TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
April 15, 2025
Planetary Nebula NGC 1514 from Webb
What happens when a star runs out of nuclear fuel? For stars like our Sun, the center condenses into a white dwarf while the outer atmosphere is expelled into space to appear as a planetary nebula. The expelled outer atmosphere of planetary nebula NGC 1514 appears to be a jumble of bubbles – when seen in visible light. But the view from the James Webb Space Telescope in infrared, as featured here, confirms a different story: in this light the nebula shows a distinct hourglass shape, which is interpreted as a cylinder seen along a diagonal. If you look closely at the center of the nebula, you can also see a bright central star that is part of a binary system. More observations might better reveal how this nebula is evolving and how the central stars are working together to produce the interesting cylinder and bubbles observed.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Mucho muy
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/moon/can-solar-wind-make-water-on-moon/
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024JE008334
Can Solar Wind Make Water on Moon? NASA Experiment Shows Maybe
Apr 15, 2025
Scientists have hypothesized since the 1960s that the Sun is a source of ingredients that form water on the Moon.
When a stream of charged particles known as the solar wind smashes into the lunar surface, the idea goes, it triggers a chemical reaction that could make water molecules.
Now, in the most realistic lab simulation of this process yet, NASA-led researchers have confirmed this prediction.
The finding, researchers wrote in a March 17 paper in JGR Planets, has implications for NASA’s Artemis astronaut operations at the Moon’s South Pole.
A critical resource for exploration, much of the water on the Moon is thought to be frozen in permanently shadowed regions at the poles.
“The exciting thing here is that with only lunar soil and a basic ingredient from the Sun, which is always spitting out hydrogen, there’s a possibility of creating water,” Li Hsia Yeo, a research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
“That’s incredible to think about,” said Yeo, who led the study.
Solar wind flows constantly from the Sun. It’s made largely of protons, which are nuclei of hydrogen atoms that have lost their electrons.
Traveling at more than one million miles per hour, the solar wind bathes the entire solar system. We see evidence of it on Earth when it lights up our sky in auroral light shows.
Most of the solar particles don’t reach the surface of Earth because our planet has a magnetic shield and an atmosphere to deflect them. But the Moon has no such protection.
As computer models and lab experiments have shown, when protons smash into the Moon’s surface, which is made of a dusty and rocky material called regolith, they collide with electrons and recombine to form hydrogen atoms.
Then, the hydrogen atoms can migrate through the lunar surface and bond with the abundant oxygen atoms already present in minerals like silica to form hydroxyl (OH) molecules, a component of water, and water (H2O) molecules themselves.
Scientists have found evidence of both hydroxyl and water molecules in the Moon’s upper surface, just a few millimeters deep.
These molecules leave behind a kind of chemical fingerprint — a noticeable dip in a wavy line on a graph that shows how light interacts with the regolith.
With the current tools available, though, it is difficult to tell the difference between hydroxyl and water, so scientists use the term “water” to refer to either one or a mix of both molecules.
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Many researchers think the solar wind is the main reason the molecules are there, though other sources like micrometeorite impacts could also help by creating heat and triggering chemical reactions.
Spacecraft measurements had already hinted that the solar wind is the primary driver of water, or its components, at the lunar surface.
One key clue, confirmed by Yeo’s team’s experiment: the Moon’s water-related spectral signal changes over the course of the day.
In some regions, it’s stronger in the cooler morning and fades as the surface heats up, likely because water and hydrogen molecules move around or escape to space.
As the surface cools again at night, the signal peaks again. This daily cycle points to an active source — most likely the solar wind—replenishing tiny amounts of water on the Moon each day.
To test whether this is true, Yeo and her colleague, Jason McLain, a research scientist at NASA Goddard, built a custom apparatus to examine Apollo lunar samples.
In a first, the apparatus held all experiment components inside: a solar particle beam device, an airless chamber that simulated the Moon’s environment, and a molecule detector.
Their invention allowed the researchers to avoid ever taking the sample out of the chamber — as other experiments did — and exposing it to contamination from the water in the air.
“It took a long time and many iterations to design the apparatus components and get them all to fit inside,” said McLain, “but it was worth it, because once we eliminated all possible sources of contamination, we learned that this decades-old idea about the solar wind turns out to be true.”
Using dust from two different samples picked up on the Moon by NASA’s Apollo 17 astronauts in 1972, Yeo and her colleagues first baked the samples to remove any possible water they could have picked up between air-tight storage in NASA’s space-sample curation facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and Goddard’s lab.
Then, they used a tiny particle accelerator to bombard the dust with mock solar wind for several days — the equivalent of 80,000 years on the Moon, based on the high dose of the particles used.
They used a detector called a spectrometer to measure how much light the dust molecules reflected, which showed how the samples’ chemical makeup changed over time.
In the end, the team saw a drop in the light signal that bounced to their detector precisely at the point in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum — near 3 microns — where water typically absorbs energy, leaving a telltale signature.
While they can’t conclusively say if their experiment made water molecules, the researchers reported in their study that the shape and width of the dip in the wavy line on their graph suggests that both hydroxyl and water were produced in the lunar samples.
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https://www.space.com/space-exploration/private-spaceflight/it-is-the-highest-high-heres-what-katy-perry-and-the-5-other-women-of-blue-origins-historic-all-female-flight-felt-after-liftoff-videos
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/private-spaceflight/ive-never-been-more-proud-of-my-friend-than-today-oprah-winfrey-says-as-she-watches-gayle-king-launch-on-blue-origin-rocket-video
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/private-spaceflight/gayle-king-just-conquered-her-fears-with-blue-origins-all-female-space-launch-heres-how-she-did-it
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/private-spaceflight/amanda-nguyen-becomes-1st-vietnamese-woman-to-fly-to-space-this-journey-really-is-about-healing-video
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/private-spaceflight/i-feel-super-connected-to-love-katy-perry-talks-about-her-historic-spaceflight-with-blue-origin-video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxX8lGD8K6Y
https://www.blueorigin.com/missions/ns-31
‘It is the highest high’: Here's what Katy Perry and the 5 other women of Blue Origin's historic all-female flight felt after liftoff
April 15, 2025
Blue Origin just launched pop star Katy Perry and five other women on the first manned rocket launch without a man on board since 1963.
