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A witch appears to be screaming out into space in this image from NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. The infrared portrait shows the Witch Head nebula, named after its resemblance to the profile of a wicked witch.

NASA/JPL-Caltech

This 2013 image taken by NASA’s Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, captures a nebula that looks like a witch screaming. Perhaps that imagined scream is a creation spell, for the Witch Hat nebula’s billowy clouds are a star nursery. We can see these clouds thanks to massive stars lighting them up; dust in the cloud is being hit with starlight, causing it to glow with infrared light, which was picked up by WISE’s detectors.

WISE launched to near-Earth orbit on Dec. 14, 2009, and surveyed the full sky in four infrared wavelength bands until the frozen hydrogen cooling the telescope was depleted in September 2010. The spacecraft was placed into hibernation in February 2011, having completed its primary astrophysics mission.

In late 2013, the spacecraft was resurrected – no incantation needed – when NASA’s Planetary Science Division gave it a new mission and a new name: NEOWISE. The spacecraft began helping NASA identify and describe near-Earth objects (NEOs). NEOs are comets and asteroids that have been nudged into orbits that allow them to enter Earth’s neighborhood. NEOWISE was decommissioned Aug. 8, 2024, and placed into hibernation for the last time, ending its career as an active asteroid hunter.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Most of the diverse elements in the Universe come from supernovae. We are, quite literally, made of the dust of those long-dead stars and other astrophysical processes. But the details of how it all comes about are something astronomers strive to understand. How do the various isotopes produced by supernovae drive the evolution of planetary systems? Of the various types of supernovae, which play the largest role in creating the elemental abundances we see today? One way astronomers can study these questions is to look at presolar grains.

These are dust grains formed long before the formation of the Sun. Some of them were cast out of older systems as a star fired up its nuclear furnace and cleared its system of dust. Others formed from the remnants of supernovae and stellar collisions. Regardless of its origin, each presolar grain has a unique isotopic fingerprint that tells us its story. For decades, we could only study presolar grains found in meteorites, but missions such as Stardust have captured particles from comets, giving us a richer source for study. Observations from radio telescopes such as ALMA allow astronomers to look at the isotope ratios of these grains at their point of origin. We can now study presolar grains both in the lab and in space. A new study compares the two, focusing on the role of supernovae.

Pair of presolar grains from the Murchison meteorite. Credit: Argonne National Laboratory, Department of Energy

What they found was that the physical gathering of presolar grains will be crucial to understanding their origins. For example, Type II supernovae, also known as [core-collapse supernovae,](https://briankoberlein.com/post/supernovas-tale/) are known to produce Titanium-44, which is an unstable isotope. Through decay processes, this can create an excess of Calcium-44 in presolar grains. But grains cast off from young star systems also have a Calcium-44 excess. In the first case, the grains form with titanium, which then decays to calcium, while in the second case, the grains form with calcium directly. We can’t distinguish between the two just by looking at the isotope ratios. Instead, we have to look at the specific distribution of Calcium-44 within the grain. The team found that using nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) they could distinguish the origin of grains found in meteorites. Similar complexities are seen with isotopes of silicon and chromium.

Overall, the study proves that we will need much more study to tease apart the origins of the presolar grains we gather. But as we better understand the grains we gather here on Earth, they should help us unravel a deeper understanding of how elements are forged in the nuclear furnaces of large stars.

Reference: Liu, Nan, et al. “Presolar grains as probes of supernova nucleosynthesis.” arXiv preprint arXiv:2410.19254 (2024).

The post Learning More About Supernovae Through Stardust appeared first on Universe Today.

People conceived during the UK's 1940s and 50s sugar rationing have a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure than those conceived after rationing ended

People conceived during the UK's 1940s and 50s sugar rationing have a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure than those conceived after rationing ended

"Star Trek" has played around with swarms of microscopic robots before, but never quite like this.

