Scents of Science

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Spiral Disk around a Black Hole

What would it look like to orbit a black hole? Many black holes are surrounded by swirling pools of gas known as accretion disks. These disks can be extremely hot, and much of the orbiting gas will eventually fall through the black hole'sevent... Continue Reading →


Hubble’s Portrait of Star’s Gaseous Glow

Although it looks more like an entity seen through a microscope than a telescope, this rounded object, named NGC 2022, is certainly not algae or tiny, blobby jellyfish. Instead, it is a vast orb of gas in space, cast off... Continue Reading →

Hubble’s New Portrait of Jupiter

This new Hubble Space Telescope view of Jupiter, taken on June 27, 2019, reveals the giant planet's trademark Great Red Spot, and a more intense color palette in the clouds swirling in Jupiter's turbulent atmosphere than seen in previous years.... Continue Reading →

Hubble uncovers a ‘heavy metal’ exoplanet shaped like a football

How can a planet be "hotter than hot?" The answer is when heavy metals are detected escaping from the planet's atmosphere, instead of condensing into clouds. Observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reveal magnesium and iron gas streaming from the... Continue Reading →

M82: Galaxy with a Supergalactic Wind

Why is the Cigar Galaxy billowing red smoke? M82, as this starburst galaxy is also known, was stirred up by a recent pass near large spiral galaxy M81. This doesn't fully explain the source of the red-glowing outwardly expanding gas and dust, however. Evidence indicates that this gas and dust is being... Continue Reading →

Hubble Uncovers Black Hole Disk that Shouldn’t Exist

As if black holes weren't mysterious enough, astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have found an unexpected thin disk of material furiously whirling around a supermassive black hole at the heart of the magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 3147, located 130... Continue Reading →

Atmosphere of midsize planet revealed by Hubble, Spitzer

Two NASA space telescopes have teamed up to identify, for the first time, the detailed chemical "fingerprint" of a planet between the sizes of Earth and Neptune. No planets like this can be found in our own solar system, but... Continue Reading →

Stephan’s Quintet from Hubble

When did these big galaxies first begin to dance? Really only four of the five of Stephan's Quintet are locked in a cosmic tango of repeated close encounters taking place some 300 million light-years away. The odd galaxy out is easy to spot in this... Continue Reading →

NGC 6302: The Butterfly Nebula


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