Hubble telescope

Hubble Space Telescope Sees Evidence of Water Vapor Venting Off Jupiter Moon

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Dec. 12, 2013 — NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has observed water vapor above the frigid south polar region of Jupiter's moon Europa, providing the first strong evidence of water plumes erupting off the moon's surface.

Previous scientific findings from other sources already point to the existence of an ocean located under Europa's icy crust. Researchers are not yet fully certain whether the detected water vapor is generated by erupting water plumes on the surface, but they are confident this is the most likely explanation.

In 2005, NASA's Cassini orbiter detected jets of water vapor and dust spewing off the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus. Although ice and dust particles have subsequently been found in the Enceladus plumes, only water vapor gases have been measured at Europa so far.

More on: ScienceDaily.com

Hubble Space Telescope Spots Strange Asteroid with 6 Tails of Dust

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By: Marcia Dunn, 11/08/2013

New Asteroid Spotted

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- This is one strange asteroid. The Hubble Space Telescope has discovered a six-tailed asteroid in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Scientists say they've never seen anything like it. Incredibly, the comet-like tails change shape as the asteroid sheds dust. The streams have occurred over several months.

 

A research team led by the University of California, Los Angeles, believes the asteroid, designated P/2013 P5, is rotating so much that its surface is flying apart. It's believed to be a fragment of a larger asteroid damaged in a collision 200 million years ago. Scientists using the Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii spotted the asteroid in August. Hubble picked out all the tails in September. The discovery is described in this week's issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters.

 

For more on this story visit http://www.wunderground.com/news/hubble-asteroid-six-tails-20131108

Hubble's Best Ever View of a Giant Cosmic... Doughnut?

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News.discovery.com - 5/13/13, Jason Major

 

 

New Hubble image of the Ring Nebula (Messier 57). Credit: NASA, ESA, and C. Robert O’Dell (Vanderbilt University).

One of the more well-known objects within our galaxy, the Ring Nebula has been observed by astronomers since the late 1700s. It is a definitive planetary nebula, visible from Earth as a bright and multi-colored ring of material violently expelled from a sun-like star reaching the end of its life. Looking like a gigantic cosmic eye, the Ring Nebula has been imaged countless times — but new observations with the Hubble Space Telescope have finally revealed its true shape.

It’s a big doughnut.

 

For more on this story please see Discovery.com

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