Details of Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A: Glowing gaseous streamers of red, white, and blue - as well as green and pink - illuminate the heavens like Fourth of July fireworks. The colorful streamers that float across the sky in this photo taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope were created by the universe's biggest firecracker, the titanic supernova explosion of a massive star. The light from the exploding star reached Earth 320 years ago. The dead star's shredded remains are called Cassiopeia A, or 'Cas A' for short. Cas A is the youngest known supernova remnant in our Milky Way Galaxy and resides 10, 000 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia, so the star actually blew up 10, 000 years before the light reached Earth in the late 1600s.

Name: Cassiopeia A, SNR 111.7-02.1
Type: Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Supernova Remnant
Category: Nebulae
Constellation: Cassiopeia
Distance: 11000 light years
Release date: 3 July 2002, 06:00
Credit: NASA/ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Dwarf Galaxy POX 186: New detailed images from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope show a 'late-blooming' galaxy, a small, distorted system of gas and stars that still appears to be in the process of development, even though most of its galactic cousins are believed to have started forming billions of years ago. Evidence of the galaxy's youthfulness can be seen in the burst of newborn stars and its disturbed shape. This evidence indicates that the galaxy, called POX 186, formed when two smaller clumps of gas and stars collided less than 100 million years ago (a relatively recent event in the universe's 13-billion-year history), triggering more star formation. Most large galaxies, such as our Milky Way, are thought to have formed the bulk of their stars billions of years ago.

Name: PGC 046982, POX 186
Type: Local Universe : Galaxy : Size : Dwarf
Category: NebulaeStars
Constellation: Virgo
Distance: 55 million light years
Release date: 19 December 2002, 15:00
Credit: NASA/ESA and Michael Corbin (CSC/STScI)

Hubble Spots an Icy World Far Beyond Pluto (artist's impression): The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has measured the largest object in the solar system ever seen since the discovery of Pluto 72 years ago. Approximately half the size of Pluto, the icy world is called 'Quaoar' (pronounced kwa-whar). Quaoar is about 4 billion miles away (about 6.4 billion kilometres away), more than a billion miles farther than Pluto. Like Pluto, Quaoar dwells in the Kuiper belt, an icy belt of comet-like bodies extending 7 billion miles beyond Neptune's orbit.

Name: Quaoar
Type: Solar System : Interplanetary Body : Dwarf planet
Category: Solar System
Release date: 7 October 2002, 06:00
Credit: NASA/ESA and M. Brown (Caltech)

Quaoar's orbit in the Solar System: NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has measured the largest object discovered in the solar system since the discovery of Pluto 72 years ago. Approximately half the size of Pluto, the icy world is called "Quaoar" (pronounced kwa-whar). Quaoar is about 4 billion miles away, more than a billion miles farther than Pluto. Like Pluto, Quaoar dwells in the Kuiper belt, an icy belt of comet-like bodies extending 7 billion miles beyond Neptune's orbit.

Name: Kuiper Belt, Quaoar, Solar System
Type: Solar System : Interplanetary Body
Category: IllustrationsSolar System
Release date: 7 October 2002, 06:00
Credit: NASA/ESA and A. Feild (STScI)

Where Did That Black Hole Come From?: Medium-size black holes actually do exist, according to the latest findings from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, but scientists had to look in some unexpected places to find them. The previously undiscovered black holes provide an important link that sheds light on the way in which black holes grow. Even more odd, these new black holes were found in the cores of glittering, 'beehive' swarms of stars called globular star clusters, which orbit our Milky Way and other galaxies. The black hole in globular cluster M15 is 4, 000 times more massive than our Sun.

Name: Messier 15, NGC 7078
Type: Milky Way : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Black HoleMilky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster : Globular
Category: Quasars and Black Holes
Constellation: Pegasus
Distance: 35000 light years
Release date: 17 September 2002, 18:00
Credit: NASA/ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Black Hole in a Star Cluster (Artist's Impression): Hubble discovers Black Holes in unexpected places.

Name: Black Hole, Messier 15, NGC 7078
Type: Milky Way : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Black HoleMilky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster : Globular
Category: Quasars and Black Holes
Distance: 35000 light years
Release date: 31 March 2020, 19:00
Credit: NASA/ESA and G. Bacon (STScI)

Using spectroscopy to measure velocity dispersion: Medium-size black holes actually do exist, according to the latest findings from NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, but scientists had to look in some unexpected places to find them. The previously undiscovered black holes provide an important link that sheds light on the way in which black holes grow. Even more odd, these new black holes were found in the cores of glittering, 'beehive' swarms of stars called globular star clusters, which orbit our Milky Way and other galaxies. The black hole in globular cluster M15 is 4, 000 times more massive than our Sun. G1, a much larger globular cluster, harbors a heftier black hole, about 20, 000 times more massive than our Sun.

Name: Black Hole
Type: Unspecified : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Black Hole
Category: IllustrationsQuasars and Black HolesStar Clusters
Release date: 17 September 2002, 18:00
Credit: NASA/ESA, A. Feild, and R. Van Der Marel (STScI)

Relation of black hole mass to cluster mass: Medium-size black holes actually do exist, according to the latest findings from NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, but scientists had to look in some unexpected places to find them. The previously undiscovered black holes provide an important link that sheds light on the way in which black holes grow. Even more odd, these new black holes were found in the cores of glittering, 'beehive' swarms of stars called globular star clusters, which orbit our Milky Way and other galaxies. The black hole in globular cluster M15 is 4, 000 times more massive than our Sun. G1, a much larger globular cluster, harbors a heftier black hole, about 20, 000 times more massive than our Sun.

Name: Black Hole Mass, Messier 15, NGC 7078
Type: Milky Way : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Black HoleMilky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster
Category: IllustrationsQuasars and Black Holes
Distance: 35000 light years
Release date: 17 September 2002, 18:00
Credit: NASA/ESA and A. Feild (STScI)

Relative location of M15 and M31 G1: Medium-size black holes actually do exist, according to the latest findings from NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, but scientists had to look in some unexpected places to find them. The previously undiscovered black holes provide an important link that sheds light on the way in which black holes grow. Even more odd, these new black holes were found in the cores of glittering, 'beehive' swarms of stars called globular star clusters, which orbit our Milky Way and other galaxies. The black hole in globular cluster M15 is 4, 000 times more massive than our Sun. G1, a much larger globular cluster, harbors a heftier black hole, about 20, 000 times more massive than our Sun.

Name: Andromeda Galaxy, G 1, Messier 15, NGC 224, NGC 7078
Type: Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster : GlobularLocal Universe : Star : Grouping : Cluster : Globular
Category: GalaxiesIllustrations
Release date: 17 September 2002, 18:00
Credit: NASA/ESA and A. Feild (STScI)