Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Mission Success! | NASA's Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) | JSC

Mission Success! | NASA's Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) | JSC

Mission success! 🚀🌎 

NASA's Johnson Space Center: "Our all-women HERA crew has now completed their 45-day simulated space mission to the Mars moon, Phobos. Their work helps NASA study how isolation & confinement affects crew behavior, health, & performance—all without leaving Earth."

Congratulations to Vanesa Gomez Gonzalez, Sandra Herrmann, Kimberly Knish, and Katie Koube! 

HERA Crew biographies: http://bit.ly/42enJ3S

What better way to celebrate Women's History Month?

Housed at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, HERA enables researchers to study how crew members adjust to isolation, confinement, and remote conditions on Earth before NASA sends astronauts on deep-space missions. To help researchers learn about crew behaviors, the crew carries out various science and maintenance tasks inside HERA, such as analyzing rock samples in a glovebox and testing augmented reality capabilities. Crew members also faced the challenge of increasing communication delays with mission control as they approach Phobos. During this mission simulation, communication delays will last up to ten minutes (five minutes each way).

Insights from how crews perform these tasks and adapt to communication delays will help NASA develop strategies that enable crew members to become more autonomous, work better as a team, and communicate effectively to accomplish mission tasks. Using this data, researchers aim to optimize methods for Artemis missions to the Moon, as well as future journeys to Mars and beyond.


NASA's Human Research Program pursues methods and technologies to support safe, productive human space travel. Through science conducted in laboratories, ground-based analogs, and the International Space Station, this team scrutinizes how spaceflight affects human bodies and behaviors. Such research drives NASA's quest to innovate ways that keep astronauts healthy and mission-ready as space travel expands to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. 

Learn more about how NASA innovates for the benefit of humanity at:

https://www.nasa.gov/hrp


Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Release Date: March 14, 2023


#NASA #Space #Earth #Habitat #HERA #HERAC6M4 #HERACrew #Simulation #Analog #HumanExploration #Mars #Phobos #JourneyToMars #HumanSpaceflight #HumanResearchProgram #Experiment #Research #JSC #Houston #Texas #UnitedStates #Spain #STEM #Education

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 Mission Recap | International Space Station

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 Mission Recap | International Space Station

[Event starts at 3 minute, 50 second mark] Following a five-month stay aboard the International Space Station, the four members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission are safely back on Earth and will answer questions in a news conference. 

NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, as well as JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina (Russia), will speak about their mission for the first time following their March 11, 2023, splashdown.
 
One of the main duties of Crew-5 was to perform scientific investigations and technology demonstrations. Inside the orbiting laboratory, the crew used nematodes, or roundworms, to examine how microgravity affects the nervous system in a study that may one day lead to better health for the aging population on Earth. They also re-installed the upgraded BioFabrication Facility that previously printed human heart cells and part of a knee. In addition to using research to benefit life on Earth, their investigations also looked at ways to enhance future long duration space missions, like different growing techniques for gardening in space. 

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the  International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Credit: NASA
Duration: 47 minutes
Release Date: March 15, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #SpaceXCrew5 #SpaceX #CrewDragon #Astronauts #NicoleMann #JoshCassada #KoichiWakata #JAXA #Japan #Cosmonauts #AnnaKikina #Роскосмос #Russia #Science #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition68 #JSC #UnitedStates #Research #STEM #Education #HD #Video

New Map Shows Distribution of Water Near Moon's South Pole | NASA Ames

New Map Shows Distribution of Water Near Moon's South Pole | NASA Ames

[No Audio] A new study using the now-retired Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has pieced together the first detailed, wide-area map of water distribution on the Moon. The new map covers about one-quarter of the Earth-facing side of the lunar surface below 60 degrees latitude and extends to the Moon’s South Pole. In this data visualization, SOFIA’s lunar water observations are indicated using color, with blue representing areas of higher water signal, and brown lower.


