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    Category Astronomy/Space

    The Crab Nebula seen in New Light by NASA’s Webb

    November 1, 2023, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Exquisite, never-before-seen details help unravel the supernova remnant’s puzzling history. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has gazed at the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant located 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. Since the recording of this energetic event in 1054 CE by 11th-century astronomers, the Crab Nebula has continued to draw attention and additional study as scientists seek to understand the conditions, behavior, and after-effects of supernovae through thorough study of the Crab, a relatively nearby example.

    Using Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), a team led by Tea Temim at Princeton University is searching for answers about the Crab Nebula’s origins.

    “Webb’s sensitivity and spatial resolution allow us to accu...

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    Deep Learning Speeds up Galactic Calculations

    November 1, 2023, Categories  Physics, Astronomy/Space

    Four square images showing dark backgrounds with stars and galaxies
    Divide and conquer. The upper images show a wide area of a galaxy being simulated. The time resolution is very low, in which each “step” of the simulation is around 100,000 years. The lower images show the specific area affected by a supernova explosion and have a finer time resolution where each step is under 10,000 years. These regions are combined with the more general simulation to improve the overall accuracy and efficiency of the simulation. ©2023 Hirashima et al., NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESO/R. Hunt/Hubble/L. Calçada CC-BY-ND

    A new way to simulate supernovae may help shed light on our cosmic origins. Supernovae, exploding stars, play a critical role in the formation and evolution of galaxies...

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    Data from NASA’s WISE used to preview Lucy Mission’s Asteroid Dinkinesh

    November 1, 2023, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Two artist’s concepts show the WISE spacecraft, left, in front of an image of the infrared sky it observed during its prime mission, and NASA’s Lucy mission, right, during its Nov. 1 encounter with asteroid Dinkinesh.
    NASA/JPL-Caltech and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

    NASA’s Lucy mission will soon have its first asteroid encounter as the spacecraft travels through deep space en route to Jupiter’s orbit. But before the spacecraft passes 265 miles (425 kilometers) from the surface of the small asteroid Dinkinesh, researchers have used 13-year-old infrared data from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) to support the mission’s flyby...

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    Uranus Aurora discovery offers clues to Habitable Icy Worlds

    October 29, 2023, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Credit: NASA, ESA and M. Showalter (SETI Institute) for the background image of Uranus

    Astronomers confirm the existence of an infrared (IR) aurora on Uranus. This could help astronomers identify exoplanets that might support life, a large number of which are icy worlds.

    The discovery could shed light on the mysteries behind the magnetic fields of the planets of our solar system, and even on whether distant worlds might support life.

    The team of scientists, supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), have obtained the first measurements of the infrared (IR) aurora at Uranus since investigations began in 1992. While the ultraviolet (UV) aurorae of Uranus has been observed since 1986, no confirmation of the IR aurora had been observed until now...

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