, which is fuel for stars and planets. They then studied this archived picture taken with Spitzer's infrared array camera and noticed a tail of stars connecting 3C 326 North to 3C 326 South. This tail revealed that the galactic pair are gravitationally tangled and might eventually merge ? and that 3C 326 North must be hoisting gas from its smaller companion. How is 3C 326 stealing the gas? The answer is gravity. The larger 3C 326 North, which is about the same mass as our Milky Way galaxy, has more gravity so the gas from 3C 326 South falls toward it in the same way that water rolls down hill on Earth. Even in space, it seems the bullies are bigger! This image shows infrared light of three wavelengths: 8-micron light is red, 4.5 microns is green, 3.6 microns is blue. |
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Cosmic Epic Unfolds in Infra
…
| Title |
Cosmic Epic Unfolds in Infrared (with insets) |
| Description |
This majestic view taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope tells an untold story of life and death in the Eagle nebula, an industrious star-making factory located 7,000 light-years away in the Serpens constellation. The image shows the region's entire network of turbulent clouds and newborn stars in infrared light. The color green denotes cooler towers and fields of dust, including the three famous space pillars, dubbed the "Pillars of Creation," which were photographed by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in 1995 (see inset). But it is the color red that speaks of the drama taking place in this region. Red represents hotter dust thought to have been warmed by the explosion of a massive star about 8,000 to 9,000 years ago. Since light from the Eagle nebula takes 7,000 years to reach us, this "supernova" explosion would have appeared as an oddly bright star in our skies about 1,000 to 2,000 years ago. According to astronomers' estimations, the explosion's blast wave would have spread outward and toppled the three pillars about 6,000 years ago (which means we wouldn't witness the destruction for another 1,000 years or so). The blast wave would have crumbled the mighty towers, exposing newborn stars that were buried inside, and triggering the birth of new ones. The pillars of the Eagle nebula were originally sculpted by radiation and wind from about 20 or so massive stars hidden from view in the upper left portion of the image. The radiation and wind blew dust away, carving out a hollow cavity (center) and leaving only the densest nuggets of dust and gas (tops of pillars) flanked by columns of lighter dust that lie in shadow (base of pillars). This sculpting process led to the creation of a second generation of stars inside the pillars. If a star did blow up in this region, it is probably located among the other massive stars in the upper left portion of the image. Its blast wave might have already caused a third generation of stars to spring from the wreckage of the busted pillars. This image is a composite of infrared light detected by Spitzer's infrared array camera and multiband imaging photometer. Blue is 4.5-micron light, green is 8-micron light, and red is 24-micron light. |
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Eagle Nebula Flaunts Its Inf
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| Title |
Eagle Nebula Flaunts Its Infrared Feathers |
| Description |
This set of images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Eagle nebula in different hues of infrared light. Each view tells a different tale. The left picture shows lots of stars and dusty structures with clarity. Dusty molecules found on Earth called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons produce most of the red, gas is green and stars are blue. The middle view is packed with drama, because it tells astronomers that a star in this region violently erupted, or went supernova, heating surrounding dust (orange). This view also reveals that the hot dust is shell shaped, another indication that a star exploded. The final picture highlights the contrast between the hot, supernova-heated dust (green) and the cooler dust making up the region's dusty star-forming clouds and towers (red, blue and purple). The left image is a composite of infrared light with the following wavelengths: 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange), and 8 microns (red). The right image includes longer infrared wavelengths, and is a composite of light of 4.5 to 8.0 microns (blue), 24 microns (green), and 70 microns (red). The middle image is made up solely of 24-micron light. |
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Abell 2029: Hot News for Col
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| Name |
Abell 2029: Hot News for Cold Dark Matter |
| Category |
Groups & Clusters of Galaxies |
| Release Date |
June 11, 2003 |
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The Eagle Nebula (M16): Peer
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| Name |
The Eagle Nebula (M16): Peering Into the Pillars Of Creation |
| Category |
Normal Stars & Star Clusters |
| Release Date |
February 15, 2007 |
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3C321:Black Hole Fires at Ne
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| Name |
3C321:Black Hole Fires at Neighboring Galaxy |
| Category |
Quasars & Active Galaxies |
| Release Date |
December 17, 2007 |
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Abell 2104: Chandra Finds Su
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| Name |
