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Celebrating Hubble’s 32nd birthday with a galaxy grouping
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By NASA
The barred spiral galaxy NGC 6872 is interacting with a smaller galaxy to the upper left. The smaller galaxy has likely stripped gas from NGC 6872 to feed the supermassive black hole in its center.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Schmidt, L. Frattare, and J. Major To commemorate the 25th anniversary of NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory launch, the Chandra team released this never-seen-before image of NGC 6872, a spiral galaxy in the Pavo (Peacock) constellation, on July 22, 2024. This image and 24 others, which all include data from Chandra, demonstrate how X-ray astronomy explores all corners of the universe.
NGC 6872 is 522,000 light-years across, making it more than five times the size of the Milky Way galaxy; in 2013, astronomers from the United States, Chile, and Brazil found it to be the largest-known spiral galaxy, based on archival data from NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer. This record was surpassed by NGC 262, a galaxy that measures 1.3 million light-years in diameter.
See more photos released for this celebration.
Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Schmidt, L. Frattare, and J. Major
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By NASA
The distorted spiral galaxy at center, the Penguin, and the compact elliptical at left, the Egg, are locked in an active embrace. This near- and mid-infrared image combines data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), and marks the telescope’s second year of science. Webb’s view shows that their interaction is marked by a glow of scattered stars represented in blue. Known jointly as Arp 142, the galaxies made their first pass by one another between 25 and 75 million years ago, causing “fireworks,” or new star formation, in the Penguin. The galaxies are approximately the same mass, which is why one hasn’t consumed the other.NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI To celebrate the second science anniversary of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the team has released a near- and mid-infrared image on July 12, 2024, of two interacting galaxies: The Penguin and the Egg.
Webb specializes in capturing infrared light – which is beyond what our own eyes can see – allowing us to view and study these two galaxies, collectively known as Arp 142. Their ongoing interaction was set in motion between 25 and 75 million years ago, when the Penguin (individually cataloged as NGC 2936) and the Egg (NGC 2937) completed their first pass. They will go on to shimmy and sway, completing several additional loops before merging into a single galaxy hundreds of millions of years from now.
Learn more about the Penguin and the Egg.
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
Text Credit: NASA Webb Mission Team
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By NASA
5 Min Read NASA’s Hubble Traces Dark Matter in Dwarf Galaxy Using Stellar Motions
This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image reveals a section of the Draco dwarf galaxy. Credits:
NASA, ESA, Eduardo Vitral, Roeland van der Marel, and Sangmo Tony Sohn (STScI); Image processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI) The qualities and behavior of dark matter, the invisible “glue” of the universe, continue to be shrouded in mystery. Though galaxies are mostly made of dark matter, understanding how it is distributed within a galaxy offers clues to what this substance is, and how it’s relevant to a galaxy’s evolution.
While computer simulations suggest dark matter should pile up in a galaxy’s center, called a density cusp, many previous telescopic observations have indicated that it is instead more evenly dispersed throughout a galaxy. The reason for this tension between model and observation continues to puzzle astronomers, reinforcing the mystery of dark matter.
A team of astronomers has turned toward NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to try and clarify this debate by measuring the dynamic motions of stars within the Draco dwarf galaxy, a system located roughly 250,000 light-years from Earth. Using observations that spanned 18 years, they succeeded in building the most accurate three-dimensional understanding of stars’ movements within the diminutive galaxy. This required scouring nearly two decades of Hubble archival observations of the Draco galaxy.
A team of astronomers analyzed observations by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope taken over a span of 18 years to measure the dynamic motions of stars within the Draco dwarf galaxy. The telescope’s extensive baseline and data archive enabled the team to build the most accurate three-dimensional map of the stars’ movements within the system. These improved measurements are helping to shed “light” on the mysterious qualities and behavior of dark matter, the universe’s invisible “glue.” The left image is from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS). It presents a wider view of the region. The two right-side images are Hubble views. NASA, ESA, Eduardo Vitral, Roeland van der Marel, and Sangmo Tony Sohn (STScI), DSS; Image processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
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“Our models tend to agree more with a cusp-like structure, which aligns with cosmological models,” said Eduardo Vitral of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore and lead author of the study. “While we cannot definitively say all galaxies contain a cusp-like dark matter distribution, it’s exciting to have such well measured data that surpasses anything we’ve had before.”
