Observations made with NASA's newly refurbished Hubble Space Telescope of a nearby supernova are allowing astronomers to measure the velocity and composition of "star guts" being ejected into space following the explosion, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The team detected significant brightening of the emissions from Supernova 1987A, which were consistent with some theoretical predictions about how supernovae interact with their immediate galactic environment. Discovered in 1987, Supernova 1987A is the closest exploding star to Earth to be detected since 1604 and resides in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy adjacent to our own Milky Way Galaxy.

Since 2006, CNES's CoRoT satellite has been probing the stars in our Galaxy. With the data it has amassed, an international team has discovered a star that vibrates just like our own Sun.

The star that's got everybody talking is in the Unicorn constellation, east of Orion. So what makes this star so special? It's just like our Sun, or at least it vibrates in a similar way. Every star has its own modes of oscillation that allow scientists to deduce what's going on inside the core.

The following featured images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) are now available:

• Necho's Terraces (Released 31 August 2010)
  Closeup view of the spectacular western terrace of Necho crater.
• Impact melt at Necho crater (Released 24 August 2010)
  Impact melt that flowed from the rim shortly after the formation of Necho crater.
• Necho's jumbled floor (Released 24 August 2010)
  The chaotic floor of Necho crater attests to the dynamic environment immediately after the impact event.

The following new images taken by the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) on the Cassini spacecraft are now available:

• Tethys Before Titan (Released 30 August 2010)
  Terrain on Saturn's moon Tethys, defined with craters, is shown in front of the hazy atmosphere of the larger moon Titan in this Cassini spacecraft image.
• 'Fan' Spread (Released 31 August 2010)
  Cassini spies a "fan" in Saturn's tenuous F ring.
• Crescent Dione (Released 1 September 2010)
  A thin crescent of cratered terrain is illuminated on Saturn's third largest moon, Dione.
• Beyond Curved Rings (Released 2 September 2010)
  Saturn's rings appear curved in this view, which also shows the moon Janus in the distance.
• High-Phase Plumes (Released 3 September 2010)
  Enceladus imaged at high phase, shows off its spectacular water ice plumes emanating from its south polar region./li>

The following new images taken by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft are now available:

• Windstreaks (Released 30 August 2010)
  The windstreaks in this VIS image are located on lava flows from Arsia Mons.
• Olympus Mons Flows (Released 31 August 2010)
  Many surface lava flows on the flanks of Olympus Mons are confined to narrow channels, like the ones in today's VIS image.
• Dust Devil Tracks (Released 1 September 2010)
  The dark lines in this VIS image are the tracks of dust devils in this region of Arcadia Plainitia.
• Tinto Vallis (Released 2 September 2010)
  The wide channel in this VIS image is Tinto Vallis.
• Moreaux Crater Dunes (Released 3 September 2010)
  This VIS image shows some of the dunes located on the floor of Moreaux Crater.

The Herschel infrared space observatory has discovered that ultraviolet starlight is the key ingredient for making water in space.

It is the only explanation for why a dying star is surrounded by a gigantic cloud of hot water vapor.

The following new captioned and spotlight images taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft are now available:

• Lava Flows at the Base of Olympus Mons
  Olympus Mons is the largest volcano in the Solar System and is thought to be quite young (compared to other features on Mars). So, what happens to all those lava flows running off of Olympus Mons?
• Lava Channel on the Flank of Ascraeus Mons
  Ascraeus Mons is one of the giant shield volcanoes on Mars. Its flanks are built up of innumerable lava flows, but most are buried by too much dust to see features of interest.
• Gullies and Seasonal Frost in a Crater
  This scene shows the curving, Eastern interior walls of a 12 kilometer-diameter impact crater in the Southern mid-latitudes of Mars.
• Alluvial Fan in Far Western Terra Tyrrhena
  This image shows portions of an alluvial fan complex in Harris Crater, an approximately 83-kilometer diameter crater located on the Northern rim of the Hellas Basin.
• Dunes in Mars' Polar Erg
  Near the North pole of Mars, the landscape is dominated by sand dunes forming a massive erg (sand sea), much like parts of the Sahara Desert on Earth.
• Cones Formed by Hot Lava Running over Water or Ice
  These cones are similar in size and shape to cones found in Iceland where hot lava has run over wet ground.

