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An analysis of a mathematical economic game suggests that even learning from past mistakes will almost never help us optimise our decision-making – with implications for our ability to make the biggest financial gains

4 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) This image of the Andromeda galaxy uses data from NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope. Multiple wavelengths are shown, revealing stars, dust, and areas of star formation.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech In this image of the Andromeda galaxy, also made with data from NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope, only dust is visible, making it easier to see the galaxy’s underlying structure.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Data from NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope has given scientists new insights into why some supermassive black holes shine differently than others.

In images from NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope, streams of dust thousands of light-years long flow toward the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Andromeda galaxy. It turns out these streams can help explain how black holes billions of times the mass of our Sun satiate their big appetites but remain “quiet” eaters.

As supermassive black holes gobble up gas and dust, the material gets heated up just before it falls in, creating incredible light shows — sometimes brighter than an entire galaxy full of stars. When the material is consumed in clumps of different sizes, the brightness of the black hole fluctuates.

But the black holes at the center of the Milky Way (Earth’s home galaxy) and Andromeda (one of our nearest galactic neighbors) are among the quietest eaters in the universe. What little light they emit does not vary significantly in brightness, suggesting they are consuming a small but steady flow of food, rather than large clumps. The streams approach the black hole little by little, and in a spiral, similar to the way the water swirls down a drain.

Hunting for Andromeda’s Food Source

A study published earlier this year took the hypothesis that a quiet supermassive black hole feeds on a steady stream of gas and applied it to the Andromeda galaxy. Using computer models, the authors simulated how gas and dust in proximity to Andromeda’s supermassive black hole might behave over time. The simulation demonstrated that a small disk of hot gas could form close to the supermassive black hole and feed it continuously. The disk could be replenished and maintained by numerous streams of gas and dust.

But the researchers also found that those streams have to stay within a particular size and flow rate; otherwise, the matter would fall into the black hole in irregular clumps, causing more light fluctuation.

This close-up view of the center of the Andromeda galaxy, taken by NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope, is annotated with blue dotted lines to highlight the path of two dust streams flowing toward the supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s center (indicated by a purple dot). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

When the authors compared their findings to data from Spitzer and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, they found spirals of dust previously identified by Spitzer that fit within these constraints. From this, the authors concluded that the spirals are feeding Andromeda’s supermassive black hole.

“This is a great example of scientists reexamining archival data to reveal more about galaxy dynamics by comparing it to the latest computer simulations,” said Almudena Prieto, an astrophysicist at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands and the University Observatory Munich, and a co-author on the study published this year. “We have 20-year-old data telling us things we didn’t recognize in it when we first collected it.”

A Deeper Look at Andromeda

Launched in 2003 and managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Spitzer studied the universe in infrared light, which is invisible to human eyes. Different wavelengths reveal different features of Andromeda, including hotter sources of light, like stars, and cooler sources, like dust.

By separating these wavelengths and looking at the dust alone, astronomers can see the galaxy’s “skeleton” — places where gas has coalesced and cooled, sometimes forming dust, creating conditions for stars to form. This view of Andromeda revealed a few surprises. For instance, although it is a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way, Andromeda is dominated by a large dust ring rather than distinct arms circling its center. The images also revealed a secondary hole in one portion of the ring where a dwarf galaxy passed through.

Andromeda’s proximity to the Milky Way means it looks larger than other galaxies from Earth: Seen with the naked eye, Andromeda would be about six times the width of the Moon (about 3 degrees). Even with a field of view wider than Hubble’s, Spitzer had to take 11,000 snapshots to create this comprehensive picture of Andromeda.

