Welcome to a "star factory"!

This #HubbleFriday view shows the Tarantula Nebula, the brightest region of starbirth in our galactic neighborhood.

About 161,000 light-years away, it's within the Large Magellanic Cloud – a satellite galaxy to our Milky Way: https://t.co/COqOJbNb9x https://t.co/NKPU8czd9e

Happy #GroundhogDay!

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning... and from up in space, Hubble can see shadows too!

This image shows three of Jupiter’s dozens of moons – and two of their shadows – moving across the planet in 2015: https://t.co/zJEV01V9Oo https://t.co/IE4n2Wqq6p

Astronomers were able to determine this using “gravitational microlensing” – when the gravity of a foreground object warps the light coming from an object behind it.

The light from a background star was slightly deflected by the gravitational warping of space by LAWD 37. https://t.co/mX4iEPZxBZ

With Hubble, astronomers measured the mass of a single, isolated white dwarf – which is the surviving core of a burned-out star.

The white dwarf, called LAWD 37, is 56% the mass of our Sun: https://t.co/wIg48n2jPY

More  https://t.co/Y3roR5csiv

Meet Phathom Donald, a satellite systems engineer on the Hubble mission. She followed her passion for the stars, and now gets to help maintain and command a spacecraft! 

Read more about her journey to Hubble: https://t.co/ClhCWlMXP7 https://t.co/EGLVJEBzBs

The cosmic ocean 

This #HubbleClassic image shows a sea of glowing hydrogen gas, along with small amounts of other elements such as oxygen and sulfur.

Known as M17 (or the Swan or Omega Nebula), this starforming region resides 5,500 light-years away: https://t.co/av9n5yNHoJ https://t.co/nogM3ZPAPw

Another comet viewing opportunity is here: C/2022 E3 (ZTF) can be seen with binoculars or a small telescope in the predawn sky as the comet travels across the northern sky.

Check your favorite skywatching app for the comet's position and more info!  https://t.co/oEvRhcc1L3

 #FlashbackFriday to Hubble’s observations of Comet ISON in April 2013!

Even without a space-based observatory to help, this comet became visible with the naked eye too!

Read more: https://t.co/jJ6vfJl8Wt https://t.co/sLY45HQU7R

Have a stellar #HubbleFriday!

This week's image shows the bright star V 372 Orionis, along with a smaller companion star in the upper left.

Both stars call the Orion Nebula home – which is a massive region of starbirth about 1,450 light-years away: https://t.co/XAt0YRINDw https://t.co/BQ88kl2Xiz

Ever wonder what Hubble saw on your birthday?

Here’s what Hubble captured #OTD in 2000 – the galaxy NGC 4013, seen edge-on from 55 million light-years away!

Find your image: https://t.co/YWQwIX8ZMC https://t.co/bObvG4dgve

Galaxies galore!

This #HubbleClassic image shows Abell 1689, which is one of the most massive clusters of galaxies known to exist.

Abell 1689 is made up of so much matter that it warps light traveling to us from objects located behind the galaxy cluster: https://t.co/GMp5rS3nXD https://t.co/us6Mcku58Q

A cosmic treasure trove! 🤩

This #HubbleFriday contains lots of astronomical marvels: the hazy galaxy UGC 7983, more distant galaxies, and even an asteroid, seen as four streaks of light on the upper left (from four exposures taken by Hubble).

For more: https://t.co/OPyPKC1DkG https://t.co/o60ZRYxUuj

#OTD in 2006, NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto launched!

With its space-based observations, Hubble has helped support planetary missions like New Horizons. Learn more in this video! https://t.co/NkEn9LfTfb

This nebula’s weather forecast? 200,000 degrees Celsius! 

That’s the surface temperature of the dying star at the center of the nebula NGC 2440.

It’s shedding outer layers of material to create the complex structure seen in this #HubbleClassic image: https://t.co/qSwfr1AdxY https://t.co/aQuTIzaTfv

Happy #HubbleFriday!

This week's image shows a galactic gathering. On the right, the faint, sparse galaxy LEDA 48062 shines from 30 million light-years away. On the left is a more sharply defined galaxy called UGC 8603: https://t.co/tr1p9Q9fVN https://t.co/8nktFIVasL

News from #AAS241!

Hubble recorded a star's final moments as it was ripped apart and eaten up by a black hole – getting twisted into a donut-like shape in the process.

Find out more: https://t.co/CEGLVP2Nly https://t.co/QUbdp6RpNa

In an image released today at #AAS241, @NASAWebb's near-infrared sensitivity detected dust in disks of material surrounding forming stars – which means that this region might contain the building blocks for not just stars, but planets as well!  https://t.co/qch7VKmBBG

The Hubble view (above on the left) shows NGC 346 in visible and near-infrared light. Outflows and radiation from young stars are wearing away at the denser outer portions of the region!

https://t.co/4Ev27ftjrr

Stars across the spectrum! 

These two views of NGC 346 show a dynamic, massive star-forming region in the Small Magellanic Cloud, which is a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way.

What's going on in NGC 346? https://t.co/UrItoCROR9

M81 is one of the brightest galaxies in the night sky!

Seen in this #HubbleClassic view, M81 resides about 11.6 million light-years away. It's home to a black hole about 15 times the mass of our Milky Way Galaxy’s central black hole!

Read more: https://t.co/KOWwo6ozAV https://t.co/nxZZQnQOjd