Tag: Galaxies
-
Russia to launch science mission probing dark energy
EDITOR’S NOTE: The launch of the Spektr-RG mission has been rescheduled for no earlier than Saturday, June 22, at 1217 GMT (8:17 a.m. EDT). Artist’s illustration of the Spektr-RG observatory in space. Credit: Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics A Russian-built satellite hosting an array of X-ray telescopes is awaiting launch Friday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome…
-
Proton rocket, Russian-German astronomy satellite arrive at launch pad
A rocket-transporting railroad car ferried a Proton booster to its launch pad Friday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for final checkouts and testing before the vehicle’s scheduled June 21 liftoff with the Russian-German Spektr-RG X-ray telescope. The Proton rocket began the trip to the Complex 81 launch pad Friday at around 6:30 a.m.…
-
NASA to shut down Spitzer Space Telescope early next year
This infrared view of the butterfly-shaped W40 nebula, a star-forming cloud of gas and dust 1,400 light-years from Earth, was captured by the Spitzer Space Telescope. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech After a search for an outside funding source turned up empty, NASA plans to end observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope in January to conclude a 16-year…
-
Russia ships X-ray astronomy satellite to launch site
The Spektr-RG astronomy satellite is prepared for shipment to the Baikonur Cosmodrome at an NPO Lavochkin facility in Khimki, Russia, near Moscow. Credit: Roscosmos A Russian X-ray astronomy satellite with major contributions from German and U.S. scientists and instrument developers arrived Thursday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a launch in June aboard a…
-
NASA selects mission to probe the history of galaxies
Artist’s concept of the SPHEREx spacecraft in orbit. Credit: Caltech NASA has selected a space telescope named SPHEREx for launch in 2023 on a mission to survey the sky in near-infrared wavelengths, collecting spectral data to study the origins of the universe and ices in our own galaxy that could help seed life on planets.…
-
NASA selects mission to probe the history of galaxies
Artist’s concept of the SPHEREx spacecraft in orbit. Credit: Caltech NASA has selected a space telescope named SPHEREx for launch in 2023 on a mission to survey the sky in near-infrared wavelengths, collecting spectral data to study the origins of the universe and ices in our own galaxy that could help seed life on planets.…
-
Antarctic IceCube observatory tracks a single neutrino to solve cosmic ray puzzle
In this artistic rendering, a blazar is accelerating protons that produce pions, which produce neutrinos and gamma rays. One neutrino’s path is represented by a blue line passing through Antarctica, while a gamma ray’s path is shown in pink. (IceCube / NASA Illustration) An array of detectors buried under a half-mile-wide stretch of Antarctic ice…
-
Jupiter’s moons, black holes, exoplanets among JWST’s first scientific targets
Artist’s concept of the James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: NASA/Northrop Grumman The James Webb Space Telescope should start returning its first scientific results by the end of 2019, and scientists recently announced a slate of observations selected to whet the appetites of astronomers who will use the multibillion-dollar facility well into the 2020s. The observatory’s…
-
NASA might privatize one of its great observatories
Artist’s concept of the Spitzer Space Telescope seen against the infrared sky. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (SSC) Management of NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope could be turned over to an academic institution or private operator in 2019 once the space agency’s funding for the observatory runs out, a senior NASA manager said this week. Launched in August…
-
Study teams comb through NASA’s wish list for new telescope
This artist’s rendition shows a possible design of a potential successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. This conceptual mission, called the Advanced Technology Large-Aperture Space Telescope (ATLAST), is similar in approach to one of several observatories currently under study by astronomers. Credit: NASA Scientists outlining four concepts for a powerful new space telescope that could…