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Pan of Star Cluster IC 348 in Perseus | Webb Telescope
This image from the near-infrared camera (NIRCam) instrument on the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope shows the central portion of the star cluster IC 348. Astronomers combed the cluster in search of tiny, free-floating brown dwarfs: objects too small to be stars but larger than most planets. They found three brown dwarfs that are less than eight times the mass of Jupiter. The smallest weighs just three to four times as much as Jupiter, challenging theories for star formation.
The wispy curtains filling the image are interstellar material reflecting the light from the cluster’s stars—known as a reflection nebula. The material also includes carbon-containing molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. The bright star closest to the center of the frame is actually a pair of type B stars in a binary system, the most massive stars in the cluster. Winds from these stars may help sculpt the large loop seen on the right side of the field of view.
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and K. Luhman (Penn State University) and C. Alves de Oliveira (European Space Agency), N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb)
Star Cluster IC 348: Three Brown Dwarf Stars Identified | Webb Telescope
These images from the near-infrared camera (NIRCam) instrument on the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope shows the central portion of the star cluster IC 348. Astronomers combed the cluster in search of tiny, free-floating brown dwarfs: objects too small to be stars but larger than most planets. They found three brown dwarfs that are less than eight times the mass of Jupiter. The smallest weighs just three to four times as much as Jupiter, challenging theories for star formation.
The wispy curtains filling the image are interstellar material reflecting the light from the cluster’s stars—what is known as a reflection nebula. The material also includes carbon-containing molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. The bright star closest to the center of the frame is actually a pair of type B stars in a binary system, the most massive stars in the cluster. Winds from these stars may help sculpt the large loop seen on the right side of the field of view.
Image 1 Description: Wispy hair-like filaments of pink-purple fill the middle of the image, curving left and right on either side of the center. On the right, the filaments form a dramatic loop that seems to extend toward the viewer. At lower left are additional yellowish filaments. Two prominent, bright stars near the center of the image show Webb’s eight-point diffraction spikes. Dozens of fainter stars are scattered across the image.
Image 2 Description: Image of a star cluster and nebula, with three image details pulled out in square boxes stacked vertically along the right. Main image is showing wispy pink-purple filaments and a scattering of stars. Each of the three boxes along the right corresponds to a small detail, numbered and circled, in the main image. Box 1 (top): A detail from the lower left of the main image shows a pair of small circular pinkish-white spots on a yellowish-brown background. Box 2 (middle): A detail from the middle of the lower part of the main image shows a single small circular pinkish spot on a yellowish-brown background. Box 3: A detail from the lower right edge of the main image shows a small circular pinkish spot on a dark brown background.
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and K. Luhman (Penn State University) and C. Alves de Oliveira (European Space Agency)
Every December we have a chance to see one of our favorite meteor showers—the Geminids. All meteors appear to come from the same place in the sky called the radiant. The Geminids appear to radiate from a point in the constellation Gemini, hence the name “Geminids.”
The Geminids are typically rich in green-colored fireballs like this one!
The Geminids are caused by debris from a celestial object known as 3200 Phaethon, whose origin is the subject of debate. A number of astronomers consider it to be an extinct comet, based on observations showing a small amount of material leaving Phaethon’s surface. Others argue that it has to be an asteroid because of its orbit and its similarity to the main-belt asteroid Pallas.
Whatever the nature of Phaethon, observations show that the Geminids are denser than meteors belonging to other showers, enabling them to get as low as 29 miles above Earth’s surface before burning up. Meteors belonging to other showers, like the Perseids, burn up much higher.
The Geminids can be seen by most of the world. Yet, it is best viewed by observers in the Northern Hemisphere. As you enter the Southern Hemisphere and move towards the South Pole, the altitude of the Geminid radiant—the celestial point in the sky where the Geminid meteors appear to originate—gets lower and lower above the horizon. Thus, observers in these locations see fewer Geminids than their northern counterparts.
Besides the weather, the phase of the Moon is a major factor in determining whether a meteor shower will have good rates during any given year.
Meteors can be colorful. While the human eye usually cannot discern many colors, cameras often can. Colors in meteors usually originate from ionized chemical elements released as the meteor disintegrates. Blue-green colors typically originate from magnesium, calcium radiates violet, and nickel glows green. Red, however, typically originates from energized nitrogen and oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere. This bright meteoric fireball was gone in a flash—less than a second—but it left a wind-blown ionization trail that remained visible.
