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By NASA
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveals clouds of gas and dust near the Tarantula Nebula, located in the Large Magellanic Cloud about 160,000 light-years away.ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Murray The universe is a dusty place, as this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image featuring swirling clouds of gas and dust near the Tarantula Nebula reveals. Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud about 160,000 light-years away in the constellations Dorado and Mensa, the Tarantula Nebula is the most productive star-forming region in the nearby universe, home to the most massive stars known.
The nebula’s colorful gas clouds hold wispy tendrils and dark clumps of dust. This dust is different from ordinary household dust, which may include bits of soil, skin cells, hair, and even plastic. Cosmic dust is often comprised of carbon or of molecules called silicates, which contain silicon and oxygen. The data in this image was part of an observing program that aims to characterize the properties of cosmic dust in the Large Magellanic Cloud and other nearby galaxies.
Dust plays several important roles in the universe. Even though individual dust grains are incredibly tiny, far smaller than the width of a single human hair, dust grains in disks around young stars clump together to form larger grains and eventually planets. Dust also helps cool clouds of gas so that they can condense into new stars. Dust even plays a role in making new molecules in interstellar space, providing a venue for individual atoms to find each other and bond together in the vastness of space.
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By NASA
Explore Hubble Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Hubble’s Partners in Science Universe Uncovered Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble Team Career Aspirations Hubble Astronauts News Hubble News Hubble News Archive Social Media Media Resources Multimedia Multimedia Images Videos Sonifications Podcasts e-Books Online Activities Lithographs Fact Sheets Posters Hubble on the NASA App Glossary More 35th Anniversary Online Activities 2 min read
Hubble Spies a Spiral That May Be Hiding an Imposter
The spiral galaxy UGC 5460 shines in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image. UGC 5460 sits about 60 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. ESA/Hubble & NASA, W. Jacobson-Galán, A. Filippenko, J. Mauerhan
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The sparkling spiral galaxy gracing this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image is UGC 5460, which sits about 60 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. This image combines four different wavelengths of light to reveal UGC 5460’s central bar of stars, winding spiral arms, and bright blue star clusters. Also captured in the upper left-hand corner is a far closer object: a star just 577 light-years away in our own galaxy.
UGC 5460 has hosted two recent supernovae: SN 2011ht and SN 2015as. It’s because of these two stellar explosions that Hubble targeted this galaxy, collecting data for three observing programs that aim to study various kinds of supernovae.
SN 2015as was as a core-collapse supernova: a cataclysmic explosion that happens when the core of a star far more massive than the Sun runs out of fuel and collapses under its own gravity, initiating a rebound of material outside the core. Hubble observations of SN 2015as will help researchers understand what happens when the expanding shockwave of a supernova collides with the gas that surrounds the exploded star.
SN 2011ht might have been a core-collapse supernova as well, but it could also be an impostor called a luminous blue variable. Luminous blue variables are rare stars that experience eruptions so large that they can mimic supernovae. Crucially, luminous blue variables emerge from these eruptions unscathed, while stars that go supernova do not. Hubble will search for a stellar survivor at SN 2011ht’s location with the goal of revealing the explosion’s origin.
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The Death Throes of Stars
Homing in on Cosmic Explosions
Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli (claire.andreoli@nasa.gov)
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
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Last Updated Feb 21, 2025 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Hubble Space Telescope Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Galaxies Goddard Space Flight Center Spiral Galaxies Stars Supernovae Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Hubble Space Telescope
Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.
Hubble’s Night Sky Challenge
Hubble’s Galaxies
Reshaping Our Cosmic View: Hubble Science Highlights
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By NASA
With two months to go before flight, the Apollo 13 prime crew of James Lovell, Thomas Mattingly, Fred Haise, and backups John Young, John Swigert, and Charles Duke continued to train for the 10-day mission planned to land in the Fra Mauro highlands region of the Moon. Engineers continued to prepare the Saturn V rocket and spacecraft at the launch pad for the April 11, 1970, liftoff and completed the Flight Readiness Test of the vehicle. All six astronauts spent many hours in flight simulators training while the Moon walkers practiced landing the Lunar Module and rehearsed their planned Moon walks. The crew for the next Moon landing mission, Apollo 14, participated in a geology field trip as part of their training for the flight then planned for October 1970. Meanwhile, NASA released Apollo 12 lunar samples to scientists and the Apollo 12 crew set off on a Presidential world goodwill tour.
