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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Feb 15, 2024

NGC 253: Dusty Island Universe

Shiny NGC 253 is one of the brightest spiral galaxies visible, and also one of the dustiest. Some call it the Silver Coin Galaxy for its appearance in small telescopes, or just the Sculptor Galaxy for its location within the boundaries of the southern constellation Sculptor. Discovered in 1783 by mathematician and astronomer Caroline Herschel, the dusty island universe lies a mere 10 million light-years away. About 70 thousand light-years across, NGC 253 is the largest member of the Sculptor Group of Galaxies, the nearest to our own Local Group of Galaxies. In addition to its spiral dust lanes, tendrils of dust seem to be rising from its galactic disk laced with young star clusters and star forming regions in this colorful galaxy portrait. The high dust content accompanies frantic star formation, earning NGC 253 the designation of a starburst galaxy. NGC 253 is also known to be a strong source of high-energy x-rays and gamma rays, likely due to massive black holes near the galaxy's center.

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

Stars Sparkle in New Hubble Image

FEB 14, 2024

This new NASA Hubble Space Telescope view shows the globular cluster NGC 2298, a sparkling collection of thousands of stars held together by their mutual gravitational attraction. Globular clusters are typically home to older populations of stars, and they mostly reside in the dusty outskirts of galaxies.

Scientists utilized Hubble’s unique ability to observe the cosmos across multiple wavelengths of light to study NGC 2298 in ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared light. This valuable information helps astronomers better understand how globular clusters behave, including their internal movements, orbits, and the evolution of their stars.

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/stars-sparkle-in-new-hubble-image/

The Marshall Star for February 14, 2024

FEB 14, 2024

CONTENTS

Marshall Chief Scientist Provides Valuable Insight into NASA Moonquake Study

Solar Sail Technology Passes Crucial Deployment Test

NASA Sets Coverage for SpaceX, Intuitive Machines First Moon Mission

Telescopes Show the Milky Way’s Black Hole is Ready for a Kick

NASA Expedition 71 Astronauts to Conduct Research Aboard Space Station

NASA Awards Inaugural Grants to Support Emerging Research Institutions

Juno, Lucy Missions Highlighted on ‘This Week at NASA’

https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/marshall/the-marshall-star-for-february-14-2024/

NASA Just Captured A Solar Eclipse On Mars. In 54 Days It’s America’s Turn

Feb 14, 2024,05:51am EST

NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars has returned a stunning sequence of images of its moon, Phobos, eclipsing the sun.

From Mars’ Jezero Crater, the rover’s SkyCam and MastCam took over 65 images of the event on February 8, one per second, to ensure it captured the short event.

The images show the tiny potato-shaped moon Phobos moving across the sun over 35 seconds. It comes less than two months before a total eclipse of the sun on Earth, which will be visible across North America.

The entire continent will see the partial phases, but only within a 115 miles wide path of totality will it be possible to experience totality—a few minutes of darkness in the day and a naked-eye view of the sun’s corona.

Partial Eclipse Of The Sun

Last week’s eclipse on Mars is best described as a partial or annular eclipse, with Phobos— at about 7 miles/11.5 kilometers across—of too small an apparent size to block all of the sun.

That’s the case for all solar eclipses as seen from Mars since Phobos is the largest of its two moons (the other being Deimos). Phobos orbits Mars three times a day and is very close to Mars—just 3,700 miles (6,000 kilometers), according to NASA.

In 2004, its Spirit and Opportunity rovers took the first time-lapse photos of Phobos during a solar eclipse. NASA’s Curiosity rover has also done so.

Perseverance landed on Mars on February 18, 2021, and has since been searching for signs of ancient microbial life. It marked its 1,000th Martian day, or sol, on December 12 and is about to explore an area nicknamed “Beehive Geyser.”

Potato-Shaped Moon

Phobos is getting closer to Mars and is predicted to collide with it in about 50 million years. So, at some point, its apparent size will increase to cover the sun completely. Technically, that will make a total solar eclipse possible from Mars, though since Phobos is shaped like a potato, it will never produce a perfect totality.

For a total solar eclipse, a moon must be reasonably round and, on occasion, the same apparent size as the sun. This is only the case from Earth, where the moon is roughly 400 times smaller than the sun but 400 times closer.

On April 8, the moon will be close enough to Earth to appear 5.6% larger than the sun, casting a shadow that will move across the planet at about 1,500 mph. This path of totality will cross parts of five states in Mexico (Sinaloa, Nayarit, Durango, Coahuila and Chihuahua), 15 U.S. states (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine) and seven Canadian Provinces (Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland).