More About the Mission

JPL managed the Spitzer Space Telescope mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington until the mission was retired in January 2020. Science operations were conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at Caltech. Spacecraft operations were based at Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado. Data are archived at the Infrared Science Archive operated by IPAC at Caltech. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

For more information about Spitzer, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/spitzer

News Media Contact

Calla Cofield
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
626-808-2469
calla.e.cofield@jpl.nasa.gov

2024-063

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Details Last Updated May 09, 2024 Related Terms

• General
• Andromeda Galaxy
• Galaxies
• Galaxies, Stars, & Black Holes
• Spitzer Space Telescope
• The Milky Way
• The Universe

Explore More 3 min read NASA Licenses 3D-Printable Superalloy to Benefit US Economy Article 7 hours ago 7 min read NASA’s Webb Hints at Possible Atmosphere Surrounding Rocky Exoplanet

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A close-up of the head of the rover’s remote sensing mast. The mast head contains the SuperCam instrument. (Its lens is in the large circular opening.) In the gray boxes beneath mast head are the two Mastcam-Z imagers. On the exterior sides of those imagers are the rover’s two navigation cameras.NASA/JPL-Caltech The Navigation Cameras, or Navcams, aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover captured this view of the rover’s deck on Feb. 20, 2021.NASA/JPL-Caltech

Trauma-Informed Workplace

Organized by Health 4 Life.

In today’s dynamic professional landscape, understanding and addressing the impacts of trauma is essential for fostering a supportive and inclusive work culture. Join us as we explore the principles of trauma-informed care and their practical applications within organizational settings. We will share strategies for recognizing signs of trauma, implementing trauma-sensitive policies and practices, and cultivating resilience among employees. 

This webinar is open to ALL NASA employees. To join, please click here. 

Date: Thursday, May 9, 2024 

Time: 11:00 – 12:00 PM CST 

Speakers / POCs: EAP Clinicians Dr. Carla Randolph (carla.e.randolph@nasa.gov) and Dr. Sophia Sills-Tailor (sophia.c.sills-tailor@nasa.gov) 

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It's been four years since it was made, but if you could smell it, you'd find it still retains the whiff of a DoubleTree Cookie. The first food item baked in space is now at the Smithsonian.

The Red Planet launches large bursts of plasma into space from its upper atmosphere, much like the sun’s coronal mass ejections, despite not having a global magnetic field

The Red Planet launches large bursts of plasma into space from its upper atmosphere, much like the sun’s coronal mass ejections, despite not having a global magnetic field

China launched its first Long March 6C rocket, helping the nation further its goal of launching 100 orbital missions this year.

With just three more episodes remaining after this one, "Star Trek: Discovery" offers us a surprisingly well-written installment.

X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Chicago/S.C. Mackey et al.; Radio: NRF/SARAO/MeerKAT; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk

These images show evidence for an exhaust vent attached to a chimney releasing hot gas from a region around the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, as reported in our latest press release. In the main image of this graphic, X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (blue) have been combined with radio data from the MeerKAT telescope (red).

Previously, astronomers had identified a “chimney” of hot gas near the Galactic Center using X-ray data from Chandra and ESA’s XMM-Newton. Radio emission detected by MeerKAT shows the effect of magnetic fields enclosing the gas in the chimney.

The evidence for the exhaust vent is highlighted in the inset, which includes only Chandra data. Several X-ray ridges showing brighter X-rays appear in white, roughly perpendicular to the plane of the Galaxy. Researchers think these are the walls of a tunnel, shaped like a cylinder, which helps funnel hot gas as it moves upwards along the chimney and away from the Galactic Center.

A labeled version of the image gives the locations of the exhaust vent, the chimney, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy (called Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A* for short) and the plane of the galaxy.

X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Chicago/S.C. Mackey et al.; Radio: NRF/SARAO/MeerKAT; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk

This newly discovered vent is located near the top of the chimney about 700 light-years from the center of the Galaxy. To emphasize the chimney and exhaust vent features the image has been rotated by 180 degrees from the conventional orientation used by astronomers, so that the chimney is pointed upwards.

The authors of the new study think that the exhaust vent formed when hot gas rising through the chimney struck cooler gas lying in its path. The brightness of the exhaust vent walls in X-rays is caused by shock waves — similar to sonic booms from supersonic planes — generated by this collision. The left side of the exhaust vent is likely particularly bright in X-rays because the gas flowing upwards is striking the tunnel wall at a more direct angle and with more force than other regions.

