TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
Nov 16, 2023
Daytime Moon Meets Morning Star
Venus now appears as Earth's brilliant morning star, shining above the southeastern horizon before dawn. For early morning risers, the silvery celestial beacon rose predawn in a close pairing with a waning crescent Moon on Thursday, November 9. But from some northern locations, the Moon was seen to occult or pass in front of Venus. From much of Europe, the lunar occultation could be viewed in daylight skies. This time series composite follows the daytime approach of Moon and morning star in blue skies from Warsaw, Poland. The progression of eight sharp telescopic snapshots, made between 10:56am and 10:58am local time, runs from left to right, when Venus winked out behind the bright lunar limb.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html?
In a first, dual-atom quantum gases produced in space thanks to NASA
Nov 16, 2023 06:16 AM EST
A significant milestone has been reached in the field of quantum chemistry.
The Cold Atom Lab facility equipped on the International Space Station (ISS) has successfully generated a quantum gas composed of two distinct types of atoms for the first time in space.
Researchers conducted experiments remotely from Earth, manipulating conditions to create Bose-Einstein condensates. It is a unique quantum state of matter formed by cooling an atomic gas to temperatures near absolute zero, or around -273.15 degrees Celsius (-459.67 degrees Fahrenheit).
Individual atoms inside the gas lose their unique identities at such low temperatures and begin to behave as a single, cohesive entity.
The successful experiment was made possible through the collaborative efforts of an international team of scientists from several universities, including the University of Rochester and Leibniz University Hannover (LUH). They contributed essential theoretical calculations to achieve this feat.
Such experiments could pave the way for developing new space-based quantum technologies. Quantum tools are being used in various products, including mobile phones, GPS systems, and medical devices.
Additionally, as per the press release, it could “aid in the navigation between planets, as well as to help solve mysteries of the universe and deepen our understanding of the fundamental laws of nature.”
The advancement has set the stage for conducting more comprehensive studies and experiments in the microgravity environment, particularly in quantum chemistry. This scientific field focuses on the interactions and combinations of different types of atoms in a quantum state.
“There are a lot of things in fundamental physics where being in the presence of gravity actually limits how precise a measurement you can make,” said Nicholas Bigelow, director of the NASA-funded Consortium for Ultracold Atoms in Space.
Bigelow added, "Removing gravity allows you to make a much longer observation time to get more precision in the measurement, and it allows you to see delicate effects that might be masked by gravity.”
This cutting-edge facility has the potential to reveal more about the elusive nature of dark energy, a crucial factor influencing the expansion of the universe. Surprisingly, this mysterious force makes up around 68 percent of the universe. Despite its significance, much remains unknown about dark energy.
Scientists aim to utilize this orbital laboratory for conducting experiments based on two-atom interferometers and quantum gases. The objective is to achieve high-precision gravity measurements that will offer insights into the characteristics of dark energy.
The insights gained from these experiments can potentially drive the development of precision sensors applicable across a diverse range of fields.
“We could make sensors that are extremely sensitive to small rotations and essentially use these cold atoms in the Bose-Einstein condensate to make gyroscopes,” said Bigelow. “These gyroscopes could give us a fixed reference point in space that could be used for deep space navigation. We’re also developing a number of things that could lead to better clocks in space, which are crucial to so many things in modern life such as high-speed internet and GPS.”
https://interestingengineering.com/science/in-a-first-dual-atom-quantum-gases-produced-in-space-thanks-to-nasa
NASA and Beltrami County officials: Bright light and boom "Unlikely" to be meteor
November 16, 2023 - 8:07am
It doesn't look like a meteor caused a bright flash of light and loud boom in northern Minnesota earlier this week.
After consulting experts at NASA, officials in Beltrami County say its unlikely a meteor caused the burst of light and explosion sound on Monday night. Christopher Muller, emergency management director with the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office, says the incident wasn't picked up on weather radar. He also said people reported seeing the flash over an area of around 50 miles and reported hearing the blast from an even farther distance away.
“This has certainly been an interesting puzzle to try and solve, and we still don’t know exactly what it was. “ said Muller. “We appreciate the assistance we’ve received from federal agencies and science community in ruling out what it wasn’t and will continue to provide any subsequent information that is learned.” He continued, “The fact this was seen and heard across such a large area is what is a mystery. What was it?”
