NASA Federal Credit Union’s Post

NASA's Webb Telescope captures the Serpens Nebula showing that forming stars spin in the same direction. This supports a long-held theory about star formation. The next step involves studying its chemical breakdown. #SerpensNebula #WebbTelescope #StarFormation https://lnkd.in/gkwU9X4u

NASA published an intriguing observed effect in higher atmosphere https://lnkd.in/dSxjVWhU. Just curious how it will effect the signal measured on ground by ongoing MT surveys here and there around the Globe? In theory it should, but will be nice if proven and measured by real data. If signal's improvement is significant it could be used for better surveys design (when and where) to perform MT for particular tasks.

🆕 There’s a firecracker show of star formation in the Milky Way’s outskirts 🎆 🔴 The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope looked to the fringes of the Milky Way and examined a star-forming area (the Extreme Outer Galaxy) reminiscent of our galaxy during its early stages of formation. 🔴 Scientists used its #NIRCam and #MIRI to image regions which host star clusters undergoing bursts of star formation. Some of the detail revealed by Webb includes very young protostars, outflows, jets, and distinctive nebular structures. 🔴 These observations enable scientists to study star formation 🌟 in the outer Milky Way at the same level of detail as observations of star formation in our own solar neighbourhood! Read more about it here: https://ow.ly/h3mc50TkQXT #WebbSeesFarther 📷 NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, M. Ressler (NASA-JPL)

“A team of scientists used Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) to image select regions within two molecular clouds known as Digel Clouds 1 and 2. With its high degree of sensitivity and sharp resolution, the Webb data resolved these areas, which are hosts to star clusters undergoing bursts of star formation, in unprecedented detail. Details of this data include components of the clusters such as very young (Class 0) protostars, outflows and jets, and distinctive nebular structures. These Webb observations, which came from telescope time allocated to Mike Ressler of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, are enabling scientists to study star formation in the outer Milky Way in the same depth of detail as observations of star formation in our own solar neighborhood.” #extremeoutergalaxy #JWST #nasa

"Ever wondered what it would be like to fall into a black hole? A new NASA simulation has the answer — including the inevitable, crushing end. Best watched on a large screen. "Goddard scientists created the visualizations on the Discover supercomputer at the NASA Center for Climate Simulation.  The destination is a supermassive black hole with 4.3 million times the mass of our Sun, equivalent to the monster located at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. To simplify the complex calculations, the black hole is not rotating.  A flat, swirling cloud of hot, glowing gas called an accretion disk surrounds the black hole and serves as a visual reference during the fall. So do glowing structures called photon rings, which form closer to the black hole from light that has orbited it one or more times. A backdrop of the starry sky as seen from Earth completes the scene.   The project generated about 10 terabytes of data — equivalent to roughly half of the estimated text content in the Library of Congress — and took about 5 days running on just 0.3% of Discover’s 129,000 processors. The same feat would take more than a decade on a typical laptop." https://lnkd.in/gaXvZiRa

NASA's SDO Captures a February Solar Flare Triple Play The Sun has been very active so far this month, making many wonder about communications network integrity. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) constantly monitors the Sun and captures the recent powerful solar flares in exquisite detail across multiple wavelengths. In a new video, NASA shows how recent flare events on February 21st and 22nd appeared in several wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light. Throughout the video, viewers are treated to blends of 131 and 171, 171 and 304, and 171 and 1,600-angstrom-light images. https://lnkd.in/eD74vPvD Each of the various wavelengths highlights different plasma temperatures, showcasing numerous layers and features of the Sun. For example, the extreme ultraviolet wavelength of 131 angstroms shows scorching plasma (six to 10 million Kelvin) and cooler plasma (400,000 Kelvin), per NASA. (https://lnkd.in/eSiXfCit) For reference, 10 million Kelvin is nearly 18 million degrees Fahrenheit. Solar flares are immense explosions of electromagnetic radiation emitting from the Sun and appear as intense bright regions on the star’s surface that last a few minutes to several hours. They result from the Sun’s intense magnetic fields becoming too tangled and stretching so far that they snap like a rubber band stressed beyond its physical limits. 

