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TYB

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Dec 11, 2023

Solar Minimum versus Solar Maximum

The surface of our Sun is constantly changing. Some years it is quiet, showing relatively few sunspots and active regions. Other years it is churning, showing many sunspots and throwing frequent Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and flares. Reacting to magnetism, our Sun's surface goes through periods of relative calm, called Solar Minimum and relative unrest, called Solar Maximum, every 11 years. The featured video shows on the left a month in late 2019 when the Sun was near Solar Minimum, while on the right a month in 2014 when near Solar Maximum. The video was taken by NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory in far ultraviolet light. Our Sun is progressing again toward Solar Maximum in 2025, but displaying even now a surface with a surprisingly high amount of activity.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html?

NASA Signs Memorandum of Agreement for Space Weather

DEC 08, 2023

On Dec. 7, 2023, Nicola Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, signed on behalf of the agency the Memorandum of Agreement for Space Weather Research-To-Operations-To-Research Collaboration. This quad-agency agreement is between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Air Force.

The memorandum outlines the responsibilities for collaboration across the federal government to enhance the country’s preparedness for space weather – the environmental changes caused in space by the constant outflow of solar wind from the Sun.

In addition to improving our ability to protect satellites and GPS signals from space weather, NASA’s heliophysics division works closely with our Artemis program to support the human exploration of deep space in a variety of ways including learning how to measure the radiation environment on and around the moon. These measurements will aid in the prediction and validation of the radiation environment that our astronauts will experience.

https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/nasa-signs-memorandum-of-agreement-for-space-weather/

Henry Kissinger and the birth of space diplomacy

12/10/23 10:00 AM ET

Henry Kissinger, former national security advisor and secretary of State, recently died at the age of 100 years. He was famous for the opening of mainland China, the Paris Peace Accords that ended American involvement in the Vietnam War and the negotiated end of the Yom Kippur War between Israel and several Arab states.

Admired by some, reviled by others, he bestrode the last third of the 20th century like a colossus where foreign policy was concerned.

Kissinger also had a role in creating space exploration as a tool of diplomacy. The strategy fit neatly into the policy of détente that he and President Richard Nixon devised to manage the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Kissinger’s effort to make space exploration an instrument of diplomacy was not the first attempt. President John F. Kennedy proposed transforming the Apollo race to the moon into a joint American-Soviet effort. Kennedy’s gambit went nowhere. Kissinger’s, on the other hand, led to real-world results.

Nixon came to office inheriting the Apollo program, started by President John F. Kennedy and nurtured by President Lyndon Johnson. The Apollo 11 moon landing, the greatest technological feat in the history of humankind, happened on Nixon’s watch. The race to the moon had been won. But what should come next?

Kissinger was instrumental in arranging the world tour by the Apollo 11 astronauts as a way to showcase American democracy, freedom and technological prowess. The tour was a way to rub the triumphant American race to the moon in the Soviets’ noses. Having done that, Nixon and Kissinger decided to pivot and reach out to the Soviet Union to form a space partnership.

The first tentative move toward a joint American-Soviet space program took place as a result of a memo Kissinger wrote to various government officials, including the secretary of state and the NASA administrator. The 1970 memo read, in part, “The [p]resident has decided that space cooperation with the Soviet Union should be pursued simultaneously through high-level diplomatic and technical agency channels.”

To make a long story short, those discussions bore fruit. During a 1972 summit meeting, President Nixon and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin signed the Agreement Concerning Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes that set the launch of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) for 1975.

In the middle of July 1975, with Gerald Ford then president, the ASTP mission was launched. The Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft docked in low Earth orbit. The famous televised handshake took place between NASA astronaut Tom Stafford and Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov. The combined spacecraft conducted numerous experiments before separating and returning to Earth.

The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project might have led to other joint American-Soviet space missions. However, as Sean Van Buskirk pointed out in a paper on the ASTP, relations between the United States and the Soviet Union took a turn for the worse in the later 70s, partly due to President Jimmy Carter’s displeasure with the Kremlin’s human rights practices. The election of Ronald Reagan, who had vowed to bring down the USSR, didn’t help matters.

NASA remained an instrument of international diplomacy. Numerous foreign astronauts flew on space shuttle missions. When President Reagan first announced the creation of a crewed space station, Canada, the European Space Agency and Japan were partners in its construction and operation.

Space diplomacy with the Russians did not reoccur until the early 1990s, when President Bill Clinton made the Russian Federation, the main successor state of the Soviet Union after the end of the Cold War, a partner in the International Space Station. That partnership, despite tensions between Russia and the West due to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, endures to this day.

