Sunday, June 04, 2023

See stunning images combining James Webb and Chandra X-ray data

By Georgina TorbetMay 27, 2023

Since beginning science operations last summer, the James Webb Space Telescope has been providing a plethora of beautiful images of space. Now, NASA has shared a new view of some of those images, by combining infrared data from Webb with X-ray data from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory.

The four new images show a variety of cosmic objects like galaxies and nebulae, bringing together observations from different wavelengths to show features that wouldn’t be visible in a single wavelength. As well as Webb and Chandra, the images also incorporate data from the Hubble Space Telescope, which operates in the visible light wavelength, the retired Spitzer Space Telescope which looked in the infrared, and the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton X-ray instrument and the European Southern Observatory’s New Technology Telescope, which also operates in the visible wavelength.

Clockwise from top left: NGC 346, NGC 1672, M16 (Eagle Nebula), M74. Credit: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, XMM: ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: JWST: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI, Spitzer: NASA/JPL/CalTech; Optical: Hubble: NASA/ESA/STScI, ESO; Image Processing: L. Frattare, J. Major, N. Wolk, and K. Arcand

The four images shown above are available in higher resolution on the Chandra X-Ray Observatory website. The top left image is a star cluster called NGC 346, located in a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way called the Small Magellanic Cloud. The infrared data from Webb shows the clouds of dust and gas which are used in the formation of stars and planets. The purple haze is from Chandra data, showing the aftermath of a supernova when a massive star reached the end of its life and exploded, sending out energy and light. Some of the youngest and brightest stars are also giving off X-rays, making them shine in the Chandra view.

Top right is the spiral galaxy NGC 1672, with the stars spread through the galaxy but concentrated in a bar formation across the center. The Chandra data shows purple dots spread around the galaxy, which represent extremely dense objects like neutron stars and black holes. These objects glow in the X-ray wavelength because they pull material away from nearby stars, and as this material approaches the objects it rubs together and heats up due to friction. As this matter reaches temperatures of up to millions of degrees, it gives off X-rays that telescopes like Chandra can detect.

On the bottom row is the spiral galaxy Messier 74 and the famous Eagle Nebula. M74 appears face-on from Earth, which gives a great view of its structure, with Webb data showing the swirling dust and gas and the Chandra data picking out particularly active stars which are giving off X-ray energy. Similarly, in the image of the Eagle Nebula, Webb mapped out the clouds of dust and Chandra picks out the points of light where bright young stars are glowing.

A further set of images combining Webb and Chandra was released last year if you want to see more of these stunning views

The universe looks amazing in new photos from the James Webb Space Telescope and famed

Chandra X-ray observatory

Rebecca Sohn
May 26, 2023·

a spiral galaxy imaged in full color

a four-panel composite image showing different galaxies and nebulas in full color

If you've ever wished you had X-ray vision, NASA has some photos for you.

NASA has released four composite images using data from several of its most advanced telescopes to depict our universe in different wavelengths of light, including data collected by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Hubble Space Telescope.

The images, which show two galaxies, a star cluster, and a nebula, are rendered in dazzling colors representing X-ray and infrared radiation, as well as optical light.

Related: James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) — A complete guide

The two galaxies pictured are called NGC 1672 and M74. Categorized as a barred spiral galaxy for its straight, "barred" arms of stars near its center, NGC 1672 is a galaxy about 60 million light-years from Earth. The new composite image shows several areas, especially in its outer arms, emitting intense X-ray radiation, shown in purple. According to NASA, these areas represent super-dense objects, such as neutron stars and black holes, that are pulling material into the galaxy.

a colorful swirl of gases in deep space

M74 is a spiral galaxy like our own galactic home the Milky Way, located about 32 million light-years away from us. Also called the Phantom Galaxy because it is visibly very dim, the galaxy has an intricate lacey structure revealed by JWST. Now, data from Chandra notes multiple sources of X-ray radiation, including young stars, dotting the spiral.

