Top 100 Images

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Date

1. Announcement of the ESA/Hubble GIPHY Account

ESA/Hubble now has a GIPHY account, complete with looping videos of your favourite Hubble Space Telescope images, videos, and animations.

2. Hubble Resolves Two Pairs of Quasars

These two NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope images reveal two pairs of quasars that existed 10 billion years ago and reside at the hearts of merging galaxies. Each of the four quasars resides in a host galaxy. These galaxies, however, cannot be seen because they are too faint, even for Hubble. The quasars within each pair are only about 10,000 light-years apart—the closest ever seen at this cosmic epoch.
Quasars are brilliant beacons of intense light from the centers of distant galaxies that can outshine their entire galaxies. They are powered by supermassive black holes voraciously feeding on infalling matter, unleashing a …

3. Hubble 31th anniversary

4. Spiral Snapshot

The luminous heart of the galaxy M61 dominates this image, framed by its winding spiral arms threaded with dark tendrils of dust. As well as the usual bright bands of stars, the spiral arms of M61 are studded with ruby-red patches of light. Tell-tale signs of recent star formation, these glowing regions lead to M61’s classification as a starburst galaxy.
Though the gleaming spiral of this galaxy makes for a spectacular sight, one of the most interesting features of M61 lurks unseen at the centre of this image. As well as widespread pockets of star formation, M61 hosts a supermassive black …

5. Return to the Veil Nebula

This Picture of the Week revisits the Veil Nebula, a popular subject for Hubble images! This object was featured in a previous Hubble photo release, but now new processing techniques have been applied, bringing out fine details of the nebula’s delicate threads and filaments of ionised gas.
To create this colourful image, observations taken by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 instrument through 5 different filters were used. The new post-processing methods have further enhanced details of emissions from doubly ionised oxygen (seen here in blues), ionised hydrogen and ionised nitrogen (seen here in reds).
The Veil Nebula lies around 2100 light-years from …

6. A Peculiar Sight

This week’s Hubble/ESA Picture of the Week features NGC 7678 — a galaxy located approximately 164 million light-years away in the constellation of Pegasus (The Winged Horse). With a diameter of around 115 000 light-years, this bright spiral galaxy is a similar size to our own galaxy (the Milky Way), and was discovered in 1784 by the German-British astronomer William Herschel.
The Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies is a catalogue which was produced in 1966 by the American astronomer Halton Arp. NGC 7678 is among the 338 galaxies presented in this catalogue, which organises peculiar galaxies according to their unusual features. Catalogued …

7. Logo FITS Liberator 4

Logo FITS Liberator 4. Visit the Logo archive for more download options.

8. The NOIRLab/IPAC/ESA/STScI/CfA FITS Liberator 4 development team

The NOIRLab/IPAC/ESA/STScI/CfA FITS Liberator 4 development team.

9. Screenshot of the NOIRLab/IPAC/ESA/STScI/CfA FITS Liberator version 4

This image shows the fourth version of the popular FITS Liberator image-processing software, which includes several significant improvements over previous versions.

10. Cosmic Ripples — image created with FITS Liberator

This image was “liberated” with the FITS Liberator from the FITS file from the Gemini North telescope. It captures the heart of Messier 1, the Crab Nebula. Formed by a colossal supernova explosion in the year 1054, the Crab Nebula consists of the outer layers of a now-dead massive star strewn across a region of space roughly 10 light-years across. The ripple-like structures visible in this image emanate from the heart of the nebula, where a pulsar — the dense, quickly rotating remains of the supernova’s progenitor star — is unleashing a hail of charged particles into the surrounding gas. …

11. Infant Stars in Orion

These four images taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveal the chaotic birth of stars in the Orion complex, the nearest major star-forming region to Earth.
The snapshots show fledgling stars buried in dusty gaseous cocoons announcing their births by unleashing powerful winds, as well as pairs of spinning, lawn-sprinkler-style jets shooting off in opposite directions. Near-infrared light pierces the dusty region to unveil details of the birthing process.
The stellar outflows are carving out cavities within the gas cloud, composed of hydrogen gas. This relatively brief birthing stage lasts about 500,000 years.
Although the stars themselves are shrouded in dust, they …

12. A Flash of Life

Located around 5000 light-years away in the constellation of Cygnus (The Swan), Abell 78 is an unusual type of planetary nebula.
After exhausting the nuclear fuel in their cores, stars with a mass of around 0.8 to 8 times the mass of our Sun collapse to form dense and hot white dwarf stars. As this process occurs, the dying star will throw off its outer layers of material, forming an elaborate cloud of gas and dust known as a planetary nebula. This phenomenon is not uncommon, and planetary nebulae are a popular focus for astrophotographers because of their often beautiful …

14. Artist’s Impression of GJ 1132 b

This image is an artist’s impression of the exoplanet GJ 1132 b.
For the first time, scientists using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have found evidence of volcanic activity reforming the atmosphere on this rocky planet, which has a similar density, size, and age to that of Earth.
To the surprise of astronomers, new observations from Hubble have uncovered a second atmosphere that has replaced the planet’s first atmosphere. It is rich in hydrogen, hydrogen cyanide, methane and ammonia, and also has a hydrocarbon haze. Astronomers theorise that hydrogen from the original atmosphere was absorbed into the planet’s molten magma mantle and …

15. GJ 1132 b’s Spectrum

This plot shows the spectrum of the atmosphere of an Earth sized rocky exoplanet, GJ 1132 b, which is overlaid on an artist's impression of the planet.
The orange line represents the model spectrum. In comparison, the observed spectrum is shown as blue dots representing averaged data points, along with their error bars.
This analysis is consistent with GJ 1132 b being predominantly a hydrogen atmosphere with a mix of methane and hydrogen cyanide. The planet also has aerosols which cause scattering of light.
This is the first time a so-called “secondary atmosphere,” which was replenished after the planet lost its …

16. Wide-Field View of GJ 1132 b’s Host Star

Pictured here is the region around the host star of the exoplanet GJ 1132 b.

