The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
Go to topicNASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the Year 2001 observation of the black-hole system GRO J1655-40 in the constellation of Scorpius. Hubble's high resolution has allowed astronomers to measure the motion of this black-hole system across the sky using this image and an image taken in 1996. Scientists combined the Hubble data with those obtained from ground-based telescopes and found that the black hole is moving through space with a velocity of 400 000 kilometres per hour. This has provided possibly the best evidence yet that stellar-mass black holes are made in supernova explosions.
The 720-second exposure was taken through a red filter.