NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Mar 27, 2024

The Coma Cluster of Galaxies

Almost every object in the featured photograph is a galaxy. The Coma Cluster of Galaxies pictured here is one of the densest clusters known - it contains thousands of galaxies. Each of these galaxies houses billions of stars - just as our own Milky Way Galaxy does. Although nearby when compared to most other clusters, light from the Coma Cluster still takes hundreds of millions of years to reach us. In fact, the Coma Cluster is so big it takes light millions of years just to go from one side to the other. Most galaxies in Coma and other clusters are ellipticals, while most galaxies outside of clusters are spirals. The nature of Coma's X-ray emission is still being investigated.

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

ESA, NASA Solar Observatory Discovers Its 5,000th Comet

MAR 27, 2024

On March 25, 2024, a citizen scientist in the Czech Republic spotted a comet in an image from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft, which has now been confirmed to be the 5,000th comet discovered using SOHO data. SOHO has achieved this milestone over 28 years in space, even though it was never designed to be a comet hunter.

The comet is a small body made of ice and rock that takes only a few years to orbit the Sun. It belongs to the “Marsden group” of comets. This group is thought to be related to comet 96P/Machholz (which SOHO observes when Machholz passes near the Sun every 5.3 years) and is named for the late scientist Brian Marsden who first recognized the group using SOHO observations. Only about 75 of the 5,000 comets discovered with SOHO belong to the Marsden group.

A joint mission of ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA, SOHO launched in December 1995 to study the Sun and the dynamics in its outer atmosphere, called the corona. A science instrument on SOHO, called the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO), uses an artificial disk to block the blinding light of the Sun so scientists can study the corona and environment immediately around the Sun.

This also allows SOHO to do something many other spacecraft cannot – see comets flying close to the Sun, known as “sungrazing” comets or “sungrazers.” Many of these comets only brighten when they’re too close to the Sun for other observatories to see and would otherwise go undetected, lost in the bright glare of our star. While scientists expected SOHO to serendipitously find some comets during its mission, the spacecraft’s ability to spot them has made it the most prolific comet-finder in history – discovering more than half of the comets known today.

In fact, soon after SOHO launched, people around the world began spotting so many comets in its images that mission scientists needed a way to keep track of them all. In the early 2000s, they launched the NASA-funded Sungrazer Project that allows anyone to report comets they find in SOHO images.

SOHO’s 5,000th comet was found by Hanjie Tan, a Sungrazer Project participant who is originally from Guangzhou, China, and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in astronomy in Prague, Czech Republic. Tan has been participating in the Sungrazer Project since he was 13 years old and is one of the project’s youngest comet discoverers.

“Since 2009, I've discovered over 200 comets,” Tan said. “I got into the Sungrazer Project because I love looking for comets. It's really exciting to be the first to see comets get bright near the Sun after they've been traveling through space for thousands of years.”

Most of the 5,000 comets discovered using SOHO have been found with the help of an international cadre of volunteer comet hunters – many with no formal scientific training – participating in the Sungrazer Project.

“Prior to the launch of the SOHO mission and the Sungrazer Project, there were only a couple dozen sungrazing comets on record – that’s all we knew existed,” said Karl Battams, a space scientist at the U.S. Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C., and the principal investigator for the Sungrazer Project. “The fact that we’ve finally reached this milestone – 5,000 comets – is just unbelievable to me.”

The vast number of comets discovered using SOHO has allowed scientists to learn more about sungrazing comets and groups of comets that orbit the Sun. Comets discovered by the Sungrazer Project have also helped scientists learn more about the Sun, by watching the comets plunge through our star’s atmosphere like small solar probes.

“The statistics of 5,000 comets, and looking at their orbits and trajectories through space, is a super unique dataset – it’s really valuable science,” Battams said. “It’s a testament to the countless hours the project participants have put into this. We absolutely would never had reached this milestone if it wasn’t for what the project volunteers have done.”

The Sungrazer Project is one of many opportunities that anyone can get involved with to help make discoveries with NASA during the Heliophysics Big Year, which extends through the end of 2024. Learn more about SOHO, the Sungrazer Project, and other NASA science projects you can participate in:

https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/heliophysics/esa-nasa-solar-observatory-discovers-its-5000th-comet/

Be All You Can Be – Be an Army astronaut

Mar 27, 2024

REDSTONE ARSENAL — Active-duty soldiers can compete to join the ranks of an elite Army group comprising 19 astronauts and payload specialists who have been selected since 1978 to serve at NASA.