17. Through the Clouds

Nestled amongst the vast clouds of star-forming regions like this one lie potential clues about the formation of our own Solar System.
This week’s NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week features AFGL 5180, a beautiful stellar nursery located in the constellation of Gemini (The Twins).
At the centre of the image, a massive star is forming and blasting cavities through the clouds with a pair of powerful jets, extending to the top right and bottom left of the image. Light from this star is mostly escaping and reaching us by illuminating these cavities, like a lighthouse piercing through …

18. Hubble Solves Mystery of Monster Star's Dimming

If placed in the middle of our solar system, the star VY Canis Majoris would engulf all the planets out to Saturn's orbit. This monster, appropriately called a red hypergiant, is as bright as 300,000 Suns. Yet it is so far away that, 200 years ago, it could be seen only as a faint star in the winter constellation of the Great Dog. Since then, it has faded and is no longer visible to the naked eye. Astronomers used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to get a close-up look at the star and discovered the reason for the dimming. The …

19. Exploring the Interactive ESA/Hubble image app

This montage illustrates how the Aladin Lite Interactive app can be used to view astronomical objects by comparing multi-wavelength datasets.
The object depicted is an example of a special class of star-forming nursery known as Free-floating Evaporating Gaseous Globules, or frEGGs for short. This object is formally known as J025157.5+600606. Learn more about the object featured in this image here.
More notably, the infrared image (bottom right) allows the viewers to see through the dust and gas. Meanwhile, the optical filters (top images) display the colourful features of this star-forming nursery. The image on the bottom-left is a cross-fade between the optical …

20. Big, Beautiful and Blue

NGC 2336 is the quintessential galaxy — big, beautiful and blue — and it is captured here by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The barred spiral galaxy stretches an immense 200 000 light-years across and is located approximately 100 million light years away in the northern constellation of Camelopardalis (The Giraffe).
Its spiral arms are glittered with young stars, visible in their bright blue light. In contrast, the redder central part of the galaxy is dominated by older stars.
NGC 2336 was discovered in 1876 by German astronomer Wilhelm Tempel, using a 28-centimetre telescope. This Hubble image is so much better than …

21. Hubble Spots Vagabond Comet Near Jupiter's Asteroids

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope snapped this image of the young comet P/2019 LD2 as it orbits near Jupiter's captured ancient asteroids, which are called Trojans. This icy object is the first comet astronomers have spotted near the Trojan population.
The Hubble view reveals a 640,000-kilometer-long tail of dust and gas flowing from the wayward comet's bright solid nucleus. The tail is evidence that the icy object is active, despite its great distance from the faint Sun. The tail could be driven by the release of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. These volatiles do not need much sunlight to heat their …

22. Eye in the Sky

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week features NGC4826 — a spiral galaxy located 17 million light-years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices (Berenice’s Hair). This galaxy is often referred to as the “Black Eye”, or “Evil Eye”, galaxy because of the dark band of dust that sweeps across one side of its bright nucleus.
NGC4826 is known by astronomers for its strange internal motion. The gas in the outer regions of this galaxy and the gas in its inner regions are rotating in opposite directions, which might be related to a recent merger. New stars are forming …

23. ESA/Hubble Space Sparks Video Series

24. Tantrums of a Baby Star

Herbig-Haro objects are some of the rarer sights in the night sky, taking the form of thin spindly jets of matter floating amongst the surrounding gas and stars. The two Herbig-Haro objects catalogued as HH46 and HH47, seen in this image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, were spotted in the constellation of Vela (The Sails), at a distance of over 1400 light-years from Earth. Prior to its discovery in 1977 by the American astronomer R. D. Schwartz, the exact mechanism by which these multi-coloured objects formed was unknown.
Before 1997 it was theorised by Schwartz and others that the …

25. Hubble's view of dazzling globular cluster NGC 6397

This ancient stellar jewelry box, a globular cluster called NGC 6397, glitters with the light from hundreds of thousands of stars.
Astronomers used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to gauge the cluster’s distance at 7800 light-years away. NGC 6397 is one of the closest globular clusters to Earth.
The cluster’s blue stars are near the end of their lives. These stars have used up their hydrogen fuel that makes them shine. Now they are converting helium to energy in their cores, which fuses at a higher temperature and appears blue.
The reddish glow is from red giant stars that have consumed their hydrogen …

26. Ground-based Image of Globular Cluster NGC 6397

Ground-based Image of Globular Cluster NGC 6397

27. Wide-Field View of Globular Cluster NGC 6397

Pictured here is the region around the globular cluster NGC 6397.

