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A Supernova's Shockwaves
| Title |
A Supernova's Shockwaves |
| Description |
Supernovae are the explosive deaths of the universe's most massive stars. In death, these volatile creatures blast tons of energetic waves into the cosmos, destroying much of the dust surrounding them. This false-color composite from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory shows the remnant of one such explosion. The remnant, called N132D, is the wispy pink shell of gas at the center of this image. The pinkish color reveals a clash between the explosion's high-energy shockwaves and surrounding dust grains. In the background, small organic molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are shown as tints of green. The blue spots represent stars in our galaxy along this line of sight. N132D is located 163,000 light-years away in a neighboring galaxy called, the Large Magellanic Cloud. In this image, infrared light at 4.5 microns is mapped to blue, 8.0 microns to green and 24 microns to red. Broadband X-ray light is mapped purple. The infrared data were taken by Spitzer's Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) and Multiband Imaging Photometer (MIPS), while the X-ray data were captured by Chandra. |
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Stellar Debris in the Large
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| Title |
Stellar Debris in the Large Magellanic Cloud |
| Description |
This is a composite image of N49, the brightest supernova remnant in optical light in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The Chandra X-ray image (blue) shows million-degree gas in the center. Much cooler gas at the outer parts of the remnant is seen in the infrared image from Spitzer (red). While astronomers expected that dust particles were generating most of the infrared emission, the study of this object indicates that much of the infrared is instead generated in heated gas. The unique filamentary structure seen in the optical image by Hubble (white & yellow) has long set N49 apart from other well understood supernova remnants, as most supernova remnants appear roughly circular in visible light. Recent mapping of molecular clouds suggests that this supernova remnant is expanding into a denser region to the southeast, which would cause its asymmetrical appearance. This idea is confirmed by the Chandra data. Although X-rays reveal a round shell of emission, the X-rays also show brightening in the southeast, confirming the idea of colliding material in that area. |
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Luminous Blue Variable: Dest
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| Title |
Luminous Blue Variable: Destined To Be a Supernova? |
| Description |
A Luminous Blue Variable star (inset) in our galaxy, named HD168625, surrounded by a bipolar nebula that is similar to the one around SN1987A. SN1987A was a supernova that exploded in 1987 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, and was the nearest supernova in about 400 years. The diagram explains the bipolar nebula around HD168625, which has a geometry that makes it a near twin of the famous nebula around SN1987A. Rings near the equator are sometimes seen around stars that shed mass from their surfaces, but the larger rings above the poles are very rare. Tipped toward Earth and illuminated by the star, the rings look like ellipses in images taken with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The image was taken in 2004 by the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope at wavelengths between 3.6 and 8 microns. The massive star at the center, which lies within the constellation Sagittarius, is about 7,200 light-years from Earth. |
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Luminous Blue Variable: Dest
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| Title |
Luminous Blue Variable: Destined To Be a Supernova? |
| Description |
A Luminous Blue Variable star (inset) in our galaxy, named HD168625, surrounded by a bipolar nebula that is similar to the one around SN1987A. SN1987A was a supernova that exploded in 1987 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, and was the nearest supernova in about 400 years. The diagram explains the bipolar nebula around HD168625, which has a geometry that makes it a near twin of the famous nebula around SN1987A. Rings near the equator are sometimes seen around stars that shed mass from their surfaces, but the larger rings above the poles are very rare. Tipped toward Earth and illuminated by the star, the rings look like ellipses in images taken with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The image was taken in 2004 by the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope at wavelengths between 3.6 and 8 microns. The massive star at the center, which lies within the constellation Sagittarius, is about 7,200 light-years from Earth. |
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Luminous Blue Variable: Dest
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| Title |
Luminous Blue Variable: Destined To Be a Supernova? |
| Description |
A Luminous Blue Variable star (inset) in our galaxy, named HD168625, surrounded by a bipolar nebula that is similar to the one around SN1987A. SN1987A was a supernova that exploded in 1987 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, and was the nearest supernova in about 400 years. The diagram explains the bipolar nebula around HD168625, which has a geometry that makes it a near twin of the famous nebula around SN1987A. Rings near the equator are sometimes seen around stars that shed mass from their surfaces, but the larger rings above the poles are very rare. Tipped toward Earth and illuminated by the star, the rings look like ellipses in images taken with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The image was taken in 2004 by the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope at wavelengths between 3.6 and 8 microns. The massive star at the center, which lies within the constellation Sagittarius, is about 7,200 light-years from Earth. |
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Supersized Disk
| Title |
Supersized Disk |
| Description |
