Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site
JAMES WEBB Telescope Reveals EARLY UNIVERSE Secrets!
-
Similar Topics
-
By Space Force
Personnel at the Air Force Accessions Center demonstrated their ability to adapt quickly to evolving accession requirements, resulting in dozens of highly qualified cadets being notified of a pilot career field selection.
View the full article
-
By NASA
Illustration of the main asteroid belt, orbiting the Sun between Mars and JupiterNASA NASA’s powerful James Webb Space Telescope includes asteroids on its list of objects studied and secrets revealed.
A team led by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge repurposed Webb’s observations of a distant star to reveal a population of small asteroids — smaller than astronomers had ever detected orbiting the Sun in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
The 138 new asteroids range from the size of a bus to the size of a stadium — a size range in the main belt that has not been observable with ground-based telescopes. Knowing how many main belt asteroids are in different size ranges can tell us something about how asteroids have been changed over time by collisions. That process is related to how some of them have escaped the main belt over the solar system’s history, and even how meteorites end up on Earth.
“We now understand more about how small objects in the asteroid belt are formed and how many there could be,” said Tom Greene, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and co-author on the paper presenting the results. “Asteroids this size likely formed from collisions between larger ones in the main belt and are likely to drift towards the vicinity of Earth and the Sun.”
Insights from this research could inform the work of the Asteroid Threat Assessment Project at Ames. ATAP works across disciplines to support NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office by studying what would happen in the case of an Earth impact and modeling the associated risks.
“It’s exciting that Webb’s capabilities can be used to glean insights into asteroids,” said Jessie Dotson, an astrophysicist at Ames and member of ATAP. “Understanding the sizes, numbers, and evolutionary history of smaller main belt asteroids provides important background about the near-Earth asteroids we study for planetary defense.”
Illustration of the James Webb Space TelescopeNASA The team that made the asteroid detections, led by research scientist Artem Burdanov and professor of planetary science Julien de Wit, both of MIT, developed a method to analyze existing Webb images for the presence of asteroids that may have been inadvertently “caught on film” as they passed in front of the telescope. Using the new image processing technique, they studied more than 10,000 images of the star TRAPPIST-1, originally taken to search for atmospheres around planets orbiting the star, in the search for life beyond Earth.
Asteroids shine more brightly in infrared light, the wavelength Webb is tuned to detect, than in visible light, helping reveal the population of main belt asteroids that had gone unnoticed until now. NASA will also take advantage of that infrared glow with an upcoming mission, the Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor. NEO Surveyor is the first space telescope specifically designed to hunt for near-Earth asteroids and comets that may be potential hazards to Earth.
The paper presenting this research, “Detections of decameter main-belt asteroids with JWST,” was published Dec. 9 in Nature.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
For news media:
Members of the news media interested in covering this topic should reach out to the NASA Ames newsroom.
View the full article
-
By NASA
ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, P. Zeidler This new image of star cluster NGC 602, released on Dec. 17, 2024, combines data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory with a previously released image from the agency’s James Webb Space Telescope. Webb data provide the ring-like outline of the “wreath,” while X-rays from Chandra (red) show young, massive stars that are illuminating the wreath, sending high-energy light into interstellar space.
NGC 602 lies on the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud, which is one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way, about 200,000 light-years from Earth.
See another new, festive image: the “Christmas tree cluster.”
Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC; Infrared: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, P. Zeilder, E.Sabbi, A. Nota, M. Zamani; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare and K. Arcand
View the full article
-
By NASA
4 min read
NASA Open Science Reveals Sounds of Space
A composite image of the Crab Nebula features X-rays from Chandra (blue and white), optical data from Hubble (purple), and infrared data from Spitzer (pink). This image is one of several that can be experienced as a sonification through Chandra’s Universe of Sound project. X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/STScI; Infrared: NASA-JPL-Caltech NASA has a long history of translating astronomy data into beautiful images that are beloved by the public. Through its Chandra X-ray Observatory and Universe of Learning programs, NASA brings that principle into the world of audio in a project known as “A Universe of Sound.” The team has converted openly available data from Chandra, supplemented by open data from other observatories, into dozens of “sonifications,” with more on the way.
