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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
An astronaut aboard the International Space Station photographed wildfire smoke from Nova Scotia billowing over the Atlantic Ocean in May 2023. Warm weather and lack of rain fueled blazes across Canada last year, burning 5% of the country’s forests.NASA Extreme wildfires like these will continue to have a large impact on global climate.
Stoked by Canada’s warmest and driest conditions in decades, extreme forest fires in 2023 released about 640 million metric tons of carbon, NASA scientists have found. That’s comparable in magnitude to the annual fossil fuel emissions of a large industrialized nation. NASA funded the study as part of its ongoing mission to understand our changing planet.
The research team used satellite observations and advanced computing to quantify the carbon emissions of the fires, which burned an area roughly the size of North Dakota from May to September 2023. The new study, published on Aug. 28 in the journal Nature, was led by scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
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Carbon monoxide from Canada wildfires curls thousands of miles across North America in this animation showing data from summer 2023. Lower concentrations are shown in purple; higher concentrations are in yellow. Red triangles indicate fire hotspots.NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center They found that the Canadian fires released more carbon in five months than Russia or Japan emitted from fossil fuels in all of 2022 (about 480 million and 291 million metric tons, respectively). While the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from both wildfires and fossil fuel combustion cause extra warming immediately, there’s an important distinction, the scientists noted. As the forest regrows, the amount of carbon emitted from fires will be reabsorbed by Earth’s ecosystems. The CO2 emitted from the burning of fossil fuels is not readily offset by any natural processes.
An ESA (European Space Agency) instrument designed to measure air pollution observed the fire plumes over Canada. The TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument, or TROPOMI, flies aboard the Sentinel 5P satellite, which has been orbiting Earth since 2017. TROPOMI has four spectrometers that measure and map trace gases and fine particles (aerosols) in the atmosphere.
The scientists started with the end result of the fires: the amount of carbon monoxide (CO) in the atmosphere during the fire season. Then they “back-calculated” how large the emissions must have been to produce that amount of CO. They were able to estimate how much CO2 was released based on ratios between the two gases in the fire plumes.
“What we found was that the fire emissions were bigger than anything in the record for Canada,” said Brendan Byrne, a JPL scientist and lead author of the new study. “We wanted to understand why.”
Warmest Conditions Since at Least 1980
Wildfire is essential to the health of forests, clearing undergrowth and brush and making way for new plant life. In recent decades, however, the number, severity, and overall size of wildfires have increased, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Contributing factors include extended drought, past fire management strategies, invasive species, and the spread of residential communities into formerly less developed areas.
To explain why Canada’s fire season was so intense in 2023, the authors of the new study cited tinderbox conditions across its forests. Climate data revealed the warmest and driest fire season since at least 1980. Temperatures in the northwest part of the country — where 61% of fire emissions occurred — were more than 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit (2.6 degrees Celsius) above average from May through September. Precipitation was also more than 3 inches (8 centimeters) below average for much of the year.
Driven in large part by these conditions, many of the fires grew to enormous sizes. The fires were also unusually widespread, charring some 18 million hectares of forest from British Columbia in the west to Quebec and the Atlantic provinces in the east. The area of land that burned was more than eight times the 40-year average and accounted for 5% of Canadian forests.
“Some climate models project that the temperatures we experienced last year will become the norm by the 2050s,” Byrne said. “The warming, coupled with lack of moisture, is likely to trigger fire activity in the future.”
If events like the 2023 Canadian forest fires become more typical, they could impact global climate. That’s because Canada’s vast forests compose one of the planet’s important carbon sinks, meaning that they absorb more CO2 from the atmosphere than they release. The scientists said that it remains to be seen whether Canadian forests will continue to absorb carbon at a rapid rate or whether increasing fire activity could offset some of the uptake, diminishing the forests’ capacity to forestall climate warming.
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Written by Sally Younger
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Last Updated Aug 28, 2024 Related Terms
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By NASA
NASA/CXC/M.Weiss By using new data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory as well as ESA’s XMM-Newton, a team of researchers have made important headway in understanding how — and when — a supermassive black hole obtains and then consumes material, as described in our latest press release.
This artist’s impression shows a star that has partially been disrupted by such a black hole in the system known as AT2018fyk. The supermassive black hole in AT2018fyk — with about 50 million times more mass than the sun — is in the center of a galaxy located about 860 million light-years from Earth.
Astronomers have determined that a star is on a highly elliptical orbit around the black hole in AT2018fyk so that its point of farthest approach from the black hole is much larger than its closest. During its closest approach, tidal forces from the black hole pull some material from the star, producing two tidal tails of “stellar debris”.
