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NASA's SpaceX Commercial Resupply Mission 31 | International Space Station
NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 9:29 p.m. EST, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, for the next launch to deliver science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. This is the 31st SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the orbital laboratory for the agency.
Scientific investigations launching to the International Space Station on the 31st SpaceX commercial resupply services mission include studies of solar wind, a radiation-tolerant moss, spacecraft materials, and cold welding in space.
Filled with nearly 6,000 pounds of supplies, a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
CRS-31 is the fifth flight for this Dragon spacecraft, which previously flew CRS-21, CRS-23, CRS-25, and CRS-28 to the International Space Station. After an almost 13-hour flight, Dragon will autonomously dock with the station on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, at approximately 10:15 a.m. ET.
Astronomers Discover Fastest-Feeding Black Hole in Early Universe | NOIRLab
Using data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and Chandra X-ray Observatory, a team of U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) NOIRLab astronomers have discovered a low-mass supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy just 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang. It is accreting matter at a phenomenal rate—over 40 times the theoretical limit. While short lived, this black hole’s ‘feast’ could help astronomers explain how supermassive black holes grew so quickly in the early Universe.
Supermassive black holes exist at the center of most galaxies, and modern telescopes continue to observe them at surprisingly early times in the Universe’s evolution. It is difficult to understand how these black holes were able to grow so large so rapidly. However, with the discovery of a low-mass supermassive black hole feasting on material at an extreme rate, seen just 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang, astronomers now have valuable new insights into the mechanisms of rapidly growing black holes in the early Universe.
LID-568 was discovered by a cross-institutional team of astronomers led by International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab astronomer Hyewon Suh. They used the James Webb Space Telescope to observe a sample of galaxies from the Chandra X-ray Observatory’s COSMOS legacy survey. This population of galaxies is very bright in the X-ray part of the spectrum, but are invisible in the optical and near-infrared. Webb’s unique infrared sensitivity allows it to detect these faint counterpart emissions.
LID-568 stood out within the sample for its intense X-ray emission, but its exact position could not be determined from the X-ray observations alone, raising concerns about properly centering the target in JWST’s field of view. Thus, rather than using traditional slit spectroscopy, JWST’s instrumentation support scientists suggested that Suh’s team use the integral field spectrograph on Webb’s NIRSpec. This instrument can get a spectrum for each pixel in the instrument’s field of view rather than being limited to a narrow slice.
“Owing to its faint nature, the detection of LID-568 would be impossible without JWST. Using the integral field spectrograph was innovative and necessary for getting our observation,” says Emanuele Farina, International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab astronomer and co-author of the paper appearing in Nature Astronomy.
JWST’s NIRSpec allowed the team to get a full view of their target and its surrounding region, leading to the unexpected discovery of powerful outflows of gas around the central black hole. The speed and size of these outflows led the team to infer that a substantial fraction of the mass growth of LID-568 may have occurred in a single episode of rapid accretion. “This serendipitous result added a new dimension to our understanding of the system and opened up exciting avenues for investigation,” says Suh.
Suh and her team found that LID-568 appears to be feeding on matter at a rate 40 times its Eddington limit. This limit relates to the maximum luminosity that a black hole can achieve, as well as how fast it can absorb matter, such that its inward gravitational force and outward pressure generated from the heat of the compressed, infalling matter remain in balance. When LID-568’s luminosity was calculated to be so much higher than theoretically possible, the team knew they had something remarkable in their data.
“This black hole is having a feast,” says International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab astronomer and co-author Julia Scharwächter. “This extreme case shows that a fast-feeding mechanism above the Eddington limit is one of the possible explanations for why we see these very heavy black holes so early in the Universe.”
These results provide new insights into the formation of supermassive black holes from smaller black hole ‘seeds’, which current theories suggest arise either from the death of the Universe’s first stars (light seeds) or the direct collapse of gas clouds (heavy seeds). Until now, these theories lacked observational confirmation. “The discovery of a super-Eddington accreting black hole suggests that a significant portion of mass growth can occur during a single episode of rapid feeding, regardless of whether the black hole originated from a light or heavy seed,” says Suh.
The discovery of LID-568 also shows that it is possible for a black hole to exceed its Eddington limit, and provides the first opportunity for astronomers to study how this happens. It is possible that the powerful outflows observed in LID-568 may be acting as a release valve for the excess energy generated by the extreme accretion, preventing the system from becoming too unstable. To further investigate the mechanisms at play, the team is planning follow-up observations with the James Webb Space Telescope.