A New Shepard rocket lifted off with Blue Origin's NS-31 mission Monday morning (April 14), completing the company's 31st launch overall and 11th crewed suborbital spaceflight.
New Shepard launched with Blue Origin's "RSS Kármán Line" space capsule, carrying Perry alongside crew members Gayle King, Lauren Sánchez, Aisha Bowe, Kerianne Flynn and Amanda Nguyen.
Liftoff occurred at 9:30 a.m. EDT (1330 GMT) from Blue Origin's Launch Site One in West Texas.
The whole flight lasted about 10.5 minutes, which offered the NS-31 passengers about four minutes of weightlessness as their capsule arced above the Kármán line — the internationally recognized "boundary" of space that resides at an altitude of 62 miles (100 kilometers).
Though their time in space was short, all six stepped away from the experience feeling a serene sense of awe and humble amazement.
"It is the highest high, and it is surrender to the unknown, trust," Perry said after landing.
In post-landing interviews with Charissa Thompson for Blue Origin after the crew exited their space capsule, each NS-31 crew member spoke about how profound a journey the launch was, and the deeper connection they now feel to Earth and humanity.
Sánchez led the NS-31 mission. She is an author and journalist with anchor experience at several news stations, as well as the recipient of an Emmy award in 1999.
She is a licensed helicopter pilot and founded the first female-owned and operated aerial film and production company. Sánchez has been engaged Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos since 2016.
Seat 01
Lauren Sánchez
"Earth looked so… it was so quiet, it was just quiet.
"We're so connected. More connected than you realize. Because you just see…all these things that divide us. But we're not."
It makes me want to come back and just hug everyone and be like, 'Oh my god, we're in this! We're in this together!'
"It was a feeling of joy and camaraderie. It was a feeling of gratefulness."
I hope, that more people get to see this, because I feel I don't even know how much it's going to change me."
Sánchez also reflected on the rocket launch of Alan Shepard — the first American to fly in space — which, like NS-31, also flew a short but impactful suborbital mission.
Amanda Nguyễn made history aboard NS-31 by becoming the first Vietnamese and Southeast Asian woman to fly to space.
She is a bioastronautics research scientist with a degree from Harvard University, and a resume that includes work with the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences and NASA.
Nguyễn recently authored a book, "Saving Five: A Memoir of Hope," about her experience as a survivor of sexual assault, and she hopes her spaceflight can be an inspiration to other survivors striving to realize their own dreams.
Seat 03
Amanda Nguyễn
"I just want all survivors to know that you can heal. No dream is too wild. If it's so wild, out there — like going to space — you can absolutely make it through. And it can absolutely be possible."
Each crew member brought an assortment of small items with them to space, including individual "zero-g indicators," which are used to signal that a spacecraft has reached microgravity when they begin floating around the cabin.
Nguyễn brought two zero-g indicators: a piece of paper with a promise she had written to herself after her sexual assault, and another item she said she wasn't originally sure if she would bring or not.
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"It's the hospital band from the day it happened," Nguyễn said. "I got to honor her today," she added, referring to her past self.
Kerianne Flynn is a film producer known for the movies such as "This Changes Everything" (2018) and "LILLY" (2024), which showcase her passion for storytelling and community-building.
Flynn has spent much of the past decade focused on her nonprofit work with The Allen-Stevenson School, The High Line, and Hudson River Park, according to her bio on Blue Origin's website.
She carried a feather to space, symbolic of Blue Origin, gifted to her by friends before her flight. "It felt so special to have it close to my heart and in space with me," she said. "I feel like it helped me take all of them with me on this journey."
Seat 06
Kerianne Flynn
"I have almost no words. It was the most incredible experience of my life to be up there and see such vast darkness in space, and look down on our planet. The moon was so beautiful. I felt like that was a special gift just for me."
Gayle King is most known for her prolific career in journalism and as co-host of the TV show "CBS Mornings." King was invited to the flight by Sánchez, which she says took her far out of her comfort zone.
King has an outspoken fear of flying, and doesn't have her ears pierced for fear of the pain. A woman stands in a blue flight suit looking right with her arms crossed.
Seat 05
Gayle King
"Eleanor Roosevelt once said, 'courage is doing something that scares you, but you do it anyway.' And I stepped out of my comfort zone in a way that I never thought was possible for me. And now that I've done it, I really do feel I can take on anything.
"It's oddly quiet when you get up there. It's really quiet and peaceful. And you look down at the planet, you think, 'That's where we came from?' And to me, it's such a reminder about how we need to do better, and be better human beings.
"It's so nasty and so vitriolic nowadays. If everybody could experience that peace that we had up there, and the kindness, and what it takes to do what we did, all the people that it took to get us up there and get us back safely… I'll never, ever, ever forget.
"We are forever bonded. You can't go through what we went through — to look out for each other, to help each other — and not be changed by that. It really is a true sisterhood."
King said her fears were eased because the NS-31 crew was "set up for success." "The training was so freaking good," King said. "It went exactly as they told us."
Aisha Bowe is a former NASA rocket scientist with degrees in aerospace and space systems engineering.
She is CEO of STEMBoard, founded LINGO, a STEM education technology company, and is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
"I picked the right dream," Bowe said after her spaceflight. "I'm ready to go back."
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Seat 04
Aisha Bowe
"I will never be the same.
"When you get up there and you see the Earth, and it's so beautiful, and it just fills the screen, and it's not just your window, it's everybody's window. And there're no boundaries, there're no borders, there's just Earth. It's incredible.