Without proper gyroscope readings, the Hubble telescope can't point in the right direction. Can NASA fix this problem and resume Hubble's operations?

🚀 How NASA’s Roman Telescope Will Measure Ages of Stars 🌟 Stellar Age Determination 🌌 Astronomers have long puzzled over determining the ages of stars, but NASA's upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is set to tackle this challenge head-on. With its launch anticipated by May 2027, the telescope aims to unravel the ages of stars by measuring their rotation periods, offering fresh insights into the stellar populations within the Milky Way galaxy. Innovative Approach: Artificial Intelligence 🤖 At the University of Florida, a team of astronomers is using artificial intelligence, specifically a convolutional neural network, to analyze variations in star brightness. By training the network on simulated light curves, they can accurately discern rotation periods, even amidst the complexity of starspots. Surveying Stellar Rotation 🌠 The forthcoming Roman Space Telescope is poised to amplify these efforts, embarking on a vast survey of hundreds of millions of stars through its Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey. This ambitious endeavor will enable diverse scientific inquiries, including the precise determination of stars' rotation rates. #nasa #stars #space #galaxy #astronomy #age #agnirva

The Falcon 9 rocket, which will launch NASA's PACE mission, was rolled out and installed at SLC-40 (Space Launch Complex 40) of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) for the launch, scheduled for February 6, 1:33 a.m. ET, 06:33 UTC, and 07:33 CET. Our Livestreams: YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eQfEXWiw Facebook: https://fb.me/e/51OUgtC4A Picture credits: SpaceX PACE's data will help us understand how the ocean and atmosphere exchange carbon dioxide. In addition, it will reveal how aerosols might fuel phytoplankton growth in the surface ocean. Novel uses of PACE data will benefit our economy and society. For example, it will help identify the extent and duration of harmful algal blooms. PACE will extend and expand NASA's long-term observations of our living planet. Doing so will take Earth's pulse in new ways for decades. The primary science instrument planned for PACE is the Ocean Color Instrument (OCI), which will be capable of measuring the color of the ocean from ultraviolet to shortwave infrared. PACE will also include two polarimeters. Such instruments are used to measure how the oscillation of sunlight within a geometric plane - known as its polarization - is changed by passing through clouds, aerosols, and the ocean. The polarimeters onboard the PACE observatory are the spectro-polarimeter for planetary exploration (SPEXone) and the hyper-angular research polarimeter (HARP2). They will be contributed by a consortium based in the Netherlands and the University of Maryland Baltimore County. SPEXone and HARP2 will meet the PACE mission's needs by providing complementary spectral and angular sampling, polarimetric accuracy, and spatial coverage (see table below). They will provide opportunities for improved OCI atmospheric correction, as well as a comprehensive range of aerosol and cloud science data products beyond what could be accomplished by the OCI alone. Thus, the synergistic payload of the OCI, SPEXone, and HARP2 will be poised to make significant breakthroughs in aerosol-cloud-ocean research.

Gas Giant Atmospheric Probe OML for Controlled Flight Study - Project Description: "Study the use of aerodynamic principles associated with lifting bodies as applied to probes for exploration of gas giant planets in the out solar system. This may include either pure lifting body, or lifting body augmented with wing structures. Project will culminate with a paper and an early proposed design for a small (30 kg class) probe shape. Study will focus on leveraging flight as a means of improving scientific data gathering capabilities for probes. Anticipated Benefits: This innovation would allow for planetary exploration of gas giant planets to previously un-achievable depths. Spin off technology could allow for significant cross range for probes, enabling measurements in different regions of the planet with the same probe. The ability to fly a probe within the atmosphere also enables changes in mission architecture, allowing for relay vehicles to fly in the upper atmosphere, while fast descending probes take measurements lower." NASA https://lnkd.in/eVQHQj55