Espacio a Tierra - Encendiendo el futuro - 8 de diciembre de 2023
Espacio a Tierra, la versiĆ³n en espaƱol de las cĆ”psulas Space to Ground de la NASA, te informa semanalmente de lo que estĆ” sucediendo en la EstaciĆ³n Espacial Internacional.
Pan: Cluster in the Cloud Globular Cluster NGC 2210 | Hubble
This striking image shows the densely packed globular cluster known as NGC 2210. It is situated in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The LMC lies about 157,000 light-years from Earth. It is a so-called satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, meaning that the two galaxies are gravitationally bound. Globular clusters are very stable, tightly bound clusters of thousands or even millions of stars. Their stability means that they can last a long time, and therefore globular clusters are often studied in order to investigate potentially very old stellar populations.
In fact, 2017 research that made use of this data used to build this image revealed that a sample of LMC globular clusters were incredibly close in age to the oldest stellar clusters found in the Milky Way’s halo. They found that NGC 2210 is around 11.6 billion years old. Although this is only a couple of billion years younger than the Universe itself, it makes NGC 2210 by far the youngest globular cluster in their sample. All other LMC globular clusters studied in the same work were found to be older, with four of them over 13 billion years old. This is interesting, because it tells astronomers that the oldest globular clusters in the LMC formed contemporaneously with the oldest clusters in the Milky Way, although the two galaxies formed independently.
As well as being a source of interesting research, this old-but-relatively-young cluster is also extremely beautiful with its highly concentrated population of stars. The night sky would look very different from the perspective of an inhabitant of a planet orbiting one of the stars in a globular cluster’s center. The sky would appear to be stuffed full of stars, in a stellar environment that is thousands of times more crowded than our own.
Image Description: A dense cluster of stars. It is brightest and most crowded in the center, where the stars are mostly a cool white color. Moving out towards the edges the stars become more spread out and reddish until a noticeable ‘edge’ to the cluster is reached. Beyond that edge there are still many stars, more disorganized and seen on a black background. A number of stars appear to be in front of the cluster.
Science paper in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society:
The "Squid Galaxy": M77 in Cetus | Schulman Telescope
Located 47 million light-years away in the constellation of Cetus (The Sea Monster), barred spiral galaxy Messier 77 is one of the most remote galaxies of the Messier catalogue. Messier 77 (M77) is also known as NGC 1068 or the Squid Galaxy.
At approximately 100,000 light-years across, Messier 77 is also one of largest galaxies in the Messier catalogue—so massive that its gravity causes other nearby galaxies to twist and become warped.
Tribute to NASA Astronaut Kathryn Thornton | Hubble Servicing Mission#1
STS-61 was NASA's first Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, and the fifth flight of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. On her third spaceflight, Dr. Kathryn Thornton was a mission specialist extravehicular activity (EVA) crew member aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on the STS61 Hubble Space Telescope (HST) servicing and repair mission. STS-61 launched at night from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on December 2, 1993.
During the 11-day flight, the HST was captured and restored to full capacity through a record five space walks by four astronauts. After having traveled 4,433,772 miles in 163 orbits of the Earth, the crew of Endeavour returned to a night landing at the Kennedy Space Center on December 13, 1993.
Astronaut Kathryn Thornton Official NASABiography:
China's iSpace Hyperbola-2 Commercial Rocket: Vertical Takeoff & Landing Test
iSpace’s Hyperbola-2 (åę²ēŗæäŗå·, SQX-2) launch vehicle performed a second successful vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) test at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China, on December 10, 2023, at 09:07 UTC (17:07 local time). Hyperbola-2 is a small, reusable, two-stage liquid-propellant launch vehicle, designed by iSpace (ęé č£č, Beijing Interstellar Glory Space Technology Corporation Ltd) to launch up to 1.9 tons on a low-Earth orbit.
This second successful hop test “marks a major breakthrough in China’s commercial aerospace industry in reusable launch vehicle technology. It also signals the charge for China’s aerospace sector to catch up with the world’s most advanced levels in reusable launch vehicle technology” an iSpace statement read.
The test is part of the company’s plan to develop the Hyperbola-3 rocket with a reusable first stage. iSpace is skipping the previously-planned smaller Hyperbola-2, the company stated at the 9th China (International) Commercial Aerospace Forum in July 2023.
