NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
April 2, 2024
Detailed View of a Solar Eclipse Corona
Only in the fleeting darkness of a total solar eclipse is the light of the solar corona easily visible. Normally overwhelmed by the bright solar disk, the expansive corona, the sun's outer atmosphere, is an alluring sight. But the subtle details and extreme ranges in the corona's brightness, although discernible to the eye, are notoriously difficult to photograph. Pictured here, however, using multiple images and digital processing, is a detailed image of the Sun's corona taken during the April 20, 2023 total solar eclipse from Exmouth, Australia. Clearly visible are intricate layers and glowing caustics of an ever changing mixture of hot gas and magnetic fields. Bright looping prominences appear pink just around the Sun's limb. A similar solar corona might be visible through clear skies in a narrow swath across the North America during the total solar eclipse that occurs just six days from today
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html?
AECOM to provide environmental restoration and compliance services for NASA facilities across the United States
April 01, 2024
AECOM (NYSE: ACM), the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, today announced that it has been selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to provide environmental restoration and compliance services at facilities across the United States as part of the NASA Environmental Restoration and Compliance Contract (NERCC).
Under this five-year contract, AECOM will provide support for environmental restoration activities, including environmental sampling; investigations of potential environmental contaminants; human, health, and ecological risk assessments; and remediation activities. The NERCC will also serve as the primary contracting vehicle for NASA’s PFAS-related investigation and remediation efforts. With more than two decades of PFAS experience at more than 500 sites globally, AECOM is well positioned to support NASA’s PFAS initiatives. The Company will also provide compliance and sustainability related services across NASA facilities that include pollution prevention, recycling and hazardous materials management.
“We are proud to continue building on our 60-year history of successfully serving NASA by leveraging our environmental restoration and compliance expertise, actively advancing our purpose to deliver a better world for the next generation,” said Frank Sweet, chief executive of AECOM’s global Environment business. “The management and remediation of hazardous materials, such as PFAS and other substances, continues to be a key priority for our teams and our clients, and we look forward to our continued partnership with NASA on this shared mission.”
AECOM’s 9,000 environmental professionals collaborate through an extensive Technical Practice Network to share innovative solutions and cutting-edge technologies to help solve some of the world’s most challenging remediation projects, which will be brought to bear for NASA on this program.
“Our team of experts continue to be partners of choice for federal clients like NASA,” said Karl Jensen, executive vice president of AECOM’s National Governments business. “AECOM’s specialized experience and full suite of services will allow our teams to quickly respond and deliver at each NASA Center and facility to enhance the agency’s mission to drive advances in science, technology, and exploration to enhance knowledge, education, innovation, economic vitality, and stewardship of Earth.”
About AECOM
AECOM (NYSE: ACM) is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy, and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of $14.4 billion in fiscal year 2023. See how we are delivering sustainable legacies for generations to come at aecom.com and @AECOM.
https://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=319976
Webb telescope detects light from an Earth-like planet
April 1, 2024
Light has been detected from a planet similar to Earth – but it has no atmosphere.
Nasa’s infrared Spitzer Space Telescope discovered several rocky exoplanets orbiting a star known as TRAPPIST-1.
But now, thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope, also known as the Webb, one of the rocky exoplanets orbiting the star has had its temperature measured.
The planet, known as TRAPPIST-1b, gives off no visible light but instead has an infrared glow.
Dr Pierre-Olivier Lagage, a co-author on the study, said: ‘There was one target that I dreamed of having.
‘And it was this one. This is the first time we can detect the emission from a rocky, temperate planet. It’s a really important step in the story of discovering exoplanets.’
The researchers found that TRAPPIST-1b is also blistering hot, clocking in at roughly around 230C – which is around the temperature of an oven.
However, even though it probably lacks an atmosphere, the planet is the first to have any form of light by an exoplanet as small and as cool as the rocky planets in our solar system, Nasa said.
Dr Thomas Greene, a Nasa astrophysicist and lead author said: ‘These observations take advantage of Webb’s mid-infrared capability.
‘No previous telescopes have had the sensitivity to measure such dim mid-infrared light.’
The find is an important step in determining whether planets orbiting small active stars like TRAPPIST-1 can house atmospheres needed to support life.
