Behold one of the most jaw-dropping views in the cosmos: the colossal galaxy cluster Abell 1689, captured by Hubble in this stunning classic image. This gravitational monster contains so much mass that it warps the very fabric of spacetime, acting like a giant cosmic lens. It bends and stretches the light from galaxies far behind it, turning distant specks into dramatic arcs, streaks, and distorted shapes. Some of those faint, lensed galaxies are incredibly ancient — shining from over 13 billion light-years away, nearly as old as the universe itself!Abell 1689 lies more than two billion light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo, yet it gives us a front-row seat to the universe’s most powerful natural telescope.Mind-blowing, right? One cluster, thousands of galaxies, and a glimpse into the distant past.
Image credit: NASA, N. Benitez (JHU), T. Broadhurst (Racah Institute of Physics/The Hebrew University), H. Ford (JHU), M. Clampin (STScI), G. Hartig (STScI), G. Illingworth (UCO/Lick Observatory), the ACS Science Team and ESA
A literal cosmic butterfly floating through deep space. 🦋✨
This is NGC 2899, a breathtaking bi-polar nebula located thousands of light-years away. Absolutely mesmerizing. 🌌🛰️
There’s beauty in the breakdown.
When a Sun-like star reaches the end of its life, it creates a planetary nebula like this one. Webb’s new observations of the Red Spider Nebula reveal never-before-seen detail. https://t.co/1kTLFEYftA
Webb refined our view of Apep, a star system consisting of two rare Wolf-Rayet stars and a supermassive third star, which is slicing holes in the dusty shells its companions are creating. https://t.co/JxT8TnNPbR
What a glow up! 🎀
@NASAWebb gave a new look at two star clusters first captured by @NASAHubble. Originally shown as dusty blue bubbles, Webb highlights the finer inner details, illuminated by starlight.
Read more about the before and after: https://t.co/mHGJ4KdxEa
🚨‼️ BREAKING NEWS: The Vera C. Rubin Observatory just unveiled its FIRST jaw-dropping images from its cutting-edge 8.4-m survey telescope ! ✨ Stunning views of the Trifid & Lagoon nebulae and the Virgo Cluster reveal millions of galaxies and thousands of asteroids in unprecedented detail. With its 3.2-gigapixel camera, Rubin’s 10-year sky survey kicks off, promising to rewrite astronomy ! #astronomy
🚨This is a new image from JWST.
The bright points with spikes are stars in the Milky Way.
Everything else is a galaxy.
Everything. Else. Is. A. Galaxy.
A perfect alignment, captured by @NASAWebb.
This Einstein ring is formed from two galaxies: the closer, massive one at the center is warping the light from the more distant galaxy behind it. Details: https://t.co/miYKdO4jhY
Right now the night sky is pointed away from the galactic plane, which means you're seeing deep into intergalactic space when you look up.
This is what the intergalactic space looks like through my 12" scope, captured from my backyard last night.
So many galaxies!
The NASA/ESA/CSA James #Webb Space Telescope has captured a beautiful juxtaposition of the nearby protostellar outflow known as Herbig-Haro 49/50 with a perfectly positioned, more distant spiral galaxy.
https://t.co/zFWRfdxVgP