The full flowering of space diplomacy occurred when Mike Gold, then an associate administrator at NASA, started the Artemis Accords. Signatories agreed to abide by several rules when operating on celestial bodies such as the moon and Mars. Currently, 33 nations have signed the accords, the latest being the African country of Angola.

By the time the Artemis Accords had started, Kissinger had retired to become an éminence grise, still writing books and giving advice. He never publicly expressed an opinion about the accords. But considering his early work, one suspects that Kissinger would have approved of them as yet another example of using space exploration as an instrument of diplomacy.

https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/4349934-henry-kissinger-and-the-birth-of-space-diplomacy/

NASA’s Webb Stuns With New High-Definition Look at Exploded Star

Dec 10, 2023

Mysterious features hide in near-infrared light

Like a shiny, round ornament ready to be placed in the perfect spot on a holiday tree, supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) gleams in a new image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. As part of the 2023 Holidays at the White House, First Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden debuted the first-ever White House Advent Calendar. To showcase the “Magic, Wonder, and Joy” of the holiday season, Dr. Biden and NASA are celebrating with this new image from Webb.

While all is bright, this scene is no proverbial silent night. Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) view of Cas A displays this stellar explosion at a resolution previously unreachable at these wavelengths. This high-resolution look unveils intricate details of the expanding shell of material slamming into the gas shed by the star before it exploded.

Cas A is one of the most well-studied supernova remnants in all of the cosmos. Over the years, ground-based and space-based observatories, including NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, and retired Spitzer Space Telescope have assembled a multiwavelength picture of the object’s remnant.

However, astronomers have now entered a new era in the study of Cas A. In April 2023, Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) started this chapter, revealing new and unexpected features within the inner shell of the supernova remnant. Many of those features are invisible in the new NIRCam image, and astronomers are investigating why.

‘Like Shards of Glass’

Infrared light is invisible to our eyes, so image processors and scientists translate these wavelengths of light to visible colors. In this newest image of Cas A, colors were assigned to different filters from NIRCam, and each of those colors hints at different activity occurring within the object.

At first glance, the NIRCam image may appear less colorful than the MIRI image. However, this simply comes down to the wavelengths in which the material from the object is emitting its light.

The most noticeable colors in Webb’s newest image are clumps represented in bright orange and light pink that make up the inner shell of the supernova remnant. Webb’s razor-sharp view can detect the tiniest knots of gas, comprised of sulfur, oxygen, argon, and neon from the star itself. Embedded in this gas is a mixture of dust and molecules, which will eventually become components of new stars and planetary systems. Some filaments of debris are too tiny to be resolved by even Webb, meaning they are comparable to or less than 10 billion miles across (around 100 astronomical units). In comparison, the entirety of Cas A spans 10 light-years across, or 60 trillion miles.

“With NIRCam’s resolution, we can now see how the dying star absolutely shattered when it exploded, leaving filaments akin to tiny shards of glass behind,” said Danny Milisavljevic of Purdue University, who leads the research team. “It’s really unbelievable after all these years studying Cas A to now resolve those details, which are providing us with transformational insight into how this star exploded.”

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Hidden Green Monster

When comparing Webb’s new near-infrared view of Cas A with the mid-infrared view, its inner cavity and outermost shell are curiously devoid of color.

The outskirts of the main inner shell, which appeared as a deep orange and red in the MIRI image, now look like smoke from a campfire. This marks where the supernova blast wave is ramming into surrounding circumstellar material. The dust in the circumstellar material is too cool to be detected directly at near-infrared wavelengths, but lights up in the mid-infrared.

Researchers say the white color is light from synchrotron radiation, which is emitted across the electromagnetic spectrum, including the near-infrared. It’s generated by charged particles traveling at extremely high speeds spiraling around magnetic field lines. Synchrotron radiation is also visible in the bubble-like shells in the lower half of the inner cavity.

Also not seen in the near-infrared view is the loop of green light in the central cavity of Cas A that glowed in mid-infrared, nicknamed the Green Monster by the research team. This feature was described as “challenging to understand” by researchers at the time of their first look.

While the ‘green’ of the Green Monster is not visible in NIRCam, what’s left over in the near-infrared in that region can provide insight into the mysterious feature. The circular holes visible in the MIRI image are faintly outlined in white and purple emission in the NIRCam image – this represents ionized gas. Researchers believe this is due to the supernova debris pushing through and sculpting gas left behind by the star before it exploded.

Baby Cas A

Researchers were also absolutely stunned by one fascinating feature at the bottom right corner of NIRCam’s field of view. They’re calling that large, striated blob Baby Cas A – because it appears like an offspring of the main supernova.

