Hubble Space Telescope Captures Image of A Lightsaber In Space

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured an image that resembles a lightsaber.

This cosmic object that seems to copy the iconic weapon of a Jedi can be found in the Orion B Molecular Complex in the constellation Orion, 1350 light years away. This object is a result of jets of gas and dust that are spewn out by a newly formed star. These lightsaber like objects are called Herbig-Haro Objects.

This particular object in the image is HH24.

Herbig-Haro Objects are young stars that occasionally blast off hot gas and other material into space. It is a result of stars ejecting materials that collides with nearby clouds of gas and dusty at very high speeds. Herbig–Haro objects are generally found in star-forming regions. Several are often seen around a single star and is aligned along its rotational axis.

Herbig-Haro objects are named after George Herbig and Guillermo Haro who first studied them in detail. The two astronomers (independent of each other) were studying star formations when they came upon these objects. They both recognized that these were a by-product of the star formation process.

Twenty Years Later: Hubble Telescope Recaptures Pillars of Creation in HD

The Pillars of Creation is one of the most memorable and iconic images taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Telescope in 1995.

Now, 20 years after the image was taken, the Hubble telescope returned to that location and took an even clearer and amazing image of the Pillars of Creation in HD. Watch accompanying video (Hubblecast 82) for more details.

The Pillars of Creation is a part of Messier 16 or the Eagle Nebula. Nebulas are clouds of gas and dust in space where stars and planets start to form. It is believed that our own Sun was formed in a similar region resembling the Pillars.

The new mage of the Pillars of Creation is so iconic that it is not unnatural to see the image in movies, t-shirts, stamps, and accessories. Its release marks the 25th year of the Hubble Telescope in orbit and was presented at the 225th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle, Washington, USA.

Fruit Flies Raised in Outer Space Have Weak Immune System

An experiment that involved Drosophila fruit flies being raised in outer space at the Space Shuttle Discovery showed that the flies have a weaker immune system compared to regular Drosophila flies raised on Earth.

The flies were sent into space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery as eggs. It takes about 10 days for the flies to develop into adults and after the return trip, scientists found that the space flies had a weak immune response system to fungus. However, the immune system reacted normally to bacteria.

Scientists noted that the flies also showed a high expression of heat-shock protein genes that moderate the Toll pathway which mediates fungus infections. They also believe that aside from the heat-shock proteins, microgravity could also interfere with the protein behaviors outside the cell which are important for Toll pathway signalling.

The 12 day space mission brings to light the link between gravity and the immune system.

Strong Evidence of Life in Ancient Lake at Mars Gale Crater

Scientists at NASA's Mars Science Laboratory have discovered evidence of an ancient lake on Mars that they believe may have supported life billions of years ago.

Using the Mars rover Curiosity, they analysed sedimentary rocks at Yellowknife Bay in the Gale Crater. Evidence from the analysis suggest that the site had at least one lake around 3.6 billion years ago. The analysis showed that the lake likely had fresh water and elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur which are suitable in sustaining life.

Compared to other previous Mars rovers, Curiosity is two times longer and five times heavier than the others. It carried equipment to gather samples of rocks and soil, process them and distribute them to onboard test chambers inside analytical instruments.

The Gale Crater, a depression made by an asteroid or comet billions of years ago, was the main target of Curiosity as it is believed to be made up of ancient sediment deposited when Mars still had abundant water at its surface.

Chandra X-ray Space Telescope Reveals Reason Supermassive Black Holes Consume Less Matter

Scientists using NASA's Chandra X-Ray space telescope have found the reason why supermassive black holes accrete (consume or pulling in matter) less cosmic gasses than it should.

A supermassive black hole (SMBH) is the largest type of black hole in the Universe. The mass of a SMBH can reach up to the millions and billions than that of the Sun.

Astronomers beoleive that the center of each galaxy hosts a SMBH. The Milky Way galaxy has a SMBH that has a mass four millin times more than the sun and is the closest supermassive black hole to the Earth at 26,000 light years away. This SMBH was created with the collapse of the Sagittarius A star.

Just recently the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT)is observed a gas cloud (G2) being ripped apart as it passes the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy.

Exoplanet HD 189733b Determined to be Color Blue Like the Earth

A planet discovered in 2005 in the constellation of Vulpecula (the Fox) was determined to be colored blue with the help of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The blue colored planet is similar to how the Earth's color looks like from space.

