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By NASA
6 min read
Let’s Bake a Cosmic Cake!
To celebrate what would have been the 100th birthday of Dr. Nancy Grace Roman — NASA’s first chief astronomer and the namesake for the agency’s nearly complete Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope — we’re baking a birthday cake! This isn’t your ordinary birthday treat — this cosmic cake represents the contents of our universe and everything the Roman telescope will uncover.
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Cosmic Cake NASA The outside of our cosmic cake depicts the sky as we see it from Earth—inky black and dotted with sparkling stars. The inside represents the universe as Roman will see it. This three-layer cake charts the mysterious contents of our universe — mostly dark energy, then dark matter, and finally just five percent normal matter. As you cut into our universe cake, out spills a candy explosion symbolizing the wealth of cosmic objects Roman will see.
Roman Cosmic Cake Instructions
Ingredients:
Two boxes of vanilla cake mix and required ingredients Food coloring in three colors Black frosting Edible glitter Yellow sprinkles Nonpareil sprinkle mix Chocolate nonpareil candies Popping candy Miniature creme sandwich cookies Granulated sugar Sour candies Dark chocolate chips Jawbreakers To make our cosmic cake, we first need to account for the universe’s building blocks — normal matter, dark matter, and dark energy. Comprising about five percent of the universe, normal matter is the stuff we see around us every day, from apples to stars in the sky. Outnumbering normal matter by five times, dark matter is an invisible mass that makes up about 25 percent of the universe. Finally, dark energy — a mysterious something accelerating our universe’s expansion — makes up about 68 percent of the cosmos.
No one knows what dark matter and dark energy truly are, but we know they exist due to their effects on the universe. Roman will provide clues to these puzzles by 3D mapping matter alongside the expansion of the universe through time.
To depict the universe’s building blocks in our cosmic cake, mix the cake batter according to your chosen recipe. Pour one-fourth of the batter into one bowl for the dark matter layer, a little less than three-fourths into another bowl for dark energy, and the remainder into a separate bowl for normal matter. This will give you the quantities of batter for dark energy and dark matter, respectively. Use the remainder to represent normal matter. Color each bowl of batter differently using food coloring, then pour them into three separate cake pans and bake. The different sized layers will have different baking times, so watch them carefully to ensure proper cooking.
While our cake bakes, we’ll create the cosmic candy mix — the core of our cake that represents the universe’s objects that Roman will uncover.
First, pour yellow sprinkles into a bowl to symbolize the billions of stars Roman will see, including once-hidden stars on the far side of the Milky Way thanks to its ability to see starlight through gas and dust.
Roman’s data will also allow scientists to map gas and dust for the most complete picture yet of the Milky Way’s structure and how it births new stars. Add some granulated sugar to the candy mix as gas and dust.
Next, add nonpareil sprinkles and chocolate nonpareil candies to symbolize galaxies and galaxy clusters. Roman will capture hundreds of millions of galaxies, precisely measuring their positions, shapes, sizes, and distances. By studying the properties of so many galaxies, scientists will be able to chart dark matter and dark energy’s effects more accurately than ever before.
Now, add popping candies as explosive star deaths. Roman will witness tens of thousands of a special kind called type Ia supernovae. By studying how fast type Ia supernovae recede from us at different distances, scientists will trace cosmic expansion to better understand whether and how dark energy has changed throughout time.
Supernovae aren’t the only stellar remnants that Roman will see. To represent neutron stars and black holes, add in jawbreakers and dark chocolate chips. Neutron stars are the remnants of massive stars that collapsed to the size of a city, making them the densest things we can directly observe.
The densest things we can’t directly observe are black holes. Most black holes are formed when massive stars collapse even further to a theoretical singular point of infinite density. Sometimes, black holes form when neutron stars merge—an epic event that Roman will witness.
Roman is also equipped to spot star-sized black holes in the Milky Way and supermassive black holes in other galaxies. Some supermassive black holes lie at the center of active galaxies—the hearts of which emit excessive energy compared to the rest of the galaxy. For these active cores, also spotted by Roman, add sour candies to the mix.
