Project News

Herschel’s view of the early Universe reveals galaxy cluster fireworks

Herschel • News Release • December 18th, 2014

Astronomers using ESA’s Herschel space observatory have found, for the first time, fireworks of star birth within galaxies at the dense core of a massive early Universe galaxy cluster. This frenzy of star formation reveals the young lives of now “red and dead” elliptical galaxies and gives new...

Warm Gas Pours 'Cold Water' on Galaxy's Star-Making

Herschel • Feature • December 5th, 2014

One galaxy devoured remnants of another galaxy, quenching the formation of new stars.

Slow-Growing Galaxies Offer Window to Early Universe

Herschel • Feature • October 15th, 2014

What makes one rose bush blossom with flowers, while another remains barren? Astronomers ask a similar question of galaxies, wondering how some flourish with star formation and others barely bloom.

NASA Telescopes Uncover Early Construction of Giant Galaxy

Herschel • News Release • August 27th, 2014

Astronomers have for the first time caught a glimpse of the earliest stages of massive galaxy construction. The building site, dubbed "Sparky," is a dense galactic core blazing with the light of millions of newborn stars that are forming at a ferocious rate.

NEOWISE Spots a Comet That Looked Like an Asteroid

Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer • Project News • July 23rd, 2014

Comet C/2013 UQ4 (Catalina) has been observed by NASA's Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) spacecraft just one day after passing through its closest approach to the sun. The comet glows brightly in infrared wavelengths, with a dust tail streaking more than 62,000...

Young Sun’s Violent History Solves Meteorite Mystery

Herschel • Feature • July 1st, 2014

Astronomers using ESA’s Herschel space observatory to probe the turbulent beginnings of a Sun-like star have found evidence of mighty stellar winds that could solve a puzzling meteorite mystery in our own back yard.

New Molecules Around Old Stars

Herschel • External • June 17th, 2014

Astronomers have discovered that a molecule vital for creating water exists in the burning embers of dying Sun-like stars. When low- to middleweight stars like our Sun approach the end of their lives, they eventually become dense, white dwarf stars. In doing so, they cast off their outer layers...

Herschel Sees Budding Stars and a Giant, Strange Ring

Herschel • News Release • June 12th, 2014

The Herschel Space Observatory has uncovered a weird ring of dusty material while obtaining one of the sharpest scans to date of a huge cloud of gas and dust, called NGC 7538. The observations have revealed numerous clumps of material, a baker's dozen of which may evolve into the most powerful...

Herschel Uncovers a Dearth of Oxygen near a New Star

Herschel • Feature • June 9th, 2014

A cosmic mystery regarding oxygen has deepened, thanks to new findings from the Herschel Space Observatory, a European Space Agency mission with important NASA contributions. Observations of a newly forming star have revealed strangely low levels of molecular oxygen, the kind we breathe, in the...

NASA's WISE Findings Poke Hole in Black Hole 'Doughnut' Theory

Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer • Project News • May 22nd, 2014

A survey of more than 170,000 supermassive black holes, using NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), has astronomers reexamining a decades-old theory about the varying appearances of these interstellar objects.

Herschel’s view of the early Universe reveals galaxy cluster fireworks

Herschel • December 18th, 2014

Astronomers using ESA’s Herschel space observatory have found, for the first time, fireworks of star birth within galaxies at the dense core of a massive early Universe galaxy...

Warm Gas Pours 'Cold Water' on Galaxy's Star-Making

Herschel • December 5th, 2014

One galaxy devoured remnants of another galaxy, quenching the formation of new stars.

Slow-Growing Galaxies Offer Window to Early Universe

Herschel • October 15th, 2014

What makes one rose bush blossom with flowers, while another remains barren? Astronomers ask a similar question of galaxies, wondering how some flourish with star formation and...

NASA Telescopes Uncover Early Construction of Giant Galaxy

Herschel • August 27th, 2014

Astronomers have for the first time caught a glimpse of the earliest stages of massive galaxy construction. The building site, dubbed "Sparky," is a dense galactic core blazing...

NEOWISE Spots a Comet That Looked Like an Asteroid

Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer • July 23rd, 2014

Comet C/2013 UQ4 (Catalina) has been observed by NASA's Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) spacecraft just one day after passing through its closest...

Young Sun’s Violent History Solves Meteorite Mystery

Herschel • July 1st, 2014

Astronomers using ESA’s Herschel space observatory to probe the turbulent beginnings of a Sun-like star have found evidence of mighty stellar winds that could solve a puzzling...

New Molecules Around Old Stars

Herschel • June 17th, 2014

Astronomers have discovered that a molecule vital for creating water exists in the burning embers of dying Sun-like stars. When low- to middleweight stars like our Sun approach...

Herschel Sees Budding Stars and a Giant, Strange Ring

Herschel • June 12th, 2014

The Herschel Space Observatory has uncovered a weird ring of dusty material while obtaining one of the sharpest scans to date of a huge cloud of gas and dust, called NGC 7538....

Herschel Uncovers a Dearth of Oxygen near a New Star

Herschel • June 9th, 2014

A cosmic mystery regarding oxygen has deepened, thanks to new findings from the Herschel Space Observatory, a European Space Agency mission with important NASA contributions....

NASA's WISE Findings Poke Hole in Black Hole 'Doughnut' Theory

Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer • May 22nd, 2014

A survey of more than 170,000 supermassive black holes, using NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), has astronomers reexamining a decades-old theory about the...