28. Artist’s Impression of the Black Hole Concentration in NGC 6397

Scientists were expecting to find an intermediate-mass black hole at the heart of the globular cluster NGC 6397, but instead they found evidence of a concentration of smaller black holes lurking there. New data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have led to the first measurement of the extent of a collection of black holes in a core-collapsed globular cluster.
This is an artist’s impression created to visualize the concentration of black holes at the center of NGC 6397. In reality, the small black holes here are far too small for the direct observing capacities of any existing or planned future …

29. Callout of the Black Hole Concentration in NGC 6397 (Artist's Impression)

Scientists were expecting to find an intermediate-mass black hole at the heart of the globular cluster NGC 6397, but instead they found evidence of a concentration of smaller black holes lurking there. New data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have led to the first measurement of the extent of a collection of black holes in a core-collapsed globular cluster.
This is an artist’s impression created to visualize the concentration of black holes at the center of NGC 6397. In reality, the small black holes here are far too small for the direct observing capacities of any existing or planned future …

30. A Cosmic Hourglass

This week’s NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week features an impressive portrait of M1-63, a beautifully captured example of a bipolar planetary nebula located in the constellation of Scutum (the Shield). A nebula like this one is formed when the star at its centre sheds huge quantities of material from its outer layers, leaving behind a spectacular cloud of gas and dust.
It is believed that a binary system of stars at the centre of the bipolar nebula is capable of creating hourglass or butterfly-like shapes like the one in this image. This is because the material from …

31. The Modest Galaxy

A bright foreground star isn’t enough to distract from the grandeur of the galaxy UGC 3855, captured here by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. While this foreground star is incredibly bright to Hubble’s eye, it does not outshine the details of the background galaxy.
Many young blue stars are sprinkled throughout the circular patterns of UGC 3855’s arms, contrasted and complemented by dark lanes of dust also following the spiral structure. A glancing look at UGC 3855 may only leave you with an impression of the galaxy, but spare a moment longer and the intricacies of the galaxy begin to emerge. …

32. An Interstellar Distributor

The lives of planetary nebulae are often chaotic, from the death of their parent star to the scattering of its contents far out into space. Captured here by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, ESO 455-10 is one such planetary nebula, located in the constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion).
The oblate shells of ESO 455-10, previously held tightly together as layers of its central star, not only give this planetary nebula its unique appearance, but also offer information about the nebula. Seen in a field of stars, the distinct asymmetrical arc of material over the north side of the nebula is …

33. Colours of the Lost Galaxy

Located in the constellation of Virgo (The Virgin), around 50 million light-years from Earth, NGC 4535 is truly a stunning sight to behold. Despite the incredible quality of this image, taken from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, NGC 4535 has a hazy, somewhat ghostly, appearance when viewed from a smaller telescope. This led amateur astronomer Leland S. Copeland to nickname NGC 4535 the “Lost Galaxy” in the 1950s.
The bright colours in this image aren’t just beautiful to look at, as they actually tell us about the population of stars within this barred spiral galaxy. The bright blue-ish colours, seen nestled …

34. Hubble’s Distant View of the Supernova Remnant 1E 0102.2-7219 in 2006

In the wake of Independence Day festivities surrounding the U.S. July 4th holiday, astronomers and image processors at the Space Telescope Science Institute are releasing the Hubble Space Telescope image of a cosmic explosion that is quite similar to fireworks on Earth. In the nearby galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud, a massive star has exploded as a supernova, and begun to dissipate its interior into a spectacular display of colorful filaments. The supernova remnant (SNR), known as "E0102" for short, is the greenish-blue shell of debris just below the center of the Hubble image. Its name is derived from its …

35. Wide-Field View of the Supernova Remnant 1E 0102.2-7219

Pictured here is the region of sky around the supernova remnant 1E 0102.2-7219.
Researchers have studied the Hubble archive looking for visible-light images of the supernova remnant and they have analysed the data to calculate a more accurate estimate of the age and centre of the supernova blast.

36. Hubble Captures the Supernova Remnant 1E 0102.2-7219

Featured in this Hubble image is an expanding, gaseous corpse — a supernova remnant — known as 1E 0102.2-7219. It is the remnant of a star that exploded long ago in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way located roughly 200 000 light-years away.
Because the gaseous knots in this supernova remnant are moving at different speeds and directions from the supernova explosion, those moving toward Earth are colored blue in this composition and the ones moving away are shown in red. This new Hubble image shows these ribbons of gas speeding away from the explosion …

37. Sculpted in Sculptor

First discovered in 1798 by German-English astronomer William Hershel, NGC 613 is a galaxy which lies in the southern constellation of Sculptor 67 million light-years away.
Featured here in a new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, NGC 613 is a lovely example of a barred spiral galaxy. It is easily distinguishable as such because of its well defined central bar and long arms, which spiral loosely around its nucleus. As revealed by surveys, about two thirds of spiral galaxies, including our own Milky Way galaxy, contain a bar.
Recent studies have shown that bars are more common in …

38. Hubble Showcases 6 Galaxy Mergers

To celebrate a new year, the NASA/ESA Space Telescope has published a montage of six beautiful galaxy mergers. Each of these merging systems was studied as part of the recent HiPEEC survey to investigate the rate of new star formation within such systems. These interactions are a key aspect of galaxy evolution and are among the most spectacular events in the lifetime of a galaxy.
Top left: NGC 3256This image of NGC 3256 was taken with the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), both installed on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The galaxy is about …

39. A Galaxy to Take Your Breath Away

The galaxy NGC 6946 is nothing short of spectacular. In the last century alone, NGC 6946 has experienced 10 observed supernovae, earning its nickname as the Fireworks Galaxy. In comparison, our Milky Way averages just 1-2 supernova events per century. This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the stars, spiral arms, and various stellar environments of NGC 6946 in phenomenal detail.
We are able to marvel at NGC 6946 as it is a face-on galaxy, which means that we see the galaxy “facing” us, rather than seeing it from the side (known as edge-on). The Fireworks Galaxy is further classified …

