In commemoration of Edwin Hubble's discovery of a Cepheid variable class star, called V1, in the neighboring Andromeda galaxy 100 years ago, astronomers partnered with the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) to study the star. AAVSO observers followed V1 for six months, producing a plot, or light curve, of the rhythmic rise and fall of the star's light. Based on this data, the Hubble Space Telescope was scheduled to capture the star at its dimmest and brightest light. Edwin Hubble's observations of V1 became the critical first step in uncovering a larger, grander universe than some astronomers imagined at the time. Once dismissed as a nearby "spiral nebula" measurements of Andromeda with its embedded Cepheid star served as a stellar milepost marker. It definitively showed that Andromeda was far outside of our Milky Way. Edwin Hubble went on to measure the distances to many galaxies beyond the Milky Way by finding Cepheid variables within those levels. The velocities of those galaxies, in turn, allowed him to determine that the universe is expanding. Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Project (STScI, AURA)

How One Star in Andromeda Redefined Humanity’s Place in the Universe

January 16, 2025
NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration. Acknowledgement: Robert A. Fesen (Dartmouth College, USA) and James Long (ESA/Hubble)

See the Universe’s Secret Layers: Webb Telescope’s Latest Unforgettable Images

January 16, 2025
This artist’s impression shows CR7 a very distant galaxy discovered using ESO’s Very Large Telescope. Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser

Water in the Early Universe? The Surprising Legacy of First Stars

January 16, 2025
main) An illustration of a massive star going supernova in the early universe (inset) the supernova 2023adsv as seen by the JWST in 2022 and 2023 (Image credit: Robert Lea (created with Canva)/NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, JADES Collaboration)

The Star That Shaped Galaxies: A Rare Supernova’s Stunning Story

January 15, 2025
This image of Westerlund 1, one of the most massive young super star clusters in the Milky Way, combines data from JWST’s MIRI and NIRCam instruments to reveal detailed structures within the cluster's environment. The color image reveals intricate details of gas and dust in the cluster, with longer-wavelength mid-infrared emission (red) highlighting warm dust and gas, shorter mid-infrared emission (green) tracing complex structures of cooler dust and gas, and near-infrared emission (blue) showcasing the brilliant light of young, massive stars embedded in this cluster. These observations provide important insights into how stellar winds and radiation from massive stars interact with the surrounding material, shaping the cluster's morphology and influencing its evolution. North is 15 degrees to the right of up and east is to the left. Credit: D. Capela (University of Lisbon), M. G. Guarcello (INAF-OAPA) and the EWOCS team

Galactic Fireworks Display: Massive Stars in Action at Westerlund 1

January 15, 2025
This striking image was taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3, a powerful instrument installed on the telescope in 2009. WFC3 is responsible for many of Hubble’s most breathtaking and iconic photographs, including Pictures of the Week. Shown here, NGC 7773 is a beautiful example of a barred spiral galaxy. A luminous bar-shaped structure cuts prominently through the galaxy's bright core, extending to the inner boundary of NGC 7773's sweeping, pinwheel-like spiral arms. Astronomers think that these bar structures emerge later in the lifetime of a galaxy, as star-forming material makes its way towards the galactic centre — younger spirals do not feature barred structures as often as older spirals do, suggesting that bars are a sign of galactic maturity. They are also thought to act as stellar nurseries, as they gleam brightly with copious numbers of youthful stars. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is thought to be a barred spiral like NGC 7773. By studying galactic specimens such as NGC 7773 throughout the Universe, researchers hope to learn more about the processes that have shaped — and continue to shape — our cosmic home.

NGC 7773: A Galactic Marvel Illuminating the Mystery of Dark Matter

January 15, 2025
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

What If Earth Had a Neighbor? Exploring a Super-Earth Between Mars and Jupiter

January 14, 2025
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image holds an array of stars and galaxies. Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA, and D. Erb

Hubble Captures Mind-Blowing Phenomena in Hydra’s Skies

January 14, 2025
(Image credit: Westend61 via Getty Images)

What the White Glow in Aurora Borealis Reveals About Our Planet’s Atmosphere

January 14, 2025
The new stars are located in a galaxy known as the Dragon Arc, which was obscured and magnified by the Abell 370 galaxy cluster pictured here. Credit: NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

44 Stars, 6.5 Billion Years Away: The Cosmic Magic of Gravitational Lensing

January 13, 2025
Shining a Light on Dark Matter. credit: NASA

Can Dark Matter Speak Through Radio Waves? The Ionosphere Says Yes

January 13, 2025
Illustration of the dark sector. iStock

Could a New Force Rewrite Physics? The Fifth Force and the Dark Universe

January 12, 2025
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