Hubble Space Telescope Captures Image of A Lightsaber In Space

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured an image that resembles a lightsaber.

This cosmic object that seems to copy the iconic weapon of a Jedi can be found in the Orion B Molecular Complex in the constellation Orion, 1350 light years away. This object is a result of jets of gas and dust that are spewn out by a newly formed star. These lightsaber like objects are called Herbig-Haro Objects.

This particular object in the image is HH24.

Herbig-Haro Objects are young stars that occasionally blast off hot gas and other material into space. It is a result of stars ejecting materials that collides with nearby clouds of gas and dusty at very high speeds. Herbig–Haro objects are generally found in star-forming regions. Several are often seen around a single star and is aligned along its rotational axis.

Herbig-Haro objects are named after George Herbig and Guillermo Haro who first studied them in detail. The two astronomers (independent of each other) were studying star formations when they came upon these objects. They both recognized that these were a by-product of the star formation process.

Dark Matter Interactions Observed in Galaxy Collision at Abell 3827

While studying the simultaneous collision of four galaxies in the galaxy cluster Abell 3827, the European Southern Observatory's VLT and NASA/ESA's Hubble Space Telescope may have, for the first time, observed dark matter interactions with other dark matter.

The nature of dark matter is still a mystery but it is believed that it comprises 85% of the Universe’s mass; the rest being "normal matter". Without dark matter, galaxies would not be able to hold itself together and would fling themselves apart while they rotate. Dark matter keeps these galaxies together due to the constraining effect of its' gravity.

Researches observed that during the collision, one clump of dark matter appeared to be lagging behind the galaxy it surrounds. The dark matter is currently 5000 light-years behind the galaxy.

Dark matter has always been observed interacting with gravity but the computer simulation of the four galaxy collision at Abell 3827 show that extra friction from the collision would slow down dark matter and that the nature of that interaction is not gravity and still is unknown. It is also uncertain how long it took for the collision to happen.The friction that slowed the dark matter could have been a very weak force acting over about a billion years, or a relatively stronger force acting for “only” 100 million years.

Twenty Years Later: Hubble Telescope Recaptures Pillars of Creation in HD

The Pillars of Creation is one of the most memorable and iconic images taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Telescope in 1995.

Now, 20 years after the image was taken, the Hubble telescope returned to that location and took an even clearer and amazing image of the Pillars of Creation in HD. Watch accompanying video (Hubblecast 82) for more details.

The Pillars of Creation is a part of Messier 16 or the Eagle Nebula. Nebulas are clouds of gas and dust in space where stars and planets start to form. It is believed that our own Sun was formed in a similar region resembling the Pillars.

The new mage of the Pillars of Creation is so iconic that it is not unnatural to see the image in movies, t-shirts, stamps, and accessories. Its release marks the 25th year of the Hubble Telescope in orbit and was presented at the 225th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle, Washington, USA.

Distant Galaxy Collision Imaged Through Gravitational Lensing

The European Southern observatory and with the help of other agencies, has imaged a galactic collission that happened when the Universe was half its age using gravitational lensing.

Using state of the art instruments from all around the world, on the ground and in space, ESO has imaged galaxy H-ATLAS J142935.3-002836 in collision with another galaxy.

With the help of gravitational lensing which uses Einstein's theory that light can be bent given enough mass, scientists were able to study objects which would not be visible otherwise and to directly compare local galaxies with much more remote ones, seen when the Universe was significantly younger.

The image above shows the foreground galaxy that is doing the lensing, which resembles how our home galaxy, the Milky Way, would appear if seen edge-on. But around this galaxy there is an almost complete ring — the smeared out image of a star-forming galaxy merger far beyond.

In his theory of general relativity, Einstein predicted that given enough mass, light does not travel in a straight line but will be bent in a similar way to light refracted by a normal lens.”