a white and blue spiral galaxy surrounded by stars

Another image shows M16, also called The Eagle Nebula, which is about 6,500 light years away. The image shows the nebula's famous "Pillars of Creation," dramatic clouds of dust and gas containing young stars, the most intense of which are highlighted in brilliant pinks and purples to show the powerful X-rays they emit. The image highlights the finding that most of these young, X-ray-emitting stars are actually outside the pillars, with only a few young stars emitting this intense radiation from within the clouds.

tall pillars of gases in deep space

The image with the most notable contribution by Chandra might be of NGC 346, a star cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy 200,000 light-years from Earth. A bright purple splotch on the left side of the image highlights the remnants of a supernova explosion, the spectacular death of a huge star.

Read more: This new supernova is the closest to Earth in a decade. It's visible in the night sky right now.

a dense cloud of stars and colorful gases in deep space

RELATED STORIES:

— Milky Way's cosmic neighbors help bring ancient galaxies into focus

— Cosmic monsters found lurking at heart of ancient star clusters by the James Webb Space Telescope

— Private servicing mission could extend life of NASA's Chandra space telescope

The NGC 346 cluster is also speckled with purple-white blotches of X-rays emitted from young, massive stars. This image is unique among the four, as it contains data from not only Chandra, Webb, and Hubble, but also the European Southern Observatory's New Technology telescope, the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton telescope, and NASA's retired Spitzer Space Telescope.

You can find all the photos, including the photos combined to make the composite images and 3D-printable tactile plates of each image, on the Chandra X-Ray Observatory's website.

UAE to land a probe on an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter in 2034

Artist's impression of the United Arab Emirates' MBR Explorer asteroid-studying spacecraft. (Image credit: UAE Space Agency )

An asteroid that may host life's building blocks will get a visit from a United Arab Emirates (UAE) spacecraft about a decade from now, if all goes according to plan.

In October 2021, the UAE announced that it plans to launch an ambitious mission to the asteroid belt in 2028. That mission will visit seven different space rocks, and even land on one of them, an asteroid called (269) Justitia.

On Sunday (May 28), the nation gave us some new information about this bold asteroid mission — including its name, the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA).

"EMA is a key component of the UAE National Space Strategy and has one over-riding goal — the creation of viable and rewarding employment opportunities for young Emiratis for generations to come," Sarah Al Amiri, chair of the UAE Space Agency, said in a statement.

"Emirati learning, knowledge transfer and innovation lie at the heart of EMA and our growing private space sector will contribute over 50% of the overall contracted mission, forming a major global commercial space opportunity," Al Amiri added.

We also learned on Sunday that the EMA spacecraft will be named after Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the vice president and prime minister of the UAE and the ruler of Dubai: It will be called the MBR Explorer.

The MBR Explorer will visit its first asteroid in 2030, and will follow an orbital path allowing it to pick up speed from several planets along the way. (It's common for spacecraft to get such "gravity assists" from worlds like Venus or Mars to save on fuel, and to do side observations to test their instruments.)

After passing by six asteroids, the mission aims to touch down upon Justitia in 2034 with a small lander that will deploy from MBR Explorer. Justitia may have organic molecules on its surface; organics are the building blocks of the complex molecules that could form life in the right circumstances.

More generally, scientists seek water and organics all over the solar system to better understand how life arose on Earth. That search may be especially meaningful on Justitia, which may have formed closer to our planet and then migrated out to its current position in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, scientists say.

Though Jupiter and Earth are very different types of planets, there appears to be at least one similarity

Thomson Reuters · Posted: May 26, 2023

An illustration of Jupiter shows several bright spots at its north pole. — This artist's concept of lightning distribution in Jupiter's northern hemisphere incorporates a JunoCam image from the NASA spacecraft Juno with artistic embellishments. Data from NASA's Juno mission indicates that most of the lightning activity on Jupiter is near its poles. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/JunoCam/Reuters)

Data obtained by NASA's Juno probe is providing fresh information on how the lightning processes on Jupiter are similar to those on Earth despite the dramatic differences between the two planets, according to scientists.

