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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
Mar 13, 2024
The Seagull Nebula
A broad expanse of glowing gas and dust presents a bird-like visage to astronomers from planet Earth, suggesting its popular moniker: the Seagull Nebula. This portrait of the cosmic bird covers a 2.5-degree wide swath across the plane of the Milky Way, near the direction of Sirius, alpha star of the constellation of the Big Dog (Canis Major). Of course, the region includes objects with other catalog designations: notably NGC 2327, a compact, dusty emission and reflection nebula with an embedded massive star that forms the bird's head. Likely part of a larger shell structure swept up by successive supernova explosions, the broad Seagull Nebula is cataloged as Sh2-296 and IC 2177. The prominent bluish arc below and right of center is a bow shock from runaway star FN Canis Majoris. Dominated by the reddish glow of atomic hydrogen, this complex of gas and dust clouds with other stars of the Canis Majoris OB1 association spans over 200 light-years at the Seagull Nebula's estimated 3,800 light-year distance.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html?
NASA-Supported Team Discovers Aurora-Like Radio Bursts Above Sunspot
MAR 13, 2024
A NASA-funded team of scientists has discovered long-lasting radio signals emanating from the Sun that are similar to those associated with auroras – northern and southern lights – on Earth.
Detected about 25,000 miles (40,000 km) above a sunspot – a relatively cool, dark, and magnetically active region on the Sun – such radio bursts had previously been observed only on planets and other stars.
“This sunspot radio emission represents the first detection of its kind,” said Sijie Yu of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, who is the lead author of a paper reporting the discovery in the January 2024 issue of Nature Astronomy. The research was first published online in November 2023.
The discovery could help us better understand our own star as well as the behavior of distant stars that produce similar radio emissions.
The Sun often emits short radio bursts that last for minutes or hours. But the radio bursts Yu’s team detected, using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array in New Mexico, persisted for over a week.
These sunspot radio bursts also have other characteristics – such as their spectra (or intensity at different wavelengths) and their polarization (the angle or direction of the radio waves) – that are much more like radio emissions produced in the polar regions of Earth and other planets with auroras.
On Earth (and other planets such as Jupiter and Saturn), auroras shimmer in the night sky when solar particles are caught up in the planet’s magnetic field and get pulled toward the poles, where magnetic field lines converge. As they accelerate poleward, the particles generate intense radio emissions at frequencies around a few hundred kilohertz and then smash into atoms in the atmosphere, causing them to emit light as auroras.
The analysis by Yu’s team suggests the radio bursts above the sunspot are likely produced in a comparable way – when energetic electrons get trapped and accelerated by converging magnetic fields above a sunspot. Unlike Earth’s auroras, though, the radio bursts from sunspots occur at much higher frequencies – hundreds of thousands of kilohertz to roughly 1 million kilohertz. “That’s a direct result of the sunspot's magnetic field being thousands of times stronger than Earth’s,” Yu said.
Similar radio emissions have previously been observed from some types of low-mass stars as well. This discovery introduces the possibility that aurora-like radio emissions may originate from large spots on those stars (called “starspots”) in addition to the previously proposed auroras in their polar regions.
“The discovery excites us as it challenges existing notions of solar radio phenomena and opens new avenues for exploring magnetic activities both in our Sun and in distant stellar systems,” Yu said.
“NASA’s growing heliophysics fleet is well suited to continue to investigate the source regions of these radio bursts,” said Natchimuthuk Gopalswamy, a heliophysicist and solar radio researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “For example, the Solar Dynamics Observatory continually monitors the Sun’s active regions, which likely give rise to this phenomenon.”
In the meantime, Yu’s team plans to reexamine other solar radio bursts to see whether any appear to be similar to the aurora-like radio bursts they found. “We aim to determine if some of the previously recorded solar bursts could be instances of this newly identified emission,” Yu said.
The research by Yu’s team has been supported in part by a NASA Early Career Investigator Program (ECIP) grant awarded to the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/heliophysics/nasa-supported-team-discovers-aurora-like-radio-bursts-above-sunspot/
Cheers! NASA’s Webb Finds Ethanol, Other Icy Ingredients for Worlds
MAR 13, 2024
What do margaritas, vinegar, and ant stings have in common? They contain chemical ingredients that NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has identified surrounding two young protostars known as IRAS 2A and IRAS 23385. Although planets are not yet forming around those stars, these and other molecules detected there by Webb represent key ingredients for making potentially habitable worlds.
An international team of astronomers used Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) to identify a variety of icy compounds made up of complex organic molecules like ethanol (alcohol) and likely acetic acid (an ingredient in vinegar). This work builds on previous Webb detections of diverse ices in a cold, dark molecular cloud.
What is the origin of complex organic molecules (COMs) ?
“This finding contributes to one of the long-standing questions in astrochemistry,” said team leader Will Rocha of Leiden University in the Netherlands. “What is the origin of complex organic molecules, or COMs, in space? Are they made in the gas phase or in ices? The detection of COMs in ices suggests that solid-phase chemical reactions on the surfaces of cold dust grains can build complex kinds of molecules.”