This illustration compares the size of a gargantuan star and its surrounding dusty disk (top) to that of our solar system. Monstrous disks like this one were discovered around two "hypergiant" stars by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Astronomers believe these disks might contain the early "seeds" of planets, or possibly leftover debris from planets that already formed. The hypergiant stars, called R 66 and R 126, are located about 170,000 light-years away in our Milky Way's nearest neighbor galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud. The stars are about 100 times wider than the sun, or big enough to encompass an orbit equivalent to Earth's. The plump stars are heavy, at 30 and 70 times the mass of the sun, respectively. They are the most massive stars known to sport disks. The disks themselves are also bloated, with masses equal to several Jupiters. The disks begin at a distance approximately 120 times greater than that between Earth and the sun, or 120 astronomical units, and terminate at a distance of about 2,500 astronomical units. Hypergiant stars are the puffed-up, aging descendants of the most massive class of stars, called "O" stars. The stars are so massive that their cores ultimately collapse under their own weight, triggering incredible explosions called supernovae. If any planets circled near the stars during one of these blasts, they would most likely be destroyed. The orbital distances in this picture are plotted on a logarithmic scale. This means that a given distance shown here represents proportionally larger actual distances as you move to the right. The sun and planets in our solar system have been scaled up in size for better viewing. |
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Supersized Disk
| Title |
Supersized Disk |
| Description |
This illustration compares the size of a gargantuan star and its surrounding dusty disk (top) to that of our solar system. Monstrous disks like this one were discovered around two "hypergiant" stars by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Astronomers believe these disks might contain the early "seeds" of planets, or possibly leftover debris from planets that already formed. The hypergiant stars, called R 66 and R 126, are located about 170,000 light-years away in our Milky Way's nearest neighbor galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud. The stars are about 100 times wider than the sun, or big enough to encompass an orbit equivalent to Earth's. The plump stars are heavy, at 30 and 70 times the mass of the sun, respectively. They are the most massive stars known to sport disks. The disks themselves are also bloated, with masses equal to several Jupiters. The disks begin at a distance approximately 120 times greater than that between Earth and the sun, or 120 astronomical units, and terminate at a distance of about 2,500 astronomical units. Hypergiant stars are the puffed-up, aging descendants of the most massive class of stars, called "O" stars. The stars are so massive that their cores ultimately collapse under their own weight, triggering incredible explosions called supernovae. If any planets circled near the stars during one of these blasts, they would most likely be destroyed. The orbital distances in this picture are plotted on a logarithmic scale. This means that a given distance shown here represents proportionally larger actual distances as you move to the right. The sun and planets in our solar system have been scaled up in size for better viewing. |
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Supersized Disk
| Title |
Supersized Disk |
| Description |
This illustration compares the size of a gargantuan star and its surrounding dusty disk (top) to that of our solar system. Monstrous disks like this one were discovered around two "hypergiant" stars by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Astronomers believe these disks might contain the early "seeds" of planets, or possibly leftover debris from planets that already formed. The hypergiant stars, called R 66 and R 126, are located about 170,000 light-years away in our Milky Way's nearest neighbor galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud. The stars are about 100 times wider than the sun, or big enough to encompass an orbit equivalent to Earth's. The plump stars are heavy, at 30 and 70 times the mass of the sun, respectively. They are the most massive stars known to sport disks. The disks themselves are also bloated, with masses equal to several Jupiters. The disks begin at a distance approximately 120 times greater than that between Earth and the sun, or 120 astronomical units, and terminate at a distance of about 2,500 astronomical units. Hypergiant stars are the puffed-up, aging descendants of the most massive class of stars, called "O" stars. The stars are so massive that their cores ultimately collapse under their own weight, triggering incredible explosions called supernovae. If any planets circled near the stars during one of these blasts, they would most likely be destroyed. The orbital distances in this picture are plotted on a logarithmic scale. This means that a given distance shown here represents proportionally larger actual distances as you move to the right. The sun and planets in our solar system have been scaled up in size for better viewing. |
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Our Chaotic Neighbor
| Title |
Our Chaotic Neighbor |
| Description |
This vibrant image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy. The infrared image, a mosaic of more than 100,000 individual tiles, offers astronomers a unique chance to study the lifecycle of stars and dust in a single galaxy. Nearly one million objects are revealed for the first time in this Spitzer view, which represents about a 1,000-fold improvement in sensitivity over previous space-based missions. Most of the new objects are dusty stars of various ages populating the Large Magellanic Cloud, the rest are thought to be background galaxies. The blue color in the picture, seen most prominently in the central bar, represents starlight from older stars. The chaotic, bright regions outside this bar are filled with hot, massive stars buried in thick blankets of dust. The red clouds contain cooler interstellar gas and molecular-sized dust grains illuminated by ambient starlight. The Large Magellanic Cloud, located 160,000 light-years from Earth, is one of a handful of dwarf galaxies that orbit our own Milky Way. It is approximately one-third as wide as the Milky Way, and, if it could be seen in its entirety, would cover the same amount of sky as a grid of about 480 full moons. About one-third of the whole galaxy can be seen in the Spitzer image. This picture is a composite of infrared light captured by Spitzer's infrared array camera. Light with wavelengths of 8 and 5.8 microns is red and orange: 4.5-micron light is green, and 3.6-micron light is blue. |
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Our Chaotic Neighbor
| Title |
Our Chaotic Neighbor |
| Description |