The planet, HD 189733b which is a huge gas giant similar to the planet Jupiter, is 63 light years away and is closely orbiting its host star; around 1/30 the distance the Earth orbits the Sun. Although the planet comes off with a deep cobalt blue color, its atmosphere is vastly different from that of the Earth. The HD 189733b's atmosphere has a temperature of over 1000 degrees Celsius, and it rains glass, sideways, in howling 7000 kilometre-per-hour winds. HD 189733b is slightly bigger than the planet Jupiter.

Scientists have determined that the blue color of the planet is because of silicate particles in its atmosphere which scatters blue light. These particles, along with condensates of iron and aluminium oxide dust (which the mineral sapphire is made up of), also contributes to a hazy red sunset when seen from the planet.

By measuring how much radiation is reflected, a technique known as Albedo, scientists can determine the amount of light reflected. This value ranges from 0 to 1, with 1 being perfect reflectivity and 0 being a completely black surface. The Earth has an albedo of around 0.4. HD 189733b is observed to have an albedo of 0.40 ± 0.12 at a wavelength of 290–450 nm.

Gravity Field Mystery of the Moon Solved By NASA GRAIL Mission

Gravity Field Map of the Moon

The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission by NASA has solved one of the moon's mysteries, its ever changing gravitational field. Mass concentrations under the lunar surface changes the gravitational field in the area that can either push or pull approaching spacecraft.

The GRAIL mission has mapped the gravity field of the lunar surface (see image).

The image on the left, known as a Mercator projection (similar to Earth maps), represents the entire surface of the moon with the far side of the moon (the dark side) at the center of the map and the nearside (as seen from the Earth), on the left and right side. The red parts correspond to mass excesses which create areas of higher local gravity, and the blue parts correspond to mass deficits which create areas of lower local gravity.

NASA's GRAIL mission involves two washing machine sized satellites that are placed on the same lunar orbit. It mapped the gravity of the lunar surface as well as its interior and thermal history. It also has a set of cameras known as MoonKAM that are used for NASA's education and public outreach project.

Coronal Mass Ejection Directed at the Earth Detected By NASA

Coronal Mass Ejection on 15 March 2013 as captured by the ESA and NASA Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
Credit: ESA&NASA/SOHO

NASA detected a coronal mass ejection from the Sun which may cause mild to moderate effects on instruments on Earth.

A coronal mass ejection (CME) happens when the sun releases magnetic energy into space. It is a massive burst of solar wind and magnetic fields coming from the solar corona (the Sun's plasma-type atmosphere). Billions of tons of solar particles are ejected during a CME and when these reach the Earth can cause geomagnetic storms that may disrupt electronic instruments, satellites and even power grids on the planet.

Not all CMEs affect the Earth. It all depends on the trajectory of the solar particles . The speed on which coronal mass ejection reach the Earth differs from solar flares. Solar flares travel at the speed of light and reaches the planet in eight minutes. CMEs are not made of light and usually takes one to three days before reaching the Earth.

On 15 March 2013 at 2:54am EDR, a CME was detected by the ESA and NASA Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). Particles detected during this CME show that it is travelling towards the Earth at around 900 miles a second and may cause mild to moderate effects on the Earth.

Cosmic Rays Confirmed To Originate From Supernovas In Two Separate Announcements

When stars explode, the supernovas send off shock waves, which accelerate protons to cosmic-ray energies through a process known as Fermi acceleration. In this mechanism, named for Enrico Fermi who first hypothesized it, the protons gain energy from collisions with turbulent magnetic fields on either side of a shock wave. Though many details of Fermi acceleration remain unknown, new results from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope provide overwhelming evidence that the mechanism is indeed responsible for producing many of the galaxy's cosmic ray protons.
Credit: Greg Stewart, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

In two separate announcements (and two separate studies), the European Southern Observatory and the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology at the Department of Energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory confirmed that cosmic rays come from exploding stars or supernovas.

Cosmic rays are high energy particles from space. These particles travel at close to the speed of light and originate from outside the Solar System. They have very high energy that they can penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and even through solid rock at the surface. Prior to the announcement, its origin and how it was formed has been a mystery.

The ESO together with the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg Germany, used the VIMOS Equipment on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) to study SN 1006, a supernova first observed in the year 1006, to gather data and base their discovery of the cosmic ray mystery. Their study, An Integral View of Fast Shocks around Supernova 1006, is appearing in the 14 February 2013 issue of the journal Science.

The Kavli Institute, NASA, and Stanford University used the Large Area Telescope (LAT), which sits onboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope to base their findings. They used the telescope to study two supernova remnants, IC 433 and W44. Both are located within the Milky Way with IC 443 5,000 light years away from Earth in the constellation Gemini, and W44 is located about 10,000 light years away, in the constellation of Aquila. Their study, Detection of the Characteristic Pion-Decay Signature in Supernova Remnants, will be appearing in the February 15 2013 issue of the journal Science.

