Tag: SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe and Ices Explorer)

What is Dark Energy? Inside our accelerating, expanding Universe

NeRD

11 min read What is Dark Energy? Inside our accelerating, expanding Universe Some 13.8 billion years ago, the universe began with a rapid expansion we call the big bang. After this initial expansion, which lasted a fraction of a second, gravity started to slow the universe down. But the cosmos wouldn’t stay this way. Nine billion years after the universe began, its expansion started to speed up, driven by an unknown force that scientists have named dark energy. But what exactly is dark energy? The short answer is: We don’t…

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Meet the Infrared Telescopes That Paved the Way for NASA’s Webb

NeRD

Scientists have been studying the universe with infrared space telescopes for 40 years, including these NASA missions, from left: the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS), launched in 1983; the Spitzer Space Telescope, launched in 2003; and the James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021. NASA/JPL-Caltech The Webb telescope has opened a new window onto the universe, but it builds on missions going back 40 years, including Spitzer and the Infrared Astronomical Satellite. On Dec. 25, NASA will celebrate the two-year launch anniversary of the James Webb Space Telescope – the largest…

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Construction on NASA Mission to Map 450 Million Galaxies Is Under Way

NeRD

6 min read Construction on NASA Mission to Map 450 Million Galaxies Is Under Way Sara Susca, deputy payload manager and payload systems engineer for NASA’s SPHEREx mission, looks up at one of the spacecraft’s photon shields. These concentric cones protect the telescope from light and heat from the Sun and the Earth, which can overwhelm the telescope’s detectors. NASA/JPL-Caltech SHPEREx Photon Shield Fabrication at Applied Aerospace Structures Corp. in Stockton CA Requester: Kaitlyn Soares Photographer: Gregory M. Waigand Date: 2023-07-12 Photolab order: 107469-11.02.03 AACS Key elements are coming together…

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