This vibrant image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy. The infrared image, a mosaic of more than 100,000 individual tiles, offers astronomers a unique chance to study the lifecycle of stars and dust in a single galaxy. Nearly one million objects are revealed for the first time in this Spitzer view, which represents about a 1,000-fold improvement in sensitivity over previous space-based missions. Most of the new objects are dusty stars of various ages populating the Large Magellanic Cloud, the rest are thought to be background galaxies. The blue color in the picture, seen most prominently in the central bar, represents starlight from older stars. The chaotic, bright regions outside this bar are filled with hot, massive stars buried in thick blankets of dust. The red clouds contain cooler interstellar gas and molecular-sized dust grains illuminated by ambient starlight. The Large Magellanic Cloud, located 160,000 light-years from Earth, is one of a handful of dwarf galaxies that orbit our own Milky Way. It is approximately one-third as wide as the Milky Way, and, if it could be seen in its entirety, would cover the same amount of sky as a grid of about 480 full moons. About one-third of the whole galaxy can be seen in the Spitzer image. This picture is a composite of infrared light captured by Spitzer's infrared array camera. Light with wavelengths of 8 and 5.8 microns is red and orange: 4.5-micron light is green, and 3.6-micron light is blue. |
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Our Chaotic Neighbor
| Title |
Our Chaotic Neighbor |
| Description |
This vibrant image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy. The infrared image, a mosaic of more than 100,000 individual tiles, offers astronomers a unique chance to study the lifecycle of stars and dust in a single galaxy. Nearly one million objects are revealed for the first time in this Spitzer view, which represents about a 1,000-fold improvement in sensitivity over previous space-based missions. Most of the new objects are dusty stars of various ages populating the Large Magellanic Cloud, the rest are thought to be background galaxies. The blue color in the picture, seen most prominently in the central bar, represents starlight from older stars. The chaotic, bright regions outside this bar are filled with hot, massive stars buried in thick blankets of dust. The red clouds contain cooler interstellar gas and molecular-sized dust grains illuminated by ambient starlight. The Large Magellanic Cloud, located 160,000 light-years from Earth, is one of a handful of dwarf galaxies that orbit our own Milky Way. It is approximately one-third as wide as the Milky Way, and, if it could be seen in its entirety, would cover the same amount of sky as a grid of about 480 full moons. About one-third of the whole galaxy can be seen in the Spitzer image. This picture is a composite of infrared light captured by Spitzer's infrared array camera. Light with wavelengths of 8 and 5.8 microns is red and orange: 4.5-micron light is green, and 3.6-micron light is blue. |
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What's Old Is New in the Lar
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| Title |
What's Old Is New in the Large Magellanic Cloud |
| Description |
This vibrant image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy. The infrared image, a mosaic of 300,000 individual tiles, offers astronomers a unique chance to study the lifecycle of stars and dust in a single galaxy. Nearly one million objects are revealed for the first time in this Spitzer view, which represents about a 1,000-fold improvement in sensitivity over previous space-based missions. Most of the new objects are dusty stars of various ages populating the Large Magellanic Cloud, the rest are thought to be background galaxies. The blue color in the picture, seen most prominently in the central bar, represents starlight from older stars. The chaotic, bright regions outside this bar are filled with hot, massive stars buried in thick blankets of dust. The red color around these bright regions is from dust heated by stars, while the red dots scattered throughout the picture are either dusty, old stars or more distant galaxies. The greenish clouds contain cooler interstellar gas and molecular-sized dust grains illuminated by ambient starlight. Astronomers say this image allows them to quantify the process by which space dust ? the same stuff that makes up planets and even people ? is recycled in a galaxy. The picture shows dust at its three main cosmic hangouts: around the young stars, where it is being consumed (red-tinted, bright clouds), scattered about in the space between stars (greenish clouds), and in expelled shells of material from old stars (randomly-spaced red dots). The Large Magellanic Cloud, located 160,000 light-years from Earth, is one of a handful of dwarf galaxies that orbit our own Milky Way. It is approximately one-third as wide as the Milky Way, and, if it could be seen in its entirety, would cover the same amount of sky as a grid of about 480 full moons. About one-third of the entire galaxy can be seen in the Spitzer image. This picture is a composite of infrared light captured by Spitzer. Light with wavelengths of 3.6 (blue) and 8 (green) microns was captured by the telescope's infrared array camera, 24-micron light (red) was detected by the multiband imaging photometer. |
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What's Old Is New in the Lar
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| Title |
What's Old Is New in the Large Magellanic Cloud |
| Description |
This vibrant image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy. The infrared image, a mosaic of 300,000 individual tiles, offers astronomers a unique chance to study the lifecycle of stars and dust in a single galaxy. Nearly one million objects are revealed for the first time in this Spitzer view, which represents about a 1,000-fold improvement in sensitivity over previous space-based missions. Most of the new objects are dusty stars of various ages populating the Large Magellanic Cloud, the rest are thought to be background galaxies. The blue color in the picture, seen most prominently in the central bar, represents starlight from older stars. The chaotic, bright regions outside this bar are filled with hot, massive stars buried in thick blankets of dust. The red color around these bright regions is from dust heated by stars, while the red dots scattered throughout the picture are either dusty, old stars or more distant galaxies. The greenish clouds contain cooler interstellar gas and molecular-sized dust grains illuminated by ambient starlight. Astronomers say this image allows them to quantify the process by which space dust ? the same stuff that makes up planets and even people ? is recycled in a galaxy. The picture shows dust at its three main cosmic hangouts: around the young stars, where it is being consumed (red-tinted, bright clouds), scattered about in the space between stars (greenish clouds), and in expelled shells of material from old stars (randomly-spaced red dots). The Large Magellanic Cloud, located 160,000 light-years from Earth, is one of a handful of dwarf galaxies that orbit our own Milky Way. It is approximately one-third as wide as the Milky Way, and, if it could be seen in its entirety, would cover the same amount of sky as a grid of about 480 full moons. About one-third of the entire galaxy can be seen in the Spitzer image. This picture is a composite of infrared light captured by Spitzer. Light with wavelengths of 3.6 (blue) and 8 (green) microns was captured by the telescope's infrared array camera, 24-micron light (red) was detected by the multiband imaging photometer. |