Totality will move across North America in 100 minutes, crossing six timezones, with anyone below in the path experiencing up to 4 minutes and 28 seconds of totality. Cities within the path include Mazatlán, Torreón, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Forth Worth, Little Rock, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Montreal.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2024/02/14/nasa-just-captured-a-solar-eclipse-on-mars-in-54-days-its-americas-turn/?sh=23f96b1e59a7

https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2024/02/14/meet-the-billionaires-helping-nasa-return-to-the-moon/?sh=7067dacb4724

Meet The Billionaires Helping NASA Return To The Moon

Feb 14, 2024,10:59am EST

Houston-based Intuitive Machines is hoping to become the first private company to land on the lunar surface this month, one of several billionaire-backed companies NASA is tapping to unlock the moon, lower the agency’s costs and grow the budding space economy as it plans missions to the moon, Mars and beyond.

NASA is working with 14 American companies to help deliver scientific instruments and technology to the lunar surface as part of its Artemis program to send people back to the moon.

The first nine companies joined NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) scheme in 2018, including Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology, whose Peregrine mission marked both the program’s first launch and first failure after a fuel leak dashed hopes of it landing on the moon and sent it crashing back to Earth.

The scheme’s next launch on Feb. 15 is led by Houston’s Intuitive Machines, a company cofounded by Kamal "Kam" Ghaffarian, who chairs its board and is worth an estimated $2.3 billion generated by space-related ventures.

Billionaire couple Eren and Fatih Ozmen, respectively worth $3.4 billion and $3.3 billion, founded and now lead the Sierra Nevada Corporation, one of five companies added to the scheme in 2019, however Sierra has yet to be awarded a CLPS contract.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX also joined in 2019 and is yet to be awarded a contract under CLPS, although the company has already inked valuable deals with NASA and its reusable rocket technology is being used to launch other CLPS missions like Intuitive’s IM-1.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, through his space company Blue Origin, also joined the program in 2019 and the company is still catching up to SpaceX and similar to Musk’s firm Blue Origin has yet to be awarded a CLPS contract but has lucrative contracts with NASA for other work.

WHAT COMPANIES HAVE WON CLPS CONTRACTS?

The companies involved in CLPS are all able to bid for NASA contracts and so far the agency has awarded 10 for companies to deliver material to the moon. Two have been awarded to Astrobotic and three to Intuitive, whose missions are expected to take place in 2024. Texas-based Firefly Aerospace has been awarded two delivery contracts and is slated to launch the first of two lunar missions in 2024, where it hopes to land its Blue Ghost lander in the moon’s Mare Crisium basin. Blue Ghost Mission 2 is scheduled for 2026 and will deliver NASA payloads to the moon’s far side, as well as deliver a communications satellite into lunar orbit. Massachusetts-based Draper is also set to fly to the moon’s far side and it is scheduled to land in the ​​Schrödinger Basin in 2025. Both of the remaining CLPS missions were canceled after NASA awarded contracts. One mission fell through after the company, Masten Space Systems, struggled to stay within budget for the project, ultimately folding and declaring bankruptcy. New Jersey-based Orbit Beyond was also awarded a CLPS contract but NASA terminated the deal after the firm said it would be unable to meet timelines for the mission. The company is still able to bid for future work under the program, which also includes industry titan Lockheed Martin Space, Ceres Robotics, Deep Space Systems and Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems.

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TANGENT

Florida-based Moon Express, cofounded by Naveen Jain, was also among the first wave of companies bidding for NASA contracts and in 2016 became the first company to secure permission from the US government to land on the moon, where it plans to mine the satellite—which it describes as the “Earth’s 8th continent”— for water and minerals.

KEY BACKGROUND

Getting things off of planet Earth is an expensive and risky endeavor. Historically, landings on the moon and further afield have been the almost exclusive purview of national governments. Space programs from just five countries—the US, the Soviet Union, China, India and Japan—have managed the feat and of these three only did so recently (China first landed in 2013, India did last year and Japan landed its “moon sniper” probe this January). By increasing its reliance on private enterprise through schemes like CLPS, NASA hopes to foster the budding space economy, drive competition and lower its expenses. The agency has said private firms will form a key part of its future plans for the moon—where it hopes to land astronauts this decade and ultimately set up a lunar base as a springboard for further exploration— Mars and deeper space. Competition among billionaires to colonize space has proven useful for the agency’s aims. In addition to those involved in the CLPS program, other wealthy figures like Virgin Galactic Richard Branson (worth $2.9 billion), aerospace entrepreneur Robert Bigelow and crypto pioneer Jed McCaleb (worth $2.7 billion and whose company Vast is planning to launch the first private space station) are working to build fortunes and expand their business empires off-planet.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Intuitive Machines’s IM-1 mission is slated to launch on Thursday and, if successful, the firm will become the first private company to touchdown on the lunar surface. Three have tried and failed before it: Astrobotic, whose Peregrine lander burned up in Earth’s atmosphere, Japanese firm Ispace, whose lander smashed into the lunar surface last year, and Israel’s SpaceIL, which attempted to land on the moon’s Sea of Serenity in 2019.

BIG NUMBER

$2.6 billion. That’s the maximum value of NASA’s CLPS contracts through 2028. NASA said it encourages companies to “fly commercial payloads” in addition to what it has contracted. In addition to NASA gear, Astrobotic carried human remains and DNA on its mission and Intuitive’s Odysseus lander is set to carry a series of sculptures by artist Jeff Koons, part of an NFT crypto project.

