Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site
Ball of light turns into black sphere over Seattle
-
Similar Topics
-
By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA’s X-59 lights up the night sky with its unique Mach diamonds, also known as shock diamonds, during maximum afterburner testing at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California. The test demonstrated the engine’s ability to generate the thrust required for supersonic flight, advancing NASA’s Quesst mission.Credit: Lockheed Martin/Gary Tice NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft took another successful step toward flight with the conclusion of a series of engine performance tests.
In preparation for the X-59’s planned first flight this year, NASA and Lockheed Martin successfully completed the aircraft’s engine run tests in January. The engine, a modified F414-GE-100 that powers the aircraft’s flight and integrated subsystems, performed to expectations during three increasingly complicated tests that ran from October through January at contractor Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California.
“We have successfully progressed through our engine ground tests as we planned,” said Raymond Castner, X-59 propulsion lead at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. “We had no major showstoppers. We were getting smooth and steady airflow as predicted from wind tunnel testing. We didn’t have any structural or excessive vibration issues. And parts of the engine and aircraft that needed cooling were getting it.”
The tests began with seeing how the aircraft’s hydraulics, electrical, and environmental control systems performed when the engine was powered up but idling. The team then performed throttle checks, bringing the aircraft up to full power and firing its afterburner – an engine component that generates additional thrust – to maximum.
In preparation for the X-59’s planned first flight this year, NASA and Lockheed Martin successfully completed the aircraft’s engine run tests in January. Testing included electrical, hydraulics, and environmental control systems.
Credit: NASA/Lillianne Hammel A third test, throttle snaps, involved moving the throttle swiftly back and forth to validate that the engine responds instantly. The engine produces as much as 22,000 pounds of thrust to achieve a desired cruising speed of Mach 1.4 (925 miles per hour) at an altitude of approximately 55,000 feet.
The X-59’s engine, similar to those aboard the U.S. Navy’s F-18 Super Hornet, is mounted on top of the aircraft to reduce the level of noise reaching the ground. Many features of the X-59, including its 38-foot-long nose, are designed to lower the noise of a sonic boom to that of a mere “thump,” similar to the sound of a car door slamming nearby.
Next steps before first flight will include evaluating the X-59 for potential electromagnetic interference effects, as well as “aluminum bird” testing, during which data will be fed to the aircraft under both normal and failure conditions. A series of taxi tests and other preparations will also take place before the first flight.
The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which seeks to solve one of the major barriers to commercial supersonic flight over land by making sonic booms quieter.
Explore More
3 min read NASA Supports GoAERO University Awardees for Emergency Aircraft Prototyping
Article 6 hours ago 2 min read Wind Over Its Wing: NASA’s X-66 Model Tests Airflow
Article 6 days ago 9 min read Combustor Facilities
Article 1 week ago
View the full article
-
By NASA
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured these drifting noctilucent, or twilight, clouds in a 16-minute recording on Jan. 17. (This looping clip has been speeded up about 480 times.) The white plumes falling out of the clouds are carbon dioxide ice that would evaporate closer to the Martian surface.NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/SSI While the Martian clouds may look like the kind seen in Earth’s skies, they include frozen carbon dioxide, or dry ice.
Red-and-green-tinted clouds drift through the Martian sky in a new set of images captured by NASA’s Curiosity rover using its Mastcam — its main set of “eyes.” Taken over 16 minutes on Jan. 17 (the 4,426th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity’s mission), the images show the latest observations of what are called noctilucent (Latin for “night shining”), or twilight clouds, tinged with color by scattering light from the setting Sun.
Sometimes these clouds even create a rainbow of colors, producing iridescent, or “mother-of-pearl” clouds. Too faint to be seen in daylight, they’re only visible when the clouds are especially high and evening has fallen.
Martian clouds are made of either water ice or, at higher altitudes and lower temperatures, carbon dioxide ice. (Mars’ atmosphere is more than 95% carbon dioxide.) The latter are the only kind of clouds observed at Mars producing iridescence, and they can be seen near the top of the new images at an altitude of around 37 to 50 miles (60 to 80 kilometers). They’re also visible as white plumes falling through the atmosphere, traveling as low as 31 miles (50 kilometers) above the surface before evaporating because of rising temperatures. Appearing briefly at the bottom of the images are water-ice clouds traveling in the opposite direction roughly 31 miles (50 kilometers) above the rover.
