#space_observation

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Hubble's image of spiral galaxy NGC 6951 shows its bright blue spiral arms, bars, patches of star clusters, and clumps of dust. The galaxy NGC 6951, which lies 78 million light-years from Earth, was captured in a new Hubble image created by the Wide Field Camera (WFC3) and the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). The image shows bright blue spiral arms, star clusters, and a dark orange dust cloud. [caption id="attachment_64740" align="aligncenter" width="780"] spiral galaxy NGC 6951[/caption] The history of this galaxy is quite amazing. About 800 million years ago, NGC 6951 was known for its high rate of star formation, but then star formation stopped for 300 million years. Over the past 25 years, six powerful supernova explosions have occurred, causing the extinction of some of these stars. The average age of a star cluster in the galaxy is between 200 and 300 million years, but some have reached the age of one billion years. An angle straight to the heart: Hubble captured a detailed image of the spiral galaxy NGC 6951 NGC 6951 is classified as a Type II Seyfert galaxy due to its infrared emission and the presence of a slow-moving gaseous environment at the center. However, some astronomers also consider it to be a low-ionization galaxy with an emission line in the core, implying a cooler and less ionized core. Near the center of the galaxy lies a supermassive black hole, which is surrounded by a ring of stars, gas, and dust with a diameter of about 3,700 light years. This ring is also known as the "central ring" and is thought to have star formation for 1 to 1.5 billion years, with 40% of its mass consisting of stars less than 100 million years old. This image of NGC 6951 is part of NASA's Hubble Photo Sharing Campaign, which features new images taken by the space telescope every day from October 2 to October 7.

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Scientists from Italy and Germany have discovered exoplanet GJ 367b, which is likely composed entirely of iron. Using the HARPS spectrograph and TESS observations, they found that more than 90% of the planet's mass is made up of its iron core. Researchers from the University of Turin in Italy and the State Star Observatory of Thuringia in Germany have made an interesting discovery: the exoplanet GJ 367b is most likely composed entirely of iron.  This makes it the densest known planet with a short orbital period. GJ 367b was first spotted in 2015 by NASA's TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) space telescope and has a density 1.85 times that of Earth. [caption id="attachment_69273" align="aligncenter" width="780"] GJ 367b[/caption] Using the European Southern Observatory's HARPS spectrograph and TESS observations, scientists determined that more than 90% of the planet's mass is made up of its iron core. The origin story of GJ 367b remains a mystery, but it may have once been a rocky planet like Earth or Mars. Its two neighboring planets, orbiting further out, are also rocky, indicating that they all formed in a similar way. GJ 367b is an exoplanet consisting only of an iron core However, GJ 367b likely went through a unique series of events that led it to lose its outer rocky layers, leaving only the core. Possible explanations include collisions with another planet closer to the host star. Another possibility is that GJ 367b was intensely irradiated by its star, causing its outer layer to burn away leaving only an iron core. The outer material could turn into gas and then be dispersed into space. It is also possible that GJ 367b underwent a combination of collisions and irradiation to form the metallic planet that astronomers observe today. The question still remains: how did GJ 367b get so close to its star? It is unlikely that it formed there. Scientists believe that gravitational interactions with other planets could have caused it to move away from its original formation site. Further study of GJ 367b could provide valuable insights into the formation and evolution of rocky and short-period planets.