The company is targeting a first flight of the 13.4-metric-ton to low Earth orbit (LEO) Hyperbola-3 rocket in 2025. A demonstration of reuse will follow in 2026. The 69-meter-long rocket will be able to lift 8.5 tons to LEO in reusable mode. iSpace says it aims to conduct 25 Hyperbola-3 launches per year by 2030.
The Hyperbola-3B, a triple-core version of the rocket, akin to the Falcon Heavy in configuration, will be capable of carrying no less than 15 tons to LEO, according to iSpace.
iSpace made history as the first privately-funded Chinese company to reach orbit in 2019 with the solid-fueled Hyperbola-1 rocket. The company however suffered three consecutive failures with the rocket, before a successful return to flight earlier this year. Further launches of the solid rocket are expected in the coming year, despite competition from Galactic Energy’s Ceres-1 and Expace’s Kuaizhou rockets.
iSpace is not the only Chinese company working on reusable rockets. Galactic Energy recently performed a hop test with a jet engine-powered article. CAS Space, a spin-off from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has likewise conducted such tests to verify algorithms. Deep Blue Aerospace completed a successful kilometer-level rocket launch and landing test in 2022.
Another competitor, Space Pioneer, is planning to launch its Tianlong-3 rocket in the first half of 2024. The rocket will be comparable to Falcon 9 in launch capability and eventually to be made reusable. Landspace’s methalox Zhuque-2 is also expected to be converted for reusability.
China opened up its space sector to private and commercial activity in 2014. This is seen as largely in reaction to the explosion of commercial space in the U.S. The central government has since implemented policies and published guidance to support the development of commercial space.
2023 has been a notable year for China’s commercial launch companies. CAS Space, Galactic Energy, iSpace, Expace, Space Pioneer and Landspace have all reached orbit. These include first Chinese commercial liquid propellant launch successes, achieved by Space Pioneer and Landspace.
The Tiangong Space Station is expected to provide an opportunity for commercial launch vehicles to gain contracts to deliver cargo. The national Guowang LEO broadband megaconstellation is also expected to provide opportunities for commercial actors.
Video Credit: iSpace (Beijing Interstellar Glory Space Technology Corporation Ltd)/China Central Television (CCTV)/China Global Television Network (CGTN)
Planet Mars: The Day the Solar Wind Disappeared | NASA Goddard
In December 2022, NASA’s Mars-orbiting MAVEN mission observed the dramatic and unexpected “disappearance” of the solar wind, a stream of charged particles that continuously emanates from the Sun. This was caused by a special type of solar event that was so powerful, it created a void in its wake as it traveled through the solar system. The Martian atmosphere and magnetosphere expanded by thousands of kilometers in response, causing the solar wind to temporarily vanish from Mars. MAVEN’s observations of this dramatic event are helping scientists to better understand the physics that drive atmospheric and water loss at Mars.
All Lined Up: Interacting Galaxy System Arp-Madore 2105-332 | Hubble
This image features an interacting galaxy system known as Arp-Madore 2105-332, that lies about 200 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Microscopium. This system belongs to the Arp-Madore catalogue of peculiar galaxies. The wonderful quality of this image also reveals several further galaxies, not associated with this system but fortuitously positioned in such a way that they appear to be forming a line that approaches the leftmost (in this image) component of Arp-Madore 2105-332. This is known individually as 2MASX J21080752-3314337. The rightmost galaxy, meanwhile, is known as 2MASX J21080362-3313196. These hefty names do not lend themselves to easy memorization, but they do actually contain valuable information. They are coordinates in the right ascension and declination system used widely by astronomers to locate astronomical objects.
Both the galaxies are of a type known as emission-line galaxies. This simply means that, when observed with spectrometers, the spectra of both galaxies exhibit characteristic bright peaks, known as emission lines. This is distinct from, for example, absorption-line galaxies whose spectra contain distinct gaps, known as absorption lines. Emission lines are produced when gases are very hot, and therefore have sufficient energy that the atoms and molecules are ‘excited’ and emit light. In other words, emission-line galaxies are highly energetic places, marking them out as likely hotbeds of star formation.
As with many galaxy types, categorizing a galaxy as an emission-line galaxy does not exclude it from having other descriptions that refer to its other properties. Arp-Madore 2105-332, for example, is also a ‘peculiar’ galaxy, reflecting the atypical shapes of its two constituent galaxies.