Video Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio/Ernie Wright

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: March 15, 2023


#NASA #Space #Earth #Moon #Water #H2O #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Astronauts #DeepSpace #MoonToMars #Science #Engineering #Technology #Exploration #HumanSpaceflight #NASAAmes #GSFC #UnitedStates #SOFIA #DLR #Germany #Deutschland #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Artemis III Moon Spacesuit Prototype Design Photos | Axiom Space

NASA's Artemis III Moon Spacesuit Prototype Design Photos | Axiom Space









"This advanced spacesuit ensures NASA's Artemis astronauts will be equipped with high-performing, robust equipment and it can accommodate a wide range of crew members."

Note: Since a spacesuit worn on the Moon must be white to reflect heat and protect astronauts from extreme high temperatures, a cover layer is currently being used for display purposes only to conceal the suit’s proprietary design.


Axiom Space March 15, 2023 Press Release

Houston, Texas: When astronauts return to the Moon for the first time in over 50 years as part of NASA’s Artemis III mission, they will be wearing Axiom Space’s next-generation spacesuit to walk on the lunar surface.

“We’re carrying on NASA’s legacy by designing an advanced spacesuit that will allow astronauts to operate safely and effectively on the Moon,” said Michael T. Suffredini, Axiom Space president and CEO. “Axiom Space’s Artemis III spacesuit will be ready to meet the complex challenges of the lunar south pole and help grow our understanding of the Moon in order to enable a long-term presence there.”

The new Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit that was revealed today at Space Center Houston’s Moon 2 Mars Festival is a prototype, with a full fleet of training spacesuits to be delivered to NASA by late this summer. The spacesuit will provide astronauts with advanced capabilities for space exploration while providing NASA commercially developed human systems needed to access, live and work on and around the Moon. The advanced spacesuit ensures astronauts are equipped with high-performing, robust equipment and is designed to accommodate a wide range of crew members.  

“Our expert team is ready to provide NASA the next-generation spacesuit,” said Mark Greeley, Axiom Space, Extravehicular Activity (EVA) program manager. “We carefully considered years of lessons learned by NASA and used that experience to build a spacesuit for the Moon and for our future Axiom Space customers.”

Leveraging NASA’s Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) spacesuit design, the Axiom Space spacesuits are built to provide increased flexibility, greater protection to withstand the harsh environment and specialized tools to accomplish exploration needs and expand scientific opportunities. Using innovative technologies, the new spacesuit will enable exploration of more of the lunar surface than ever before.

Since a spacesuit worn on the Moon must be white to reflect heat and protect astronauts from extreme high temperatures, a cover layer is currently being used for display purposes only to conceal the suit’s proprietary design. Axiom Space collaborated with costume designer Esther Marquis from the Apple TV+ series, “For All Mankind” to create this custom cover layer using the Axiom Space logo and brand colors. 

The development of these next-generation spacesuits by Axiom Space is a significant milestone in furthering American leadership in space exploration and enabling a deeper understanding of the solar system and beyond. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon, paving the way for a long-term, sustainable presence and serving as a gateway for future astronaut missions to Mars. Artemis III is scheduled to land near the lunar south pole in 2025. 

For more information about Axiom Space and its next-generation spacesuit, visit axiomspace.com/axiom-suit

About Axiom Space

Axiom Space is building history, guided by the vision of a thriving home in space that benefits every human, everywhere. The leading provider of human spaceflight services and developer of human-rated space infrastructure, Axiom Space operates end-to-end missions to the International Space Station today while developing its successor – a permanent commercial destination in low-Earth orbit that will sustain human growth off the planet and bring untold benefits back home.


Credit: Axiom Space

Release Date: March 15, 2023


#NASA #ESA #Space #Earth #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Astronauts #Spacesuit #EVA #AxEMU #AxiomSpace #DeepSpace #MoonToMars #Science #Engineering #Technology #Exploration #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Europe #ArtemisGeneration #STEM #Education

NASA's Artemis III Moon Spacesuit Prototype Design | Axiom Space

NASA's Artemis III Moon Spacesuit Prototype Design | Axiom Space

"This advanced spacesuit ensures NASA's Artemis astronauts will be equipped with high-performing, robust equipment and it can accommodate a wide range of crew members."

Axiom Space March 15, 2023 Press Release

Houston, Texas: When astronauts return to the Moon for the first time in over 50 years as part of NASA’s Artemis III mission, they will be wearing Axiom Space’s next-generation spacesuit to walk on the lunar surface.