At this time, there have not been any reports of ground damage. The Sheriff's Office says there will be no further updates unless any significant developments in the investigation are made, or if the cause of the light and boom is determined.
https://www.wdayradionow.com/news/regional-news/70228-nasa-and-beltrami-county-officials-bright-light-and-boom-unlikely-to-be
Webb Follows Neon Signs Toward New Thinking on Planet Formation
NOV 15, 2023
Scientists are following neon signs in a search for clues to one planetary system’s future and the past of another – our own solar system. Following up on a peculiar reading by NASA’s previous infrared flagship observatory, the now-retired Spitzer Space Telescope, the agency’s James Webb Space Telescope detected distinct traces of the element neon in the dusty disk surrounding the young Sun-like star SZ Chamaelontis (SZ Cha).
Differences in the neon readings between Spitzer and Webb point to a never-before-observed change in high-energy radiation that reaches the disk, which eventually causes it to evaporate, limiting the time planets have to form.
“How did we get here? It really goes back to that big question, and SZ Cha is the same type of young star, a T-Tauri star, as our Sun was 4.5 billion years ago at the dawn of the solar system,” said astronomer Catherine Espaillat of Boston University, in Massachusetts, who led both the 2008 Spitzer observations and the newly published Webb results. “The raw materials for Earth, and eventually life, were present in the disk of material that surrounded the Sun after it formed, and so studying these other young systems is as close as we can get to going back in time to see how our own story began.”
Scientists use neon as an indicator of how much, and what type, of radiation is hitting and eroding the disk around a star. When Spitzer observed SZ Cha in 2008, it saw an outlier, with neon readings unlike any other young T-Tauri disk. The difference was the detection of neon III, which is typically scarce in protoplanetary disks that are being pummeled by high-energy X-rays. This meant that the high-energy radiation in the SZ Cha disk was coming from ultraviolet (UV) light instead of X-rays. Besides being the lone oddball result in a sample of 50-60 young stellar disks, the UV vs. X-ray difference is significant for the lifetime of the disk and its potential planets.
“Planets are essentially in a race against time to form up in the disk before it evaporates,” explained Thanawuth Thanathibodee of Boston University, another astronomer on the research team. “In computer models of developing systems, extreme ultraviolet radiation allows for 1 million more years of planet formation than if the evaporation is predominately caused by X-rays.”
So, SZ Cha was already quite the puzzle when Espaillat’s team returned to study it with Webb, only to find a new surprise: The unusual neon III signature had all but disappeared, indicating the typical dominance of X-ray radiation.
The research team thinks that the differences in neon signatures in the SZ Cha system are the result of a variable wind that, when present, absorbs UV light and leaves X-rays to pummel the disk. Winds are common in a system with a newly formed, energetic star, the team says, but it is possible to catch the system during a quiet, wind-free period, which is what Spitzer happened to do.
“Both the Spitzer and Webb data are excellent, so we knew this had to be something new we were observing in the SZ Cha system – a significant change in conditions in just 15 years,” added co-author Ardjan Sturm of Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands.
Espaillat’s team is already planning more observations of SZ Cha with Webb, as well as other telescopes, to get to the bottom of its mysteries. “It will be important to study SZ Cha, and other young systems, in multiple wavelengths of light, like X-ray and visible light, to discover the true nature of this variability we’ve found,” said co-author Caeley Pittman of Boston University. “It’s possible that brief, quiet periods dominated by extreme UV radiation are common in many young planetary systems, but we just have not been able to catch them.”
“Once again, the universe is showing us that none of its methods are as simple as we might like to make them. We need to rethink, re-observe, and gather more information. We’ll be following the neon signs,” said Espaillat.
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/webb/webb-follows-neon-signs-toward-new-thinking-on-planet-formation/
NASA Telescope Data Becomes Music You Can Play
NOV 15, 2023
For millennia, musicians have looked to the heavens for inspiration. Now a new collaboration is enabling actual data from NASA telescopes to be used as the basis for original music that can be played by humans.
Since 2020, the “sonification” project at NASA’s Chandra X-ray Center has translated the digital data taken by telescopes into notes and sounds. This process allows the listener to experience the data through the sense of hearing instead of seeing it as images, a more common way to present astronomical data.
A new phase of the sonification project takes the data into different territory. Working with composer Sophie Kastner, the team has developed versions of the data that can be played by musicians.
“It’s like a writing a fictional story that is largely based on real facts,” said Kastner. “We are taking the data from space that has been translated into sound and putting a new and human twist on it.”
This pilot program focuses on data from a small region at the center of our Milky Way galaxy where a supermassive black hole resides. NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, and retired Spitzer Space Telescope have all studied this area, which spans about 400 light-years across.
