European Space Agency - ESA

Hubble time! 🌌   Astronomers are used to encountering challenges in their work, but studying the prosaically-named galaxy PGC 39058 proves more difficult than usual. Due to a stroke of bad luck, a bright star happens to lie between the galaxy and the Earth, meaning our view is partly obscured by the glare of the star. The astounding image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the nearby star easily outshining the more distant galaxy PGC 39058. The galaxy is about 14 million light-years away and contains millions of stars — many of them not unlike the bright star in the foreground. The bright foreground star seems to shine with incredible intensity due to the power of Hubble. Most Earth-bound observers would however consider the star to be quite faint. At magnitude 6.7, binoculars or a small telescope are needed to see it at all. That the image manages to capture both objects serves to further highlight Hubble’s excellent optics and sharp vision. PGC 39058 is a dwarf galaxy, which explains its faintness despite its modest distance by galaxy standards. The sharp Hubble image easily resolves it completely into its component stars and also reveals many much more distant galaxies in the background. This star and galaxy pair is located within the constellation of Draco (the Dragon). It is visible in the northern hemisphere, appearing to slither over a large portion of the sky around the north celestial pole. The ancient Greeks claimed that Draco represented Ladon, the dragon with 100 heads. One of Hercules' twelve near-impossible tasks was to steal golden apples guarded by Ladon. The difficulty of this challenge is perhaps on a par with observing such a faint galaxy obscured by a bright star. This picture was created from images taken using the Wide Field Channel of Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. Images through yellow (F606W, shown as blue) and near infrared (F814W, shown as red) were combined. The exposure times were 20 minutes and 15 minutes respectively and the field of view is 2 × 1.6 arcminutes.   📸 ESA & NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Telescope Science Institute

📅 This month at ESA: asteroid flybys, Mars landing tests, space telescope discoveries and more... May 2026 had a lot to offer.

📸 This was our #WeekInImages 25-29 May 2026. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ekMzBG3A

🆕 Webb reveals a black hole that could challenge our understanding of the early Universe. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e4p4Er6e   Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, L. Furtak (Ben-Gurion University), R. Maiolino (Cambridge), F. D'Eugenio (Cambridge), I. Juodžbalis (Cambridge), H. Übler (MPE), C. Marconcini (University of Florence). Image processing: A. Pagan   NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Canadian Space Agency | Agence spatiale canadienne Space Telescope Science Institute

🚀 Join us at ILA Berlin 2026 (10-14 June) for a week of panels, conferences and media opportunities at the Space Pavilion under the theme #Space4Future.   ESA will host a programme of media briefings, a live in-flight call with astronaut Sophie Adenot aboard the ISS, and panels covering planetary defence, Earth observation, exploration and Europe’s independent access to space.   Programme and media accreditation 👉 https://lnkd.in/eFEqj8G9   Josef Aschbacher ILA Berlin - Pioneering Aerospace BDLI Bundesverband der Deutschen Luft- und Raumfahrtindustrie e.V. (German Aerospace Industries Association) German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Feeling the heat? We "see" it from space! A powerful heatwave has been gripping large parts of Europe, pushing air temperatures beyond seasonal norms. This map was created using data from the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission’s Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer. As the instrument’s name suggests, the image reveals the temperature of the land surface, not air temperature. Unlike measurements of air temperature, this satellite instrument measures the actual thermal energy emitted from Earth’s surface, which typically registers higher than air temperatures: https://lnkd.in/d8s8bn2z 📷contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2026), processed by ESA

Space training complete ✅🚀   Our astronaut reserve have completed their training programme at the European Astronaut Centre, gaining the skills needed to support future human spaceflight missions 👩🚀👨🚀    Congratulations to the crew 💫👏    🔗 https://lnkd.in/ep3Ms6rB

#ESArecruits! 📢 Are you ready to turn your passion for space into a long-term career? ESA’s Junior Professional Programme (JPP) will open its 2026 call for applications this June, offering an opportunity to join ESA as an early-career professional and contribute to Europe’s most ambitious space activities. 👉 https://lnkd.in/eGbJxMNq

✨The Research Fellowships in Space Science represent one of the highlights of the ESA Science Programme. While we wait for the 2027 call for applications, let’s take a moment to spotlight this year’s inspiring new Research Fellows! 🚀 Having earned her PhD at the University of Potsdam and the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (Germany) studying stellar flares, Ekaterina’s research focuses on multiwavelength observations of stellar activity and star–planet interactions. 💡At ESA, Ekaterina will analyse  light curves from space telescopes to search for young planets that reveal themselves through planet-induced flares, using new and archival data from ESA’s Cheops and Plato missions. 👉 https://lnkd.in/eWPvV2fK More about ESA Cheops 👉 https://lnkd.in/ep5VQSbG                                                                            More about ESA Plato 👉 https://lnkd.in/e6Rnu-FG Stay tuned for Research Fellowships in Space Science 2027👉https://lnkd.in/dzFyENWc 📸Ekaterina Ilin #ESArecruits

🇬🇧 OPENING FROM SPACE 💫 From the International Space Station, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot officially kicks off Cercle Festival 2026 on behalf of Cercle, ESA and CNES !👩🚀 After months of building this moment together… it’s finally happening. The gates are open. The music is starting. The journey begins NOW.🚀 See you among the stars!✨ 🇫🇷 OUVERTURE DEPUIS L’ESPACE 💫 Depuis la Station Spatiale Internationale, l’astronaute de l’ESA @soph_astro lance officiellement Cercle Festival 2026 au nom de Cercle, de l’ESA et du CNES !👩🚀 Après des mois à construire ce moment ensemble… ça y est. Les portes sont ouvertes. La musique démarre. Le voyage commence MAINTENANT.🚀 Cap sur les étoiles !✨ Centre National d'Études Spatiales