"Dream it, plan it and go and do it. I never really thought I could go to space, although I really wanted to go. And today just confirms that dreams are real, and sometimes reality is wrong."
Finally, Katy Perry has officially lived up to her hit single, "Firework," and showed us what she's worth by literally shooting across the sky — just as she told all of us to do.
The pop star was the last to be interviewed after the NS-31 capsule touchdown, and was very reticent for the spotlight of the mission to fall on her.
She said her spaceflight now ranks as the second most incredible experience of her lifetime — the first being the birth of her daughter.
Perry said her daughter is one of the reasons she ultimately decided to join the NS-31 crew. "I wanted to model courage and worthiness and fearlessness."
A woman stands in a blue flight suit looking right with her arms crossed.
Seat 02
Katy Perry
"I think that it's not about me, it's not about singing my songs. It's about a collective energy in there. It's about us.
It's about making space for future women and taking up space and belonging, and it's about this wonderful world that we see right out there and appreciating it. This is all for the benefit of Earth.
"It is the highest high, and it is surrender to the unknown, trust. This whole journey is not just about going to space. It's the training, it's the team, it's the whole thing. I couldn't recommend this experience more.
This is up there with all the different tools that I've learned in my life; from meditation to the Hoffman process. This is up there because what you're doing is really finding the love for yourself. You've got to trust in yourself on this journey."
As one of her personal items, Perry brought a daisy, which she held up high after exiting the New Shepard capsule. Daisy is the name of Perry's daughter.
"Daisies are common flowers, but they grow through any condition. They grow through cement, they grow through cracks, they grow through walls. They are resilient. They are powerful.
They are strong. They are everywhere. Flowers are, to me, God's smile, but it's also a reminder of our beautiful Earth and the flowers here, and God's smile and the beautiful magic that is everywhere, all around us, and even in a simple daisy."
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kek
Crew Studies Space-Caused Eye Changes as Trio Preps for Departure
April 14, 2025
The Expedition 72 crew began the week exploring what happens to a crew member’s eyes after living in space for months or years at a time.
The International Space Station residents also kept up a host of other microgravity research, continued servicing spacesuits, and prepared for the departure of three crewmates.
Astronauts on future missions to the Moon or Mars will experience increased risk to their vision and eye structure due to longer periods of exposure to microgravity.
The CIPHER study, composed of 14 human research investigations, looks at the physical and psychological health of astronauts living in space and applies the knowledge to keep crews healthy on long term missions farther away from Earth.
One portion of the CIPHER investigation seeks to identify how much a crew member’s brain and eye structure changes the longer they stay in space.
NASA Flight Engineer Anne McClain led that study today peering into the eyes of NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim. She first measured how his retinas respond to light activity using electrodes and eye drops.
Next, she took a closer look at his retina, optic nerve, and cornea using medical imaging hardware.
Scientists will use the insights gained from the research data to understand how the human body adapts to spaceflight and provide countermeasures.
Earlier, McClain partnered with Flight Engineers Nichole Ayers of NASA and Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and worked on a variety of spacesuit hardware.
McClain and Onishi first checked out the functionality of controllers that display the operational status of a spacesuit during a spacewalk.
Next, Onishi joined Ayers and organized spacewalking tools inside the Quest airlock where spacewalks in U.S. spacesuits are staged.
Kim studied procedures to monitor a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft as it approaches the orbital outpost for a docking.
Kim then reviewed the various approach and rendezvous scenarios Dragon may encounter during its upcoming mission this month to deliver several thousand pounds of science and supplies to the crew.
NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit is nearing the end of his mission with station Commander Alexey Ovchinin and Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner of Roscosmos.
The trio will undock aboard the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft at 5:57 p.m. EDT on Saturday, April 19, and land in Kazakhstan about 9:20 p.m. (6:20 a.m. on Sunday, May 20, Kazakh time) ending the Expedition 72 mission.
Ovchinin and Vagner prepared for the end of their mission by testing the lower body negative pressure suit that may help them adjust quicker to Earth’s gravity.
Pettit packed his personal belongings for the ride back to Earth and found time to disassemble, service, and stow a variety of space physics hardware onboard the orbiting lab.
Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky who, along with Kim, are in their second week in space, continued studying how their circulatory system is adjusting to microgravity.
Once again, the duo attached sensors to their foreheads, fingers, and toes measuring how blood flows back and forth from the head to the limbs in space.
Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov assisted Ovchinin and Vagner as they tested the lower body negative pressure suit then cleaned and disinfected the Nauka science module.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2025/04/14/crew-studies-space-caused-eye-changes-as-trio-preps-for-departure/
Exploring the Universe Through Sight, Touch, and Sound
Apr 14, 2025
For the first time in history, we can explore the universe through a rich blend of senses—seeing, touching, and hearing astronomical data—in ways that deepen our understanding of space.
While three-dimensional (3D) models are essential tools for scientific discovery and analysis, their potential extends far beyond the lab.
Space can often feel distant and abstract, like watching a cosmic show unfold on a screen light-years away.
But thanks to remarkable advances in technology, software, and science, we can now transform telescope data into detailed 3D models of objects millions or even billions of miles away.
These models aren’t based on imagination—they are built from real data, using measurements of motion, light, and structure to recreate celestial phenomena in three dimensions.
What’s more, we can bring these digital models into the physical world through 3D printing. Using innovations in additive manufacturing, data becomes something you can hold in your hands.
This is particularly powerful for children, individuals who are blind or have low vision, and anyone with a passion for lifelong learning. Now, anyone can quite literally grasp a piece of the universe.
These models also provide a compelling way to explore concepts like scale.
While a 3D print might be just four inches wide, the object it represents could be tens of millions of billions of times larger—some are so vast that a million Earths could fit inside them.
Holding a scaled version of something so massive creates a bridge between human experience and cosmic reality.