The seven planets initially caused great excitement as all the distant worlds were around the size of Earth but had an M-dwarf star – the coolest and smallest type of star – as their host.
However, TRAPPIST-1 b, is the innermost planet and receives about four times the amount of energy that Earth gets from the Sun.
Previous observations of the planet were not sensitive enough to determine if it had an atmosphere or if it was just a rocky planet, but simulations of the tide-locked planet – meaning one side always faces its host – would suggest that the planet would have a lower temperature and as the air would redistribute the heat around both sides.
However, the Webb detected a significantly hotter temperature, suggesting it has no atmosphere and, unfortunately, adds to the list of planets that cannot house humans.
The study is published in the journal Nature.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/webb-telescope-detects-light-from-an-earth-like-planet/ar-BB1kSDIN
New ‘Eclipse Watch’ Tool Shows Eclipses from Space Any Time
APR 01, 2024
Do you wish you could see a total solar eclipse every day? With a new online tool called Eclipse Watch, you can observe the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, in real time with eclipse-like images from space as we count down to the next total solar eclipse on Earth.
The new Helioviewer Eclipse Watch data visualization tool displays images captured by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint NASA-ESA (European Space Agency) mission stationed one million miles from Earth. Each time you refresh the page, you can see the latest image from the spacecraft. These images showcase some of the features of the Sun that you may also be able to see from the ground on Earth when the Moon completely covers the Sun during the total solar eclipse.
A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the Sun. This celestial event reveals the extended atmosphere of the Sun, which is normally obscured from view by bright sunlight. Hot gas streaming from the surface of the Sun into interplanetary space can be observed during this time.
To study the Sun's extended atmosphere when a total solar eclipse isn't happening, scientists can use special telescopes called coronagraphs. These instruments create an artificial eclipse by using a round disk to block out the light from the Sun (the same way the Moon does during an eclipse) and reveal parts of the Sun’s atmosphere that are normally too dim to see.
The Helioviewer Eclipse Watch provides eclipse-like images that are captured over a hundred times each day by the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph Experiment (LASCO) instrument on the SOHO spacecraft. LASCO observes the Sun’s corona and can identify clouds of material called coronal mass ejections that erupt from the Sun. These images offer a glimpse of what you could witness during the historic celestial event on April 8. LASCO’s disk obscures a larger area than the Moon will block during the total solar eclipse, as indicated by the black circular area in the Eclipse Watch tool. A picture of the Moon is overlaid on the image for scale. This means that during the total eclipse on Earth you will get to see even more of the Sun’s extended atmosphere than LASCO captures.
SOHO launched in 1995 to study our star, from the Sun's deep core to its outer corona. LASCO is one of 12 instruments on SOHO used to study different solar regions and a constant stream of particles and energy from the Sun called the solar wind. Thousands of comets that pass close to the Sun – called sungrazing comets – have also been discovered in SOHO images.
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/skywatching/new-eclipse-watch-tool-shows-eclipses-from-space-any-time/
https://eclipse.helioviewer.org/
SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket photobombs the moon in incredible award-winning shot
April 1, 2024
A rocket transiting the moon is a pretty rare sight. Capturing a good photo of that kind of transit takes some serious skill.
That skill is worthy of some major praise. Pascal Fouquet, a photographer from Orlando, Florida, captured such a shot, and was chosen as the United States' National Award first place winner for the Sony World Photography Awards 2024. The awards program comes out of a partnership between Sony and the World Photography Organization, and receives hundreds of thousands of photo submission from across the globe.
Fouquet captured his Falcon Heavy photo just before the new year, when SpaceX launched the United States Space Force X-37B spaceplane on the USSF-52 mission. The uncrewed X-37B spacecraft lifted off atop Falcon Heavy from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on Dec. 28, at 8:07 p.m. EST (0107 GMT on Dec. 29).
Fouquet realized the upcoming opportunity to try and nail that shot less than 48 hours before the launch took place, he told Space.com. "Scouting for an ideal location proved challenging, given the limited spots available for capturing the shot. Ultimately, I settled on a somewhat unconventional choice—an open field behind a hospice center 13.8 miles away from the launch pad," he said in an email.
The trick, Fouquet said, was to expose the camera to capture the details of the moon, not the rocket. Shot with a Nikon D850, Fouquet set his shutter speed to just 1/1600 of a second, capturing the split second moment Falcon Heavy passed in front of the moon.
