Take a Spin With NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
On schedule to launch no later than May 2027, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope mission will help uncover some of the biggest mysteries in the cosmos. The state-of-the-art telescope on the Roman spacecraft will play a significant role in this, providing the largest picture of the universe ever seen with the same depth and precision as the Hubble Space Telescope. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has successfully passed its critical design review, signaling that all design and developmental engineering work is now complete. The Roman Space Telescope is a high-precision survey mission that will advance our understanding of fundamental physics. Roman is similar to other space telescopes, like Spitzer and the James Webb Space Telescope, in that it will detect infrared light, which is invisible to human eyes. Earth’s atmosphere absorbs infrared light, which presents challenges for observatories on the ground. Roman has the advantage of flying in space, above the atmosphere. The Roman Space Telescope will collect and focus light using a primary mirror that is 2.4 meters in diameter. While it’s the same size as the Hubble Space Telescope’s main mirror, it is only one-fourth the weight, showcasing an impressive improvement in telescope technology. The mirror gathers light and sends it on to a pair of science instruments. The spacecraft’s giant camera, the Wide Field Instrument (WFI), will enable astronomers to map the presence of mysterious dark matter, which is known only through its gravitational effects on normal matter. The WFI will also help scientists investigate the equally mysterious "dark energy," which causes the universe's expansion to accelerate. Whatever its nature, dark energy may hold the key to understanding the fate of the cosmos. In addition, the WFI will survey our own galaxy to further our understanding of what planets orbit other stars, using the telescope’s ability to sense both smaller planets and more distant planets than any survey before (planets orbiting stars beyond our Sun are called "exoplanets"). This survey will help determine whether our solar system is common, unusual, or nearly unique in the galaxy. The WFI will have the same resolution as Hubble, yet has a field of view that is 100 times greater, combining excellent image quality with the power to conduct large surveys that would take Hubble hundreds of years to complete. Roman’s Coronagraph Instrument will demonstrate technology to directly image exoplanets by blocking out the light of their host stars. To date, astronomers have directly imaged only a small fraction of exoplanets, so Roman’s advanced techniques will expand our inventory and enable us to learn more about them. Results from the Coronagraph will provide the first opportunity to observe and characterize exoplanets similar to those in our solar system, located between three and 10 times Earth’s distance from the Sun, or from about midway to Jupiter to about the distance of Saturn in our solar system. Studying the physical properties of exoplanets that are more similar to Earth will take us a step closer to discovering habitable planets.
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Webb Instrument Overview
An overview of the instruments onboard the Webb Telescope: the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec), Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), and the Fine Guidance Sensor/Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph. Learn how each instrument will help Webb unfold the universe.
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Simulated Image Demonstrates the Power of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will capture the equivalent of 100 high-resolution Hubble images in a single shot, imaging large areas of the sky more than 1,000 times faster than Hubble. In several months, the Roman Space Telescope could survey as much of the sky in near-infrared light—in just as much detail—as Hubble has over its entire three decades. Although Roman has not yet opened its wide, keen eyes on the universe, astronomers are already running simulations to demonstrate what it will be able to see and plan their observations. This simulated image of a portion of our neighboring galaxy Andromeda (M31) provides a preview of the vast expanse and fine detail that can be covered with just a single pointing of the Roman Space Telescope. Using information gleaned from hundreds of Hubble observations, the simulated image covers a swath roughly 34,000 light-years across, showcasing the red and infrared light of more than 50 million individual stars detectable with Roman. While it may appear to be a somewhat haphazard arrangement of 18 separate images, the simulation actually represents a single shot. Eighteen square detectors, 16-megapixels each, make up Roman’s Wide Field Instrument (WFI) and give the telescope its unique window into space. With each pointing, the Roman Space Telescope will cover an area roughly 1⅓ times that of the full Moon. By comparison, each individual infrared Hubble image covers an area less than 1% of the full Moon. Roman is designed to collect the big data needed to tackle essential questions across a wide range of topics, including dark energy, exoplanets, and general astrophysics spanning from our solar system to the most distant galaxies in the observable universe. Over its 5-year primary mission, Roman is expected to amass more than 20 petabytes of information on thousands of planets, billions of stars, millions of galaxies, and the fundamental forces that govern the cosmos. For astronomers like Ben Williams of the University of Washington in Seattle, who generated the simulated data set for this image, Roman will provide a valuable opportunity to understand large nearby objects like Andromeda, which are otherwise extremely time-consuming to image because they are so big on the sky. The Roman Space Telescope could survey Andromeda nearly 1,500 times faster than Hubble, building a panorama of the main disk of the galaxy in just a few hours.
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What Is NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT)?