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New observations from the JWST space telescope have revealed several details about the surface of Ganymede, Jupiter's largest moon. Ganymede is almost a planet, except that it does not revolve around the Sun, but around Jupiter. If it revolved around the Sun instead of Jupiter, it would have the status of a planet. It has a complex structure - a molten core that creates a magnetic field, a surface layer similar to that on Earth, and an ice sheet with a hidden underwater ocean. The satellite even has an atmosphere, although its density is low. Ganymede is even larger than Mercury and approaches Mars in size. The Galileo and Juno missions, as well as telescopes on Earth, studied the chemical composition of Ganymede's surface. However, with such extensive knowledge, unknown details remain, especially regarding its surface. In a new study, a team of researchers from the United States, Europe, and Japan examined the surface of Ganymede using the JWST space telescope's NIRSpec and MIRI instruments. The main author of the study was French planetary scientist D. Bochelet-Morvan from LESIA, an observatory in Paris. [caption id="attachment_76971" align="aligncenter" width="600"] JWST space telescope[/caption] The surface of Ganymede consists of two types of relief: light icy areas with troughs and dark areas. Light areas occupy about two-thirds of the surface, and dark areas occupy the rest. Both types of landforms are ancient, but the darker areas are older and have many craters. In this case, the light relief penetrates through the dark one. The JWST space telescope studied in detail Ganymede CO2 is present on Ganymede, but it is associated with other molecules, which especially attracts the attention of scientists. Mapping the distribution of carbon dioxide will help figure out how it is bound to which molecules. There is also water ice on Ganymede, but it is amorphous. JWST carried out a mapping of ice distribution and properties. Based on the temperature range, no clear surface ice was found on Ganymede. JWST observations indicate that some CO2 is bound to water ice, but only about 1% by mass. The rest of the CO2 is found in various minerals and salts. The greatest amount of water ice is observed in the areas of Ganymede's poles, where ions from Jupiter bombard the surface of the satellite. It may also be due to a combination of micrometeorites that become embedded in the ice and ions that reactivate water vapor in non-ice-covered areas and form cleaner water ice, which JWST easily detects. In addition, scientists note differences between the poles of Ganymede and other regions of its surface. Part of these differences are due to Jupiter's strong influence on its moon. The connection between Jupiter and Ganymede can be compared to the connection between the Sun and the Earth. Just as the solar wind affects the Earth's magnetosphere, the plasma emanating from Jupiter affects Ganymede. In addition, Ganymede's magnetic field interacts with Jupiter's magnetic field, which contributes to the formation of auroras on Jupiter. The connections between Jupiter and Ganymede are complex, with some effects extending to Ganymede's surface chemistry due to the irradiation of the moon's poles by Jupiter's plasma. New research has greatly expanded our understanding of these aspects, but scientists have not yet been able to fully interpret the observations. As the authors of the study note, the results obtained will significantly help in optimizing future observations using the MAJIS spectrometer of the JUICE (JUpiter ICy Moons Explorer) mission, which will continue research on Ganymede. The mission was launched in the spring and will reach Jupiter in the summer of 2031. 

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The creation of low-cost solar panels for power generation in space could lead to the development of commercially viable solar power stations in orbit New research from Surry and Swansea universities shows the promise of lightweight, cost-effective solar panels that can generate energy in space using inexpensive materials. The study, the first of its kind, spanned six years and saw engineers and scientists monitor the satellite's behavior in orbit, studying how the solar panels generate power and withstand solar radiation over 30,000 orbits around the Earth. The findings could provide the basis for the development of commercially viable solar power plants in space. [caption id="attachment_73640" align="aligncenter" width="780"] space[/caption] Space energy: inexpensive and lightweight solar panels for space stations and space solar farms Spacecraft Engineering Professor Craig Underwood of Surry said, “We are thrilled that a mission that was planned for one year has continued to operate for six years. Detailed data demonstrates that solar panels withstand radiation and their thin film structure remains intact in the harsh temperature and vacuum conditions of space. This type of solar panel technology could lead to the creation of large, affordable space power stations that would generate energy and transmit it to Earth. And today we have the first proof of the reliability of this technology in orbit.” Scientists from Swansea University's Solar Energy Research Center have developed new solar panels based on a cadmium-telluride compound. They cover a larger area, are lightweight, and have significantly greater energy output compared to existing technologies, and their production is relatively low cost. The study of the performance of solar panels in orbit was carried out using instruments developed at Surry State University. The satellite itself was designed and built at the Space Technology Center of the University of Sarre with the participation of a group of interns from the Algerian Space Agency (ASAL). Although efficiency in energy production has decreased slightly over time, the researchers believe the findings indicate the viability of solar energy systems in space and their potential commercial prospects. Dr Dan Lamb, from Swansea University, said: “The successful trials of these thin-film solar cells expand funding opportunities for further development of this technology. Large solar panels for space applications are a rapidly growing segment of the space industry.”

