Project News

A Cool Discovery About the Sun's Next-door Twin

Herschel • February 20th, 2013

The Herschel Space Observatory has detected a cool layer in the atmosphere of Alpha Centauri A, the first time this has been seen in a star beyond our own Sun. The finding is...

Black Holes and Star Formation: A Herschel Perspective

Herschel • February 13th, 2013

The possible effects of supermassive black holes on star formation in their host galaxies pose a tricky puzzle. Galaxy surveys from Herschel are being used to try to understand...

Herschel Finds Star Past its Prime Possibly Making Planets

Herschel • January 30th, 2013

A star thought to have passed the age at which it can form planets may, in fact, be creating new worlds. The disk of material surrounding the surprising star called TW Hydrae...

Cool, New Views of Andromeda Galaxy

Herschel • January 28th, 2013

Two new eye-catching views from the Herschel space observatory are fit for a princess. They show the elegant spiral galaxy Andromeda, named after the mythical Greek princess...

Betelgeuse Star Braces for Crash with Strange Bar

Herschel • January 22nd, 2013

Orion, the famous hunter presiding over northern winter skies, may experience a stellar crash in its future. The red star at its shoulder, called Betelgeuse, appears to be set...

Planck Spots Colossal Intergalactic Bridge

Planck • November 20th, 2012

The Planck space telescope has made the first conclusive detection of a bridge of hot gas connecting a pair of galaxy clusters across 10 million light-years of intergalactic space.

NASA Survey Counts Potentially Hazardous Asteroids

Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer • May 16th, 2012

Observations from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) have led to the best assessment yet of our solar system's population of potentially hazardous asteroids. The...

NASA's WISE Catches Aging Star Erupting With Dust

Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer • April 26th, 2012

Images from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) reveal an old star in the throes of a fiery outburst, spraying the cosmos with dust. The findings offer a rare,...

WISE All-Sky Image Now Available on "Science on a Sphere"

Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer • April 9th, 2012

The WISE all-sky image is now available for projection on "Science on a Sphere" (see http://sos.noaa.gov/ for info). Science On a Sphere is a large visualization system that...

NASA Extends Spitzer, Planck, Kepler Missions

Planck • April 5th, 2012

NASA is extending three missions affiliated with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. -- Kepler, the Spitzer Space Telescope and the U.S. portion of the European...