Tag: Astrophysics

Regina Caputo Charts the Future of High-Energy Astrophysics

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Research astrophysicist Regina Caputo puzzles out how the universe works by studying the most extreme events in the cosmos. ​​Name: Regina CaputoTitle: Research Astrophysicist Organization: Astroparticle Physics Laboratory (Code 661) Regina Caputo is a research astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. She focuses on technology development and support for gamma-ray telescopes. Photo credit: NASA/David Friedlander What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? I’m a research astrophysicist in the particle astrophysics lab at Goddard. I’m really interested in the most…

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NASA to Launch 8 Scientific Balloons From New Mexico

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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A scientific balloon is inflated for the Salter Test Flight before being released during NASA’s 2023 fall balloon campaign. The test flight returns for the 2024 campaign in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, carrying several smaller payloads. NASA/Andrew Hynous NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program has kicked off its annual fall balloon campaign at the agency’s balloon launch facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Eight balloon flights carrying scientific experiments and technology demonstrations are scheduled to launch from mid-August through mid-October. The…

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Hubble Spotlights a Supernova

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2 min read Hubble Spotlights a Supernova This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image reveals the galaxy LEDA 857074. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. J. Foley This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the galaxy LEDA 857074, located in the constellation Eridanus. LEDA 857074 is a barred spiral galaxy, with partially broken spiral arms. The image also captured a supernova, named SN 2022ADQZ, shining brightly on the right side of the galaxy’s bar. Several evolutionary paths can lead to a supernova explosion. One is the death of a supermassive star. When…

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AstroViz: Iconic Pillars of Creation Star in NASA’s New 3D Visualization

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Learn Home AstroViz: Iconic Pillars of… For Educators Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Stories Science Activation Highlights Citizen Science   4 min read AstroViz: Iconic Pillars of Creation Star in NASA’s New 3D Visualization NASA’s Universe of Learning – a partnership among the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), Caltech/IPAC, the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and part of the NASA Science Activation program portfolio – recently released a new 3D visualization of the towering clouds of cosmic…

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Repair Kit for NASA’s NICER Mission Heading to Space Station

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4 min read Repair Kit for NASA’s NICER Mission Heading to Space Station NASA will deliver a patch kit for NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer), an X-ray telescope on the International Space Station, on the agency’s Northrop Grumman 21st commercial resupply mission. Astronauts will conduct a spacewalk to complete the repair. Located near the space station’s starboard solar array, NICER was damaged in May 2023. The mission team delivered the patch kit to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in May 2024 so it could be prepped and packed…

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NASA’s Webb Images Cold Exoplanet 12 Light-Years Away

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6 Min Read NASA’s Webb Images Cold Exoplanet 12 Light-Years Away This image of the gas-giant exoplanet Epsilon Indi Ab was taken with the coronagraph on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument). A star symbol marks the location of the host star Epsilon Indi A, whose light has been blocked by the coronagraph, resulting in the dark circle marked with a dashed white line (full image below) An international team of astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has directly imaged an exoplanet roughly 12 light-years from Earth.…

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25 Images to Celebrate NASA’s Chandra 25th Anniversary

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NASA/SAO/CXC This montage contains 25 new images with data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory that is being released to commemorate the telescope’s 25th anniversary in space, as described in our latest press release. Since its launch into space on July 23, 1999, Chandra has been NASA’s flagship mission for X-ray astronomy in its fleet of “Great Observatories.” Chandra discovers exotic new phenomena and examines old mysteries, looking at objects within our own Solar System out to nearly the edge of the observable Universe. There is a broad range of astronomical…

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Hubble Studies a Potential Galactic Merger

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3 min read Hubble Studies a Potential Galactic Merger This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image captures the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 5238. ESA/Hubble & NASA, F. Annibali This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 5238, located 14.5 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici. Its unexciting, blob-like appearance seems to resemble an oversized star cluster more than a classic image of a galaxy. Its lackluster appearance belies its complicated structure, which is the subject of a great deal of research. As the image…

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NASA’s Webb Investigates Eternal Sunrises, Sunsets on Distant World

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6 Min Read NASA’s Webb Investigates Eternal Sunrises, Sunsets on Distant World Artists concept of WASP-39 b (full image below). Near-infrared spectral analysis of terminator confirms differences in morning and evening atmosphere Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have finally confirmed what models have previously predicted: An exoplanet has differences between its eternal morning and eternal evening atmosphere. WASP-39 b, a giant planet with a diameter 1.3 times greater than Jupiter, but similar mass to Saturn that orbits a star about 700 light-years away from Earth, is tidally locked…

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Vivid Portrait of Interacting Galaxies Marks Webb’s Second Anniversary

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6 Min Read Vivid Portrait of Interacting Galaxies Marks Webb’s Second Anniversary Webb’s view of the interacting galaxies of Arp 142 that combines Webb’s NIRCam and MIRI instrument images. Full image below. Two for two! A duo of interacting galaxies commemorates the second science anniversary of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, which takes constant observations, including images and highly detailed data known as spectra. Its operations have led to a “parade” of discoveries by astronomers around the world. “Since President Biden and Vice President Harris unveiled the first image from…

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