ESA Science (@esascience) / X

ESA Science

15.7K posts

ESA Science

@esascience

Keeping you posted on space science activities from the European Space Agency. Web: esa.int/science Privacy Notice: esa.int/connectwithus

All over the Universe!

Joined January 2010

ESA Science
@esascience
16h
Written in its stars ✨ On its 4th science anniversary, Webb has turned its gaze towards Centaurus A. Thanks to its high resolution we can now study the galaxy star by star, reconstructing when different events in its history happened 👉 esa.int/Science_Explor…
$A horizontal image of the galaxy Centaurus A stretches across a black background filled with thousands of tiny purple, pink, and white points of light. The galaxy is brightest at its centre, where a brilliant white and pale pink glow radiates outward. Eight diffraction spikes extend from the central glow. Delicate loops and wispy ribbons of pink and lavender arc above and below the centre of the image in the shape of an ‘S’. A band of gray and white dust in the shape of a parallelogram cuts across the middle of the galaxy. Mottled patches and bright knots are scattered throughout the dusty band. The galaxy’s outer edges fade into soft, cloud-like plumes with feathery textures that stretch toward the left and right sides of the image. Against the surrounding darkness, a few bright foreground stars shine with Webb’s distinctive diffraction spikes, while countless fainter stars create a speckled backdrop. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI. Image Processing: A. Pagan (STScI), J. Depasquale$
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ESA Science
@esascience
Jul 6
📣 Most ancient quasars ever found! @ESA_Euclid has discovered 31 ancient quasars. Two of them shone with the light of a trillion Suns back when the Universe was 670 million years old – just 5% of its current age. Discover more 👉 esa.int/Science_Explor…
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ESA Science
@esascience
Jul 2
Ready to launch your career in space? Our Junior Professional Programme could be your lift‑off. 🚀 If you hold a Master’s degree and have up to three years’ experience, this is your chance to join the European space sector. Apply now 👉 esa.int/About_Us/Caree… #ESArecruits
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ESA Science reposted
ESA Webb Telescope
@ESA_Webb
Jul 1
🆕 How did this planet survive the death of its star? ☠️⭐ WD 1856 b is a Jupiter-sized exoplanet which orbits its host star (a white dwarf) extremely tightly. If it had originally been orbiting at this distance, it would have been obliterated while the star was a red giant! 🔥
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ESA Science
@esascience
Jul 1
A 3rd launch anniversary gift for you! 🎁 📹 In just 26 hours, @ESA_Euclid imaged millions of stars at the heart of our galaxy 🤩 Hidden among them are planets we cannot see. Yet, thanks to gravity and chance alignment, we can detect their presence. How? 👇
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ESA Science
@esascience
Jul 1
New distance measurements for our galaxy 📏 @ESA_XMM & NASA's @chandraxray have measured the distance to three bright explosions echoing through the outer spiral arms of our galaxy. In doing so, they found the arms to be up to 10% further away than we thought 👉
GIF
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ESA Science reposted
HUBBLE
@HUBBLE_space
Jun 26
Our ESA/Hubble Picture of the Month features a starry chandelier 💡 This is the globular cluster NGC 6723, also known as the Chandelier Cluster. Each of its ‘lightbulbs’ is an individual star 27,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius (the Archer) 🏹 1/3
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ESA Science
@esascience
Jun 30
Our Dark Universe detective 🕵️ earns its spot in ESA's June highlights – with the largest, most detailed image of the Milky Way's heart ever taken in visible light 👉 esa.int/Science_Explor… @ESA_Euclid
European Space Agency
@esa
Jun 30
Artemis III crew announcement, a record-breaking Ariane 6, major science updates and more. Catch up on our main stories in June 2026. 👀
00:00
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ESA Science reposted
ESA Webb Telescope
@ESA_Webb
Jun 23
🆕 Webb has pinpointed millions of stars in the Cigar Galaxy! The edge-on spiral galaxy Messier 82 (M82), also known as the Cigar Galaxy is a unique sight. It is undergoing tremendous star formation (thought to be the result of a galaxy merger) for a galaxy of its size and
$Composite image of edge-on spiral starburst galaxy Messier 82 as observed by Webb and Hubble. Hourglass-shaped plumes of gas are shooting outward from above and below a bright blue-white, disc-shaped centre. The plumes are yellow near the galaxy’s bright centre, denoting areas of ionised hydrogen gas as observed by Hubble, and gradually become redder as you move farther away. Messier 82 is set against the black background of space, which has many distant galaxies that appear as small white and orange spirals, ovals, and points of light. Toward the right of Messier 82 is a blue-white star with eight-pointed diffraction spikes that are characteristic of Webb.$
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ESA Science
@esascience
Jun 26
Solar Eclipse: myth ❌ or fact ✅ ? 🔴 will eclipses vanish one day? 🔴 do regular sunglasses protect your eyes? 🔴 do eclipses only move West to East? Find out with astronaut @Astro_Pablo_ESA 🔭 🧪 #EuropeanSolarEclipse
00:00
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ESA Science
@esascience
Jun 25
Get ready for the 12 August #SolarEclipse with our educational kit. Packed full of activities designed for children aged 6-18, the English and Spanish kit invites you to build an eclipse simulator, a pinhole camera and even a home-made spectograph 👉 cesar.esa.int/index.php?Sect…
3.2K
ESA Science
@esascience
Jun 25
You've seen @ESA_Euclid 's dazzling image of the Milky Way’s crowded heart. Now explore it yourself. Zoom in, zoom out, go wherever your curiosity takes you 🤩 – in #ESAsky 👇 sky.esa.int/esasky/?target…
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ESA Science
@esascience
Jun 25
Inspector Smile has reached her science orbit! 😊 The European-Chinese team is now embarking on a two-month campaign to ‘commission’ the spacecraft, which involves switching on and testing out its toolbox of science instruments 👉 esa.int/ESA_Multimedia…
GIF
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