China and Europe Just Launched a Historic Joint Solar Science Mission

China and Europe Just Launched a Historic Joint Solar Science Mission

The SMILE space mission has successfully launched on a mission to better understand space weather and how the Earth is protected from the Sun. This marks the first time the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have jointly designed, operated, and launched a mission. CGTN’s Wu Lei spoke to some of the Chinese scientists involved.

The European Space Agency-China SMILE satellite launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on at 04:52 BST / 05:52 CEST (00:52 local time) on May 19, 2026.

SMILE will use four science instruments to study how Earth responds to the solar wind from the Sun. In doing so, SMILE will improve our understanding of solar storms, geomagnetic storms and the science of space weather.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is responsible for providing SMILE’s payload module (carrying three of the four science instruments), one of the spacecraft’s four science instruments (the soft X-ray imager, SXI), the launcher, and the Assembly Integration and Testing facilities and services. ESA contributes to a second science instrument (the ultraviolet imager, UVI) and the mission operations once SMILE is in orbit.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences provides the other three science instruments and the spacecraft platform, and is responsible for operating the spacecraft in orbit.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)
Duration: 2 minutes
Release Date: May 19, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #Sun #Earth #SpaceWeather #MagneticField #Magnetosphere #Europe #China #中国 #CAS #中国科学院 #SMILEMission #Heliophysics #Physics #VegaCRocket #GuianaSpaceCentre #KourouSpaceport #FrenchGuiana #Avio #ArianeGroup #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA CRS-34 Cargo Dragon Spacecraft Arrival | International Space Station

NASA CRS-34 Cargo Dragon Spacecraft Arrival | International Space Station

A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft with its nose cone open to reveal its docking mechanism, approaches the International Space Station

NASA astronaut and Expedition 74 flight engineer Jack Hathaway is pictured inside the vestibule between the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft and the International Space Station’s forward port on the Harmony module. Moments later, Hathaway would open the Dragon’s hatch and begin unloading nearly 6,500 pounds of food, supplies, and equipment for the Expedition 74 crew. 

International Space Station configuration as of May 17, 2026: Six spaceships are parked at the space station including the SpaceX CRS-34 Dragon, the SpaceX Crew-12 Dragon, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL, the Soyuz MS-28 crew ship, and the Progress 94 and 95 resupply ships

Expedition 74 emblem

At 6:37 a.m. EDT on May 17, 2026, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft docked to the forward port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module, carrying nearly 6,500 pounds of food, supplies, and equipment for the Expedition 74 crew. This is the 34th SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the space station for NASA.

In addition to cargo for the crew aboard the space station, Dragon is delivering several new experiments, including a project  to determine how well Earth-based simulators mimic microgravity conditions, a bone scaffold made from wood that could produce new treatments for fragile bone conditions like osteoporosis, and equipment to help researchers evaluate how red blood cells and the spleen change in space. The Dragon spacecraft also will carry a new instrument to study charged particles around the Earth that can impact power grids and satellites, an investigation that could provide a fundamental understanding of how planets form, and an  instrument designed to take highly accurate measurements of sunlight reflected by Earth and the Moon.

NASA's Commercial Resupply Missions:
https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/commercial-resupply/

Follow Expedition 74:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 74 Crew
Station Commander: Sergey-Kud Sverchkov (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Andrey Fedyaev, Sergei Mikaev

European Space Agency Flight Engineer: Sophie Adenot

NASA Flight Engineers: Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Chris Williams

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Image Credits: NASA/Jessica Meir/Chris Williams, ESA/Sophie Adenot
Date: May 17, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Earth #CRS34Mission #SpaceX #CargoDragonSpacecraft #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #Russia #Roscosmos #ESA #Europe #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #Expedition74 #SpaceLaboratory #MicrogravityExperiments #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

FU Orionis Star System in Orion (infrared) | NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope

FU Orionis Star System in Orion (infrared) | NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope

FU Orionis is a variable and binary star system in the constellation of Orion that in 1937 rose in apparent visual magnitude from 16.5 to 9.6, and has since been around magnitude 9. The name FU Orionis is a variable star designation in the Argelander system, assigned sequentially as new variables are discovered. FU Orionis is about 1,360 light years distant and is associated with the molecular cloud Barnard 35. The star itself is the brightest one in the image, glowing yellow given this particular processing and filter set, just to the lower left of center.