Hubble Space Telescope Captures Image of LHC 120-N 11 in the Large Magellanic Cloud

The Hubble Space Telescope captures an image of LHC 120-N 11, a region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy 200,000 light years from Earth. (Image by Hubble/ESA)

The Large Magellanic Cloud is an irregular galaxy but has a clearly visible bar, and a single spiral-arm-like structure. These properties are similar to that of spiral galaxies leading to the belief that the LMC was once a small spiral galaxy but was pulled out of shape by the gravitational effect of the Milky Way.

Globular Star Cluster Tucanae 47 In Great Detail

There are over 150 globular clusters in the Milky way galaxy. The most massive globular star cluster is Omega Centauri. The second most massive is 47 Tucanae.

Star clusters are a group of stars that are held together by their own gravity. Because of their strong gravitational attraction, they form a spherical shape. These spheres contains millions of stars and they get more densely packed as one gets nearer its center.

Inside 47 Tucanae are 23 known millisecond pulsars that are highly magnetized, rotating stellar remnants that emit bursts of radiation as they spin. 47 Tucanae has the most number of these pulsars in observed globular clusters. Pulsars are short for "pulsating stars". These are neutron stars that were formed when a star explodes into a super nova.

Study Finds Sleep Patterns And Neurobehavioral Effects As A Concern On Manned Mission To Mars

Researchers analyzing data on the the sleep, performance, and mood behavioral impact of deep space travel to astronauts find that sleep patterns and neurobehavioral effects on the crew members must be addressed for successful adaption to prolonged space missions.

For quite some time, Mars has been a hot topic when it comes to sending humans into outer space. Just recently, NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover landed on Mars and have been taking tests of the surface of the planet. It has even picked up what might possibly be evidence of water on Mars.

Travelling to Mars takes lots of preparation. For one, there are only four windows of opportunity that cycles every fifteen years to require the least amount of energy to transfer from an Earth orbit to the Mars orbit.

The next window for a low energy orbit transfer would occur in 2018.

It would take roughly 250 days to travel from the Earth to Mars. During the trip, astronauts are exposed to dangerous cosmic radiation, space debris, a zero gravity environment and even psychological effects from prolonged isolation.

The United States delayed its plan to send astronauts to Mars by 2020. Instead, the plan is to send a manned mission to an asteroid in 2025 and plan for a Mars trip by 2030.

Mars One, a private endeavor to set up a human colony on Mars led by Dutch entrepreneur, Bas Lansdorp, was announced on June 2012. The project's plan is to land humans on Mars to establish a permanent settlement in 2023. A new set of four astronauts would then arrive every two years.

Mars One is set up to be a one way trip to Mars for the astronauts.

Happy New Year From Quantum Day! Hubble Space Telescope Calendar 2013

Happy New Year!

Here's wishing you the best that 2013 has to offer!

Here's to looking forward to more scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, and technological triumph this 2013.

And courtesy of the Hubble Space Telescope, here's the printable Hubble Space Telescope 2013 Calendar! Enjoy and hope you have enough black ink to print them all!

RELATED LINKS

Hubble Space Telescope Calendar: 2013
European Southern Observatory 2013 Calendar

Wishing You The Best of the Holidays!

This image is courtesy of the Hubble Space Telescope.

The Planetary Nebula, NGC B5189 resembles a gift ribbon in space. What better way to appreciate the universe than by gazing at this amazing and beautiful object.

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! All the best to each and everyone!

RELATED LINKS

A swoosh in space: Merry Christmas from Hubble

Stars in Star Clusters Observed To Age At Varying Rates

Astronomers at the ESO, ESA, and NASA have observed that some stars in star clusters appear young looking than other stars. This is despite the fact that most of the stars in a cluster were formed at the same time and are roughly the same age. This observation was arrived at upon studying bright blue stars called blue stragglers which appear younger than other stars in the cluster.

Star clusters, as the name suggests, are groups of stars that are grouped together. These stars are bound together by their respective gravitational fields.

There are two kinds of clusters; open star clusters and globular star clusters. Open star clusters are a loosely group of hundreds of young stars. Their gravitational attraction is not strong enough to form a tight bond.

A globular star cluster is made up of hundreds and thousands of very old stars whose gravitational attraction to each other is strong enough that they form a very tight spherical shape. As one goes closer to the center, the number of stars get denser.

These clusters orbit a galaxy or the galactic core as one unit much like a satellite would.