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What's Old Is New in the Lar
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| Title |
What's Old Is New in the Large Magellanic Cloud |
| Description |
This vibrant image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy. The infrared image, a mosaic of 300,000 individual tiles, offers astronomers a unique chance to study the lifecycle of stars and dust in a single galaxy. Nearly one million objects are revealed for the first time in this Spitzer view, which represents about a 1,000-fold improvement in sensitivity over previous space-based missions. Most of the new objects are dusty stars of various ages populating the Large Magellanic Cloud, the rest are thought to be background galaxies. The blue color in the picture, seen most prominently in the central bar, represents starlight from older stars. The chaotic, bright regions outside this bar are filled with hot, massive stars buried in thick blankets of dust. The red color around these bright regions is from dust heated by stars, while the red dots scattered throughout the picture are either dusty, old stars or more distant galaxies. The greenish clouds contain cooler interstellar gas and molecular-sized dust grains illuminated by ambient starlight. Astronomers say this image allows them to quantify the process by which space dust ? the same stuff that makes up planets and even people ? is recycled in a galaxy. The picture shows dust at its three main cosmic hangouts: around the young stars, where it is being consumed (red-tinted, bright clouds), scattered about in the space between stars (greenish clouds), and in expelled shells of material from old stars (randomly-spaced red dots). The Large Magellanic Cloud, located 160,000 light-years from Earth, is one of a handful of dwarf galaxies that orbit our own Milky Way. It is approximately one-third as wide as the Milky Way, and, if it could be seen in its entirety, would cover the same amount of sky as a grid of about 480 full moons. About one-third of the entire galaxy can be seen in the Spitzer image. This picture is a composite of infrared light captured by Spitzer. Light with wavelengths of 3.6 (blue) and 8 (green) microns was captured by the telescope's infrared array camera, 24-micron light (red) was detected by the multiband imaging photometer. |
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The Tarantula Nebula
| Title |
The Tarantula Nebula |
| Description |
NASA's new Spitzer Space Telescope, formerly known as the Space Infrared Telescope Facility, has captured in stunning detail the spidery filaments and newborn stars of the Tarantula Nebula, a rich star-forming region also known as 30 Doradus. This cloud of glowing dust and gas is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the nearest galaxy to our own Milky Way, and is visible primarily from the Southern Hemisphere. This image of an interstellar cauldron provides a snapshot of the complex physical processes and chemistry that govern the birth -- and death -- of stars. At the heart of the nebula is a compact cluster of stars, known as R136, which contains very massive and young stars. The brightest of these blue supergiant stars are up to 100 times more massive than the Sun, and are at least 100,000 times more luminous. These stars will live fast and die young, at least by astronomical standards, exhausting their nuclear fuel in a few million years. The Spitzer Space Telescope image was obtained with an infrared array camera that is sensitive to invisible infrared light at wavelengths that are about ten times longer than visible light. In this four-color composite, emission at 3.6 microns is depicted in blue, 4.5 microns in green, 5.8 microns in orange, and 8.0 microns in red. The image covers a region that is three-quarters the size of the full moon. The Spitzer observations penetrate the dust clouds throughout the Tarantula to reveal previously hidden sites of star formation. Within the luminescent nebula, many holes are also apparent. These voids are produced by highly energetic winds originating from the massive stars in the central star cluster. The structures at the edges of these voids are particularly interesting. Dense pillars of gas and dust, sculpted by the stellar radiation, denote the birthplace of future generations of stars. The Spitzer image provides information about the composition of the material at the edges of the voids. The surface layers closest to the massive stars are subject to the most intense stellar radiation. Here, the atoms are stripped of their electrons, and the green color of these regions is indicative of the radiation from this highly excited, or 'ionized,' material. The ubiquitous red filaments seen throughout the image reveal the presence of molecular material thought to be rich in hydrocarbons. The Tarantula Nebula is the nearest example of a 'starburst' phenomenon, in which intense episodes of star formation occur on massive scales. Most starbursts, however, are associated with dusty and distant galaxies. Spitzer infrared observations of the Tarantula provide astronomers with an unprecedented view of the lifecycle of massive stars and their vital role in regulating the birth of future stellar and planetary systems. |
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Chandra X-ray & Hubble Optic
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| Name |
Chandra X-ray & Hubble Optical Composite of Supernova 1987A |
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Chandra X-ray Image of N49
| Name |
Chandra X-ray Image of N49 |
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Hubble Optical Image of N49
| Name |
Hubble Optical Image of N49 |
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Spitzer Infrared Image of N4
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| Name |
Spitzer Infrared Image of N49 |