The illustration shows a point in the orbit soon after the star is partially destroyed, when the tidal tails are still in close proximity to the star. Later in the star’s orbit, the disrupted material returns to the black hole and loses energy, leading to a large increase in X-ray brightness occurring later in the orbit (not shown here). This process repeats each time the star returns to its point of closest approach, which is approximately every 3.5 years. The illustration depicts the star during its second orbit, and the disk of X-ray emitting gas around the black hole that is produced as a byproduct of the first tidal encounter.
Researchers took note of AT2018fyk in 2018 when the optical ground-based survey ASAS-SN detected that the system had become much brighter. After observing it with NASA’s NICER and Chandra, and XMM-Newton, researchers determined that the surge in brightness came from a “tidal disruption event,” or TDE, which signals that a star was completely torn apart and partially ingested after flying too close to a black hole. Chandra data of AT2018fyk is shown in the inset of an optical image of a wider field-of-view.
X-ray: NASA/SAO/Kavli Inst. at MIT/D.R. Pasham; Optical: NSF/Legacy Survey/SDSS When material from the destroyed star approached close to the black hole, it got hotter and produced X-ray and ultraviolet (UV) light. These signals then faded, agreeing with the idea that nothing was left of the star for the black hole to digest.
However, about two years later, the X-ray and UV light from the galaxy got much brighter again. This meant, according to astronomers, that the star likely survived the initial gravitational grab by the black hole and then entered a highly elliptical orbit with the black hole. During its second close approach to the black hole, more material was pulled off and produced more X-ray and UV light.
Based on what they had learned about the star and its orbit, a team of astronomers predicted that the black hole’s second meal would end in August 2023 and applied for Chandra observing time to check. Chandra observations on August 14, 2023, indeed showed the telltale sign of the black hole feeding coming to an end with a sudden drop in X-rays. The researchers also obtained a better estimate of how long it takes the star to complete an orbit, and predicted future mealtimes for the black hole.
A paper describing these results appears in the August 14, 2024 issue of The Astrophysical Journal and is available online. The authors are Dheeraj Passam (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Eric Coughlin (Syracuse University), Muryel Guolo (Johns Hopkins University), Thomas Wevers (Space Telescope Science Institute), Chris Nixon (University of Leeds, UK), Jason Hinkle (University of Hawaii at Manoa), and Ananaya Bandopadhyay (Syracuse).
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science from Cambridge Massachusetts and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
Read more from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.
For more Chandra images, multimedia and related materials, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/chandra-x-ray-observatory/
Visual Description:
In this digital illustration, a star sheds stellar debris as it orbits a supermassive black hole. This artist’s impression represents the center of a galaxy about 860 million light-years from Earth.
The supermassive black hole sits at our upper left. It resembles an irregular, pitch-black sphere at the heart of an almond-shaped pocket of swirling sand and dirt. Though gritty in texture, the swirling brown and grey pocket is actually a disk of hot gas.
Near our lower right is the orbiting star. In this illustration, the star is relatively close to us, with the black hole far behind it. The star is a blue-white ball that, from this perspective, appears slightly larger than the distant black hole.
Two tapered streaks peel off of the glowing star like the pulled-back corners of a smile. These streaks represent tidal tails of stellar debris; material pulled from the surface of the star by the gravity of the black hole. This partial destruction of the star occurs every 3.5 years, when the star’s orbit brings it closest to the supermassive black hole.
During the orbit, the stellar debris from the tidal tails is ingested by the black hole. A byproduct of this digestion is the X-ray gas which swirls in a disk around the black hole.
At the upper left of the grid is an image of the distant galaxy cluster known as MACS J0416. Here, the blackness of space is packed with glowing dots and tiny shapes, in whites, purples, oranges, golds, and reds, each a distinct galaxy. Upon close inspection (and with a great deal of zooming in!) the spiraling arms of some of the seemingly tiny galaxies are revealed in this highly detailed image. Gently arched across the middle of the frame is a soft band of purple; a reservoir of superheated gas detected by Chandra.
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By NASA
Bindu Rani had childhood dreams of flight. Today she lifts her gaze even higher, helping researchers study stars, planets beyond our solar system, and black holes billions of times more massive than our Sun.
Name: Bindu Rani
Title: Astrophysicist, Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory Guest Investigator Program Lead Scientist
Organization: Astroparticle Physics Laboratory, Science Directorate (Code 661)
Bindu Rani is an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.Photo credit: NASA/Jay Friedlander What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard?
I study supermassive black holes using both space-based and ground-based observations. I love trying to understand the dynamics and nature of physical processes that happen in the vicinity of a black hole.
