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Digital Trends
14-05-2025
- Science
- Digital Trends
Gorgeous cotton candy clouds show how Hubble processes space images
This stunning new image from the Hubble Space Telescope might look like cotton candy, but in fact it's part of a nebula in a next door galaxy. Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way which is around 160,000 light-years away, this nebula consists of dust and gas that glows in different colors which indicate different physical processes at work. If you're curious about how Hubble produces such vivid and colorful images and whether the colors are real or not, it helps to understand how telescope cameras work. Unlike the camera on your phone, for example, Hubble doesn't just point at an object and snap an image. Instead, its instruments like the Wide Field Camera 3, which produced this image, take multiple observations of the same object using different filters. Recommended Videos Each filter restricts the light being observed to just particular wavelengths. In this case, five different filters were used, covering wavelengths that the human eye can see, called optical wavelengths, as well as some in the ultraviolet and infrared. With multiple observations of the same object at different wavelengths, each of which is in black and white, the observations can then be combined to create a single colored image, which you can see in full size below. 'When image-processing specialists combine raw filtered data into a multi-coloured image like this one, they assign a colour to each filter. Visible-light observations are typically matched to the colour that the filter allows through. Shorter wavelengths of light such as ultraviolet are usually coloured blue or purple, while longer wavelengths like infrared are typically coloured red,' Hubble scientists explain. 'This colour scheme closely represents reality while adding new information from the portions of the electromagnetic spectrum that humans cannot see.' The way that Hubble images are produced is similar to how the James Webb Space Telescope uses filters and combines these to create stunning pictures of otherwise invisible objects, a process which requires both scientific knowledge and a degree of artistic flair from the image processors.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Space photo of the day for May 13, 2025
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. What might look like sparkling wisps of candy floss, or cotton candy, are dusty gas clouds in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy, as imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. The pink, blue and green colors are not only beautiful to look at but can inform the viewer about the many wavelengths that comprise this photo. A part of a nebula in a dwarf galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud, the photo by the Hubble Space Telescope shows a gas cloud strewn in front of a star field. This type of view is made possible by Hubble's cameras, including the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) that was used to collect the observations for this image. WFC3 has a variety of filters, each of which lets through only specific wavelengths, or colors, of light. This image combines observations made with five of WFC3's different filters, including some that capture ultraviolet and infrared light that are outside the field of vision for the human eye. The Large Magellanic Cloud is located 160,000 light-years from Earth in the constellations Dorado and Mensa. It is the largest of the Milky Way's many small satellite galaxies. People often wonder if the colors depicted in photos like these match what humans would see if they were to travel to the location. The specialists who process Hubble's images combine the telescope's raw data to compose multi-colored images like this one. To do so, they assign a color to each wavelength filter. Visible-light observations are typically matched to the color that the filter allows through. As such, shorter wavelengths of light, such as ultraviolet, are usually colored in blue or purple hues, while longer wavelengths, like infrared, are typically shown in shades of red. This way, the images stay close to reality while adding in new information from the portions of the electromagnetic spectrum that humans cannot see with our eyes alone. You can read more about the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Hubble Space Telescope. You can also learn more about how Hubble Space Telescope images are made.
USA Today
24-04-2025
- Science
- USA Today
Hubble Space Telescope's 35th anniversary: See NASA's new out-of-this-world images
Hubble Space Telescope's 35th anniversary: See NASA's new out-of-this-world images The Hubble Space Telescope, launched 35 years ago, has blown our minds with its striking images of far-away galaxies, black holes and planets including Jupiter and Mars. Show Caption Hide Caption Hubble snaps photo of dusty Magellanic cloud in Tarantula nebula New image from the Hubble Space Telescope peers into a dusty region of space - home to some of the largest stars know to man. During its 35 years of orbiting the Earth, the Hubble Space Telescope has transmitted endless streams of magnificent images, confirmed the existence of "dark matter," and helped track a vagabond black hole moving through the Milky Way. To celebrate the Hubble telescope's 35th anniversary, NASA released some striking new images on Wednesday, including a bold rendition of Mars and a stunning photo of a moth-shaped nebula with a white dwarf star in the middle. Built by Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale, California, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched on the space shuttle Discovery from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 24, 1990. Since it orbits above the Earth, it can capture better cosmic images than telescopes on the ground. Hubble has made more than 1.6 million observations over the course of its lifetime, NASA says. And Hubble's discoveries have spawned more than 21,000 peer-reviewed science papers. The James Webb Space Telescope, which orbits the sun, has captured much space news attention, but it certainly hasn't put Hubble out of business. What is the Hubble Space Telescope? The Hubble telescope was designed to be the first space-based observatory, which could be serviced and upgraded while it remained in orbit. It was named after Edwin Hubble, the astronomer who showed that other galaxies existed beyond our own and came up with a classification scheme distinguishing galaxies by shape. About the same size as a school bus, the Hubble telescope uses three types of instruments to capture images across the universe: Cameras: Hubble has two cameras – the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), which is primarily used for visible-light imaging, according to NASA. The Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) views infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths for higher resolution, deeper images. The ACS was repaired and the WFC3 was installed during a May 2009 servicing mission involving five spacewalks by astronauts from the space shuttle Atlantis. Hubble has two cameras – the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), which