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N49B: Supernova Remnant Reve
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| Name |
N49B: Supernova Remnant Reveals Magnesium in Abundance |
| Category |
Supernovas and Supernova Remnants |
| Release Date |
March 24, 2004 |
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N49: Stellar Debris in the L
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| Name |
N49: Stellar Debris in the Large Magellanic Cloud |
| Category |
Supernovas & Supernova Remnants |
| Release Date |
November 29, 2006 |
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DEM L238 and DEM L249 Animat
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| Name |
DEM L238 and DEM L249 Animations |
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Supernova SN1987A in the Lar
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| Title |
Supernova SN1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud |
| Full Description |
Glittering stars and wisps of gas create a breathtaking backdrop for the self-destruction of a massive star, called supernova 1987A, in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby galaxy. Astronomers in the Southern hemisphere witnessed the brilliant explosion of this star on Feb. 23, 1987. Shown in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image, the supernova remnant, surrounded by inner and outer rings of material, is set in a forest of ethereal, diffuse clouds of gas. This three-color image is composed of several pictures of the supernova and its neighboring region taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 in Sept. 1994, Feb. 1996 and July 1997. The many bright blue stars nearby the supernova are massive stars, each more than six times heftier than our Sun. They are members of the same generation of stars as the star that went supernova about 12 million years ago. The presence of bright gas clouds is another sign of the youth of this region, which still appears to be a fertile breeding ground for new stars. In a few years the supernova's fast moving material will sweep the inner ring with full force, heating and exciting its gas, and will produce a new series of cosmic fireworks that will offer a striking view for more than a decade. |
| Date |
02/04/1999 |
| NASA Center |
Hubble Space Telescope Center |
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Hubble's Improved Optics Rev
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| Title |
Hubble's Improved Optics Reveal Incredible Detail in Giant Cloud of Gas and Dust |
| General Information |
What is an Early Release Observation? A photograph of a celestial object that demonstrates the performance of a new Hubble camera. What is an American Astronomical Society Meeting release? A major news announcement issued at an American Astronomical Society meeting, the premier astronomy conference. An image of a star-forming region in the 30 Doradus nebula, surrounding the dense star cluster R136. The image was obtained using the second generation Wide Filed and Planetary Camera (WFPC-2), installed in the Hubble Space Telescope during the STS-61 Servicing Mission. The WFPC-2 contains modified optics to correct for the aberration of the Hubble's primary mirror. The new optics will allow the telescope to tackle many of the most important scientific programs for which the it was built, but had to be temporarily shelved with the discovery of the spherical aberration in 1990. |
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Hubble Views Distant Galaxie
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| Title |
Hubble Views Distant Galaxies through a Cosmic Lens |
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Bright Star Birth Region in
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| Title |
Bright Star Birth Region in a Dim Galaxy |
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Hubble Discovers New Dark Sp
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| Title |
Hubble Discovers New Dark Spot on Neptune |
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Hubble Discovers New Dark Sp
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| Title |
Hubble Discovers New Dark Spot on Neptune |
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Supernova Blast Begins Takin
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| Title |
Supernova Blast Begins Taking Shape |
| 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. Though the brightest supernova in four centuries lit up the southern sky almost exactly 10 years ago on Feb. 23, 1987, astronomers have waited a decade for the ballooning fireball to become large enough ? about one-sixth of a light-year ? to be resolved from Earth's orbit with the Hubble telescope. Hubble's sharp "eyes" have resolved a dumbbell-shaped structure ? one-tenth of a light-year long ? that consists of two blobs of debris expanding apart at nearly 6 million mph from each other. This Hubble picture shows the supernova, designated 1987A, and its neighborhood. The four frames follow the evolution of the supernova debris. Read more: * Release Text [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1997/03/text/ ] |
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Hubble Chemically Analyzes t
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| Title |
Hubble Chemically Analyzes the Ring around Supernova 1987A |
| General Information |
What is an Early Release Observation? A photograph of a celestial object that demonstrates the performance of a new Hubble camera. These pictures from the Hubble telescope's imaging spectrograph provide a new and unprecedented look at one of the most unique and complex structures in the universe ? a light-year-wide ring of glowing gas around supernova 1987A, the nearest stellar explosion in 400 years The long-slit spectrograph viewed the entire ring system, dissecting its light and producing a detailed image of the ring in each of its component colors [the colorful loops on the right]. Each color represents light from specific elements in the ring's gases, including oxygen [single green ring], nitrogen and hydrogen [triple-orange rings], and sulfur [double-red rings]. By dismantling the ring into its different puzzle pieces ? its component elements ? astronomers hope to put together a picture of how the ring was created. The picture on the left is a view of the entire supernova. |
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Hubble Reveals Invisible Hig
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| Title |
Hubble Reveals Invisible High-Speed Collision around Supernova 1987A |