“We’re carrying on NASA’s legacy by designing an advanced spacesuit that will allow astronauts to operate safely and effectively on the Moon,” said Michael T. Suffredini, Axiom Space president and CEO. “Axiom Space’s Artemis III spacesuit will be ready to meet the complex challenges of the lunar south pole and help grow our understanding of the Moon in order to enable a long-term presence there.”

The new Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit that was revealed today at Space Center Houston’s Moon 2 Mars Festival is a prototype, with a full fleet of training spacesuits to be delivered to NASA by late this summer. The spacesuit will provide astronauts with advanced capabilities for space exploration while providing NASA commercially developed human systems needed to access, live and work on and around the Moon. The advanced spacesuit ensures astronauts are equipped with high-performing, robust equipment and is designed to accommodate a wide range of crew members.  

“Our expert team is ready to provide NASA the next-generation spacesuit,” said Mark Greeley, Axiom Space, Extravehicular Activity (EVA) program manager. “We carefully considered years of lessons learned by NASA and used that experience to build a spacesuit for the Moon and for our future Axiom Space customers.”

Leveraging NASA’s Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) spacesuit design, the Axiom Space spacesuits are built to provide increased flexibility, greater protection to withstand the harsh environment and specialized tools to accomplish exploration needs and expand scientific opportunities. Using innovative technologies, the new spacesuit will enable exploration of more of the lunar surface than ever before.

Since a spacesuit worn on the Moon must be white to reflect heat and protect astronauts from extreme high temperatures, a cover layer is currently being used for display purposes only to conceal the suit’s proprietary design. Axiom Space collaborated with costume designer Esther Marquis from the Apple TV+ series, “For All Mankind” to create this custom cover layer using the Axiom Space logo and brand colors. 

The development of these next-generation spacesuits by Axiom Space is a significant milestone in furthering American leadership in space exploration and enabling a deeper understanding of the solar system and beyond. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon, paving the way for a long-term, sustainable presence and serving as a gateway for future astronaut missions to Mars. Artemis III is scheduled to land near the lunar south pole in 2025. 

For more information about Axiom Space and its next-generation spacesuit, visit axiomspace.com/axiom-suit

About Axiom Space

Axiom Space is building history, guided by the vision of a thriving home in space that benefits every human, everywhere. The leading provider of human spaceflight services and developer of human-rated space infrastructure, Axiom Space operates end-to-end missions to the International Space Station today while developing its successor – a permanent commercial destination in low-Earth orbit that will sustain human growth off the planet and bring untold benefits back home.


Credit: Axiom Space

Release Date: March 15, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Space #Earth #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Astronauts #Spacesuit #EVA #AxEMU #AxiomSpace #DeepSpace #MoonToMars #Science #Engineering #Technology #Exploration #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Europe #ArtemisGeneration #STEM #Education

Axiom Space Reveals NASA's New Astronaut Moon Spacesuit Design

Axiom Space Reveals NASA's New Astronaut Moon Spacesuit Design

When astronauts return to the Moon for the first time in over 50 years as part of NASA’s Artemis III mission, they will be wearing Axiom Space’s next-generation spacesuit to walk on the lunar surface. 

The new Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit will provide astronauts advanced capabilities for space exploration while providing NASA commercially developed human systems needed to access, live and work on and around the Moon. The advanced spacesuits ensure astronauts are equipped with high-performing, robust equipment and are designed to accommodate a wide range of crew members. 

Axiom Space is guided by the vision of a thriving home in space that benefits every human, everywhere. The leader in providing space infrastructure as a service, Axiom offers end-to-end missions to the International Space Station today while privately developing its successor – a permanent commercial destination in Earth’s orbit that will sustain human growth off the planet and bring untold benefits back home. 

More information about Axiom can be found at www.axiomspace.com.