At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers completed the Flight Readiness Test of the Apollo 13 Saturn V on Feb. 26. The test ensured that all systems are flight ready and compatible with ground support equipment, and the astronauts simulated portions of the countdown and powered flight. Successful completion of the readiness test cleared the way for a countdown dress rehearsal at the end of March.
John Young prepares for a flight aboard the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle.NASA John Young after a training flight aboard the landing trainer. NASA Fred Haise prepares for a flight at the Lunar Landing Research Facility. NASA One of the greatest challenges astronauts faced during a lunar mission entailed completing a safe landing on the lunar surface. In addition to time spent in simulators, Apollo mission commanders and their backups trained for the final few hundred feet of the descent using the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle at Ellington Air Force Base near the Manned Spacecraft Center, now NASA’s Johnson Space Center, in Houston. Bell Aerosystems of Buffalo, New York, built the trainer for NASA to simulate the flying characteristics of the Lunar Module. Lovell and Young completed several flights in February 1970. Due to scheduling constraints with the trainer, lunar module pilots trained for their role in the landing using the Lunar Landing Research Facility at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Haise and Duke completed training sessions at the Langley facility in February.
Charles Duke practices Lunar Module egress during a KC-135 parabolic flight. NASA Charles Duke rehearses unstowing equipment from the Lunar Module during a KC-135 parabolic flight. NASA The astronauts trained for moonwalks with parabolic flights aboard NASA’s KC-135 aircraft that simulated the low lunar gravity, practicing their ladder descent to the surface. On the ground, they rehearsed the moonwalks, setting up the American flag and the large S-band communications antenna, and collecting lunar samples. Engineers improved their spacesuits to make the expected longer spacewalks more comfortable for the crew members by installing eight-ounce bags of water inside the helmets for hydration.
James Lovell, left, and Fred Haise practice setting up science equipment, the American flag, and the S-band antenna.NASA Lovell, left, and Haise practice collecting rock samples. NASA John Young, left, and Charles Duke train to collect rock samples. NASA Fred Haise, left, and James Lovell practice lowering the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package from the Lunar Module.NASA Lovell, left, and Haise practice setting up the experiments. NASA Lovell, left, and Haise practice drilling for the Heat Flow Experiment. NASA During their 35 hours on the Moon’s surface, Lovell and Haise planned to conduct two four-hour spacewalks to set up the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package (ALSEP), a suite of four investigations designed to collect data about the lunar environment after the astronauts’ departure, and to conduct geologic explorations of the landing site. The four experiments included the:
Charged Particle Lunar Environment Experiment designed to measure the flexes of charged particles Cold Cathode Gauge Experiment designed to measure the pressure of the lunar atmosphere Heat Flow Experiment designed to make thermal measurements of the lunar subsurface Passive Seismic Experiment designed to measure any moonquakes, either naturally occurring or caused by artificial means As an additional investigation, the astronauts planned to deploy and retrieve the Solar Wind Composition experiment, a sheet of aluminum foil to collect particles from the solar wind for analysis by scientists back on Earth after about 20 hours of exposure on the lunar surface.
Apollo 14 astronauts Eugene Cernan, left, Joe Engle, Edgar Mitchell, and Alan Shepard with geologist Richard Jahns in the Pinacates Mountains of northern Mexico. NASA Shepard, left, Engle, Mitchell, and Cernan training with the Modular Equipment Transporter, accompanied by geologist Jahns. NASA With one lunar mission just two months away, NASA continued preparations for the following flight, Apollo 14, then scheduled for October 1970 with a landing targeted for the Littrow region of the Moon, an area scientists believed to be of volcanic origin. Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell and their backups Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Joe Engle learned spacecraft systems in the simulators. Accompanied by a team of geologists led by Richard Jahns, Shepard, Mitchell, Cernan, and Engle participated in a geology expedition to the Pinacate Mountain Range in northern Mexico Feb. 14-18, 1970. The astronauts practiced using the Modular Equipment Transporter, a two-wheeled conveyance to transport tools and samples on the lunar surface.