40. Hubble Space Telescope Calendar 2021 cover

41. A Bright Bar of Light

The magnificent central bar of NGC 2217 (also known as AM 0619-271) shines bright in the constellation of Canis Major (The Greater Dog), in this new image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Roughly 65 million light-years from Earth, this barred spiral galaxy is a similar size to our Milky Way at 100 thousand light-years across. Many stars are concentrated in its central region forming the luminous bar, surrounded by a set of tightly wound spiral arms.
The central bar in these types of galaxies plays an important role in their evolution, helping to funnel gas from the disc into …

42. Faint Remnant Threads

This unusual lenticular galaxy, known as NGC 1947, has lost almost all the gas and dust from its signature spiral arms, which used to orbit around its centre. Discovered almost 200 years ago by James Dunlop, a Scottish-born astronomer who later studied the sky from Australia, NGC 1947 can only be seen from the southern hemisphere, in the constellation Dorado (The Dolphinfish).
Residing around 40 million light-years away from Earth, this galaxy shows off its structure by backlighting its remaining faint gas and dust disc with millions of stars. In this picture, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, the faint …

43. The ESA Hubble Space Telescope Logo

The ESA Hubble Space Telescope Logo.

44. ESA/Hubble Tweets inviting people to the Twitter Q&A’s

ESA/Hubble Tweets inviting people to the Twitter Q&A’s.

45. ESA/Hubble Twitter number of followers over time

ESA/Hubble Twitter number of followers over time.

46. JWST Cycle 1 Proposal Submissions Received by Country

JWST Cycle 1 Proposal Submissions Received by Country.

47. Europe’s Contribution to the James Webb Space Telescope

This map indicates the sites of various institutions and organisations that are part of ESA’s contributions and European partners to the observatory.

48. Neptune’s Curious Dark Spots

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope watched a mysterious dark vortex on Neptune abruptly steer away from a likely death on the giant blue planet.
The storm, which is wider than the Atlantic Ocean, was born in the planet's northern hemisphere and discovered by Hubble in 2018. Observations a year later showed that it began drifting southward toward the equator, where such storms are expected to vanish from sight. To the surprise of observers, Hubble spotted the vortex change direction by August 2020, doubling back to the north. Though Hubble has tracked similar dark spots over the past 30 …

49. Screenshot of Hubblecast 133

Screenshot of Hubblecast 133: Spectroscopy with Hubble.

50. Rings of Relativity

The narrow galaxy elegantly curving around its spherical companion in this image is a fantastic example of a truly strange and very rare phenomenon. This image, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, depicts GAL-CLUS-022058s, located in the southern hemisphere constellation of Fornax (The Furnace). GAL-CLUS-022058s is the largest and one of the most complete Einstein rings ever discovered in our Universe. The object has been nicknamed by the Principal Investigator and his team who are studying this Einstein ring as the "Molten Ring", which alludes to its appearance and host constellation.
First theorised to exist by Einstein in his general …

51. Artist’s Impression of Exoplanet HD 106906b

This 11-Jupiter-mass exoplanet called HD106906 b occupies an unlikely orbit around a double star 336 light-years away and it may be offering clues to something that might be much closer to home: a hypothesized distant member of our Solar System dubbed “Planet Nine.” This is the first time that astronomers have been able to measure the motion of a massive Jupiter-like planet that is orbiting very far away from its host stars and visible debris disc.

52. Artist’s Impression of the Hypothesized “Planet Nine”

An 11-Jupiter-mass exoplanet called HD106906 b occupies an unlikely orbit around a double star 336 light-years away and may be offering clues to something that might be much closer to home: a hypothesized distant member of our Solar System dubbed “Planet Nine.” This is the first time that astronomers have been able to measure the motion of a massive Jupiter-like planet that is orbiting very far away from its host stars and visible debris disc.

53. Region of the Sky Around HD 106906b

Pictured here is the region surrounding the exoplanet HD106906b. Located nearly 336 light-years from Earth, this 11-Jupiter-mass planet occupies an unlikely orbit around a double star 336 light-years away and may be offering clues to something that might be much closer to home: a hypothesized distant member of our Solar System dubbed “Planet Nine.”
This view was created from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2.

54. The Stellar Forge

An orange glow radiates from the centre of NGC 1792, the heart of this stellar forge. Captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, this intimate view of NGC 1792 gives us some insight into this galactic powerhouse. The vast swathes of tell-tale blue seen throughout the galaxy indicate areas that are full of young, hot stars, and it is in the shades of orange, seen nearer the centre, that the older, cooler stars reside.
Nestled in the constellation of Columba (The Dove), NGC 1792 is both a spiral galaxy, and a starburst galaxy. Within starburst galaxies, stars are forming at comparatively …

55. Hubble’s Observation of the Stingray Nebula in 2016

Archival data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveal that the nebula Hen 3-1357, nicknamed the Stingray nebula, has faded precipitously over just the past two decades. Witnessing such a swift rate of change in a planetary nebula is exceedingly rare, say researchers.

This image captured by Hubble in 2016 shows how the nebula has drastically dimmed in brightness and changed shape. The young nebula no longer pops against the black velvet background of the distant Universe.