| 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 highest velocity material expelled in a cataclysmic, stellar explosion 10 years ago has been detected for the first time by the Hubble telescope's imaging spectrograph. The top image, taken with Hubble's visible-light camera, shows the orange-red rings surrounding Supernova 1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The glowing debris of the supernova explosion, which occurred in February 1987, is at the center of the inner ring. The small, white square indicates the location of the imaging spectrograph aperture. The Hubble data in the middle panel [and a schematic representation in the bottom panel] shows the presence of glowing hydrogen expanding at a speed of 33 million mph (15,000 kilometers per second) coming from an extended area inside the inner ring. |
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Hubble Reveals Invisible Hig
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| Title |
Hubble Reveals Invisible High-Speed Collision around Supernova 1987A |
| 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 highest velocity material expelled in a cataclysmic, stellar explosion 10 years ago has been detected for the first time by the Hubble telescope's imaging spectrograph. The top image, taken with Hubble's visible-light camera, shows the orange-red rings surrounding Supernova 1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The glowing debris of the supernova explosion, which occurred in February 1987, is at the center of the inner ring. The small, white square indicates the location of the imaging spectrograph aperture. The Hubble data in the middle panel [and a schematic representation in the bottom panel] shows the presence of glowing hydrogen expanding at a speed of 33 million mph (15,000 kilometers per second) coming from an extended area inside the inner ring. |
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Hubble Views of Dust Disks a
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| Title |
Hubble Views of Dust Disks and Rings Surrounding Young Stars Yield Clues |
| 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. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has given astronomers their first views of a dust ring around the star HR 4796A and a dark gap dividing an immense dust disk around the star HD 141569. These images may provide important clues to possible planet formation. Read more: * Release Text [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1999/03/text/ ] |
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Hubble Views of Dust Disks a
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| Title |
Hubble Views of Dust Disks and Rings Surrounding Young Stars Yield Clues |
| 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. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has given astronomers their first views of a dust ring around the star HR 4796A and a dark gap dividing an immense dust disk around the star HD 141569. These images may provide important clues to possible planet formation. Read more: * Release Text [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1999/03/text/ ] |
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SN1987A in the Large Magella
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| Title |
SN1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Glittering stars and wisps of gas create a breathtaking backdrop for the self-destruction of a massive star, called supernova 1987A, in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby galaxy. Astronomers in the Southern Hemisphere witnessed the brilliant explosion of this star on Feb. 23, 1987. Shown in this Hubble telescope image, the supernova remnant, surrounded by inner and outer rings of material, is set in a forest of ethereal, diffuse clouds of gas. |
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Hubble Views of Dust Disks a
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| Title |
Hubble Views of Dust Disks and Rings Surrounding Young Stars Yield Clues |
| 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. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has given astronomers their first views of a dust ring around the star HR 4796A and a dark gap dividing an immense dust disk around the star HD 141569. These images may provide important clues to possible planet formation. Read more: * Release Text [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1999/03/text/ ] |
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Vast Stellar Disks Set Stage
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| Title |
Vast Stellar Disks Set Stage for Planet Birth in New Hubble Images |
| General Information |
What is a Space Science Update? Major Hubble discoveries on NASA television ... Astronomers explain their Hubble discoveries at a press conference, called a Space Science Update (SSU), broadcast on NASA television. The SSU includes a question and answer session with members of the media. Dramatic pictures of eerie disks of dust encircling young stars are giving astronomers a new look at what may be the early formative stages of planetary systems. Although these pictures from the Hubble telescope don't show planets, the edge-on disks seen by the telescope provide some of the clearest views to date of potential planetary construction zones, say researchers. The images also offer a peek at what happened 4.5 billion years ago when the Earth and other planets in our solar system began to condense out of a pancake-shaped disk of dust and gas centered on the young Sun. These images were taken by Hubble's infrared camera. All of the objects in these pictures are extremely young stars, buried in the centers of these pictures. The wisps of material surrounding the young stars are glowing from reflected starlight. Read more: * Release Text [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1999/05/text/ ] |
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Vast Stellar Disks Set Stage
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| Title |
Vast Stellar Disks Set Stage for Planet Birth in New Hubble Images |
| General Information |
What is a Space Science Update? Major Hubble discoveries on NASA television ... Astronomers explain their Hubble discoveries at a press conference, called a Space Science Update (SSU), broadcast on NASA television. The SSU includes a question and answer session with members of the media. Dramatic pictures of eerie disks of dust encircling young stars are giving astronomers a new look at what may be the early formative stages of planetary systems. Although these pictures from the Hubble telescope don't show planets, the edge-on disks seen by the telescope provide some of the clearest views to date of potential planetary construction zones, say researchers. The images also offer a peek at what happened 4.5 billion years ago when the Earth and other planets in our solar system began to condense out of a pancake-shaped disk of dust and gas centered on the young Sun. These images were taken by Hubble's infrared camera. All of the objects in these pictures are extremely young stars, buried in the centers of these pictures. The wisps of material surrounding the young stars are glowing from reflected starlight. Read more: * Release Text [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1999/05/text/ ] |