In addition to visualizing and physically interacting with the data, we can also listen to it.
Through a process called sonification, telescope data is translated into sound, making information accessible and engaging in a whole new way.
Just like translating a language, sonification conveys the essence of astronomical data through audio, allowing people to “hear” the universe.
To bring these powerful experiences to communities across the country, NASA’s Universe of Learning, in collaboration with the Library of Congress, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Space Telescope Science Institute, has created Mini Stars 3D Kits that explore key stages of stellar evolution.
These kits have been distributed to Library of Congress state hubs across the United States to engage local learners through hands-on and multisensory discovery.
Each Mini Stars Kit includes:
Three 3D-printed models of objects within our own Milky Way galaxy:
Pillars of Creation (M16/Eagle Nebula) – a stellar nursery where new stars are born
Eta Carinae – a massive, unstable star system approaching the end of its life
Crab Nebula – the aftermath of a supernova, featuring a dense neutron star at its core
Audio files with data sonifications for each object—mathematical translations of telescope data into sound
Descriptive text to guide users through each model’s scientific significance and sensory interpretation
These kits empower people of all ages and abilities to explore the cosmos through touch and sound—turning scientific data into a deeply human experience.
Experience your universe through touch and sound at: https://chandra.si.edu/tactile/ministar.html
https://science.nasa.gov/learning-resources/science-activation/exploring-the-universe-through-sight-touch-and-sound/
Sculpted by Luminous Stars
Apr 14, 2025
This new image, released on April 4, 2025, showcases the dazzling young star cluster NGC 346.
Although both the James Webb Space Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope have released images of NGC 346 previously, this image includes new data and is the first to combine Hubble observations made at infrared, optical, and ultraviolet wavelengths into an intricately detailed view of this vibrant star-forming factory.
Hubble’s exquisite sensitivity and resolution were instrumental in uncovering the secrets of NGC 346’s star formation.
Using two sets of observations taken 11 years apart, researchers traced the motions of NGC 346’s stars, revealing them to be spiraling in toward the center of the cluster.
This spiraling motion arises from a stream of gas from outside of the cluster that fuels star formation in the center of the turbulent cloud.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/sculpted-by-luminous-stars/
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-spots-stellar-sculptors-in-nearby-galaxy/
NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft Prepares Second Asteroid Encounter
Apr 14, 2025
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft is 6 days and less than 50 million miles (80 million km) away from its second close encounter with an asteroid; this time, the small main belt asteroid Donaldjohanson.
This upcoming event represents a comprehensive “dress rehearsal” for Lucy’s main mission over the next decade: the exploration of multiple Trojan asteroids that share Jupiter’s orbit around the Sun.
Lucy’s first asteroid encounter – a flyby of the tiny main belt asteroid Dinkinesh and its satellite, Selam, on Nov. 1, 2023 – provided the team with an opportunity for a systems test that they will be building on during the upcoming flyby.
Lucy’s closest approach to Donaldjohanson will occur at 1:51pm EDT on April 20, at a distance of 596 miles (960 km).
About 30 minutes before closest approach, Lucy will orient itself to track the asteroid, during which its high-gain antenna will turn away from Earth, suspending communication.
Guided by its terminal tracking system, Lucy will autonomously rotate to keep Donaldjohanson in view. As it does this, Lucy will carry out a more complicated observing sequence than was used at Dinkinesh.
All three science instruments – the high-resolution greyscale imager called L’LORRI, the color imager and infrared spectrometer called L’Ralph, and the far infrared spectrometer called L’TES – will carry out observation sequences very similar to the ones that will occur at the Trojan asteroids.
However, unlike with Dinkinesh, Lucy will stop tracking Donaldjohanson 40 seconds before the closest approach to protect its sensitive instruments from intense sunlight.
“If you were sitting on the asteroid watching the Lucy spacecraft approaching, you would have to shield your eyes staring at the Sun while waiting for Lucy to emerge from the glare.
After Lucy passes the asteroid, the positions will be reversed, so we have to shield the instruments in the same way,” said encounter phase lead Michael Vincent of Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado.
“These instruments are designed to photograph objects illuminated by sunlight 25 times dimmer than at Earth, so looking toward the Sun could damage our cameras.”
Fortunately, this is the only one of Lucy’s seven asteroid encounters with this challenging geometry. During the Trojan encounters, as with Dinkinesh, the spacecraft will be able to collect data throughout the entire encounter.
After closest approach, the spacecraft will “pitch back,” reorienting its solar arrays back toward the Sun. Approximately an hour later, the spacecraft will re-establish communication with Earth.
“One of the weird things to wrap your brain around with these deep space missions is how slow the speed of light is,” continued Vincent. “Lucy is 12.5 light minutes away from Earth, meaning it takes that long for any signal we send to reach the spacecraft.
Then it takes another 12.5 minutes before we get Lucy’s response telling us we were heard. So, when we command the data playback after closest approach, it takes 25 minutes from when we ask to see the pictures before we get any of them to the ground.”
Once the spacecraft’s health is confirmed, engineers will command Lucy to transmit the science data from the encounter back to Earth, which is a process that will take several days.
Donaldjohanson is a fragment from a collision 150 million years ago, making it one of the youngest main belt asteroids ever visited by a spacecraft.
“Every asteroid has a different story to tell, and these stories weave together to paint the history of our solar system,” said Tom Statler, Lucy mission program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
“The fact that each new asteroid we visit knocks our socks off means we’re only beginning to understand the depth and richness of that history.
Telescopic observations are hinting that Donaldjohanson is going to have an interesting story, and I’m fully expecting to be surprised – again.”
