Topic: Telescope

NASA’s Swift satellite observes Comet ISON

April 3, 2013 |

Written by Francis Reddy
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Greenbelt, MD – Astronomers from the University of Maryland at College Park (UMCP) and Lowell Observatory have used NASA’s Swift satellite to check out comet C/2012 S1 (ISON), which may become one of the most dazzling in decades when it rounds the sun later this year.

Using images acquired over the last two months from Swift’s Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT), the team has made initial estimates of the comet’s water and dust production and used them to infer the size of its icy nucleus.

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NASA says Comet PANSTARRS to make an appearance in March

March 10, 2013 |

Written by DC Agle
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Pasadena, CA – Comets visible to the naked eye are a rare delicacy in the celestial smorgasbord of objects in the nighttime sky. Scientists estimate that the opportunity to see one of these icy dirtballs advertising their cosmic presence so brilliantly they can be seen without the aid of a telescope or binoculars happens only once every five to 10 years.

That said, there may be two naked-eye comets available for your viewing pleasure this year.

For those in search of comet L4 PANSTARRS, look to the west after sunset in early and mid-March. This graphic shows the comet’s expected positions in the sky. (Image credit: NASA)

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NASA reports Herschel Space Observatory to end Mission

March 9, 2013 |

Written by Whitney Clavin
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Pasadena, CA – The Herschel space observatory is expected to exhaust its supply of liquid helium coolant in the coming weeks, after spending more than three years studying the cool universe and surpassing the expectations of the international team of scientists involved.

Herschel is a European Space Agency (ESA) mission with important participation from NASA. The telescope was launched on May 14th, 2009. With a main mirror 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) across, it is the largest, most powerful infrared telescope ever flown in space.

The Herschel infrared observatory has an unprecedented view on the cold universe, bridging the gap between what can be observed from the ground and earlier infrared space missions, and bringing to light previously unseen star-forming regions and galaxies enshrouded in dust. (Image credit: ESA – C. Carreau)

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NASA says Comet to flyby close to Mars in October 2014

March 6, 2013 |

Written by DC Agle
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Pasadena, CA – Comet 2013 A1 (Siding Spring) will make a very close approach to Mars in October 2014.

The latest trajectory of comet 2013 A1 (Siding Spring) generated by the Near-Earth Object Program Office at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, indicates the comet will pass within 186,000 miles (300,000 kilometers) of Mars and there is a strong possibility that it might pass much closer.

This computer graphic depicts the orbit of comet 2013 A1 (Siding Spring) through the inner solar system. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

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NASA reports Comet from the Oort Cloud to pass by Earth in March

February 7, 2013 |

Written by Dr. Tony Phillips
Science at NASA

Washington, D.C. – Far beyond the orbits of Neptune and Pluto, where the sun is a pinprick of light not much brighter than other stars, a vast swarm of icy bodies circles the solar system. Astronomers call it the “Oort Cloud,” and it is the source of some of history’s finest comets.

One of them could be heading our way now.

Comet Pan-STARRS was discovered by the Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System atop the Haleakala volcano in Hawaii. Astronomers use the massive 1.8 meter telescope to scan the heavens for Earth-approaching objects, both asteroids and comets, that might pose a danger to our planet. In June 2011 a comet appeared, and it was named “Pan-STARRS” after  the acronym for the telescope.

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NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) captures dynamic image of Orion Nebula

February 6, 2013 |

Written by Whitney Clavin
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Pasadena, CA – The tangle of clouds and stars that lie in Orion’s sword is showcased in a new, expansive view from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE.

Orion, the famous hunter, is visible in evening skies throughout the world from about December through April. The constellation appears tranquil and still to the naked eye, but lying in its sword, at what appears to be a slightly fuzzy star, is a turbulent cauldron of stellar birth.

The Orion nebula is featured in this sweeping image from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. The constellation of Orion is prominent in the evening sky throughout the world from about December through April of each year. The nebula (also catalogued as Messier 42) is located in the sword of Orion, hanging from his famous belt of three stars. The star cluster embedded in the nebula is visible to the unaided human eye as a single star, with some fuzziness apparent to the most keen-eyed observers. (Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA)

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NASA Scientists have ruled out Asteroid Apophis Earth Impact in 2036

January 11, 2013 |

Written by DC Agle
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Pasadena, CA – NASA scientists at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, effectively have ruled out the possibility the asteroid Apophis will impact Earth during a close flyby in 2036.

The scientists used updated information obtained by NASA-supported telescopes in 2011 and 2012, as well as new data from the time leading up to Apophis’ distant Earth flyby.

Asteroid Apophis was discovered on June 19th, 2004. (Image credit: UH/IA)

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NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) telescope searches for Gigantic Galaxy Clusters

December 8, 2012 |

Written by Whitney Clavin
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Pasadena, CA – Our solar system, with its colorful collection of planets, asteroids and comets, is a fleck in the grander cosmos. Hundreds of billions of solar systems are thought to reside in our Milky Way galaxy, which is itself just a drop in a sea of galaxies.

The rarest and largest of galaxy groupings, called galaxy clusters, can be the hardest to find. That’s where NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) can help. The mission’s all-sky infrared maps have revealed one distant galaxy cluster and are expected to uncover thousands more.

A galaxy cluster 7.7 billion light-years away has been discovered using infrared data from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/WIYN/Subaru)

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NASA’s Deep Space Network Antenna captures images of near Earth Asteroid 2007 PA8

November 6, 2012 |

Written by DC Agle
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Pasadena, CA – Scientists working with NASA’s 230-foot-wide (70-meter) Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, CA, have obtained several radar images depicting near-Earth asteroid 2007 PA8. The images were generated from data collected at Goldstone on October 28th, 29th and 30th, 2012. The asteroid’s distance from Earth on October 28th was 6.5 million miles (10 million kilometers).

The asteroid’s distance to Earth was 5.6 million miles (9 million kilometers) on October 30th. The perspective in the images is analogous to seeing the asteroid from above its north pole. Each of the three images is shown at the same scale.

This composite image of asteroid 2007 PA8 was obtained using data taken by NASA’s 230-foot-wide (70-meter) Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, Calif. The composite incorporates images generated from data collected at Goldstone on October 28th, 29th, and 30th, 2012. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Gemini)

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NASA’s Swift Satellite detects high energy X-Rays which leads to discovery of New Black Hole in our Milky Galaxy

October 6, 2012 |

Written by Francis Reddy
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Greenbelt, MD – NASA’s Swift satellite recently detected a rising tide of high-energy X-rays from a source toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The outburst, produced by a rare X-ray nova, announced the presence of a previously unknown stellar-mass black hole.

“Bright X-ray novae are so rare that they’re essentially once-a-mission events and this is the first one Swift has seen,” said Neil Gehrels, the mission’s principal investigator, at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. “This is really something we’ve been waiting for.”

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