This is a light echo, where light from the star’s long-ago explosion has reached and is warming distant dust, which is glowing as it cools down. The intricacy of the dust pattern, and Baby Cas A’s apparent proximity to Cas A itself, are particularly intriguing to researchers. In actuality, Baby Cas A is located about 170 light-years behind the supernova remnant.

There are also several other, smaller light echoes scattered throughout Webb’s new portrait.

The Cas A supernova remnant is located 11,000 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia. It’s estimated to have exploded about 340 years ago from our point of view.

https://www.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasas-webb-stuns-with-new-high-definition-look-at-exploded-star/

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SSC Partners for Cost Effective Corrosion Control on its Launch Ranges

Dec. 11, 2023

Over the past five years, Space Systems Command’s (SSC) Launch and Test Range System (LTRS) Product Support has saved $4.8 million in program funds by partnering with Hill Air Force Base and the Air Force Materiel Command’s Ogden Air Logistics Complex to support corrosion control and maintenance at both the Eastern and Western Space Launch Ranges.

Both the Eastern and Western Space Launch Ranges are located near oceans: if a launch goes awry, it is safer to have the rockets launch over water. But proximity to the ocean comes at a price: the salt air is extremely corrosive to metal.

“It’s one of the most corrosive environments because we sit right on the ocean and the salt-water air comes in and just corrodes everything in its path – if it’s metal, it’ll eat it up,” said Ralph Greenleaf, logistic management specialist with SSC Range Management (RM).

So relentless is the corrosion, mitigation measures must be repeated every two years, Greenleaf said. At stake is $6.45 million worth of mission-critical equipment, including eight tactical shelters; 29 towers; 22 radomes – weather-proof domes that protect radar antennas from the elements; two Advanced Tactical Optical Tracking System vans; and two Multiple Object Tracking Radars that house Prime Mission Equipment (PME).

“(Corrosion) ate through one of the legs on one of our towers and we were afraid it might fall over if they had a bad tropical storm come through,” Greenleaf said. “However, our corrosion team partnered with SLD45/CE and the Tower and Equipment building is being replaced to ensure our PME is protected.”

“At Patrick Space Force Base (PSFB), we had two telemetry radomes that had water intrusion, and with the electrical equipment housed there, that was a safety hazard,” Greenleaf added. “We requested an Emergency Depot Level Maintenance (EDLM) with SSC/A4 approval, and Ogden ALC sent their Mobile Depot Maintenance (MDM) team to repair the radomes in record time.”

Both the Eastern and Western Space Launch Ranges are the gateways to space for a host of space customers, including the U.S. Space Force, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and other commercial programs. Maintaining operational availability for the equipment on the ranges is of particular concern, given the rapidly increasing pace of space launches.

“The 45th Space Launch Delta’s Civil Engineering (CE) Squadron was maintaining our towers that had critical PME in support of space launches and major corrosion issues,” Greenleaf said. “In partnership with SLD45/CE, we transferred 29 towers for Ogden support of corrosion control and maintenance to not only support our space launch mission but help CE with a limited budget to perform all the maintenance at Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center.”

The SSC/LTRS started researching a source to acquire better maintenance support. Initially, they looked for an independent contractor to do the work but received a quote of more than $1 million a year, Greenleaf said. The corrosion control team eventually discovered that the Ogden Air Logistics Complex at Hill AFB could support the requirement and started the partnership with Ogden in 2019 by attending the Communication Electronic Schedule Review (CESR) that ensured Ogden support for SSC’s tactical shelters, radomes, and towers (TSRT) equipment.

Ogden ALC also supports a host of Eastern Range shelters that protects equipment vital to the operation of the mission support equipment. Ogden also helped modernize and replace condemned shelters with new ones, saving the LTRS program $110,000.00. These new shelters provide support for critical doppler radar weather systems that support all launches on the ER.

The Ogden Air Logistics Complex provides worldwide engineering and logistics management for such aircraft as the F-35 Lightning II, F-16 Fighting Falcon, A-10 Thunderbolt II, and Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile system. Ogden maintains radomes, shelters, and towers all over the world.

Because Ogden is funded through the U.S. Department of Defense, partnering with Ogden means SSC has saved $4.8 million in program funding, while at the same time having access to Ogden’s expertise. Last year, SSC/LTRS saw a $403,965.00 cost savings for corrosion control and maintenance on the 13 Western Range radomes alone, Greenleaf said.

Ogden also supports Emergency and Urgent Depot Level Maintenance for all tactical shelters, radomes, and towers (TSRT) equipment on both ranges, including recent work on the Advanced Tactical Optics Tracking System at Kennedy Space Center for severe corrosion. The Odgen team completed corrosion control in 7 days.

https://www.ssc.spaceforce.mil/Newsroom/Article-Display/Article/3612426/ssc-partners-for-cost-effective-corrosion-control-on-its-launch-ranges

>>20058128

Do a Saving Private Ryan style hang glider beach attack!