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US Space Forces Indo-Pacific participates in Keen Edge 24

Feb. 15, 2024

U.S. Space Forces Indo-Pacific participated in Keen Edge 24 Feb. 1-8, throughout the Indo-Pacific region.

Keen Edge 24 was a bilateral command post exercise with the U.S. and the Japan Self Defense Forces, with Australian Defense Force participation. This year’s exercise explored critical space and cyberspace issues within a multi-domain environment across the spectrum of conflict.

As space continues to remain an increasingly essential domain for military operations, communication and intelligence gathering, strong partnerships and collaborations with international allies, such as those in Keen Edge 24, are considered imperative for ensuring the security and safety of space-based assets.

“This is the first time that our component field command has participated in Keen Edge,” said Maj. Justin Cunningham, logistics and cyber director, U.S. Space Forces, Indo-Pacific. “This exercise solidifies the sheer effectiveness and capabilities provided by SPACEFOR-INDOPAC.”

The exercise was a series of joint-multilateral command post exercises designed to increase integrated joint operational capability, refine command and control procedures and enhance interoperability of all participants. Cooperation alongside allies and partners is critical in ensuring and maintaining the safety, security, stability and sustainability of the domain.

“Like every other component of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, our goal was to train interdependently with our allies and partners,” Cunningham said. “We’re not alone out here in the Pacific, and we’re not alone in the defense of space.”

Approximately 125 people making up the total joint force – from Guardians, Airmen, Soldiers, Marines, and civilians directly supported SPACEFOR-INDOPAC’s team.

“I’m incredibly proud of the work the team accomplished during this exercise. The level of integration and synchronization across all domains was the best I’ve seen,” said Brig. Gen. Anthony Mastalir. “Space is a critical component of the joint force, and the opportunity to integrate with space forces from Japan and Australia better informs how we must fight in the Indo-Pacific. This was no small feat for the newest service.”

Keen Edge is part of the annual U.S.-Japan exercise series that alternates between field training exercises (Keen Sword) and command post exercises. During Keen Edge 24, Japanese, U.S. and Australian headquarters staffs will employ computer simulations to practice responses in the event of a crisis or contingency.

SPACEFOR-INDOPAC provides USINDOPACOM a cadre of space experts who can work with allies and partners to integrate space activities into shared operations, activities, and investments. By doing this, SPACEFOR-INDOPAC enhances security stretching from the Indian Ocean across South and East Asia to the West coast of the United States. Furthermore, SPACEFOR-INDOPAC promotes regional stability and advances U.S. partnerships in the region.

https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3678140/us-space-forces-indo-pacific-participates-in-keen-edge-24/

Cryptic National Security Threat Sparks UFO Theory

Feb 14, 2024 at 3:10 PM EST

A cryptic statement warning of a possible "serious national security threat" on Wednesday sparked many social media users to speculate that it related to UFOs.

In a statement, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner said, "Today, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has made available to all members of Congress information concerning a serious national security threat."

"I am requesting that President Biden declassify all information relating to this threat so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can openly discuss the actions necessary to respond to this threat," Turner added in the statement.

The House Intelligence Committee did not release any further information detailing what the "threat" is, prompting many social media users to speculate what it could relate to.

"UFO, am I right? Simulation over?" radio host Hugh Hewitt wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Igor Bobic of HuffPost said, "Aliens? It's aliens, isn't it."

X user Average Grayman said, "Imminent UFO invasion?"

Similarly, X user @Beard__Believer said, "I'm really hoping that is concerning UFOs/UAPs and it means we're getting one step closer to disclosure. Either way, pay attention, America! Something wicked this way comes…"

X user MAGA Montgomery wrote, "You are not reading the room, if this is not UAP/UFO related!"

X user @@tomkuric wrote, "It's definetly [sic] aliens," sharing a gif of an alien.

X user Chuck Harrison said, "speculation is running that the natsec threat could be ufo related. If so Turner is vague about it if it's ufo related especially with the UAP hearings going on."

However, X user @TheUfoJoe said, "I know folks will want this to be about UFOs but there's nothing that suggests that to be the case. Watch out for folks saying otherwise."

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan responded to questions about the statement during a press briefing on Tuesday, where he explained that he planned to meet with members of the House and Senate intelligence committees this week.

"That's been on the books, so, I am a bit surprised that Congressman Turner came out publicly today in advance of a meeting on the books to sit with him alongside our intelligence and defense professionals," Sullivan said regarding his meeting with the committees.

"Americans understand that there's a range of threats and challenges that we're dealing with every single day. Those threats and challenges range from terrorism to state actors, and we have to contend with them and we have to contend with them in a way where we ensure the ultimate security of the American people," Sullivan added.

https://www.newsweek.com/cryptic-national-security-threat-sparks-ufo-theory-1870072