Hubble Tracks Kuiper Belt Object: A Kuiper Belt object (KBO) visible in multiple exposures taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble tracked the KBO moving against the crowded background field of stars in the constellation Sagittarius. The object is no bigger than 43 miles across, and it is a deep-freeze relic of what the outer Solar System was like 4.6 billion years ago, during the period when the Sun formed. As the KBO orbits the Sun, its position noticeably shifts between exposures taken approximately 10 minutes apart. A Hubble survey has uncovered three KBOs, ranging from 43 to 56 kilometres across, that are potentially reachable by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft after it passes by Pluto in mid-2015.

Name: Kuiper Belt Object
Type: Solar System : Interplanetary Body
Category: Solar System
Release date: 16 October 2014, 09:39
Credit: NASA, ESA SwRI, JHU/APL, and the New Horizons KBO Search Team

Fast evolution of a galaxy: This graphic illustrates how a vibrant, star-forming galaxy quickly transforms into a sedate galaxy composed of old stars. The scenario begins when two galaxies merge (Panel 1), funneling a large amount of gas into the central region. The gas compresses, sparking a firestorm of star birth, which blows out most of the remaining star-forming gas (Panel 2). Devoid of its fuel, the galaxy settles into a quiet existence, composed of aging stars (Panel 3).

Type: Unspecified : Galaxy
Category: Galaxies
Release date: 19 November 2014, 11:46
Credit: Illustration Credit: NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI) Science Credit: P. Sell (Texas Tech University)

Outflows from twelve merging galaxies: The twelve galaxies in these NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope images are undergoing a firestorm of star birth, as shown by their bright white cores. Hubble reveals that the galaxies' star-making frenzy was ignited by mergers with other galaxies. The odd shapes of many of the galaxies are telltale evidence of those close encounters. The new Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 observations suggest that energy from the star-birthing frenzy created powerful winds that are blowing out the gas, meaning it is not available to form future generations of stars. This activity occurred when the Universe was half its current age of 13.7 billion years. The gas-poor galaxies may eventually become so-called red and dead galaxies, composed only of aging stars. The galaxies are the most compact yet found. They contain as much mass as our Milky Way galaxy, but packed into a much smaller area. The smallest galaxies are about 650 light-years across, one-sixtieth the width of our Milky Way galaxy. The Hubble false-colour images were processed to bring out important details in the galaxies. The images were taken in 2010.

Name: J0826+4305, J0944+0930, J1104+5946, J1359+5137, J1506+5402, J1506+6131, J1558+3957, J1613+2834, J1634+4619, J1713+2817, J2118+0017, J2140+1209
Type: Early Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting
Category: Galaxies
Release date: 19 November 2014, 11:47
Credit: NASA, ESA, and P. Sell (Texas Tech University)

Outflows from merging galaxy J0826+4305: This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of the galaxy J0826+4305 shows it is undergoing a firestorm of star birth, as shown by its bright white cores. This star-making frenzy was ignited by mergers with other galaxies. The odd shape of the galaxy is telltale evidence of a close encounters. The new Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 observations of this and eleven other galaxies undergoing the same process suggest that energy from the star-birthing frenzies created powerful winds that are blowing out the gas, meaning it is not available to form future generations of stars. This activity occurred when the Universe was half its current age of 13.7 billion years. The gas-poor galaxies may eventually become so-called red and dead galaxies, composed only of aging stars. This Hubble false-colour image was processed to bring out important details in the  galaxy. The images were taken in 2010.

Name: J0826+4305
Type: Early Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting
Category: Galaxies
Constellation: Lynx
Release date: 19 November 2014, 11:47
Credit: NASA, ESA, and P. Sell (Texas Tech University)

Outflows from merging galaxy J0944+0930: This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of the galaxy J0944+0930 shows it is undergoing a firestorm of star birth, as shown by its bright white cores. This star-making frenzy was ignited by mergers with other galaxies. The odd shape of the galaxy is telltale evidence of a close encounters. The new Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 observations of this and eleven other galaxies undergoing the same process suggest that energy from the star-birthing frenzies created powerful winds that are blowing out the gas, meaning it is not available to form future generations of stars. This activity occurred when the Universe was half its current age of 13.7 billion years. The gas-poor galaxies may eventually become so-called red and dead galaxies, composed only of aging stars. This Hubble false-colour image was processed to bring out important details in the  galaxy. The images were taken in 2010.

Name: J0944+0930
Type: Unspecified : Galaxy : Type : Interacting
Category: Galaxies
Constellation: Leo
Release date: 19 November 2014, 11:47
Credit: NASA, ESA, and P. Sell (Texas Tech University)