Operating from the International Space Station, NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission will comprehensively measure the mineral composition of Earth’s mineral dust source regions to help scientists understand how dust particles carried by wind heat or cool our planet as they move through the atmosphere. In addition to potentially influencing warming on regional and global scales, dust can affect cloud formation, air quality, and human health. When deposited in the ocean, dust can also trigger blooms of microscopic algae. To make these measurements, EMIT will use an imaging spectrometer to measure visible and infrared light reflecting from surfaces below. EMIT launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 2022, as part of SpaceX’s 25th commercial resupply services mission for NASA.
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Giraffes Fighting
Giraffes are not typically known for engaging in fights or aggressive behavior. They are peaceful herbivores that prefer to resolve conflicts through various non-violent means, such as displaying dominance through posturing, neck swinging, and sometimes even engaging in "necking" behaviors where they use their long necks to push against each other in a show of strength.
Actual physical fights among giraffes are rare and usually occur between male giraffes during mating season when they compete for access to females. Even in these cases, the fights are not typically violent or intended to cause harm; they're more about establishing dominance and hierarchy.
Giraffes have powerful and muscular necks that they use for feeding and other interactions, but they are not adapted for aggressive combat like some other animals. Their long legs and necks make them vulnerable to serious injuries if they were to engage in aggressive fights.
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AIRS: NASA Advances Our Understanding of Earth’s Climate
The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite has been scanning Earth for 20 years and now has a long enough record to help support climate change research. AIRS data on Earth’s atmosphere are improving weather forecasts and advancing our understanding of Earth’s climate. AIRS' infrared technology creates 3D maps of air and surface temperature, water vapor, and cloud properties. The infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum is rich in information about gases, especially greenhouse gases such as ozone and carbon dioxide. The advantage of having such an instrument in orbit is the availability of rapid global coverage. AIRS data form a 'fingerprint' of the state of the atmosphere for a given time and place, contributing to climate data for future generations NASA's Aqua satellite, with AIRS onboard, launched into Earth orbit on May 4, 2002.
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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3: Mission for Science
After more than six months aboard the International Space Station, the astronauts of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission are returning home. The four crew members -- NASA astronauts Kayla Barron, Raja Chari, and Tom Marshburn, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer -- will travel back to Earth inside a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. These crew members contributed to hundreds of scientific investigations and technology demonstrations while aboard the orbiting laboratory. This valuable research helps to prepare humans for future space exploration missions while generating numerous innovations and benefits for humanity on Earth.
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NASA's CAPSTONE: Flying a New Path to the Moon
The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, or CAPSTONE, is a CubeSat that will fly a unique orbit around the Moon intended for NASA’s future Artemis lunar outpost Gateway. Its six-month mission will help launch a new era of space exploration.
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Hubble's Field Guide to Galaxies
Galaxies are the visible foundation of the universe; each one a collection of stars, planets, gas, dust, and dark matter held together by gravity. Hubble’s observations give us insight into how galaxies form, grow, and evolve through time. Hubble’s namesake, astronomer Edwin Hubble, pioneered the study of galaxies based simply on their appearance. He divided galaxies into three basic forms: This “Field Guide” will quickly teach you those three basic forms, and some new ones that astronomers have added over the years!
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NASA’s InSight Lander Accomplishes Science Goals on Mars as Power Levels Diminish
NASA’s InSight lander touched down in the Elysium Planitia region of Mars in November of 2018. During its time on the Red Planet, InSight has achieved all its primary science goals and continues to hunt for quakes on Mars. The mission is the first to reveal the interior structure of Mars, using marsquakes to study the layers inside the planet. InSight’s seismometer was the first to detect a quake on another planet. InSight also measured weather at Elysium Planitia for four years with a unique set of meteorological sensors. InSight has also persisted through adversity. The team found innovative ways to take on engineering challenges they encountered. InSight’s findings help scientists understand how all rocky worlds, including Earth and its Moon, formed.
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SWOT: Earth Science Satellite Will Help Communities Plan for a Better Future
A new Earth science mission, led by NASA and the French space agency Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES), will help communities plan for a better future by surveying the planet’s salt and freshwater bodies. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission will measure the height of water in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and the oceans.
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Supplication Rabab
First time in the history of Rabab, A unique blend of Rabab and Western Melodies. Setting new standards in Modern Pashto Music, Arts and Culture.
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133 days on sun
This video chronicles solar activity from Aug. 12 to Dec. 22, 2022, as captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). From its orbit in space around Earth, SDO has steadily imaged the Sun in 4K x 4K resolution for nearly 13 years. This information has enabled countless new discoveries about the workings of our closest star and how it influences the solar system.
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