Illustration of the Habitable Exoplanets Catalog
More exoplanets than expected in the first year of the Habitable Exoplanets Catalog. Image released Dec. 6, 2012. [See full story, "Most Earth-Like Alien Planet Possibly Found"]
Kepler Team Cuts Costs, Avoids Cancellation
Kepler with distant solar system. [See full story, "Finding Another Earth: How Will Scientists Confirm It Exists?"]
Milky Way over Mount Shasta
The Milky Way over Mount Shasta, California. [Read full story, "a href="http://www.space.com/19206-milky-way-galaxy-mass.html">Milky Way Galaxy May Be Less Massive Than Thought"]
Icon in Space
NASA's 23-year-old Hubble Space Telescope is still going strong, and agency officials said Tuesday (Jan. 8) they plan to operate it until its instruments finally give out, potentially through 2018, space agency officials say. [Read the Full Story]
Most Distant Type 1a Supernova
Supernova SCP-0401, which is about 10 billion light-years from Earth, was spotted by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2004 but could not be positively identified until after the 2009 installation of a new camera that acquired more data.
Brown Dwarf's Wild Weather
This artist's illustration shows the atmosphere of a brown dwarf called 2MASSJ22282889-431026, which was observed simultaneously by NASA's Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes. The telescopes' observations indicate this brown dwarf is marked by wind-driven, planet-size clouds. [Read the Full Story]
Brown Dwarf's Cloud Layers
This artist's concept shows the brown dwarf 2MASSJ22282889-431026, which has a turbulent atmosphere somewhat similar to the giant planet Jupiter's. [Read the Full Story]
Rogue Planetary Orbit for Fomalhaut b
This false-color composite image, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, reveals the orbital motion of the planet Fomalhaut b. Based on these observations, astronomers calculated that the planet is in a 2,000-year-long, highly elliptical orbit. Image released Jan. 8, 2013. [< href=http://www.space.com/19187-zombie-planet-shocking-orbit.html>Read the Full Story]
Schematic of Fomalhaut System
This diagram shows the orbit of the exoplanet Fomalhaut b as calculated from recent Hubble Space Telescope observations. The planet follows a highly elliptical orbit that carries it across a wide belt of debris encircling the bright star Fomalhaut. Image released Jan. 8, 2013. [< href=http://www.space.com/19187-zombie-planet-shocking-orbit.html>Read the Full Story]
Asteroid Belt Around Vega Explained
Astronomers have discovered what appears to be a large asteroid belt around the bright star Vega, as illustrated here at left in brown. [Read full story, "Alien Asteroid Belt Discovery Hints at Hidden Planets"]
Fomalhaut b 2012
This image is an expanded view of the alien planet Fomalhaut b around the star Fomalhaut abotu 25 light-years from Earth. The planet is a giant world nearly three times the mass of Jupiter. [< href=http://www.space.com/19187-zombie-planet-shocking-orbit.html>Read the Full Story]