Universe - NASA Science

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Stars

Giant balls of hot gas that burn for millions to billions of years.

Black Holes

Concentrations of matter with gravity so powerful not even light can escape.

Looking like a pinwheel, this face-on spiral galaxy holds a bright-white core at image center. Arms curve outward from the core. They hold dark dust lanes and bright star-forming regions. All on a black background dotted with stars.

Galaxies

Collections of stars, planets, and vast clouds of gas and dust bound together by gravity.

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NASA’s EXCITE Mission Prepared for Scientific Balloon Flight

An infrared telescope called EXCITE will fly to the edge of space for a test flight. In the future, it will study the atmospheric characteristics of hot Jupiter-type exoplanets.

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Photo of EXCITE’s infrared detector on a lab bench.

The EXCITE infrared detector, shown here, was once a flight candidate from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRSpec (Near InfraRed Spectrograph) instrument. Before being added to the mission’s spectrometer assembly, it was mounted to a copper base and topped with a protective black case. The detector allows EXCITE to collect spectroscopic measurements from 1 to 4 microns — the near-infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.

NASA/Sophia Roberts

The Pillars of Creation and the Interplay of Stars and Dust

Using data from Hubble, Webb, Spitzer, and Chandra, this scientific visualization explores the iconic Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula, and the various ways that stars and dust are intertwined in the process of star formation.

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Primary Instrument for Roman Space Telescope Arrives at NASA Goddard

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5 min read

How NASA Citizen Science Fuels Future Exoplanet Research

K2-33b, shown in this illustration, is one of the youngest exoplanets detected to date using NASA's Kepler Space Telescope.

A young woman holds a water bottle in front of a doorway with the words "Mission Operations Center" overhead.

5 min read

How Students Learn to Fly NASA’s IXPE Spacecraft

Article2 weeks ago

The image depicts a celestial scene, with a bright, luminous star dominating the background. In the center of the image, a small, dark, rocky planet is seen transiting in front of the star, creating a stark contrast between the bright light of the star and the silhouette of the planet. Surrounding the star and planet, the background is filled with countless tiny stars scattered across the vast expanse of space. The star appears to radiate a soft glow, with a bright halo of light around it, emphasizing the planet's position as it passes in front of the star. The overall scene evokes a sense of the vastness and beauty of the cosmos.

4 min read

Talented Teams Tackle Toasty Planet

Article2 weeks ago

This artist's concept shows a hypothetical white dwarf, left, that has exploded as a supernova, represented as a large fluffy circular mass. At right is a much smaller red circle, representing the fast-moving object CWISE J1249.

4 min read

NASA Citizen Scientists Spot Object Moving 1 Million Miles Per Hour

Article3 weeks ago

Repair Kit for NASA’s NICER Mission Heading to Space Station

In May 2023, the NICER X-ray telescope developed a “light leak,” where unwanted sunlight began entering the telescope. Photos taken on board the International Space Station revealed damage to several thermal shields beneath the telescope’s sunshields. Now a repair kit is on the way to the station, where astronauts will install patches during a spacewalk.

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