56. Hubble’s Observation of the Stingray Nebula in 1996

Archival data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveal that the nebula Hen 3-1357, nicknamed the Stingray nebula, has faded precipitously over just the past two decades. Witnessing such a swift rate of change in a planetary nebula is exceedingly rare, say researchers.

This image captured by Hubble in 1996 demonstrates how the nebula appeared before it dimmed drastically in brightness and changed shape. At this time, it was characterised by bright blue shells of gas near the centre of the nebula.

57. Wide-Field View of the Stingray Nebula

Pictured here is the region surrounding the Stingray Nebula.
Archival data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has revealed that the nebula has faded precipitously over just the past two decades. Witnessing such a swift rate of change in a planetary nebula is exceedingly rare, say researchers.

58. Hubble Captures Fading of the Stingray Nebula

Archival data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveal that the nebula Hen 3-1357, nicknamed the Stingray nebula, has faded precipitously over just the past two decades. Witnessing such a swift rate of change in a planetary nebula is exceedingly rare, say researchers.
These images captured by Hubble in 1996 (left), when compared to Hubble images taken in 2016 (right), show a nebula that has drastically dimmed in brightness and changed shape. Bright blue shells of gas near the centre of the nebula have all but disappeared, and the wavy edges that earned this nebula its aquatic-themed name are virtually gone. …

59. Cosmic Wonderland

This large expanse of space captured with the Hubble Space Telescope features the galaxy SDSSJ225506.80+005839.9. Unlike many other extravagant galaxies and stunning nebulae imaged by Hubble, this galaxy does not have a short popular name, and is only known by its long SDSS name, which refers to its coordinates in the sky. This galaxy - visible in the center right portion of the image - and its many wondrous neighbouring galaxies lie in the constellation of Pisces (The Fish).
This is a post-starburst galaxy, which is a product of galaxies that have merged within the past billion years. This merger event …

60. Region around Galaxy NGC1052-DF4

This image presents the region around the galaxy NGC 1052-DF4, taken by the IAC80 telescope at the Teide Observatory in Tenerife. The figure highlights the main galaxies in the field-of-view, including NGC 1052-DF4 (center of the image), and its neighbor NGC 1035 (center left).

61. Mysterious Dark Rays

Some of the most stunning views of our sky occur at sunset, when sunlight pierces the clouds, creating a mixture of bright and dark rays formed by the clouds’ shadows and the beams of light scattered by the atmosphere. Astronomers studying the nearby galaxy IC 5063 are tantalized by a similar effect in this new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. In this case, a collection of narrow bright rays and dark shadows is seen beaming out of the blazingly bright center of the active galaxy, shooting across at least 36,000 light-years.
Astronomers have traced the rays back to the …

62. Cosmic Cinnamon Bun

Observed with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, the faint galaxy featured in this image is known as UGC 12588. Unlike many spiral galaxies, UGC 12588 displays neither a bar of stars across its centre nor the classic prominent spiral arm pattern. Instead, to a viewer, its circular, white and mostly unstructured centre makes this galaxy more reminiscent of a cinnamon bun than a mega-structure of stars and gas in space.
Lying in the constellation of Andromeda in the Northern hemisphere, this galaxy is classified as a spiral galaxy. Unlike the classic image of a spiral galaxy, however, the huge arms of …

63. Neutron-Star Collision Releases Puzzling Burst of Infrared Light

This image shows the glow from a kilonova caused by the merger of two neutron stars.
In May of 2020, light from this flash reached Earth and was first detected by NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Scientists quickly enlisted other telescopes — including the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope — to study the explosion's aftermath and the host galaxy.
Hubble found that the near-infrared emission was 10 times brighter than predicted. These results challenge conventional theories of what happens in the aftermath of a short gamma-ray burst. One possibility is that the observations might point to the birth of a massive, …

64. Contorting Giants

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the galaxy LRG-3-817, also known as SDSS J090122.37+181432.3. The galaxy, its image distorted by the effects of gravitational lensing, appears as a long arc to the left of the central galaxy cluster.
Gravitational lensing occurs when a large distribution of matter, such as a galaxy cluster, sits between Earth and a distant light source. As space is warped by massive objects, the light from the distant object bends as it travels to us and we see a distorted image of it. This effect was first predicted by Einstein’s general theory of relativity.
Strong gravitational lenses …

65. A Waterfall of Stars

The galaxy UGCA 193, seen here by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, is a galaxy in the constellation of Sextans (The Sextant). Looking rather like a waterfall, UGCA 193 appears to host many young stars, especially in its lower portion, creating a striking blue haze and the sense that the stars are falling from “above”.
The blue colour of UGCA 193 indicates the stars that we see are hot — some with temperatures exceeding 6 times that of our Sun. We know that cooler stars appear to our eyes more red, and hotter stars appear more blue. As the mass and …

66. Hubble Finds Halloween Pumpkin Pair

What looks like two glowing eyes and a crooked carved smile in this new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope snapshot is the early stages of a collision between two galaxies. Residing in the constellation Canis Major, the entire view is 109,000 light-years across, approximately the diameter of our Milky Way.
The overall pumpkin-ish color corresponds to the glow of aging red stars in two galaxies, cataloged as NGC 2292 and NGC 2293, which only have a hint of spiral structure.
The ghostly arm making the “smile” may be just the beginning of the process of rebuilding a spiral galaxy, say researchers. The arm …