Fewer lakes are freezing over each winter compared with past years, posing environmental and economic consequences around the world

Fewer lakes are freezing over each winter compared with past years, posing environmental and economic consequences around the world

Halloween is here, and there is no better way to celebrate than with a blood-curdling image of the Dark Wolf Nebula looking like a cosmic werewolf poised to grab an unwitting victim.

North Korea test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile on Wednesday (July 12), shortly after complaining about purported spying activity by the United States.

Torrential rain, made worse by climate change, has lashed Spain, with Valencia bearing the brunt of the floodwaters

The extreme qualities of neutron stars could mean these dead stellar remnants gather dense clouds of hypothetical particles called "axions" around them, potentially shedding light on dark matter.

Celebrate Halloween with a cosmic new Google Doodle, featuring an astronaut cat vanquishing creepy creatures across Earth's atmosphere.

Comets have long been seen as omens and portents, and it’s easy to understand why. They first appear as faint smudges of light in the sky, sometimes fading soon after and sometimes becoming brighter than the planets, with a long, glowing tail. They have been observed throughout human history, but it wasn’t until the eighteenth century that astronomers began to predict the return of some comets. Even today, we can’t predict the return of most comets until after they swing through the inner solar system. If such a comet happens to be heading toward Earth, we wouldn’t know about it until too late. But that could change thanks to our observations of meteor showers.

Comets originate from the Oort cloud, the icy remnant of our solar system’s birth that surrounds the Sun as a sphere 100,000 AU in diameter. Whether through a close collision with another Oort object or the nearby passing of a star, some of these distant chunks of ice and rock are sent tumbling toward the inner solar system. They can come from any direction in the sky, and once they dance near the Sun they may not return for hundreds or thousands of years. Any comet with a period longer than 200 years is known as a long-period comet, and these are the hardest to predict.

Most long-period comets pose no threat to Earth. They might appear bright in the evening or morning sky, but their orbits don’t cross Earth’s orbit, so there is no risk of impact. But some long-period comets could pose an impact threat to Earth. We know this in part because we’ve been hit by comets before, and in part because we observe regular meteor showers. Showers such as the Geminids, Perseids, and Orionids are caused by the dusty trails left by comets as they cross Earth’s orbit. In these cases, we have even identified the originating comets as Phaeton, Swift-Tuttle, and Halley’s. But of these, only Swift-Tuttle is a long-period comet (barely) with an orbital period of 257 years.

Illustration of long-period comets and the Oort cloud. Credit: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

These connections between comets and meteor showers were made by first knowing the comet’s orbit then connecting its path to known showers. In principle, we should be able to do it the other way around. Identify what the path of a meteor shower is, and then use that to search for its long-period comet. As new telescopes such as Rubin Observatory come online, this approach could become a useful tool in the search for impact threats. A recent study on the arXiv shows how this would work.

The team ran simulations of long-period comets ranging from 200 to 4,000 years. They estimated the dust trails these hypothetical comets would produce, then set out to determine if astronomers could use these trails to work backwards to locate the originating comet while it is far from the Sun. In anticipation of having high-resolution sky surveys, the team assumed astronomers could observe them at the anticipated resolution of Rubin Observatory. They found that the orbits of many comets don’t produce showers useful for prediction, but in 17 cases, the showers could be used to identify comets months or years before they would typically be noticed.

The expected orbit for the Aurigid shower. Credit: Hemmelgarn, et al

To prove this point even further, the team also looked at a meteor shower called the ?-Hydrids, a faint shower that appears in early December. The origin of the sigma-Hydrids was not known until the appearance of Comet Nishimura in 2023. Once the orbit was determined, astronomers found a possible connection to the sigma-Hydrid showers. Using known observations of the shower before 2023, the team was able to determine a possible orbit for the comet. They found that with a Rubin-like sky search, astronomers could have found Nishimura eight months before its actual discovery.

Reference: Hemmelgarn, Samantha, et al. “How Meteor Showers Can Guide the Search for Long Period Comets.” arXiv preprint arXiv:2410.02883 (2024).

The post Astronomers Predict the Orbits of Potentially Hazardous Comets From Meteor Showers appeared first on Universe Today.

