The Week in Pictures: April 20ò??26, 2013
In the past seven days, the Hubble Space Telescope captured Comet ISON, Einstein’s general relativity passed an extreme test in a pulsar binary system, NASA partner Orbital Sciences test-launched its Antares rocket, and more.
Published: Friday, April 26, 2013
NASA/ESA/J.-Y. Li (Planetary Science Institute)/The Hubble Comet ISON Imaging Science Team
Hubble captures Comet ISON
The comet is already active as sunlight warms the surface and causes frozen volatiles to sublimate.
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R. Evans/J. Trauger/H. Hammel/The HST Comet Science Team
Herschel links Jupiterò??s water to comet impact
Only the space observatory was able to provide the sensitive spectral imaging needed to find the missing link between Jupiter’s water and the 1994 impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9.
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NASA partner Orbital Sciences test launches Antares rocket
The test flight was the first launch from the pad at Wallops and was the first flight of Antares, which delivered the equivalent mass of a spacecraft into Earth's orbit.
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Einsteinò??s general relativity passes extreme test in pulsar binary system
A pulsar-white dwarf pair has given scientists insight into the nature of gravity.
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Cornell
NASA's Cassini spacecraft observes meteoroids colliding with Saturn's rings
Researchers now think small meteoroids probably break up on a first encounter with the rings, creating even smaller, slower pieces that then enter into orbit around Saturn.
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Heat from starbursts influences galaxy evolution
Energetic periods of star formation known as starbursts affect the gas far from a galaxy’s visible edges, altering the distribution of matter and energy in the universe.
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Illustration by Kavli IPMU
ò??Standard candleò?? supernova extraordinarily magnified by gravitational lensing
Researchers have identified what may prove to be the first gravitationally lensed type Ia supernova, which could be used to place constraints on the cosmology of the universe.
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Royal Astronomical Society/e-MERLIN
Mysterious hot spots observed in Betelgeuse
A new image of Betelgeuse, a nearby red supergiant, shows it has both hot spots and a giant arc of cool gas extending far beyond its atmosphere.
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NASA/ESA/the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
NASAò??s Hubble sees a horsehead of a different color
Scientists know a harsh ultraviolet glare from a bright star is slowly evaporating the nebula.
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Experiment observes new matter-antimatter difference
By studying subtle differences in the behavior of particle and antiparticles, experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are seeking to cast light on the dominance of matter over antimatter.
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