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io9This is the most important star in the universe
This star may not look like much, but in 1923 it changed our understanding of the universe forever. It showed us that the Milky Way wasn’t a lonely island universe, but instead just one of billions and billions of galaxies. It seems weird to think that less than a hundred years ago we still had … Continued
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io9
Here’s what the glow of 100 billion stars looks like
This classic image of the Sombrero Galaxy, taken by the Hubble Telescope, shows you the globe of light emitted by 100 billion stars. Sadly, we could never behold such an image with our naked eyes. As Greg Laughlin of UC Santa Cruz points out: It’s important to remember, however, that the Hubble image is actually … Continued
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io9
Hubble Telescope Confirms The Universe Is Getting Bigger, Faster
Instead of contracting to a Big Crunch, the universe may actually keep on expanding forever at a faster and faster rate. Now astronomers believe they have confirmed that this universal expansion is accelerating. An international team of researchers used the Hubble Telescope to chart almost half a million galaxies and map out the spread of … Continued
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ScienceSpace & SpaceflightRare Photos of Saturn’s Aurorae Captured For The Last Time By Hubble
At first glance, I thought Mathmos has released a new mood light, but that glowing blue image is actually of Saturn, captured by the Hubble telescope. It’s a very rare photo, as both poles and rings are visible. You actually just make out the Northern Lights-like aurorae on both poles, which is apparently caused by … Continued
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io9
Nearby Galaxy Is Running Out Of New Stars
The Hubble telescope has detected the end of an era in the dwarf galaxy NGC 2976.The galaxy is quieting down after eons of furious star creation, with just a few stars in the galaxy’s central core continuing to form. Located just twelve million lightyears away in the M81 group, NGC 2976 should still be going … Continued
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io9
The Hubble Telescope Reveals The Oldest Galaxies Ever Seen
The Hubble Telescope‘s tour of duty is coming to an end, but it’s still good for some incredible finds. And it’s hard to top these images of ancient galaxies that date to a mere billion years after the Big Bang. The images here were taken during August 2009 over the course of 4 days and … Continued
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io9
Custom Eyeballs Can Tailor Your Eyesight to Your Career
Need to see a thousand meters in the dark? Want one eye that’s perfect for reading and another for long distances? Some eye surgeons are already at work reshaping corneas not only to fix patients’ vision, but fit their careers. Laser eye treatment is two decades old, and adept surgeons have gone far beyond giving … Continued
By Lauren Davis -
io9
Imagine The Call-Out Charge For This Repairman
After thirteen days in space, the crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis successfully repaired the Hubble Space Telescope and ensured its usefulness for the next five years – and, in the process, made menial technical work look more exciting than usual. Here’re some examples of spacesuits making everything look better. The images come from New … Continued
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io9
The Moon’s A Balloon
That’s no moon… that’s a fully opera – No, wait, it is a moon. Ganymede, in fact, as captured disappearing behind Jupiter by the Hubble Telescope. Click through for video. Although the images and movie – made from 540 stills taken over a two hour period – were only released just before Christmas, they were … Continued
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ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
Astronomers Take First Ever Pics of Other Planetary Systems
Huge astronomy news! For the first time EVER, galaxy researchers have taken pictures of planets orbiting a sun-star, much like our own. The first, taken by the much beloved Hubble Telescope, shows a planet orbiting the bright southern star Fomalhaut, located 25 light-years away in the constellation Piscis Australis. The second picture, snapped by upstaging … Continued
By Elaine Chow -
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
Hubble Resumes Operations, Sends Back Picture of Lost Starfox 64 Level
The Hubble Telescope, which was quite nearly lost this month to a combination of old age and a fritzy 486, has resumed “regular science operations” today, and sent back this spectacular picture of a pair of galaxies engaging in some kind of celestial slow dance. The mission to replace the Science Instrument Command and Data … Continued
By John Herrman -
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
Hubble’s 486 Backup Computer Wakes Up For the First Time Since 1990
Prospects were starting to look pretty grim for the venerable Hubble telescope. Following a communications breakdown, the Hubble team postponed their scheduled repair mission from October 14th until this coming February, at the earliest. Until then, the Hubble’s usable data transmission abilities were dependent on one thing: the successfully booting of a 486 backup system, … Continued
By John Herrman -
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
NASA Pics Celebrate Hubble’s 18th Birthday, Space Telescope Still Can’t Drink Beer
Eighteen years ago today, the Hubble Telescope was launched into space by the Space Shuttle Discovery. To celebrate its coming of age, NASA has released 59 high-definition breathtaking pictures of galaxies colliding across the universe. Above is ESO 99-4, a weird-shaped galaxy (probably the result of another collision) situated in the Triangulum Australe, around 400-million … Continued
By AddyDugdale