67. Beauty From Chaos

Appearing within the boundless darkness of space, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s snapshot of NGC 34 looks more like an otherworldly, bioluminescent creature from the deep oceans than a galaxy. Lying in the constellation Cetus (The Sea Monster), the galaxy’s outer region appears almost translucent, pinpricked with stars and strange wispy tendrils.
The main cause for this galaxy’s odd appearance lies in its past. If we were able to reverse time by a few million years, we would see two beautiful spiral galaxies on a direct collision course. When these galaxies collided into one another, their intricate patterns and spiral arms …

68. Galactic Waterspout

In this spectacular image captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, the galaxy NGC 2799 (on the left) is seemingly being pulled into the centre of the galaxy NGC 2798 (on the right).
Interacting galaxies, such as these, are so named because of the influence they have on each other, which may eventually result in a merger or a unique formation. Already, these two galaxies have seemingly formed a sideways waterspout, with stars from NGC 2799 appearing to fall into NGC 2798 almost like drops of water.
Galactic mergers can take place over several hundred million to over a billion …

69. A frEGGS-plosion of Star Formation

This image, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, depicts a special class of star-forming nursery known as Free-floating Evaporating Gaseous Globules, or frEGGs for short. This object is formally known as J025157.5+600606.
When a massive new star starts to shine while still within the cool molecular cloud from which it formed, its energetic radiation can ionise the cloud’s hydrogen and create a large, hot bubble of ionised gas. Amazingly, located within this bubble of hot gas around a nearby massive star are the frEGGs: dark compact globules of dust and gas, some of which are giving birth to low-mass stars. …

70. Survey of the Stars

At around 60 million light-years from Earth, the Great Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1365 is captured beautifully in this image by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Located in the constellation of Fornax (The Furnace), the blue and fiery orange swirls show us where stars have just formed and the dusty sites of future stellar nurseries.
At the outer edge of the image, enormous star-forming regions within NGC 1365 can be seen. The bright, light-blue regions indicate the presence of hundreds of baby stars that formed from coalescing gas and dust within the galaxy's outer arms.
This Hubble image was captured as …

71. Galaxy NGC 2525

Pictured here is the captivating galaxy NGC 2525. Located nearly 70 million light-years from Earth, this galaxy is part of the constellation of Puppis in the southern hemisphere. Together with the Carina and the Vela constellations, it makes up an image of the Argo from ancient greek mythology.
Another kind of monster, a supermassive black hole, lurks at the centre of NGC 2525. Nearly every galaxy contains a supermassive black hole, which can range in mass from hundreds of thousands to billions of times the mass of the Sun.
Hubble has captured a series of images of NGC2525 as part …

72. Wide-Field View of NGC 2525

Pictured here is the region surrounding NGC 2525. Located nearly 70 million light-years from Earth, this galaxy is part of the constellation of Puppis in the southern hemisphere.
Hubble has captured a series of images of NGC2525 as part of one of its major investigations; measuring the expansion rate of the Universe, which can help answer fundamental questions about our Universe’s very nature. ESA/Hubble has now published a unique time-lapse of this galaxy and it’s fading supernova.
This view was created from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2.

73. Hubble Captures Supernova in NGC 2525

Pictured here is part of the captivating galaxy NGC 2525. Located nearly 70 million light-years from Earth, this galaxy is part of the constellation of Puppis in the southern hemisphere. Together with the Carina and the Vela constellations, it makes up an image of the Argo from ancient greek mythology.
On the left, a brilliant supernova is clearly visible in the image. The supernova is formally known as SN2018gv and was first spotted in mid-January 2018. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captured the supernova in NGC 2525 as part of one of its major investigations; measuring the expansion rate of …

74. Spirals Are In This Season

This stunning image by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope features the spiral galaxy NGC 5643 in the constellation of Lupus (The Wolf). Looking this good isn’t easy; thirty different exposures, for a total of 9 hours observation time, together with the high resolution and clarity of Hubble, were needed to produce an image of such high level of detail and of beauty.
NGC 5643 is about 60 million light-years away from Earth and has been the host of a recent supernova event (not visible in this latest image). This supernova (2017cbv) was a specific type in which a white dwarf steals …

75. Dark Matter Surplus

Resting on the tail of the Great Bear in the constellation of Ursa Major, lies NGC 5585, a spiral galaxy that is more than it appears.
The many stars, and dust and gas clouds that make up NGC 5585, shown here in this Hubble image, contribute only a small fraction of the total mass of the galaxy. As in many galaxies, this discrepancy can be explained by the abundant yet seemingly invisible presence of dark matter.
The stellar disc of the galaxy extends over 35 000 light-years across. When compared with galaxies of a similar shape and size, NGC 5585 stands out …

76. Hubble’s New Rainbow View of Jupiter

A multiwavelength observation in ultraviolet/visible/near-infrared light of Jupiter obtained by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope on 25 August 2020 is giving researchers an entirely new view of the giant planet. Hubble’s near-infrared imaging, combined with ultraviolet views, provides a unique panchromatic look that offers insights into the altitude and distribution of the planet’s haze and particles. This complements Hubble’s visible-light pictures that show the ever-changing cloud patterns.
In this photo, the parts of Jupiter’s atmosphere that are at higher altitude, especially over the poles, look red as a result of atmospheric particles absorbing ultraviolet light. Conversely, the blue-hued areas represent the …

77. Hubble’s Crisp New Image of Jupiter and Europa

This latest image of Jupiter, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope on 25 August 2020, was captured when the planet was 653 million kilometres from Earth. Hubble’s sharp view is giving researchers an updated weather report on the monster planet’s turbulent atmosphere, including a remarkable new storm brewing, and a cousin of the Great Red Spot changing colour — again. The new image also features Jupiter’s icy moon Europa.