Charting the Movements of Stars
To learn about dark matter within a galaxy, scientists can look to its stars and their movements that are dominated by the pull of dark matter. A common approach to measure the speed of objects moving in space is by the Doppler Effect – an observed change of the wavelength of light if a star is approaching or receding from Earth. Although this line-of-sight velocity can provide valuable insight, only so much can be gleaned from this one-dimensional source of information.
Besides moving closer or further away from us, stars also move across the sky, measured as their proper motion. By combining line-of-sight velocity with proper motions, the team created an unprecedented analysis of the stars’ 3D movements.
“Improvements in data and improvements in modeling usually go hand in hand,” explained Roeland van der Marel of STScI, a co-author of the paper who initiated the study more than 10 years ago. “If you don’t have very sophisticated data or only one-dimensional data, then relatively straightforward models can often fit. The more dimensions and complexity of data you gather, the more complex your models need to be to truly capture all the subtleties of the data.”
A Scientific Marathon (Not a Sprint)
Since dwarf galaxies are known to have a higher proportion of dark matter content than other types of galaxies, the team honed in on the Draco dwarf galaxy, which is a relatively small and spheroidal nearby satellite of the Milky Way galaxy.
“When measuring proper motions, you note the position of a star at one epoch and then many years later measure the position of that same star. You measure the displacement to determine how much it moved,” explained Sangmo Tony Sohn of STScI, another co-author of the paper and the principal investigator of the latest observational program. “For this kind of observation, the longer you wait, the better you can measure the stars shifting.”
The team analyzed a series of epochs spanning from 2004 to 2022, an extensive baseline that only Hubble could offer, due to the combination of its sharp stable vision and record time in operation. The telescope’s rich data archive helped decrease the level of uncertainty in the measurement of the stars’ proper motions. The precision is equivalent to measuring an annual shift a little less than the width of a golf ball as seen on the Moon from Earth.
With three dimensions of data, the team reduced the amount of assumptions applied in previous studies and considered characteristics specific to the galaxy – such as its rotation, and distribution of its stars and dark matter – in their own modeling efforts.
An Exciting Future
The methodologies and models developed for the Draco dwarf galaxy can be applied to other galaxies in the future. The team is already analyzing Hubble observations of the Sculptor dwarf galaxy and the Ursa Minor dwarf galaxy.
Studying dark matter requires observing different galactic environments, and also entails collaboration across different space telescope missions. For example, NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will help reveal new details of dark matter’s properties among different galaxies thanks to its ability to survey large swaths of the sky.
“This kind of study is a long-term investment and requires a lot of patience,” reflected Vitral. “We’re able to do this science because of all the planning that was done throughout the years to actually gather these data. The insights we’ve collected are the result of a larger group of researchers that has been working on these things for many years.”
These results are accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal.
The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope and mission operations. Lockheed Martin Space, based in Denver, Colorado, also supports mission operations at Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, conducts Hubble science operations for NASA.
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Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubble Media Contacts:
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
Abigail Major and Ray Villard
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD
Science Contacts:
Eduardo Vitral, Roeland van der Marel, and Sangmo Tony Sohn
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD
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Last Updated Jul 11, 2024 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Dark Matter Dark Matter & Dark Energy Goddard Space Flight Center Hubble Space Telescope Missions The Universe Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Hubble Space Telescope
Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.
Shining a Light on Dark Matter
Dark Matter & Dark Energy
Roman
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
In Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Michael Williams of United Space Alliance paints the NASA logo — known as the “meatball” — on the left wing of space shuttle Endeavour in 2012.Credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis NASA’s logo turns 65 on Monday, July 15, and media are invited to its birthday celebration in Cleveland, the city where the iconic symbol was designed.
To mark the logo’s birthday, NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland will host a series of activities celebrating the city’s connection to one of the most recognized logos in the world from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET on July 15 at Great Lakes Science Center, home of Glenn’s visitor center. Admission to the Science Center will be free, and the event is open to the public.