Dawn of Twilight Clouds
Twilight clouds were first seen on Mars by NASA’s Pathfinder mission in 1997; Curiosity didn’t spot them until 2019, when it acquired its first-ever images of iridescence in the clouds. This is the fourth Mars year the rover has observed the phenomenon, which occurs during early fall in the southern hemisphere.
Mark Lemmon, an atmospheric scientist with the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, led a paper summarizing Curiosity’s first two seasons of twilight cloud observations, which published late last year in Geophysical Research Letters. “I’ll always remember the first time I saw those iridescent clouds and was sure at first it was some color artifact,” he said. “Now it’s become so predictable that we can plan our shots in advance; the clouds show up at exactly the same time of year.”
Each sighting is an opportunity to learn more about the particle size and growth rate in Martian clouds. That, in turn, provides more information about the planet’s atmosphere.
Cloud Mystery
One big mystery is why twilight clouds made of carbon dioxide ice haven’t been spotted in other locations on Mars. Curiosity, which landed in 2012, is on Mount Sharp in Gale Crater, just south of the Martian equator. Pathfinder landed in Ares Vallis, north of the equator. NASA’s Perseverance rover, located in the northern hemisphere’s Jezero Crater, hasn’t seen any carbon dioxide ice twilight clouds since its 2021 landing. Lemmon and others suspect that certain regions of Mars may be predisposed to forming them.
A possible source of the clouds could be gravity waves, he said, which can cool the atmosphere: “Carbon dioxide was not expected to be condensing into ice here, so something is cooling it to the point that it could happen. But Martian gravity waves are not fully understood and we’re not entirely sure what is causing twilight clouds to form in one place but not another.”
Mastcam’s Partial View
The new twilight clouds appear framed in a partially open circle. That’s because they were taken using one of Mastcam’s two color cameras: the left 34 mm focal length Mastcam, which has a filter wheel that is stuck between positions. Curiosity’s team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California remains able to use both this camera and the higher-resolution right 100 mm focal length camera for color imaging.
The rover recently wrapped an investigation of a place called Gediz Vallis channel and is on its way to a new location that includes boxwork — fractures formed by groundwater that look like giant spiderwebs when viewed from space.
More recently, Curiosity visited an impact crater nicknamed “Rustic Canyon,” capturing it in images and studying the composition of rocks around it. The crater, 67 feet (20 meters) in diameter, is shallow and has lost much of its rim to erosion, indicating that it likely formed many millions of years ago. One reason Curiosity’s science team studies craters is because the cratering process can unearth long-buried materials that may have better preserved organic molecules than rocks exposed to radiation at the surface. These molecules provide a window into the ancient Martian environment and how it could have supported microbial life billions of years ago, if any ever formed on the Red Planet.
More About Curiosity
Curiosity was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the mission on behalf of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates Mastcam.
For more about Curiosity, visit:
science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity
News Media Contacts
Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-2433
andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
2025-017
Share
Details
Last Updated Feb 11, 2025 Related Terms
Curiosity (Rover) Jet Propulsion Laboratory Mars Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) Explore More
5 min read NASA-Led Study Pinpoints Areas Sinking, Rising Along California Coast
Article 1 day ago 5 min read Euclid Discovers Einstein Ring in Our Cosmic Backyard
Article 1 day ago 3 min read NASA Explores Earth Science with New Navigational System
Article 4 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics
Missions
Humans in Space
Climate Change
Solar System
View the full article
-
By NASA
u0022The really interesting thing to me is how time theoretically acts strangely around black holes. According to Albert Einstein’s theory of gravity, black holes change the flow of time,u0022 said Jeremy Schnittman, Goddard research astrophysicist. u0022So much of how we experience the world is based on time, time marching steadily forward. Anything that changes that is a fascinating take on reality.u0022u003cstrongu003eu003cemu003eCredits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / Rebecca Rothu003c/emu003eu003c/strongu003e Name: Jeremy Schnittman
Formal Job Classification: Research astrophysicist
Organization: Gravitational Astrophysics Laboratory, Astrophysics Division (Code 663)
What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? How do you help support Goddard’s mission?
I try to understand the formation and properties of black holes. I also help develop ideas for new missions to study black holes.
What drew you to astrophysics?
I always liked science and math. The great thing about astrophysics is that it involves a little bit of everything – math, computer programming, physics, chemistry and even philosophy to understand the big picture, the enormity of space.