Abell 2104: Chandra Finds Surprising Black Hole Activity In Galaxy Cluster |
| Category |
Groups & Clusters of Galaxies Quasars & Active Galaxies |
| Release Date |
September 13, 2002 |
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Arp 220: Chandra Observes Ti
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| Name |
Arp 220: Chandra Observes Titanic Merger |
| Category |
Normal Galaxies & Starburst Galaxies |
| Release Date |
April 19, 2002 |
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Stellar
| Title |
Stellar |
| Full Description |
This eerie, dark structure, resembling an imaginary sea serpent's head, is a column of cool molecular hydrogen gas (two atoms of hydrogen in each molecule) and dust that is an incubator for new stars. The stars are embedded inside finger-like protrusions extending from the top of the nebula. Each "fingertip" is somewhat larger than our own solar system. The pillar is slowly eroding away by the ultraviolet light from nearby hot stars, a process called "photoevaporation." As it does, small globules of especially dense gas buried within the cloud is uncovered. These globules have been dubbed "EGGs" -- an acronym for "Evaporating Gaseous Globules." The shadows of the EGGs protect gas behind them, resulting in the finger-like structures at the top of the cloud. Forming inside at least some of the EGGs are embryonic stars -- stars that abruptly stop growing when the EGGs are uncovered and they are separated from the larger reservoir of gas from which they were drawing mass. Eventually the stars emerge, as the EGGs themselves succumb to photoevaporation. The stellar EGGS are found, appropriately enough, in the "Eagle Nebula" (also called M16 -- the 16th object in Charles Messier's 18th century catalog of "fuzzy" permanent objects in the sky), a nearby star-forming region 7,000 light-years away in the constellation Serpens. The picture was taken on April 1, 1995 with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. The color image is constructed from three separate images taken in the light of emission from different types of atoms. Red shows emission from singly-ionized sulfur atoms. Green shows emission from hydrogen. Blue shows light emitted by doubly-ionized oxygen atoms. |
| Date |
4/1/1995 |
| NASA Center |
Hubble Space Telescope Center |
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The Eagle Nebula
| Title |
The Eagle Nebula |
| Full Description |
These eerie, dark pillar-like structures are columns of cool interstellar hydrogen gas and dust that are also incubators for new stars. The pillars protrude from the interior wall of a dark molecular cloud like stalagmites from the floor of a cavern. They are part of the "Eagle Nebula" (also called M16 -- the 16th object in Charles Messier's 18th century catalog of "fuzzy" objects that aren't comets), a nearby star-forming region 7,000 light-years away in the constellation Serpens. Ultraviolet light is responsible for illuminating the convoluted surfaces of the columns and the ghostly streamers of gas boiling away from their surfaces, producing the dramatic visual effects that highlight the three dimensional nature of the clouds. The tallest pillar (left) is about a light-year long from base to tip. As the pillars themselves are slowly eroded away by the ultraviolet light, small globules of even denser gas buried within the pillars are uncovered. These globules have been dubbed "EGGs." EGGs is an acronym for "Evaporating Gaseous Globules," but it is also a word that describes what these objects are. Forming inside at least some of the EGGs are embryonic stars, stars that abruptly stop growing when the EGGs are uncovered and they are separated from the larger reservoir of gas from which they were drawing mass. Eventually, the stars themselves emerge from the EGGs as the EGGs themselves succumb to photoevaporation. The picture was taken on April 1, 1995 with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. The color image is constructed from three separate images taken in the light of emission from different types of atoms. Red shows emission from singly-ionized sulfur atoms. Green shows emission from hydrogen. Blue shows light emitted by doubly- ionized oxygen atoms. |
| Date |
04/01/1995 |
| NASA Center |
Hubble Space Telescope Center |
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Embryonic Stars Emerge from
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| Title |
Embryonic Stars Emerge from Interstellar "Eggs |
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Embryonic Stars Emerge from
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| Title |
Embryonic Stars Emerge from Interstellar "Eggs |
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Embryonic Stars Emerge from
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| Title |
Embryonic Stars Emerge from Interstellar "Eggs |
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Embryonic Stars Emerge from
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| Title |
Embryonic Stars Emerge from Interstellar "Eggs |
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A Collision In The Heart Of
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| Title |
A Collision In The Heart Of A Galaxy |
| General Information |