Cluster has spent a decade revealing previously hidden interactions between the Sun and Earth. Its studies have uncovered secrets of aurora, solar storms, and given us insight into fundamental processes that occur across the Universe. And there is more work to do.

The aurora, those dancing lights in the polar skies, are but the visible manifestation of an invisible battle taking place above our heads. Supersonic particles from the Sun collide with our planet's magnetic field every day. Most are deflected away but some are trapped by Earth's magnetism and accelerated to collide with the atmosphere, creating the aurora, the planet's radiation belts and from time to time large magnetic storms worldwide.

A new geologic map of the moon's Schrödinger basin paints an instant, camouflage-colored portrait of what a mash-up the moon's surface is after eons of violent events.

The geologic record at Schrödinger is still relatively fresh because the basin is only about 3.8 billion years old; this makes it the moon's second-youngest large basin (it's roughly 320 kilometers, or 200 miles, in diameter).

This is a composite image of the northern part of the galaxy cluster Abell 1758, located about 3.2 billion light years from Earth, showing the effects of a collision between two smaller galaxy clusters.

Chandra X-ray data (blue) reveals hot gas in the cluster and data from the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in India (pink) shows huge "halos" generated by ultra-relativistic particles and magnetic fields over vast scales. Optical data from the Digitized Sky Survey are colored gold.

A billowing cloud of hydrogen in the Triangulum galaxy (Messier 33), about 2.7 million light-years away from Earth, glows with the energy released by hundreds of young, bright stars. This Hubble Spare Telescope image provides the sharpest view of NGC 604 so far obtained.

Some 1500 light-years across, this is one of the largest, brightest concentrations of ionised hydrogen (H II) in our local group of galaxies, and is a major centre of star formation.

One of NASA's orbiting sentinels is expected to return to Earth in a few days. The agency's Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation (ICESat) satellite completed a very productive scientific mission earlier this year.

NASA lowered the satellite's orbit last month and then decommissioned the spacecraft in preparation for re-entry. It is estimated that the satellite will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and largely burn up on or about August 29.

The following featured images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) are now available:

• Fractures in the mare of Tsiolkovskiy Crater (Released 24 August 2010)
  Small fractures in the mare floor of Tsiolkovskiy Crater are a departure from the usual scene of smooth mare pitted with impact craters.
• Central Peak/Mare Boundary (Released 25 August 2010)
  The central peak of Tsiolkovskiy crater is surrounded with mare basalt.
• Hummocky Terrain (Released 26 August 2010)
  NAC image M115475912R shows hummocky terrain north of the central peak of Tsiolkovskiy, still within the crater rim but outside the region flooded by mare basalt.

The following new images taken by the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) on the Cassini spacecraft are now available:

• Smooth Telesto (Released 23 August 2010)
  The smooth surface of Saturn's moon Telesto is documented in this image captured during the Cassini spacecraft's Aug. 27, 2009, flyby.
• Activity Past Dark Side (Released 24 August 2010)
  Saturn's moon Enceladus, seen beyond the outline of the planet's night side, spews water ice from its south polar region.
• Infringing Darkness (Released 25 August 2010)
  Some of Iapetus' dark surface interrupts the moon's lighter terrain.
• A-ring Propeller (Released 26 August 2010)
  A propeller-shaped structure, created by an unseen moon, can be seen in Saturn's A ring.
• Narrow Band (Released 27 August 2010)
  The shadows of Saturn's rings cast onto the planet appear as a thin band at the equator in this image taken as the planet approached its August 2009 equinox.

The following new images taken by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft are now available:

• Arsia Mons (Released 23 August 2010)
  This VIS image of the northern flank of Arsia Mons shows collapse/vent features.
• Zephyria Planum (Released 24 August 2010)
  The wind etched region in this VIS image is called Zephyria Planum.
• Utopia Planitia (Released 25 August 2010)
  The small channels in this image of Utopia Planitia are south of Granicus Valles.
• Channel (Released 26 August 2010)
  This unnamed channel is west of Flammarion Crater in Terra Sabaea.
• Tempe Terra (Released 27 August 2010)
  Large fractures have formed 'steps' in this region of Tempe Terra.