Topic: Hubble Space Telescope

NASA shuts down space shuttle Discovery for final time

Mystery of supernova birth points to white dwarfs

Scientists hit "rewind" to discover how white dwarfs play a role in the evolution of a supernova.

Discovery of biggest black holes ever may shed light on galaxy formation

Black holes 10 billion times the sun's mass have been found. The discovery could help write the history of galaxy formation and evolution over the universe's 13.7 billion-year history.

The mystery of the humongous Christmas space explosion

On Christmas Day 2010, NASA's Swift satellite detected a massive, sustained gamma-ray burst whose cause still leaves astronomers baffled.

Mars Curiosity rover waiting on launch pad. But will funding end?

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, which includes the car-sized Curiosity rover, arrived on its Cape Canaveral launchpad on Thursday. But some experts worry about the lack of funding for Mars missions beyond 2013.

New images of protoplanet Vesta reveal mountain bigger than Everest

Planetary scientists are getting an initial look at the protoplanet Vesta via NASA's Dawn mission, revealing a surprising range of features – including long parallel troughs around the equator.

Crowdsourcing science: how gamers are changing scientific discovery

Computer gamers who cracked a decades-long AIDS mystery in three weeks embody a rising trend among researchers: enlisting the skills of everyday people to help with scientific discovery.

ALMA telescope poised to peer into hidden corners of the cosmos

The ALMA radio telescope array set to come on line this week will give astronomers an unprecedented look into areas of the universe obscured from other telescopes – from star nurseries in other galaxies to the black hole at the center of the Milky Way.

Russian spacecraft falls from the sky. Is the International Space Station in trouble?

The second embarrassing loss of a Russian space vehicle in a week spells trouble for Russia's space program and its ability to maintain the International Space Station.

Want a space vacation? Russia luxury hotel in orbit will start at $1 million a week

A Russian company says it'll launch a luxury hotel into orbit. The space resort will offer views of Earth, sightseeing flights around the moon, and, of course, zero-gravity cabins.

Pluto moon discovery hints at future surprises for NASA probe

Pluto moon: The tiny new moon — announced July 20 and called P4 for now — brings the number of known Pluto satellites to four.

Russian telescope launch pulls national space program out of black hole

The Spektr-R, a space telescope that was put in orbit Monday, is just one of the ways the Russian space program is getting back on track.

The 9 weirdest things ever flown on the Space Shuttle

When NASA's space shuttles launch into orbit, they don't just carry astronauts and supplies into the final frontier. There's a lot of other weird stuff that makes the out-of-this-world journey, too. NASA's last space shuttle mission will launch Friday, July 8 on the Atlantis orbiter to deliver spare parts to the International Space Station. The mission will be the 135th and last flight for the program, which began in 1981. But over the course of 30 years, the space shuttles have flown some peculiar objects into orbit. The list of odd stuff that flew aboard the shuttles is a long one, and includes the Olympic torch, a replica of the golden spike from the First Transcontinental Railroad, and rocks from the top of Mount Everest and the surface of the moon, just to name a few. Here nine recent space oddities carried into orbit on NASA shuttles:

NASA's Dawn satellite has reached the asteroid belt. First stop: Vesta.

Vesta and Ceres, the two largest objects in the asteroid belt, have mystified scientists for centuries. With NASA satellite Dawn on final approach to Vesta, the wait is almost over.

Black hole fires beam of energy at Earth while swallowing star

Black hole fires beams at Earth while destroying star: a massive black hole has been discovered devouring a star, causing the star to shoot beams of energy at Earth. The event is thought to occur only once every 100 million years.

Giant black holes a window into origins of earliest galaxies

Scientists have found evidence of supermassive black holes at the core of the earliest galaxies, a discovery that could shape theories about galaxy formation.

Asteroid Vesta: surface of huge asteroid has mysterious dark spot

Asteroid Vesta has been coming into focus as NASA's Dawn probe comes in for close-up photos, but a mysterious dark spot has scientists scratching their heads.

The hunt for antimatter begins at the space station: Will dilithium be next?

A $2 billion particle detector, newly installed on the International Space Station, begins its search for antimatter, dark matter, quarks, and more.

Space shuttle Endeavour crew launch their own Star Trek poster

Space shuttle Endeavour crew members are big enough Star Trek fans to pose for a Trekkie poster, modeled after the 2009 J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie.

The astronaut who learned how to see

Story Musgrave flew on six space shuttle missions -- and on every one of the shuttles that NASA is retiring this year. In a career of standout performances, he never forgot to savor the experience.