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| Exploring the digital Universe with Europe's Astrophysical Virtual Observatory [heic0115] |
| A new European initiative called the Astrophysical Virtual Observatory (AVO) is being launched to provide astronomers with a breathtaking potential for new discoveries. It will enable them to seamlessly combine the data from both ground- and space-based telescopes which are making observations of the Universe across the whole range of wavelengths - from high-energy gamma rays through the ultraviolet and visible to the infrared and radio. |
| Date: 05 Dec 2001 |
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| First image and spectrum of a Dark Matter object [heic0116] |
| Astronomers have observed a Dark Matter object
directly for the first time. Images and spectra of a MACHO microlens -
a nearby dwarf star that gravitationally focuses light from a star in
another galaxy - were taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and
the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope. The result is
a strong confirmation of the theory that a large fraction of Dark
Matter exists as small, faint stars in galaxies such as our Milky Way. |
| Date: 05 Dec 2001 |
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| Painting with oxygen and hydrogen [heic0114] |
| A new image from the Hubble Space Telescope is an example of 'painting with light'. Astronomers use the separated colours produced by oxygen and hydrogen to investigate star-forming processes in the nebula NGC 2080. The colours explain much about the nature of such nebulae. |
| Date: 18 Oct 2001 |
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| Gravitational lens helps Hubble and Keck discover galaxy building block [heic0113] |
| A very small, faint galaxy - possibly one of the long
sought `building blocks' of present-day galaxies - has been
discovered by a collaboration between the Hubble Space Telescope and the Keck Telescopes at a tremendous distance of 13.4 billion light-years (based on the estimate of 14 billion years as the age of the Universe). The discovery was made possible by examining small areas
of sky viewed through massive intervening clusters of galaxies. These
act as a powerful gravitational lens, magnifying distant objects and
allowing scientists to probe how galaxies assemble at very early
times. This has profound implications for our understanding of how
and when the first stars and galaxies formed in the Universe. |
| Date: 05 Oct 2001 |
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| Greater accuracy deepens understanding - Hubble's Faint Object Spectrograph re-calibrated [heic0112] |
| The dedicated team effort to understand and correct
systematic effects in observations from Hubble's Faint Object
Spectrograph has now been concluded. In future astronomers who use
the observations from this instrument will be able to measure the
exact velocity of interstellar clouds, as well as the motions of
individual parts of nebulae and galaxies. This will for instance lead
to better determinations of black hole masses. |
| Date: 11 Sep 2001 |
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| Hubble reveals previously unseen shocks [heic0111] |
| A new, detailed Hubble image of a planetary nebula in
the making shows for the first time the complex gas structures
predicted by theory. Astronomers are thrilled by observations showing
the violent gas collisions that give rise to supersonic shock fronts.
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| Date: 24 Aug 2001 |
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| Virtual Telescope Observes Record-Breaking Asteroid New data show that '2001 KX76' is larger than Ceres [heic0110] |
| Ceres, the first asteroid (minor planet) to be discovered in the Solar System, has held the record as the largest known object of its kind for two centuries. However, recent observations at the European Southern Observatory with the worlds first operational virtual telescope, Astrovirtel, have determined that the newly discovered distant asteroid '2001 KX76' is significantly larger, with a diameter of 1200 km, possibly even 1400 km. |
| Date: 23 Aug 2001 |
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| Surfing in Sagittarius not for the faint-hearted! [heic 0109] |
| Hubble observations have revealed huge waves sculpted in the Red Spider Nebula. This warm
and windy planetary nebula harbours one of the hottest stars in the Universe and its powerful
stellar winds generate waves 100 billion kilometres high intimidating for even the bravest space surfers. |
| Date: 24 Jul 2001 |
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| Hubble images remarkable double cluster [heic0108] |
| The Double Cluster NGC 1850 found in one of our neighbouring galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud, is an eye-catching object. It is a young globular-like star cluster a type of object unknown in our own Milky Way galaxy. Moreover, NGC 1850 is surrounded by a pattern of filamentary nebulosity thought to have been created during supernova blasts. |
| Date: 10 Jul 2001 |
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| Hint of planet-sized drifters bewilders Hubble scientists [heic0107] |
| Piercing the heart of a globular star cluster with its needle-sharp vision, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered tantalising clues to what could potentially be a strange and unexpected population of wandering, planet-sized objects. |
| Date: 27 Jun 2001 |
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| Hubble unveils a galaxy in living colour [heic0106] |
| An extensive, multi-wavelength study with the Hubble Space Telescope has shown the many faces of the galaxy NGC 1512. Hubble's unique vantage point high above the atmosphere allows scientists to see objects over a broad range of wavelengths from the ultraviolet to the infrared.
