Clouds over The Atlantic Ocean | International Space Station

Clouds over The Atlantic Ocean | International Space Station

Light pink-orange and white clouds scatter across the blue waters of the planet Earth's Atlantic Ocean as the International Space Station orbited 260 miles above.

Follow Expedition 69 updates here: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 69 Crew (August 2023)

Station Commander: Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Dmitri Petelin & Andrey Fedyaev

Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

NASA: Flight Engineers Frank Rubio, Stephen Bowen, Warren Hoburg

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.

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science 

For more information about STEM on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: August 15, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Star #Sun #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #Clouds #AtlanticOcean #ISS #Astronauts #StephenBowen #FrankRubio #WoodyHoburg #SultanAlneyadi #UAE #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #MicrogravityResearch #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition69 #STEM #Education

The Star T Tauri in Variable Nebula NGC 1555: Close-up View | Schulman Telescope

The Star T Tauri in Variable Nebula NGC 1555: Close-up View | Schulman Telescope

NGC 1555 is a variable nebula illuminated by the star T Tauri (yellow-colored star to the right of center in a cocoon of gas and dust), located in the constellation Taurus. Variable nebulae are reflection nebulae that change in brightness because of alterations in their star. NGC 1555, a Herbig–Haro object, is also in the second Sharpless catalog as 238. This nebula was discovered in 1852 by John Russell Hind and explains why it is sometimes known as Hind's Variable Nebula.

Herbig–Haro (HH) objects are bright patches of nebulosity associated with newborn stars. They are formed when narrow jets of partially ionized gas ejected by stars collide with nearby clouds of gas and dust at several hundred kilometers per second. Herbig–Haro objects are commonly found in star-forming regions, and several are often seen around a single star, aligned with its rotational axis. Most of them lie within about one parsec (3.26 light-years) of the source, although some have been observed several parsecs away. 

Optics: Schulman 32-inch RCOS Telescope

Camera: SBIG STL11000

The 0.81 m (32 in) Schulman Telescope is a Ritchey-Chrétien reflector built by RC Optical Systems and installed in 2010. It is operated by the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter and is Arizona's largest dedicated public observatory. The Schulman Telescope was designed for remote control over the Internet by amateur and professional astrophotographers worldwide. It is currently the world's largest telescope dedicated for this purpose.

Image Credit & Copyright: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #VariableNebula #ReflectionNebula #NGC1555 #HerbigHaroObject #Star #TTauri #TTauStars #Taurus #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #UA #MountLemmonObservatory #SchulmanTelescope #Astrophotographer #AdamBlock #Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

The Star T Tauri in Nebula NGC 1555 | Mayall Telescope

The Star T Tauri in Nebula NGC 1555 | Mayall Telescope

T Tauri is a famous variable star in the constellation of Taurus. In this image, it is the star at the center, embedded in dust and gas. The nebula itself is known as NGC 1555. T Tauri is a variable star in the constellation Taurus, the prototype of the T Tauri stars. T Tauri is the prototype for a class of stars (known collectively as "T Tau stars") that are notable because they are very young stars in the process of forming. These stars have just recently emerged from the dense dust and gas "cocoons" from which they formed. 

Distance: ~450 light years

The Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope is a four-meter (158 inches) reflector telescope in Arizona named after the American observational astronomer of the same name. The telescope saw first light on February 27, 1973, and was the second-largest in the world at that time.

Credit: T. A. Rector/University of Alaska Anchorage, H. Schweiker/WIYN and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

Release Date: June 30, 2020

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Nebulae #Nebula #VariableNebula #NGC1555 #Star #TTauri #TTauStars #Taurus #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #KittPeakNationalObservatory #KPNO #MayallTelescope #Arizona #UniversityOfAlaska #NSF #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

July 2023: A Record-breaking Month | This Week @NASA

July 2023: A Record-breaking Month | This Week @NASA

Find out why July 2023 was a record-breaking month, a high-flying NASA aircraft is helping to study lighting, and making landings safe for flights of the future . . . a few of the stories to tell you about— This Week at NASA!

