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Week in images: 08-12 June 2026
Week in images: 08-12 June 2026
Discover our week through the lens
Did A Moon-Size Planet Grow Fast and Die Young in the Early Solar System?
A rare meteorite recovered from the Sahara Desert could be a fragment of a Moon-size body that met a violent end in the earliest days of the solar system.
The post Did A Moon-Size Planet Grow Fast and Die Young in the Early Solar System? appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day gets one major thing wrong about the search for aliens
The new movie Disclosure Day is all about a big, alien secret. But SETI researchers behind the updated postdetection protocol say they aren’t in the business of secrets
Quantum computer quickly mines cryptocurrency while using less energy
Quantum computer quickly mines cryptocurrency while using less energy
Hubble Sees Swarm of Galaxies
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2 min read
Hubble Sees Swarm of Galaxies This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image features the galaxy cluster MACS0329-0211. NASA, ESA, M. Postman (STScI); Image Processing: G. Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)Looking somewhat like a swarm of bees returning to their hive, this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image features the galaxy cluster MACS0329-0211. Galaxy clusters like MACS0329-0211 are important signposts in the story of how the structure of the universe evolved, and are the ultimate telescopic lenses, placing gravitationally lensed galaxies from the earliest stages of the universe into our view.
Zoom into this galaxy swarm and you will find large, oval-shaped elliptical galaxies, and thin spiral and lenticular galaxies viewed from the edge. We can also see the full, face-on view of spiral galaxies and their curving spiral arms. The image’s upper-right quadrant holds faint arcs of distant galaxies gravitationally lensed by the cluster’s massive gravity. The largest of these arcs appears above the bright oval shape of a giant elliptical galaxy. Closer inspection of the image’s center reveals several bright-white intersecting curves that appear as a distorted figure eight. This may be another distant galaxy whose light was magnified and distorted by this massive cluster’s gravity.
Hubble looked at MACS0329-0211 as part of an observing program of X-ray bright galaxy clusters. Researchers used Hubble’s two main cameras, the Advanced Camera for Surveys and its Wide Field Camera 3, to gather data visible and infrared light from the cluster. Hubble’s ability to see such a broad spectrum of light makes it a valuable tool in understanding the very nature of these galaxy clusters.
Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubbleMedia Contact:
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.
Hubble’s Galaxies
Hubble Science Highlights
Hubble Images
Hubble Sees Swarm of Galaxies
- Hubble Home
- Overview
- Impact & Benefits
- Science
- Observatory
- Team
- Multimedia
- News
- More
2 min read
Hubble Sees Swarm of Galaxies This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image features the galaxy cluster MACS0329-0211. NASA, ESA, M. Postman (STScI); Image Processing: G. Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)Looking somewhat like a swarm of bees returning to their hive, this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image features the galaxy cluster MACS0329-0211. Galaxy clusters like MACS0329-0211 are important signposts in the story of how the structure of the universe evolved, and are the ultimate telescopic lenses, placing gravitationally lensed galaxies from the earliest stages of the universe into our view.
Zoom into this galaxy swarm and you will find large, oval-shaped elliptical galaxies, and thin spiral and lenticular galaxies viewed from the edge. We can also see the full, face-on view of spiral galaxies and their curving spiral arms. The image’s upper-right quadrant holds faint arcs of distant galaxies gravitationally lensed by the cluster’s massive gravity. The largest of these arcs appears above the bright oval shape of a giant elliptical galaxy. Closer inspection of the image’s center reveals several bright-white intersecting curves that appear as a distorted figure eight. This may be another distant galaxy whose light was magnified and distorted by this massive cluster’s gravity.
Hubble looked at MACS0329-0211 as part of an observing program of X-ray bright galaxy clusters. Researchers used Hubble’s two main cameras, the Advanced Camera for Surveys and its Wide Field Camera 3, to gather data visible and infrared light from the cluster. Hubble’s ability to see such a broad spectrum of light makes it a valuable tool in understanding the very nature of these galaxy clusters.
Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubbleMedia Contact:
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.
Hubble’s Galaxies
Hubble Science Highlights
Hubble Images
SpaceX IPO valuation depends on Starship and orbital AI data centers
Reusable rockets and Starlink made Elon Musk’s company dominant in spaceflight. Its record valuation leans on making Starship flights routine and orbital AI data centers real
Crowdsourcing could discover new meteor showers and more
Meteor camera networks can reveal the hidden history of the solar system, and you can assist from your own backyard
Can black holes send information back in time?
Extremely curved spacetime can warp cause and effect, creating channels for backward communication
Mission Control | Keeping Columbus Running 24/7 | ESA Explores #19
Step inside the Columbus Control Centre near Munich, Germany, and discover what it takes to keep ESA's Columbus laboratory running—24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Columbus Flight Director Tristan Hermel takes us behind the scenes of mission control, where teams on the ground coordinate operations, support astronauts and work with international partners across the globe.
Get a glimpse of life behind the consoles as ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot carries out her Epsilon mission on board the Space Station.
This interview was recorded in January 2026.
Disclosure Day and interspecies communication—alien language isn’t just weird noises
A linguist lays out what communicating with aliens could actually involve—and what that tells us about human language
This Week's Sky at a Glance, June 12 – 21
The three planets in the western twilight are pulling away from each other now. On Wednesday, the Moon will occult Venus in daylight.
The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, June 12 – 21 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
How to sparkle in conversation with strangers
How to sparkle in conversation with strangers
First working nuclear clock heralds a new era in timekeeping
First working nuclear clock heralds a new era in timekeeping
Earth from Space: Buenos Aires
This radar image from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission captures Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, the surrounding countryside and the Rio de la Plata estuary.
Zoom in to explore this image at its full resolution.
This is a composite of three Sentinel-1 acquisitions taken in January, March and May this year, with each image assigned to a different colour channel (blue in January, green in March and red in May). As the environmental changes on the ground created a significant ‘backscatter’ reflection of the radar signal, they show up as bright shades that correspond to changes across the seasons.
On the right-hand side of the image, the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires is visible in light grey. The area has a population of more than 16 million people and lies at 25 m above sea level. The urban areas were largely unchanged between January and May, hence the lack of colour in this part of the image. Other towns, such as Luján and Junin, are also visible as smaller patches of grey west of the capital.
The blue areas correspond to surface changes such as choppy water, captured in January, which is mid-summer in Argentina. The rivers, deltas and open water are mainly coloured in either dark blue, purple or black. Winds and rough sea conditions during both January and May mean that the Rio de la Plata estuary, east of Buenos Aires, appears purple (a mix of blue in January and red in May). The Paraná river meanders through wetlands on the left of the image before flowing into the Rio de la Plata. The Uruguay river is also seen flowing from the north into the estuary.
To the west of Buenos Aires, agricultural fields and the Argentinean Pampas dominate the landscape. The green tint is due to significant ‘backscatter’ reflection of the radar signal in this area during the capture in March. Since this period is late summer in Argentina, it likely denotes growth of major crops such as soy and corn.
At the top of the image, a large area north of the Paraná river, in Entre Ríos province, appears in vivid red – the channel assigned to ground change in May, which is late Autumn in Argentina. It is likely that this is due to natural vegetation growth caused by seasonal rains during that period. This is when the areas of exposed grassland come back to life following the long, dry summers.
Conversations in the sky: Galileo’s intersatellite links tested
The second generation of Galileo, Europe’s satellite navigation constellation, is being built. These satellites will feature reconfigurable payloads, provide more robust and reliable positioning, navigation and timing, enable new services and add new capabilities to the constellation.
One of these capabilities, intersatellite links, will allow the satellites to communicate with one another in orbit. After going through extensive testing, the intersatellite link antennas are ready to be integrated into the satellites.
World Cup Fever in Guadalajara
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