Although no ghouls or goblins or trick-or-treaters come knocking at the International Space Station’s front hatch, crew members aboard the orbiting facility still like to get in the Halloween spirit. Whether individually or as an entire crew, they dress up in sometimes spooky, sometimes scary, but always creative costumes, often designed from materials available aboard the space station. Please enjoy the following scenes from Halloweens past even as we anticipate the costumes of the future.

Left: Wearing a black cape, Expedition 16 NASA astronaut Clayton C. Anderson channels his inner vampire for Halloween 2007. Image credit: courtesy Clayton C. Anderson. Middle: For Halloween 2009, the Expedition 21 crew shows off its costumes. Right: Expedition 21 NASA astronaut Nicole P. Stott shows off her Halloween costume.

Left: An orange dressed as a pumpkin for Halloween, courtesy of Expedition 21 NASA astronaut Nicole P. Stott. Middle: Italian Space Agency astronaut Luca S. Parmitano finally gets his wish to fly like Superman during Expedition 37. Right: Who’s that behind the scary mask? None other than NASA astronaut Scott J. Kelly celebrating Halloween in 2015 during his one-year mission.

Left: Expedition 53 Commander NASA astronaut Randolph J. “Randy” Bresnik showing off his costume. Middle: Expedition 53 NASA astronaut Joseph M. Acaba wearing Halloween colors. Right: Expedition 53 European Space Agency astronaut Paolo A. Nespoli showing off his Spiderman skills.

Left: Expedition 57 crewmembers in their Halloween best – European Space Agency astronaut and Commander Alexander Gerst, left, and NASA astronaut Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor. Right: Members of Expedition 61, NASA astronaut Christina H. Koch, top left, European Space Agency astronaut Luca S. Parmitano, NASA astronaut Andrew R. “Drew” Morgan, and NASA astronaut Jessica U. Meir, show off their Halloween spirit in 2019.

Left: Expedition 66 crewmembers NASA astronaut R. Shane Kimbrough, left, Thomas G. Pesquet of the European Space Agency, Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and NASA astronaut Mark T. Vande Hei showing off their Halloween cards. Right: A hand rising from the grave?

In October 2021, Crew-3 NASA astronauts Raja J. Chari, Thomas H. Marshburn, Kayla S. Barron, and Matthias J. Maurer of the European Space Agency (ESA), had some undisclosed plans for when they reached the space station just before Halloween. However, bad weather at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida thwarted those super-secret spooky Halloween plans, delaying their launch until Nov. 11. Undeterred, Expedition 66 crewmembers who awaited them aboard the station held their own Halloween shenanigans. ESA astronaut Thomas G. Pesquet posted on social media that “Strange things were happening on ISS for Halloween. Aki rising from the dead (or is it from our observation window?),” referring to fellow crew member Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Left: In 2022, Expedition 68 astronauts Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, left, and NASA astronauts Francisco “Frank” C. Rubio, Nicole A. Mann, and Josh A. Cassada dressed as popular video game and cartoon characters, using stowage containers in their Halloween costumes and holding improvised trick-or-treat bags. Middle: Expedition 70 astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA, left, Satoshi Furakawa of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, NASA astronaut Loral A. O’Hara, and European Space Agency astronaut Andreas E. Mogensen celebrate Halloween 2023. Right: The Expedition 72 crew has decorated the Node 1 galley with a pumpkin in preparation for Halloween 2024.

The spookiness will continue …

Explore More 9 min read 60 Years Ago: The First Flight of the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle Article 1 day ago 11 min read 35 Years Ago: STS-34 Sends Galileo on its Way to Jupiter Article 1 week ago 12 min read Five Years Ago: First All Woman Spacewalk Article 2 weeks ago

8 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

Artemis I Moon Tree seedlings continue to find new homes with schools, museums, libraries, universities, and community organizations across the contiguous United States. An open call to NASA’s Artifacts Module in Fall, 2023 welcomed over 1000 organization submissions, which were reviewed and ranked by a joint USDA Forest Service and NASA panel.