Finally, add both whole and crushed miniature creme sandwich cookies to represent distant planets and planets-to-be. Peering into the center of our galaxy, Roman will scan for warped space-time indicating the presence of other worlds. The same set of observations could also reveal more than 100,000 more planets passing in front of other stars. Additionally, the Coronagraph Instrument will directly image both worlds and dusty disks around stars that can eventually form planets.
After baking, remove the cake layers from the oven to cool. Cut a hole in the center of the thicker dark matter and dark energy layers. Then, stack these two layers using frosting to secure them. Pour the cosmic candy mix into the cake’s core. Then, place the thin normal matter layer on top, securing it with frosting. Frost the whole cake in black and dust it with edible glitter.
Congratulations — your Roman Cosmic Cake is complete! As you look at the cake’s exterior, think of the night sky. As you slice the cake, imagine Roman’s deeper inspection to unveil billions of cosmic objects and clues about our universe’s mysterious building blocks.
By Laine Havens
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
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Last Updated May 15, 2025 Related Terms
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope For Kids and Students View the full article
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By NASA
Explore Hubble Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Hubble’s Partners in Science Universe Uncovered Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble Team Career Aspirations Hubble Astronauts Multimedia Multimedia Images Videos Sonifications Podcasts e-Books Online Activities 3D Hubble Models Lithographs Fact Sheets Posters Hubble on the NASA App Glossary News Hubble News Social Media Media Resources More 35th Anniversary Online Activities 2 min read
Hubble Pinpoints Young Stars in Spiral Galaxy
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy NGC 1317. ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team In this image, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope peers into the spiral galaxy NGC 1317 in the constellation Fornax, located more than 50 million light-years from Earth. Visible in this galaxy image is a bright blue ring that hosts hot, young stars. NGC 1317 is one of a pair, but its rowdy larger neighbor, NGC 1316, lies outside Hubble’s field of view. Despite the absence of its neighboring galaxy, this image finds NGC 1317 accompanied by two objects from very different parts of the universe. The bright point ringed with a crisscross pattern is a star from our own galaxy surrounded by diffraction spikes, whereas the redder elongated smudge is a distant galaxy lying far beyond NGC 1317.
The data presented in this image are from a vast observing campaign of hundreds of observations from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys. Combined with data from the ALMA array in the Atacama Desert, these observations help astronomers chart the connections between vast clouds of cold gas and the fiercely hot, young stars that form within them. ALMA’s unparalleled sensitivity at long wavelengths identified vast reservoirs of cold gas throughout the local universe, and Hubble’s sharp vision pinpointed clusters of young stars, as well as measuring their ages and masses.
Often the most exciting astronomical discoveries require this kind of telescope teamwork, with cutting-edge facilities working together to provide astronomers with information across the electromagnetic spectrum. The same applies to Hubble’s observations that laid the groundwork for the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope’s scientific observations.
Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubble Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli (claire.andreoli@nasa.gov)
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
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Last Updated May 14, 2025 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Hubble Space Telescope Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Galaxies Goddard Space Flight Center Spiral Galaxies The Universe Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From Hubble
Hubble Space Telescope
Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.
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By NASA
Explore Webb Webb News Latest News Latest Images Webb’s Blog Awards X (offsite – login reqd) Instagram (offsite – login reqd) Facebook (offsite- login reqd) Youtube (offsite) Overview About Who is James Webb? Fact Sheet Impacts+Benefits FAQ Science Overview and Goals Early Universe Galaxies Over Time Star Lifecycle Other Worlds Observatory Overview Launch Deployment Orbit Mirrors Sunshield Instrument: NIRCam Instrument: MIRI Instrument: NIRSpec Instrument: FGS/NIRISS Optical Telescope Element Backplane Spacecraft Bus Instrument Module Multimedia About Webb Images Images Videos What is Webb Observing? 3d Webb in 3d Solar System Podcasts Webb Image Sonifications Team International Team People Of Webb More For the Media For Scientists For Educators For Fun/Learning 5 Min Read Another First: NASA Webb Identifies Frozen Water in Young Star System
For the first time, researchers confirmed the presence of crystalline water ice in a dusty debris disk that orbits a Sun-like star, using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. The full artist’s concept illustration and full caption is shown below. Credits:
NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI) Is frozen water scattered in systems around other stars? Astronomers have long expected it is, partially based on previous detections of its gaseous form, water vapor, and its presence in our own solar system.