As several COMs, including those detected in the solid phase in this research, were previously detected in the warm gas phase, it is now believed that they originate from the sublimation of ices. Sublimation is to change directly from a solid to a gas without becoming a liquid. Therefore, detecting COMs in ices makes astronomers hopeful about improved understanding of the origins of other, even larger molecules in space.
Scientists are also keen to explore to what extent these COMs are transported to planets at much later stages of protostellar evolution. COMs in cold ices are thought to be easier to transport from molecular clouds to planet-forming disks than warm, gaseous molecules. These icy COMs can therefore be incorporated into comets and asteroids, which in turn may collide with forming planets, delivering the ingredients for life to possibly flourish.
The science team also detected simpler molecules, including formic acid (which causes the burning sensation of an ant sting), methane, formaldehyde, and sulfur dioxide. Research suggests that sulfur-containing compounds like sulfur dioxide played an important role in driving metabolic reactions on the primitive Earth.
Similar to the early stages of our own solar system?
Of particular interest is that one of the sources investigated, IRAS 2A, is characterized as a low-mass protostar. IRAS 2A may therefore be similar to the early stages of our own solar system. As such, the chemicals identified around this protostar may have been in the first stages of development of our solar system and later delivered to the primitive Earth.
“All of these molecules can become part of comets and asteroids and eventually new planetary systems when the icy material is transported inward to the planet-forming disk as the protostellar system evolves,” said Ewine van Dishoeck of Leiden University, one of the coordinators of the science program. “We look forward to following this astrochemical trail step-by-step with more Webb data in the coming years.”
These observations were made for the JOYS+ (James Webb Observations of Young ProtoStars) program. The team dedicated these results to team member Harold Linnartz, who unexpectedly passed away in December 2023, shortly after the acceptance of this paper.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/cheers-nasas-webb-finds-ethanol-other-icy-ingredients-for-worlds/
NASA again sends aircraft to Taiwan for Asia air quality research project
03/13/2024 12:50 PM
Taipei, March 13 (CNA) NASA deployed two research aircraft to Taiwan for a third time on Wednesday to help Taiwan improve its air quality management, the Ministry of Environment said in a statement.
Like previous flights on Feb. 15 and Feb. 28, NASA's Wednesday flights to Taiwan are part of its Seven SouthEast Asian Studies Mission, a project monitoring air quality across Asia, according to the statement.
The aircraft a DC8 and a GIII arrived at around 10:40 a.m. Wednesday and are set to operate for two hours in the skies above Taiwan, the ministry said.
Hsieh Ping-huei (謝炳輝), head of the ministry's Department of Monitoring and Information, told CNA that the DC8 flew from South Korea and the GIII from the Philippines.
According to the ministry, the GIII will be cruising at 28,500 feet (8,600 meters) between Pingtung and Taichung, while the DC8 is set to cuise at 2,000 feet between Tainan and Pingtung, and 46 feet at Tainan and Chiayi airports, to analyze the impacts of topography, atmospheric circulation, and pollutant sources on air quality.
The ministry said it will continue to collaborate with NASA to allow research aircraft to fly past Taiwan in the future.
It added that a total of 550 pollutant samples, including ozone, fine particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds have been collected in the past two deployments.
https://focustaiwan.tw/sci-tech/202403130006
NASA Rolls Out Lunar Tires at Monster Jams
MAR 13, 2024
Few things rev the engines of Monster Jam fans more than tires—including lunar tires. NASA’s Glenn Research Center recently gained traction with amplified audiences at Monster Jams in Milwaukee, Jan. 20-21, and in Cleveland, Feb. 16-17. During pit parties, NASA’s outreach team rolled out its replica lunar rover tire to show visitors the work NASA is doing on space tires.
The exhibit also included an inflatable Mars rover, First Woman comic backdrop, and distribution of solar eclipse glasses and eclipse path maps.
Additionally, Grave Digger driver Krysten Anderson and El Toro Loco driver Armando Castro visited NASA Glenn in Cleveland to see how future tires for the Moon and Mars are designed and tested.
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/glenn/nasa-rolls-out-lunar-tires-at-monster-jams/
Stunning image of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot shows ‘iconic’ storm twice as large as Earth
March 11, 2024, 4:13 p.m. ET
NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured a stunning portrait of a storm much larger than Earth that has been raging for hundreds of years.
The image of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot was taken from about 9,600 miles away by the space probe Juno, which is exploring the massive planet in the first solar-powered mission in the outer solar system, officials said.
The high-pressure region in Jupiter’s atmosphere has been churning an anticyclonic storm for over 350 years, producing the most recognizable feature of the Gas Giant, according to NASA.
The Great Red Spot has been shrinking since it was last measured by the Voyager spacecraft in 1979; its height has diminished by an eighth and its width by at least a third over the past four decades, the new image revealed.
However, the storm is still twice as large as Earth and Juno’s observations indicates that it reaches about 200 miles beneath the planet’s clouds.