For a long time this variable was considered unique, but in 1970 a similar star, V1057 Cygni, was discovered, and a number of additional examples have been discovered since then. These stars represent the FU Orionis class of variable stars, GCVS type FU, often nicknamed FUors. These stars are pre–main sequence stars displaying extreme changes in magnitude and spectral type.

Also, visible here is Barnard 35, a dark nebula located in the constellation of Orion. It is a dense interstellar cloud of dust and gas that obscures the light from background stars, appearing as a prominent dark nebula against the brighter nebular regions of the Lambda Orionis Ring (also known as Sh 2-264). Discovered by astronomer E. E. Barnard in the early 20th century, Barnard 35 is part of the larger Orion molecular cloud complex and is associated with active star formation triggered by nearby massive stars.

The Spitzer Space Telescope, formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), was an infrared space telescope that was active between 2003 and 2020. Spitzer was the third space telescope dedicated to infrared astronomy, following IRAS (1983) and ISO (1995–1998). It was the first spacecraft to use an Earth-trailing orbit, later used by the Kepler planet-finder.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) managed the Spitzer Space Telescope mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington until the mission was retired in January 2020. Science operations were conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at Caltech. Spacecraft operations were based at Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado. Data are archived at the Infrared Science Archive operated by IPAC at Caltech. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

For more information about Spitzer, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/spitzer

Credit: Spitzer Space Telescope/NASA/JPL
Release Date: Feb. 7, 2020

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #VariableStars #BinaryStarSystems #Nebulae #DarkNebulae #Barnard35 #FUOrionis #OrionConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #NASASpitzer #SpitzerSpaceTelescope #SST #InfraredAstronomy #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

FU Orionis Star System in Orion | Hubble Space Telescope

FU Orionis Star System in Orion | Hubble Space Telescope

FU Orionis is a variable and binary star system in the constellation of Orion that in 1937 rose in apparent visual magnitude from 16.5 to 9.6, and has since been around magnitude 9. The name FU Orionis is a variable star designation in the Argelander system, assigned sequentially as new variables are discovered. FU Orionis is about 1,360 light years distant and is associated with the molecular cloud Barnard 35. The star itself is the brightest one in the image, glowing yellow given this particular processing and filter set, just to the lower left of center.

For a long time this variable was considered unique, but in 1970 a similar star, V1057 Cygni, was discovered, and a number of additional examples have been discovered since then. These stars represent the FU Orionis class of variable stars, GCVS type FU, often nicknamed FUors. These stars are pre–main sequence stars displaying extreme changes in magnitude and spectral type.

Also, visible here is Barnard 35, a dark nebula located in the constellation of Orion. It is a dense interstellar cloud of dust and gas that obscures the light from background stars, appearing as a prominent dark nebula against the brighter nebular regions of the Lambda Orionis Ring (also known as Sh 2-264). Discovered by astronomer E. E. Barnard in the early 20th century, Barnard 35 is part of the larger Orion molecular cloud complex and is associated with active star formation triggered by nearby massive stars.

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Processing: Judy Schmidt
Date: May 18, 2026

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #VariableStars #BinaryStarSystems #FUOrionis #Nebulae #DarkNebulae #Barnard35 #OrionConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #JudySchmidt #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education 

Europe-China SMILE Solar Science Mission Launch in South America

Europe-China SMILE Solar Science Mission Launch in South America

The European Space Agency-China SMILE satellite launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on at 04:52 BST / 05:52 CEST (00:52 local time) on May 19, 2026.

The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) launched on Vega-C flight VV29. At 35 meters (115 feet) tall, a Vega-C weighs 210 tonnes on the launch pad and the rocket used three solid-propellant-powered stages to take SMILE to orbit before the fourth liquid-propellant stage took over for a precise drop-off around Earth. SMILE is a joint mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

SMILE will use four science instruments to study how Earth responds to the solar wind from the Sun. In doing so, SMILE will improve our understanding of solar storms, geomagnetic storms and the science of space weather.

Kourou is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America. 

