TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
Feb 1, 2024
NGC 1365: Majestic Island Universe
Barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 is truly a majestic island universe some 200,000 light-years across. Located a mere 60 million light-years away toward the faint but heated constellation Fornax, NGC 1365 is a dominant member of the well-studied Fornax Cluster of galaxies. This sharp color image shows the intense, reddish star forming regions near the ends of the galaxy's central bar and along its spiral arms. Seen in fine detail, obscuring dust lanes cut across the galaxy's bright core. At the core lies a supermassive black hole. Astronomers think NGC 1365's prominent bar plays a crucial role in the galaxy's evolution, drawing gas and dust into a star-forming maelstrom and ultimately feeding material into the central black hole.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html?
Space Force Guardian set to launch to International Space Station on NASA mission
Jan. 31, 2024
For the first time in the history of the U.S. Space Force, a Guardian is set to launch into space on a NASA mission to the International Space Station.
U.S. Space Force Col. Nick Hague will launch no earlier than August to the orbiting laboratory as the pilot on NASA’s Space X Crew-9 mission aboard the Dragon spacecraft along with his crewmates—Commander Zena Cardman, Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson, and Roscomos cosmonaut Mission Specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov. Once they arrive to the space station, Hague will transition to the role of flight engineer where he, along with the crew, will conduct a wide-ranging set of operations and research activities for the duration of their more than six-month mission.
“The core of our mission on the space station is to perform science experiments and collect data,” Hague said. “The International Space Station provides a unique platform in microgravity, which allows researchers from around the world to explore and discover processes that could have significant impact on the behavior of our bodies and the environment around us both on Earth and off planet.”
Although this is Hague’s first spaceflight as a Guardian, this is his third launch to space and second mission to the orbiting laboratory. During his first mission in 2018, Hague experienced a rocket booster malfunction resulting in an in-flight launch abort. Five months later—in March 2019—Hague and his crew launched again, this time making it to the space station, and executing a 203-day mission, during which Hague conducted three spacewalks, totaling 19 hours and 56 minutes and participated in hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science.
After returning from his mission in 2019, Hague transitioned to the Pentagon for a leadership rotation with the newly developed Space Force as its Director of Test and Evaluation. In 2021, while serving in this role, he transferred from the Air Force to Space Force.
“Being a part of this mission is a unique honor, but it’s truly a collective effort,” Hague said. “Guardians worldwide ensure safe and secure operations of critical systems for launch and on station. From GPS satellites that underpin our station navigation systems, to space domain awareness sites around the globe that help NASA prevent orbital debris from colliding with the space station, to the launch range that my crew will use when we liftoff, Guardians provide critical support without which our NASA human spaceflight program wouldn’t be possible.”
Hague will represent approximately 14,000 military and civilian Guardians who continue to support NASA and commercial missions in, from, and to space.
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3662607/space-force-guardian-set-to-launch-to-international-space-station-on-nasa-missi/
Discovery Alert: A ‘Super-Earth’ in the Habitable Zone
JAN 31, 2024
The discovery: A “super-Earth” ripe for further investigation orbits a small, reddish star that is, by astronomical standards, fairly close to us – only 137 light-years away. The same system also might harbor a second, Earth-sized planet.
Key facts: The bigger planet, dubbed TOI-715 b, is about one and a half times as wide as Earth, and orbits within the “conservative” habitable zone around its parent star. That’s the distance from the star that could give the planet the right temperature for liquid water to form on its surface. Several other factors would have to line up, of course, for surface water to be present, especially having a suitable atmosphere. But the conservative habitable zone – a narrower and potentially more robust definition than the broader “optimistic” habitable zone – puts it in prime position, at least by the rough measurements made so far. The smaller planet could be only slightly larger than Earth, and also might dwell just inside the conservative habitable zone.
Details: Astronomers are beginning to write a whole new chapter in our understanding of exoplanets – planets beyond our solar system. The newest spaceborne instruments, including those onboard NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, are designed not just to detect these distant worlds, but to reveal some of their characteristics. That includes the composition of their atmospheres, which could offer clues to the possible presence of life.
The recently discovered super-Earth, TOI-715 b, might be making its appearance at just the right time. Its parent star is a red dwarf, smaller and cooler than our Sun; a number of such stars are known to host small, rocky worlds. At the moment, they’re the best bet for finding habitable planets. These planets make far closer orbits than those around stars like our Sun, but because red dwarfs are smaller and cooler, the planets can crowd closer and still be safely within the star’s habitable zone. The tighter orbits also mean those that cross the faces of their stars – that is, when viewed by our space telescopes – cross far more often. In the case of planet b, that’s once every 19 days, a “year” on this strange world. So these star-crossing (“transiting”) planets can be more easily detected and more frequently observed. That’s the case for TESS (the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), which found the new planet and has been adding to astronomers’ stockpile of habitable-zone exoplanets since its launch in 2018. Observing such transits for, say, an Earth-sized planet around a Sun-like star (and waiting for an Earth year, 365 days, to catch another transit) is beyond the capability of existing space telescopes.
