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By NASA
Explore This Section Science Science Activation Eclipses, Auroras, and the… Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Activation Stories Citizen Science 4 min read
Eclipses, Auroras, and the Spark of Becoming: NASA Inspires Future Scientists
In the heart of Alaska’s winter, where the night sky stretches endlessly and the aurora dances across the sky in a display of ethereal beauty, nine undergraduate students from across the United States were about to embark on a transformative journey. These students had been active ‘NASA Partner Eclipse Ambassadors’ in their home communities, nine of more than 700 volunteers who shared the science and awe of the 2024 eclipse with hundreds of thousands of people across the country as part of the NASA Science Activation program’s Eclipse Ambassadors project. Now, these nine were chosen to participate in a once-in a lifetime experience as a part of the “Eclipses to Aurora” Winter Field School at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Organized by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and NASA’s Aurorasaurus Citizen Science project, supported by NASA, this program offered more than just lectures—it was an immersive experience into the wonders of heliophysics and the profound connections between the Sun and Earth.
From January 4 to 11, 2025, the students explored the science behind the aurora through seminars on solar and space physics, hands-on experiments, and tours of cutting-edge research facilities like the Poker Flat Research Range. They also gained invaluable insight from Athabaskan elders, who shared local stories and star knowledge passed down through generations. As Feras recalled, “We attended multiple panels on solar and space physics, spoke to local elders on their connection to the auroras, and visited the Poker Flat Research Range to observe the stunning northern lights.”
For many students, witnessing the aurora was not only a scientific milestone, but a deeply personal and emotional experience. One participant, Andrea, described it vividly: “I looked to the darkest horizon I could find to see my only constant dream fulfilled before my eyes, so slowly dancing and bending to cradle the stars. All I could do, with my hands frozen and tears falling, I began to dream again with my eyes wide open.” Another student, Kalid, reflected on the shared human moment: “Standing there under the vast Alaskan sky… we were all just people, looking up, waiting for something magical. The auroras didn’t care about our majors or our knowledge—they brought us together under the same sky.”
These moments of wonder were mirrored by a deeper sense of purpose and transformation. “Over the course of the week, I had the incredible opportunity to explore auroras through lectures on solar physics, planetary auroras, and Indigenous star knowledge… and to reflect on these experiences through essays and presentations,” said Sophia. The Winter Field School was more than an academic endeavor—it was a celebration of science, culture, and shared human experience. It fostered not only understanding but unity and awe, reminding everyone involved of the profound interconnectedness of our universe.
The impact of the program continues to resonate. For many students, that one aurora-lit week in Alaska became a turning point in the focus of their careers. Sophia has since been accepted into graduate school to pursue heliophysics. Vishvi, inspired by the intersection of science and society, will begin a program in medical physics at the University of Pennsylvania this fall. And Christy, moved by her time at the epicenter of aurora research, has applied to the Ph.D. program in Space Physics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks—the very institution that helped spark her journey. Their stories are powerful proof that the Winter Field School didn’t just teach—it awakened purpose, lit new paths, and left footprints on futures still unfolding.
Eclipse Ambassadors is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number 80NSS22M0007 and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/
Participants at the Winter Field School are enjoying the trip to Anchorage, AK. Andy Witteman Share
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Last Updated May 14, 2025 Editor NASA Science Editorial Team Related Terms
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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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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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By NASA
During the Piston Powered Auto-Rama at the I-X Center in Cleveland on Monday, March 31, 2025, NASA Glenn Research Center’s Salvadore Oriti, right, discusses the technology behind free-piston Stirling cycle machines. Credit: NASA/Kristin Jansen NASA Glenn Research Center’s work in power and propulsion was on full display at the Piston Powered Auto-Rama at the I-X Center in Cleveland, March 28-30. The event is the largest indoor showcase of cars, trucks, motorcycles, tractors, and other engine-powered vehicles.
Center staff introduced guests to NASA’s Stirling engine technology, a free-piston Stirling power convertor that set records for accomplishing 14 years of maintenance-free operation at NASA Glenn in 2020. Attendees also explored how NASA is using space nuclear power to reach the deepest, dustiest, darkest, and most distant regions of our solar system through radioisotope power systems.
More than 57,500 people attended the event.
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1 min read NASA Glenn Engineer Highlights Research for Hubble Servicing Missions
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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 NASA
NASA Glenn Research Center’s Associate Director Larry Sivic, front row, third from left, joins in a group photo with Slovenian government officials and representatives from the Ohio Governor’s Office during a visit to the center on Friday, April 11, 2025. Credit: NASA/Jef Janis NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland hosted a delegation of Slovenian government officials and representatives from the Ohio Governor’s Office on April 11. NASA Glenn leadership provided the group with an overview of the center’s vital role within the agency. The delegation also visited key space-related and aeronautics facilities, including tours of the Zero Gravity Research Facility, Simulated Lunar Operations Laboratory, and Icing Research Tunnel.
Republic of Slovenia Minister of Defense Borut Sajovic and Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to the United States Iztok Mirosic headed the delegation. Joe Zeis, who is the senior advisor for Aerospace and Defense for the Office of the Governor, and Tobias Engel, who is with the Ohio Department of Development International Affairs, also attended.
Facility Manager Dennis Eck, second from left, points out features of NASA Glenn Research Center’s Icing Research Tunnel to a delegation of Slovenian government officials and representatives from the Ohio Governor’s Office during a tour to the center on Friday, April 11, 2025. Credit: NASA/Jef Janis The Slovenia Space Office — under the Ministry of the Economy, Industry, and Sport — coordinates Slovenia’s space activities within ESA (European Space Agency). Slovenia recently became a member state of ESA, enabling more international opportunities for Slovenian scientists and engineers. Last year, Slovenia joined the Artemis Accords, which provides a common set of principles to enhance the governance of the civil exploration and use of outer space, as the 39th participant.
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1 min read NASA Glenn Engineer Highlights Research for Hubble Servicing Missions
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