Science & Research – Page 3

NASA’s Webb Reveals Intricate Layers of Interstellar Dust, Gas

January 14, 2025 NeRD

Webb Webb News Latest News Latest Images Blog (offsite) Awards X (offsite – login reqd) Instagram (offsite – login reqd) Facebook (offsite- login reqd) Youtube (offsite) Overview About Who is James Webb? Fact Sheet Impacts+Benefits FAQ Science Overview and Goals Early Universe Galaxies Over Time Star Lifecycle Other Worlds Observatory Overview Launch Orbit Mirrors Sunshield Instrument: NIRCam Instrument: MIRI Instrument: NIRSpec Instrument: FGS/NIRISS Optical Telescope Element Backplane Spacecraft Bus Instrument Module Multimedia About Webb Images Images Videos What is Webb Observing? 3d Webb in 3d Solar System Podcasts Webb Image…

Station Science Top News: Jan. 10, 2025

January 13, 2025 NeRD

Measurements from space support wildfire risk predictions Researchers demonstrated that data from the International Space Station’s ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) instrument played a significant role in the ability of machine learning algorithms to predict wildfire susceptibility. This result could help support development of effective strategies for predicting, preventing, monitoring, and managing wildfires. As the frequency and severity of wildfires increases worldwide, experts need reliable models of fire susceptibility to protect public safety and support natural resource planning and risk management. ECOSTRESS measures evapotranspiration, water use…

NASA’s LEXI Will Provide X-Ray Vision of Earth’s Magnetosphere

January 3, 2025 NeRD

5 min read NASA’s LEXI Will Provide X-Ray Vision of Earth’s Magnetosphere A NASA X-ray imager is heading to the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, where it will capture the first global images of the magnetic field that shields Earth from solar radiation. The Lunar Environment Heliospheric X-ray Imager, or LEXI, instrument is one of 10 payloads aboard the next lunar delivery through NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative, set to launch from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida no earlier than mid-January, with Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost…

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Makes History With Closest Pass to Sun

December 27, 2024 NeRD

5 Min Read NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Makes History With Closest Pass to Sun An artist’s concept showing Parker Solar Probe. Credits: NASA/APL Operations teams have confirmed NASA’s mission to “touch” the Sun survived its record-breaking closest approach to the solar surface on Dec. 24, 2024. Breaking its previous record by flying just 3.8 million miles above the surface of the Sun, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe hurtled through the solar atmosphere at a blazing 430,000 miles per hour — faster than any human-made object has ever moved. A beacon tone…

NASA Finds ‘Sideways’ Black Hole Using Legacy Data, New Techniques

December 18, 2024 NeRD

4 Min Read NASA Finds ‘Sideways’ Black Hole Using Legacy Data, New Techniques Image showing the structure of galaxy NGC 5084, with data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory overlaid on a visible-light image of the galaxy. Chandra’s data, shown in purple, revealed four plumes of hot gas emanating from a supermassive black hole rotating “tipped over” at the galaxy’s core. Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC, A. S. Borlaff, P. Marcum et al.; Optical full image: M. Pugh, B. Diaz; Image Processing: NASA/USRA/L. Proudfit NASA researchers have discovered a perplexing case of a black hole that appears to…

Station Science Top News: Dec. 13, 2024

December 16, 2024 NeRD

Benchmarks for solidifying metal alloys Researchers report benchmark data for modeling the growth of specific types of microstructures that form during solidification of metal alloys under different conditions. These microstructures affect the properties of materials and products such as refrigeration devices and solar cells. The ESA (European Space Agency) Columnar-to-Equiaxed Transition in Solidification Processing (CETSOL) investigation studied the processes of metal alloy solidification and the crystal patterns that form as liquids transition to solids. Results could improve ground-based development of lightweight, high-performance structural materials for space and ground applications. Microgravity…

NASA’s Webb Finds Planet-Forming Disks Lived Longer in Early Universe

December 16, 2024 NeRD

NASA DAVINCI Mission’s Many ‘Firsts’ to Unlock Venus’ Hidden Secrets

December 16, 2024 NeRD

5 Min Read NASA DAVINCI Mission’s Many ‘Firsts’ to Unlock Venus’ Hidden Secrets The surface of Venus is an inferno with temperatures hot enough to melt lead. This image is a composite of data from NASA’s Magellan spacecraft and Pioneer Venus Orbiter. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s DAVINCI — Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging — mission embodies the spirit of innovation and exploration that its namesake, Leonardo da Vinci, was famous for. Scheduled to launch in the early 2030s, DAVINCI will explore Venus with both a spacecraft…

Found: First Actively Forming Galaxy as Lightweight as Young Milky Way

December 11, 2024 NeRD

NASA Accelerates Space Exploration, Earth Science for All in 2024

December 6, 2024 NeRD

With a look back at 2024, NASA is celebrating its many innovative and inspiring accomplishments this year including for the first time, landing new science and technology on the Moon with an American company, pushing the boundaries of exploration by launching a new mission to study Jupiter’s icy moon Europa; maintaining 24 years of continuous human exploration off the Earth aboard the International Space Station, and unveiling the first look at its supersonic quiet aircraft for the benefit of humanity. The agency also shared the wonder of a total eclipse…