Final recipient selection and seedling assignments for each cycle are informed by rank and region, and subject to a limited inventory of trees germinated from each of the five species of seeds flown aboard Artemis I in 2022. Recipient selection and seedling distribution follows four cycles: Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, and Fall 2025.

Spring 2024 Artemis I Moon Tree Stewards Alabama

Fairfield City Schools – Fairfield High Preparatory School Fairfield AL American Sweetgum
Meridianville Middle School Hazel Green AL Loblolly Pine
Pioneer Museum of Alabama Troy AL Loblolly Pine
Troy University Arboretum Troy AL Loblolly Pine

Arkansas

Baxter County Library Mountain Home AR American Sweetgum

Arizona

University of Arizona – Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) Tucson AZ American Sweetgum

California

Forestr.org Castro Valley CA Sequoia
Girl Scout Troop 7574 Dana Point CA Sequoia
Greenfield Union School District Greenfield CA Sequoia
Quest Science Center Livermore CA Sequoia
Santiago STEAM Magnet Elementary School Lake Forest CA Sequoia

Colorado

United States Air Force Academy USAF Academy CO American Sweetgum

Connecticut

New Milford High School New Milford CT American Sweetgum
South School – New Canaan School District New Canaan CT Sycamore
Yale University Marsh Botanical Garden New Haven CT American Sweetgum

Washington, DC

United States Capitol
Washington, DC DC American Sweetgum

Florida

Agricultural Biotechnology Academy, West Florida High School of Advanced Technology, Escambia County School District Pensacola FL Loblolly Pine
Cornerstone Learning Community Tallahassee FL American Sweetgum
Dreamers Academy Sarasota FL American Sweetgum
Florida Forest Service Tallahassee FL Loblolly Pine
Florida Polytechnic University Lakeland FL American Sweetgum
Gulfside Community Partnership School Holiday FL Loblolly Pine
H.B. Plant High School Tampa FL American Sweetgum
Hobbs Middle School Milton FL American Sweetgum
Lawton Environmental Study Area (LESA), T.W. Lawton Elementary Oviedo FL American Sweetgum
Montverde Academy Montverde FL American Sweetgum
Museum of Archaeology, Paleontology & Science New Port Richey FL American Sweetgum
Museum of Science and Industry Tampa FL American Sweetgum
North Andrews Gardens Elementary Oakland Park FL American Sweetgum
Orange Park Elementary Orange Park FL American Sweetgum
Pine Crest School Fort Lauderdale FL American Sweetgum
Port Malabar Elementary School Palm Bay FL American Sweetgum
St. Peter Catholic School Deland FL Loblolly Pine
UF/IFAS Extension Clay County 4-H Green Cove Springs FL Loblolly Pine
University of West Florida Pensacola FL Loblolly Pine
West Navarre Intermediate School Navarre FL American Sweetgum

Georgia

Berrien Elementary School Nashville GA Loblolly Pine
East Georgia State College Swainsboro GA Loblolly Pine
Lilburn Elementary School Lilburn GA Loblolly Pine
Park Elementary School Hamilton GA Loblolly Pine
Sagamore Hills Elementary School Atlanta GA Loblolly Pine
United States Air Force Moody Air Force Base GA American Sweetgum

Iowa

Cedar Rapids Community School District, Metro High School Cedar Rapids IA Sycamore

Idaho

American Falls High School American Falls ID Sycamore

Illinois

Eagle Pointe Elementary School Plainfield IL Sycamore
Marion Community Unit #2 School District, Marion Junior High School Marion IL Sycamore
Monmouth College Monmouth IL American Sweetgum

Indiana

Franklin Community High School Franklin IN American Sweetgum
Hayes Arboretum Richmond IN American Sweetgum

Kansas

Tecumseh South Elementary School Tecumseh KS American Sweetgum

Kentucky

Christian County Middle School Hopkinsville KY American Sweetgum
FIND Outdoors Gladie Visitor Center, Red River Gorge Stanton KY American Sweetgum
Graves County High School Mayfield KY American Sweetgum
Martha Layne Collins High School Shelbyville KY American Sweetgum

