Latest Explorer program Stories
GREENBELT, Md., Aug. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An exciting new astrophysics mission led by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., will provide a revolutionary window into the universe. Named the Gravity and Extreme Magnetism Small Explorer (GEMS), the satellite will be the first to systematically measure the polarization of cosmic X-ray sources. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) "To date, astronomers have measured X-ray polarization from only...
An exciting new astrophysics mission led by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., will provide a revolutionary window into the universe. Named the Gravity and Extreme Magnetism Small Explorer (GEMS), the satellite will be the first to systematically measure the polarization of cosmic X-ray sources."To date, astronomers have measured X-ray polarization from only a single object outside the solar system -- the famous Crab Nebula, the luminous cloud that marks the site of an...
The U.S. space agency says its Interstellar Boundary Explorer has made the first detection of very fast neutral atoms emanating from the moon. The discovery came during the spacecraft's commissioning, when scientists turned on the IBEX-Hi instrument, which measures atoms with speeds from about half a million to 2.5 million miles per hour. Just after we got IBEX-Hi turned on, the moon happened to pass right through its field of view, and there they were, said David McComas, IBEX principal...
NASA has selected two science proposals to be developed into full missions as part of the agency's Small Explorer, or SMEX, Program. The selections will implement projects that will study our sun and some of the most exotic objects in the universe, such as neutron stars and black holes.Both missions will launch by 2015; the first could launch by the end of 2012. Mission costs will be capped at $105 million each, excluding the launch vehicle."These two missions demonstrate the value of...
Research also provides insight to particle 'recycling' processes in spaceNASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft has made the first observations of very fast hydrogen atoms coming from the moon, following decades of speculation and searching for their existence.During spacecraft commissioning, the IBEX team turned on the IBEX-Hi instrument, built primarily by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which measures atoms with speeds from about...
NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer Mission marks its sixth anniversary studying galaxies beyond our Milky Way through its sensitive ultraviolet telescope, the only such far-ultraviolet detector in space.The mission studies the shape, brightness, size and distance of galaxies across 10 billion years of cosmic history, giving scientists a wealth of data to help us better understand the origins of the universe. One such object is pictured here, the galaxy NGC598, more commonly known as M33.In...
Earth-bound tornadoes are puny compared to "space tornadoes," which span a volume as large as Earth and produce electrical currents exceeding 100,000 amperes, according to new observations by a suite of five NASA space probes.The probe cluster, called Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS), recorded the extent and power of these electrical funnels as the probes passed through them during their orbit of Earth. Ground measurements showed that the...
Scientists from the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia have helped unveil the birthplaces of ancient stars using a two-ton telescope carried by a balloon the size of a 33-storey building.After two years spent analyzing data from the Balloon-borne Large-Aperture Sub-millimeter Telescope (BLAST) project, an international group of astronomers and astrophysicists from Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. reveals today in the journal Nature that half of the starlight of the...
WASHINGTON, April 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A collection of NASA missions will be involved in a live event April 3 that will allow the public to get an inside look at how these missions are run. "Around the World in 80 Telescopes" is a 24-hour webcast that is part of the "100 Hours of Astronomy" event for the International Year of Astronomy 2009. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) During the webcast, viewers will be able to visit some of the most advanced...
The U.S. space agency says it will take part in Around the World in 80 Telescopes -- a 24-hour Webcast that's part of the International Year of Astronomy. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said the live Webcast, which begins Friday, will offer viewers a visit to some of the most advanced telescopes on and off the planet, including never-before-seen images. NASA missions participating in the Webcast and the EDT broadcast times are: Hubble Space Telescope, 1:20 p.m. Friday; the...
