Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site
Astronomers Find Possible Elusive Star Behind Supernova
-
Similar Topics
-
By NASA
Ambiguity.
That’s the word that comes to mind when documentary photographers start each day at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
PACE mission photographer Denny Henry and lead documentary photographer Desiree Stover pose for selfies in the clean room.Credits: NASA “You walk in and think one thing is happening,” said OCI’s lead documentary photographer Desiree Stover. “But in an instant things change – maybe goes wrong –- and you need to be ready to capture it.”
From build to testing to launch, one figure is always present in the background capturing the story of each Goddard mission – the documentary photographer.
In honor of #WorldPhotoDay, follow along as two of our documentarians share what it’s like to capture the story of Goddard’s latest mission build PACE.
PACE or Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem, is set to launch in early 2024. Its goal is to see ocean and atmosphere features in unparalleled detail. By measuring the intensity of the color that reflects from Earth’s ocean surface, PACE will capture fine details about tiny plant-like organisms and algae that live in the ocean, called phytoplankton, that are the basis of the marine food web and generate half of Earth’s oxygen.
Crafting the Story
For Stover and her partner Denny Henry, PACE’s lead mission photographer, the story starts with the smallest details.
“I think one of the first things I photographed was the outside of a circuit port box. It was literally an empty metal box,” said Henry, who started photographing PACE in 2020, right before the pandemic. “It might be small, but it’s part of a system that’s going to do big things.”
Mark Walter, David Kim, Melyane Ortiz-acosta, and Ariel Obaldo discuss plans for testing the PACE flight Solar Array Panels.Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Denny Henry A typical day for these photographers usually starts with a morning meeting, assignments and getting ready. By the end of the day, the original plan has likely been changed, multiple times.
“Some days we might shoot eight photos, other days it might be hundreds or more,” Stover said.
PACE, or Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem, is set to launch in early 2024. Its goal is to see ocean and atmosphere features in unparalleled detail.Credits: NASA Images captured during shoots are used for a variety of things, especially technical components of the mission. This includes documenting builds, spotting mistakes and testing.
Stover got her start at Goddard by photographing NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope before switching to capturing imagery of Goddard’s small instruments, including PACE’s Ocean Color Instrument, or OCI. This advanced sensor will enable continuous measurement of light throughout the ultraviolet to shortwave infrared spectrum to better understand Earth’s ocean and atmosphere.
She says she’s still in awe that her teammates trust her “eye.”
“One of the most fascinating things about working here is that we have a specific job,” she said. “And even though engineers can pick up a camera and take photos, they don’t. They know we’re the experts at it. They trust our eyes to tell and capture the story.”
Henry said one of the most memorable days he’s documented so far was watching the PACE team integrate the SPEXone instrument into the spacecraft.
“All the partners were there as I photographed. It was a big deal,” he said. “I captured every bolt all the way to the mounting. It’s important to get these details. Six months from now someone who wasn’t there might want to see what was done in what order.”
Henry said that capturing images is only part of the job. For every hour of shooting, there’s also an hour spent processing and working with partners to ensure things were documented correctly.
Playing Detective
While telling the story is important, Stover says that part of the job is speaking up, especially when you notice something wrong.
During one assignment documenting vibration testing, Stover noticed that OCI’s Earth shade looked different.
“We took the bagging off and could see tape peeling off the radiator panels, possibly loose wires in certain places,” she said. “When I saw this, I thought back to what it was like when we shot this the first time.”
Physical Science Technician Kristen Washington performs a contamination inspection of the OCI Flight Fold Flat Mirror optic.Credits: Desiree Stover, NASA Goddard It’s common for the photographers to shoot things twice to examine how things might change when in testing. When Stover saw the tape, she got to work ensuring her hunch was right.
She sent a series of images to the thermal team lead letting him know what she found. Plans were already underway to change the design.
The unexpected
Stover and Henry agree that documenting missions has come with some interesting experiences.
Both had to undergo fall protection harness training in the event they had to climb around one of Goddard’s cleanrooms, something that happened to Stover during one assignment.
“Once I was up in Building 29’s high bay. Like up at the very top in the crane rafters shooting. I never thought I was afraid of heights until that moment,” she said. “But I focused on the image and what task I was accomplishing and completed the assignment without issue.”
Henry said adjusting to Covid-19 required a lot of flexibility, especially with sudden changes.
“This is not a job you can do from home,” he said. “After a few months, we adapted.”
Radio Frequency testing of the PACE Earth Coverage Antenna in the Electromagnetic Anechoic Chamber at Goddard Space Flight Center.Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Denny Henry Henry said that many times mission teams will find that engineering drawings won’t match up with what was actually built. With the pandemic restrictions, PACE heavily relied on his images to note how things changed and why issues occurred.
As PACE heads toward big milestones in the next year, both Stover and Henry are excited to see their work come together, including the day of launch.
