Released #OTD 10 years ago, this Hubble image features an unusual asteroid – one with six comet-like tails! A possible explanation is that the asteroid's rotation rate increased to the point where its surface started flying apart. Located in our solar system's asteroid belt, this asteroid led astronomers to consider that rotational breakup must be a common phenomenon in the asteroid belt, and potentially even be the main way small asteroids die. Image description: A bright white point of light shines near the top of the image with hazy, pale streams of material cascading down and around it, streaking to the lower part of the image. Image credit: NASA, ESA, and D. Jewitt (University of California, Los Angeles), J. Agarwal (Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research), H. Weaver (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory), M. Mutchler (STScI), and S. Larson (University of Arizona) #NASA #Hubble #asteroid #space #science #OnThisDay #history #astronomy #telescope

Let's dance! This new #HubbleFriday view shows the spiral galaxy NGC 1566, nicknamed the Spanish Dancer Galaxy. Located about 60 million light-years away, this galaxy calls the constellation Dorado home. It's also a member of the Dorado galaxy group. Galaxy groups are collections of gravitationally bound galaxies. They don't have as large a size or mass as galaxy clusters, but groups are the most common collection of galaxies in the universe, holding over half of all galaxies. Find out more at the link in our bio! Image description: A spiral galaxy centered in the image and face-on to the viewer. It has two spiral arms that each make a half-turn from start to finish. The arms resemble the shape of a comma. Lanes of dark dust follow the arms into the center and split into many strands that swirl around the glowing galactic core. Bright pink blooms along the arms show areas of new star formation. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Calzetti and the LEGUS team, R. Chandar #NASA #Hubble #Friday #galaxy #space #stars #science #astronomy #universe

Just in time for Jupiter reaching opposition, this Hubble image shows a unique view of the gas giant planet as seen in ultraviolet light! When a planet is at opposition, its position is the exact opposite of the Sun in the sky. This makes it appear large and bright, so look up tonight to find Jupiter. The data used to create this ultraviolet image is part of a Hubble proposal that looked at Jupiter’s stealthy superstorm system. The researchers plan to map deep water clouds using the Hubble data to define 3D cloud structures in Jupiter’s atmosphere. Hubble's unique ultraviolet-observing capabilities allow astronomers to study the short, high-energy wavelengths of light beyond what the human eye can see. Ultraviolet light reveals fascinating cosmic phenomena, including light from the hottest and youngest stars embedded in local galaxies; the composition, densities, and temperatures of the material between stars; and the evolution of galaxies. Read more at the link in our bio! Swipe over to see Jupiter in visible and infrared light (from @NASAWebb). The infrared view reveals new details in the higher-altitude layers of Jupiter's atmosphere, including a high-speed jet over the equator. Image descriptions: 1 - The planet Jupiter with its cloud bands seen in shades of pink, rusty red, blue, and purple. The Great Red Spot is a deep navy blue, surrounded by bands and swirls of pink, and light blue. 2 - Jupiter with wavy atmospheric bands, colored white, red, orange, and brown. The Great Red Spot is at lower center, seen as a rusty red oval. 3 - Jupiter's Great Red Spot appears white with light pink around the edges. The planet is striated with swirling horizontal stripes of green, periwinkle, light pink, and cream. Horizontally across the equator is a wide cream-colored band, whose height extends about 1/7 of the planet. This is the planet’s equatorial zone. The stripes across the planet interact and mix at their edges. Along both of the northern and southern poles, the planet glows in green. Bright red aurorae glow just above the planet’s surface at both poles. #NASA #Hubble #Jupiter #stargazing #astronomy #astrophotography #planet #space

Chomp, chomp... #HappyHalloween! Don't worry – this isn't a space monster devouring a star. This is CB 130-3, which is a compact mass of gas and dust known as a dense core. Dense cores are actually the birthplaces of stars, because during their collapse, enough mass can accumulate in one place to reach the temperatures and densities needed to ignite hydrogen fusion – which marks the birth of a new star. Image description: An irregularly shaped bright orange cloud dense gas and dust, which appears darker and more compact at center and is outlined by thinner gas and dust in light shades of blue. A multitude of bright stars shine against a black background. Image credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA & STScI, C. Britt, T. Huard, A. Pagan #NASAHalloween #NASA #Hubble #Halloween #space #stars #science #nebula #astronomy #universe

These images are pretty crab-tivating. 🦀 The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant (the "leftovers" of a star's explosive death) that's about 6,500 light-years away. Hubble has observed this nebula several times (including the first image seen here in visible light), helping scientists learn more about the lives and deaths of stars. Plus, astronomers will have newer Hubble data to review within the next year or so from the telescope’s reimaging of the Crab Nebula, which can be compared and analyzed alongside @NASAWebb data. Swipe over to find Webb's new infrared image of the same nebula. In this region of light, Webb reveals new details, including what's known as synchrotron radiation. Seen as the milky smoke-like material throughout the nebula's center, this radiation is caused by the nebula's pulsar (a rapidly rotating neutron star). The pulsar’s strong magnetic field accelerates particles to extremely high speeds and causes them to emit radiation as they wind around magnetic field lines. Image descriptions/credits: A side-by-side-comparison of the Crab Nebula as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope in optical light (first image) and the James Webb Space Telescope in infrared light (second image). In both images, the oval nebula’s complex structure lies against a black background. On the nebula’s exterior, particularly at the top left and bottom left, lie curtains of glowing red and orange fluffy material. Interior to this outer shell lie large-scale loops of mottled filaments of yellow-white and green, studded with clumps and knots. In the Hubble image, the central interior of the nebula glows brightly, while the Webb image shows translucent thin ribbons of smoky white in the same area. Around and within the supernova remnant are many points of blue-white light in the Hubble image, and blue, red, and yellow light in the Webb image. Hubble image credit: NASA, ESA, J. Hester, A. Loll (Arizona State University) Webb image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, T. Temim (Princeton University) #NASA #Hubble #Webb #science #space #stars #nebula #astronomy #universe #cosmos

