Mapex

Remnant of a Supernova

Mapex — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:00:08 +0000

Vital clues about the devastating ends to the lives of massive stars can be found by studying the aftermath of their explosions. In its more than twelve years of science operations, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has studied many of these supernova remnants sprinkled across the galaxy. The latest example of this important investigation is Chandra’s new image of the supernova remnant known as G350.1-0.3. This stellar debris field is located some 14,700 light years from the Earth toward the center of the Milky Way. Evidence from Chandra and from ESA’s XMM-Newton telescope suggest that a compact object within G350.1+0.3 may be the dense core of the star that exploded. The position of this likely neutron star, seen by the arrow pointing to “neutron star” in the inset image, is well away from the center of the X-ray emission. If the supernova explosion occurred near the center of the X-ray emission then the neutron star must have received a powerful kick in the supernova explosion. Data suggest this supernova remnant, as it appears in the image, is 600 and 1,200 years old. If the estimated location of the explosion is correct, this means the neutron star has been moving at a speed of at least 3 million miles per hour since the explosion. Another intriguing aspect of G350.1-0.3 is its unusual shape. Many supernova remnants are nearly circular, but G350.1-0.3 is strikingly asymmetrical as seen in the Chandra data in this image (gold). Infrared data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope (light blue) also trace the morphology found by Chandra. Astronomers think that this bizarre shape is due to stellar debris field expanding into a nearby cloud of cold molecular gas. The age of 600-1,200 years puts the explosion that created G350.1-0.3 in the same time frame as other famous supernovas that formed the Crab and SN 1006 supernova remnants. However, it is unlikely that anyone on Earth would have seen the explosion because of the obscuring gas and dust that lies along our line of sight to the remnant. These results appeared in the April 10, 2011 issue of The Astrophysical Journal. Image Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/I. Lovchinsky et al; IR: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Astronaut Don Pettit Shares Passion for Science from Space

Mapex — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:00:07 +0000

NASA and the American Physical Society (APS) have begun a partnership to share videos from the International Space Station with students, educators and science fans around the world.

ESA’s Mars Express radar gives strong evidence for former Mars ocean

Mapex — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

ESA’s Mars Express has returned strong evidence for an ocean once covering part of Mars. Using radar, it has detected sediments reminiscent of an ocean floor within the boundaries of previously identified, ancient shorelines on Mars.

Panorama of the East Coast

Mapex — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:20:07 +0000

This Jan. 29 panorama of much of the East Coast, photographed by one of the Expedition 30 crew members aboard the International Space Station, provides a look generally northeastward: Philadelphia-New York City-Boston corridor (bottom-center); western Lake Ontario shoreline with Toronto (left edge); Montreal (near center). An optical illusion in the photo makes the atmospheric limb and light activity from Aurora Borealis appear “intertwined.” Image Credit: NASA

NASA Glenn To Host Tweetup Celebrating 50th Anniversary Of First American To Orbit Earth

Mapex — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:20:06 +0000

NASA’s Glenn Research Center (GRC) in Cleveland will host a special event on March 2 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of John Glenn’s first orbital flight by an American.

Mars Express reveals wind-blown deposits on Mars

Mapex — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000

New images from ESA’s Mars Express show the Syrtis Major region on Mars. Once thought to be a sea of water, the region is now known to be a volcanic province dating back billions of years.

Saturn and Its Moon Dione

Mapex — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:00:05 +0000

Saturn and Dione appear askew in this Cassini spacecraft view, with the north poles rotated to the right, as if they were threaded along on the thin diagonal line of the planet’s rings. This view looks toward the anti-Saturn side of Dione (698 miles, or 1,123 kilometers across). North on Dione is up and rotated 20 degrees to the right. This view looks toward the northern, sunlit side of the rings from less than one degree above the ring plane. The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Dec. 12, 2011. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 35,000 miles (57,000 kilometers) from Dione and at a Sun-Dione-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 41 degrees. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

NASA to Host Media Telecon on Space Station Status

Mapex — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:00:05 +0000

NASA will host a media telecon at 2 p.m. CST today to discuss the status of the International Space Station and the progress toward an updated launch schedule, including international partner and commercial space vehicles.

Vega set for its inaugural flight

Mapex — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:28:00 +0000

PR 2 2012 – On 13 February, the European Space Agency will perform the first qualification flight of its brand new Vega launch vehicle.

Call for Media: briefing on new results from ESA Planck mission

Mapex — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Media representatives are invited to a briefing on new observations of the Milky Way and other galaxies by ESA’s Planck mission.