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Vast Stellar Disks Set Stage
…
| Title |
Vast Stellar Disks Set Stage for Planet Birth in New Hubble Images |
| General Information |
What is a Space Science Update? Major Hubble discoveries on NASA television ... Astronomers explain their Hubble discoveries at a press conference, called a Space Science Update (SSU), broadcast on NASA television. The SSU includes a question and answer session with members of the media. Dramatic pictures of eerie disks of dust encircling young stars are giving astronomers a new look at what may be the early formative stages of planetary systems. Although these pictures from the Hubble telescope don't show planets, the edge-on disks seen by the telescope provide some of the clearest views to date of potential planetary construction zones, say researchers. The images also offer a peek at what happened 4.5 billion years ago when the Earth and other planets in our solar system began to condense out of a pancake-shaped disk of dust and gas centered on the young Sun. These images were taken by Hubble's infrared camera. All of the objects in these pictures are extremely young stars, buried in the centers of these pictures. The wisps of material surrounding the young stars are glowing from reflected starlight. Read more: * Release Text [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1999/05/text/ ] |
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Shock Wave Sheds New Light o
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| Title |
Shock Wave Sheds New Light on Fading Supernova |
| General Information |
What is a Space Science Update? Major Hubble discoveries on NASA television ... Astronomers explain their Hubble discoveries at a press conference, called a Space Science Update (SSU), broadcast on NASA television. The SSU includes a question and answer session with members of the media. The Hubble telescope is giving astronomers a ringside seat to a never-before-seen titanic collision of an onrushing stellar shock wave with an eerie glowing gas ring encircling a nearby stellar explosion, called supernova 1987A. Though the star's self-destruction was first seen nearly 11 years ago on Feb. 23, 1987, astronomers are just now beginning to witness its tidal wave of energy reaching the "shoreline" of the immense light-year-wide ring. Shocked by the 40-million-mile-per-hour sledgehammer blow, a 100-billion-mile-wide knot of gas in a piece of the ring has already begun to "light up," as its temperature surges from a few thousand degrees to a million degrees Fahrenheit. For comparison, the Hubble image on the left was taken before the collision. The picture on the right shows a glowing ball of gas [denoted by arrow]. Read more: * Release Text [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1998/08/text/ ] |
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Hubble Telescope Reveals Swa
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| Title |
Hubble Telescope Reveals Swarm of Glittering Stars in Nearby Galaxy |
| 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 Views of Dust Disks a
…
| Title |
Hubble Views of Dust Disks and Rings Surrounding Young Stars Yield Clues |
| 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. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has given astronomers their first views of a dust ring around the star HR 4796A and a dark gap dividing an immense dust disk around the star HD 141569. These images may provide important clues to possible planet formation. Read more: * Release Text [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1999/03/text/ ] |
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SN1987A in the Large Magella
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| Title |
SN1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Glittering stars and wisps of gas create a breathtaking backdrop for the self-destruction of a massive star, called supernova 1987A, in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby galaxy. Astronomers in the Southern Hemisphere witnessed the brilliant explosion of this star on Feb. 23, 1987. Shown in this Hubble telescope image, the supernova remnant, surrounded by inner and outer rings of material, is set in a forest of ethereal, diffuse clouds of gas. |
|
Hubble Views of Dust Disks a
…
| Title |
Hubble Views of Dust Disks and Rings Surrounding Young Stars Yield Clues |
| 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. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has given astronomers their first views of a dust ring around the star HR 4796A and a dark gap dividing an immense dust disk around the star HD 141569. These images may provide important clues to possible planet formation. Read more: * Release Text [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1999/03/text/ ] |
|
Vast Stellar Disks Set Stage
…
| Title |
Vast Stellar Disks Set Stage for Planet Birth in New Hubble Images |
| General Information |
What is a Space Science Update? Major Hubble discoveries on NASA television ... Astronomers explain their Hubble discoveries at a press conference, called a Space Science Update (SSU), broadcast on NASA television. The SSU includes a question and answer session with members of the media. Dramatic pictures of eerie disks of dust encircling young stars are giving astronomers a new look at what may be the early formative stages of planetary systems. Although these pictures from the Hubble telescope don't show planets, the edge-on disks seen by the telescope provide some of the clearest views to date of potential planetary construction zones, say researchers. The images also offer a peek at what happened 4.5 billion years ago when the Earth and other planets in our solar system began to condense out of a pancake-shaped disk of dust and gas centered on the young Sun. These images were taken by Hubble's infrared camera. All of the objects in these pictures are extremely young stars, buried in the centers of these pictures. The wisps of material surrounding the young stars are glowing from reflected starlight. Read more: * Release Text [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1999/05/text/ ] |
|
Vast Stellar Disks Set Stage
…
| Title |