We’ve been working with these data, taken in X-ray, visible, and infrared light, for years,” said Kimberly Arcand, Chandra visualization and emerging technology scientist. “Translating these data into sound was a big step, and now with Sophie we are again trying something completely new for us.”
In the data sonification process, computers use algorithms to mathematically map the digital data from these telescopes to sounds that humans can perceive. Human musicians, however, have different capabilities than computers.
Kastner chose to focus on small sections of the image in order to make the data more playable for people. This also allowed her to create spotlights on certain parts of the image that are easily overlooked when the full sonification is played.
“I like to think of it as creating short vignettes of the data, and approaching it almost as if I was writing a film score for the image,” said Kastner. “I wanted to draw listener’s attention to smaller events in the greater data set.”
The result of this trial project is a new composition based upon and influenced by real data from NASA telescopes, but with a human take.
“In some ways, this is just another way for humans to interact with the night sky just as they have throughout recorded history,” says Arcand. “We are using different tools but the concept of being inspired by the heavens to make art remains the same.”
Kastner hopes to expand this pilot composition project to other objects in Chandra’s data sonification collection. She is also looking to bring in other musical collaborators who are interested in using the data in their pieces.
Sophie Kastner’s Galactic Center piece is entitled “Where Parallel Lines Converge.” If you are a musician who wants to try playing this sonification at home, check out the sheet music at: https://chandra.si.edu/sound/symphony.html.
The piece was recorded by Montreal based Ensemble Éclat conducted by Charles-Eric LaFontaine on July 19, 2023 at McGill University.
https://www.nasa.gov/general/nasa-telescope-data-becomes-music-you-can-play/
SpaceX Starship's Second Flight Test
The second flight test of a fully integrated Starship is set to launch Friday, November 17. A two-hour launch window opens at 7:00 a.m. CT.
A live webcast of the flight test will begin about 35 minutes before liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. As is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change, so be sure to stay tuned to our X account for updates.
Starship’s first flight test provided numerous lessons learned that directly contributed to several upgrades to both the vehicle and ground infrastructure to improve the probability of success on future flights. The second flight test will debut a hot-stage separation system and a new electronic Thrust Vector Control (TVC) system for Super Heavy Raptor engines, in addition to reinforcements to the pad foundation and a water-cooled steel flame deflector, among many other enhancements.
This rapid iterative development approach has been the basis for all of SpaceX’s major innovative advancements, including Falcon, Dragon, and Starlink. Recursive improvement is essential as we work to build a fully reusable transportation system capable of carrying both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, help humanity return to the Moon, and ultimately travel to Mars and beyond.
https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-2
White House lays out possible rules for private space stations and more
Nov 15, 2023
The White House has laid out a possible regulatory framework for humanity's spaceflight future.
On Wednesday (Nov. 15), the National Space Council (NSC) released a draft bill that assigns oversight responsibility for novel space activities and infrastructure, including private space stations, off-Earth manufacturing and space junk removal.
That responsibility would be split between the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Commerce (DOC).
"U.S. industry leads the world in bringing the benefits of space to Earth," Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves said in an emailed statement from the White House. "This legislation ensures that our government will build a regulatory environment that supports commercial expansion to benefit all Americans."
Under the United States' existing framework, the DOC regulates private, remote-sensing satellite systems while the DOT handles commercial launches and reentries, including the safety of humans on such flights (via the Federal Aviation Administration). The Federal Communications Commission, meanwhile, manages satellites' use of the electromagnetic spectrum.
But there's no clear "mission authorization" for many upcoming commercial activities in the final frontier. The proposed bill from the NSC — a policy-shaping body chaired by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris — seeks to fill in the gaps.
For example, the new rules would extend the DOT's safety charge to people in Earth orbit as well as those on (or around) the moon and other celestial bodies. The DOT would also be responsible for licensing in-space transportation efforts, such as missions that deliver goods to the lunar surface.
The DOC would have authority over "all novel space activities that are not human-rated or assigned to DOT," according to the emailed statement. "Examples include in-space assembly and manufacturing missions, and satellites responsible for removing space debris."
The DOC would also have the authority to coordinate space traffic and provide warnings that help prevent off-Earth collisions.
The NSC's proposal isn't the only possible regulatory outline for future space activities. The U.S. House of Representatives' Science, Space and Technology Committee is working on its own legislation, known as the Commercial Space Act, noted Marcia Smith of Space Policy Online.
