Tag: The Universe
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Newfound Galaxy Class May Indicate Early Black Hole Growth, Webb Finds
In December 2022, less than six months after commencing science operations, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope revealed something never seen before: numerous red objects that appear small on the sky, which scientists soon called “little red dots” (LRDs). Though these…
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Webb Watches Carbon-Rich Dust Shells Form, Expand in Star System
Astronomers have long tried to track down how elements like carbon, which is essential for life, become widely distributed across the universe. Now, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has examined one ongoing source of carbon-rich dust in our own Milky…
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Astronaut Set to Patch NASA’s X-ray Telescope Aboard Space Station
NASA astronaut Nick Hague will install patches to the agency’s NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer) X-ray telescope on the International Space Station as part of a spacewalk scheduled for Jan. 16. Hague, along with astronaut Suni Williams, will also…
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NASA’s Hubble, Chandra Find Supermassive Black Hole Duo
Like two Sumo wrestlers squaring off, the closest confirmed pair of supermassive black holes have been observed in tight proximity. These are located approximately 300 light-years apart and were detected using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory.…
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NASA’s Mini BurstCube Mission Detects Mega Blast
Editor’s note: BurstCube re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on Sept. 16, 2024, marking the end of the mission. The shoebox-sized BurstCube satellite has observed its first gamma-ray burst, the most powerful kind of explosion in the universe, according to a recent analysis…
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How Students Learn to Fly NASA’s IXPE Spacecraft
The large wall monitor displaying a countdown shows 17 seconds when Amelia “Mia” De Herrera-Schnering tells her teammates “We have AOS,” meaning “acquisition of signal.” “Copy that, thank you,” Alexander Pichler replies. The two are now in contact with NASA’s…
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Repair Kit for NASA’s NICER Mission Heading to Space Station
Editor’s note: NG CRS-21 launched Aug. 4 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft was installed to the International Space Station Aug. 6. NASA will deliver a patch kit for NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer), an…
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NASA’s Fermi Finds New Feature in Brightest Gamma-Ray Burst Yet Seen
In October 2022, astronomers were stunned by what was quickly dubbed the BOAT — the brightest-of-all-time gamma-ray burst (GRB). Now an international science team reports that data from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope reveals a feature never seen before. “A…
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Astronauts To Patch Up NASA’s NICER Telescope
NASA is planning to repair NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer), an X-ray telescope on the International Space Station, during a spacewalk later this year. It will be the fourth science observatory in orbit serviced by astronauts. In May 2023,…
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NASA’s Tiny BurstCube Mission Launches to Study Cosmic Blasts
Editor’s note, April 18, 2024: BurstCube deployed into orbit from the space station April 18, 2024. It will begin a one-month commissioning period before the start of science operations. NASA’s BurstCube, a shoebox-sized satellite designed to study the universe’s most…