The Milky Way galaxy is known to host around 150 star clusters but many more are believed to be undiscovered. The closest galaxy to the Milky Way, the Andromeda galaxy, has 500 clusters while Galaxy M87 has 13,000 globular clusters.

The image above shows the globular cluster NGC 6388 observed by the European Southern Observatory.

Hubble Telescope Reveals Galaxy NGC 922 Collided With Smaller Galaxy 330 Million Years Ago

The Hubble Space Telescope's image of galaxy NGC 922 reveals that it could have collided with a smaller galaxy 330 million years ago. The shape of the galaxy suggests that the collision may have happened right in the center of of NGC 922.

When two galaxies collide, it does not resemble nor is it similar two trains crashing into each other. It is a more complex process where the two start to interact with each other because of their gravity.

The interaction of the one to the other makes both galaxies pull and push towards each other like two tangled nets in the ocean. They may start eating matter from the other. Sometimes they merge into one galaxy while other collisions retain their shape and material afterwards.

Galaxy collisions are common in the universe. It is estimated that in about 4.5 billion years, the Milky Way galaxy will collide with the Andromeda galaxy to form one giant elliptical galaxy.

Collisions are better defined as gravitational interactions of two galaxies on each other.

Ice Water And Organic Materials Detected In Planet Mercury By NASA Spacecraft

NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft has detected big pockets of ice and water in the north polar region of the planet Mercury. The image shows a perspective view of Mercury’s north polar region with the radar-bright regions shown in yellow where water and ice has been detected.

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. It orbits the Sun from a distance of 46,000,000 to 70,000,000 kilometers (29,000,000 to 43,000,000 miles) and takes 88 days to complete one. Without an atmosphere to retain heat, the surface of the planet fluctuates. Mercury can reach to temperatures up to 700 Kelvin (K) which is hot enough to melt lead but there are areas that have temperatures as low as 50 K. 0 K is absolute zero.

Despite this, there are areas in the planet that are shielded from the Sun's heat. These are located in the polar regions of the planet. It is in these areas that NASA's MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft have discovered "evidence of big pockets of ice... from a latitude of 85 degrees north up to the pole, with smaller deposits scattered as far away as 65 degrees north..."

NASA Spacecraft New Horizons May Be In Peril As It Nears Pluto

The Kuiper belt is a is a region of the Solar System beyond the planets, extending from the orbit of Neptune at 30 Astronomical Units (AU) to approximately 50 AU from the Sun. 1 AU is exactly 149,597,870,700 meters (92,955,807.273 miles). This is the distance from the Earth to the Sun.

The Kuiper belt is similar to the asteroid belt although 20 times widers and twenty to two hundred times more massive. Within the belt are small bodies and left overs from when the Solar system was forming. Kuiper belt objects are composed largely of frozen volatiles (termed "ices"), such as methane, ammonia and water.

Within the belt lies the newly reclassified dwarf planet, Pluto. Pluto is composed primarily of rock and ice. It is about approximately one-sixth the mass of the Earth's Moon and one-third its volume. Five moons have been discovered orbiting the dwarf planet.

Massive Galactic Filament of Dark Matter Imaged By Hubble Space Telescope In 3D

Filaments in outer space are called supercluster complexes or great walls. Galaxy filaments are the largest cosmic structures in the universe with lengths extending from 50 to 80 megaparsecs h^-1.

These filaments are thread-like structures that form boundaries between large voids in the universe. Astronomers theorize that moments after the Big Bang, a bulk of the matter in the universe condensed into a web of tangled filaments connected to each other at the locations of massive galaxy clusters.

MIT News: Asteroid Vesta Once Had Dynamo That Generated Magnetic Field Like The Earth

On September 27, 2007, NASA launched its Dawn spacecraft. Its mission is to orbit the asteroid Vesta and then head over to another asteroid, Ceres.

Both Vesta and Ceres are situated in the asteroid field between Mars and Jupiter. Dawn's goal is to investigate in detail the two asteroids which are the largest protoplanets still intact. Protoplanets are small celestial bodies that show the beginning formation of a planet. These are differentiated objects which means, that these protoplanets underwent a process where their interior got hot enough to melt separating elements within into layers.

Vesta is a dry, differentiated object that has a rocky surface which resemble some features found on the Earth.

Last year, data from the Dawn mission revealed that Vesta may be the smallest terrestrial planet in the solar system. Meteorites found on Earth believed to have come from Vesta has shown extensive igneous processing not much different from the magma rocks found on Earth. This process makes them closely resemble terrestrial igneous rocks.