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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
July 16, 2025
The Rosette Nebula from DECam
Would the Rosette Nebula by any other name look as sweet? The bland New General Catalog designation of NGC 2237 doesn't appear to diminish the appearance of this flowery emission nebula, as captured by the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Blanco 4-meter telescope at the NSF's Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. Inside the nebula lies an open cluster of bright young stars designated NGC 2244. These stars formed about four million years ago from the nebular material and their stellar winds are clearing a hole in the nebula's center, insulated by a layer of dust and hot gas. Ultraviolet light from the hot cluster stars causes the surrounding nebula to glow. The Rosette Nebula spans about 100 light-years across, lies about 5000 light-years away, and can be seen with a small telescope towards the constellation of the Unicorn (Monoceros).
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
NASA’s IXPE Imager Reveals Mysteries of Rare Pulsar
Jul 15, 2025
An international team of astronomers has uncovered new evidence to explain how pulsing remnants of exploded stars interact with surrounding matter deep in the cosmos, using observations from NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) and other telescopes.
Scientists based in the U.S., Italy, and Spain, set their sights on a mysterious cosmic duo called PSR J1023+0038, or J1023 for short.
The J1023 system is comprised of a rapidly rotating neutron star feeding off of its low-mass companion star, which has created an accretion disk around the neutron star.
This neutron star is also a pulsar, emitting powerful twin beams of light from its opposing magnetic poles as it rotates, spinning like a lighthouse beacon.
The J1023 system is rare and valuable to study because the pulsar transitions clearly between its active state, in which it feeds off its companion star, and a more dormant state, when it emits detectable pulsations as radio waves. This makes it a “transitional millisecond pulsar.”
“Transitional millisecond pulsars are cosmic laboratories, helping us understand how neutron stars evolve in binary systems,” said researcher Maria Cristina Baglio of the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) Brera Observatory in Merate, Italy, and lead author of a paper in The Astrophysical Journal Letters illustrating the new findings.
The big question for scientists about this pulsar system was: Where do the X-rays originate?
The answer would inform broader theories about particle acceleration, accretion physics, and the environments surrounding neutron stars across the universe.
The source surprised them: The X-rays came from the pulsar wind, a chaotic stew of gases, shock waves, magnetic fields, and particles accelerated near the speed of light, that hits the accretion disk.
To determine this, astronomers needed to measure the angle of polarization in both X-ray and optical light. Polarization is a measure of how organized light waves are.
They looked at X-ray polarization with IXPE, the only telescope capable of making this measurement in space, and comparing it with optical polarization from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile.
IXPE launched in Dec. 2021 and has made many observations of pulsars, but J1023 was the first system of its kind that it explored.
NASA’s NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer) and Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory provided valuable observations of the system in high-energy light.
Other telescopes contributing data included the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array in Magdalena, New Mexico.
The result: scientists found the same angle of polarization across the different wavelengths.
“That finding is compelling evidence that a single, coherent physical mechanism underpins the light we observe,” said Francesco Coti Zelati of the Institute of Space Sciences in Barcelona, Spain, co-lead author of the findings.
This interpretation challenges the conventional wisdom about neutron star emissions of radiation in binary systems, the researchers said.
Previous models had indicated that the X-rays come from the accretion disk, but this new study shows they originate with the pulsar wind.
“IXPE has observed many isolated pulsars and found that the pulsar wind powers the X-rays,” said NASA Marshall astrophysicist Philip Kaaret, principal investigator for IXPE at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
“These new observations show that the pulsar wind powers most of the energy output of the system.”
Astronomers continue to study transitional millisecond pulsars, assessing how observed physical mechanisms compare with those of other pulsars and pulsar wind nebulae.
Insights from these observations could help refine theoretical models describing how pulsar winds generate radiation – and bring researchers one step closer, Baglio and Coti Zelati agreed, to fully understanding the physical mechanisms at work in these extraordinary cosmic systems.
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/ixpe/nasas-ixpe-imager-reveals-mysteries-of-rare-pulsar/
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/imaging-x-ray-polarimetry-explorer-ixpe/
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/add7d2
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/iss-research/nasas-spacex-crew-11-mission-gears-up-for-space-station-research/
https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 Mission Gears Up for Space Station Research
Jul 15, 2025
A host of scientific investigations await the crew of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission during their long-duration expedition aboard the International Space Station.
NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, are set to study plant cell division and microgravity’s effects on bacteria-killing viruses, as well as perform experiments to produce a higher volume of human stem cells and generate on-demand nutrients.
Here are details on some of the research scheduled during the Crew-11 mission:
Making more stem cells
A stem cell investigation called StemCellEx-IP1 evaluates using microgravity to produce large numbers of induced pluripotent stem cells.
Made by reprogramming skin or blood cells, these stem cells can transform into any type of cell in the body and are used in regenerative medicine therapies for many diseases.
However, producing enough cells on the ground is a challenge.
Researchers plan to use the microgravity environment aboard the space station to demonstrate whether generating 1,000 times more cells is possible and whether these cells are of higher quality and better for clinical use than those made on Earth.
If proven, this could significantly improve future patient outcomes.
“This type of stem cell research is a chance to find treatments and maybe even cures for diseases that currently have none,” said Tobias Niederwieser of BioServe Space Technologies, which developed the investigation.
“This represents an incredible potential to make life here on Earth better for all of us. We can take skin or blood cells from a patient, convert them into stem cells, and produce custom cell-therapy with little risk for rejection, as they are the person’s own cells.”