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Narrator: Jesse Carpenter

Video Producer: Andre Valentine and Haley Reed

Video Editor: Haley Reed

Duration: 3 minutes

Release Date: August 18, 2023

#NASA #Space #Satellites #Science #Planet #Earth #July2023 #GlobalTemperatureRecords #Weather #Meteorology #Model #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #Climate #Environment #GreenhouseGases #GHG #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #ER2Aircraft #GISS #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Students Launch Experiments on Sounding Rocket at NASA Wallops in Virginia

Students Launch Experiments on Sounding Rocket at NASA Wallops in Virginia

In this image, students watch a sounding rocket launch at sunrise. A Terrier-Improved Orion sounding rocket carrying students experiments for the RockOn! mission successfully launched from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility Aug. 17, 2023, at 6 a.m. EDT. The launch carried experiments for Cubes in Space, RockOn!, and RockSat-C student programs. The sounding rocket reached an altitude of 73 miles (116.7 kilometers) before descending back down into the Atlantic Ocean via parachute. Teams will review the payload to return the experiments back to the students. NASA's Wallops Flight Facility is a rocket launch site on Wallops Island on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, United States,

NASA's RockOn and RockSat hands-on programs. These programs connect higher education students from across the United States with opportunities to fly their experiments into space on NASA Wallops Flight Facility sounding rockets. RockOn and RockSat started in 2008 and have provided thousands of students and faculty with real-world flight experiences and experimentation.

Learn more about each program:

https://www.nasa.gov/sounding-rockets/rocksat-programs

NASA's Terrier Improved Orion Rocket

The Terrier-Orion rocket system is a two stage spin stabilized rocket system which utilizes a Terrier MK 12 Mod 1 or Mk70 for the first stage and an Improved Orion motor for the second stage. The Terrier motor is 18 inches in diameter and is configured with 2.5 ft2 or 4.8 ft2 fin panels arranged in a cruciform configuration. The Orion motor is 14 inches in diameter and 110 inches long. The vehicle is typically configured with spin motors and the total weight of this configuration, excluding the payload, is approximately 2,900 pounds.

The Terrier-Orion rocket system:

https://sites.wff.nasa.gov/code810/vehicles/Terrier_Imrprove%20Orion.pdf

Image Credit: NASA/Danielle Johnson

Story Credit: Jamie Adkins

Image Date: Aug. 17, 2023

Release Date: Aug. 18, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #Science #SoundingRocket #TerrierOrionSoundingRocket #RocketLaunch #Students #Experiments #RockOnProgram #WallopsIsland #WFF #NASAWallops #Virginia #UnitedStates #AtlanticOcean #STEM #Education

All Objects in Motion | International Space Station

All Objects in Motion | International Space Station

An apple and an orange are pictured floating "weightlessly" in the International Space Station's cupola. Outside the cupola is the Soyuz MS-23 crew ship docked to the Prichal docking module, which is attached to the Nauka science module on the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) of the International Space Station.

Follow Expedition 69 updates here: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 69 Crew (August 2023)

Station Commander: Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Dmitri Petelin & Andrey Fedyaev

Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

NASA: Flight Engineers Frank Rubio, Stephen Bowen, Warren Hoburg

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.

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science 

For more information about STEM on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Release Date: Aug. 15, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Earth #ISS #Cupola #Physics #Motion #Orange #Apple #Microgravity #Astronauts #StephenBowen #FrankRubio #WoodyHoburg #SultanAlneyadi #UAE #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #MicrogravityResearch #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition69 #STEM #Education

Esto es lo que necesitas saber sobre Marte | NASA en Español

Esto es lo que necesitas saber sobre Marte | NASA en Español

La búsqueda de la vida antigua. La evolución de los planetas. Preparación para la futura exploración humana. Existen tantas razones para estudiar el planeta rojo. ¿Te apetece más? Esto es lo que necesitas saber sobre Marte:

Credit: NASA en Español

Duration: 1 minutes, 52 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 18, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #nasaenespañol #estoesloquenecesitassaber #Planet #Mars #Astrobiology #Life #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Extreme Ocean Temperatures are Affecting Florida’s Coral Reefs | NOAA

Extreme Ocean Temperatures are Affecting Florida’s Coral Reefs | NOAA

Since April 2023, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been monitoring a steady rise in ocean temperatures, which is resulting in unprecedented heat stress conditions in the Caribbean basin, including waters surrounding Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. On Thursday, August 17, 2023, NOAA scientists provided a briefing on how these record-breaking warm ocean temperatures have stressed, bleached, and in some cases, killed corals within the 3,800 square miles of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

https://floridakeys.noaa.gov

Florida is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico; Alabama to the northwest; Georgia to the north; the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean to the east; and the Straits of Florida and Cuba to the south. It is the only state that borders both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

Coral reefs are often referred to as the "rainforests of the sea," due to their incredible biodiversity and ecological importance. They provide vital benefits as part of marine ecosystems by sustaining habitats for marine life, buffering the harmful impacts of storms on coastal communities, and supporting local economies through tourism and fishing. 