Credits:
Images and Videos: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva/M. Zamani/NASA/CXC/J.Vaughan/A. M. Gutierrez/J. Davelaar/Radboud University/BlackHoleCam/N. Bartmann (NSF NOIRLab)
NASA Science on SpaceX's 31st Cargo Resupply Mission | International Space Station
NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 9:29 p.m. EST, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, for the next launch to deliver science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. This is the 31st SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the orbital laboratory for the agency.
Scientific investigations launching to the International Space Station on the 31st SpaceX commercial resupply services mission include studies of solar wind, a radiation-tolerant moss, spacecraft materials, and cold welding in space.
Filled with nearly 6,000 pounds of supplies, a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NOAA's Upcoming SWFO-L1 Satellite: Dedicated to Space Weather Monitoring
From its unique vantage point, a million and a half kilometers from Earth at Lagrange Point 1, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will introduce a "next generation satellite called Space Weather Follow On L1 (SWFO-L1). The SWFO-L1 observatory is the first of its kind, designed to be dedicated to full time operational space weather observations. By keeping an eye on the Sun’s activity without interruption, it will give us quicker and more accurate forecasts than ever before."
Stay tuned for the SWFO-L1 launch, scheduled for 2025 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
SWFO-L1's solar wind plasma sensor (SWiPS)
instruments are intended to replace Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) and Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) monitoring of solar wind, energetic particles, and the interplanetary magnetic field, while SWFO-L1's compact coronagraph (CCOR) will replace SOHO's LASCO (Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph) imaging of coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
Video Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Shenzhou-18 Crew Return to Earth after Successful 6-Month Space Station Mission
The return capsule of the Shenzhou-18 crewed spacecraft, carrying astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu, safely touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Monday, November 4, 2024, at 1:24am Beijing time. The three astronauts, after staying in orbit for 192 days, were all in good health and the Shenzhou-18 crewed mission was declared a success, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said. All three astronauts were out of the capsule by 02:15am Beijing Time.
The crew will enter a period of medical quarantine and undergo comprehensive medical examinations and health evaluations, it said, adding that they will meet with the press in Beijing afterward.
Shenzhou-18 commander Ye Guangfu, who now holds the longest duration of stay in orbit among Chinese astronauts, was the first of the three crew members to emerge from the return capsule.
"I am proud of my motherland. I am grateful to the great motherland, the people of China, and the entire project team for making our dream of spaceflight a reality and ensuring our safe return. Our Shenzhou spacecraft family has continued the relay of space exploration, and I believe that the new record of time spent in orbit by Chinese astronauts will soon be set," he said.
"During this trip to realize our space dream, our crew members united as one, and collaborated effectively with the ground teams. The two extravehicular activities were completed smoothly, as were the in-orbit scientific research experiments," said Li Cong, the second astronaut to come out of the return capsule.
"Space is vast, magical and beautiful. We all enjoy the pleasure brought by weightlessness. Returning to Earth from space is a mixture of the excitement and joy of being back home, as well as a sense of attachment to space. The greatest feeling at this moment is that I am so proud of our great motherland," said Li Guangsu, the third astronaut.
The Shenzhou-18 astronauts, Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu, were launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on April 25, 2024. They completed all planned tasks during their long duration mission that lasted over six months.
During the mission, the Shenzhou-18 crew conducted 100+ scientific experiments and tests and completed two spacewalks.
They became the country's first astronauts to bring fish into space, raising them in an experiment cabinet, while collecting water samples and fish eggs for research. They will bring back the samples with them. This is expected to provide valuable insights for scientists to study the life of vertebrates in space.
After the arrival of the Shenzhou-19 trio at the space station on Oct 30, 2024, the two crews each comprising three astronauts spent five days together in orbit. A handover ceremony was held Friday night in which Shenzhou-18 commander Ye Guangfu transferred the keys of the space station to Shenzhou-19 commander Cai Xuzhe.
Spiral Galaxy NGC 1672 in Dorado | Hubble Space Telescope
This image depicts NGC 1672, a spiral galaxy in the Dorado constellation. It was created using six Hubble images taken over fifteen years.
Distance:49 million light years
Image Description: "A spiral galaxy with an oval-shaped disc. Two large arms curve out away from the ends of the disc. The arms are traced by bright pink patches where stars are forming and by dark reddish threads of dust. The core is very bright and star-filled. Several large stars appear in front of the galaxy."