The Vega-C program is led by the European Space Agency (ESA), working with Avio as prime contractor and design authority.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is responsible for providing SMILE’s payload module (carrying three of the four science instruments), one of the spacecraft’s four science instruments (the soft X-ray imager, SXI), the launcher, and the Assembly Integration and Testing facilities and services. ESA contributes to a second science instrument (the ultraviolet imager, UVI) and the mission operations once SMILE is in orbit.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) provides the other three science instruments and the spacecraft platform, and is responsible for operating the spacecraft in orbit.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)
Dates: May 18-19, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #Sun #Earth #SpaceWeather #MagneticField #Magnetosphere #Europe #China #中国 #CAS #中国科学院 #SMILEMission #Heliophysics #Physics #VegaCRocket #GuianaSpaceCentre #KourouSpaceport #FrenchGuiana #Avio #ArianeGroup #STEM #Education

Europe-China SMILE Solar Science Mission Launch in South America

Europe-China SMILE Solar Science Mission Launch in South America

The European Space Agency-China SMILE satellite launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on at 04:52 BST / 05:52 CEST (00:52 local time) on May 19, 2026.

The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) launched on Vega-C flight VV29. At 35 meters (115 feet) tall, a Vega-C weighs 210 tonnes on the launch pad and the rocket used three solid-propellant-powered stages to take SMILE to orbit before the fourth liquid-propellant stage took over for a precise drop-off around Earth. SMILE is a joint mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

SMILE will use four science instruments to study how Earth responds to the solar wind from the Sun. In doing so, SMILE will improve our understanding of solar storms, geomagnetic storms and the science of space weather.

Kourou is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America. 

The Vega-C program is led by the European Space Agency (ESA), working with Avio as prime contractor and design authority.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is responsible for providing SMILE’s payload module (carrying three of the four science instruments), one of the spacecraft’s four science instruments (the soft X-ray imager, SXI), the launcher, and the Assembly Integration and Testing facilities and services. ESA contributes to a second science instrument (the ultraviolet imager, UVI) and the mission operations once SMILE is in orbit.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences provides the other three science instruments and the spacecraft platform, and is responsible for operating the spacecraft in orbit.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)
Duration: 4 minutes
Release Date: May 19, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #Sun #Earth #SpaceWeather #MagneticField #Magnetosphere #Europe #China #中国 #CAS #中国科学院 #SMILEMission #Heliophysics #Physics #VegaCRocket #GuianaSpaceCentre #KourouSpaceport #FrenchGuiana #Avio #ArianeGroup #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Moon & Planet Venus Conjunction: NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Moon & Planet Venus Conjunction: NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The Moon and planet Venus are seen in conjunction, Monday, May 18, 2026, from the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters Building in Washington, District of Columbia. In astronomy, a conjunction refers to an event where two or more celestial bodies appear to meet or pass each other in the sky. A conjunction is an apparent phenomenon caused by an observer's perspective. However, the two objects involved are not actually close to one another in space.

Mary Jackson (born Winston; April 9, 1921–February 11, 2005) was an American mathematician and aerospace engineer at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) that in 1958 was succeeded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). She worked at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, for most of her career. She started as a computer at the segregated West Area Computing division in 1951. "Human computers," were responsible for complex mathematical calculations and data processing. In 1958, after taking engineering classes, she became NASA's first black female engineer. African-American women computers played a vital role in advancing NASA projects, including the first American astronaut to orbit Earth in 1962. 

Mary Winston Jackson successfully overcame the barriers of segregation and gender bias to become a professional aerospace engineer and leader in ensuring equal opportunities for future generations.

Learn more about Mary W. Jackson:

https://www.nasa.gov/people/mary-w-jackson-biography/

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Date: May 18, 2026

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Skywatching #SolarSystem #Earth #Moon #Planets #Venus #Conjunction #History #MaryWJackson #AfricanAmericans #Women #Engineers #Computers #WashingtonDC #UnitedStates #NorthernHemisphere #Astrophotography #STEM #Education

NASA F-15 Aircraft Test Model Wing for Commercial Aviation Fuel Savings

NASA F-15 Aircraft Test Model Wing for Commercial Aviation Fuel Savings

NASA’s Crossflow Attenuated Natural Laminar Flow (CATNLF) project aims to lower fuel costs for future commercial aircraft by testing a scale-model wing designed to improve laminar flow. The project flew the scale-model wing on the bottom of a NASA F-15 research aircraft during a series of flight tests at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. 

