Hubble
@NASAHubble
The official X account for the NASA Hubble Space Telescope, managed and operated by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
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Eye see you 👁️
The sonification of the Helix Nebula scans from left to right, where redder colors correspond with lower pitches while bluer colors are associated with higher pitches. It has been called “The Eye of Sauron" for its uncanny and all-seeing appearance.
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Thank you, Swift! ❤️
Though the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory's mission is at an end, its legacy and extensive collection of data will remain.
Swift's discoveries, and the work completed in tandem with Hubble, advanced astrophysics in so many ways. Learn more ⬇️
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Science operations for our Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory have now ended.
With the spacecraft orbiting less than 171 miles (275 kilometers) above Earth, atmospheric drag prevents the satellite’s telescopes from steadily gazing at their cosmic targets. 🧵
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We know our universe is expanding.
But telescopes like Hubble measure an expansion rate that’s faster than predicted, based on models of the early universe.
Here’s how @NASARoman will join the quest on cracking the case of this “Hubble Tension” ⬇️
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Even galaxies need to vent.
Because of a prior gravitational interaction with a neighboring galaxy, M82 undergoes super intense star formation.
This image shows its "exhaust system" in action, regulating the galaxy's growth by venting gas outwards. ⬇️
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A gorgeous galaxy marks the spot in this image, but the real treasure is the gravitational lens in the lower-right corner, where a distant background galaxy is being magnified and distorted by the gravity of a closer galaxy:
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A cosmic butterfly 🦋
In this shimmering view captured by @NASAHubble, the complexities of the Twin Jet Nebula are seen in striking detail, with lobes of material stretching outward while jets of gas stream from a central star system.
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Stellar ingredients 🧑🍳
This Hubble view shows a grouping of cosmic dust, made up of a concentration of elements that are responsible for the formation of stars in our galaxy and throughout the universe.
Learn more about these "Bok globules":
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@chandraxray @NASAWebb While Swift usually looks far beyond our solar system, it can study objects closer to home, too. In 2010, Swift and @NASAHubble worked together to catch the remnants of an asteroid smash-up just weeks after the collision.
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Twinkle, twinkle little galaxy…
NGC 1827 is a low-mass galaxy that was captured as part of a Hubble observing program that will help scientists test predictions of cosmological models on smaller scales:
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Did you catch the @NASARoman launch? 🚀
NASA’s newest space telescope is on the way to its home orbit a million miles away, where it’ll capture wide-field, infrared views of the universe!
Roman gets the big picture, while Hubble delivers the details. ⬇️
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Imagine finding the “bones” of dead stars! 🦴
At the end of a massive star’s life, it can leave behind its core as a neutron star … just a trace of what it once was. Like other fossils, these remains can teach us about the star’s past: #NationalFossilDay#
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A pair of galaxies called NGC 6670 overlap in this Hubble image. They appear edge-on, and though they look very close to each other, the two galaxies' nuclei are actually 50,000 light-years apart!
NGC 6670 is ~400 million light-years away:
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While observing the universe, @NASAHubble caught a galaxy cluster smiling for the camera. 😊
The smile lines are arcs caused by an effect known as gravitational lensing, where massive structures warp spacetime with their powerful gravitational forces and act as a cosmic lens.
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What's in a wavelength?
Different "types" of light unveil different data about our universe. Hubble detects visible light, along with some near-infrared wavelengths that "cut through" clouds of gas and dust, as seen in this view of the Pillars of Creation ⬇️
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@chandraxray @esa Spiral galaxy NGC 1097 lies about 48 million light-years away. Gas nearing the galaxy’s black hole is heated to millions of degrees, causing the region to glow in X-rays.
This combined view uses data from @ChandraXray, Swift, @NASAHubble and a ground-based telescope.
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About 200,000 light-years away, the star cluster NGC 290 glitters within the Small Magellanic Cloud – a small galaxy orbiting our Milky Way.
NGC 290 stretches 65 light-years across. The stars in this cluster are loosely bound to one another by gravity:
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🎵 Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!
How I wonder what you’re at!
Up above the world you fly,
Like a tea-tray in the sky. 🎵
Perhaps the Hatter spied this cosmic teacup, captured by @chandraxray (blue) and @NASAHubble (red and green)? More: #MadHatterDay#
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200,000 orbits and counting 🌎
On Sept. 19, Hubble completed its 200,000th orbit around Earth — here’s an observation completed on the big day!
This image shows a cluster of galaxies called MACS J0417:
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Breaking free 💨
M90 is part of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies... for now. Its orbit through the cluster has accelerated so much that it's in the process of escaping the gravitational hold of the cluster entirely:
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NGC 7541 is above average! 🏅
This galaxy boasts a higher-than-usual star formation rate. A bar of stars and gas that intersects its center might be the reason why!
This bar likely funnels in the material and fuel needed to create and nurture new stars:
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