The researchers determined that the hot gas is most likely coming from a sequence of events involving material falling towards Sgr A*. They think eruptions from the black hole then drove the gas upwards along the chimneys, and out through the exhaust vent.

It is unclear how often material is falling onto Sgr A*. Previous studies have indicated that dramatic X-ray flares take place every few hundred years at or near the location of the central black hole, so those could play important roles in driving the hot gas upwards through the exhaust vent. Astronomers also estimate that the Galactic black hole rips apart and swallows a star every 20,000 years or so. Such events would lead to powerful, explosive releases of energy, much of which would be destined to rise through the chimney vent.

The paper describing these results is published in The Astrophysical Journal and a preprint is available online. The authors of the paper are Scott Mackey (University of Chicago), Mark Morris (University of California, Los Angeles), Gabriele Ponti (Italian National Institute of Astrophysics in Merate ), Konstantina Anastasopoulou (Italian National Institute of Astrophysics in Palermo), and Samaresh Mondal (Italian National Institute of Astrophysics in Merate).

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.

Read more from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.

For more Chandra images, multimedia and related materials, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission/chandra-x-ray-observatory/

Visual Description:

This image shows a region near the center of our Milky Way galaxy in X-ray and radio light. At the bottom of the image, near the center, is a brilliant, tangled knot of material that resembles a paint splatter. This is the brightest region in the image, and it contains the supermassive black hole at center of our galaxy, known as Sagittarius A*.

The lower third of the image resembles an angry firestorm. Streaks of red and orange are scattered in every direction, as if a legion of embers from a fire crackled and popped into the air all at once. Flame-like structures lick toward the center from our right.

Much of the image is infused with wispy blue clouds showing X-rays detected by Chandra. At a few points, the wispy blue clouds seem to form into balls of teal colored light and are known as dust halos. They are caused by X-rays from bright X-ray sources reflecting off dust surrounding the sources. These dust halos resemble underwater lights glowing in a cloudy swimming pool at night.

Rising up from Sagittarius A* in the center of the image is a pillar of blue light referred to as a chimney. This chimney of hot gas is surrounded by red clouds that are filled with stars, presenting themselves as tiny red flecks. Near the top of the blue pillar is a streak of light blue, outlined by an illustrated, gray box. This streak is referred to as the chimney exhaust vent. Just to our left is another illustrated box that shows the close-up image of the chimney vent as observed by Chandra.

News Media Contact

Megan Watzke
Chandra X-ray Center
Cambridge, Mass.
617-496-7998

Jonathan Deal
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034

Is Stonehenge aligned with the moon? Scientists hope to find out during a rare 'major lunar standstill, which happens once every 18.6 years.

Elon Musk isn't convinced that aliens have ever visited Earth, according to remarks the SpaceX CEO and founder made during a conference on Tuesday (May 7).

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson gives remarks during a NASA town hall event, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Continuing his engagement to deepen international collaboration and the peaceful use of space, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson will travel to Italy and Vatican City, followed by Saudi Arabia, beginning Thursday.

Nelson will meet with key government and space officials in each country.

Italy is a longstanding partner in human spaceflight and Earth science. Nelson will meet with President Teodoro Valente, Italian Space Agency (ASI) and other officials to discuss current and future collaboration, including the Artemis campaign to return to the Moon, partnership on the International Space Station, the exploration of Mars and Venus, and Earth science missions to study our home planet.

In Saudi Arabia, Nelson will meet with Saudi Space Agency and other senior officials to discuss future collaboration and underscore the importance of civil space cooperation for the broader United States and Saudi Arabia relationship. Students will interact with Nelson about the importance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and their roles as members of the Artemis Generation.