Learn more about NASA's Artemis Program: https://nasa.gov/artemis


Credit: Axiom Space

Duration: 2 minutes, 45 seconds

Release Date: March 15, 2023


#NASA #ESA #Space #Earth #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Astronauts #Spacesuit #EVA #AxEMU #AxiomSpace #DeepSpace #MoonToMars #Science #Engineering #Technology #Exploration #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Europe #ArtemisGeneration #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's SpaceX CRS-27 Mission Launch | Kennedy Space Center

NASA's SpaceX CRS-27 Mission Launch | Kennedy Space Center

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, with the company's uncrewed Dragon spacecraft on top, lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida right on time, at 8:30 p.m. EDT on March 14, 2023. Dragon is carrying more than 6,200 pounds of research, hardware, and supplies to the International Space Station.


Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX)

Duration: 2 minutes, 21 seconds

Release Date: March 14, 2023


#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #SpaceX #Falcon9Rocket #CRS27 #CommercialResupplyServices #ElonMusk #GwynneShotwell #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #HumanSpaceflight #Technology #Engineering #Spaceport #CapeCanaveral #Florida #UnitedStates #Russia #UAE #International #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's SpaceX Dragon CRS-27 Resupply Mission | International Space Station

NASA's SpaceX Dragon CRS-27 Resupply Mission | International Space Station


Seen here is a up-close view of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket in the vertical position at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 14, 2023, in preparation for the 27th commercial resupply services launch to the International Space Station. The mission will deliver new science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the crew aboard the space station, including the final two experiments comprising the National Institutes for Health and International Space Station National Laboratory’s Tissue Chips in Space initiative, Cardinal Heart 2.0 and Engineered Heart Tissues-2. SpaceX’s 27th commercial resupply mission lifted off from Kennedy Space Center at 8:30 p.m. EDT, carrying over 6,200 lbs. of science, supplies, and food for the international crew.


Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX)
Image Date: March 14, 2023

#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #SpaceX #Falcon9Rocket #CRS27 #CommercialResupplyServices #ElonMusk #GwynneShotwell #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #HumanSpaceflight #Technology #Engineering #Spaceport #CapeCanaveral #Florida #UnitedStates #Russia #UAE #International #STEM #Education

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

"This is the Artemis Generation" | NASA

"This is the Artemis Generation" | NASA

"It is a new era of pioneers, star sailors, and adventurers. The Artemis Generation will go to the Moon to prepare us for Mars."

"We are going." 

Learn more about NASA's Artemis Program: https://nasa.gov/artemis  

 

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 

Duration: 1 minutes, 57 seconds

Release Date: March 14, 2023


#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Earth #Moon #Artemis #ArtemisII #Astronauts #OrionSpacecraft #Mars #DeepSpace #MoonToMars #Science #Engineering #Technology #Exploration #Aerospace #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Europe #ArtemisGeneration #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Wolf-Rayet 124—A Star in Transition | James Webb Space Telescope

Wolf-Rayet 124A Star in Transition  | James Webb Space Telescope

Space Sparks Episode 10: A Wolf-Rayet star is a rare prelude to the famous final act of a massive star: the supernova. 

As one of its first observations in 2022, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope captured the Wolf-Rayet star WR 124 in unprecedented detail. Learn more in this Space Sparks episode.


Video Credits:

Directed by: Bethany Downer   

Editing: Nico Bartmann  

Web and technical support: Enciso Systems  

Written by: Bethany Downer   

Footage and photos: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team, DSS, N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb), E. Slawik, N. Risinger, D. de Martin (ESA/Webb), M. Zamani (ESA/Webb

Duration: 1 minute, 51 seconds

Release Date: March 14, 2023


#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Star #WolfRayet124 #WR124 #Nebula #Sagitta #Constellation #JamesWebb #SpaceTelescope #JWST #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Zoom into Star Wolf-Rayet 124 | James Webb Space Telescope

Zoom into Star Wolf-Rayet 124 | James Webb Space Telescope


This video takes the viewer on a journey through space to one of Webb’s first observations in 2022, the Wolf-Rayet star WR 124, seen here in unprecedented detail.

Despite being the scene of an impending stellar ‘death’, astronomers also look to Wolf-Rayet stars for insights into new beginnings. Cosmic dust is forming in the turbulent nebulas surrounding these stars, dust that is composed of the heavy-element building blocks of the modern Universe, including life on Earth.


Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), Canadian Space Agency (CSA), STScI, Webb ERO Production Team, DSS, N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb), E. Slawik, N. Risinger, D. de Martin (ESA/Webb), M. Zamani (ESA/Webb) 

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: March 14, 2023


#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Star #WolfRayet124 #WR124 #Nebula #Sagitta #Constellation #JamesWebb #SpaceTelescope #JWST #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Pan of Star Wolf-Rayet 124 | James Webb Space Telescope

Pan of Star Wolf-Rayet 124 | James Webb Space Telescope

This video features one of Webb’s first observations in 2022, the Wolf-Rayet star WR 124 in unprecedented detail.

Despite being the scene of an impending stellar ‘death’, astronomers also look to Wolf-Rayet stars for insights into new beginnings. Cosmic dust is forming in the turbulent nebulas surrounding these stars, dust that is composed of the heavy-element building blocks of the modern universe, including life on Earth.


Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), Webb ERO Production Team, N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb)  

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: March 14, 2023


#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Star #WolfRayet124 #WR124 #Nebula #Sagitta #Constellation #JamesWebb #SpaceTelescope #JWST #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Star Wolf-Rayet 124 | James Webb Space Telescope

Star Wolf-Rayet 124 | James Webb Space Telescope

The luminous, hot star Wolf-Rayet 124 (WR 124) is prominent at the center of the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope’s composite image combining near-infrared and mid-infrared wavelengths of light. The star displays the characteristic diffraction spikes of Webb’s Near-infrared Camera (NIRCam), caused by the physical structure of the telescope itself. NIRCam effectively balances the brightness of the star with the fainter gas and dust surrounding it, while Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) reveals the nebula’s structure. 

Distance:15,000 light years

Image Description: A large, bright star shines from the center with smaller stars scattered throughout the image. A clumpy cloud of material surrounds the central star, with more material above and below than on the sides, in some places allowing background stars to peek through. The cloud material is yellow closer to the star.

Background stars and galaxies populate the field of view and peek through the nebula of gas and dust that has been ejected from the ageing massive star to span 10 light-years across space. A history of the star’s past episodes of mass loss can be read in the nebula’s structure. Rather than smooth shells, the nebula is formed from random, asymmetric ejections. Bright clumps of gas and dust appear like tadpoles swimming toward the star, their tails streaming out behind them, blown back by the stellar wind.


Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team

Release Date: March 14, 2023


#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Star #WolfRayet124 #WR124 #Nebula #Sagitta #Constellation #JamesWebb #SpaceTelescope #JWST #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

A Young Pulsar Shows its Hand: PSR B1509-58 | NASA Chandra

A Young Pulsar Shows its Hand: PSR B1509-58 | NASA Chandra

A small, dense object only twelve miles in diameter is responsible for this beautiful X-ray nebula that spans 150 light years. At the center of this image made by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a very young and powerful pulsar, known as PSR B1509-58, or B1509 for short. The pulsar is a rapidly spinning neutron star which is spewing energy out into the space around it to create complex and intriguing structures, including one that resembles a large cosmic hand. In this image, the lowest energy X-rays that Chandra detects are colored red, the medium range is green, and the most energetic ones are blue. Astronomers think that B1509 is about 1,700 years old as measured in Earth's time-frame (referring to when events are observable at Earth) and is located about 17,000 light years away.

Neutron stars are created when massive stars run out of fuel and collapse. B1509 is spinning completely around almost 7 times every second and is releasing energy into its environment at a prodigious rate—presumably because it has an intense magnetic field at its surface, estimated to be 15 trillion times stronger than the Earth's magnetic field.

The combination of rapid rotation and ultra-strong magnetic field makes B1509 one of the most powerful electromagnetic generators in the Galaxy. This generator drives an energetic wind of electrons and ions away from the neutron star. As the electrons move through the magnetized nebula, they radiate away their energy and create the elaborate nebula seen by Chandra.

In the innermost regions, a faint circle surrounds the pulsar, and marks the spot where the wind is rapidly decelerated by the slowly expanding nebula. In this way, B1509 shares some striking similarities to the famous Crab Nebula. However B1509's nebula is 15 times wider than the Crab's diameter of 10 light years.

