Latest news with #ImagingX-RayPolarimetryExplorer
Digital Trends
13-05-2025
- Science
- Digital Trends
Listen to the sounds of a black hole with these NASA sonifications
Black holes are some of the most extreme objects in the cosmos. These massive, extraordinarily dense objects have such strong gravity that they suck in anything which comes to close to them — even light. But that doesn't mean that black holes are featureless. Although the black holes themselves are invisible, the clouds of dust and gas around them can get extremely hot and glow brightly, enabling telescopes to 'see' the black hole in detail. It's not just images that allow us to experience black holes though. NASA has produced a set of sonifications of black holes, turning these images into sounds as a different way to convey data collected by telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, and Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). Recommended Videos The three sonifications are shared below, showing three different stages in the life of a black hole. First up is WR 124, a type of star called a Wolf-Rayet which is a potential precursor to a black hole. As these old, massive stars come to the end of their lives, they start throwing off layers of gas into space, creating elaborate clouds around them. Eventually, when it has thrown off enough of its material, this star may collapse and become a new black hole. In the sonification, the sounds start at the center where the core is, and moving out the X-day data is represented by harp sounds while data from James Webb is represented by bells. The other infrared data, from three different telescopes, is represented by strings. The second sonification is of SS 433, a binary system consisting of a star like our sun and a much heavier partner which is thought to be either a black hole or a neutron star. The two objects orbit each other, creating changes in X-rays which are detectable by telescopes on Earth. Combining the X-ray data with infrared and radio, this sonification moves from right to left across the image. Points of light that are nearer the top of the image are represented by higher notes, while radio, infrared, and X-ray light is represented by low, medium, and high pitches. The stars in the background can be heard as water drop noises. Finally, Centaurus A is a nearby and well-known galaxy, which is famous for being extremely bright and giving off strong radio waves. At its heart, this galaxy hosts an enormous supermassive black hole which is the star of this sonification. The black hole gives out a jet which is the source of the radio waves, and the sonification traces its effect in radar style, moving clockwise and representing X-ray data from Chandra as wind chimes, with X-ray data from IXPE in a continuous wind sound.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NASA terminating $420 million in contracts not aligned with its new priorities
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is terminating $420 million in contracts, the space agency says are 'misaligned' with its new core priorities. What is being cut is not clear, but recent moves by NASA might serve as an indication. For example, its chief scientist, who had been set to lead the International Panel on Climate Change's third working group, was fired. Plus, the agency cut off international climate science support. NASA also removed the 'first woman, person of color' language from its Artemis mission websites. Other agencies have reported that reviews of awarded grants were also vetted using a list of keywords, according to a Science report. Climate change and diversity were priorities of the Biden administration and former Administrator Bill Nelson. The Department of Government Efficiency said that the cuts included $45 million – $15 million per contract – to three separate consultants for 'Change Management Support Services.' That's a sum just under the $50.3 million launch of the agency's Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer mission, which launched in December 2021. 'NASA is committed to optimizing its workforce and resources in alignment with the Department of Government Efficiency's initiatives. As part of this effort, NASA has identified and phased out $420 million in contracts that were determined to be redundant or misaligned with our core mission priorities,' Press Secretary Bethany Stevens said in a statement provided to The Independent. 'This streamlining effort ensures that taxpayer dollars are directed toward the highest-impact projects while maintaining NASA's essential functions at the highest level of execution,' she said. 'In total, we are aiming for these measures to result in considerably more savings for the American people, reinforcing our commitment to efficiency, innovation, and continued leadership in space exploration.' It also remains unclear how NASA has decided that contracts were misaligned. A recent report from Space News noted that NASA had awarded $15 million each to consulting firms to provide support services for agency leadership last year before issuing 'termination for convenience' notices to the companies in March. None of them had been funded for work under those agreements, the outlet said. A DOGE website that is updated twice a week lists its 'savings,' including millions in NASA contract terminations. The agency is notably being pushed to focus on Mars: a priority of commercial partner SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who oversees DOGE and serves as an advisor to President Donald Trump. On Sunday, The New York Times reported that Musk is positioned to profit from billions in new government contracts. A request for comment from SpaceX was not immediately returned. The terminations come after layoffs hit NASA earlier this month, and amid fears of more. Scientists lamented the move on social media. 'NASA started terminating grants :(,' wrote Johns Hopkins University associate professor of planetary science Sarah Hörst. 'I've now heard from a colleague that one of their awarded NASA grants was terminated,' wrote Johns Hopkins University assistant professor Meredith MacGregor. 'These grants have previously undergone peer review and work has already begun, canceling them is completely unwarranted!' 'We were just about to get a thing going with the new space engineering major at Texas A&M, I was gonna have minions to do my bidding, all up in smoke,' said Clark Newman, principal engineer for NASA Gateway Mission Design. Casey Dreier, the Planetary Society's Chief of Space Policy, said he had used public data to find dozens of contracts impacting climate science, DEI initiatives, education, and administration activities.
