NASA’s New Hubble Focus E-Book Provides a Front Row Seat to a Sky Full of Stars

“Hubble has scoured the skies for more than 30 years, revealing untold celestial wonders,” said Jennifer Wiseman, senior project scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope. “In this new e-book, readers are transported across space and time to take a closer look at the stunning and chaotic processes stars undergo.”

Like brilliant diamonds against the inky void of space, each twinkling star is a radiant cosmic wonder. Many stars grace the galaxy for billions and billions of years, leading tame and rather uneventful lives. Hubble has even spotted some that are nearly as old as the universe itself, providing a window to the distant past.

The mission has pinpointed new stars that more recently burst to life from swirling clouds of gas and dust peppered throughout the galaxy. And it has shown that some of these nascent stars are ringed with dusty debris, from which planets may form.

Stars live such long lives compared to human lives that it seems they exist outside of time, immune to the effects of aging. But stars aren’t forever; just as new ones are bursting into life on a regular basis, some run out of fuel every day. Hubble has documented the death throes of stars to help us better understand the role they play in cosmic evolution.

As the third installment in a series, this e-book builds on the wealth of information shared in previous renditions, which focused on the solar system and galaxies. Upcoming editions will zoom in on other cosmic topics, such as exoplanets – worlds that circle distant stars.