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/lucy/nasas-lucy-spacecraft-prepares-second-asteroid-encounter/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL9_0sagfBg
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/with-nasas-webb-dying-stars-energetic-display-comes-into-full-focus/
https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2025/news-2025-118
With NASA’s Webb, Dying Star’s Energetic Display Comes Into Full Focus
Apr 14, 2025
Gas and dust ejected by a dying star at the heart of NGC 1514 came into complete focus thanks to mid-infrared data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.
Its rings, which are only detected in infrared light, now look like “fuzzy” clumps arranged in tangled patterns, and a network of clearer holes close to the central stars shows where faster material punched through.
“Before Webb, we weren’t able to detect most of this material, let alone observe it so clearly,” said Mike Ressler, a researcher and project scientist for Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in southern California.
He discovered the rings around NGC 1514 in 2010 when he examined the image from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). “With MIRI’s data, we can now comprehensively examine the turbulent nature of this nebula,” he said.
This scene has been forming for at least 4,000 years — and will continue to change over many more millennia. At the center are two stars that appear as one in Webb’s observation, and are set off with brilliant diffraction spikes.
The stars follow a tight, elongated nine-year orbit and are draped in an arc of dust represented in orange.
One of these stars, which used to be several times more massive than our Sun, took the lead role in producing this scene.
“As it evolved, it puffed up, throwing off layers of gas and dust in in a very slow, dense stellar wind,” said David Jones, a senior scientist at the Institute of Astrophysics on the Canary Islands, who proved there is a binary star system at the center in 2017.
Once the star’s outer layers were expelled, only its hot, compact core remained. As a white dwarf star, its winds both sped up and weakened, which might have swept up material into thin shells.
Image A: Planetary Nebula NGC 1514 (MIRI Image)
Image B: Planetary Nebula NGC 1514 (WISE and Webb Images Side by Side)
Its Hourglass Shape
Webb’s observations show the nebula is tilted at a 60-degree angle, which makes it look like a can is being poured, but it’s far more likely that NGC 1514 takes the shape of an hourglass with the ends lopped off.
Look for hints of its pinched waist near top left and bottom right, where the dust is orange and drifts into shallow V-shapes.
What might explain these contours? “When this star was at its peak of losing material, the companion could have gotten very, very close,” Jones said.
“That interaction can lead to shapes that you wouldn’t expect. Instead of producing a sphere, this interaction might have formed these rings.”
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Though the outline of NGC 1514 is clearest, the hourglass also has “sides” that are part of its three-dimensional shape.
Look for the dim, semi-transparent orange clouds between its rings that give the nebula body.
A Network of Dappled Structures
The nebula’s two rings are unevenly illuminated in Webb’s observations, appearing more diffuse at bottom left and top right. They also look fuzzy, or textured.
“We think the rings are primarily made up of very small dust grains,” Ressler said.
“When those grains are hit by ultraviolet light from the white dwarf star, they heat up ever so slightly, which we think makes them just warm enough to be detected by Webb in mid-infrared light.”
In addition to dust, the telescope also revealed oxygen in its clumpy pink center, particularly at the edges of the bubbles or holes.
NGC 1514 is also notable for what is absent. Carbon and more complex versions of it, smoke-like material known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, are common in planetary nebulae (expanding shells of glowing gas expelled by stars late in their lives).
Neither were detected in NGC 1514. More complex molecules might not have had time to form due to the orbit of the two central stars, which mixed up the ejected material.
A simpler composition also means that the light from both stars reaches much farther, which is why we see the faint, cloud-like rings.
What about the bright blue star to the lower left with slightly smaller diffraction spikes than the central stars? It’s not part of this nebula. In fact, this star lies closer to us. This planetary nebula has been studied by astronomers since the late 1700s.
Astronomer William Herschel noted in 1790 that NGC 1514 was the first deep sky object to appear genuinely cloudy — he could not resolve what he saw into individual stars within a cluster, like other objects he cataloged.
With Webb, our view is considerably clearer.
NGC 1514 lies in the Taurus constellation approximately 1,500 light-years from Earth. The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory.
Webb will solve mysteries in our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it.
Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.
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https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-tracks-a-roaming-magnetar-of-unknown-origin/
https://www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202453479
NASA’s Hubble Tracks a Roaming Magnetar of Unknown Origin
Apr 15, 2025
Researchers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have discovered the magnetar called SGR 0501+4516 is traversing our galaxy from an unknown place of origin.
Researchers say that this runaway magnetar is the likeliest candidate in our Milky Way galaxy for a magnetar that was not born in a supernova explosion as initially predicted.
It is so strange it might even offer clues to the mechanism behind events known as fast radio bursts.
“Magnetars are neutron stars — the dead remnants of stars — composed entirely of neutrons.
What makes magnetars unique is their extreme magnetic fields,” said Ashley Chrimes, lead author of the discovery paper published in the April 15 journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
Chrimes is a European Space Agency Research Fellow at the European Space Research and Technology Center in the Netherlands.
Magnetars have comic-book-hero superpowers. A magnetar has a magnetic field about a trillion times more powerful than Earth’s magnetosphere.
If a magnetar flew by Earth at half the Moon’s distance, its intense field would wipe out every credit card on our planet.
If a human got within 600 miles, the magnetar would become a proverbial sci-fi death-ray, ripping apart every atom inside the body.
The magnetar’s strangeness was identified with the help of Hubble’s sensitive instruments as well as precise benchmarks from ESA's (European Space Agency) Gaia spacecraft.
Initially, the mysterious magnetar was discovered in 2008 when NASA’s Swift Observatory spotted brief, intense flashes of gamma rays from the outskirts of the Milky Way.
The source, which turned out to be one of only about 30 known magnetars in the Milky Way, was dubbed SGR 0501+4516.
Because magnetars are neutron stars, the natural explanation for their formation is that they are born in supernovae, when a star explodes and can collapse down to an ultra-dense neutron star.
This appeared to be the case for SGR 0501+4516, which is located close to a supernova remnant called HB9.