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NASA and ICON are working on the Olympus project - 3D printing for building infrastructure on the Moon As part of the Artemis mission, NASA, in collaboration with the American company ICON, specializing in 3D printing of buildings, plans to launch 3D printing of habitable modules on the Moon by 2040. The collaboration between NASA and ICON has already resulted in ICON receiving $30 million in funding from NASA in 2020 and an additional $57.2 million in 2022 to support Project Olympus. Project Olympus is the development of a 3D printer capable of printing buildings from concrete made from rocks, mineral particles, and regoliths available on the lunar surface. The joint project between NASA and ICON aims to create housing suitable not only for NASA astronauts but also for ordinary citizens, with the long-term goal of creating a permanent human colony on the Moon and eventually Mars. As part of the project, Olympus ICON is also collaborating with architectural firms including Bjarke Ingels Groups and SEArch+ (Space Exploration Architecture). [caption id="attachment_70957" align="aligncenter" width="714"] NASA and ICON plan[/caption] Currently, plans for the project are presented primarily in the form of digital renderings, but the NASA and ICON team plans to begin extensive testing soon to develop a 3D printer that can operate in the harsh conditions of the lunar environment. This space-based 3D printer, called Olympus, will be controlled from Earth. In this project, weight is a key factor - each additional kilogram of weight on the rocket costs approximately $1,000,000. High radiation and low gravitational field also pose significant problems. NASA and ICON plan to use 3D printing to create architecture on the Moon for future settlements The Huntsville-based Marshall Space Flight Center has more than a dozen test chambers that can simulate radiation and vacuum conditions outside Earth. The ICON 3D printer is scheduled to be tested in the largest of these chambers in February 2024. NASA scientists are also developing a lunar concrete simulant material that could replicate the lunar dust-based material during tests on Earth. They report that they are testing concrete spheres made from simulated regolith. This material is resistant to temperatures up to 1870 °C. In addition to constructing buildings, NASA is also working with universities and private companies to create furniture and interior prototypes created on the Moon. For example, NASA is collaborating with Stanford University researchers who are separating minerals in artificial lunar soil to create tiles that can be used in kitchens or bathrooms. [caption id="attachment_70958" align="aligncenter" width="780"] NASA and ICON plan[/caption] Following the successful lunar flyby of the Artemis I mission in 2022, the Artemis II mission is planned to send four crew members into lunar orbit in November 2024. Then, in 2025, the Artemis III mission is planned, which will put humans on the Moon for the first time since 1972. Two more crewed missions are planned before the end of the decade, and 3D printing of structures on the lunar surface is expected in 2040. The Olympus project is not the only initiative with the approach of using local resources for production and construction on the surface of the Moon. Last year, design agency AI SpaceFactory unveiled a design for the LINA lunar station, created using 3D printing and developed for NASA. LINA's design and testing are part of NASA's REACT project to advance technologies and materials created through the 3D Printed Habitat Challenge. AI SpaceFactory modified its original polymer, which was created from simulated regolith, to use real lunar regolith. This material was tested in NASA vacuum chambers, providing new data for the development of sustainable 3D printers capable of creating large-scale structures. The University of New South Wales is collaborating with Australian design startup Luyten to accelerate the research and development of a 3D printer capable of printing from lunar materials. Through Project Meeka, these organizations have teamed up to accelerate the development and testing of a framed 3D printer for lunar regolith called Platypus Galacticas. This system is designed for the rapid construction of lunar infrastructure with dimensions of up to 9 × 12 meters.