I have a B.A. in physics from Harvard, and a Ph.D. in physics from MIT. I came to Goddard in 2010 after two post-doctoral fellowships.
Explore how the extreme gravity of two orbiting supermassive black holes distorts our view. In this visualization, disks of bright, hot, churning gas encircle both black holes, shown in red and blue to better track the light source. The red disk orbits the larger black hole, which weighs 200 million times the mass of our Sun, while its smaller blue companion weighs half as much. Zooming into each black hole reveals multiple, increasingly warped images of its partner. Watch to learn more.
Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Jeremy Schnittman and Brian P. Powell
Download high-resolution video and images from NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio As an astrophysicist, what do you think about?
I think of myself as a computational physicist as opposed to an experimental or observational physicist. I write many computer programs to do computer simulations of black holes. I also do a lot of theoretical physics, which is pencil and paper work. I think a lot about equations and math to understand black holes.
What is most philosophical about black holes to me is not so much what people most often think about, that their gravity is so strong that even light cannot escape. The really interesting thing to me is how time theoretically acts strangely around black holes. According to Albert Einstein’s theory of gravity, black holes change the flow of time. If you could get close enough to a black hole, theoretically you could go back and forth in time. All our experiments and observations seem to indicate that is how black holes might behave.
So much of how we experience the world is based on time, time marching steadily forward. Anything that changes that is a fascinating take on reality.
Related Link: Gravity Assist: Black Hole Mysteries, with Jeremy Schnittman What do you tell the people you mentor?
I mentor undergraduate, graduate, and post graduate students in astrophysics. Since we are working remotely, I have students from all over the country. I help them with their research projects which mostly relate to black holes in some way. I also offer career advice and help them with their work-life balance. When possible, family comes first.
There are more people coming out of graduate school in astrophysics than there are jobs, so there are going to be many people who will not work for NASA or as a professor. Fortunately, there are a lot of other fascinating, related jobs, and I help guide the students there.
What do you do for fun?
I have a woodshop in our basement where I build furniture, dollhouses, toys, and other items for gifts. As a theoretical physicist, I don’t get to work in a lab. So it is nice to have some hands on experience.
I do a lot of hiking and cycling to exercise. I also enjoy spending time with my family.
Who is your favorite author?
Andy Weir is probably my favorite sci-fi author. I also love the epic naval historical fiction by Patrick O’Brian.
Who inspires you?
My childhood hero, who is still my scientific hero, is Albert Einstein. The more I work in astrophysics, the more he impresses me. Every single one of his predictions that we have been able to test has proven true. It may be a while, but someday I hope we prove his theories about time travel.
Also, I admire Kip Thorne, an American physicist from Cal Tech and recent Nobel laureate, who is “the man” when it comes to black holes. He is also a really nice, good guy, a real mensch. Very humble and down-to-earth. He is always extremely patient, kind and encouraging especially to the younger scientists. He is a good role model as I transition from junior to more senior status.
What is your one big dream?
I make a lot of predictions, so it would be exciting if one of my theories was proven correct. Hopefully someday.
By Elizabeth M. Jarrell
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Conversations with Goddard Conversations With Goddard is a collection of question and answer profiles highlighting the breadth and depth of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s talented and diverse workforce. The Conversations have been published twice a month on average since May 2011. Read past editions on Goddard’s “Our People” webpage.
Share
Details
Last Updated Feb 10, 2025 Related Terms
Goddard Space Flight Center Astrophysics Galaxies, Stars, & Black Holes Research People of Goddard Explore More
8 min read John Moisan Studies the Ocean Through the ‘Eyes’ of AI
Article 14 mins ago 5 min read Mark SubbaRao Brings Data to Life Through Art
Article 14 mins ago 5 min read NASA Scientists & Historian Named AAAS 2022 Fellows
Article 14 mins ago View the full article
-
By NASA
5 min read
February’s Night Sky Notes: How Can You Help Curb Light Pollution?
Light pollution has long troubled astronomers, who generally shy away from deep sky observing under full Moon skies. The natural light from a bright Moon floods the sky and hides views of the Milky Way, dim galaxies and nebula, and shooting stars. In recent years, human-made light pollution has dramatically surpassed the interference of even a bright full Moon, and its effects are now noticeable to a great many people outside of the astronomical community. Harsh, bright white LED streetlights, while often more efficient and long-lasting, often create unexpected problems for communities replacing their old street lamps. Some notable concerns are increased glare and light trespass, less restful sleep, and disturbed nocturnal wildlife patterns. There is increasing awareness of just how much light is too much light at night. You don’t need to give in to despair over encroaching light pollution; you can join efforts to measure it, educate others, and even help stop or reduce the effects of light pollution in your community.
