Amanda Kooser is a New Mexico-based journalist who covers quirky and unusual science stories. She’s explored a mushroom growing on a frog, perfume for dogs and strange rocks on Mars. As a freelance writer, Kooser has delved into gadgets, geek culture, public schools, weird foods, transatlantic travel, broadband and Route 66.
The venerable Hubble Space Telescope has seen some things, man. An eye-opening new Hubble image shows the binary star system R Aquarii having a cosmic freakout. The view shows a wild, colorful nebula with filaments of gas reaching out in a spiral pattern. “The twisted stellar outflows make the region look like a lawn sprinkler gone berserk,”
The red giant and white dwarf have an explosive relationship. “When the white dwarf star swings closest to the red giant along its 44-year orbital period, it gravitationally siphons off hydrogen gas,” the Hubble team said. “This material accumulates on the dwarf star's surface until it undergoes spontaneous nuclear fusion, making that surface explode like a gigantic hydrogen bomb.” This is what creates the wild loops of glowing material seen in the image.
Hubble has been monitoring R Aquarii for decades. ESA released a timelapse video showing the evolution of the star system from 2014 to 2023. Look for shifts in brightness and for how the nebula changes over time.
Hubble Space Telescope NASA R Aquarii Hubble Space ESA
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
NASA's Hubble telescope reveals striking image of new multi-wavelength galaxyDoug covers topics from a national angle including politics, consumer issues, stories that cross borders, and news that catches the attention of U.S. lawmakers.
Read more »
Hubble Space Telescope suggests our ancient universe was surprisingly crowded with supermassive black holesKeith Cooper is a freelance science journalist and editor in the United Kingdom, and has a degree in physics and astrophysics from the University of Manchester.
Read more »
Hubble Space Telescope spies a spiral galaxy in a cosmic 'clock'Samantha Mathewson joined Space.com as an intern in the summer of 2016. She received a B.A. in Journalism and Environmental Science at the University of New Haven, in Connecticut. Previously, her work has been published in Nature World News.
Read more »
Black hole 'blowtorch' is causing nearby stars to explode, Hubble telescope revealsBen Turner is a U.K. based staff writer at Live Science. He covers physics and astronomy, among other topics like tech and climate change. He graduated from University College London with a degree in particle physics before training as a journalist.
Read more »
Jupiter's Great Red Spot is being squeezed, Hubble Telescope finds — and nobody knows why (video)Keith Cooper is a freelance science journalist and editor in the United Kingdom, and has a degree in physics and astrophysics from the University of Manchester.
Read more »
Hubble Telescope and New Horizons Pluto probe team up to image UranusRobert Lea is a science journalist in the U.K. whose articles have been published in Physics World, New Scientist, Astronomy Magazine, All About Space, Newsweek and ZME Science. He also writes about science communication for Elsevier and the European Journal of Physics. Rob holds a bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy from the U.K.
Read more »