Genes in Space is a series of competitions in which students in grades 7 through 12 design DNA experiments that are flown to the space station.
Genes in Space-12 examines the effects of microgravity on interactions between certain bacteria and bacteriophages, which are viruses that infect and kill bacteria.
Bacteriophages already are used to treat bacterial infections on Earth.
“Boeing and miniPCR bio co-founded this competition to bring real-world scientific experiences to the classroom and promote molecular biology investigations on the space station,” said Scott Copeland of Boeing, and co-founder of Genes in Space.
“This investigation could establish a foundation for using these viruses to treat bacterial infections in space, potentially decreasing the dependence on antibiotics.”
“Previous studies indicate that bacteria may display increased growth rates and virulence in space, while the antibiotics used to combat them may be less effective,” said Dr. Ally Huang, staff scientist at miniPCR bio.
“Phages produced in space could have profound implications for human health, microbial control, and the sustainability of long-duration remote missions.
Phage therapy tools also could revolutionize how we manage bacterial infections and microbial ecosystems on Earth.”
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Edible organisms
Some vitamins and nutrients in foods and supplements lose their potency during prolonged storage, and insufficient intake of even a single nutrient can lead to serious diseases, such as a vitamin C deficiency, causing scurvy.
The BioNutrients-3 experiment builds on previous investigations looking at ways to produce on-demand nutrients in space using genetically engineered organisms that remain viable for years.
These include yogurt and a yeast-based beverage made from yeast strains previously tested aboard station, as well as a new, engineered co-culture that produces multiple nutrients in one sample bag.
“BioNutrients-3 includes multiple food safety features, including pasteurization to kill microorganisms in the sample and a demonstration of the feasibility of using a sensor called E-Nose that simulates an ultra-sensitive nose to detect pathogens,” said Kevin Sims, project manager at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.
Another food safety feature is a food-grade pH indicator to track bacterial growth.
“These pH indicators help the crew visualize the progress of the yogurt and kefir samples,” Sims said. “As the organisms grow, they generate lactic acid, which lowers the pH and turns the indicator pink.”
The research also features an investigation of yogurt passage, which seeds new cultures using a bit of yogurt from a finished bag, much like maintaining a sourdough bread starter.
This method could sustain a culture over multiple generations, eliminating concerns about yogurt’s shelf life during a mission to the Moon or Mars while reducing launch mass.
Understanding cell division
The JAXA Plant Cell Division investigation examines how microgravity affects cell division in green algae and a strain of cultured tobacco cells.
Cell division is a fundamental element of plant growth, but few studies have examined it in microgravity. “The tobacco cells divide frequently, making the process easy to observe,” said Junya Kirima of JAXA.
“We are excited to reveal the effects of the space environment on plant cell division and look forward to performing time-lapse live imaging of it aboard the space station.”
Understanding this process could support the development of better methods for growing plants for food in space, including on the Moon and Mars.
This investigation also could provide insight to help make plant production systems on Earth more efficient.
For nearly 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and conducting critical research for the benefit of humanity and our home planet.
Space station research supports the future of human spaceflight as NASA looks toward deep space missions to the Moon under the Artemis campaign and in preparation for future human missions to Mars, as well as expanding commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit and beyond.
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Hubble Observations Give “Missing” Globular Cluster Time to Shine
Jul 15, 2025
A previously unexplored globular cluster glitters with multicolored stars in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image.
Globular clusters like this one, called ESO 591-12 or Palomar 8, are spherical collections of tens of thousands to millions of stars tightly bound together by gravity.
Globular clusters generally form early in the galaxies’ histories in regions rich in gas and dust. Since the stars form from the same cloud of gas as it collapses, they typically hover around the same age.
Strewn across this image of ESO 591-12 are a number of red and blue stars. The colors indicate their temperatures; red stars are cooler, while the blue stars are hotter.
Hubble captured the data used to create this image of ESO 591-12 as part of a study intended to resolve individual stars of the entire globular cluster system of the Milky Way.
Hubble revolutionized the study of globular clusters since earthbound telescopes are unable to distinguish individual stars in the compact clusters.
The study is part of the Hubble Missing Globular Clusters Survey, which targets 34 confirmed Milky Way globular clusters that Hubble has yet to observe.
The program aims to provide complete observations of ages and distances for all of the Milky Way’s globular clusters and investigate fundamental properties of still-unexplored clusters in the galactic bulge or halo.
The observations will provide key information on the early stages of our galaxy, when globular clusters formed.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/hubble-observations-give-missing-globular-cluster-time-to-shine/
UNC graduate selected as commander for upcoming mission to International Space Station
Updated 8:20 PM yesterday
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduate will be a commander for a SpaceX mission to the International Space Station.
According to NASA, Zena Cardman, a UNC graduate and current astronaut, will serve as the commander for the Crew 11 mission set to depart for the ISS later between late July and early August.
The mission will carry Cardman, along with NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, to the orbiting laboratory on the ISS.
The crew will leave aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, along with the company’s Falcon 9 rocket.
Cardman was initially supposed to go to the ISS as a member of Crew 9 on Expedition 71 and Expedition 72 with NASA in 2024, but NASA later reassigned her to Crew-11.
Two members of Crew 9, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, were later stranded on the ISS due to an issue with the Boeing Starliner rocket that took them into space.
https://www.wral.com/news/local/unc-grad-zena-cardman-commander-spacex-crew11-mission-july-2025/
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/nasa-astronaut-zena-cardman/