Louisiana

Shreve Island Elementary, Caddo Parish Schools Shreveport LA American Sweetgum
YMCA of Bogalusa Bogalusa LA Loblolly Pine

Massachusetts

Bernardston Elementary School Bernardston MA American Sweetgum

Michigan

The Botanic Garden at Historic Barns Park Traverse City MI Sycamore

Minnesota

Forest Lake Area High School Forest Lake MN Sycamore

Missouri

Columbia Public Schools Elementary Gifted Program Columbia MO American Sweetgum
Trailridge Elementary Lee’s Summit MO American Sweetgum

Mississippi

Bayou Academy Cleveland MS American Sweetgum
Clinton Community Nature Center Clinton MS American Sweetgum

North Carolina

Cardinal Gibbons High School Raleigh NC American Sweetgum
FIND Outdoors Cradle of Forestry Pisgah National Forest NC American Sweetgum
Mars Hill University Mars Hill NC American Sweetgum
Montgomery County NC Extension Master Gardener Volunteers; The Gathering Garden Mount Gilead NC Loblolly Pine
North Carolina Executive Mansion – Governor’s Residence
Raleigh NC Loblolly Pine
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics – Morganton Morganton NC American Sweetgum
White Oak High School Jacksonville NC American Sweetgum
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics – Durham Durham NC Sycamore

Nebraska

Hastings College Hastings NE American Sweetgum
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln NE American Sweetgum

New Hampshire

Barnstead Elementary School Center Barnstead NH Sycamore
Nashua Community College Nashua NH Sycamore

New Jersey

Edelman Planetarium at Rowan University Glassboro NJ American Sweetgum
Information Age Learning Center Wall Township NJ American Sweetgum

New Mexico

New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum Las Cruces NM Loblolly Pine

New York

Baldwinsville Central School District Baldwinsville NY Sycamore
Bronx Community College Bronx NY Sycamore
Franklin Middle School, Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda School District Town of Tonawanda NY Sycamore
Pembroke Junior/Senior High School Corfu NY American Sweetgum
Rome City School District Rome NY Sequoia
State University of New York (SUNY) – New Paltz New Paltz NY American Sweetgum
Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium Centerport NY American Sweetgum

Ohio

Claymont High School Uhrichsville OH Sycamore
Coldwater Exempted Village Schools Coldwater OH American Sweetgum
Copley-Fairlawn Middle School, Copley-Fairlawn City Schools Copley OH Sycamore
Liberty-Benton High School Findlay OH Sycamore
Marshall STEMM Academy Toledo OH American Sweetgum
Portsmouth City Schools Portsmouth OH American Sweetgum
Pymatuning Valley High School Andover OH American Sweetgum
Wayne National Forest Nelsonville OH American Sweetgum

Oklahoma

Centennial Middle School Broken Arrow OK Loblolly Pine
Jenks Northwest Elementary School Tulsa OK American Sweetgum
Perkins Public Library: Thomas – Wilhite Memorial Library Perkins OK American Sweetgum

Oregon

Crow Middle School Eugene OR American Sweetgum
Friends of Myrtle Creek Library Myrtle Creek OR American Sweetgum
Lent Elementary School Portland OR American Sweetgum
Tamarack Elementary School Hillsboro OR American Sweetgum
Willamette Elementary School, McMinnville School District McMinnville OR American Sweetgum

Pennsylvania

Allegheny Observatory, University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh PA American Sweetgum
Montour High School McKees Rocks PA American Sweetgum
Penn State University, Penn State Erie – The Behrend College Erie PA American Sweetgum
Penn State University, Penn State Schuylkill University Park PA Sycamore
Perkiomen Valley Middle School East Collegeville PA American Sweetgum
The Reading Public Museum Reading PA Sycamore