The Army will convene a candidate board to select soldiers for nomination to NASA. Although Army astronauts have historically been commissioned officers, the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command’s NASA Detachment encourages any active-duty soldier who meets the basic requirements to apply, regardless of rank or military occupational specialty.

“There is absolutely no impediment to a junior-enlisted Soldier, non-commissioned officer, or warrant officer applying to become an Army astronaut, so long as they can meet NASA and the Army’s education and other requirements,” said Lt. Col. Nicholas Holtz, executive officer of the NASA Detachment.

If selected by NASA and the Army, astronaut candidates will undergo a rigorous two-year program to prepare them for spaceflight. They will be assigned to the NASA Detachment at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Commissioned officers will also become FA-40C space operations officers.

“Soldiers bring a unique and highly valued skillset to the astronaut office,” said Col. Anne McClain, an Army astronaut and commander of the NASA Detachment. “Army astronauts provide Army space expertise and leadership to low-earth orbit and lunar spaceflight missions, NASA programs of record and deep space exploration initiatives. This is why it is important to reach the greatest number of potential astronaut candidates within our ranks for NASA’s next astronaut class.”

The application process to become an astronaut candidate is strict. All applicants, military or civilian, must apply directly to NASA, per their announcement via www.usajobs.gov. Basic eligibility criteria for all astronauts can be found at www.nasa.gov/astronauts/.

Active-duty soldiers must also submit their applications to the Army Astronaut Candidate Board through the Army/NASA astronaut liaison, Keira Hardy (keira.d.hardy.civ@army.mil). Those applications must include copies of the resume submitted to usajobs.gov, current Soldier Talent Profile, the soldier’s last Army Combat Fitness Test card, and their last two evaluation reports (or counseling statements for E-4 and below).

Applicants may also submit any other evaluation report that covers pertinent experience they would like to highlight, such as significant leadership time, time in combat, etc. The board will not accept letters of recommendation.

“It’s vitally important that Soldiers interested in applying to become an Army astronaut thoroughly review and comply with NASA’s requirements, as well as the Army’s military personnel message to have their applications in order and submitted before the April 2 deadline,” said Keira Hardy, Army astronaut liaison at the Johnson Space Center. “Both the Army and NASA have very specific guidelines for applicants, and failure to meet those guidelines could be the difference between being considered or eliminated right from the start.”

For further information on Army-specific requirements, see MILPER message 24-072. Deadline for applying is April 2 although soldiers are encouraged to submit applications as soon as feasible.

Soldiers currently serving in the Army Reserve or Army National Guard who are interested in applying are encouraged to engage with their chain of command about their application and potential selection.

https://dothaneagle.com/news/community/enterprise-ledger/nasa-active-army-astronaut-apply/article_3e06f756-eb6e-11ee-a9d9-0f6ac47c0809.html

Gov. Abbott announces launch of Texas Space Commission in Houston

March 26, 2024 at 4:29 PM

AUSTIN – Texas Governor Greg Abbott made a major announcement on the future of the space industry in Texas at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Governor Abbott announced the establishment the Texas Space Commission. Along with this announcement, the Governor appointed the inaugural members of the commission’s Board of Directors and the Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium (TARSEC) Executive Committee.

“Since its very inception, NASA’s Johnson Space Center has been home to manned spaceflight, propelling Texas as the national leader in the U.S. space program,” Abbott said. “It was at Rice University where President John F. Kennedy announced that the U.S. would put a man on the moon—not because it was easy, but because it was hard. Now, with the Texas Space Commission, our great state will have a group that is responsible for dreaming and achieving the next generation of human exploration in space.”

The Texas Space Commission was formed with the goal of strengthening the state’s influence in aerospace activity by promoting innovation in space research and exploration. The organization will be governed by its Board of Directors, which consists of nine members.

Along with the announcement, Governor Abbott also toured the mission control and spoke with native Texan and NASA Astronaut Loral O’Hara via International Space Station feed.

Along with the announcement, Governor Abbott also toured the mission control and spoke with native Texan and NASA Astronaut Loral O’Hara via International Space Station feed.

The Governor was also joined by Speaker Dade Phelan, Representative Greg Bonnen, NASA’s Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche, and other state and space industry leaders.

In a post on X, Governor Abbott cemented his excitement about the program’s potential to further Houston’s influence on space travel.

“As we look to the future of space, one thing is clear: those who reach for the stars do so from the great state of Texas,” Abbott said in the post.

https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/03/26/watch-live-gov-abbott-to-make-major-announcement-at-nasas-space-center-houston/

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