Finger-like structures extend to the north, apparently energizing knots of material in a neighboring gas cloud known as RCW 89. The transfer of energy from the wind to these knots makes them glow brightly in X-rays (orange and red features to the upper right). The temperature in this region appears to vary in a circular pattern around this ring of emission, suggesting that the pulsar may be precessing like a spinning top and sweeping an energizing beam around the gas in RCW 89.


Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/P. Slane, et al.

Duration: 1 minutes, 23 seconds

Release Date: April 12, 2009


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Pulsar #Star #NeutronStar #PSRB150958 #B1509 #RCW89 #GasCloud #Circinus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #NASAChandra #ChandraObservatory #Xray #MSFC #SpaceTelescope #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

A Young Pulsar Shows its Hand: PSR B1509-58 | NASA Chandra

A Young Pulsar Shows its Hand: PSR B1509-58 | NASA Chandra

A small, dense object only twelve miles in diameter is responsible for this beautiful X-ray nebula that spans 150 light years. At the center of this image made by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a very young and powerful pulsar, known as PSR B1509-58, or B1509 for short. The pulsar is a rapidly spinning neutron star which is spewing energy out into the space around it to create complex and intriguing structures, including one that resembles a large cosmic hand. In this image, the lowest energy X-rays that Chandra detects are colored red, the medium range is green, and the most energetic ones are blue. Astronomers think that B1509 is about 1,700 years old as measured in Earth's time-frame (referring to when events are observable at Earth) and is located about 17,000 light years away.

Neutron stars are created when massive stars run out of fuel and collapse. B1509 is spinning completely around almost 7 times every second and is releasing energy into its environment at a prodigious rate—presumably because it has an intense magnetic field at its surface, estimated to be 15 trillion times stronger than the Earth's magnetic field.

The combination of rapid rotation and ultra-strong magnetic field makes B1509 one of the most powerful electromagnetic generators in the Galaxy. This generator drives an energetic wind of electrons and ions away from the neutron star. As the electrons move through the magnetized nebula, they radiate away their energy and create the elaborate nebula seen by Chandra.

In the innermost regions, a faint circle surrounds the pulsar, and marks the spot where the wind is rapidly decelerated by the slowly expanding nebula. In this way, B1509 shares some striking similarities to the famous Crab Nebula. However B1509's nebula is 15 times wider than the Crab's diameter of 10 light years.

Finger-like structures extend to the north, apparently energizing knots of material in a neighboring gas cloud known as RCW 89. The transfer of energy from the wind to these knots makes them glow brightly in X-rays (orange and red features to the upper right). The temperature in this region appears to vary in a circular pattern around this ring of emission, suggesting that the pulsar may be precessing like a spinning top and sweeping an energizing beam around the gas in RCW 89.


Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/P. Slane, et al.

Release Date: April 3, 2009


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Pulsar #Star #NeutronStar #PSRB150958 #B1509 #RCW89 #GasCloud #Circinus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #NASAChandra #ChandraObservatory #Xray #MSFC #SpaceTelescope #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Hubble Science: Einstein Rings & Optical Illusions | NASA Goddard

Hubble Science: Einstein Rings & Optical Illusions | NASA Goddard

An Einstein Ring can be explained by a phenomenon called gravitational lensing, which causes light shining from a faraway galaxy to be warped by the gravity of an object between its source and the observer. This effect was first theorized by Albert Einstein in 1912, and later worked into his theory of general relativity.

In this video, Dr. Brian Welch explains this fascinating phenomenon of nature, and goes over how important Hubble is to exploring the mysteries of the universe.


Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)

Video Credit: M. Kornmesser (ESA/Hubble)

Producer & Director: James Leigh

Editor: Lucy Lund

Director of Photography: James Ball

Additional Editing & Photography: Matthew Duncan

Executive Producers: James Leigh & Matthew Duncan

Production & Post: Origin Films 

Duration: 2 minutes, 19 seconds

Release Date: March 14, 2023


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #Astrophysics #EinsteinRings #Physics #AlbertEinstein #GravitationalLensing #OpticalIllusions #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video