Vast Stellar Disks Set Stage for Planet Birth in New Hubble Images |
| General Information |
What is a Space Science Update? Major Hubble discoveries on NASA television ... Astronomers explain their Hubble discoveries at a press conference, called a Space Science Update (SSU), broadcast on NASA television. The SSU includes a question and answer session with members of the media. Dramatic pictures of eerie disks of dust encircling young stars are giving astronomers a new look at what may be the early formative stages of planetary systems. Although these pictures from the Hubble telescope don't show planets, the edge-on disks seen by the telescope provide some of the clearest views to date of potential planetary construction zones, say researchers. The images also offer a peek at what happened 4.5 billion years ago when the Earth and other planets in our solar system began to condense out of a pancake-shaped disk of dust and gas centered on the young Sun. These images were taken by Hubble's infrared camera. All of the objects in these pictures are extremely young stars, buried in the centers of these pictures. The wisps of material surrounding the young stars are glowing from reflected starlight. Read more: * Release Text [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1999/05/text/ ] |
|
Vast Stellar Disks Set Stage
…
| Title |
Vast Stellar Disks Set Stage for Planet Birth in New Hubble Images |
| General Information |
What is a Space Science Update? Major Hubble discoveries on NASA television ... Astronomers explain their Hubble discoveries at a press conference, called a Space Science Update (SSU), broadcast on NASA television. The SSU includes a question and answer session with members of the media. Dramatic pictures of eerie disks of dust encircling young stars are giving astronomers a new look at what may be the early formative stages of planetary systems. Although these pictures from the Hubble telescope don't show planets, the edge-on disks seen by the telescope provide some of the clearest views to date of potential planetary construction zones, say researchers. The images also offer a peek at what happened 4.5 billion years ago when the Earth and other planets in our solar system began to condense out of a pancake-shaped disk of dust and gas centered on the young Sun. These images were taken by Hubble's infrared camera. All of the objects in these pictures are extremely young stars, buried in the centers of these pictures. The wisps of material surrounding the young stars are glowing from reflected starlight. Read more: * Release Text [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1999/05/text/ ] |
|
Vast Stellar Disks Set Stage
…
| Title |
Vast Stellar Disks Set Stage for Planet Birth in New Hubble Images |
| General Information |
What is a Space Science Update? Major Hubble discoveries on NASA television ... Astronomers explain their Hubble discoveries at a press conference, called a Space Science Update (SSU), broadcast on NASA television. The SSU includes a question and answer session with members of the media. Dramatic pictures of eerie disks of dust encircling young stars are giving astronomers a new look at what may be the early formative stages of planetary systems. Although these pictures from the Hubble telescope don't show planets, the edge-on disks seen by the telescope provide some of the clearest views to date of potential planetary construction zones, say researchers. The images also offer a peek at what happened 4.5 billion years ago when the Earth and other planets in our solar system began to condense out of a pancake-shaped disk of dust and gas centered on the young Sun. These images were taken by Hubble's infrared camera. All of the objects in these pictures are extremely young stars, buried in the centers of these pictures. The wisps of material surrounding the young stars are glowing from reflected starlight. Read more: * Release Text [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1999/05/text/ ] |
|
Vast Stellar Disks Set Stage
…
| Title |
Vast Stellar Disks Set Stage for Planet Birth in New Hubble Images |
| General Information |
What is a Space Science Update? Major Hubble discoveries on NASA television ... Astronomers explain their Hubble discoveries at a press conference, called a Space Science Update (SSU), broadcast on NASA television. The SSU includes a question and answer session with members of the media. Dramatic pictures of eerie disks of dust encircling young stars are giving astronomers a new look at what may be the early formative stages of planetary systems. Although these pictures from the Hubble telescope don't show planets, the edge-on disks seen by the telescope provide some of the clearest views to date of potential planetary construction zones, say researchers. The images also offer a peek at what happened 4.5 billion years ago when the Earth and other planets in our solar system began to condense out of a pancake-shaped disk of dust and gas centered on the young Sun. These images were taken by Hubble's infrared camera. All of the objects in these pictures are extremely young stars, buried in the centers of these pictures. The wisps of material surrounding the young stars are glowing from reflected starlight. Read more: * Release Text [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1999/05/text/ ] |
|
Vast Stellar Disks Set Stage
…
| Title |
Vast Stellar Disks Set Stage for Planet Birth in New Hubble Images |
| General Information |
What is a Space Science Update? Major Hubble discoveries on NASA television ... Astronomers explain their Hubble discoveries at a press conference, called a Space Science Update (SSU), broadcast on NASA television. The SSU includes a question and answer session with members of the media. Dramatic pictures of eerie disks of dust encircling young stars are giving astronomers a new look at what may be the early formative stages of planetary systems. Although these pictures from the Hubble telescope don't show planets, the edge-on disks seen by the telescope provide some of the clearest views to date of potential planetary construction zones, say researchers. The images also offer a peek at what happened 4.5 billion years ago when the Earth and other planets in our solar system began to condense out of a pancake-shaped disk of dust and gas centered on the young Sun. These images were taken by Hubble's infrared camera. All of the objects in these pictures are extremely young stars, buried in the centers of these pictures. The wisps of material surrounding the young stars are glowing from reflected starlight. Read more: * Release Text [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1999/05/text/ ] |
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