Following the open science principle of accessibility, “A Universe of Sound” helps members of the public who are blind or low vision experience NASA data in a new sensory way. Sighted users also enjoy listening to the sonifications.
“Open science is this way to not just have data archives that are accessible and incredibly rich, but also to enhance the data outputs themselves,” said Dr. Kimberly Arcand, the visualization scientist and emerging technology lead at Chandra and member of NASA’s Universe of Learning who heads up the sonification team. “I want everybody to have the same type of access to this data that I do as a scientist. Sonification is just one of those steps.”
Data sonification of the Milky Way galactic center, made using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope. While the Chandra telescope provides data in X-ray wavelengths for most of the sonifications, the team also took open data from other observatories to create a fuller picture of the universe. Types of data used to create some of the sonifications include visual and ultraviolet light from the Hubble Space Telescope, infrared and visual light from the James Webb Space Telescope, and infrared light from the now-retired Spitzer Space Telescope.
The sonification team, which includes astrophysicist Matt Russo, musician Andrew Santaguida (both of the SYSTEM Sounds project), consultant Christine Malec, and Dr. Arcand, assigned each wavelength of observation to a different musical instrument or synthesized sound to create a symphony of data. Making the separate layers publicly available was important to the team to help listeners understand the data better.
“It’s not just about accessibility. It’s also about reproducibility,” Arcand said. “We’re being very specific with providing all of the layers of sound, and then describing what those layers are doing to make it more transparent and obvious which steps were taken and what process of translation has occurred.”
For example, in a sonification of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A, modified piano sounds represent X-ray data from Chandra, strings and brass represent infrared data from Webb and Spitzer, and small cymbals represent stars located via visual light data from Hubble.
Data sonification of the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant, made using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, James Webb Space Telescope, and Hubble Space Telescope. The team brought together people of various backgrounds to make the project a success – scientists to obtain and interpret the data, audio engineers to mix the sonifications, and members of the blind and low vision community to direct the product into something that brought a greater understanding of the data.
“Another benefit to open science is it tends to open those pathways of collaboration,” Arcand said. “We invite lots of different community members into the process to make sure we’re creating something that adds value, that adds to the greater good, and that makes the investment in the data worthwhile.”
A documentary about the sonifications called “Listen to the Universe” is hosted on NASA+. Visitors can listen to all the team’s sonifications, including the separate layers from each wavelength of observation, on the Universe of Sound website.
By Lauren Leese
Web Content Strategist for the Office of the Chief Science Data Officer
Share
Details
Last Updated Dec 17, 2024 Related Terms
Chandra X-Ray Observatory Galaxies Open Science Stars Explore More
7 min read NASA’s Webb Finds Planet-Forming Disks Lived Longer in Early Universe
Article
2 days ago
2 min read Hubble Images a Grand Spiral
Article
5 days ago
6 min read Found: First Actively Forming Galaxy as Lightweight as Young Milky Way
Article
1 week ago
Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Missions
Humans in Space
Climate Change
Solar System
View the full article
-
By NASA
X-rays are radiated by matter hotter than one million Kelvin, and high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy can tell us about the composition of the matter and how fast and in what direction it is moving. Quantum calorimeters are opening this new window on the Universe. First promised four decades ago, the quantum-calorimeter era of X-ray astronomy has finally dawned.
Photo of the XRISM/Resolve quantum-calorimeter array in its storage container prior to integration into the instrument. The 6×6 array, 5 mm on a side, consists of independent detectors – each one a thermally isolated silicon thermistor with a HgTe absorber. The spectrometer consisting of this detector and other essential technologies separates astrophysical X-ray spectra into about 2400 resolution elements, which can be thought of as X-ray colors.NASA GSFC A quantum calorimeter is a device that makes precise measurements of energy quanta by measuring the temperature change that occurs when a quantum of energy is deposited in an absorber with low heat capacity. The absorber is attached to a thermometer that is somewhat decoupled from a heat sink so that the sensor can heat up and then cool back down again. To reduce thermodynamic noise and the heat capacity of the sensor, operation at temperatures less than 0.1 K is required.