Learn more: https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/nasa-completes-first-flight-of-laminar-flow-scaled-wing-design/

Video Credits: NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center and NASA Langley Research Center

Duration: 6 minutes, 45 seconds
Release Date: May 18, 2026

#NASA #Aerospace #CommercialAviation #Aircraft #NASAF15 #NASAF15D #NASAF15Eagle #Science #Physics #Engineering #CivilianResearch #AeronauticalResearch #WingDesign #CATNLFProject #FlightTests #Boeing #McDonnellDouglas #NASAArmstrong #Edwards #California #NASALangley #Virginia #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Spiral Galaxies NGC 3166 & NGC 3169 in Sextans | Mayall Telescope

Spiral Galaxies NGC 3166 & NGC 3169 in Sextans | Mayall Telescope

This image was obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic camera on the Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. NGC 3166 (lower right) and NGC 3169 (upper left) are two spiral galaxies trapped in a death spiral. As these two galaxies begin to merge, they are starting to be pulled apart. The faint wisps surrounding NGC 3169 are its outer spiral arms being pulled off. Eventually these two galaxies will merge to form a single galaxy. NGC 3165, the small galaxy below NGC 3166, is also a member of this group. 

Distance from Earth: ~70 million light-years away

The image was generated with observations in the B (blue), V (green), I (orange) and Hydrogen-Alpha (red) filters. This image is rotated clockwise 30 degrees from north is up, east is to the left.

The Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope is a four-meter (158 inches) reflector telescope in Arizona named after the American observational astronomer of the same name. The telescope saw first light on February 27, 1973, and was the second-largest in the world at that time.

Learn more about the Mayall Telescope: 
https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/kpno/telescopes/nicholas-mayall-4m-telescope

Credit:T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and H. Schweiker (WIYN and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA)
Image Credit: June 30, 2020

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #NGC3166 #NGC3169 #InteractingGalaxies #SextansConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #MayallTelescope #KPNO #Arizona #NSF #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Antares & The Rho Ophiuchi Dark Cloud | Australian Astronomical Observatory

Antares & The Rho Ophiuchi Dark Cloud | Australian Astronomical Observatory

The dusty region between Ophiuchus and Scorpius contains examples of the most colorful and spectacular nebulae ever photographed. The upper part of the picture is filled with the bluish glow of light from hot stars reflected by a huge, cool cloud of dust and gas where such stars are born. This dust is also seen as a dark nebula, a molecular cloud, hiding the light of background stars, especially on middle left (east) of the picture.

Dominating the lower half of this cosmic landscape is the over-exposed image of the red supergiant star Antares, a star that it is steadily shedding material from its distended surface as it nears the end of its life. These tiny, smoke-like solid particles reflect Antares' light and hide it in a nebula of its own making. Antares and its nebula are about 600 light years away. Partly surrounding Sigma Scorpii (735 light years distant) at the right of the picture is a red emission nebula, completing the most comprehensive collection of nebular types ever seen in one photograph. There is also two globular clusters, one of the nearest to the sun, M4 (NGC 6121, 4500 light years away) at lower center right and NGC 6144, 28,000 light years away and much fainter, buried behind Antares' haze

Like all the images on these pages, this picture was made from three black and white glass negatives. Care has been taken to ensure that the colors are realistic.

Photograph made from plates taken in June 1979 (G,R), and July 1979 (B). Image width is about 3.5 degrees.

