The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope

Hubble marks 29th anniversary with remarkable view of Southern Crab

18 April 2019 Astronomy Now

The Hubble Space Telescope celebrates its 29th anniversary on 24 April, an event NASA is marking by the release of a spectacular image of the Southern Crab Nebula in the constellation Centaurus that shows dual cones of gas blown off by a central red giant streaming away into space and giving the appearance of a crab floating in the void.

Astronomers spot asteroid in a debris-spewing suicidal spin

1 April 2019 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have spotted a ‘smoking gun’ example of an unstable asteroid spun up by the subtle effects of solar radiation and infrared emissions.

Galaxies peek through star clouds in massive cluster

19 December 2018 Astronomy Now

A middle-age star cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud is populated by countless stars, but galaxies in the far distance peak through, giving viewers at least a sense of the overwhelming scale of the cosmos.

Hubble Space Telescope sidelined by gyro problem

9 October 2018 Astronomy Now

The Hubble Space Telescope has been sidelined in the wake of problems with two of its four remaining gyroscopes. Engineers are hopeful they can restore one of the units to operation. If not, backup plans are in place.

The Hubble Space Telescope looks into the heart of M13

26 August 2018 Astronomy Now

The great globular cluster in Hercules, M13, was first noted by western astronomers in 1714 when Edmund Halley described it as a “little patch” that “shews it self to the naked Eye.” The Hubble Space Telescope takes it to another level.

Hubble captures new views of Mars and Saturn near opposition

26 July 2018 Astronomy Now

The Hubble Space Telescope captured stunning new views of Mars and Saturn as the planets neared opposition, lined up with Earth and the Sun. Mars remains obscured by a global dust storm.

Messier spotted the first extra-galactic globular cluster in 1778

10 July 2018 Astronomy Now

Globular clusters orbiting the core of the Milky Way are favourite targets for amateur astronomers, especially those in the Messier catalogue. It turns out one of them is the first extra-galactic globular ever discovered, something Charles Messier could not have imagined.