Topic: Space Telescope Science Institute

Scientists unravel mystery of humongous space explosion (+video)

Great Eruption of Eta Carinae, a massive star some 7,500 light-years away that suddenly lit up the night sky for a decade beginning in 1838 is one of the most studied objects in the Milky Way. But it continues to puzzle astronomers.

Discovery that universe is expanding faster and faster earns physics Nobel

Three astronomers will share the Nobel prize in physics, for their finding that the universe's post-Big Bang expansion is neither slowing nor retreating, but is speeding up.

Space exploration: Will budget cuts stall search for other Earths?

Astronomers are on the cusp of new discoveries in the search for distant planets that could have life. But budget cuts are forcing this branch of space exploration to turn to smaller, less-ambitious projects.

Oldest galaxy: Hubble telescope detects farthest, oldest galaxy yet

Oldest galaxy: Astronomers using the Hubble telescope have detected a galaxy that formed just 500 million years after the Big Bang, making it the most distant and oldest galaxy discovered so far.

NASA's next big-ticket telescope showcased in New York City

A mockup of the James Webb Space Telescope, billed as the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, took center stage at New York's World Science Festival.

Massive runaway star near Tarantula Nebula races thru universe at 250,000 mph

A homeless star on the outskirts of the Tarantula Nebula is racing across the universe at breakneck speed

What makes a supernova? Scientists thought they knew.

New X-ray research questions the origins of a key type of supernova, and may bend one of astronomy's go-to rulers.

Hubble telescope glimpses universe's earliest galaxies

New Hubble telescope images provide a look at the cosmos when it was just 600 to 800 million years old. Galaxies from this period might have helped transform the universe from dark to light.

New class of galaxies: small, green, and bursting with new stars