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, O. Fox, L. Jenkins, A. Filippenko, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team, D. de Martin (ESA/Hubble), M. Zamani (ESA/Hubble)
Shenzhou-18 Crew Capsule Re-entry over Xinjiang | China Space Station
The return capsule of the Shenzhou-18 crewed spacecraft, carrying astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu, safely touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Monday, November 4, 2024, at 1:24am Beijing time. The three astronauts, after staying in orbit for 192 days, were all in good health and the Shenzhou-18 crewed mission was declared a success, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said.
The crew will enter a period of medical quarantine and undergo comprehensive medical examinations and health evaluations, it said, adding that they will meet with the press in Beijing afterward.
The Shenzhou-18 astronauts, Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu, were launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on April 25, 2024. They completed all planned tasks during their long duration mission that lasted over six months.
During the mission, the Shenzhou-18 crew conducted 100+ scientific experiments and tests and completed two spacewalks.
They became the country's first astronauts to bring fish into space, raising them in an experiment cabinet, while collecting water samples and fish eggs for research. They will bring back the samples with them. This is expected to provide valuable insights for scientists to study the life of vertebrates in space.
After the arrival of the Shenzhou-19 trio at the space station on Oct 30, 2024, the two crews each comprising three astronauts spent five days together in orbit. A handover ceremony was held Friday night in which Shenzhou-18 commander Ye Guangfu transferred the keys of the space station to Shenzhou-19 commander Cai Xuzhe.
Shenzhou-18 Crew:
Commander Ye Guangfu (叶光富)
Mission Specialist Li Cong (李聪)
Mission Specialist Li Guangsu (李广苏)
Video Credits: Zhang Jingyi, Tang Muzhi
Capture Location: Korla City in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
Shenzhou-18 Crew after Landing in Inner Mongolia | China Space Station
Shenzhou-18 Crew | from left to right: Commander Ye Guangfu (叶光富), Mission Specialist Li Cong (李聪), and Mission SpecialistLi Guangsu (李广苏)
Shenzhou-18 Commander Ye Guangfu (叶光富)
Mission Specialist Li Cong (李聪)
Mission Specialist Li Guangsu (李广苏)
Shenzhou-18 Commander Ye Guangfu (叶光富)
Mission Specialist Li Cong (李聪)
Mission SpecialistLi Guangsu (李广苏)
Shenzhou-18 Crew Capsule after landing
The return capsule of the Shenzhou-18 crewed spacecraft, carrying astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu, safely touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Monday, November 4, 2024, at 1:24am Beijing time. The three astronauts, after staying in orbit for 192 days, were all in good health and the Shenzhou-18 crewed mission was declared a success, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said.
The crew will enter a period of medical quarantine and undergo comprehensive medical examinations and health evaluations, it said, adding that they will meet with the press in Beijing afterward.
The Shenzhou-18 astronauts, Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu, were launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on April 25, 2024. They completed all planned tasks during their long duration mission that lasted over six months.
During the mission, the Shenzhou-18 crew conducted 100+ scientific experiments and tests and completed two spacewalks.
They became the country's first astronauts to bring fish into space, raising them in an experiment cabinet, while collecting water samples and fish eggs for research. They will bring back the samples with them. This is expected to provide valuable insights for scientists to study the life of vertebrates in space.
After the arrival of the Shenzhou-19 trio at the space station on Oct 30, 2024, the two crews each comprising three astronauts spent five days together in orbit. A handover ceremony was held Friday night in which Shenzhou-18 commander Ye Guangfu transferred the keys of the space station to Shenzhou-19 commander Cai Xuzhe.
Wide-field View: Wishing Well Star Cluster: NGC 3532 | Digitized Sky Survey 2
This wide-field view of the sky around the open star cluster NGC 3532 was created from photographic material forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The cluster itself is at the center of the picture and the bright star to its lower left is x Carinae—a very brilliant yellow hypergiant star that is about five times further from Earth than the cluster itself. This star is one of the most distant that can be seen with the naked eye.
Distance:1,300 light years
The Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) is a ground-based imaging survey of the entire sky in several colors of light produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute through its Guide Star Survey group.
In the bright star cluster, NGC 3532, also known as the Wishing Well Cluster, many stars still shine with a hot bluish color, but more massive ones have become red giants and glow with a rich orange hue.