The Independent
25-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
NASA terminating $420 million in contracts not aligned with its new priorities
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is terminating $420 million in contracts, the space agency says are 'misaligned' with its new core priorities. What is being cut is not clear, but recent moves by NASA might serve as an indication. For example, its chief scientist, who had been set to lead the International Panel on Climate Change's third working group, was fired. Plus, the agency cut off international climate science support. NASA also removed the 'first woman, person of color' language from its Artemis mission websites. Other agencies have reported that reviews of awarded grants were also vetted using a list of keywords, according to a Science report. Climate change and diversity were priorities of the Biden administration and former Administrator Bill Nelson. The Department of Government Efficiency said that the cuts included $45 million – $15 million per contract – to three separate consultants for 'Change Management Support Services.' That's a sum just under the $50.3 million launch of the agency's Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer mission, which launched in December 2021. 'NASA is committed to optimizing its workforce and resources in alignment with the Department of Government Efficiency's initiatives. As part of this effort, NASA has identified and phased out $420 million in contracts that were determined to be redundant or misaligned with our core mission priorities,' Press Secretary Bethany Stevens said in a statement provided to The Independent. 'This streamlining effort ensures that taxpayer dollars are directed toward the highest-impact projects while maintaining NASA's essential functions at the highest level of execution,' she said. 'In total, we are aiming for these measures to result in considerably more savings for the American people, reinforcing our commitment to efficiency, innovation, and continued leadership in space exploration.' It also remains unclear how NASA has decided that contracts were misaligned. A recent report from Space News noted that NASA had awarded $15 million each to consulting firms to provide support services for agency leadership last year before issuing 'termination for convenience' notices to the companies in March. None of them had been funded for work under those agreements, the outlet said. A DOGE website that is updated twice a week lists its 'savings,' including millions in NASA contract terminations. The agency is notably being pushed to focus on Mars: a priority of commercial partner SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who oversees DOGE and serves as an advisor to President Donald Trump. On Sunday, The New York Times reported that Musk is positioned to profit from billions in new government contracts. A request for comment from SpaceX was not immediately returned. The terminations come after layoffs hit NASA earlier this month, and amid fears of more. Scientists lamented the move on social media. 'NASA started terminating grants :(,' wrote Johns Hopkins University associate professor of planetary science Sarah Hörst. 'I've now heard from a colleague that one of their awarded NASA grants was terminated,' wrote Johns Hopkins University assistant professor Meredith MacGregor. 'These grants have previously undergone peer review and work has already begun, canceling them is completely unwarranted!' 'We were just about to get a thing going with the new space engineering major at Texas A&M, I was gonna have minions to do my bidding, all up in smoke,' said Clark Newman, principal engineer for NASA Gateway Mission Design. Casey Dreier, the Planetary Society's Chief of Space Policy, said he had used public data to find dozens of contracts impacting climate science, DEI initiatives, education, and administration activities.