Before and after pictures of replacement lighting at the 6th Street Bridge over the Los Angeles River. The second picture shows improvements in some aspects of light pollution, as light is not directed to the sides and upwards from the upgraded fixtures, reducing skyglow. However, it also shows the use of brighter, whiter LEDs, which is not generally ideal, along with increased light bounce back from the road. City of Los Angeles Amateur astronomers and potential citizen scientists around the globe are invited to participate in the Globe at Night (GaN) program to measure light pollution. Measurements are taken by volunteers on a few scheduled days every month and submitted to their database to help create a comprehensive map of light pollution and its change over time. GaN volunteers can take and submit measurements using multiple methods ranging from low-tech naked-eye observations to high-tech sensors and smartphone apps.
Globe at Night citizen scientists can use the following methods to measure light pollution and submit their results:
Their own smartphone camera and dedicated app Manually measure light pollution using their own eyes and detailed charts of the constellations A dedicated light pollution measurement device called a Sky Quality Meter (SQM). The free GaN web app from any internet-connected device (which can also be used to submit their measurements from an SQM or printed-out star charts) Night Sky Network members joined a telecon with Connie Walker of Globe at Night in 2014 and had a lively discussion about the program’s history and how they can participate. The audio of the telecon, transcript, and links to additional resources can be found on their dedicated resource page.
Light pollution has been visible from space for a long time, but new LED lights are bright enough that they stand out from older street lights, even from orbit. The above photo was taken by astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti from the ISS cupola in 2015. The newly installed white LED lights in the center of the city of Milan are noticeably brighter than the lights in the surrounding neighborhoods. NASA/ESA DarkSky International has long been a champion in the fight against light pollution and a proponent of smart lighting design and policy. Their website (at darksky.org) provides many resources for amateur astronomers and other like-minded people to help communities understand the negative impacts of light pollution and how smart lighting policies can not only help bring the stars back to their night skies but make their streets safer by using smarter lighting with less glare. Communities and individuals find that their nighttime lighting choices can help save considerable sums of money when they decide to light their streets and homes “smarter, not brighter” with shielded, directional lighting, motion detectors, timers, and even choosing the proper “temperature” of new LED light replacements to avoid the harsh “pure white” glare that many new streetlamps possess. Their pages on community advocacy and on how to choose dark-sky-friendly lighting are extremely helpful and full of great information. There are even local chapters of the IDA in many communities made up of passionate advocates of dark skies.
DarkSky International has notably helped usher in “Dark Sky Places“, areas around the world that are protected from light pollution. “Dark Sky Parks“, in particular, provide visitors with incredible views of the Milky Way and are perfect places to spot the wonders of a meteor shower. These parks also perform a very important function, showing the public the wonders of a truly dark sky to many people who may have never before even seen a handful of stars in the sky, let alone the full, glorious spread of the Milky Way.
More research into the negative effects of light pollution on the health of humans and the environment is being conducted than ever before. Watching the nighttime light slowly increase in your neighborhood, combined with reading so much bad news, can indeed be disheartening! However, as awareness of light pollution and its negative effects increases, more people are becoming aware of the problem and want to be part of the solution. There is even an episode of PBS Kid’s SciGirls where the main characters help mitigate light pollution in their neighborhood!
Astronomy clubs are uniquely situated to help spread awareness of good lighting practices in their local communities in order to help mitigate light pollution. Take inspiration from Tucson, Arizona, and other dark sky-friendly communities that have adopted good lighting practices. Tucson even reduced its skyglow by 7% after its own citywide lighting conversion, proof that communities can bring the stars back with smart lighting choices.
Originally posted by Dave Prosper: November 2018
Last Updated by Kat Troche: January 2025
View the full article
-
By NASA
NASA/Michael DeMocker The full moon rises over the Superdome and the city of New Orleans, Louisiana on Monday evening, January 13, 2025.
New Orleans is home to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility where several pieces of hardware for the SLS (Space Launch system) are being built. For more than half a century, NASA Michoud has been “America’s Rocket Factory,” the nation’s premiere site for manufacturing and assembly of large-scale space structures and systems.
See more photos from NASA Michoud.
Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker
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.