Hidden below the brownish ammonia clouds blanketing Jupiter are clouds that, like on Earth, are made of water. And like on Earth, lightning often is generated within these clouds — an eerie sight spotted by various spacecraft, including Juno, that have visited our solar system's largest planet.

Earth is a relatively small rocky world. Jupiter, whose namesake of an ancient Roman god flung lightning bolts, is a gas giant so immense that all the other planets in our solar system could neatly fit inside it — including more than 1,300 Earths.

Tapping into five years of high-resolution data acquired by Juno's radio receiver as the spacecraft orbits Jupiter, the researchers found that the planet's lightning initiation processes pulsate with a similar rhythm to that observed inside clouds on our planet. The pulses observed on Jupiter as flashes of lightning were initiated with time separations of about a millisecond, similar to thunderstorms on Earth.

An illustration shows a spacecraft with long solar panels approaching Jupiter. — This illustration depicts NASA's Juno spacecraft at Jupiter. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Lightning is the most powerful naturally occurring electrical source on Earth.

"Lightning is an electric discharge, which is initiated inside thunderclouds. The ice and water particles inside the cloud get charged by collisions and form layers of particles with the charge of the same polarity," said planetary scientist Ivana Kolmasova of the Czech Academy of Sciences' Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Prague, lead author of the study published this week in the journal Nature Communications.

"By this process, a huge electric field is established and the discharge can be initiated. This explanation is somewhat simplified because scientists are still not completely sure what is exactly happening inside thunderclouds."

Lightning in the solar system

The existence of lightning on Jupiter was confirmed when telltale radio emissions at audible frequencies were recorded in 1979 by NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft as it ventured through the solar system.

The solar system's other gas planets — Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — also have been shown to have lightning. There is some evidence for lightning in the clouds of the rocky planet Venus, though it is still a matter of debate.

Six black and white images show bright spots in the cloud tops of Saturn. — This image, taken from a movie captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft in 2010, shows lightning on Saturn's night side flashing in a cloud that is illuminated by light from Saturn's rings. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/University of Iowa)

Other studies have detailed other similarities in the lightning processes on Jupiter and Earth. For instance, lightning rates on the two planets are similar, though the distribution of lightning on Jupiter differs from Earth.

ANALYSIS
Europe's JUICE mission will get us closer to searching for life inside other worlds

U of A researchers using 3D simulations to study storms on Jupiter and Saturn

"On Earth, the tropical regions are the most active ones. The majority of Jovian lightning occurs in mid-latitudes and also in polar regions. We have nearly no lightning activity close to the poles on the Earth. It means that conditions for the formation of Jovian and terrestrial thunderclouds are probably very different," Kolmasova said.

"There were some attempts to compare the power of lightning based on optical measurements and it was concluded that lightning on Jupiter might be comparable with the strongest terrestrial lightning."

Kolmasova noted that more analysis is planned.

Jupiter is composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, with traces of other gases. Stripes and a few storms dominate the colourful appearance of Jupiter, the fifth planet from the sun with a diameter of about 143,000 kilometres.

Juno has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016, obtaining information about its atmosphere, interior structure, internal magnetic field and the region around it created by its internal magnetism.

Is Jupiter's lightning different from Earth's? Answer is in clouds

This artists concept of lightning distribution in Jupiters northern hemisphere incorporates a JunoCam image from the NASA spacecraft Juno with artistic embellishments. — Reuters/File — This artist's concept of lightning distribution in Jupiter's northern hemisphere incorporates a JunoCam image from the NASA spacecraft Juno with artistic embellishments. — Reuters/File

Nasa’s Juno spacecraft has detected similarities between the lightning on Jupiter and Earth despite huge differences in the chemical compositions of the atmospheres of both planets, reported Reuters.

Below the brownish ammonia clouds that have covered our solar system's most giant planet are the clouds made of water, just like the Earth.