The separation between the magnetar and the center of the supernova remnant on the sky is just 80 arcminutes, or slightly wider than your pinky finger when viewed at the end of your outstretched arm.
But a decade-long study with Hubble cast doubt on the magnetar’s birthplace.
After initial observations with ground-based telescopes shortly after SGR 0501+4516’s discovery, researchers used Hubble’s exquisite sensitivity and steady pointing to spot the magnetar’s faint infrared glow in 2010, 2012, and 2020.
Each of these images was aligned to a reference frame defined by observations from the Gaia spacecraft, which has crafted an extraordinarily precise three-dimensional map of nearly two billion stars in the Milky Way.
This method revealed the subtle motion of the magnetar as it traversed the sky.
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“All of this movement we measure is smaller than a single pixel of a Hubble image,” said co-investigator Joe Lyman of the University of Warwick, United Kingdom.
“Being able to robustly perform such measurements really is a testament to the long-term stability of Hubble.”
By tracking the magnetar’s position, the team was able to measure the object’s apparent motion across the sky.
Both the speed and direction of SGR 0501+4516’s movement showed that the magnetar could not be associated with the nearby supernova remnant.
Tracing the magnetar’s trajectory thousands of years into the past showed that there were no other supernova remnants or massive star clusters with which it could be associated.
If SGR 0501+4516 was not born in a supernova, the magnetar must either be older than its estimated 20,000-year age, or it may have formed in another way.
Magnetars may also be able to form through the merger of two lower-mass neutron stars or through a process called accretion-induced collapse.
Accretion-induced collapse requires a binary star system containing a white dwarf: the core of a dead Sun-like star.
If the white dwarf pulls in gas from its companion, it can grow too massive to support itself, leading to an explosion — or possibly the creation of a magnetar.
“Normally, this scenario leads to the ignition of nuclear reactions, and the white dwarf exploding, leaving nothing behind.
But it has been theorized that under certain conditions, the white dwarf can instead collapse into a neutron star.
We think this might be how SGR 0501 was born,” added Andrew Levan of Radboud University in the Netherlands and the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.
Understanding Fast Radio Bursts
SGR 0501+4516 is currently the best candidate for a magnetar in our galaxy that may have formed through a merger or accretion-induced collapse.
Magnetars that form through accretion-induced collapse could provide an explanation for some of the mysterious fast radio bursts, which are brief but powerful flashes of radio waves.
In particular, this scenario may explain the origin of fast radio bursts that emerge from stellar populations too ancient to have recently birthed stars massive enough to explode as supernovae.
“Magnetar birth rates and formation scenarios are among the most pressing questions in high-energy astrophysics, with implications for many of the universe’s most powerful transient events, such as gamma-ray bursts, super-luminous supernovae, and fast radio bursts,” said Nanda Rea of the Institute of Space Sciences in Barcelona, Spain.
The research team has further Hubble observations planned to study the origins of other magnetars in the Milky Way, helping to understand how these extreme magnetic objects form.
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What Does NASA Science Do For Me?
Apr 15, 2025
It is easy to forget that all of the hard work, technology, and money that NASA pours into space research actually comes back down to Earth.
In fact, many of NASA's missions and research focus on our planet! NASA also has many other projects with partners that use their research to enrich everyone's lives here on Earth- and this is not including such notable achievements as satellite weather maps!
The NASA Spinoff program was created over fifty years ago to facilitate the licensing and development of NASA's technologies for commercial use by other companies and agencies.
This program helps "spin off" NASA's technology for use by others here on Earth and, in some cases, in space.
To date, over 2,000 spinoff technologies have been documented by the NASA Spinoff program.
Some notable examples of NASA spinoffs include:
Solar Cells
Water Purification
Memory foam for your cozy bed and chairs
Firefighting equipment, especially lightweight fireproof clothing and masks with much-improved air filters
Highway safety grooves, which help your car go around curves without slipping off by giving your tire better traction
Many safety features in modern aircraft, such as de-icing technologies for wings, chemical detectors and imaging for plane maintenance, improved flight controls, and many more
Image stabilization for your binoculars and video cameras
The Dustbuster
Healthier baby food
…and many more!
Check out this Wikipedia page for a more extensive list of the technologies that NASA has had a direct role in developing, many of which we now take for granted.
It is worth noting that there are a few technologies commonly thought to have been created by NASA that were actually independently developed.
Tang is a great example; it was developed by General Foods in 1957 and attained fame when used during food testing by NASA in the 60s (even though some astronauts were not fans of the powdery, not-quite-orange juice).
The microwave oven is another famous technology often falsely thought of as a NASA development.
It was, in fact, created shortly after World War 2, when radar technicians discovered that it wasn't such a good idea to stand in front of active equipment!
Thankfully, they found out via a melted candy bar and not from severe burns!
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/skywatching/night-sky-network/what-does-nasa-science-do-for-me/
https://ntts-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/t2p/prod/spinoff/NASA.Spinoff_2025_508.pdf
https://spinoff.nasa.gov/spinoff/archives
Venus Aerospace Outfits Its Record-setting Hypersonic Engine System With NASA-supported Technology
Apr 15, 2025, 09:00 ET
Venus Aerospace, the startup building the world's most advanced engine system for hypersonic flight, today announced the successful completion of a NASA-supported technological advancement—one that will outfit Venus's record-setting hypersonic engine system during an upcoming flight demonstration later this summer.
Through a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award, NASA supports high-potential companies building the future of aerospace technology.
Venus used NASA's award to test new nozzle designs—the part of the engine that shapes and directs power—for its unique, compact rocket engine.
The top-performing design exceeded expectations and will be integrated into Venus's ground-based launch test in the coming months.
"We've already proven our engine outperforms traditional systems on both efficiency and size," said CEO Sassie Duggleby.
"The technology we developed with NASA's support will now be part of our integrated engine platform—bringing us one step closer to proving that efficient, compact, and affordable hypersonic flight can be scaled."