Winds in the Great Red Spot can reach speeds of up to 400 miles per hour — or about two-and-a-half times the velocity of a Category 5 hurricane, according to the space agency.
As the planet consists of swirling gases and liquids, there is no solid ground on Jupiter to weaken the massive storm system.
Juno launched in 2011 and arrived in the planet’s orbit in 2016. It is now in the third year of its extended mission to chronicle the massive planet and its up-to-95 officially recognized moons.
https://nypost.com/2024/03/11/world-news/juno-image-of-jupiters-great-red-spot-shows-iconic-storm/
SpaceX Starlink Mission
SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, March 13 for a Falcon 9 launch of 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff is targeted for 7:29 p.m. ET, with backup opportunities available until 11:29 p.m. ET. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Thursday, March 14 starting at 7:04 p.m. ET.
A live webcast of this mission will begin on X @SpaceX about five minutes prior to liftoff. Watch live.
This is the 19th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched GPS III Space Vehicle 04, GPS III Space Vehicle 05, Inspiration4, Ax-1, Nilesat 301, OneWeb Launch 17, ARABSAT BADR-8, and 11 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl-6-44
Army extends Maxar’s contract for 3D terrain models
March 12, 2024
The U.S. Army has extended a contract with Maxar Intelligence for 3D terrain models used to create immersive training environments for soldiers, the company announced March 12.
Maxar, based in Westminster, Colorado, was awarded Phase 4 of the U.S. Army’s One World Terrain (OWT) contract. The program was originally awarded in 2019 to Vricon, a company Maxar acquired in 2020.
The company uses data from its high-resolution Earth imaging satellites to make 3D mapping products.
Terrain models for realistic training
The One World Terrain contract with Maxar is estimated to be worth $94.7 million if all options are exercised. The company did not disclose the value of the new contract extension. A Maxar spokesman said the $94.7 million estimate previously reported “doesn’t reflect the full value of all our OWT contracts thus far.”
Susanne Hake, general manager of U.S. government at Maxar Intelligence, said the One World Terrain program “enables more sophisticated modeling, simulation and training systems to optimize warfighter readiness.”
Hake said Maxar’s imagery and data analytics “offers an extremely accurate 3D representation of Earth.”
https://spacenews.com/army-extends-maxars-contract-for-3d-terrain-models/
Japan's 1st commercial rocket explodes shortly after liftoff
Mar 13, 2024
A Japanese company's first orbital launch attempt ended in a dramatic failure just seconds after liftoff on Wednesday.
The 18-meter-long, four-stage Kairos solid rocket lifted off from Space Port Kii in Kushimoto, western Japan at 10:01 p.m. EDT March 12 (0201 GMT or 11:01 a.m. Japan time on March 13). The flight ended abruptly seconds after it rose off the launch pad when the flight termination system triggered, resulting in the rocket exploding.
The attempt to become the first Japanese private launch company to reach orbit resulted in debris strewn across the launch site. A post-launch press conference stated that no damage was caused and no personnel injured. Fires visible in the immediate aftermath were soon extinguished.
"The rocket terminated the flight after judging that the achievement of its mission would be difficult," company president Masakazu Toyoda said, Reuters reported. It was not stated what triggered the autonomous flight termination system. An investigation into the cause of the failure will follow, with plans for a next launch dependent on the outcome and necessary measures being taken.
Space One's Kairos rocket consists of three solid propellant stages and a liquid propellant upper stage. It is to be able to carry payloads of up to 550 pounds (250 kilograms) to low Earth orbit. It is also designed to be highly automated.
Tokyo-based Space One was established in 2018 by major shareholders Canon Electronics, IHI Aerospace Co., Ltd., Shimizu Corporation and the Development Bank of Japan. The company has stated it aims to launch more than 20 times per year before the end of the decade.
A launch was earlier scheduled for March 9 Japan time but was scrubbed after a vessel triggered safety concerns downrange.
Launch failures of new rockets are far from rare. The SpaceX Falcon 1 is oft-cited as an example of a launcher failing during its initial launches but eventually succeeded. A range of recent new launchers have failed, including launches by American company Astra and China's Landspace.
"Rocket Lab, too, did not achieve its mission at the inaugural (Electron) flight, but it went on to launch three rockets in its second year," Toyoda said, according to Reuters. Toyoda added that Space One needs to compete with Rocket Lab.
Just hours before the Kairos failure, a Rocket Lab Electron rocket successfully launched a radar imaging satellite, notably for Japanese company Synspective. The Electron is in a similar payload range to Kairos, being capable of launching payloads of up to 660 lbs (300 kg).
The Kairos failure can also be seen as a setback for Japan's wider plans to develop its space industry. The country's space policy committee is currently working on the details of a $6.7 billion, 10-year space strategic fund to boost the country's autonomy, innovation and competitiveness in space.
These plans include improving Japan's overall launch rate through both its new H3 rocket and private companies. Another Japanese launch startup, Interstellar Technologies, aims for its first orbital launch with its Zero rocket in 2025 .
https://www.space.com/japan-first-commercial-rocket-explodes-space-one-kairos