As lightning is often generated within these clouds, similar activity also takes place on Jupiter which was captured by various space probes including Juno.

Our world is a small rocky planet whereas Jupiter — named after the ancient mythological Roman god who could fling lightning bolts — is a gas giant so enormous that all the other planets in our solar system could easily fit inside it including more than 1,300 Earths.

Researchers while studying five years of high-resolution data collected by Juno spacecraft — which orbits Jupiter — the planet's lightning initiation processes pulsate with a similar rhythm to that observed inside clouds on our planet.

This illustration depicts NASA’s Juno spacecraft soaring over Jupiter’s south pole. — Nasa/File

In the study published this week in the journal Nature Communications, scientists noted that the pulses seen on Jupiter are flashes of lightning that spark with time separations of about a millisecond, similar to thunderstorms on Earth.

On Earth, lightning is the most powerful naturally occurring electrical source.

Planetary scientist Ivana Kolmasova of the Czech Academy of Sciences' Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Prague, and the lead author of the study, said: "Lightning is an electric discharge which is initiated inside thunderclouds. The ice and water particles inside the cloud get charged by collisions and form layers of particles with the charge of the same polarity."

Lightning on Jupiter was confirmed when telltale radio emissions at audible frequencies were recorded in 1979 by NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft as it ventured through the solar system.

The solar system's other gas-dominated planets — Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — were also witnessed to have lightning.

Other studies have detailed other similarities in the lightning processes on Jupiter and Earth. For instance, lightning rates on the two planets are similar though the distribution of lightning on Jupiter differs from Earth.

Displayed as a proper sphere, Jupiter shines like a jewel in the night, a giant pillar of colour and power that towers above everything in the solar system besides the sun itself. — Nasa/File

"There were some attempts to compare the power of lightning based on optical measurements and it was concluded that lightning on Jupiter might be comparable with the strongest terrestrial lightning," Kolmasova added while noting that "more analysis is planned".

Jupiter is made up of hydrogen and helium, with other gases. Stripes and a few storms dominate the colourful appearance of Jupiter, the fifth planet from the sun with a diameter of about 88,850 miles (143,000 km).

Juno has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016, obtaining information about its atmosphere, interior structure, internal magnetic field and the region around it created by its internal magnetism.

New images from solar telescope showcase sun's surface in unprecedented detail

A mosaic of new and unprecedented solar images was captured by the Inouye Solar Telescope during its first year of operations.—NSF/AURA/NSO

Newly released images of the sun's surface, obtained using the National Science Foundation's Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, provide an unprecedented level of detail, showcasing sunspots and other features. Located on the island of Maui in Hawaii, this powerful 4-meter (13.1-foot) telescope has captured eight remarkable images that offer a unique perspective of the solar surface.

Despite the sun's increasing activity as it approaches the solar maximum in July 2025, which marks the peak of its 11-year cycle, the released photos focus on the quieter aspects of the sun's surface.

Dots and filaments glow within and around a sunspot.—NSF/AURA/NSO

The images highlight the presence of cool, dark sunspots on the photosphere, the sun's surface region with a strong magnetic field. These sunspots can be as large as or even bigger than the Earth and are associated with solar flares and coronal mass ejections, which can affect satellite-based communications on Earth.

The contrasting sunspot regions captured in the images display bright hot plasma flowing upward, while darker and cooler plasma flows downward. In the chromosphere, the atmospheric layer above the surface, threadlike structures indicate the presence of magnetic fields.

The images also reveal fine, detailed structures within the dark sunspots, including glowing dots where the magnetic field is strongest. Surrounding the sunspot, there are penumbral filaments derived from the magnetic field that transport heat.

The telescope captured an image of what scientists believe shows a decaying sunspot.—NSF/AURA/NSO

One of the images displays a sunspot in a decaying state, as it has lost most of its brighter surrounding region or penumbra. Scientists believe that the remaining fragments could represent the final stage of a sunspot's evolution before it vanishes.