"Among other things, it puts the Department of Commerce (DOC) in charge of regulating new types of space activities not already regulated by other agencies, referred to as mission authorization," Smith wrote on Wednesday.
https://www.space.com/white-house-private-space-stations-regulations
Airbus and Voyager sign agreement with ESA on Starlab commercial space station
Nov 9, 2023
The European Space Agency has signed an agreement with Airbus and Voyager Space to study potential use of the companies’ Starlab commercial space station as a successor to the International Space Station.
Airbus and Voyager said Nov. 9 they signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ESA during the European Space Summit in Seville, Spain, earlier in the week. (Dylan Taylor, chairman and chief executive of Voyager Space, is the vice chairman and a shareholder of Multiverse Media Inc., the parent company of SpaceNews.)
The two companies and ESA will initially study how the planned Starlab space station can be used to provide continued access to space for Europe after the retirement of the ISS. That utilization could include ESA astronaut missions to Starlab and use of the station for ESA-supported research.
ESA could also provide cargo and crew transportation for Starlab, the companies added. The agency is starting a commercial cargo initiative it announced at the summit Nov. 6 that seeks to have a vehicle ready for missions by 2028. That cargo vehicle could later evolve into a crewed vehicle.
“ESA appreciates the transatlantic industry initiative for the commercial Starlab space station, and the potential that its strong European footprint holds for significant European industrial and institutional contributions to, and use of, said station,” ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said in a statement.
Both commercial space station developers and ISS partner nations have been determining how best to enable those partners to use commercial stations after the retirement of the ISS, currently scheduled for 2030. The current approach among ISS partners for bartering services is not expected to extend to commercial stations, requiring new contracts or other partnerships.
“This agreement with the European Space Agency is critical as we continue to foster international collaboration in the space domain and move towards succeeding the International Space Station with Starlab,” Matthew Kuta, president of Voygaer Space, said in the statement. “We look forward to working with Airbus and ESA to extend Europe’s footprint in space and ensure they remain a leader in the new generation of commercial space exploration.”
Voyager previously took a step towards enabling European access when it announced in August a joint venture with Airbus to develop Starlab. Having Airbus involved helps not only with the technical development of Starlab, Kuta said at the time, but also its business development. “We have great relationships with ESA, but clearly Airbus has much better relationships,” he said then.
“Our collaboration on this next-generation space station builds on a long and successful partnership between ESA and Airbus in developing and operating a wide range of crewed and uncrewed spacecraft,” Mike Schoellhorn, chief executive of Airbus Defence and Space, said in a statement.
Besides the joint venture with Airbus, Voyager Space announced in October a partnership with Northrop Grumman, which had been developing its own commercial space station. Northrop will offer a version of its Cygnus cargo spacecraft able to dock autonomously with Starlab, along with other potential contributions.
https://spacenews.com/airbus-and-voyager-sign-agreement-with-esa-on-starlab-commercial-space-station/
NASA Getting Ready To Launch Wooden Satellite
Nov 7, 2023
A team of researchers at Kyoto University has been hard at work on a satellite made of wood — and they say it's now scheduled to launch into space next summer in a joint mission between Japan's JAXS space agency and NASA.
While it may sound like an odd choice of materials, they say wood is a surprisingly suitable material for space.
"When you use wood on Earth, you have the problems of burning, rotting, and deformation, but in space, you don’t have those problems: there is no oxygen in space, so it doesn’t burn, and no living creatures live in them, so they don’t rot," Koji Murata, a Kyoto University researcher who's been working on the project, told CNN.
It's also roughly as strong per weight as aluminum, according to Murata, and can readily burn up in the atmosphere once decommissioned.
In short, it's an exciting vision of a sustainable future that could meaningfully address our growing space debris problem — while also potentially allowing space companies to save some cash.
Murata and his team's satellite, dubbed LignoSat, is constructed out of magnolia wood and set to be launched into space as part of JAXA's J-Cube Program, a microsatellite initiative promoting up-and-coming space technologies.
The goal is to monitor the tiny satellite over at least six months to see how it responds to the extreme changes in temperatures.
"There is not much reduction in strength from minus 150 to 150 degrees Celsius (-238 to 302 degrees Fahrenheit), we confirmed that in our experiments," Murata told CNN. "But a satellite goes round the Earth and has these huge temperature differences in 90 minutes."
"We don’t know to what extent the satellite can withstand this intense, repeated cycle of temperature difference, so this has to be investigated," he added.
In addition to being more "environmentally friendly," the researchers have speculated that wood could be a compelling choice for spacecraft interiors to protect astronauts from harmful radiation.
And that's not to mention the cozy feel of having a claustrophobic space capsule clad in wood.
https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-jaxa-wooden-satellite