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NASA scientists have made some astounding observations and discoveries recently, thanks to new equipment and continued explorations with existing tech such as the Hubble, Spitzer & James Webb Telescope’s, as we celebrate World Science Festival 2016.

Hypernovae are the biggest deaths of the biggest stars. They are a mega supernovae (aka Superluminous Supernovae - SLN). They are considered as the most luminous things in the universe. More than just things, they are events that are over 500 billion of times brighter than our Sun.

They emit Gamma Ray bursts that can scorch a nearby planet in just seconds. Some leave neutron stars in their wake, while others leave black holes.

A recently discovered SLN, called ASASSN-15lh, reported in Science, was detected by the Southern African Large Telescope and the Magellan Clay Telescope, part of a network of telescopes, named the All Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASASSN), which has to date discovered over 250 supernova.

Scientists are still puzzled about how hypernova form. One theory is that super-dense neutron stars are the source as they rotate on their axes 1000x/second and spin out super-powerful magnetic fields, creating the mega-bright energy.

A new study published in the Astrophysical Journal, using data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and 4 ground-based telescopes, shows the distance between stars and the inner rims of their surrounding protoplanetary disks, using "photo-reverberation," aka "light echoes."

This exploration is shedding new light on exoplanets, the planets in solar systems outside our own.

The relatively young star used in this study is called YLW 16B and lies about 400 light-years from Earth.

NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has now shown us a the Spider Nebula (IC 417), where new stars are forming amidst the gas and dust. It is located 10,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Auriga, at the outer part of the Milky Way. 

LHA 120-N55 (aka N55) is a glowing gas cloud in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way located about 163,000 light-years away. It hangs out inside a superbubble called LMC 4.

There is a recently formed new population of stars, emitting intense light and gorgeous pinkish colors.

The Hubble Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 has captured images of distant stars and galaxies never before seen -- or even known about.

Spitzer Space Telescope, thanks to its infrared capabilities, is able to capture images of newborn stars and protostars that the Hubble could not.

The James Webb Space Telescope, the largest telescope ever launched into space, has an infrared-capturing mirror 60 times larger in area than Spitzer’s. Shielded from heat, it can capture never before seen images of Sun-like stars at a much higher level of detail.

NASA  just released this new image of the Bubble Nebula in celebration of the Hubble Space Telescope’s 26th year in orbit. It is a cloud of gas and dust illuminated by the brilliant star within it.

Also known as NGC 7635, the Bubble Nebula lies 8,000 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia. 

Read more about Beautiful Minds in Beautiful Discoveries Come to Prepared Minds, Beautiful Discoveries Come to Prepared Minds, The Art of Observing How the Universe Works Now, Exquisite Edible Geometry Observations Now and Magic = Science + Art Now.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact Daily Fix posts.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: Courtesy of NASA. Hypernova.
2. Image: Courtesy of NASA. Hypernova.
3. Image: Courtesy of NASA. Rosetta Gamma Ray Burst.
4. Image: Courtesy of NASA/CXC/Rutgers/J.Hughes; Optical: NASA/STScI. The Remnant of Star SNR E0519-69.0.
5. Image: Courtesy of NASA. Rosetta Gamma Ray Burst.
6. Image: Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech. Star Surrounded by a Protoplanetary Disk.
7. Image: Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/2MASS. The Spider Nebula.
8. Image: Courtesy of ESO. Image of LHA 120-N55 captured by Very Large Telescope (VLT).
9. Image: Courtesy of NASA, ESA, The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), A. Nota (ESA/STScI), and the Westerlund 2 Science Team. The Westerlund 2 Star Cluster.
10. Image: Courtesy of NASA. The James Webb Telescope.
11. Image: Courtesy of NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Team. The Bubble Nebula.
12. Image: by Bernard Michaud. Courtesy of NASA. The Bubble Nebula.
13. Image: Courtesy of NASA. Hypernova.
14. Image: by BN App - Download now!
15. Image: Courtesy of NASA. Density of stars in Milky Way captured by Hubble Telescope.