The Inouye Solar Telescope has also captured "light bridges," which are bright solar features spanning the darkest region of a sunspot. These complex structures, with varying appearances, may indicate the imminent decay of a sunspot. Further observations will contribute to a better understanding of light bridge formation and its significance.

These images were obtained during the commissioning phase of the Inouye Solar Telescope, making them among the first observations using this ground-based solar telescope. The telescope is currently undergoing further enhancement to achieve its full operational capabilities.

Scientists have high hopes that the telescope's advanced capabilities will provide answers to crucial questions about the sun, such as the origins of solar storms and the complexities of its magnetic field. By enabling observations three times more detailed than other observatories, the Inouye Solar Telescope, in conjunction with space-based missions like Solar Orbiter and the Parker Solar Probe, aims to unravel long-standing mysteries surrounding our star while offering breathtaking views in a new light.

Experts compete to decipher message from Mars

Possible to listen to a short extract translated into sounds

- RIPRODUZIONE RISERVATA

(ANSA) - ROME, MAY 28 - The competition to decode a message from Mars that reached Earth on the evening of May 24 has started: the data, collected by radio telescopes at 21:16 Italian time, have already been processed and made available online at the website of the project 'A Sign in Space'.

In the space of a few hours, more than 1,300 people from all over the world, Italy included, took up this challenge, an experiment on the margins between science, art and science fiction, according to the National Astrophysics Institute (INAF), which set it up from an idea from the artist Daniela de Paulis, in collaboration with the European Space Agency, the SETI Institute, and the Green Bank Observatory.

The signal, which simulates a message sent by an extra-terrestrial civilization, was transmitted via radio waves by the Trace Gas Orbiter probe of the ExoMars mission, in orbit around Mars. "It reached Earth around 21:16 Italian time and it lasted half an hour, as had been predicted," said the INAF experts.

It was picked up by the Italian radio telescope at Medicina near Bologna, run by INAF, and two American radio telescopes, the Allen Telescope Array of the SETI Institute, in California, and the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, as well as by various independent ham radio groups. (ANSA).

Alien Hunters are Enlisting the Public’s Help on an Ambitious Practice Run

Is it a multimedia art project? Or a rehearsal for alien contact? Let’s call it both.

BY UNIVERSE TODAY

AND ALAN BOYLE
MAY 27, 2023

honglouwawa/E+/Getty Images

Is it a multimedia art project? Or a rehearsal for alien contact? Let’s call it both: Researchers specializing in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, or SETI, worked with a media artist to stage the receipt of an interstellar message — and a global effort to decode the message.

The project, titled “A Sign in Space,” is orchestrated by media artist Daniela de Paulis in collaboration with the SETI Institute, the European Space Agency, the Green Bank Observatory, and the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (also known as INAF).

The metaphorical curtain rose on May 24, when ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter transmitted an encoded radio message from Martian orbit to Earth at 3 p.m. Eastern.

Sixteen minutes after transmission, the signal was received by three radio telescope facilities that have previously played starring roles in the SETI quest: the SETI Institute’s Allen Telescope Array in California, the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia, and INAF’s Medicina Radio Astronomical Station in Italy.

The data transmission will be processed by the three radio astronomy teams and then will be made available to the public for decoding.

Processed data will be stored securely in collaboration with the Breakthrough Listen to Open Data Archive and Filecoin, a decentralized data storage network.

Anyone working to decode and interpret the message can discuss the process on a Discord server set up for the project. Findings and observations can be submitted to the team via a secure form on the project’s website.

“A Sign in Space” is also presenting a series of Zoom-based discussions in the weeks to come, focusing on the societal implications of detecting a signal from an extraterrestrial civilization. Check out the schedule of events on the SETI Institute website to register, and keep checking back for updates.

De Paulis, the artist behind “A Sign in Space,” is a former contemporary dancer and licensed radio operator who currently serves as artist-in-residence at the SETI Institute and the Green Bank Observatory. She has incorporated radio technologies and philosophies in her art projects since 2009 and is a regular host of the Wow! Signal Podcast.