This open cluster of young stars was named the Wishing Well Cluster because, through a telescope’s eyepiece, it looks like a handful of silver coins twinkling at the bottom of a wishing well.
Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Digitized Sky Survey 2 Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin Release Date: Nov. 26, 2014
Full Dome View of The Wishing Well Star Cluster: NGC 3532 in Carina | ESO
The MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory in Chile captured this richly colorful view of the bright star cluster NGC 3532, also known as the Wishing Well Cluster. Many stars still shine with a hot bluish color, but more massive ones have become red giants and glow with a rich orange hue.
This open cluster of young stars was named the Wishing Well Cluster because, through a telescope’s eyepiece, it looks like a handful of silver coins twinkling at the bottom of a wishing well.
Journey to Wishing Well Star Cluster: NGC 3532 in Carina | ESO
This video starts with a view of the southern Milky Way and takes us on a journey towards the open star cluster NGC 3532. The MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory in Chile captured this richly colorful view of the bright star cluster NGC 3532, also known as the Wishing Well Cluster. Many stars still shine with a hot bluish color, but more massive ones have become red giants and glow with a rich orange hue.
This open cluster of young stars was named the Wishing Well Cluster because, through a telescope’s eyepiece, it looks like a handful of silver coins twinkling at the bottom of a wishing well.
Pan of The Wishing Well Star Cluster: NGC 3532 in Carina | MPG/ESO Telescope
The MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory in Chile captured this richly colorful view of the bright star cluster NGC 3532, also known as the Wishing Well Cluster. Many stars still shine with a hot bluish color, but more massive ones have become red giants and glow with a rich orange hue.
This open cluster of young stars was named the Wishing Well Cluster because, through a telescope’s eyepiece, it looks like a handful of silver coins twinkling at the bottom of a wishing well.
The Wishing Well Star Cluster: NGC 3532 in Carina | NASA Chandra (X-ray)
NGC 3532 (also called the “Wishing Well Cluster”) is a cluster of middle-aged stars—about 300 million years old—that covers nearly twice the size of the full Moon on the sky. X-rays from Chandra (purple and white); optical from ESO/MPG 2.2m (red, green, and blue)
This image of the NGC 3532 star cluster resembles a black canvas stippled with thousands of drops of colorful paint, flicked from an artist’s brush. From this vantage point, the stars range from minuscule to merely tiny. They range in color from white and golden yellow, to oranges, reds, blues and purples. A number of stars have white cores with colorful outlines, while others gleam and have large, translucent, outer glows. The purple and white stars are those detected in X-rays by Chandra. A faint, hazy, brick orange cloud streaks across the middle of the image.
The Wishing Well Star Cluster: NGC 3532 in Carina | MPG/ESO Telescope
The MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory in Chile captured this richly colorful view of the bright star cluster NGC 3532, also known as the Wishing Well Cluster. Many stars still shine with a hot bluish color, but more massive ones have become red giants and glow with a rich orange hue.
This open cluster of young stars was named the Wishing Well Cluster because, through a telescope’s eyepiece, it looks like a handful of silver coins twinkling at the bottom of a wishing well.
Shenzhou-18 Crew Spacecraft Landing: First Images | China Space Station
Shenzhou-18 crew module at the landing site in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
Shenzhou-18 Commander Ye Guangfu (叶光富)
Shenzhou-18 crew module at the landing site in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region shortly after landing
Shenzhou-18 Crew Emblem
The return capsule of the Shenzhou-18 crewed spacecraft, carrying astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu, successfully touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Monday, November 4, 2024, at 1:24am Beijing time.
The Shenzhou-18 astronauts, Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu, were launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on April 25, 2024. They completed all planned tasks during their long duration mission that lasted over six months.
During the mission, the Shenzhou-18 crew conducted 100+ scientific experiments and tests and completed two spacewalks.
They became the country's first astronauts to bring fish into space, raising them in an experiment cabinet, while collecting water samples and fish eggs for research. They will bring back the samples with them. This is expected to provide valuable insights for scientists to study the life of vertebrates in space.
After the arrival of the Shenzhou-19 trio at the space station on Oct 30, 2024, the two crews each comprising three astronauts spent five days together in orbit. A handover ceremony was held Friday night in which Shenzhou-18 commander Ye Guangfu transferred the keys of the space station to Shenzhou-19 commander Cai Xuzhe.
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