This was the seventh launch for the Space Force's secretive X-37B space plane, which remains in orbit at the time of this publication. On its last mission, X-37B broke its own on-orbit record after returning from its mission that lasted 908 days.
https://www.space.com/falcon-heavy-moon-transit-world-photography-award
JAXA and Toyota's 'Lunar Cruiser' moon rover is now a Transformers toy
April 2, 2024
It can now be revealed that Japan's proposal for a future moon rover is "more than meets the eye."
As first announced last June but just now starting to ship, a new scale model of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Lunar Cruiser not only faithfully reproduces the details of the astronaut transport developed in conjunction with Toyota, but also transforms into Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots.
Yes, the new Takara Tomy toy is a crossover between the real agency's concept and Transformers, the "robots in disguise" franchise.
"Bring the ultimate Transformers experience to your collection with the Takara Tomy Transformers Lunar Cruiser Optimus Prime action figure!" reads Habro's Pulse website, the toy company's direct-to-fan online store, which took $75 pre-orders for the Takara Tomy release. "This figure was designed to replicate the appearance of the Lunar Cruiser pre-exhibited in 2019."
For the past five years, JAXA and Toyota have been advancing research on a vehicle that would enable sustained exploration of the moon's surface. Unlike the historic Apollo lunar rover and the lunar terrain vehicle(s), or LTVs, that NASA is set to announce for the Artemis program, the Lunar Cruiser (named after Toyota's Land Cruiser) is pressurized, allowing it to serve as a camper van for multi-day excursions.
Toyota's contributions to the six-wheeled JAXA rover include its fuel cell, which, in addition to a solar panel, will power the vehicle.
Takara Tomy's model is based on the first version of the Lunar Cruiser, which featured more windows, larger tires and a wider high-gain antenna than a revised concept shown off by JAXA and Toyota in October 2023.
Of course, neither iteration of the proposed rover could unfold to become a red, blue and gray robot. (If unfamiliar, Optimus Prime, or Convoy as he is known in Japan, becomes a semi truck in his original configuration, though he has taken on other vehicles before becoming the Lunar Cruiser.)
It takes about two dozen moves to fold, twist, deploy and snap into place the fully articulated robot form of the model (or in reverse, back into the rover). Optimus stands about 7 inches (18 centimeters) tall and is made almost entirely from ABS plastic.
The included solar panel accessory folds in half to become a shield that Optimus Prime can hold or mount to his body. In Lunar Cruiser form, the solar panel can be mounted on the vehicle's side (as JAXA and Toyota plan) or stored inside by lifting open the rover's hatchback.
The Transformers Lunar Cruiser Optimus Prime is not the only time Transformers has crossed over with space exploration, both on screen and in real life.
In the original 1980s cartoon, Astrotrain was an evil Decepticon who could turn into both a train's engine and a space shuttle. In one episode, he transported Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons, to the moon, where they ultimately faced off with Optimus and the Autobots.
Later, Hasbro and Takara Tomy introduced Galaxy Shuttle, an Autobot that could transform into the Orion winged orbiter, and Sky Lynx, which went from a bird-like creature (or "dino-bird") to a space shuttle complete with a NASA logo on the side of its payload bay.
In "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," the third movie in the Michael Bay series, released in 2011, the plot revolves around a piece of technology that crashed on the moon in the 1960s, re-writing the history of NASA's Apollo 11 mission. The film was partially shot at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and included scenes filmed inside the Vehicle Assembly Building and on Pad 39A with the space shuttle Discovery.
Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin had a cameo in "Dark of the Moon," where he is seen meeting Optimus Prime. Later, the actor who gave voice to the character, Peter Cullen, recorded several videos for NASA, including an introduction to the agency's television channel, a video celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Apollo program and an overview of the James Webb Space Telescope.
Most recently, when Japan landed its first probe on the moon in January of this year, the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, deployed a compact rover designed by Takara Tomy. The Sora-Q robot changed its shape from a sphere to expose its cameras and ultilize its two hemispheres as wheels.
Prior to the historic lunar touchdown, Takara Tomy released a toy version of Sora-Q, which like the real rover on the moon, was also capable of transforming.
https://www.space.com/takara-tomy-transformers-lunar-cruiser-optimus-prime