The idea for thermal measurement of small amounts of energy occurred in several places in the world independently when scientists observed pulses in the readout of low-temperature thermometers and infrared detectors. They attributed these spurious signals to passing cosmic-ray particles, and considered optimizing detectors for sensitive measurement of the energy of particles and photons.
The idea to develop such sensors for X-ray astronomy was conceived at Goddard Space Flight Center in 1982 when X-ray astronomers were considering instruments to propose for NASA’s planned Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF). In a fateful conversation, infrared astronomer Harvey Moseley suggested thermal detection could offer substantial improvement over existing solid-state detectors. Using Goddard internal research and development funding, development advanced sufficiently to justify, just two years later, proposing a quantum-calorimeter X-ray Spectrometer (XRS) for inclusion on AXAF. Despite its technical immaturity at the time, the revolutionary potential of the XRS was acknowledged, and the proposal was accepted.
The AXAF design evolved over the subsequent years, however, and the XRS was eliminated from its complement of instruments. After discussions between NASA and the Japanese Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), a new XRS was included in the instrument suite of the Japanese Astro-E X-ray observatory. Astro-E launched in 2000 but did not reach orbit due to an anomaly in the first stage of the rocket. Astro-E2, a rebuild of Astro-E, was successfully placed in orbit in 2005 and renamed Suzaku, but the XRS instrument ceased operation before observations started due to loss of the liquid helium, an essential part of the detector cooling system, caused by a faulty storage system.
A redesigned mission, Astro-H, that included a quantum-calorimeter instrument with a redundant cooling system was successfully launched in 2016 and renamed Hitomi. Hitomi’s Soft X-ray Spectrometer (SXS) obtained high resolution spectra of the Perseus cluster of galaxies and a few other sources before a problem with the attitude control system caused the mission to be lost roughly one month after launch. Even so, Hitomi was the first orbiting observatory to obtain a scientific result using X-ray quantum calorimeters. The spectacular Perseus spectrum generated by the SXS motivated yet another attempt to implement a spaceborne quantum-calorimeter spectrometer.
The X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) was launched in September 2023, with the spectrometer aboard renamed Resolve to represent not only its function but also the resolve of the U.S./Japan collaboration to study the Universe through the window of this new capability. XRISM has been operating well in orbit for over a year.
Development of the Sensor Technology
Development of the sensor technology employed in Resolve began four decades ago. Note that an X-ray quantum-calorimeter spectrometer requires more than the sensor technology. Other technologies, such as the coolers that provide a
The sensors used from XRS through Resolve were all based on silicon-thermistor thermometers and mercury telluride (HgTe) X-ray absorbers. They used arrays consisting of 32 to 36 pixels, each of which was an independent quantum calorimeter. Between Astro-E and Astro-E2, a new method of making the thermistor was developed that significantly reduced its low-frequency noise. Other fabrication advances made it possible to make reproducible connections between absorbers and thermistors and to fit each thermistor and its thermal isolation under its X-ray absorber, making square arrays feasible.
Through a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract executed after the Astro-E2 mission, EPIR Technologies Inc. reduced the specific heat of the HgTe absorbers. Additional improvements made to the cooler of the detector heat sink allowed operation at a lower temperature, which further reduced the specific heat. Together, these changes enabled the pixel width to be increased from 0.64 mm to 0.83 mm while still achieving a lower heat capacity, and thus improving the energy resolution. From Astro-E through Astro-H, the energy resolution for X-rays of energy around 6000 eV improved from 11 eV, to 5.5 eV, to 4 eV. No changes to the array design were made between Astro-H and XRISM.
Resolve detector scientist Caroline Kilbourne installing the flight Resolve quantum-calorimeter array into the assembly that provides its electrical, thermal, and mechanical interfaces.NASA GSFC Over the same period, other approaches to quantum-calorimeter arrays optimized for the needs of future missions were developed. The use of superconducting transition-edge sensors (TES) instead of silicon (Si) thermistors led to improved energy resolution, more pixels per array, and multiplexing (a technique that allows multiple signals to be carried on a single wire). Quantum-calorimeter arrays with thousands of pixels are now standard, such as in the NASA contribution to the future European New Advanced Telescope for High-ENergy Astrophysics (newAthena) mission. And quantum calorimeters using paramagnetic thermometers — which unlike TES and Si thermistors require no dissipation of heat in the thermometer for it to be read out — combined with high-density wiring are a promising route for realizing even larger arrays. (See Astrophysics Technology Highlight on these latest developments.)