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Two giant icy planets have collided, providing astronomers with the first such collision. Astronomers captured the aftermath of the disaster - two planets destroyed each other, forming a donut-shaped cloud, red-hot. This was the first observation of the consequences of a planetary collision. The observations could shed light not only on destructive interplanetary collisions but perhaps even how they could lead to the formation of new planets. Astronomers first noticed this event in 2021 when they noticed the visible light of the star ASASSN-21qj being repeatedly obscured. It turned out that this is not the first time the star’s brightness has changed; an analysis of previous observations showed that three years before the decrease in brightness, ASASSN-21qj doubled its luminosity in the infrared spectrum. [caption id="attachment_69281" align="aligncenter" width="780"] Astronomers[/caption] This raised the question: How can a star appear brighter in one spectrum and dimmer in another? “We looked at a range of possible ideas. The one that seemed to fit all the data we had was a collision of two giant icy planets,” said study co-author Matthew Kenworthy, an astronomer at Leiden University in the Netherlands. Astronomers have seen for the first time the aftermath of the collision of two giant icy planets According to theory, these ice giants would each be the size of Neptune, which is 17 times the mass of Earth. When they collided, they practically paralyzed each other, forming a donut-shaped cloud of hot debris. The heat of this cloud, estimated at 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit, explains the increase in brightness in the infrared. Then, as the newly formed donut continued to orbit ASASSN-21qj, it passed between the star and Earth, obscuring the light for astronomers. This is an interesting explanation, but not complete. Astronomers still don't know what triggered the planetary collision. Although a planetary collision seems like the most likely possibility based on available data, it is a fairly rare occurrence. With an estimated age of about 300 million years, the star system must have been too mature for such collisions to still occur. More observations should help confirm the collision did occur, but what's even more tantalizing is that astronomers believe that new planets and moons could eventually be born from this cloud. “My prediction is that in five to ten years we will start to see additional light emission from the system reflected from the dust cloud. If that doesn’t happen, then something else happened,” Kenworthy said.

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Astronomers are proposing to change the names of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, satellites of our galaxy, due to the controversy surrounding them, to recognize the contribution of the indigenous communities that observed these “clouds” long before Ferdinand Magellan The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) are two astronomical objects named after Fernando Magellan, the Portuguese explorer whose crew was the first to circumnavigate the world. Magellan and his crew carried out an incredible journey and exploration, but they were also slave owners and killed indigenous people in Argentina, Guam, and the Philippines during their expeditions.  For these reasons, astronomers are asking why these two celestial objects should be named after a colonizer, slave trader, and murderer, especially since there is precedent for renaming space objects after the name has become unethical. [caption id="attachment_68117" align="aligncenter" width="780"] Astronomers[/caption] “Renaming is not a new trend in astronomy. In 2018, the International Astronomical Union renamed Hubble's Law to the Hubble-Lemaitre Law to recognize the scientific contributions of Georges Lemaitre. Renaming the LMC and MMC would also acknowledge the contributions of the indigenous communities that identified and observed them long before Magellan,” said Professor Mia de los Reyes of Amherst College, who was the first to propose changing the name of the Magellanic Clouds. Astronomers propose renaming the Magellanic Clouds to reflect indigenous history and culture Magellan was not an astronomer and was not the first to see or describe these "clouds". People in the Southern Hemisphere have observed them for tens of thousands of years, given their names, and the stories associated with them predate the records of the Magellanic Secretary. Magellan's descriptions were not even the first to reach Europe. Italian and Arab sailors reported them at least a decade before Magellan's expedition. The original name of Arrokoth, the most distant object visited by the spacecraft, was originally Ultima Thule, the name of a distant fictional land on old maps. But this name was associated with the Third Reich and was renamed. In 2020, the International Astronomical Union and NASA decided to abandon nicknames for celestial bodies associated with colonialism, racism, and other forms of discrimination. The organizations have called for scientific designations for several objects with offensive nicknames - such as the nebula NGC 2392, which was nicknamed by the colonial term "Eskimo". A group of astronomers calling for the LMC and IMC to be renamed argues that asking for neutral scientific names should not be controversial. A petition was recently created to rename the JWST telescope due to James Webb's name's ties to the US government's massacres of LGBT civilian employees in the 1950s and 1960s when James Webb was NASA administrator. This petition led to an investigation, but in this case, however, despite sports and controversies in the astronomical community, it was decided to leave the name unchanged. “Almost all the astronomers we spoke to supported the renaming; most of the opposition we received was from a small number of members of the vocal public. I received letters telling me to return to scientific research,” said Mia de los Reyes.

