Amazing Hubble Images makes us seem Small

Source: Hubblesite.org
A brilliant white core is encircled by thick dust lanes in this spiral galaxy, seen edge-on. 
The galaxy is 50,000 light-years across and 28 million light years from Earth.



Source: Hubblesite.org



Source: Hubblesite.org              The Antennae Galaxies/NGC 4038-4039



Source: Hubblesite.org     A Rose made of Galaxies



Source: Hubblesite.org    Star V838 Monocerotis (V838 Mon)

Hubble Site

The Webb Telescope

A million miles from Earth, the James Webb Space Telescope will soar through a frigid void, peering back to the time when new stars and developing galaxies first began to illuminate the universe. Scanning the universe for the invisible radiation called infrared, Webb will have to be larger than any space telescope ever placed in orbit, and function at temperatures just tens of degrees above absolute zero — the temperature at which even atoms are frozen into immobility.

With its infrared vision, Webb will be able to see light from the early universe that has been stretched as it travels across the expanding fabric of space. It will be able to see through clouds of dust to the warm, infrared-emitting objects hidden within. Our view of the universe will expand as Webb opens up previously unexplored territory to our gaze.

Crab Nebula

Humans who keep pretending there is no other life out there in the Universe, should consider the vast space this occupies all on it's own.

Across the Universe, every ending is a new beginning. When a massive star dies, exploding as a spectacular supernova, huge amounts of matter and energy are ejected into surrounding space, and the remnant of the explosion itself remains a hub of fierce activity for thousands of years.

One of the most iconic supernova remnants is the Crab Nebula. A wispy and filamentary cloud of gas and dust, it originated with a supernova explosion that was seen by Chinese astronomers in the year 1054. A spinning neutron star – or pulsar – remains at its centre, releasing streams of highly energetic particles into the nebula.

This composite image combines a new infrared view of the Crab Nebula, obtained with ESA’s Herschel Space Observatory, with an optical image from the archives of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

Herschel’s observations are shown in red and reveal the glow from cosmic dust present in the nebula. Hubble’s view, in blue, traces oxygen and sulphur gas in the nebula.

A team of astronomers studying the nebula with Herschel has revealed that this supernova remnant contains much more dust than they had expected – about a quarter of the mass of the Sun.

The new observations also revealed the presence of molecules containing argon, the first time a noble gas-based molecule has been found in space.

Argon is produced in the nuclear reactions that take place during supernova explosions, and astronomers had already detected this element in the Crab Nebula. However, it is surprising that argon bonded with other elements, forming molecules that survived in the hostile environment of a supernova remnant, with hot gas still expanding at high speeds after the explosion.

Ceres classified as Dwarf planet, has icy surface

Dwarf Planet Ceres May Have Underground Ice, Scientists Say

In March of 2015, NASA's Dawn mission will arrive at the dwarf planet Ceres, the first of the smaller class of planets to be discovered and the closest to Earth.

The dwarf planet Ceres, which orbits the sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, is a unique body in the solar system, bearing many similarities to Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus, both considered to be potential sources for harboring life.

On Thursday, August 15, Britney Schmidt, science team liaison for the Dawn Mission, and Julie Castillo-Rogez, planetary scientist from JPL, spoke in an Google Plus Hangout titled 'Ceres: Icy World Revealed?' about the growing excitement related to the innermost icy body. [Dwarf Planets of Our Solar System (Infographic)]

"I think of Ceres actually as a game changer in the solar system," Schmidt said.

"Ceres is arguably the only one of its kind."

The dwarf planet Ceres as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope.

The innermost icy body

When Ceres was discovered in 1801, astronomers first classified it as a planet. The massive body traveled between Mars and Jupiter, where scientists had mathematically predicted a planet should lie. Further observations revealed that a number of small bodies littered the region, and Ceres was downgraded to just another asteroid within the asteroid belt. It wasn't until Pluto was classified as a dwarf planet in 2006 that Ceres was upgraded to the same level.

Ceres is the most massive body in the asteroid belt, and larger than some of the icy moons scientists consider ideal for hosting life. It is twice the size of Enceladus, Saturn's geyser-spouting moon that may hide liquid water beneath its surface.

Unlike other asteroids, the Texas-sized Ceres has a perfectly rounded shape that hints toward its origins.

"The fact that Ceres is so round tells us that it almost certainly had to form in the early solar system," Schmidt said. She explained that a later formation would have created a less rounded shape.

The shape of the dwarf planet, combined with its size and total mass, reveal a body of incredibly low density.

"Underneath this dusty, dirty, clay-type surface, we think that Ceres might be icy," Schmidt said. "It could potentially have had an ocean at one point in its history."

"The difference between Ceres and other icy bodies [in the solar system] is that it's the closest to the sun," Castillo-Rogez said.

Less than three times as far as Earth from the sun, Ceres is close enough to feel the warmth of the star, allowing ice to melt and reform.

Investigating the interior of the dwarf planet could provide insight into the early solar system, especially locations where water and other volatiles might have existed.

"Ceres is like the gatekeeper to the history of water in the middle solar system," Schmidt said.