Hubblecast

The newest episode of the Hubblecast showcases striking new observations of a spiral galaxy moving through the heart of a galaxy cluster named Abell 3627. This cluster is violently ripping the spiral’s entrails out into space, leaving bright blue streaks as telltale clues to this cosmic crime.

In April of this year, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope will be celebrating 24 years of observing. To celebrate this milestone, the observatory is releasing a brand new image of part of NGC 2174, otherwise known as the Monkey Head nebula. This new Hubblecast episode showcases this beautiful image, which views a colourful region filled with young stars embedded within bright wisps of cosmic gas and dust.

This episode of the Hubblecast explores the intersection of science and art through the sound artwork of Tim Otto Roth - premiered in March 2014 at the fourth Hubble Space Telescope Conference at the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome. Heaven’s Carousel is a huge carousel like sound installation with 36 rotating illuminated loudspeakers which is inspired by Hubble research, in particular the accelerating Universe.

This new Hubblecast episode looks at starburst dwarf galaxies in a time when most of the stars in the Universe were formed. New NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope observations show that dwarf galaxies played a bigger role than expected in the early history of the Universe. This episode looks at the dwarf galaxies that form stars in sudden bursts, explores just how rampantly they are creating new stars and unravels when, where and how the stars in our Universe formed.

This Hubblecast explores the ‘beads on a string’ star formation found between two merging elliptical galaxies in the cluster known as SDSS J1531+3414.

This Hubblecast tells the story of what happens to Hubble in the mysterious region known as the South Atlantic Anomaly. When satellites pass through this area they are bombarded with swarms of intensely high energy particles. This can produce "glitches" in astronomical data, malfunctioning of on-board electronics, and has even shut down unprepared spacecraft for weeks!

Last month we asked the public to send us their Hubble- and astronomy-related questions, and the response was incredible! In this episode Dr J answers a selection of the questions that were specifically about Hubble itself. These range from where Hubble is and how it avoids crashing into space debris, to what the future holds for Hubble, how its life will end, and what will take its place. Watch out for the next episode in which the more science-related questions will get their turn.

In the summer of 2014 we asked the public to send us their Hubble- and astronomy-related questions, and the response was incredible! In this episode Dr J answers a selection of the questions about science related to Hubble. These range from questions about what Hubble has achieved within the Solar System, to the science it has uncovered at the very edge of the observable Universe. In this episode Dr J explains some of the key concepts, and biggest misconceptions, about the Universe we live in.

New observations of four globular clusters in the Fornax dwarf galaxy have called into question one of the leading theories about how these clusters form. In this episode we explain the mystery behind these objects and how it is deepened by these new findings.

Hubble has achieved an extraordinary amount in its lifetime and 2015 will mark 25 years since its launch. The year 2015 will be filled with Hubble-related activities for you to enjoy and, most importantly, get involved with. In this Hubblecast we look back at some of the ways in which you have shown your appreciation for Hubble in the past and let you in on what the Hubble 25 celebrations have to offer. More information on the 25th anniversary can be found on the dedicated web pages.