Credits: NOAA, NASA, Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA)

Footage of Corals of the Atlantic, Gulf, Keys, Caribbean courtesy of NOAA Fisheries.

Duration: 2 minutes, 17 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 18, 2023

#NASA #NOAA #Space #Satellites #Science #Planet #Earth #Oceans #AtlanticOcean #Biology #CoralReefs #HeatStress #Florida #FloridaKeys #FloridaKeysNationalMarineSanctuary #Caribbean #GulfOfMexico #Fisheries #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #GreenhouseGases #OceanTemperatures #Environment #UnitedStates #Mexico #STEM #Education #HD #Video

India's Chandrayaan-3 Lunar Lander Mission: First Close-up Moon Images | ISRO

India's Chandrayaan-3 Lunar Lander Mission: First Close-up Moon Images | ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 Lunar Mission captured images of the Moon during Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) and after the separation of the lunar lander from the propulsion module. Chandrayaan-3, ISRO’s third lunar exploration mission, consists of a propulsion module, a lander, and a rover. Chandrayaan-3 is planned to land about 70.9 degrees south of the lunar equator. Chandrayaan-3 is India's effort to become the fourth country, after the United States, Russia and China, to successfully soft-land on the Moon. The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft would also be the first to land at the lunar south pole, an area of special interest for space agencies and private space companies because of the presence of water ice that could support future surface activities.

Credit: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

Acknowledgement: SciNews

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: Aug. 18, 2023

#NASA #ISRO #Space #Astronomy #Science #Moon #SouthPole #India #Chandrayaan3 #Chandrayaan3Mission #Chandrayaan3Spacecraft #Chandrayaan3Orbiter #Chandrayaan3Lander #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #STEM #Education #BhāratGaṇarājya #HD #Video

NASA's Space to Ground: Tracking a Trend | Week of Aug.18, 2023

NASA's Space to Ground: Tracking a Trend | Week of Aug.18, 2023

NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS Progress 83 cargo craft is due to end it six-month stay at the orbital lab on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, when it undocks from the Zvezda service module’s aft port at 7:48 p.m. EDT. It will be replaced on Thursday Aug. 24, when the ISS Progress 85 cargo craft docks to the same port on Zvezda two days after its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Just four hours after the Progress 85 arrives, four crew members aboard the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft will launch from the Kennedy Space Center to the space station. The SpaceX Crew-7 mission will dock to the Harmony module’s space-facing port just one day after its liftoff and the four crew mates will enter the orbiting lab to begin a six-month space research mission.

Follow Expedition 69 updates here: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 69 Crew (August 2023)

Station Commander: Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Dmitri Petelin & Andrey Fedyaev

Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

NASA: Flight Engineers Frank Rubio, Stephen Bowen, Warren Hoburg

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.

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science 

For more information about STEM on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 2 minutes, 46 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 17, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Earth #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #EarthObservatory #ISS #Astronauts #StephenBowen #FrankRubio #WoodyHoburg #SultanAlneyadi #UAE #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #MicrogravityResearch #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition69 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Storm Clouds above Australia's Gulf of Carpentaria | International Space Station

Storm Clouds above Australia's Gulf of Carpentaria | International Space Station

Storm clouds are pictured in this oblique view from the International Space Station as it orbited 261 miles above Australia's Gulf of Carpentaria. The Gulf of Carpentaria is a sea off the northern coast of Australia. It is enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea, which separates Australia and New Guinea.

Follow Expedition 69 updates here: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 69 Crew (August 2023)

Station Commander: Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Dmitri Petelin & Andrey Fedyaev

Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

NASA: Flight Engineers Frank Rubio, Stephen Bowen, Warren Hoburg

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.