Planet TOI-175 b joins the list of habitable-zone planets that could be more closely scrutinized by the Webb telescope, perhaps even for signs of an atmosphere. Much will depend on the planet’s other properties, including how massive it is and whether it can be classed as a “water world” – making its atmosphere, if present, more prominent and far less difficult to detect than that of a more massive, denser and drier world, likely to hold its lower-profile atmosphere closer to the surface.
Fun facts: If the possible second, Earth-sized planet in the system also is confirmed, it would become the smallest habitable-zone planet discovered by TESS so far. The discovery also exceeded early expectations for TESS by finding an Earth-sized world in the habitable zone.
The discoverers: An international team of scientists led by Georgina Dransfield of the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, published a paper in January 2024 on their discovery, “A 1.55 R⊕ habitable-zone planet hosted by TOI-715, an M4 star near the ecliptic South Pole,” in the journal, “Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.” An international array of facilities used to confirm the planet included Gemini-South, Las Cumbres Observatory telescopes, the ExTrA telescopes, the SPECULOOS network, and the TRAPPIST-south telescope.
https://science.nasa.gov/universe/exoplanets/discovery-alert-a-super-earth-in-the-habitable-zone/
This goes with that
SpaceX, NASA targeting Feb. 22 for launch of Crew-8 astronaut mission
SpaceX's next astronaut launch for NASA will take place in just three weeks, if all goes according to plan.
Feb. 22 is the target launch date for Crew-8, which will send four people to the International Space Station (ISS) for a six-month stay, NASA announced on Wednesday (Jan. 31). That's more specific than the last update we got, which identified "late February" as the target.
Crew-8's Crew Dragon capsule will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Aboard the Dragon will be Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps of NASA and Alexander Grebenkin of the Russian space agency Roscosmos.
Dominick will command Crew-8, while Barratt will serve as pilot. Epps and Grebenkin will be mission specialists.
Crew-8 will employ the Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour, which already has four astronaut missions to the ISS under its belt. The spacecraft also flew the Demo-2 test mission in 2020 — SpaceX's first-ever crewed flight — Crew-2 in 2021, Crew-6 in 2023 and the private Ax-1 mission in April 2022.
Crew-8's Falcon 9 rocket, by contrast, will be flying for the first time.
"The booster recently completed stage testing and will undergo final assembly in the SpaceX hangar at Launch Complex 39A ahead of the Dragon and Falcon 9 mate," NASA officials wrote in an update on Wednesday. "Once all rocket and spacecraft system checkouts are complete, the integrated stack will be rolled to the pad and raised to vertical for a static fire test prior to launch."
Another SpaceX mission is scheduled to lift off from Pad 39A before Crew-8 does: IM-1, the first flight of Intuitive Machines' robotic Nova-C moon lander.
IM-1 will fly atop a Falcon 9 during a three-day window in mid-February, if all goes according to plan. SpaceX and Intuitive Machines, which is based in Houston, haven't told us which dates that window covers. But we do know that any launch during the window will result in a lunar landing attempt on Feb. 22, the same day that Crew-8 aims to lift off.
As its name suggests, Crew-8 is the eighth operational astronaut mission that SpaceX will fly to the ISS for NASA. The most recent one, Crew-7, arrived at the orbiting lab last August and will come back to Earth in a few weeks.
Crew-9, whose crewmembers NASA just revealed, will launch this August, if all goes according to plan.
https://www.space.com/spacex-nasa-crew-8-launch-february-22
US military eyes SpaceX Starship for 'sensitive and potentially dangerous missions': report
Jan 31, 2024
The U.S. military is considering commandeering SpaceX's reusable Starship rocket for dangerous or sensitive missions.
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has reached out to SpaceX to inquire about using Starship on its own, flying the massive rocket as a "government-owned, government-operated" asset on "sensitive and potentially dangerous missions," according to a recent report in Aviation Week.
Currently, the DOD contracts SpaceX as a launch services provider; in this new proposed arrangement the Pentagon would actually take control of the vehicle on its own.
Aviation Week cites comments made on Tuesday (Jan. 30) by Gary Henry, a Senior Advisor for National Security Space Solutions at SpaceX, during the 2024 Space Mobility Conference held in Orlando, Florida.
"We have had conversations … and it really came down to specific missions, where it's a very specific and sometimes elevated risk or maybe a dangerous use case for the DOD where they’re asking themselves: 'Do we need to own it as a particular asset … SpaceX, can you accommodate that?'" Henry said at the conference.
"We've been exploring all kinds of options to kind of deal with those questions," Henry added.
The DOD has been considering using Starship for years. As early as 2020, U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) was discussing using the giant reusable rocket — which is not yet operational — for transporting cargo or even personnel rapidly around the world.
"Think about moving the equivalent of a C-17 payload anywhere on the globe in less than an hour. Think about that speed associated with the movement of transportation of cargo and people," former commander of USTRANSCOM Gen. Stephen Lyons said in Oct. 2020. "There is a lot of potential here, and I'm really excited about the team that's working with SpaceX on an opportunity, even perhaps, as early as '21, to be conducting a proof of principle."
