The James Webb Space Telescope is being tested at a number of facilities, including some operated by NASA. One of these locations is in Huntsville, Alabama, at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Engineers are repurposing a test chamber originally built to test another one of NASA’s Great Observatories, the Chandra X-ray Observatory. 15 years ago, Chandra was launched into space and continues to be a vital contributor to our understanding of the universe. “Behind the Webb” host Mary Estacion takes us to Marshall to check out how Webb and Chandra share a common bond.

Did you know that Earth is not the only planet in our solar system to have magnificent displays of aurorae?

For over two decades, the +Hubble Space Telescope has observed planets and aurorae within the confines of our solar system .  Please join us as +Tony Darnell +Carol Christian  and +Scott Lewis explore the aurorae of other planets with astronomers who have made these observations.

As always, please interact with us by commenting and leaving questions, we’d love to hear from you!

It’s that time again, time for +Tony Darnell and Dr. +Frank Summers  to get together and fill you in on all the latest science and happenings from the Hubble Space Telescope.

Hope you can all make it, please bring your questions and comments!

Amateur astronomers have played a big role in astronomical research and the Hubble Space Telescope is not alone in enjoying the fruits of their labors.

When astronomers asked the question, Can white dwarfs in binary systems grow in mass? Amateurs were on hand to help guide Hubble to the best observations.

Understanding whether white dwarfs can gain mass is important, especially since they are the sources of a very important cosmic yardstick: Type 1a supernovae.  These supernovae were directly responsible for showing us that the universe is expanding and accelerating – which meant that it also gave rise to the idea of dark energy.

But making these observations of white dwarfs in order to see if they were gaining mass was tricky and older, rejected theories that cataclysmic variables might be the progenitors of Type 1a supernovae were being revisited.

Please join +Tony Darnell, +Carol Christian and +Scott Lewis as they discuss this very interesting Pro/Amateur collaboration using the Hubble Space Telescope to better understand Type 1a supernovae, white dwarf stars and cataclysmic variables.

Please bring your questions and comments and we’ll address them during the hangout as well!

The world’s strongest iPhone case has always been around. All you need is some cement mix and polyurethane adhesive. Nobody just really thought of it.
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Building New Worlds in Protoplanetary Disks
Dr. Andrea Banzatti, Space Telescope Science Institute

The study of planet formation in circumstellar disks has greatly advanced over the last two decades, especially after the first discoveries of planets around stars other than the Sun. While the existence of exoplanets and protoplanetary disks is by now a solid observational result, understanding the link between them is still a challenge both for theories and for observations. The talk will dive into the mystery of planet formation and address how planets may get their solid and gaseous constituents, as well as how they may be imprinted by the composition of the natal protoplanetary disks giving rise to a variety of different worlds.

Host: Ray Villard

Recorded live on July 1, 2014 at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD, USA

For more information: http://hubblesite.org/about_us/public_talks/

Backyard stargazers get a monthly guide to the northern hemisphere’s skywatching events with “Tonight’s Sky.” In July, the annual Delta Aquarid meteor shower streaks through the night.

“Tonight’s Sky” is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope. This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes — and other astronomy videos — at HubbleSite.org.

Visit Tonight’s Sky on HubbleSite.
http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky

*Note Special Time! Wednesday June 25, 2014*

High atop Haleakala on the island of Maui sits a telescope with a three-degree field of view and the largest digital camera ever built, recording 1.4 BILLION pixels with every image. In operation since June 2006 and concluded observation in March 2014, the data are now housed in The Mukulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) at the Space Telescope Science Center.

Please join +Tony Darnell  Dr. +Carol Christian  and +Scott Lewis  as we discuss what science is possible using a large digital camera staring at very large portions of the sky with members of the Pan-STARRS team.

Testing out the new LG G3 device in a side and front facing drop test!
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