A birthday celebration and cake-cutting ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. and feature remarks from center leadership, a visit from the logo designer’s family, and special presentations from the city and state. Other activities include:
History and Symbolism of NASA Insignia Presentation, noon and 2 p.m. NASA Creatives Presentation featuring Glenn’s award-winning photographers and videographers, 1 p.m. Coloring contest, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Coloring contest winners announced, 2 p.m. Eva the Astronaut mascot appearance and photo ops, 1 to 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. NASA Creatives Presentation featuring retired NASA Glenn photographer Marv Smith, 3 p.m. The round blue, white, and red logo affectionately nicknamed the “meatball” became official in 1959 and was designed by the late James Modarelli, a Cleveland Institute of Art graduate and employee of Lewis Research Center (now NASA Glenn).
Media interested in covering the event should contact Jacqueline Minerd at jacqueline.minerd@nasa.gov.
For more information on NASA Glenn events, visit:
https:www.nasa.gov/glenn-communityengagement/
-end-
Jacqueline Minerd
Glenn Research Center, Cleveland
216-433-6036
jacqueline.minerd@nasa.gov
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
A painter applies a fresh coat of paint to the NASA “meatball” logo on the north façade of Glenn Research Center’s Flight Research Building, or hangar, in 2006.Credit: NASA/Marvin Smith On July 15, 2024, NASA’s logo is turning 65. The iconic symbol, known affectionately as “the meatball,” was developed at NASA’s Lewis Research Center in Cleveland (now called NASA Glenn). Employee James Modarelli, who started his career at the center as an artist and technical illustrator, was its chief designer.
The red, white, and blue design, which includes elements representing NASA’s space and aeronautics missions, became the official logo of the United States’ new space agency in 1959. A simplified version of NASA’s formal seal, the symbol has launched on rockets, flown to the Moon and beyond, and even adorns the International Space Station.
Along with its importance as a timeless symbol of exploration and discovery, the logo is also one of the world’s most recognized brand symbols. It gained its nickname in 1975 to differentiate it from NASA’s “worm” logotype. The “meatball” and these other NASA designs have made waves in pop culture.
"NASA's brand elements are wildly popular.”
Aimee crane
Merchandising and Branding Clearance Manager
“NASA’s brand elements are wildly popular,” said Aimee Crane, merchandising and branding clearance manager for the agency. “Every year, the agency receives requests to merchandise more than 10,000 NASA-inspired items.”
To mark the “meatball” logo’s birthday and highlight the center’s contributions to its design, NASA Glenn will host a free admission day at Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET on July 15. A birthday celebration and cake-cutting ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. and feature remarks from center leadership, a visit from the Modarelli family, and special presentations from the city and state.
Workers install the NASA “meatball” logo on the front of the Flight Research Building, or hangar, at Lewis Research Center (now NASA Glenn) in 1962. Credit: NASA A host of additional activities will celebrate the intersection of science and art. Visitors can meet NASA Glenn’s award-winning photographers and videographers, show off their artistic skills by participating in a coloring contest, hear more about the history and symbolism behind the logo, and learn about creative careers within the agency.
“It’s not just rocket scientists here at NASA."
KRISTEN PARKER
NASA Glenn Communications Director
“It’s not just rocket scientists here at NASA,” said Kristen Parker, NASA Glenn’s communications director. “As we celebrate the legacy of this iconic logo, we acknowledge the essential contributions of all the career fields involved in making the agency’s missions possible. We hope this inspires the next generation of students in every discipline to explore opportunities with NASA.”
NASA’s logo is everywhere. If you’re not in the Northeast Ohio area, join the logo’s birthday celebration online by engaging with NASA Glenn on social media and sharing photos of where you’ve seen the logo in your own life.
NASA Glenn designs and develops innovative technology that’s revolutionizing air travel, advancing space exploration, and improving life on Earth. Beyond designing the logo, the center has played a part in nearly every NASA mission since the agency’s inception and continues to have a crucial role in advancing the Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.
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