Image Credit: David Malin
Copyright: Australian Astronomical Observatory
Date: Aug. 15, 1979

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Nebulae #EmissionNebulae #Stars #StarClusters #GlobularClusters #Antares #NGC6144 #M4 #StellarNurseries #RhoOphiuchi #CloudComplex #SigmaScorpii #OphiuchusConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #Astronomers #DavidMalin #AustralianAstronomicalObservatory #Australia #STEM #Education

Planet Mars Images: May 15-17, 2026 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Planet Mars Images: May 15-17, 2026 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Mars 2020 - sol 1862

Mars 2020 - sol 1862

Mars 2020 - sol 1862

Mars 2020 - sol 1859

Mars 2020 - sol 1861

MSL - sol 4896

MSL - sol 4897

Mars 2020 - sol 1862

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Celebrating 13+ Years on Mars (2012-2025)

Mission Name: Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

Rover Name: Curiosity

Main Job: To determine if Mars was ever habitable to microbial life. 

Launch: Nov. 6, 2011

Landing Date: Aug. 5, 2012, Gale Crater, Mars

Celebrating 5+ Years on Mars

Mission Name: Mars 2020

Rover Name: Perseverance

Main Job: Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for return to Earth.

Launch: July 30, 2020

Landing: Feb. 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars

For more information on NASA's Mars missions, visit: mars.nasa.gov

Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

Processing: Kevin M. Gill

Release Dates: May 15-17, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planets #Mars #Astrobiology #Geology #CuriosityRover #MSL #MountSharp #GaleCrater #PerseveranceRover #Mars2020 #JezeroCrater #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #SpaceEngineering #MSSS #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #CitizenScience #KevinGill #STEM #Education

China Long March-8 Rocket Launches New Satellites for Spacesail Constellation

China Long March-8 Rocket Launches New Satellites for Spacesail Constellation

China launched a Long March-8 carrier rocket on May 17, 2026, in Hainan, sending a new satellite group into space. The rocket lifted off at 22:42 (Beijing Time) from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site. The satellite group, the ninth batch that will constitute the Spacesail (Qianfan) Constellation, entered the preset orbit successfully.

Qianfan is China's first giant low-orbit commercial satellite constellation to enter the formal networking phase. It will build a satellite Internet system that provides high-speed, real-time, secure, and reliable integrated solutions and services connecting space, air, ground and sea, independently constructed and operated by China. The project launched its first batch of satellites in August 2024 and aims to have a full operational network of more than 15,000 low-Earth orbit satellites in place by 2030. Qianfan is designed to support China's Belt and Road Initiative, providing secure digital links for Chinese businesses and infrastructure projects across the globe.

The Long March-8 rocket that carried out this mission is a member of the Long March 8 family. Together with the Long March-8A carrier rocket, the two models feature the payload capacity of 5 tonnes and 7 tonnes to sun-synchronous orbit, respectively. This underscores China's upgraded launch capabilities for deploying satellites into medium and low Earth orbits.

This year, the Long March 8 rockets will enter a high-density launch schedule, continuing to support the development of China's low-Earth orbit satellite Internet constellation and the high-quality development of the country's commercial space sector. 

Video Credit: CCTV
Duration: 24 seconds 
Release Date: May 18, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Satellites #SpaceSailConstellation #QianfanConstellation #千帆星座 #China #中国 #CNSA #中国国家航天局 #Rockets #LongMarch8Rockets #长征八号运载火箭  #MediumLiftRockets #CASC #SpaceTechnology #CommercialSpace #CommercialSpaceflight #Spaceports #Wenchang #Hainan #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Aurora Australis Streams above Indian Ocean | International Space Station

Aurora Australis Streams above Indian Ocean | International Space Station

The aurora australis streams serenely above the Indian Ocean southwest of Perth, Australia, in this photograph taken at approximately 10:20 p.m. local time from the International Space Station as it orbited 268 miles above the Earth.

Follow Expedition 74:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 74 Crew
Station Commander: Sergey-Kud Sverchkov (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Andrey Fedyaev, Sergei Mikaev

European Space Agency Flight Engineer: Sophie Adenot

NASA Flight Engineers: Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Chris Williams

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Learn more about station research:
https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/space-station-research-and-technology/

Credit: ESA/Sophie Adenot
Date: May 7, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Astronomy #ISS #Earth #IndianOcean #Aurora #AuroraAustralis #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #Expedition74 #SpaceLaboratory #MicrogravityExperiments #JSC #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #STEM #Education

Star Cluster Westerlund 2 in Carina | Webb Telescope+Chandra X-ray Observatory

Star Cluster Westerlund 2 in Carina | Webb Telescope+Chandra X-ray Observatory

This image of Westerlund 2 features Chandra X-ray Observatory data (pink) and James Webb infrared data (red, orange, green, cyan, and blue). Scores of gleaming stars ringed in neon pink stretch across the frame, highlighting a cluster where stars are between one and three million years old. Brick-orange dust clouds along the bottom edge illustrate the raw materials of this active stellar nursery.