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science 

For more information about STEM on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: Aug. 10, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #Australia #GulfOfCarpentaria #ISS #Astronauts #StephenBowen #FrankRubio #WoodyHoburg #SultanAlneyadi #UAE #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #MicrogravityResearch #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition69 #STEM #Education

The Boogeyman Nebula: LDN 1622 in Orion | Schulman Telescope

The Boogeyman Nebula: LDN 1622 in Orion | Schulman Telescope

To some, this dark shape looks like a mythical boogeyman—a mythical creature used by adults to frighten children into good behavior. Scientifically, Lynds' Dark Nebula (LDN) 1622 appears against a faint background of glowing hydrogen gas only visible in long telescopic exposures of the region. LDN 1622 lies near the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy, close in the sky to Barnard's Loop, a large cloud surrounding the rich complex of emission nebulae found in the Belt and Sword of Orion.

 LDN 1622 is a dark nebula, so called because these dense interstellar clouds of gas and dust blot out light from background objects, appearing as ink-dark clouds against a backdrop of stars. This enigmatic cosmic cloud is 1,300 light-years from Earth in the nearby Orion complex, a star-forming region thronging with young stars and other dark nebulae.

Technical Details

Optics: Schulman 32-inch RCOS Telescope

Camera: SBIG STX16803

Image Credit & Copyright: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona

Image Date: Dec. 1, 2011

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #LDN1622 #DarkNebula #Stars #StellarNursery #Orion #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #AdamBlock #Astrophotographer #UA #MountLemmonObservatory #SchulmanTelescope #Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Gravitational Waves: Ripples in Space-Time | Hubble Science | NASA Goddard

Gravitational Waves: Ripples in Space-Time | Hubble Science | NASA Goddard

Gravitational waves are invisible ripples in the fabric of space-time. They are caused by some of the most violent and energetic events in the universe. These include colliding black holes, collapsing stellar cores, merging neutron stars or white dwarf stars, the wobble of neutron stars that are not perfect spheres and possibly even the remnants of gravitational radiation created by the birth of the universe.

In this video, Dr. Padi Boyd explains gravitational waves and how important the Hubble Space Telescope is to exploring the mysteries of the universe.

For more information, visit https://nasa.gov/hubble

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center 

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 

Video Credit:

Hubble Space Telescope Animation

Credit: M. Kornmesser (ESA/Hubble)

Hubble Space Telescope Animation

Credit: ESA/Hubble (M. Kornmesser & L. L. Christensen), A. Fujii, Robert Gendler, Digitized Sky Survey 2, Panther Observatory, Steve Cannistra, Michael Pierce, Robert Berrington (Indiana University), Nigel Sharp, Mark Hanna (NOAO)/WIYN/NSF.

LIGO Interferometer Illustration

Credit: LIGO/T. Pyle

Gravitational Wave Animation

Credit: NASA GSFC Conceptual Image Lab

Kilonova Animation

Credit: NASA GSFC Conceptual Image Lab

Ripples In Space Time Animation

Credit: LIGO/T. Pyle

LIGO Hanford Aerial & Interior

Credit: Caltech/MIT/LIGO Lab

Duration: 3 minutes

Release Date: Aug. 17, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #BlackHoles #NeutronStars #WhiteDwarfStars #Collisions #Kilonovae #GravitationalWaves #ComputerSimulations #Heliophysics #Astrophysics #Universe #LIGO #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #Visualizations #Animation #HD #Video

Recientemente: Astronautas de Artemis II conocen su transporte a la Luna | NASA

Recientemente: Astronautas de Artemis II conocen su transporte a la Luna | NASA

Recientemente en la NASA, la versión en español de las cápsulas This Week at NASA, te informa semanalmente de lo que está sucediendo en la NASA. 

Para obtener más información sobre la ciencia de la NASA, suscríbete al boletín semanal: https://www.nasa.gov/suscribete

Ciencia de la NASA: https://ciencia.nasa.gov/

The Artemis II astronauts check out their ride to the Moon, practicing post-splashdown recovery operations for Artemis II, and the Webb Space Telescope checks out a record-breaking star . . . a few of the stories to tell you about—This Week at NASA!

The Artemis II crew—NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Hammock Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen—visited the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on Aug. 8, 2023. The crew module is undergoing acoustic testing ahead of integration with the European Service Module. Artemis II is the first crewed mission on NASA’s path to establishing a long-term lunar presence for science and exploration under Artemis. 

Artemis II will be NASA’s first crewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft around the Moon to verify today’s capabilities for humans to explore deep space and pave the way for long-term exploration and science on the lunar surface.

Artemis II will launch no earlier than December 2024.