The Resolve instrument aboard XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) captured data from the center of galaxy NGC 4151, where a supermassive black hole is slowly consuming material from the surrounding accretion disk. The resulting spectrum reveals the presence of iron in the peak around 6.5 keV and the dips around 7 keV, light thousands of times more energetic that what our eyes can see. Background: An image of NGC 4151 constructed from a combination of X-ray, optical, and radio light.Spectrum: JAXA/NASA/XRISM Resolve. Background: X-rays, NASA/CXC/CfA/J.Wang et al.; optical, Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes, La Palma/Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope; radio, NSF/NRAO/VLA Results from Resolve
So, what is Resolve revealing about the Universe? Through spectroscopy alone, Resolve allows us to construct images of complex environments where collections of gas and dust with various attributes exist, emitting and absorbing X-rays at energies characteristic of their various compositions, velocities, and temperatures. For example, in the middle of the galaxy known as NCG 4151 (see figure above), matter spiraling into the central massive black hole forms a circular structure that is flat near the black hole, more donut-shaped further out, and, according to the Resolve data, a bit lumpy. Matter near the black hole is heated up to X-ray-emitting temperatures and irradiates the matter in the circular structure. The Resolve spectrum has a bright narrow emission line (peak) from neutral iron atoms that must be coming from colder matter in the circular structure, because hotter material would be ionized, and would have a different emission signature. Nonetheless, the shape of the iron line needs three components to describe it, each coming from a different lump in the circular structure. The presence of absorption lines (dips) in the spectrum provides further detail about the structure of the infalling matter.
A second example is the detection of X-ray emission by Resolve from the debris of stars that have exploded, such as N132D (see figure below), that will improve our understanding of the explosion mechanism and how the elements produced in stars get distributed, and allow us to infer the type of star each was before ending in a supernova. Elements are identified by their characteristic emission lines, and shifts of those lines via the Doppler effect tell us how fast the material is moving.
XRISM’s Resolve instrument captured data from supernova remnant N132D in the Large Magellanic Cloud to create the most detailed X-ray spectrum of the object ever made. The spectrum reveals peaks associated with silicon, sulfur, argon, calcium, and iron. Inset at right is an image of N132D captured by XRISM’s Xtend instrument.JAXA/NASA/XRISM Resolve and Xtend These results are just the beginning. The rich Resolve data sets are identifying complex velocity structures, rare elements, and multiple temperature components in a diverse ensemble of cosmic objects. Welcome to the quantum calorimeter era! Stay tuned for more revelations!
Project Leads: Dr. Caroline Kilbourne, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), for silicon-thermistor quantum calorimeter development from Astro-E2 through XRISM and early TES development. Foundational and other essential leadership provided by Dr. Harvey Moseley, Dr. John Mather, Dr. Richard Kelley, Dr. Andrew Szymkowiak, Mr. Brent Mott, Dr. F. Scott Porter, Ms. Christine Jhabvala, Dr. James Chervenak (GSFC at the time of the work) and Dr. Dan McCammon (U. Wisconsin).
Sponsoring Organizations and Programs: The NASA Headquarters Astrophysics Division sponsored the projects, missions, and other efforts that culminated in the development of the Resolve instrument.
Explore More
7 min read NASA’s Webb Finds Planet-Forming Disks Lived Longer in Early Universe
Article 1 day ago 5 min read NASA DAVINCI Mission’s Many ‘Firsts’ to Unlock Venus’ Hidden Secrets
NASA’s DAVINCI probe will be first in the 21st century to brave Venus’ atmosphere as…
Article 1 day ago 2 min read Hubble Images a Grand Spiral
Article 4 days ago View the full article
-
-
Check out these Videos
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.