Gravitational lensing is done with the help of galaxies and galaxy clusters which provides the mass that deflects light from objects behind them due to their strong gravity. The magnifying properties of this effect allow astronomers to study these objects.

The collision of H-ATLAS J142935.3-002836 was gathered using three ESO telescopes, the ALMA, APEX and VISTA, and with assistance of other telescopes and surveys namely: NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, the Gemini South telescope, the Keck-II telescope, the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope, the Jansky Very Large Array, CARMA, IRAM and SDSS and WISE.

ALMA Telescope Finds Evidence of Newly Formed Dust Made from Supernova

Artist's impression of dustfilled supernova 1987A
Credit: Alexandra Angelich (NRAO/AUI/NSF)

Researchers have captured an image of supernova 1987A with newly formed dust that was not present when the supernova was discovered. The amount of new dust comprises about 25% of the Sun's mass.

This observation gives direct evidence to support the theory of the dust making abilities of a supernova. It can also explain why young and newly formed galaxies have a dusty, dusky appearance.

When the supernova was discovered in 1987, the closest observed supernova explosion since 1604, there was only a small amount of dust observed at the time. Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope, researchers discovered the amount of dust now in the supernova has significantly increased as well as huge amounts of newly formed carbon monoxide and silicon monoxide gas.

The artists impression above shows SN 1987A's inner regions in red where huge amounts of dust were detected and imaged by ALMA. This inner region is contrasted with the outer shell (lacy white and blue circles), where the energy from the supernova is colliding with the envelope of gas ejected from the star prior to its powerful detonation.

Supernova SN 1987 was first observed in February 1987 and achieved peak brightness in May of that year. SN 1987 is around 168,000 light-years away and is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Hubble Telescope Discover Clouds While Monitoring Atmospheric Weather on Distant Planet GJ1214b

The Hubble Telescope discovered evidence of high altitude clouds covering super-Earth exoplanet, GJ1214b.

The super-Earth exoplanet is about 40 light years away and can be found towards the constellation Ophiuchus. Super-Earth planets have up to ten times the mass of the planet Earth and GJ1214b is bout 6.5 times the mass of Earth. Temperatures on the planet have been found to go up as high as 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Super-Earths are still a mystery since there are no such planets in the Solar System. Even the physical nature of these planets are still unknown. The presence of an atmosphere, while found in exoplanets, is rare in the Solar System; only Earth and Jupiter moon Titan have an atmosphere.

The Hubble Space Telescope data reveal that the clouds covering GJ1241b may be high altitude clouds made of potassium chloride or zinc sulfide. These clouds also prevent the observation of the composition and behavior of the lower atmosphere and its surface.

Exoplanet HD 189733b Determined to be Color Blue Like the Earth

A planet discovered in 2005 in the constellation of Vulpecula (the Fox) was determined to be colored blue with the help of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The blue colored planet is similar to how the Earth's color looks like from space.

The planet, HD 189733b which is a huge gas giant similar to the planet Jupiter, is 63 light years away and is closely orbiting its host star; around 1/30 the distance the Earth orbits the Sun. Although the planet comes off with a deep cobalt blue color, its atmosphere is vastly different from that of the Earth. The HD 189733b's atmosphere has a temperature of over 1000 degrees Celsius, and it rains glass, sideways, in howling 7000 kilometre-per-hour winds. HD 189733b is slightly bigger than the planet Jupiter.

Scientists have determined that the blue color of the planet is because of silicate particles in its atmosphere which scatters blue light. These particles, along with condensates of iron and aluminium oxide dust (which the mineral sapphire is made up of), also contributes to a hazy red sunset when seen from the planet.

By measuring how much radiation is reflected, a technique known as Albedo, scientists can determine the amount of light reflected. This value ranges from 0 to 1, with 1 being perfect reflectivity and 0 being a completely black surface. The Earth has an albedo of around 0.4. HD 189733b is observed to have an albedo of 0.40 ± 0.12 at a wavelength of 290–450 nm.