Now there is definitive evidence: Researchers confirmed the presence of crystalline water ice in a dusty debris disk that orbits a Sun-like star 155 light-years away using detailed data known as spectra from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. (The term water ice specifies its makeup, since many other frozen molecules are also observed in space, such as carbon dioxide ice, or “dry ice.”) In 2008, data from NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope hinted at the possibility of frozen water in this system.
“Webb unambiguously detected not just water ice, but crystalline water ice, which is also found in locations like Saturn’s rings and icy bodies in our solar system’s Kuiper Belt,” said Chen Xie, the lead author of the new paper and an assistant research scientist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
All the frozen water Webb detected is paired with fine dust particles throughout the disk — like itsy-bitsy “dirty snowballs.” The results published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
Astronomers have been waiting for this definitive data for decades. “When I was a graduate student 25 years ago, my advisor told me there should be ice in debris disks, but prior to Webb, we didn’t have instruments sensitive enough to make these observations,” said Christine Chen, a co-author and associate astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. “What’s most striking is that this data looks similar to the telescope’s other recent observations of Kuiper Belt objects in our own solar system.”
Water ice is a vital ingredient in disks around young stars — it heavily influences the formation of giant planets and may also be delivered by small bodies like comets and asteroids to fully formed rocky planets. Now that researchers have detected water ice with Webb, they have opened the door for all researchers to study how these processes play out in new ways in many other planetary systems.
Image: Debris Disk Around Star HD 181327 (Artist’s Concept)
For the first time, researchers confirmed the presence of crystalline water ice in a dusty debris disk that orbits a Sun-like star, using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. All the frozen water detected by Webb is paired with fine dust particles throughout the disk. The majority of the water ice observed is found where it’s coldest and farthest from the star. The closer to the star the researchers looked, the less water ice they found. NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI) Rocks, Dust, Ice Rushing Around
The star, cataloged HD 181327, is significantly younger than our Sun. It’s estimated to be 23 million years old, compared to the Sun’s more mature 4.6 billion years. The star is slightly more massive than the Sun, and it’s hotter, which led to the formation of a slightly larger system around it.
Webb’s observations confirm a significant gap between the star and its debris disk — a wide area that is free of dust. Farther out, its debris disk is similar to our solar system’s Kuiper Belt, where dwarf planets, comets, and other bits of ice and rock are found (and sometimes collide with one another). Billions of years ago, our Kuiper Belt was likely similar to this star’s debris disk.
“HD 181327 is a very active system,” Chen said. “There are regular, ongoing collisions in its debris disk. When those icy bodies collide, they release tiny particles of dusty water ice that are perfectly sized for Webb to detect.”
Frozen Water — Almost Everywhere
Water ice isn’t spread evenly throughout this system. The majority is found where it’s coldest and farthest from the star. “The outer area of the debris disk consists of over 20% water ice,” Xie said.
The closer in the researchers looked, the less water ice they found. Toward the middle of the debris disk, Webb detected about 8% water ice. Here, it’s likely that frozen water particles are produced slightly faster than they are destroyed. In the area of the debris disk closest to the star, Webb detected almost none. It’s likely that the star’s ultraviolet light vaporizes the closest specks of water ice. It’s also possible that rocks known as planetesimals have “locked up” frozen water in their interiors, which Webb can’t detect.