The engine at the center of Venus's flight platform is a Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE)—a system long considered promising but never proven at scale.
Venus is the first U.S. company to make a scalable, affordable RDRE flight-ready. Unlike conventional rocket engines, the Venus RDRE operates through supersonic shockwaves—called detonations—that generate more power with less fuel.
"This is just the beginning of what can be achieved with Venus propulsion technology," said Andrew Duggleby, Venus Aerospace CTO.
"We've built a compact, high-performance system that unlocks speed, range, and agility across aerospace, defense, and many other applications. And we're confident in its readiness for flight."
This summer's flight will mark a significant milestone in demonstrating efficient, affordable, detonation-based propulsion at scale.
Combined with Venus's in-house IP and performance breakthroughs—including previously demonstrated efficiency in the upper 90th percentile compared to standard rocket engines—the integrated system is now one of the most advanced of its kind.
And it's just the beginning, with more innovations on the horizon.
One Engine System. All Speeds.
This development builds on a series of advances at Venus Aerospace. Last fall, the company unveiled a high-speed engine system that enables takeoff, acceleration, and hypersonic cruise—all powered by a single engine architecture.
While most high-speed systems require multiple engines to operate at different speeds, Venus's approach eliminates the cost, weight, and complexity of traditional propulsion technology.
The system delivers rocket-like takeoff power and jet-like cruise efficiency—all in a remarkably compact form.
Its elegant simplicity unlocks major advantages in speed, range, reusability, and cost—enabling a vehicle to accelerate from runway to Mach 5+ without changing engines.
The Venus system supports a wide range of applications, including:
Spacecraft landers
Low Earth orbit satellites
Space cargo transfer vehicles
Rocket kick-stages
Hypersonic drones and missiles
About Venus Aerospace
Founded in 2020, Venus Aerospace is solving the holy grail of high-speed flight.
The company is developing a next-generation propulsion system that combines detonation-based rocket thrust with jet-like cruise efficiency—enabling compact, scalable engines for space, defense, and commercial aviation.
At the center of Venus's latest milestone is its flight-ready RDRE, a highly efficient, ultra-compact engine ideal for agile defense systems and space access.
Venus has now added air-breathing capability to this core design, enabling acceleration from runway to Mach 5+, all with a single engine system.
This breakthrough dramatically simplifies the path to hypersonic flight and will ultimately power the Stargazer M4, a reusable Mach 4-capable aircraft designed for high-speed, long-range travel.
Backed by leading venture investors, Venus partners with NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, and other federal agencies to deliver hypersonic innovation—faster, cleaner, and at a scale more accessible than ever before.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/venus-aerospace-outfits-its-record-setting-hypersonic-engine-system-with-nasa-supported-technology-302428953.html
Pulsar Fusion unveils vision for ‘Sunbird’ nuclear rocket to reach Mars in half the time
April 15, 2025
When it comes to the future of space travel, nothing exceeds like excess.
Pulsar Fusion hopes to demonstrate that axiom with its planned Sunbird nuclear fusion rocket, which is designed to travel at speeds of 329,000 mph (500,000 kph).
That would make it the fastest self-propelled object ever created by humankind.
(NASA's Parker Solar Probe has reached greater velocities during close solar flybys, thanks to the sun's powerful gravitational pull.)
Pulsar Fusion — a U.K.-based aerospace startup founded by entrepreneur Richard Dinan — recently released a new concept design video that lays out the operational capabilities of Sunbird, a visionary project that won’t rely on gravitational assistance to reach peak velocity.
Theoretically, Sunbird's tremendous speeds could cut mission times to Mars in half, from seven to eight months to about four.
Pulsar Fusion views the vehicle as an interplanetary tug; Sunbird would attach to other craft in space and give them a fusion-powered boost to reach their destinations.
Pulsar Fusion has received funding from the U.K. Space agency.
The startup is planning to begin in-orbit testing of Sunbird's Dual Direct Fusion Drive in late 2025, with an objective of reaching successful nuclear fusion in space by 2027.
These goals are ambitious, of course. Nuclear fusion — the process that powers the sun and other stars — has not yet been harnessed as a large-scale energy source here on Earth.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/pulsar-fusion-unveils-vision-for-sunbird-nuclear-rocket-to-reach-mars-in-half-the-time-video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjIdbHUAw4s
Derek Tournear to return as Space Development Agency director after investigation
April 14, 2025
Derek Tournear, a senior Space Force procurement official, will return to his role as director of the Space Development Agency (SDA) on April 17 after a three-month administrative leave, a Department of the Air Force spokesperson confirmed Monday.
Tournear was removed from his position on January 16 during an investigation into alleged procedural irregularities involving two prototype agreements worth approximately $424 million for the Tranche 2 Transport Layer – Gamma variant satellites, a key component of the military’s new space architecture.
The investigation stemmed from a bid protest filed by satellite communications company Viasat, which raised concerns about the fairness and transparency of the contract awards. News of Tournear’s reinstatement was first reported by the defense publication BreakingDefense.
During Tournear’s absence, Air Force procurement official William Blauser served as the SDA’s acting director. The Air Force has not disclosed specific reasons for Tournear’s reinstatement.
Congressional support
Industry sources note that Tournear has maintained strong backing on Capitol Hill, particularly from Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), who has advocated for Tournear’s return during recent congressional hearings, citing the need for innovation in satellite procurement.
“Tournear’s return comes at a critical time for the agency, which faces significant challenges in its satellite development programs,” said an industry source who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the situation.
SDA is responsible for developing and fielding the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), a layered network of satellites in low Earth orbit designed to support military operations across domains.
The PWSA includes a layer of missile-tracking satellites, a key piece of the Trump administration’s Golden Dome initiative to deploy a next-generation missile defense shield.
