The three iconic space pillars photographed by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in 1995 might have met their demise, according to new evidence from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. A new, striking image from Spitzer shows the intact dust towers next to a giant cloud of hot dust thought to have been scorched by the blast of a star that exploded, or went supernova. picked by AutumnLotus 9 months ago

On April 12, 1961, the Soviets launched a 27-year-old fighter pilot named Yuri Gagarin on the world's first piloted space mission. picked by suebe 1 year ago

Astronomers from SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research have discovered a new cluster of galaxies, hidden behind a previously identified cluster of galaxies. The recently exposed cosmic giant is apparently just as bright as the first group, but is six times further away. The astronomers made the discovery as part of an international team using the space telescope XMM-Newton. picked by AutumnLotus 10 months ago

NASA discovered that space shuttle Atlantis has been holed by a tiny piece of space debris. The 1/10-inch hole represents the second largest debris damage event ever identified. Fortunately, it missed everything that was important to the mission. Space debris is an increasingly challenging problem. picked by Fanatic 2 years ago

A blog post suggests that Hubble could be kept in a high-orbit 'museum' rather than being made to crash into the Earth's atmosphere. picked by sparky 2 years ago

Dust has been a nuisance because it has obscured galaxies, and the stars within them, by absorbing the radiation they emit. But more recently dust has started to present opportunities because it emits radiation itself as a consequence of being heated up by nearby stars. Aided by new observing instruments and sophisticated computer software, this radiation enables astronomers to reconstruct what li... read full post picked by AutumnLotus 12 months ago

The Hubble Space Telescope has provided evidence representing a major upset for conventional theories that propose a single period for star birth. The European Space Agency said the telescope, observing globular cluster NGC 2808, has shown three separate generations of stars formed early in the cluster's life. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

Beyond snapping extraordinary pictures of faraway nebulas, the revolutionary Hubble Space Telescope has completely transformed our view of the universe since it was launched in 1990. By capturing the clearest, deepest images of the cosmos ever, Hubble has shed light on some long-standing mysteries perplexing scientists-while uncovering far deeper ones that have yet to be solved. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

An unusual electrical disturbance has been spotted in space, travelling unchanged through the ionised gas surrounding Earth. A European space mission called Cluster detected a "soliton" wave, a phenomenon similar to the self-contained solitons that can travel along optical fibres and channels of water on Earth. This is the first known soliton in space. picked by AutumnLotus 7 months ago

An Anglo-American team of astronomers have used the Advanced Camera for Surveys on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to obtain the first direct optical images of the aftermath of a recent titanic explosion that took place in a star system 5,000 light years from Earth. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

Newborn stars peek out from beneath their natal blanket of dust in this dynamic image of the Rho Ophiuchi dark cloud from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Called "Rho Oph" by astronomers, it's one of the closest star-forming regions to our own solar system. Located near the constellations Scorpius and Ophiuchus, the nebula is about 407 light years away from Earth. picked by AutumnLotus 8 months ago

Catching a free ride to Mars takes more than sticking out a thumb, but some hardy Earth bacteria could survive as hitchhikers clinging to the outside of spacecraft, studies have shown. Now a set of experiments going up with space shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station will test how exposure to the harshness of space might change bacteria during a simulated Mars mission. picked by AutumnLotus 10 months ago

A collection of Hubble Space Telescope images shows distant supernovas, the death explosions of massive stars. The top photos show each region before the explosion. The bottom row shows the explosions' aftermaths. picked by AutumnLotus 12 months ago

Probing a glowing bubble of gas and dust encircling a dying star, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reveals a wealth of previously unseen structures. The object, called NGC 2371, is a planetary nebula, the glowing remains of a Sun-like star. The remnant star visible at the center of NGC 2371 is the super-hot core of the former red giant, now stripped of its outer layers. picked by AutumnLotus 7 months ago

The failure of the command and data-handling system for Hubble's science instruments means the telescope is unable to capture and beam down the data needed to produce its stunning deep space images. picked by psycmoe 1 week ago

The idea behind a space elevator is simple. Deploy a cable stretching from the ground near Earth’s equator far enough into space, and centrifugal forces due to Earth’s spin will keep the cable taut.

*fixed picked by jLoSsDh 4 months ago

A mushroom-shaped hydrogen cloud rearing 1000 light years above the plane of our galaxy is the aftermath of a massive gas cloud that dive-bombed the Milky Way. picked by AutumnLotus 9 months ago

Geomorphology from Space is an out of print 1986 NASA publication edited by Nicholas M. Short, Sr. and Robert W. Blair, Jr. designed for use by the remote sensing science and educational communities to study landforms and landscapes. It has a gallery of space images consisting of 237 plates, each showing a different geographic region where a particular landform theme is exemplified. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

Oct 4th will be Sputnik's 50th anniversary. Although it had its scary connotations, the dawn of the Space Age was also a hopeful event. Visionaries celebrated humanity’s long-awaited climb out of its cradle, and pragmatists soon savored the benefits of communications and weather satellites. The evolution of the space program continues to be dramatic. In a decade or so, it will be hard... read full post picked by 2manyusernames 1 year ago

The US has adopted a tough new policy aimed at protecting its interests in space and denying "adversaries" access there for hostile purposes. picked by robfouryqr 2 years ago