Image Description: A pair of interacting galaxies, one smaller than the other. Each has a bright spot at the center and two loosely-wound spiral arms, with threads of dark dust following the arms. They appear as a broad, soft glow in which individual stars can’t be seen. A number of bright stars and smaller, background galaxies can also be seen — three such galaxies lie in a vertical line below the right-hand galaxy of the pair.
Zooming into Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A | James Webb Space Telescope
This zoom-in video shows the relative location of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) in the sky. It begins with a ground-based photo by the late astrophotographer Akira Fujii. As it zooms into smaller portions of the sky, it fades into an image from the Digital Sky Survey. It ends by crossfading into an image of Cas A from NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, with added borders from a NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope image.
A new high-definition image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared camera (NIRCam) unveils intricate details of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A), and shows the expanding shell of material slamming into the gas shed by the star before it exploded about 300 years ago.
The most noticeable colors in Webb’s newest image are clumps of bright orange and light pink that make up the inner shell of the supernova remnant. These tiny knots of gas, comprised of sulfur, oxygen, argon, and neon from the star itself, are only detectable by NIRCam’s exquisite resolution, and give researchers a hint at how the dying star shattered like glass when it exploded.
The outskirts of the main inner shell looks like smoke from a campfire. This marks where ejected material from the exploded star is ramming into surrounding circumstellar material. Researchers say this white color is light from synchrotron radiation. It is generated by charged particles traveling at extremely high speeds spiraling around magnetic field lines.
There are also several light echoes visible in this image. This is where light from the star’s long-ago explosion has reached, and is warming, distant dust, that is glowing as it cools down.
Credits:
Video: Alyssa Pagan NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
Acknowledgments: Akira Fujii, David Malin, Digitized Sky Survey
Take a Tour of Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A | James Webb Space Telescope
This video tours Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) image of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A). NIRCam’s high resolution detects tiny knots of gas leftover from the star’s explosion, as well as light echoes scattered across the field of view.
A new high-definition image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared camera (NIRCam) unveils intricate details of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A), and shows the expanding shell of material slamming into the gas shed by the star before it exploded about 300 years ago.
The most noticeable colors in Webb’s newest image are clumps of bright orange and light pink that make up the inner shell of the supernova remnant. These tiny knots of gas, comprised of sulfur, oxygen, argon, and neon from the star itself, are only detectable by NIRCam’s exquisite resolution, and give researchers a hint at how the dying star shattered like glass when it exploded.
The outskirts of the main inner shell looks like smoke from a campfire. This marks where ejected material from the exploded star is ramming into surrounding circumstellar material. Researchers say this white color is light from synchrotron radiation. It is generated by charged particles traveling at extremely high speeds spiraling around magnetic field lines.
There are also several light echoes visible in this image. This is where light from the star’s long-ago explosion has reached, and is warming, distant dust, that is glowing as it cools down.
Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A: Wide View | James Webb Space Telescope
A new high-definition image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared camera (NIRCam) unveils intricate details of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A), and shows the expanding shell of material slamming into the gas shed by the star before it exploded about 300 years ago.
The most noticeable colors in Webb’s newest image are clumps of bright orange and light pink that make up the inner shell of the supernova remnant. These tiny knots of gas, comprised of sulfur, oxygen, argon, and neon from the star itself, are only detectable by NIRCam’s exquisite resolution, and give researchers a hint at how the dying star shattered like glass when it exploded.
The outskirts of the main inner shell looks like smoke from a campfire. This marks where ejected material from the exploded star is ramming into surrounding circumstellar material. Researchers say this white color is light from synchrotron radiation. It is generated by charged particles traveling at extremely high speeds spiraling around magnetic field lines.
There are also several light echoes visible in this image, most notably in the bottom right corner. This is where light from the star’s long-ago explosion has reached, and is warming, distant dust, that is glowing as it cools down.
Image Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Danny Milisavljevic (Purdue University), Ilse De Looze (UGent), Tea Temim (Princeton University)
The Hubble Telescope Story: The Invisible Universe Revealed | PBS America
Follow the remarkable story of the Hubble Space Telescope, whose magnificent images forever changed our understanding of the cosmos by revealing the age of the universe and advancing our knowledge of black holes and dark energy.
This documentary was released in 2015 before the successful launch of the James Webb Space Telescope in December 2021.
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