As Tournear resumes leadership, the agency faces challenges such as expected delays in satellite production due to supply chain problems, particularly with optical terminals needed for establishing laser links between orbiting satellites.
Investment analysts from Baird Defense & Government highlighted these issues in a recent research note following last week’s Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.
The note indicated that optical communications terminals are struggling to transition from research to production for the low Earth orbit market, suggesting delays in the PWSA schedule are likely.
Potential strategy shift
The agency also faces potential budget pressures and a possible shift in procurement strategy.
Cramer recently revealed that the Department of the Air Force is considering replacing planned military satellite purchases from multiple defense contractors with SpaceX’s Starshield satellites.
This potential realignment could impact the SDA’s Transport Layer Tranche 2 and Tranche 3 programs as the Pentagon reviews its funding plans for fiscal year 2026.
The SDA’s Transport Layer is intended to provide a resilient, low-latency military communications network, representing a significant component of the Defense Department’s efforts to maintain technological superiority in space.
https://spacenews.com/derek-tournear-to-return-as-space-development-agency-director-after-investigation/
Appreciate the 411.
We'll keep holding that line.
Wishing you all the best with your emergencies.
Captured underwater drone sent messages to China: Philippine military
April 15, 2025
Five underwater drones found by Philippine fishermen were capable of gathering information that could aid in "underwater warfare", the country's military said Tuesday, noting at least one had relayed a signal to China.
The revelation follows months of confrontations between the Philippines and China in the disputed South China Sea and comes as Manila prepares for large-scale military exercises with treaty ally the United States this month.
The drones were discovered between 2022 and 2024 in locations "important strategically in the defence and the security not only of the country but for international maritime navigation", Philippine military officials told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday.
Their data collection served purposes "beyond navigation", according to Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, who said the information could be used for "underwater warfare", detecting threats and testing weaponry below the surface.
While declining to definitively identify the drones' origin, Trinidad noted that several bore Chinese markings, while at least one had relayed a signal to China.
"Based on the technical study of the forensics of the SIM card (found on one of the five drones), the last contact of the card was in mainland China," said Trinidad, who serves as the navy's spokesman for South China Sea issues.
Three of the drones were found off the north coast of the Philippines' main island of Luzon, including two near the Balintang Channel south of Taiwan, he added.
Two others were retrieved from what were identified as "critical chokepoints", one near Masbate Island in the central Philippines and another near the southern island of Mindanao.
The Chinese Embassy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Philippines separately on Tuesday said this year's Balikatan, or "shoulder to shoulder", exercises with their US counterparts would include a test of "integrated air missile defence" for the first time.
The joint exercises, which will involve approximately 10,000 soldiers, will take place from April 21 to May 9.
"We are treating exercises as rehearsals. We are implementing a plan that has been planned out in the previous Balikatan and that is what we are going to execute at this time," said Brigadier General Mike Logico.
Philippine defence chief Romeo Brawner this month told troops in northern Luzon that the island would host the bulk of the Balikatan exercises because of its strategic importance.
"These are the areas where we perceive the possibility of an attack. I do not want to sound alarmist, but we have to prepare," he said.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/captured-underwater-drone-sent-messages-to-china-philippine-military/ar-AA1CWqMA
Drone War! Ukrainian Defense Ministry Delivers 420,000 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to the Front
Apr 15, 2025 15:32
The Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) of Ukraine has delivered 420,000 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to the front since the beginning of 2025, Ukrinform reported, quoted by BTA.
The corresponding statement was made by the State Enterprise of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine "Defense Procurement Agency" (DPA) on Facebook.
"Since the beginning of 2025, 420,000 unmanned aerial vehicles have been delivered to the front. Targeting UAVs remains among the key priorities.
"Every drone flying towards the enemy is one less opportunity for the occupier and one more opportunity to save the life of a Ukrainian soldier," the information states.
According to the AOP, this year, through the coordinated efforts of the agency, the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, contracts for a total of 1.52 million unmanned aerial vehicles have already been concluded.
In 2025, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense will allocate over 44 billion hryvnias for the purchase of drones, Ukrinform recalls.
https://fakti.bg/en/world/964442-drone-war-ukrainian-defense-ministry-delivers-420000-unmanned-aerial-vehicles-to-the-front
Two men arrested as drone drop intercepted at HMP Long Lartin
April 15, 2025
West Mercia Police were alerted to a drone circling the airspace over the prison shortly before 11.30pm.
Officers swiftly responded and intercepted a suspect vehicle just before midnight.
A drone was recovered from the rear seats of the car, and the occupants were subsequently arrested.
Suspected class A drugs and prescription medication were discovered during a further search.
The occupants of the car, a 22-year-old man and 41-year-old man, were arrested on suspicion of conveying prohibited items into a prison and being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.
They both remain in police custody as enquiries continue.
Detective Chief Inspector James Bamber said: “Our response yesterday meant the contraband which was seized during a search of the vehicle did not make it beyond the prison walls.
“We know drugs going into the prison contributes to the exploitation of vulnerable individuals, both inside and out of Long Lartin, and reaps disruption within the facility.
“We will continue our efforts to detect and disrupt drone activity around the prison and build a greater intelligence picture to eradicate the problem.”
Residents are urged to call 999 immediately if a drone flight is seen in progress over the prison’s airspace.
https://www.eveshamobserver.co.uk/news/two-men-arrested-as-more-drone-drops-intercepted-over-hmp-long-lartin/
Israeli drone hits car in southern Lebanon
Apr 15, 2025, 2:59 PM
Israeli forces agreed to a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah in November last year, but both sides have accused each other of violations, according to Al Jazeera.
Israel has also delayed a promised troop withdrawal in January and continued to occupy several hilltops in south Lebanon.
It has carried out near-daily attacks on Lebanon, claiming it is striking Hezbollah fighters and weapons, the report added.
https://en.mehrnews.com/news/230614/Israeli-drone-hits-car-in-southern-Lebanon