Why did you become an astrophysicist?
When I was a little girl, I wanted to fly way up in the sky and be a pilot. When I was doing my master’s, I got interested in black holes and neutron stars. I was so fascinated that I decided to pursue this field.
What is your educational background?
In 2005, I got a bachelor’s degree in science from Government College Bahadurgarh, India. In 2007, I got a master’s degree in in physics from the Department of Physics and Astrophysics, Delhi University, India. In 2013, I got a doctorate in astrophysics from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, Bonn, Germany. From 2014 to 2016, I was a post-doctoral fellow at Max Plank.
How did you come to Goddard?
In 2016, I came to Goddard through NASA’s Postdoctoral Fellowship program.
From 2020 to 2022, I worked at the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute in South Korea as a staff scientist. I can say please and thank you in Korean, but everyone in the lab and the young students spoke English and loved practicing English.
In September 2022, I returned to Goddard as the Swift Guest Investigator Program lead scientist.
You have lived in India, South Korea, Germany, and now the United States. What are your favorite aspects of each country?
The best thing about India is that my family is there, and I deeply miss them. All my happy memories are in one small town along with my parents, siblings, and friends. I deeply miss Indian food too. My family and I visit India whenever we can.
I love South Korean food. What motivated me in the mornings was their delicious coffee and cafeteria food. I miss their culture, so warm and welcoming. When I left, there was a hole in my heart.
Life in Germany is amazing. They have the best work life balance. Also, I miss German bread and beer.
What are your goals as the Swift Guest Investigator Program lead?
I lead the program, including managing the proposals, staffing the program, conducting reviews, and supporting the users. Swift is an amazing mission because it provides X-rays and ultraviolet to optical observations of all different kinds of astronomical objects including exoplanets, stars, dwarf stars, and black holes up to millions to billions of solar masses.
How do you keep your people motivated?
Our work is super interesting which itself is motivating. My idea is that if you want the best out of people, you have to make them comfortable. I try to apply this both at work and at home.
“Most of my inspiration comes from my own curiosity and from the fact that I am very determined,” said Bindu.Photo courtesy of Bindu Rani How do you feel when you discover a black hole?
Swift observes radiation from many black holes ranging in size from a few solar masses (that is, a few times the mass of our Sun) to billions of solar masses. In the vicinity of black holes, infalling material heats up and emits radiation. In some cases, black holes consuming dust and gas at the center of galaxies produce jets — a laser-like beam of light that we observe with our telescopes.
When we have a new discovery, it is very exciting, and many observations follow using many different ground and space telescopes. For example, the brightest of all time gamma-ray burst (BOAT GRB), which is likely the birth cry of a new black hole, was jointly discovered by Swift and the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope on Oct. 9, 2022. It was subsequently observed by about 50 space- and ground-based telescopes.
What is the most amazing observation you have seen from a black hole?
Black holes are extremely fascinating astronomical objects to study and to test our theoretical models in extreme gravity environments. I believe the most amazing observation is the first image of a black hole itself. In 2019, the first direct image of a black hole at the center of galaxy M87 confirmed the existence of black holes, marking a historic milestone in astrophysics.
Who inspires you?
Most of my inspiration comes from my own curiosity and from the fact that I am very determined. My family is my true inspiration, especially my parents. They were motivating in many different ways. My parents are really hard working. They are very proud of me.
What do you say to the people you mentor?
I tell them to keep learning, to enjoy what they are doing even if it feels hard. I them to stay curious. I also tell them to strengthen their speaking, writing and coding skills to become a good scientists. As my doctorate advisor told me, you have to learn how to sell yourself.
As an avid reader, who is your favorite author?
Books bring me peace. I enjoy reading books in Hindi, by an Indian author called Munsi Prem Chand, who wrote about social fiction. I am currently reading Laura Markam’s “Peaceful Parents, Happy Kids” because I have a young child.
What else do you do to relax?
I like to run and practice yoga. Mostly either I work or spend time with my child.
What is it like for both you and your husband to both work at Goddard?
My husband, Pankaj Kumar, is a heliophysicist in the Space Weather Laboratory (Code 674). We met in India, and both found jobs at Goddard. It is so wonderful to be at the same working institute. At home, we try not to discuss work. But our child is very curious and asks us a lot of questions about our research. Our child wants to become a NASA scientist, which he calls a NASA professor.
What do you value most about working at Goddard?
Goddard has the best work culture. Everyone is so open and friendly. I can just knock on any door and will be able to talk. The open communication puts you at ease.
Also, Goddard has a lot of women researchers in lead positions. Goddard values women.
How do you describe yourself?