A galactic tango! This striking #HubbleFriday image captures the gravitationally-interacting galaxy pair known as Arp-Madore 2339-661. They are more peculiar than first meets the eye, as there are three galaxies interacting here rather than two. The third, a knot-like structure called NGC7733N, is visible in the upper arm of NGC7733 (the smaller galaxy on the lower-right) from Earth's perspective, making them look like the same object at first glance. All three galaxies lie quite close to each other, roughly 500 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Tucana. Learn more at the link in our bio! Image description: Two spiral galaxies. Each glows brightly in the center, where a bar stretches from side to side. The upper one is rounder, and its arms form two thin rings. The lower galaxy is flatter and its arms make one outer ring; a dusty knot atop its upper arm marks out a third object. Gravity is pulling gas and dust together where the galaxies come close. A number of small galaxies surround them on a black background. Image credit: ESA/Hubble and NASA, J. Dalcanton, Dark Energy Survey/ DOE/ FNAL/ NOIRLab/ NSF/ AURA; Acknowledgement: L. Shatz #NASA #Hubble #Friday #galaxy #space #science #stars #astronomy #universe

Art 🤝 Science Today is #InternationalArtistsDay, and we're showing off some stunning illustrations that help us visualize complicated astrophysics concepts. Artists worked with scientists to create these informative (and beautiful) pieces. In the first piece, an isolated black hole is depicted moving through our home galaxy, the Milky Way. The second shows a red hypergiant star near the end of its life, and the third is a distant galaxy with an active quasar at its center. A quasar emits exceptionally large amounts of energy generated by a supermassive black hole fueled by infalling matter. Image descriptions/credits: 1 - A black dot is surrounded by swirling, distorted stars and clouds of gas and dust. Credit: FECYT, IAC 2 - An orange-red star with its outer layers shedding off in turbulent waves of yellow-orange. Credit: NASA, ESA, Roberta Humphreys (UMN), Joseph Olmsted (STScI) 3 - A tilted galaxy with swirling, circular clouds seen in gray, pink, and blue with a bright white point of light at its center. A beam of light extends through this point. Credit: NASA, ESA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI) #NASA #Hubble #ArtistsDay #art #science #space #astronomy #artist #universe

A galaxy in all of its dusty glory! This #HubbleClassic image shows the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 1316. The complex loops of cosmic dust and star clusters shown in this image indicate the galaxy was formed from a past merger of two gas-rich galaxies. NGC 1316 was imaged with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys shortly after it was installed in 2002. Hubble’s data allowed for uniquely accurate measurements of a class of red star clusters in the galaxy, illuminating clear evidence of a major collision of two spiral galaxies in NGC 1316’s past. Image description: A roughly spherical haze of light glows against a field of stars, interlaced with dark brown dust. Image credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: P. Goudfrooij (STScI) #NASA #Hubble #classic #space #stars #galaxy #astronomy #universe #cosmos

Happy International #ObserveTheMoon Night! 🌕 This night occurs every year in September or October, when the Moon is around its first quarter phase ― which is an ideal phase for evening observing. But if you can't look tonight, Hubble has you covered with its own Moon shots! This one shows the Aristarchus crater, one of the Moon's youngest and largest craters. It's about 26 miles (42 km) in diameter and approximately two miles (3.2 km) deep. Image description: A large and deep crater on the Moon, seen close-up in light gray. It's surrounded by more level surface of the Moon, appearing in darker gray hues. Image credit: NASA, ESA, and J. Garvin (NASA/GSFC) #NASA #Hubble #InternationalObserveTheMoonNight #Moon #space #science #stargazing #telescope #astronomy

Time to meet the galaxy IC 5332 face-on. Spiraling in this #HubbleFriday image, IC 5332's "face-on" orientation to Earth means that its appearance is circular and disk-shaped, rather than squashed and oval-shaped, which would be considered "edge-on." IC 5332 is located about 30 million light-years away in the constellation Sculptor. For additional information, visit the link in our bio! Image description: A close-in view of a spiral galaxy. We see it face-on, showing its circular shape and tightly winding spiral arms. The galaxy glows brightly in the center and dims to cool colors toward the edge. Dark, faint filaments of dust and brightly-glowing pink and orange bubbles of star formation mark the face of the galaxy. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Chandar, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST team #NASA #Hubble #Friday #galaxy #space #science #stars #astronomy #universe

A butterfly in the stars 🦋 The Butterfly Nebula, also known as NGC 6302, was created by a dying star casting off its outer layers of material. The “wings” are regions of gas heated to more than 36,000 degrees Fahrenheit that are tearing across space at more than 600,000 miles an hour! Music credit: “Distant Stars” by Benji Paul Merrison [PRS] and Will Slater [PRS] via BBC Production Music [PRS] and Universal Production Music #NASA #Hubble #butterfly #space #science #reels #cosmos #universe #astronomy #nebula

In a galaxy 160,000 light-years away, a star about 50 times more massive than our Sun exploded. This #HubbleClassic shows the aftermath – a turbulent, chaotic tangle of gas and dust known as supernova remnant N 63A. Find more Hubble images and information at the link in our bio! Image description: A field of stars mingles with dark green and blue dust. Near the top center, a bright tangle of gas glows in white and orange. Image credit: NASA, ESA, HEIC, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: Y.-H. Chu and R. M. Williams (UIUC) #NASA #Hubble #classic #stars #space #supernova #nebula #astronomy #universe