is primarily used for visible-light imaging, according to NASA. The Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) views infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths for higher resolution, deeper images. The ACS was repaired and the WFC3 was installed during a May 2009 servicing mission involving five spacewalks by astronauts from the space shuttle Atlantis. Spectrographs: The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph is the most sensitive ultraviolet spectrograph ever, capturing light and breaking it down to assess temperature, density, chemical composition, and velocity of objects, such as stars and quasars. The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, also repaired in 2009, captures many forms of light, including ultraviolet to near-infrared light. The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph is the most sensitive ultraviolet spectrograph ever, capturing light and breaking it down to assess temperature, density, chemical composition, and velocity of objects, such as stars and quasars. The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, also repaired in 2009, captures many forms of light, including ultraviolet to near-infrared light. Interferometers: The telescope has three Fine Guidance Sensors used to target and measure the relative positions and brightness of stars. Mike Snider is a reporter on USA TODAY's Trending team. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @ & @mikesnider & msnider@ What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Space photo of the week: Hubble zooms in on the glittering galaxy next door
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. What it is: The Small Magellanic Cloud, a nearby dwarf galaxy Where it is: 200,000 light-years away, in the constellations Tucana and Hydrus When it was shared: March 21, 2025 Why it's so special: The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is one of our galaxy's closest neighbors and is visible to the naked eye, yet most humans will never see it. The dwarf galaxy, which contains just several hundred million stars, compared with the Milky Way's 100 billion stars, can be seen only from the Southern Hemisphere as a cloudy patch in the night sky. Related: 'Bull's-eye!' Hubble telescope spots record-shattering 9-ring galaxy — and the cosmic 'dart' that smashed through its center The SMC is close to the bigger Large Magellanic Cloud and is best seen from November to January — unless you're the Hubble Space Telescope, which recently zoomed in on the SMC to reveal its intricate structure. Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 used its four filters and the observatory's 8-foot (2.4 meters) mirror to capture various wavelengths of light to create this colorful view of clouds of gas and dust illuminated by the light of young stars in the SMC. The image shows the center of NGC 346, an open star cluster where new stars are born. Previous studies found about 2,500 infant stars in NGC 346 that have formed from gravitationally collapsing gas clouds. However, they have yet to become full-fledged stars. MORE SPACE PHOTOS —James Webb telescope reveals 'cosmic tornado' in best detail ever — and finds part of it is not what it seems —James Webb telescope captures auroras on Neptune for first time ever —NASA reveals a sunset on the moon in high definition for the 1st time As a star factory, the SMC fascinates astronomers because it lacks the heavier elements found in large galaxies like the Milky Way. These heavy elements are the byproducts of multiple generations of stars — something the SMC has lacked due to its small size. Dwarf galaxies like the SMC are thought of as primitive building blocks of larger galaxies. In that way, the SMC is a unique and very close example of what was happening in the early universe. For more sublime space images, check out our Space Photo of the Week archives.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
James Webb telescope zooms in on bizarre 'Einstein ring' caused by bending of the universe
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured a stunning image of a bizarre astronomical optical illusion. This "rare cosmic phenomenon", called an Einstein ring, appears as a single eye-like orb in the darkness of space, but is actually a distorted view of two distant galaxies in the constellation Hydrus. In the bright center of this cosmic spectacle is one galaxy, while the stretched orange and blue color surrounding it is the light from another galaxy located behind it. The light from the more distant galaxy looks like a ring because it has been distorted by gravitational lensing. Gravitational lensing occurs when the gravity of a massive object — like a galaxy or a black hole — bends the light from a more distant object. This effect is a direct consequence of Einstein's theory of relativity, which states that mass warps the fabric of space-time, causing light to follow curved paths, like a ball rolling down a curved slope. "This effect is much too subtle to be observed on a local level, but it sometimes becomes clearly observable when dealing with curvatures of light on enormous, astronomical scales," ESA representatives wrote in a statement. This latest image was released by ESA and the Canadian Space Agency today (March 27) as their March picture of the month. It was captured by JWST's Near-InfraRed Camera instrument and also includes data from the Wide Field Camera 3 and the Advanced Camera for Surveys instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope. Related: 42 jaw-dropping James Webb Space Telescope images Einstein rings like these are created when the distant light source, the massive lensing object, and the observer are perfectly aligned, resulting in the light appearing as a complete ring wrapped around the lensing object. As a result, they are rare. In this case, the elliptical galaxy in the foreground — which is part of a galaxy cluster named SMACSJ0028.2-7537 — is so massive that it is bending the light of the spiral galaxy situated far behind it. "Even though its image has been warped as its light travelled around the galaxy in its path, individual star clusters and gas structures are clearly visible," according to the statement The fascinating phenomenon of gravitational lensing also allows astronomers to better understand the universe. RELATED STORIES —James Webb telescope captures auroras on Neptune for first time ever —James Webb telescope reveals 'cosmic tornado' in best detail ever — and finds part of it is not what it seems —'Unlike any objects we know': Scientists get their best-ever view of 'space tornadoes' howling at the Milky Way's center Light emitted from distant galaxies, which existed long ago in the past, is often too faint to be observed directly from Earth. Strong gravitational lensing magnifies these galaxies, making them appear larger and brighter, and allowing astronomers to study some of the first galaxies formed after the Big Bang. "Objects like these are the ideal laboratory in which to research galaxies too faint and distant to otherwise see," the ESA statement noted. Additionally, because black holes and dark matter don't emit light, scientists can use gravitational lensing to detect and study these phenomena by measuring how they bend and magnify background stars.