This team and many more researchers will continue to search for — and study — water ice in debris disks and actively forming planetary systems throughout our Milky Way galaxy. “The presence of water ice helps facilitate planet formation,” Xie said. “Icy materials may also ultimately be ‘delivered’ to terrestrial planets that may form over a couple hundred million years in systems like this.”
The researchers observed HD 181327 with Webb’s NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph), which is super-sensitive to extremely faint dust particles that can only be detected from space.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
To learn more about Webb, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/webb
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Media Contacts
Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Claire Blome – cblome@stsci.edu
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
Christine Pulliam – cpulliam@stsci.edu
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
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View Webb images of other debris disks around Vega, Fomalhaut, Beta Pictoris, and AU Microscopii
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Last Updated May 14, 2025 Editor Marty McCoy Contact Laura Betz laura.e.betz@nasa.gov Related Terms
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By NASA
NASA Glenn Research Center senior materials research engineer Kim de Groh, who conducted research for Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions, shared her experiences during a presentation at Great Lakes Science Center, home of the NASA Glenn Visitor Center, in Cleveland on Thursday, May 8, 2025. Credit: NASA/Dennis Brown April 24 marked the 35th anniversary of the launch of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The iconic space observatory remains a household name —the most well-recognized and scientifically productive telescope in history. Engineers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland played a significant role in how the telescope functions today.
NASA’s Glenn Research Center researchers Kim de Groh, left, and Joyce Dever conducted research for Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions. De Groh shared her experiences during a presentation at Great Lakes Science Center, home of the NASA Glenn Visitor Center, in Cleveland on Thursday, May 8, 2025. Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna NASA Glenn researchers assisted in all five Hubble servicing missions by testing damaged insulation, determining why it degraded in space, and recommending replacement materials.
One of those researchers, Kim de Groh, senior materials research engineer, shared some of that research in a special presentation at Great Lakes Science Center, home of the NASA Glenn Visitor Center, in Cleveland on May 8. She chronicled her Hubble experience with a presentation, a show-and-tell with samples directly from the telescope, and a Q&A addressing the audience’s Hubble-related questions.
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By USH
In recent months, Earth has been experiencing a string of bizarre and unsettling phenomena. Massive power outages have struck Spain and Portugal, with similar blackouts occurring across the globe. Aircraft have inexplicably crashed or fallen from the sky. Lights - streetlamps, billboards, car headlights, even indoor lighting are flickering erratically, and the problem persists.
Power failures have disrupted air traffic control centers. Strange, unexplained noises have been heard coming from the sky. In parts of the U.S., blue rain has reportedly fallen. The Schumann Resonance, Earth’s natural electromagnetic frequency, has spiked dramatically. Most disturbing of all, now birds have been seen suddenly dropping dead, either mid-flight or while perched on power lines.
It feels as if the planet is enveloped in a powerful, unseen force, an invisible energy field swarming the Earth, disrupting both man-made and natural systems. But where is it coming from?
One theory suggests that we may be experiencing the delayed impact of a massive astronomical event that occurred thousands of years ago, such as a supernova, the cataclysmic explosion of a dying star. These cosmic blasts release enormous amounts of electromagnetic radiation, including gamma rays and X-rays, which can travel across space for thousands or even millions of years before reaching other celestial bodies, like Earth.
Interestingly, some scientists have speculated that a gamma-ray burst from a distant supernova might have triggered the Ordovician mass extinction around 440 million years ago. If such radiation can wipe out entire ecosystems, could a similar event be silently influencing the strange phenomena we're seeing today?
It might sound improbable, but what if Earth is now being bathed in residual energy from a long-past cosmic event, energy that is only just now arriving and interacting with our atmosphere and technology?
And if that's true… could these strange occurrences be the early signs of something even more serious to come?
Additional: MrMBB333, a well-known YouTuber, is also closely following these remarkable events. He shares daily live footage from around the world and often questions what is truly happening. In his latest video below he shares the mystery of the birds dropping dead while perched on power lines.
You can watch his videos on his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/MrMBB333/videosView the full article
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