NEOWISE Revealing Changes in the Universe

Recent time-lapse films captured during NASA's NEOWISE mission offer astronomers a unique opportunity to observe celestial objects such as stars and black holes as they undergo changes and movements over time. The captivating videos unveil previously concealed brown dwarfs, a black hole in the act of consuming matter, a dying star reaching its final stages, a region where new stars are being formed, and a star that's growing brighter. By amalgamating more than a decade's worth of NEOWISE observations with 18 comprehensive images of the entire sky, these videos facilitate in-depth analysis and a heightened comprehension of the cosmos.

Timestamps:

0:44 – Animation depicting a comprehensive scan of the sky by NEOWISE
1:03 – Black hole in the process of feeding
1:14 – A pulsating star nears the culmination of its life cycle
1:21 – Protostars within a region where new stars are being generated
1:34 – A brown dwarf traversing the expanse of the sky
2:00 – Unexplained augmentation in stellar luminosity
The NEOWISE mission employs a space telescope to track asteroids and comets, with a focus on identifying those that might pose a hazard to Earth. Initially launched as the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) in December 2009, the space telescope was initially intended to conduct infrared surveys of the sky, which enabled it to detect asteroids, stars, and even some of the most faint galaxies in space. This mission was carried out successfully until its primary phase concluded in February 2011.

Following a period of dormancy, observations recommenced in December 2013 when the telescope was reactivated and repurposed for the NEOWISE project. In this new role, it functions as an instrument to study near-Earth objects (NEOs) along with more distant asteroids and comets.

For additional details regarding the NEOWISE mission, visit: [Link to NASA's JPL site]
For accessing more NEOWISE data, follow: [Link to NEOWISE data repository]

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Compilation of WISE-NEOWISE films undertaken by Dan Caselden.