Col. Eric Felt, director of space architecture for the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration, added that "there might be some use cases where there needs to be a government-owned, government-operated [vehicle], and that transfer can happen on the fly," Aviation Week reports.
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk has even hinted at using Starship to send 1,000 human passengers on point-to-point flights around the world at hypersonic speeds held in place by amusement-park-like restraints. "Would feel similar to Space Mountain in a lot of ways, but you'd exit on another continent," Musk wrote on X in 2019.
Aside from potential U.S. military applications and its traditional usage as a commercial launch vehicle, Starship is being tapped for NASA's Artemis program. The agency plans to use Starship as a moon lander to ferry human crews to and from the lunar surface, beginning with the Artemis 3 mission no earlier than 2026.
A lot of development and testing has to go right before that can happen, though. SpaceX will first have to conduct a successful demonstration in which Starship will be used as an orbital refueling platform to top off a human lander after it uses most of its fuel after it leaves Earth and heads to the moon.
Starship is SpaceX's next-generation launch vehicle that the company hopes will help humanity build settlements on the moon and Mars. The massive rocket has flown on two test flights to date; one in April 2023 and again in November 2023. A third test flight could come as soon as February 2024, pending regulatory approval from the U.S. government.
https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-pentagon-military-missions
See Earth's atmosphere glow gold in gorgeous photo taken from the ISS
Jan 31, 2024
A golden glow illuminates Earth's horizon in a stunning new image from the International Space Station.
The atmospheric glow, or airglow, captured in the new photo occurs when sunlight interacts with atoms and molecules within Earth's atmosphere. The new photo, which NASA shared on Jan. 21, shows a bright golden glow arching above Earth, along with an auburn-colored band against the dark contrast of a starry sky backdrop.
The photo was taken at an altitude of 258 miles (415 kilometers) as the orbiting lab flew over the Pacific Ocean northeast of Papua New Guinea, according to a NASA image description.
Airglow is the result of an interaction in Earth's upper atmosphere, whereby molecules of nitrogen, oxygen, sodium and ozone are excited by ultraviolet radiation from sunlight and, in turn, emit light as they collide with one another. This type of light show is best seen at night. So the recent photo was captured at a high exposure, allowing enough light to enter the camera to see Earth and the star-studded sky.
Traveling at a speed of 5 miles (8 kilometers) per second, the International Space Station (ISS) orbits Earth about every 90 minutes, traveling through 16 sunrises and sunsets in a 24-hour period. The space station experiences about 45 minutes of daylight and 45 minutes of darkness in each revolution.
In addition to the colorful golden auburn glow, the photo captures white wispy cloud tops above the dark blue of the Pacific Ocean. Parts of the space station itself also snuck into view, including the Prichal docking module and the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module, both of which belong to Russia's space agency Roscosmos.
Captured on the left side of the image, Prichal is attached to Nauka, providing five available docking ports to accommodate multiple Russian spacecraft, along with fuel transfer capabilities. The Nauka module — used to conduct experiments as the primary laboratory of the ISS' Russian segment — arrived at the space station in July 2021, followed closely by Prichal in November 2021.
https://www.space.com/earth-atmosphere-glows-gold-iss-photo
https://images.nasa.gov/details/iss070e076676
'Alien ruins' will soon be found by humanity according to extraterrestrial expert who claims to have spent 92 days onboard a UFO
05:45 ET, FEB 1 2024
Humanity "will find ancient alien ruins" soon, according to an ex-US Army helicopter pilot, who claims to have spent 92 days on board a UFO. Alex Collier says he "spoke to two aliens in the 1980s" and recounts some of his experiences in this video.
He said he spent time with two Andromedians, an alien species who some UFO enthusiasts say are ancestors of humans, named Vissaeus and Moroanay. On their mothership, Collier said he had to wear a special belt to communicate with the extraterrestrials, with whom he spent three months.
Alex fell asleep as a child in the 1960s outside his grandfather's home while playing hide and seek, and when he woke up he found himself in a darkened room on a UFO. "Our science tells us that there are 100 billion galaxies, but we are only looking at one dimension," he said in a talk in Japan in 2007, relaying what he learned from the supposed alien abductors.
"According to the Andromedians, there are 100 trillion galaxies and every galaxy has life in it we are far from being alone. The universe is vast… we are just beginning to travel space and we are going to find ruins everywhere."
Collier said that the aliens told him that the United States Army is far more technologically advanced than the general public knows. "I once asked the Andromedians how technologically advanced we were, and (they said that) the United States Army is 400 years more technologically advanced than we think they are," he said.
Vissaeus, one of the Andromedians, supposedly told Alex that humans are the only species that uses money. "From that moment on, Vissaeus would only refer to money as paper with pictures on it," Collier said.
https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/alien-ruins-soon-found-humanity-32018562