What is an American Astronomical Society Meeting release? A major news announcement issued at an American Astronomical Society meeting, the premier astronomy conference. The Hubble telescope's infrared camera has uncovered a collision between two spiral galaxies in the heart of the peculiar galaxy called Arp 220. The collision has provided the spark for a burst of star formation. Hubble's infrared vision has captured bright knots of stars forming in the heart of Arp 220. The bright, crescent, moon-shaped object is a remnant core of one of the colliding galaxies. The core is a cluster of 1 billion stars. The core's half-moon shape suggests that its bottom half is obscured by a disk of dust about 300 light-years across. This disk is embedded in the core and may be swirling around a black hole. The core of the other colliding galaxy is the bright round object to the left of the crescent, moon-shaped object. Both cores are about 1,200 light-years apart and are orbiting each other. |
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Hubble Watches Galaxies Enga
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| Title |
Hubble Watches Galaxies Engage in Dance of Destruction |
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A Wheel within a Wheel
| Title |
A Wheel within a Wheel |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Hubble Watches Galaxies Enga
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| Title |
Hubble Watches Galaxies Engage in Dance of Destruction |
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Hands-On Book of Hubble Imag
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| Title |
Hands-On Book of Hubble Images Allows the Visually Impaired to "Touch the Universe |
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Hands-On Book of Hubble Imag
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| Title |
Hands-On Book of Hubble Images Allows the Visually Impaired to "Touch the Universe |
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Hands-On Book of Hubble Imag
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| Title |
Hands-On Book of Hubble Images Allows the Visually Impaired to "Touch the Universe |
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Hands-On Book of Hubble Imag
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| Title |
Hands-On Book of Hubble Images Allows the Visually Impaired to "Touch the Universe |
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Hands-On Book of Hubble Imag
…
| Title |
Hands-On Book of Hubble Images Allows the Visually Impaired to "Touch the Universe |
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Hands-On Book of Hubble Imag
…
| Title |
Hands-On Book of Hubble Images Allows the Visually Impaired to "Touch the Universe |
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Hands-On Book of Hubble Imag
…
| Title |
Hands-On Book of Hubble Images Allows the Visually Impaired to "Touch the Universe |
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Hands-On Book of Hubble Imag
…
| Title |
Hands-On Book of Hubble Images Allows the Visually Impaired to "Touch the Universe |
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Hands-On Book of Hubble Imag
…
| Title |
Hands-On Book of Hubble Images Allows the Visually Impaired to "Touch the Universe |
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Hands-On Book of Hubble Imag
…
| Title |
Hands-On Book of Hubble Images Allows the Visually Impaired to "Touch the Universe |
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Hands-On Book of Hubble Imag
…
| Title |
Hands-On Book of Hubble Images Allows the Visually Impaired to "Touch the Universe |
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Hands-On Book of Hubble Imag
…
| Title |
Hands-On Book of Hubble Images Allows the Visually Impaired to "Touch the Universe |
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Hands-On Book of Hubble Imag
…
| Title |
Hands-On Book of Hubble Images Allows the Visually Impaired to "Touch the Universe |
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Hands-On Book of Hubble Imag
…
| Title |
Hands-On Book of Hubble Images Allows the Visually Impaired to "Touch the Universe |
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Hands-On Book of Hubble Imag
…
| Title |
Hands-On Book of Hubble Images Allows the Visually Impaired to "Touch the Universe |
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Hands-On Book of Hubble Imag
…
| Title |
Hands-On Book of Hubble Images Allows the Visually Impaired to "Touch the Universe |
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Hubble Eyes Star Birth in th
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| Title |
Hubble Eyes Star Birth in the Extreme |
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Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniv
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| Title |
Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniv
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| Title |
Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniv
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| Title |
Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniv
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| Title |
Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniv
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| Title |
Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniv
…
| Title |
Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniv
…
| Title |
Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniv
…
| Title |
Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniv
…
| Title |
Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniv
…
| Title |
Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniv
…
| Title |
Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
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