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Showing posts from November, 2022

Webb snaps this haunting portrait of the Pillars of Creation: A new view of familiar landscape

This haunting portrait snapped by NASA/ESA/CSA   James Webb Space Telescope   shows the   Pillars of Creation   in mid-infrared light. Thousands of stars that exist in this region seem to disappear in this Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) image while seemingly endless layers of gas and dust become the centrepiece. The  Pillars of Creation  lie within the vast  Eagle Nebula , which is 6500 light-years away from Earth. In this MIRI view, three prominent pillars are visible, with the left pillar being the largest and widest. The peaks of the second and third pillars are set off in darker shades of blue outlines. There are a few red stars that appear within the pillars while some blue and white stars dot the overall scene. Stars are easiest to detect in ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared light while mid-infrared light excels at revealing gas and dust in extreme detail. The detection of dust is extremely important as it is a major ingredient for s...

NASA Resuscitates Psyche Asteroid Mission After Missing Its Launch

  A NASA mission to explore one of the most intriguing objects in the asteroid belt is getting a second chance. The Psyche mission is now targeting a launch period in 2023 after missing its initial window this year due   to development delays.  NASA decided to go ahead with its Psyche mission following an internal review of the  issues that led to its delay , the space agency  announced  on Friday. The mission is now targeting a new launch window that opens on October 20, 2023, with the spacecraft launching aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In June,  NASA delayed the launch of the Psyche spacecraft  due to issues with its flight software and testing equipment. The spacecraft’s flight software controls its orientation and trajectory, as well as its ability to send and receive data to Earth. The issue could not be resolved in time to allow for liftoff before this year’s launch window closed on Octo...