The cluster measures between 6 light-years and 13 light-years across, and is host to examples of our Milky Way galaxy's hottest, brightest, and most massive stars.

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/Sejong Univ./Hur et al; JWST: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, V. Almendros-Abad, M. Guarcello, K. Monsch, and the EWOCS team

Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare and K. Arcand
Release Date: May 15, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #StarClusters #Westerlund2 #BrownDwarfs #Nebulae #Carina #Constellations #Astrophysics #Cosmos #Universe #JWST #MIRI #NIRCam #InfraredAstronomy #NASAChandra #XrayAstronomy #SpaceTelescopes #ESA #CSA #GSFC #STScI #CXC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Close-up: Star Cluster NGC 6380 in Scorpius | Hubble Space Telescope

Close-up: Star Cluster NGC 6380 in Scorpius | Hubble Space Telescope

This image shows the globular cluster NGC 6380. It lies around 35,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Scorpio (The Scorpion). The very bright star at the top of the image is HD 159073, only around 4,000 light-years from Earth—making it a much nearer neighbor than NGC 6380. This image was taken with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). As its name suggests, this instrument has a wide field of view, meaning that it can image relatively large areas of the sky in enormous detail.

NGC 6380 is not a particularly exciting name, but it indicates that this cluster is cataloged in the New General Catalog (NGC), originally compiled in 1888. This cluster has, however, been known by many other names. It was originally discovered by James Dunlop in 1826, and he rather immodestly named it Dun 538. Eight years later, in 1834, it was independently rediscovered by John Herschel and he (similarly immodestly) went on to name it H 3688. The cluster was re-rediscovered in 1959 in Paris by Pişmiş, who cataloged it as Tonantzintla 1—and to continue the pattern, also referred to it as Pişmiş 25. In addition to its colorful history of rediscovery, up until the 1950s NGC 6380 was thought to be an open cluster. It was A. D. Thackeray that realized that it was in fact a globular cluster. Nowadays, this cluster is reliably recognized in widely available catalogs as a globular cluster, and referred to simply as NGC 6380. 

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, E. Noyola

Duration: 30 seconds
Date: July 12, 2021

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarClusters #GlobularClusters #NGC6380 #StarHD159073 #ScorpiusConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Rediscovered, Renamed, Reclassified: Star Cluster NGC 6380 in Scorpius | Hubble

Rediscovered, Renamed, Reclassified: Star Cluster NGC 6380 in Scorpius | Hubble

This image shows the globular cluster NGC 6380. It lies around 35,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Scorpio (The Scorpion). The very bright star at the top of the image is HD 159073, only around 4,000 light-years from Earth—making it a much nearer neighbor than NGC 6380. This image was taken with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). As its name suggests, this instrument has a wide field of view, meaning that it can image relatively large areas of the sky in enormous detail.

NGC 6380 is not a particularly exciting name, but it indicates that this cluster is cataloged in the New General Catalog (NGC), originally compiled in 1888. This cluster has, however, been known by many other names. It was originally discovered by James Dunlop in 1826, and he rather immodestly named it Dun 538. Eight years later, in 1834, it was independently rediscovered by John Herschel and he (similarly immodestly) went on to name it H 3688. The cluster was re-rediscovered in 1959 in Paris by Pişmiş, who cataloged it as Tonantzintla 1—and to continue the pattern, also referred to it as Pişmiş 25. In addition to its colorful history of rediscovery, up until the 1950s NGC 6380 was thought to be an open cluster. It was A. D. Thackeray that realized that it was in fact a globular cluster. Nowadays, this cluster is reliably recognized in widely available catalogs as a globular cluster, and referred to simply as NGC 6380. 

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, E. Noyola
Date: July 12, 2021

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarClusters #GlobularClusters #NGC6380 #StarHD159073 #ScorpiusConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education