They both agreed that photographing the teams involved in each aspect of PACE’s build is especially rewarding as they help create mementos that go along with their mission’s story.
By: Sara Blumberg
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
View the full article
-
By NASA
Explore Hubble Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Hubble’s Partners in Science Universe Uncovered Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble Team Career Aspirations Hubble Astronauts News Hubble News Hubble News Archive Social Media Media Resources Multimedia Multimedia Images Videos Sonifications Podcasts e-Books Online Activities Lithographs Fact Sheets Posters Hubble on the NASA App Glossary More 35th Anniversary Online Activities Hubble captured this image of supernova SN 2022abvt (the pinkish-white dot at image center) about two months after it was discovered in 2022. ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. J. Foley (UC Santa Cruz)
Download this image
A supernova and its host galaxy are the subject of this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image. The galaxy in question is LEDA 132905 in the constellation Sculptor. Even at more than 400 million light-years away, LEDA 132905’s spiral structure is faintly visible, as are patches of bright blue stars.
The bright pinkish-white dot in the center of the image, between the bright center of the galaxy and its faint left edge, is a supernova named SN 2022abvt. Discovered in late 2022, Hubble observed SN 2022abvt about two months later. This image uses data from a study of Type Ia supernovae, which occur when the exposed core of a dead star ignites in a sudden, destructive burst of nuclear fusion. Researchers are interested in this type of supernova because they can use them to measure precise distances to other galaxies.
The universe is a big place, and supernova explosions are fleeting. How is it possible to be in the right place at the right time to catch a supernova when it happens? Today, robotic telescopes that continuously scan the night sky discover most supernovae. The Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS, spotted SN 2022abvt. As the name suggests, ATLAS tracks down the faint, fast-moving signals from asteroids close to Earth. In addition to searching out asteroids, ATLAS also keeps tabs on objects that brighten or fade suddenly, like supernovae, variable stars, and galactic centers powered by hungry black holes.
Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubble Explore More
The Death Throes of Stars
Homing in on Cosmic Explosions
Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli (claire.andreoli@nasa.gov)
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
Share
Details
Last Updated Feb 07, 2025 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Hubble Space Telescope Galaxies Goddard Space Flight Center Spiral Galaxies Stars Supernovae The Universe Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From Hubble
Hubble Space Telescope
Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.
Hubble’s Night Sky Challenge
Reshaping Our Cosmic View: Hubble Science Highlights
Hubble’s 35th Anniversary
View the full article
-
-
By NASA
Explore Hubble Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Hubble’s Partners in Science Universe Uncovered Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble Team Career Aspirations Hubble Astronauts News Hubble News Hubble News Archive Social Media Media Resources Multimedia Multimedia Images Videos Sonifications Podcasts e-Books Online Activities Lithographs Fact Sheets Posters Hubble on the NASA App Glossary More 35th Anniversary Online Activities 2 min read
Hubble Spots a Supernova
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a supernova in the constellation Gemini. ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. J. Foley (UC Santa Cruz) The subject of this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image is a supernova-hosting galaxy located about 600 million light-years away in the constellation Gemini. Hubble captured this image roughly two months after a supernova named SN 2022aajn was discovered. The supernova is visible as a blue dot at the center of the image, brightening the hazy body of the galaxy.
Other than the announcement of its discovery in November 2022, SN 2022aajn has never been the subject of published research. Why then would Hubble observe this supernova? SN 2022aajn is what’s known as a Type Ia supernova, which results from the explosion of the core of a dead star. Supernovae of this type help astronomers measure the distance to faraway galaxies. This is possible because Type Ia supernovae have the same intrinsic luminosity — no matter how bright they seem from Earth, they put out the same amount of light as other Type Ia supernovae. By comparing the observed brightness to the known intrinsic brightness, researchers can calculate the distance to the supernova and its host galaxy.
This seemingly simple way of measuring distances is complicated by cosmic dust. The farther away a supernova is, the fainter and redder it will appear — but intergalactic dust can make a supernova appear fainter and redder as well. To understand this complication, researchers will use Hubble to survey a total of 100 Type Ia supernovae in seven wavelength bands from ultraviolet to near-infrared. This image combines data taken at four infrared wavelengths. Infrared light passes through dust more easily than visible or ultraviolet light. By comparing the brightness of the sampled supernovae across different wavelengths, researchers can disentangle the effects of dust and distance, helping to improve measurements of galaxies billions of light-years away.
Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubble Explore More
The Death Throes of Stars
Homing in on Cosmic Explosions
Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli (claire.andreoli@nasa.gov)
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
Share
Details
Last Updated Jan 30, 2025 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Hubble Space Telescope Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Galaxies Goddard Space Flight Center Stars Supernovae Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Hubble Space Telescope
Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.
Hubble’s Night Sky Challenge
Reshaping Our Cosmic View: Hubble Science Highlights
Hubble’s 35th Anniversary
View the full article
-
-
-
Similar Videos
-
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.