78. Hubble’s New Views of Jupiter

[Left] This latest visible-light image of Jupiter was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope on 25 August 2020 and was captured when the planet was 653 million kilometres from Earth. Hubble’s sharp view is giving researchers an updated weather report on the monster planet’s turbulent atmosphere, including a remarkable new storm brewing, and a cousin of the Great Red Spot changing colour — again. The new image also features Jupiter’s icy moon Europa.
[Right] This multiwavelength observation in ultraviolet/visible/near-infrared light of Jupiter was obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope on 25 August 2020 and is giving researchers an entirely new view …

79. Eye of the Serpent

The twisting patterns created by the multiple spiral arms of NGC 2835 create the illusion of an eye. This is a fitting description, as this magnificent galaxy resides near the head of the southern constellation of Hydra, the water snake. This stunning barred spiral galaxy, with a width of just over half that of the Milky Way, is brilliantly featured in this image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Although it cannot be seen in this image, a supermassive black hole with a mass millions of times that of our Sun is known to nestle in the very centre …

80. Hubble Examines the Galaxy Cluster MACSJ 1206

This Hubble Space Telescope image shows the massive galaxy cluster MACSJ 1206. Embedded within the cluster are the distorted images of distant background galaxies, seen as arcs and smeared features. These distortions are caused by the dark matter in the cluster, whose gravity bends and magnifies the light from faraway galaxies, an effect called gravitational lensing. This phenomenon allows astronomers to study remote galaxies that would otherwise be too faint to see.
Astronomers measured the amount of gravitational lensing caused by this cluster to produce a detailed map of the distribution of dark matter in it. Dark matter is the …

81. Small-Scale Concentrations of Dark Matter (Artist’s Impression)

This artist’s impression represents small-scale concentrations of dark matter in the galaxy cluster MACSJ 1206. Astronomers measured the amount of gravitational lensing caused by this cluster to produce a detailed map of the distribution of dark matter in it.
Dark matter is the invisible glue that keeps stars bound together inside a galaxy and makes up the bulk of the matter in the Universe.

82. Hubble Sheds Light on Small-Scale Concentrations of Dark Matter (Artist’s Impression)

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the massive galaxy cluster MACSJ 1206. Embedded within the cluster are the distorted images of distant background galaxies, seen as arcs and smeared features. These distortions are caused by the dark matter in the cluster, whose gravity bends and magnifies the light from faraway galaxies, an effect called gravitational lensing. This phenomenon allows astronomers to study remote galaxies that would otherwise be too faint to see.
Overlaid on the image are small-scale concentrations of dark matter (represented in this artist’s impression in blue). Dark matter is the invisible glue that keeps stars bound …

83. A Pocketful of Stars

Many colourful stars are packed close together in this image of the globular cluster NGC 1805, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This tight grouping of thousands of stars is located near the edge of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way. The stars orbit closely to one another, like bees swarming around a hive. In the dense centre of one of these clusters, stars are 100 to 1000 times closer together than the nearest stars are to our Sun, making planetary systems around them unlikely.
The striking difference in star colours is illustrated beautifully …

84. A Tilted Wonder

The blue and orange stars of the faint galaxy named NGC 2188 sparkle in this image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Although NGC 2188 appears at first glance to consist solely of a narrow band of stars, it is classified by astronomers as a barred-spiral galaxy. It appears this way from our viewpoint on Earth as the centre and spiral arms of the galaxy are tilted away from us, with only the very narrow outer edge of the galaxy’s disc visible to us. Astronomers liken this occurrence to turning a dinner plate in your hands so you see …

85. Hubble Maps a Giant Halo Around the Andromeda Galaxy

Scientists using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have mapped the immense halo of gas enveloping the Andromeda galaxy, our nearest large galactic neighbor. Scientists were surprised to find that this nearly invisible halo of diffuse plasma extends 1.3 million light-years from the galaxy—about halfway to our Milky Way—and as far as 2 million light-years in some directions. They also found that the halo has a layered structure, with two main nested and distinct shells of gas.
This is the most comprehensive study of a halo surrounding a galaxy. Called Project AMIGA (Absorption Map of Ionized Gas in Andromeda), the study …

86. Collage of Hubble 30 Artistic Creations

A Flickr album has been published to showcase the variety of creations that were received. A special Hubblecast has also been created to feature some of the submitted creations received. We encourage you to explore and enjoy these beautiful Hubble-inspired creations!

87. At the Edge of the Blast

While appearing as a delicate and light veil draped across the sky, this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope actually depicts a small section of the Cygnus supernova blast wave, located around 2400 light-years away. The name of the supernova remnant comes from its position in the northern constellation of Cygnus (The Swan), where it covers an area 36 times larger than the full moon.
The original supernova explosion blasted apart a dying star about 20 times more massive than our Sun between 10 000 and 20 000 years ago. Since then, the remnant has expanded 60 light-years from …

88. Hubble Captures Comet NEOWISE

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured the closest images yet of the sky’s latest visitor to make the headlines, comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE, after it passed by the Sun. This color image of the comet was taken on 8 August 2020.
The two structures appearing on the left and right sides of the comet's center are jets of sublimating ice from beneath the surface of the nucleus, with the resulting dust and gas bring squeezed through at a high velocity. The jets emerge as cone-like structures, then are fanned out by the rotation of the comet's nucleus.