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The Euclid Space Telescope took test images. Expected to publish its first scientific results in January 2024, the Euclid mission will explore dark matter and dark energy to deepen our understanding of the evolution of the Universe “After twelve years of development and production of Euclid, it is delightful and moving to see these first images. But it will be possible to show them to the public after the scientific group has worked on them. The first scientific publication will be published in January,” said Giuseppe Racca, head of the Euclid project at ESA. Launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on July 1, the 2-ton space telescope is designed to study the Universe for answers to how dark matter and dark energy shaped the Universe over billions of years. It took Euclid a month to arrive at the L2 Lagrange point between the Earth and the Sun, located 1.5 million kilometers from Earth in the direction opposite to the Sun. Once this point was reached, the space equipment had to undergo a two-month check before scientific research could begin. However, during testing of the instruments, problems were discovered that prevented the telescope from providing the highest resolution images. The problems were serious enough that the ESA suspended tests and began looking for solutions. Within a few weeks, solutions were found and the situation improved significantly, allowing the telescope to obtain hundreds of test images of galaxies. [caption id="attachment_65735" align="aligncenter" width="780"] Euclid telescope[/caption] Giuseppe Racca said that once Euclid was in orbit, the science team discovered that extraneous light was entering the telescope's field of view, which was affecting the light sensor and making it difficult to observe very dim galaxies. This was a big problem that could have caused the mission to fail. To solve this problem, the team rotated the telescope two and a half degrees on its axis. This was enough to get rid of excess light. To take multiple images or perform spectral and photometric measurements in the infrared spectrum, the position sensor must be able to accurately hold the telescope in the desired direction for 75 minutes, guided by calibration stars. But in some positions, high-energy cosmic rays and solar protons interrupted the sensor, creating signals it misinterpreted as real stars. Scientists took into account this possible effect in simulations, but in the real space environment, the effect was stronger than expected. Results of test shootings of the Euclid telescope This problem was discovered in early August and on August 18 they interrupted measurements where extraneous light was observed while performing other observations. Development and testing of new software to solve the problem took about two months. After a software update over the past two weeks, the telescope has been operating normally, but scientists need to ensure it continues to function properly during the six-year mission. Every morning they check the data coming from ESA Chile's space complex, and so far everything is going well. [caption id="attachment_65736" align="aligncenter" width="585"] Euclid telescope[/caption] The quality of Euclid's work is comparable to that of Hubble, but Euclid can cover in one week what Hubble could cover in five years. More than 1000 photographs of amazing quality have already been transferred. Some scientists have accessed the images and found them remarkable. Over six years, Euclid will observe billions of galaxies and create the largest three-dimensional map of the Universe ever created. Some 2,000 scientists around the world are already involved in sharing initial images and data. In May 2027, NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Telescope will join the study of dark matter and dark energy with even more powerful instruments. The Euclid and Nancy Grace Roman missions have complementary strategies: Euclid's earlier survey of large areas of the sky will allow it to carry out a reconnaissance mission, while the second telescope will focus on a smaller area, exploring the Universe with greater depth and precision.