Readout of Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman’s travel to Germany

Dec. 10, 2023

Chief of Space Operations U.S. Space Force Gen. Chance Saltzman traveled to Germany Dec. 4-9 to participate in the Combined Space Operations Initiative Principals Board, attend the standup of a U.S. Space Force component to U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command and engage with Guardians serving in Germany.

Saltzman’s visit began in Berlin, where he attended the annual CSpO event, which was hosted by the German Federal Ministry of Defence and brought together defense and military space leaders from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States.

CSpO is an initiative that seeks to generate and improve cooperation, coordination, and interoperability opportunities to sustain freedom of action in space, optimize resources, enhance mission assurance and resilience, and deter conflict.

During the event, participants explored ways to facilitate greater policy alignment and deepen collaboration on space operations, while reaffirming a shared commitment to a rules-based international order centered around responsible behavior in space.

Saltzman also took part in a bilateral engagement with Norway on the margins of the event, meeting with Vice Adm. Nils Andreas Stensønes, Director of the Norwegian Intelligence Service, to reaffirm the importance of close U.S.-Norway space cooperation and exchange views on shared priorities and objectives in the domain.

Saltzman then traveled to Ramstein Air Base to attend the activation ceremony of U.S. Space Forces Europe and Africa Dec. 8, the U.S. Space Force’s newest component created to support U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command.

SPACEFOREUR-AF will help facilitate the integration of Space Force equities into European and Africa commands and serve as a focal point for space security cooperation with European and African partners.

Saltzman additionally visited Kapaun Air Station and Landstuhl Air Base Dec. 9 to meet with Guardians from the 3d Space Communications Squadron and 53rd Space Operations Squadron, respectively.

https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3612813/readout-of-chief-of-space-operations-gen-chance-saltzmans-travel-to-germany/

India's Aditya-L1 solar observatory captures 1st gorgeous views of the sun

Dec 8, 2023

An instrument onboard India's first sun-studying observatory has officially opened its scientific eyes and sent home beautiful images of our star.

The pictures, captured earlier this week by a payload named SUIT (short for Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope), reveal a handful of features on the sun's surface, including a few sunspots, a solar "plage" and some silent, inactive areas.

It is a "lifetime opportunity to conceive a space telescope & get to see its first light observations," Durgesh Tripathi, SUIT's principal investigator, said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday (Dec. 8).

Scientists turned on the instrument on Nov. 20, according to a statement by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which is operating the Aditya-L1 solar observatory in collaboration with multiple institutions located in Ahmedabad, Pune and Kerala.

The sun, of course, is a roiling ball of plasma. So rather than a solid, rocky surface like Earth's, the sun's visible "surface" is really a thin envelope of hydrogen and helium called photosphere. It is about 62 miles (100 kilometers) thick and home to sunspots, or dark, planet-size regions of intense magnetic fields from which powerful solar flares blast out. Sometimes, these plasma jets travel toward us, like those that spurred a recent "cannibal" solar storm that initiated gorgeous auroras around the world.

Aditya-L1's latest images capture four clear sunspots, including one very close to the sun's equator. Our star appears to be calmer to its left, labeled in the image as "quiet sun." Below the equator, you'll notice another feature called the plage, a very hot region usually seen in the chromosphere, which is the layer of the sun's atmosphere above the photosphere but underneath its corona.

The Aditya-L1 spacecraft lifted off on Sept. 2 from India's spaceport in Sriharikota on a four-month journey to L1 orbit, a vantage point in space approximately 1 million miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth. From this region, the probe can observe the sun continuously and also remain somewhat stable by using minimal fuel and requiring just a few orbital maneuvers.

The spacecraft flung past the sphere of Earth's gravitational influence in late September; it will reach its final cosmic accommodations later this month or early next. Then, its seven science instruments are expected to begin studying how solar wind particles behave after blasting from the sun, while also monitoring our star for upcoming solar flares.

The mission team has started switching on other payloads onboard Aditya-L1 too. Last week, for instance, ISRO announced the Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX) instrument, meant to study the composition of solar wind by in-situ observations, was performing as expected. On Friday (Dec. 8), another payload designed to monitor solar wind was also turned on and declared to be in good health, the space agency said in a different statement.

Scientists hope to use data from this mission to predict solar flare activity and their companions, coronal mass ejections.

https://www.space.com/india-aditya-l1-observatory-images-of-sun