89. Comet NEOWISE Pullout in Ground-Based Image

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured the closest images yet of the sky’s latest visitor to make the headlines, comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE, after it passed by the Sun. This image features the color image of the comet taken by Hubble on 8 August 2020 within the frame of a ground-based image of the comet that was taken from the Northern Hemisphere on 18 July 2020.
Hubble's image of the comet shows a portion of the comet’s coma, the fuzzy glow, which measures about 18,000 kilometers across in this image. Comet NEOWISE won’t pass through the inner solar system …

90. Cosmic Fireworks

This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope features the spectacular galaxy NGC 2442.
This galaxy was host to a supernova explosion, known as SN2015F, that was created by a white dwarf star. The white dwarf was part of a binary star system and syphoned mass from its companion, eventually becoming too greedy and taking on more than it could handle. This unbalanced the star and triggered runaway nuclear fusion that eventually led to an intensely violent supernova explosion.
SN2015F was spotted in March 2015 in the galaxy named NGC 2442, nicknamed the Meathook Galaxy owing to its extremely asymmetrical and …

91. Wide-field view of Betelgeuse (ground-based image)

This image is a colour composite made from exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2). It shows the area around the red supergiant star Betelgeuse.

92. Betelgeuse’s Dust Cloud (Artist’s Impression)

New observations by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope suggest that the unexpected dimming of the supergiant star Betelgeuse was most likely caused by an immense amount of hot material that was ejected into space, forming a dust cloud that blocked starlight coming from the star’s surface.
This artist's impression was generated using an image of Betelgeuse from late 2019 taken with the SPHERE instrument on the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope.

93. The Atmosphere of Betelgeuse

This is the first direct image of a star other than the Sun, made with the Hubble Space Telescope. Called Alpha Orionis, or Betelgeuse, it is a red supergiant star marking the shoulder of the winter constellation Orion the Hunter.
The Hubble image reveals a huge ultraviolet atmosphere with a mysterious hot spot on the stellar behemoth's surface. The enormous bright spot, which is many hundreds times the diameter of Sun, is at least 2, 000 Kelvin degrees hotter than the surface of the star.

94. Ring of Stellar Wildfire

NGC 1614, captured here by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, is an eccentrically-shaped galaxy ablaze with activity. The galaxy resides about 200 million light-years from Earth and is nestled in the southern constellation of Eridanus (The River).
NGC 1614 is the result of a past galactic merger which created its peculiar appearance. The cosmic collision also drove a turbulent flow of interstellar gas from the smaller of the two galaxies involved into the nucleus of the larger one, resulting in a burst of star formation which started in the core and slowly spread outwards through the galaxy.
Owing to its turbulent …

95. Hubble’s Region of Study During the Lunar Eclipse

This image highlights the general region where astronomers used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to measure the amount of ozone in Earth’s atmosphere. This method serves as a proxy for how they will observe Earth-like planets around other stars in search of life.

96. Lunar Eclipse

This diagram explains the geometry of the lunar eclipse.
When the moon is entirely in the Earth’s umbra (known as a total lunar eclipse or umbral eclipse), all sunlight reaching the lunar surface has been refracted or scattered through Earth’s atmosphere. When the moon is in the Earth’s penumbra (known as a penumbral eclipse), illumination comes from both direct sunlight and sunlight refracted and scattered through the planet's atmosphere. This is similar to an exoplanet transit observation.

97. Hubble Observes the Total Lunar Eclipse (Artist’s Impression)

Taking advantage of a total lunar eclipse in January 2019, astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have measured the amount of ozone in Earth’s atmosphere. This method serves as a proxy for how they will observe Earth-like planets transiting in front of other stars in search of life.
Our planet’s perfect alignment with the Sun and Moon during a total lunar eclipse mimics the geometry of a transiting terrestrial planet with its star. In a new study, Hubble did not look at Earth directly. Instead, astronomers used the Moon as a mirror that reflects the sunlight transmitted through Earth’s atmosphere …

98. Seeing Near and Far

The barred spiral galaxy known as NGC 4907 shows its best side from 270 million light-years away to anyone who can see it from the northern hemisphere.This is a new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the face-on the galaxy, displaying its beautiful spiral arms, wound loosely around its central bright bar of stars.
Shining brightly below the galaxy is a star that is actually within our own Milky Way galaxy. This star appears much brighter than the many millions of stars in NGC 4907 as it is 100 000 times closer, residing only 2500 light-years away.
NGC 4907 is …

99. Stellar Sweet Shop

Looking its best ever is the star cluster NGC 2203, here imaged by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Aside from its dazzling good looks, this cluster of stars contains lots of astronomical treats that have helped astronomers puzzle together the lifetimes of stars.
A main sequence star, like our Sun, is the term applied to a star during the longest period of its life, when it burns fuel steadily. Our Sun’s fuel will run out in approximately 6 billion years, and it will then move on to the next stage of its life when it will turn into a red …

100. Hubble Sees Summertime on Saturn

This new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope was taken on 4 July, 2020, when the opulent giant world was 1350 million kilometres from Earth. This new Saturn image was taken during summer in the planet's northern hemisphere.
Hubble found a number of small atmospheric storms. These are transient features that appear to come and go with each yearly Hubble observation. The banding in the northern hemisphere remains pronounced as seen in Hubble's 2019 observations, with several bands slightly changing color from year to year. The ringed planet's atmosphere is mostly hydrogen and helium with traces of ammonia, methane, water …

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