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The telescope will make breakthroughs in astronomy and raise China's scientific research to the international level The Xuntian telescope has become the most important scientific project since the launch of our country's space station. China is preparing a major project that will not only expand the nation's astronomy research program but also increase the use of the country's space station. The space telescope is called Xuntian, also known as the Chinese Survey Space Telescope, or Chinese Space Station Telescope (CSST). The name “Xuntian” can be translated as “study of the firmament”, or “exploration of the heavens”. [caption id="attachment_64042" align="aligncenter" width="780"] Xuntian space telescope[/caption] new Xuntian space telescope will surpass Hubble in astronomical research. Scheduled for launch next year, the 2-meter CSST space telescope, about the size of a school bus, will share an orbit with China's Tiangong space station, where Chinese astronauts can periodically retool the telescope itself. Its service life is expected to be 10 years, but the telescope's operating time can be extended. Xuntian is designed with the ambition to surpass the Hubble Space Telescope. Lin Siqian, deputy director of the China Space Exploration Agency, said that the telescope is expected to make breakthroughs in cosmology, the study of dark matter and dark energy in our and nearby galaxies, star formation processes, and the study of exoplanets. These are very ambitious goals. Lin said the telescope's 2.5 billion-pixel camera will take high-resolution images to depths of up to 17,500 square degrees. The resolution will be about the same as Hubble, but its field of view will be more than 300 times wider. A telescope's field of view is the area that the telescope can see at one time. In an interview last year, Li Ran, a project scientist for CSST's scientific data systems, used the analogy of taking pictures of a herd of sheep to explain CSST's capabilities: "Hubble can see one sheep, but CSST can see thousands, all with the same resolution." The launch of Xuntian into Earth orbit is expected in 2024 using a Long March 5B rocket.

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Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA) is a new radio telescope in South Africa that will be able to observe giant clouds of hydrogen and track possible traces of dark matter decay Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the Universe. It makes up more than 90% of all atoms, exceeding helium atoms ten times and all other elements combined by a hundred times. Hydrogen is present everywhere - from the water in the oceans to the most distant regions of the Cosmic Dawn. Astronomers are interested in neutral hydrogen, which can emit weak radio emissions. Line 21 cm is the result of the transition of a hydrogen electron from one energy state to another. This occurs when the spins of the electron and proton bound by a hydrogen molecule are oriented in the same way. If the spins are aligned, the energy of hydrogen will be slightly higher. However, when the spins are in opposite directions, the electron can change its spin by emitting a photon. The emission of a photon can occur spontaneously. Therefore, wherever hydrogen clouds are concentrated, they emit radio energy with a wavelength of 21 cm. This property of neutral hydrogen helps astronomers study its movement in the Universe and its cosmological redshift. In one of the first experiments using this method to study the movement of hydrogen in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies, astronomer Vera Rubin was able to detect the presence of dark matter. Now a new study shows that the 21 cm line may provide the first evidence for the existence of dark matter particles. [caption id="attachment_53555" align="aligncenter" width="780"] telescope[/caption] New telescope could detect decaying dark matter in the early universe The study will take place on the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA) radio telescope, located in South Africa and optimized for observing hydrogen in the early stages of the Universe. Once launched, HERA will map the large-scale structure of hydrogen during the time of cosmic darkness and the emergence of the first stars and galaxies. At this time, the Universe was filled with dark matter and clouds of hydrogen. If dark matter is truly neutral and only interacts gravitationally with matter and light, the 21 cm line becomes the only light emitted in the early stages of the Universe. However, the most common model of dark matter involves the existence of particles known as weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). Neutral dark matter particles are significantly heavier than ordinary matter particles such as protons and electrons. In certain cases, dark matter particles can decay into ordinary matter, creating positrons, electrons, protons, and antiprotons. In this case, energetic decay particles will also interact in the radio range with a wavelength of 21 cm. Based on observations of the cosmic background and other studies, it is known that the half-life of WIMP particles is very long. So far, we have not found any evidence of dark matter decay, which could mean that these particles either do not exist or have a half-life of more than a trillion years. New research shows that even with a thousandfold increase in half-life, HERA will be able to detect its presence in the early Universe. This will require only 1000 hours of observation. Even if HERA does not find any evidence of dark matter decay, the data obtained from HERA may rule out some WIMP models and narrow the choice of models from the group.