Rhode Island

Tiverton Public Library Tiverton RI American Sweetgum

South Carolina

Academy for the Arts, Science, & Technology Myrtle Beach SC Loblolly Pine
Conway Elementary School Conway SC American Sweetgum
Manning Early Childhood Center, Clarendon School District Manning SC American Sweetgum
Spartanburg Community College Horticulture Program Spartanburg SC American Sweetgum

Tennessee

Great Smoky Mountain Council, Boy Scouts of America Knoxville TN American Sweetgum
Lipscomb Academy Nashville TN American Sweetgum
Pellissippi State Community College Knoxville TN Loblolly Pine
Sumner Academy Gallatin TN American Sweetgum

Texas

Atlanta Public Library Atlanta TX American Sweetgum
Beaumont Children’s Museum & Beaumont Botanical Gardens Beaumont TX Loblolly Pine
Bonham Pre-Kindergarten School San Marcos TX Loblolly Pine
Charles W. Young Junior High School Arlington TX Loblolly Pine
Clear Creek Intermediate, Clear Creek Independent School District (CCISD) League City TX American Sweetgum
Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden – Children’s Adventure Garden Dallas TX American Sweetgum
DeKalb Independent School District De Kalb TX Loblolly Pine
Doss Consolidated Common School District (CCSD) Doss TX American Sweetgum
Fort Worth Botanic Garden Fort Worth TX Loblolly Pine
Galveston County 4H Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Program (Houston Botanic Gardens) Houston TX American Sweetgum
Goliad Independent School District Goliad TX Loblolly Pine
Greens Prairie Elementary School College Station TX American Sweetgum
Groves Elementary School Humble TX Loblolly Pine
Kay Granger Elementary School Fort Worth TX Loblolly Pine
Leadership Big Bend, Nopalitos Park Alpine TX American Sweetgum
Science Hall Elementary School Kyle TX American Sweetgum
Scobee Education Center at San Antonio College San Antonio TX Loblolly Pine
Space Center Intermediate, Clear Creek Independent School District (CCISD) Houston TX Loblolly Pine
Texas A&M Forest Service Conroe TX American Sweetgum
Texas A&M University, Physics & Astronomy Department College Station TX American Sweetgum
University of Texas at Arlington Arlington TX American Sweetgum
Uplift Summit International Preparatory Middle School Arlington TX Loblolly Pine
Westside Elementary School Cedar Park TX Loblolly Pine
Zilker Botanical Garden Conservancy Austin TX Loblolly Pine

Utah

Southern Utah University STEM Center Cedar City UT American Sweetgum

Virginia

Essex County Museum Tappahannock VA American Sweetgum
Virginia Living Museum Newport News VA Loblolly Pine
Virginia Zoo Norfolk VA Loblolly Pine

Washington

Innovation Lab High School Bothell WA Sycamore
Orchard Prairie School District Spokane WA Sycamore
Richland School District Richland WA Sycamore
Upper Columbia Resource Conservation & Development Council Spokane Valley WA Sycamore
Yakima Area Arboretum Yakima WA Sycamore

Wisconsin

Dunn County Historical Society Menomonie WI Sycamore

Fall 2024 Artemis I Moon Tree Stewards
Distribution is underway through November 2024. This list will be updated once distribution is complete. Previously notified recipients who have not received a seedling may be deferred to a later cycle based on current ready-to-ship seedling inventory.
Spring 2025 Artemis I Moon Tree Stewards
Selection is in progress.
Fall 2025 Artemis I Moon Tree Stewards
Selection is in progress.

Explore Moon Trees Website

Humans and pigs could both serve as mixing vessels for a bird flu–seasonal flu hybrid, posing a risk of wider spread

A geomagnetic storm, the largest supermoon of the year, a comet and an eerie fireball were among the skywatching treats that haunted the night sky of October 2024.

The near-3000 piece Lego Black Panther building set is over $100 off ahead of Black Friday and is one of its lowest price this year on Amazon.

When chemist Dora Richardson’s employer decided to terminate the breast cancer research on the drug Tamoxifen in the early 1970s, she and her colleagues continued the work in secret.