Mail out of the Apollo 12 lunar samples. Apollo 12 astronauts Charles Conrad, left, Richard Gordon, and Alan Bean ride in a motorcade in Lima, Peru.NASA On Feb. 13, 1970, NASA began releasing Apollo 12 lunar samples to 139 U.S. and 54 international scientists in 16 countries, a total of 28.6 pounds of material. On Feb. 16, Apollo 12 astronauts Charles Conrad, Richard Gordon, and Alan Bean, accompanied by their wives and NASA and State Department officials, departed Houston’s Ellington Air Force Base for their 38-day Bullseye Presidential Goodwill World Tour. They first traveled to Latin America, making stops in Venezuela, Peru, Chile, and Panama before continuing on to Europe, Africa, and Asia.
The groundbreaking science and discoveries made during Apollo missions has pushed NASA to explore the Moon more than ever before through the Artemis program. Apollo astronauts set up mirror arrays, or “retroreflectors,” on the Moon to accurately reflect laser light beamed at them from Earth with minimal scattering or diffusion. Retroreflectors are mirrors that reflect the incoming light back in the same incoming direction. Calculating the time required for the beams to bounce back allowed scientists to precisely measure the Moon’s shape and distance from Earth, both of which are directly affected by Earth’s gravitational pull. More than 50 years later, on the cusp of NASA’s crewed Artemis missions to the Moon, lunar research still leverages data from those Apollo-era retroreflectors.
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By NASA
Explore Hubble Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Hubble’s Partners in Science Universe Uncovered Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble Team Career Aspirations Hubble Astronauts News Hubble News Hubble News Archive Social Media Media Resources Multimedia Multimedia Images Videos Sonifications Podcasts e-Books Online Activities Lithographs Fact Sheets Posters Hubble on the NASA App Glossary More 35th Anniversary Online Activities 2 min read
Hubble Captures a Cosmic Cloudscape
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveals clouds of gas and dust near the Tarantula Nebula, located in the Large Magellanic Cloud about 160,000 light-years away. ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Murray
Download this image
The universe is a dusty place, as this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image featuring swirling clouds of gas and dust near the Tarantula Nebula reveals. Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud about 160,000 light-years away in the constellations Dorado and Mensa, the Tarantula Nebula is the most productive star-forming region in the nearby universe, home to the most massive stars known.
The nebula’s colorful gas clouds hold wispy tendrils and dark clumps of dust. This dust is different from ordinary household dust, which may include of bits of soil, skin cells, hair, and even plastic. Cosmic dust is often comprised of carbon or of molecules called silicates, which contain silicon and oxygen. The data in this image was part of an observing program that aims to characterize the properties of cosmic dust in the Large Magellanic Cloud and other nearby galaxies.
Dust plays several important roles in the universe. Even though individual dust grains are incredibly tiny, far smaller than the width of a single human hair, dust grains in disks around young stars clump together to form larger grains and eventually planets. Dust also helps cool clouds of gas so that they can condense into new stars. Dust even plays a role in making new molecules in interstellar space, providing a venue for individual atoms to find each other and bond together in the vastness of space.
Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubble Explore More
Caldwell 103 / Tarantula Nebula / 30 Doradus
Hubble Studies the Tarantula Nebula’s Outskirts
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Hubble Probes Interior of Tarantula Nebula
Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli (claire.andreoli@nasa.gov)
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
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Details
Last Updated Feb 13, 2025 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Hubble Space Telescope Absorption or Dark Nebulae Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Emission Nebulae Goddard Space Flight Center Nebulae Star-forming Nebulae The Universe Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From Hubble
Hubble Space Telescope
Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.
Exploring the Birth of Stars
Hubble’s Night Sky Challenge
Hubble Focus: The Lives of Stars
This e-book highlights the mission’s recent discoveries and observations related to the birth, evolution, and death of stars.
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By NASA
Ambiguity.
That’s the word that comes to mind when documentary photographers start each day at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
PACE mission photographer Denny Henry and lead documentary photographer Desiree Stover pose for selfies in the clean room.Credits: NASA “You walk in and think one thing is happening,” said OCI’s lead documentary photographer Desiree Stover. “But in an instant things change – maybe goes wrong –- and you need to be ready to capture it.”
From build to testing to launch, one figure is always present in the background capturing the story of each Goddard mission – the documentary photographer.
In honor of #WorldPhotoDay, follow along as two of our documentarians share what it’s like to capture the story of Goddard’s latest mission build PACE.
