Topic: Pulsar

NASA reports International Space Station may have detected signs of Dark Matter

April 16, 2013 |

Written by Dr. Tony Phillips
Science at NASA

Washington, D.C. – In science fiction, finding antimatter on board your spaceship is not good news. Usually, it means you’re moments away from an explosion.

In real life, though, finding antimatter could lead to a Nobel Prize.

On April 3rd, researchers led by Nobel Laureate Samuel Ting of MIT announced that the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a particle detector operating onboard the International Space Station since 2011, has counted more than 400,000 positrons, the antimatter equivalent of electrons.  There’s no danger of an explosion, but the discovery is sending shock waves through the scientific community.

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NASA to study Neutron stars for groundbreaking Space Navigation Technology

April 8, 2013 |

Written by Lori Keesey
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Greenbelt, MD – Neutron stars have been called the zombies of the cosmos. They shine even though they’re technically dead, occasionally feeding on neighboring stars if they venture too close.

Interestingly, these unusual objects, born when a massive star extinguishes its fuel and collapses under its own gravity, also may help future space travelers navigate to Mars and other distant destinations.

This artist’s rendition shows the NICER/SEXTANT payload that NASA recently selected as its next Explorer Mission of Opportunity. The 56-telescope payload will fly on the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA)

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Herschel Space Telescope captures image of dying star’s stellar explosion

November 18, 2012 |

Written by Whitney Clavin
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Pasadena, CA – The aftershock of a stellar explosion rippling through space is captured in this new view of the supernova remnant called W44. The image combines longer-wavelength infrared and X-ray light captured by the European Space Agency’s Herschel and XMM-Newton space observatories.

NASA also plays an important role in the Herschel mission, with the U.S project office based at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA.

Supernova remnant W44 is the focus of this new image created by combining data from ESA’s Herschel and XMM-Newton space observatories. W44 is the vast purple sphere that dominates the left hand side of this image, and measures about 100 light-years across. (Image credits: Herschel: Quang Nguyen Luong & F. Motte, HOBYS Key Program consortium, Herschel SPIRE/PACS/ESA consortia. XMM-Newton: ESA/XMM-Newton)

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NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope sees Ancient Stars in the Constellation Scorpius

September 10, 2012 |

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Greenbelt, MD – This sparkling picture taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the center of globular cluster M 4. The power of Hubble has resolved the cluster into a multitude of glowing orbs, each a colossal nuclear furnace.

M 4 is relatively close to us, lying 7200 light-years distant, making it a prime object for study. It contains several tens of thousands stars and is noteworthy in being home to many white dwarfs — the cores of ancient, dying stars whose outer layers have drifted away into space.

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope took this image of the center of globular cluster M 4 near the star Antares in the Constellation Scorpius. (Credit: ESA/NASA)

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