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| Date: 31 May 2001 |
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| Eleven years in orbit: Hubble observes the popular Horsehead nebula [heic0105] |
| To celebrate its eleventh birthday, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has released an unsurpassed picture of the famous Horsehead nebula in Orion. This dark nebula is part of the large Orion Complex, birthplace to thousands of stars. |
| Date: 24 Apr 2001 |
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| Massive infant stars rock their cradle [heic0104] |
| Extremely intense radiation from newly born, ultra-bright stars has blown a glowing spherical bubble in the nebula N83B. A new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image has helped to decipher the complex interplay of gas and radiation in a star-forming region of a nearby galaxy.
The image graphically illustrates just how these massive stars sculpt their environment by generating powerful winds that alter the shape of the parent gaseous nebula. These processes
are also seen in our own Milky Way in regions like the Orion Nebula. |
| Date: 28 Mar 2001 |
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| Undress the Hubble Space Telescope with "Interactive Hubble" |
| A new Flash application has just been published on the "Goodies" page in the Hubble European
Space Agency Information Centre.
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| Date: 08 Mar 2001 |
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| Hubble spies huge clusters of stars formed by ancient encounter [heic0103] |
| Beautiful, detailed Hubble images of the centre of the prototypical starburst galaxy M82 point to a
violent past. An ancient burst of star formation that gave birth to more than 100 super star clusters
is linked to a violent encounter with the galaxy's large neighbour, M81. |
| Date: 07 Mar 2001 |
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| Hubble Zooms In on Bar of Favourite Spring Spiral Galaxy [heic0102] |
| Astronomers have long suspected that the bar systems that dominate the appearance of some spiral galaxies provide an efficient mechanism for fuelling star births at their centres. New results from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope provide evidence that this is indeed the case. |
| Date: 27 Feb 2001 |
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| Ants in space? - Tantalising detail in ant-shaped nebula illuminates last moments of Sun-like stars [heic0101] |
| Observed from ground-based telescopes, the so-called 'ant
nebula' (Menzel 3, or Mz3) resembles the head and thorax of a common
garden ant. This dramatic NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image, showing
10 times more detail, reveals the 'ant's body' as a pair of fiery lobes
protruding from a dying, Sun-like star. |
| Date: 01 Feb 2001 |
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| Uncovering the mysteries of Jupiter's aurora [heic0009] |
| This week European and American researchers seize a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gather simultaneous observations from the NASA/ESA Cassini/Huygens space mission and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. |
| Date: 14 Dec 2000 |
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Three Good Reasons for Celebrating at the ESO/ST-ECF Science Archive Facility
- Great Demand for Data from New "Virtual Observatory" [heic0008] |
| Due to a happy coincidence the ESO/ST-ECF Science Archive Facility is celebrating three different milestones at the same time: its 10th anniversary, the 10,000th request for data and the signing-up of active user number 2000. |
| Date: 13 Dec 2000 |
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| ESA celebrates the discovery of infrared light |
| 200 astronomers gather in Toledo, Spain, to set the scientific agenda
for ESA's next infrared space telescope
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| Date: 06 Dec 2000 |
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