Cosmic lens MACS J1720+35 helps Hubble to find a distant supernova (annotated): The heart of a vast cluster of galaxies called MACSJ1720+35 is shown in this image, taken in visible and near-infrared light by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The galaxy cluster is so massive that its gravity distorts, brightens, and magnifies light from more distant objects behind it, an effect called gravitational lensing. The small white box at upper right marks the location of an exploding star, located behind the cluster. An enlarged view of the supernova, nicknamed Caracalla, is shown in the furthest right of the two inset images, taken in July 2012. An arrow marks the location of the supernova, which resides near the bright core of the host galaxy. The supernova is seen as it appeared 7.7 billion years ago. The image was taken in near-infrared light with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3. The inset image on the left, taken in March 2012, shows the same region before the supernova blast. Astronomers combined observations taken in visible and near-infrared light with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3 to make the image. The supernova is a member of a special class of exploding star called Type Ia, prized by astronomers because it provides a consistent level of peak brightness that makes it reliable for making distance estimates. Finding a gravitationally lensed Type Ia supernova gives astronomers a unique opportunity to check the optical "prescription" of the foreground lensing cluster. The supernova is one of three exploding stars discovered in the Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH), and was followed up as part of a Supernova Cosmology Project HST program. CLASH is a Hubble census that probed the distribution of dark matter in 25 galaxy clusters. Dark matter cannot be seen directly but is believed to make up most of the universe's matter. The image of the galaxy cluster was taken between March and June 2012 by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys.

Name: Caracalla Supernova, MACSJ1720+35
Type: Local Universe : Star : Evolutionary Stage : SupernovaEarly Universe : Galaxy : Grouping : ClusterEarly Universe : Cosmology : Phenomenon : Lensing
Category: Galaxies
Release date: 1 May 2014, 19:00
Credit: NASA, ESA,  S. Perlmutter (UC Berkeley, LBNL), A. Koekemoer (STScI), M. Postman  (STScI), A. Riess (STScI/JHU), J. Nordin (LBNL, UC Berkeley), D. Rubin  (Florida State), and C. McCully (Rutgers University)

Cosmic lens Abell 383 helps Hubble to find a distant supernova (annotated): The heart of a vast cluster of galaxies called Abell 383 is shown in this image, taken in visible and near-infrared light by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The galaxy cluster is so massive that its gravity distorts, brightens, and magnifies light from more distant objects behind it, an effect called gravitational lensing. The small white box at left marks the location of an exploding star called a  supernova, located behind the cluster. An enlarged view of the supernova, nicknamed Tiberius after the first century Roman emperor, is shown in the furthest right inset image, taken in January 2011. The arrow pinpoints the supernova's location. The bright material beneath it is part of the host galaxy. The supernova is seen as it appeared 8 billion years ago. The inset image on the left, taken in November 2010, shows the same region before the supernova blast. Both inset images were taken in visible light with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The supernova is one of three exploding stars discovered in the Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH), and was followed up as part of a Supernova Cosmology Project HST program. CLASH is a Hubble census that probed the distribution of dark matter in 25 galaxy clusters. Dark matter cannot be seen directly but is believed to make up most of the universe's matter. The image of the galaxy cluster was taken between November 2010 and February 2011 by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for  Surveys.

Name: Abell 383, Tiberius Supernova
Type: Local Universe : Star : Evolutionary Stage : SupernovaEarly Universe : Galaxy : Grouping : ClusterEarly Universe : Cosmology : Phenomenon : Lensing
Category: Galaxies
Release date: 1 May 2014, 19:00
Credit: NASA, ESA, C. McCully (Rutgers University), A. Koekemoer (STScI), M. Postman (STScI), A. Riess (STScI/JHU), S. Perlmutter (UC Berkeley, LBNL), J. Nordin (NBNL, UC Berkeley), and D. Rubin (Florida State)

Cosmic lens RXJ1532.9+3021 helps Hubble to find a distant supernova (annotated): The heart of a vast cluster of galaxies called RXJ1532.9+3021 is shown in this image, taken in visible and near-infrared light by the ESA/NASA Hubble Space Telescope. The galaxy cluster is so massive that its gravity distorts, brightens, and magnifies light from more distant objects behind it, an effect called gravitational lensing. The small white box at upper right marks the location of an exploding star called a supernova, located far behind the cluster. An enlarged view of the supernova, nicknamed Didius after the second century Roman emperor Didius Julianus, is shown in the inset image on the right, taken in March 2012. The supernova is the white dot in the center of the image. The bright blob at upper left is the core of the host galaxy. The supernova is seen as it appeared 7 billion years ago. The inset image on the left, taken in February 2012, shows the same region before the supernova blast. The supernova is a member of a special group of exploding stars called Type Ia, prized by astronomers because they provide a consistent level of peak brightness that makes them reliable for making distance estimates. Both inset images were taken in visible light with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. Finding a gravitationally lensed Type Ia supernova gives astronomers a unique opportunity to check the optical "prescription" of the foreground lensing cluster. The supernova is one of three exploding stars discovered in the Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH), and was followed up as part of a Supernova Cosmology Project HST program. CLASH is a Hubble census that probed the distribution of dark matter in 25 galaxy clusters. Dark matter cannot be seen directly but is believed to make up most of the universe's matter. The image of the galaxy cluster was taken between February and April 2012 by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys.

Name: Didius Supernova, RXJ1532.9+3021
Type: Local Universe : Star : Evolutionary Stage : SupernovaEarly Universe : Galaxy : Grouping : ClusterEarly Universe : Cosmology : Phenomenon : Lensing
Category: Galaxies
Release date: 1 May 2014, 19:00
Credit: NASA, ESA,  C. McCully (Rutgers University), A. Koekemoer (STScI), M. Postman  (STScI), A. Riess (STScI/JHU), S. Perlmutter (UC Berkeley, LBNL), J.  Nordin (NBNL, UC Berkeley), and D. Rubin (Florida State)

Jupiter and its shrunken Great Red Spot: This full-disc image of Jupiter was taken on 21 April 2014 with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3).

Name: Great Red Spot, Jupiter
Type: Solar System : Planet
Category: Solar System
Release date: 15 May 2014, 16:00
Credit: Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center) Acknowledgement: C. Go Science Credit: A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center), G. Orton (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), J. Rogers (University of Cambridge, UK), and M. Wong and I. de Pater (University of California, Berkeley)