telescopes

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has released one of its largest images to date, revealing record-breaking stars concealed within clouds of dust. The observation, highlighted by Live Science as its space photo of the week, showcases the telescope's ability to peer through obscuring material and capture distant stellar objects in unprecedented detail.

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has captured starlight for the first time, a key early test of its optics and instruments. The milestone marks progress for the wide-field observatory designed to survey vast stretches of the sky, study dark energy and hunt for exoplanets as it moves toward full science operations.

A Canadian telescope has for the first time directly mapped the earliest glow of hydrogen in the universe, according to an announcement from researchers at the University of British Columbia. The result, reported through EurekAlert! and UBC science communications, opens what researchers describe as a new observational window on the early cosmos, allowing astronomers to study the epoch when the first hydrogen gas filled the universe.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has observed an exotic spiral galaxy that appears to be rotating in two opposite directions at the same time. The rare finding, reported by NASA and covered by outlets including Mashable, offers astronomers an unusual case study in galactic dynamics and may prompt further research into how such counter-rotating structures form.

NASA is celebrating a milestone for the Hubble Space Telescope, which this month completed its 200,000th orbit around Earth. The space agency marked the occasion by releasing a striking new image. Hubble has now been operating in space for more than 36 years and continues to make new discoveries despite its age.

The James Webb Space Telescope, operated by NASA, ESA and CSA, has released one of its largest panoramic images to date: the IC 348 star-forming region, filled with hundreds of young stars and brown dwarfs. Astronomy enthusiasts say the observation offers a valuable window into the earliest stages of star and planet formation.

The Cartwheel Galaxy is drawing attention after new imagery showcased its striking ring shape, the result of a cosmic collision. The galaxy, located hundreds of millions of light-years away, was observed by space telescopes including NASA and ESA's James Webb, revealing details of its structure and the violent encounter that shaped it. Space enthusiasts are sharing the spectacular images widely.

China's Einstein Probe satellite is drawing attention for its unusual wide-field view of the X-ray universe. The spacecraft uses 'lobster eye' optics, a design inspired by how lobsters' eyes reflect light, allowing it to monitor a large swath of the sky at once. That means any sudden, violent X-ray event, such as a supernova or a feeding black hole, is likely to be caught quickly, giving astronomers worldwide rapid alerts to follow up with telescopes.

American astronomer Henry Draper captured the first photograph of the Orion Nebula on September 30, 1880, a landmark moment in the history of astrophotography. Working with an 11-inch Alvan Clark refractor telescope and the then-new dry-plate photographic process, Draper succeeded in imaging the nebula from Earth for the first time. The anniversary is being noted in science and astronomy circles.

The European Southern Observatory has released a new image of the spiral galaxy NGC 3981, also catalogued as Arp 289, taken with the Very Large Telescope in Chile. The picture was made under the Cosmic Gems Program, which photographs visually beautiful southern-sky objects during nights when conditions are unsuitable for scientific observations. The image is being shared and admired by astronomy enthusiasts online.

The James Webb Space Telescope has released a new image of one of the most visually striking gravitational lenses observed to date. The photograph shows distant light warped into dramatic arcs by the gravity of a foreground galaxy, and the image is drawing attention from astronomy and photography enthusiasts alike.

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has had its expected mission duration extended from 10 to 22 years after engineers found the spacecraft carries significantly more propellant than planned. Efficient construction and launch factors left unused fuel margin, allowing the wide-field survey telescope to operate far longer than its baseline design.

A striking Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 3132, known as the Eight Burst Nebula, is circulating among space enthusiasts and astrophotography communities. The planetary nebula, captured with credits to NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team, STScI and AURA, is being praised for its vivid rings of gas and its place in the ongoing wave of popular space imagery.

A NASA space telescope project has moved forward with three members of a Johns Hopkins University team playing key roles, the university announced. The institution highlighted its researchers' contributions to the mission, which is progressing through its development stages. Details about the telescope's specific goals and timeline were not provided in the announcement.

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, NASA's upcoming wide-field infrared observatory, has reportedly extended its planned operational lifetime from five to ten years by adopting a fuel-efficient route to its observing point. Engineers achieved the doubling by conserving propellant during the journey to the Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2, giving astronomers far more observing time.

Space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock has been speaking to science writer Karmela Padavic-Callaghan about a set of striking images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. The photographs feature in her newly published book, and the interview appeared in New Scientist, drawing attention to the observatory's latest views of the cosmos.

NASA announced on 30 September that the coronagraph aboard the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has been successfully powered on for the first time. The instrument is designed to block out blinding starlight so that faint planets orbiting other stars can be photographed directly. Astronomy watchers welcomed the milestone, calling it a key step toward imaging Earth-like exoplanets once the telescope begins operations.

Hello Robot has introduced Stretch 4, an open-source mobile manipulator aimed at researchers, developers and engineers. The robot features a telescoping arm, an omnidirectional base and advanced sensors designed for safe autonomous operation near people. Users have already applied it to a wide range of close-contact human tasks, and the robotics community is sharing the release widely.

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has reportedly doubled its planned mission lifespan thanks to a fuel-saving engineering approach. The report highlights clever trajectory and propellant management that leaves the telescope with reserves well beyond expectations. Space and engineering enthusiasts are sharing and discussing the news, praising the design work behind the extended operational lifetime.

An amateur astronomer has published a new astrophotograph of NGC 7635, the Bubble Nebula, together with the open cluster M52 in Cassiopeia. The image was taken in HOO bicolor from 240 exposures of 60 seconds each in hydrogen-alpha and oxygen-III, using a SkyWatcher 254/1000 telescope, QHY163M camera and EQ6-R Pro mount with guiding. Astronomy communities are sharing the result as an example of what dedicated home equipment can capture.

NASA has checked the guidance system of its Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and recorded the first observation with its coronagraph instrument. The milestone tests the technology designed to block starlight so the telescope can directly image planets outside the solar system. Engineers will now assess how the systems perform ahead of the mission's science operations.