I am a girl who came from a small village in India and am now at Goddard. I dreamed about going to space one day and now I am doing research at Goddard. My family’s support mattered. My own strong-willed nature helped too. At this stage, my curiosity and love of challenges continues to motivate me. Several factors in my life got me to where I am.
Who do you want to thank?
I am grateful to the people who believed in me (my family, friends, and colleagues) as well as those who tried to hinder me.
What’s your “big dream”?
I want to be an astronaut. When I was doing my master’s, I became interested in being an astronaut.
By Elizabeth M. Jarrell
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Conversations With Goddard is a collection of Q&A 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.
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Last Updated Aug 06, 2024 EditorMadison OlsonContactRob Garnerrob.garner@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
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By NASA
NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) has twice transmitted a laser pulse to a cookie-sized retroreflector aboard JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) SLIM lander on the Moon and received a return signal.
As LRO passed 44 miles above SLIM (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) during two successive orbits on May 24, 2024, it pinged the lander with its laser altimeter instrument as it had done eight times before. But, on these two attempts, the signal bounced back to LRO’s detector.
This was an important accomplishment for NASA because the device is not in an optimal position. Retroreflectors are typically secured to the top of landers, giving LRO a 120-degree range of angles to aim toward when sending laser pulses to the approximate location of a retroreflector. However, the SLIM lander had settled on the surface with its top facing sideways, limiting LRO’s range.
To boost the chances of reaching their target, the LRO team worked with JAXA to determine the exact location and orientation of SLIM. Then, NASA engineers predicted when LRO’s orbit trajectory would bring it to coordinates that would give it the best chance of reaching SLIM’s retroreflector with the laser beams.
SLIM on the lunar surface captured by the LEV-2 (SORA-Q) rover. “LRO’s altimeter wasn’t built for this type of application, so the chances of pinpointing a tiny retroreflector on the Moon’s surface are already low,” said Xiaoli Sun, who led the team that built SLIM’s retroreflector at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, as part of a partnership between NASA and JAXA.
“For the LRO team to have reached a retroreflector that faces sideways, instead of the sky, shows that these little devices are incredibly resilient,” Sun said.
SLIM touched down on the Moon’s surface on Jan. 20. The retroreflector that hitched a ride with the lander, called a Laser Retroreflector Array, is one of the six NASA has sent to the Moon aboard private and public landers, and the second to bounce signal back to LRO’s altimeter.
The first time a laser beam was transmitted from LRO to a NASA retroreflector and back was on Dec. 12, 2023, when LRO pinged ISRO’s (Indian Space Research Organisation) Vikram lander. LRO has since exchanged laser pings with Vikram three more times.
NASA’s retroreflector has eight quartz corner-cube prisms set into a dome-shaped aluminum frame that is 2 inches wide. With no power or maintenance required, retroreflectors can last on the Moon’s surface for decades and thus provide reliable beacons for future missions.
NASA’s Laser Retroreflector Array installed on JAXA’s SLIM lander before launch. The retroreflectors could guide Artemis astronauts to the surface in the dark, for example, or mark the locations of spacecraft already on the surface to help astronauts and uncrewed spacecraft land near them.
LRO’s laser altimeter, the only laser instrument orbiting the Moon for now, was designed to map the Moon’s topography to prepare for missions to the surface — not to point to within 1/100th of a degree of a retroreflector, which is what LRO engineers are trying to do with every ping.
LRO is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Launched on June 18, 2009, LRO has collected a treasure trove of data with its seven powerful instruments, making an invaluable contribution to our knowledge about the Moon. NASA is returning to the Moon with commercial and international partners to expand human presence in space and bring back new knowledge and opportunities.
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By Lonnie Shekhtman
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Media Contact:
Nancy Neal Jones
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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Last Updated Jul 29, 2024 Related Terms
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By USH
With today's technology, including CGI, Artificial Intelligence, and other similar programs, it is not difficult to create fake UFO videos. It is currently a challenge to distinguish a fake UFO video from a real one.
Additionally, you also need to ask yourself whether a observed UFO is a craft made by certain organizations here on Earth or if it is a real alien UFO.
So far, the most reliable recordings of UFO sightings come from the time before the advent of Artificial Intelligence.
The following recording is a UFO sighting from 2007. Marvin Badilla, a carpenter from Acosta, Costa Rica, filmed an extraordinary video of a metallic, disc-shaped object hovering momentarily before flipping vertically and departing.
Captured on a Motorola Razr, this footage has fascinated both enthusiasts and experts for years.
In the video below, we delve into a detailed analysis of this compelling UFO sighting, compare the original and enhanced footage, and listen to expert opinions on its authenticity.
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