Possible Variable Fine Structure Constant Tested On A White Dwarf Star

Scientists are using the Hubble Space Telescope and a White Dwarf Star (G191-B2B) to test if the Fine Structure Constant, or alpha (α) is not really constant.

The Fine Structure Constant is defined as the charge of an electron squared over the product of Planck's constant multiplied by the speed of light. The resulting value is 1/137 or 7.2973525698(24)×10⁻³.

This constant shows the probability of an electron absorbing a photon or simply the strength of the electromagnetic force exerted in an interaction. It relates to three important aspects of physics, electromagnetism, relativity, and quantum mechanics (through Planck's constant).

The importance of the Fine Structure Constant (α) relates to the existence of life. If the value of α is not as it is, life or intelligent life as it is now, would not exist. A 4% change in the value of α would mean that stellar fusion would not create carbon, making carbon based life impossible. If α were > 0.1, stellar fusion would be impossible and no place in the universe would be warm enough for life as we know it.

Using a white dwarf star with a gravity 30,000 times more than the Earth, scientists are measuring the strength of the electromagnetic force with the help of the Hubble Space Telescope. They will compare that value to that measured on Earth to determine if the Fine Structure Constant is really not constant and that it varies across the Universe.

Starburst Galaxies Effect Far Into The Universe Than Initially Believed

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have shown for the first time that bursts of star formation have a major impact far beyond the boundaries of their host galaxy. These energetic events can affect galactic gas at distances of up to twenty times greater than the visible size of the galaxy — altering how the galaxy evolves, and how matter and energy is spread throughout the Universe.

Scientists observing 20 galaxies undergoing a starburst noted that they have an ionizing effect on gases as far as 650,000 light years from its center. Ionized gas is a gas that have lost one or more electrons. In a starburst, the electrons are lost when energetic winds from the starburst excites the galactic gas and knocks the electrons out of the atoms within.

A galaxy that is experiencing a very high rate of stars being formed within it is known as a starburst galaxy. Within a starburst galaxy, the rate of star formation is so high that the galaxy consumes all of its gas. They are known as starbursts because of the frantic episodes of activity when stars are formed.

The burst is triggered by certain events such as being in close proximity with another galaxy, colliding with another galaxy, or by a process where interstellar material is forced into the center of the galaxy. Most stars formed in a starburst burn very bright and very fast. They are likely candidates to explode into a supernova at the end of its life cycle.

Studying the Evolution of a Supernova Through Supernova Remnant 1987A

Astronomers are intensively studying Supernova Remnant 1987A to find out more about the inner workings of stars, supernovas, and how they interact with the surroundings.

A supernova is an astronomical event where a star runs out of fuel or reaches critical mass and explodes. The explosion from a supernova can expel stellar materials at a rate of about 30,000 kilometers per second (10% of the speed of light).

After the explosion, what is left of the star is a structure called a Supernova Remnant (SNR). The boundaries of a SNR is based on the shockwave from the supernova and is made up of the ejected stellar material of dust and gas.

One of the most popular and well known supernova remnant is the Crab Nebula. Most supernova remnants are named after objects or animals they resemble. Just recently, a SNR was discovered that resembled a Florida Manatee.

In early 1987, a supernova erupted in the Large Magellanic Cloud and afterwards formed the Supernova Remnant 1987A. It was the closest exploding star observed in modern times.

Hubble Space Telescope Captures Image of LHC 120-N 11 in the Large Magellanic Cloud

The Hubble Space Telescope captures an image of LHC 120-N 11, a region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy 200,000 light years from Earth. (Image by Hubble/ESA)

The Large Magellanic Cloud is an irregular galaxy but has a clearly visible bar, and a single spiral-arm-like structure. These properties are similar to that of spiral galaxies leading to the belief that the LMC was once a small spiral galaxy but was pulled out of shape by the gravitational effect of the Milky Way.