PACE or Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem, is set to launch in early 2024. Its goal is to see ocean and atmosphere features in unparalleled detail. By measuring the intensity of the color that reflects from Earth’s ocean surface, PACE will capture fine details about tiny plant-like organisms and algae that live in the ocean, called phytoplankton, that are the basis of the marine food web and generate half of Earth’s oxygen.
Crafting the Story
For Stover and her partner Denny Henry, PACE’s lead mission photographer, the story starts with the smallest details.
“I think one of the first things I photographed was the outside of a circuit port box. It was literally an empty metal box,” said Henry, who started photographing PACE in 2020, right before the pandemic. “It might be small, but it’s part of a system that’s going to do big things.”
Mark Walter, David Kim, Melyane Ortiz-acosta, and Ariel Obaldo discuss plans for testing the PACE flight Solar Array Panels.Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Denny Henry A typical day for these photographers usually starts with a morning meeting, assignments and getting ready. By the end of the day, the original plan has likely been changed, multiple times.
“Some days we might shoot eight photos, other days it might be hundreds or more,” Stover said.
PACE, or Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem, is set to launch in early 2024. Its goal is to see ocean and atmosphere features in unparalleled detail.Credits: NASA Images captured during shoots are used for a variety of things, especially technical components of the mission. This includes documenting builds, spotting mistakes and testing.
Stover got her start at Goddard by photographing NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope before switching to capturing imagery of Goddard’s small instruments, including PACE’s Ocean Color Instrument, or OCI. This advanced sensor will enable continuous measurement of light throughout the ultraviolet to shortwave infrared spectrum to better understand Earth’s ocean and atmosphere.
She says she’s still in awe that her teammates trust her “eye.”
“One of the most fascinating things about working here is that we have a specific job,” she said. “And even though engineers can pick up a camera and take photos, they don’t. They know we’re the experts at it. They trust our eyes to tell and capture the story.”
Henry said one of the most memorable days he’s documented so far was watching the PACE team integrate the SPEXone instrument into the spacecraft.
“All the partners were there as I photographed. It was a big deal,” he said. “I captured every bolt all the way to the mounting. It’s important to get these details. Six months from now someone who wasn’t there might want to see what was done in what order.”
Henry said that capturing images is only part of the job. For every hour of shooting, there’s also an hour spent processing and working with partners to ensure things were documented correctly.
Playing Detective
While telling the story is important, Stover says that part of the job is speaking up, especially when you notice something wrong.
During one assignment documenting vibration testing, Stover noticed that OCI’s Earth shade looked different.
“We took the bagging off and could see tape peeling off the radiator panels, possibly loose wires in certain places,” she said. “When I saw this, I thought back to what it was like when we shot this the first time.”
Physical Science Technician Kristen Washington performs a contamination inspection of the OCI Flight Fold Flat Mirror optic.Credits: Desiree Stover, NASA Goddard It’s common for the photographers to shoot things twice to examine how things might change when in testing. When Stover saw the tape, she got to work ensuring her hunch was right.
She sent a series of images to the thermal team lead letting him know what she found. Plans were already underway to change the design.
The unexpected
Stover and Henry agree that documenting missions has come with some interesting experiences.
Both had to undergo fall protection harness training in the event they had to climb around one of Goddard’s cleanrooms, something that happened to Stover during one assignment.
“Once I was up in Building 29’s high bay. Like up at the very top in the crane rafters shooting. I never thought I was afraid of heights until that moment,” she said. “But I focused on the image and what task I was accomplishing and completed the assignment without issue.”
Henry said adjusting to Covid-19 required a lot of flexibility, especially with sudden changes.
“This is not a job you can do from home,” he said. “After a few months, we adapted.”
Radio Frequency testing of the PACE Earth Coverage Antenna in the Electromagnetic Anechoic Chamber at Goddard Space Flight Center.Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Denny Henry Henry said that many times mission teams will find that engineering drawings won’t match up with what was actually built. With the pandemic restrictions, PACE heavily relied on his images to note how things changed and why issues occurred.
As PACE heads toward big milestones in the next year, both Stover and Henry are excited to see their work come together, including the day of launch.
They both agreed that photographing the teams involved in each aspect of PACE’s build is especially rewarding as they help create mementos that go along with their mission’s story.
By: Sara Blumberg
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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