Van Gogh found in Space ` - Jun 8, 2007

This image resembling Vincent van Gogh's painting, "Starry Night," is an expanding halo of light around a distant star, named V838 Monocerotis (V838 Mon). This Hubble Telescope image was obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on February 8, 2004.

Chandra and Hubble See Direct Evidence of Dark Matter ` - May 14, 2007

The dark matter distribution (in blue) as seen by the gravitational lensing of background galaxies by the rich cluster 1E 0657-56 is offset from the baryonic mass (in pink) as seen with Chandra.

Saturn and moons seen from Titan ` - Mar 19, 2007

Shown above is a hydrocarbon lake and Saturn through a hole in the clouds above. These artist renderings by Kees Veenenbos are based on real spacecraft data.

Astronomers Create 3D Map of Dark Matter ` - Jan 9, 2007

Astronomers have mapped the positions of vast, invisible isles of dark matter in the sky, within which normal "bright" matter galaxies are embedded like glittering gems. The three-dimensional map spans not only space, but also time, and stretches back to when the universe was only about half its present age.

Chandra Mosaic of the Galactic Center ` - Jul 27, 2006

New X-ray image shows the Arches, Quintuplet, and the GC star clusters near the super-massive black hole Sagittarius A*.

HST Finds Second Disk Around Beta Pic ` - Jun 27, 2006

Hubble ACS high-resolution coronographic images of the nearby A-type star Beta Pictoris reveal two edge-on dusty debris disks.

Pluto's Two Small Moons Officially Named Nix and Hydra ` - Jun 26, 2006

A pair of small moons that the Hubble Space Telescope discovered orbiting Pluto now have official names: Nix and Hydra. Nix and Hydra are roughly 5,000 times fainter than Pluto and are about two and three times farther from Pluto than its large moon, Charon, discovered in 1978.

Edge-On Lenticular Galaxy NGC 5866 ` - Jun 26, 2006

HST ACS image of the edge-on S0 galaxy NGC 5866 reveals a crisp dust lane, a reddish bulge surrounding a bright nucleus, a blue disk of stars running parallel to the dust lane, and a transparent outer halo.

Red Spot Jr. ` - May 5, 2006

HST Advanced Camera for Surveys image of Red Spot, Jr. taken in April, 2006. The new storm (center left), which may indicate a major climate change in Jupiter's atmosphere, is one-half the diameter of the Great Red Spot (far right).

Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 ` - May 1, 2006

For years, astronomers have been tracking the breakup of Comet 73P (Schwassmann-Wachmann 3). HST and ground-based images reveal more than three dozen major fragments.