“Throughout history, humanity has searched for meaning in powerful and transformative phenomena,” de Paulis said today in a news release. “Receiving a message from an extraterrestrial civilization would be a profoundly transformational experience for all humankind. ‘A Sign in Space’ offers the unprecedented opportunity to tangibly rehearse and prepare for this scenario through global collaboration, fostering an open-ended search for meaning across all cultures and disciplines.”

There already have been a few unplanned rehearsals for alien contact, sparked by false alarms encountered during SETI surveys. Those experiences suggest that any apparent detection of signals from an extraterrestrial civilization wouldn’t be kept secret for long.

“Rest assured that the first thing anyone would do upon detecting a tantalizing signal is to contact people at other observatories to request help in confirming the discovery,” SETI Institute astronomer Seth Shostak said. “Lots of people would know. Secrecy is neither a possibility nor a policy.”

“A Sign in Space” could shed light on what happens next.

“This experiment is an opportunity for the world to learn how the SETI community, in all its diversity, will work together to receive, process, analyze, and understand the meaning of a potential extraterrestrial signal,” said Wael Farah, project scientist for the Allen Telescope Array. “More than astronomy, communicating with E.T. will require a breadth of knowledge. With ‘A Sign in Space,’ we hope to make the initial steps towards bringing a community together to meet this challenge.”

Alien signal beamed to Earth from Mars for first time: Report

On Wednesday, the ESA's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) flashed an encoded message to Earth from its orbit around Mars at 9 pm, stimulating a situation when a real signal from another civilisation is received by us.

The images shared by ESA comprises of observations from Mars Express’

High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC).

Livemint

26 May 2023,

For the first time, an alien signal has been beamed to Earth from Mars, confirmed European Space Agency on 26 May.

On Wednesday, the ESA's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) flashed an encoded message to Earth from its orbit around Mars at 9 pm, stimulating a situation when a real signal from another civilisation is received by us, reported India Today.

“Throughout history, humanity has searched for meaning in powerful and transformative phenomena. Receiving a message from an extraterrestrial civilisation would be a profoundly transformational experience for all humankind," said Daniela de Paulis, the artist behind the 'A Sign in Space' project.

ALSO READ: Second tallest volcano on Mars is higher than Mount Everest. See pictures

An Artist in Residence at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute, Paulis, brought together a team of international experts, space scientists, and artists to create a project to explore the process of interpreting and decoding an extraterrestrial message.

As part of the project, the signal was beamed by the European probe and was received by the Green Bank Telescope (West Virginia), the Medicina Radio Astronomical Station (Italy), the Allen Telescope Array (California), and the Very Large Array (New Mexico).

"We’re asking individuals and groups to take part in decoding and interpreting the content of the message. The decoding and interpretation process will determine both the technical and cultural content of the message," the project website read.

The message has been designed and encoded by de Paulis and her team, and is currently undisclosed. Further, the project has requested people to send in their interpretation of the message.

“This experiment is an opportunity for the world to learn how the SETI community, in all its diversity, will work together to receive, process, analyze, and understand the meaning of a potential extraterrestrial signal," India Today quited ATA Project Scientist Dr Wael Farah as saying.

“More than astronomy, communicating with ET will require a breadth of knowledge. With 'A Sign in Space', we hope to make the initial steps towards bringing a community together to meet this challenge," Dr Farah added.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment

Sunday, June 04, 2023

Though Jupiter and Earth are very different types of planets, there appears to be at least one similarity

Lightning in the solar system

Is Jupiter's lightning different from Earth's? Answer is in clouds

New images from solar telescope showcase sun's surface in unprecedented detail

About Me

Sunday, June 04, 2023

Social Sharing

Though Jupiter and Earth are very different types of planets, there appears to be at least one similarity

Lightning in the solar system

Is Jupiter's lightning different from Earth's? Answer is in clouds

New images from solar telescope showcase sun's surface in unprecedented detail