For more information about NASA’s international partnerships, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/oiir/

-end-

Faith McKie
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
faith.d.mckie@nasa.gov

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Details Last Updated May 09, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms

• Opportunities For International Participants to Get Involved
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For decades, cosmologists have been fighting over the Hubble constant, a number that represents the expansion rate of the universe – it may have finally been pinned down

For decades, cosmologists have been fighting over the Hubble constant, a number that represents the expansion rate of the universe – it may have finally been pinned down

Understanding how avian influenza jumped into cows can help shape the path to stopping the virus’s spread

A mysterious 12-sided object called a dodecahedron discovered in England has archaeologists both excited and baffled

3 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA superalloy GRX-810 will soon be available to aviation and space industry parts manufacturers as a result of new licensing agreements with four U.S. companies. Credit: NASA/Jef Janis

NASA’s investment in a breakthrough superalloy developed for the extreme temperatures and harsh conditions of air and spaceflight is on the threshold of paying commercial dividends.

The agency is licensing its invention, dubbed “GRX-810,” to four American companies, a practice that benefits the United States economy as a return on investment of taxpayer dollars.

GRX-810 is a 3D-printable high-temperature material that will lead to stronger, more durable airplane and spacecraft parts that can withstand more punishment before reaching their breaking point.

The co-exclusive license agreements will allow the companies to produce and market GRX-810 to airplane and rocket equipment manufacturers as well as the entire supply chain.

The four co-exclusive licensees are:

• Carpenter Technology Corporation of Reading, Pennsylvania
• Elementum 3D, Inc. of Erie, Colorado
• Linde Advanced Material Technologies, Inc. of Indianapolis
• Powder Alloy Corporation of Loveland, Ohio

GRX-810 is one example of many new technologies NASA’s Technology Transfer Program managers review and file for patent protection. The team also works with inventors to find partners interested in commercialization. 

“NASA invests tax dollars into research that demonstrates direct benefit to the U.S. and transfers its technologies to industry by licensing its patents,” said Amy Hiltabidel, licensing manager at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

New Approach to Developing Materials

NASA engineers designed GRX-810 for aerospace applications, including liquid rocket engine injectors, combustors, turbines, and hot-section components capable of enduring temperatures over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

“GRX-810 represents a new alloy design space and manufacturing technique that was impossible a few years ago,” said Dr. Tim Smith, materials researcher at NASA Glenn.

Smith co-invented the superalloy along with his Glenn colleague Christopher Kantzos using a time-saving computer modeling and laser 3D-printing process that fuses metals together, layer-by-layer. Tiny particles containing oxygen atoms spread throughout the alloy enhance its strength.

Impacts and Benefits

Compared to other nickel-base alloys, GRX-810 can endure higher temperatures and stress and can last up to 2,500 times longer. It’s also nearly four times better at flexing before breaking and twice as resistant to oxidation damage.

“Adoption of this alloy will lead to more sustainable aviation and space exploration,” said Dale Hopkins, deputy project manager of NASA’s Transformational Tools and Technologies project. “This is because jet engine and rocket components made from GRX-810 will lower operating costs by lasting longer and improving overall fuel efficiency.”

Research and development teams include those from Glenn, NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, The Ohio State University, and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where the most recent testing included 3D-printed rocket engine parts.

NASA develops many technologies to solve the challenges of space exploration, advance the understanding of our home planet, and improve air transportation. Through patent licensing and other mechanisms, NASA has spun off more than 2,000 technologies for companies to develop into products and solutions supporting the American economy.

The NASA insignia is 3D printed using the GRX-810 superalloy. Credit: NASA/Jordan Salkin Explore More 4 min read NASA Images Help Explain Eating Habits of Massive Black Hole Article 4 hours ago 4 min read Johnson Celebrates AA and NHPI Heritage Month: Kimia Seyedmadani Article 1 day ago 3 min read 1942: Engine Roars to Life in First Test at Future NASA Glenn Article 1 day ago

Alien worlds that glow like lightbulbs or harbor molten-rock rain are revealing planets’ profound cosmic diversity—and pointing the way toward finding those that truly resemble our own familiar Earth

The Ruko Veeniix V11 is a basic model full of promise but, unfortunately, doesn't quite deliver.

The far side of the moon holds the keys to the future of radio astronomy. We must maintain its pristine silence to benefit everyone