Learn more about the Artemis II Mission: https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-ii

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Original Broadcast Date: Aug. 11, 2023

Release Date: Aug. 17, 2023

#NASA #ESA #CSA #Space #NASAenespañol #español #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIIMission #ArtemisII #OrionSpacecraft #DeepSpace #Astronauts #VictorGlover #ChristinaKoch #JeremyHansen #ReidWiseman #MoonToMars #Science #SpaceExploration #HumanSpaceflight #KSC #NASAKennedy #Florida #UnitedStates #Canada #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

HD 45166: The Most Magnetic Massive Star Found | Artist’s Animation | ESO

HD 45166: The Most Magnetic Massive Star Found | Artist’s Animation | ESO

This video shows an artist’s animation of HD 45166, a massive star recently discovered to have a powerful magnetic field of 43,000 gauss, the strongest magnetic field ever found in a massive star. Intense winds of particles blowing away from the star are trapped by this magnetic field, enshrouding the star in a gaseous shell as illustrated here.

This finding provides clues to the origin of magnetars, compact dead stars laced with magnetic fields at least a billion times stronger than the one in HD 45166. Astronomers believe that this star will end its life as a magnetar. As it collapses under its own gravity, its magnetic field will strengthen, and the star will eventually become a very compact core with a magnetic field of around 100 trillion gauss—the most powerful type of magnet in the Universe.

HD 45166 is part of a binary system. In the background, we get a glimpse of HD 45166’s companion, a normal blue star that has been found to orbit at a far larger distance than previously reported.

Credit: ESO/L. Calçada

Duration: 19 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 8, 2023

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #NeutronStars #Magnetars #Star #HD45166 #Magnetic #HeliumStar #Supernova #Monoceros #Constellation #Astrophysics #Heliophysics #Universe #Telescopes #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #Animation #HD #Video

New Type of Massive Magnetic Helium Stars Gives Clues to Magnetars’ Origins | ESO

New Type of Massive Magnetic Helium Stars Gives Clues to Magnetars’ Origins | ESO

ESOcast 264 Light: Using multiple telescopes around the world, including European Southern Observatory (ESO) facilities, researchers have uncovered a living star that is likely to become a magnetar, an ultra-magnetic dead star that is a variant of neutron stars. This video summarizes the discovery. Magnetars are the strongest magnets in the Universe. These super-dense dead stars with ultra-strong magnetic fields can be found all over our galaxy but astronomers do not know exactly how they form. This finding marks the discovery of a new type of astronomical object—massive magnetic helium stars—and sheds light on the origin of magnetars.

Despite having been observed for over 100 years, the enigmatic nature of the star HD 45166 could not be easily explained by conventional models, and little was known about it beyond the fact that it is one of a pair of stars, is rich in helium and is a few times more massive than our Sun. HD 45166 is located about 3,000 light-years away in the constellation Monoceros (the Unicorn). This star was discovered to have an incredibly strong magnetic field, of 43,000 gauss, making HD 45166 the most magnetic massive helium star found to date.

In a few million years, HD 45166 will explode as a very bright, but not particularly energetic, supernova. During this explosion, its core will contract, trapping and concentrating the star’s already daunting magnetic field lines. The result will be a neutron star with a magnetic field of around 100 trillion gauss—the most powerful type of magnet in the Universe.

Neutron stars, the compact remains of a massive star following a supernova explosion, are the densest matter in the Universe. Some neutron stars, known as magnetars, also claim the record for the strongest magnetic fields of any object. How magnetars, which are a mere 15 kilometers across, form and produce such colossal magnetic fields remains a mystery.

Video & Caption Credits: ESO/NOIRLab

Directed by: Angelos Tsaousis and Martin Wallner

Editing: Angelos Tsaousis

Web and technical support: Gurvan Bazin and Raquel Yumi Shida

Written by: Claudia Sciarma and Tom Howarth

Footage and photos:  ESO / L. Calçada, Angelos Tsaousis, B. Tafreshi, P. Horálek, Zdeněk Bardon, José Francisco Salgado

Scientific consultant: Paola Amico, Mariya Lyubenova

Duration: 1 minute, 38 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 17, 2023

#NASA #ESO #NOIRLab #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #NeutronStars #Magnetars #Star #HD45166 #Magnetic #HeliumStar #Supernova #Monoceros #Constellation #Astrophysics #Heliophysics #Universe #Telescopes #Chile #Europe #NSF #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video