Latest news with #JamieBock
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA's new space observatory is mapping the entire sky in 3D
After passing all the necessary checks and calibrations, NASA says its SPHEREx space observatory is ready to embark on its expansive mission. As of May 1, the spacecraft has begun imaging a 3D map of the entire sky and its hundreds of millions of galaxies. But in order to complete such a massive objective, SPHEREx is going to need to take a lot of photos—about 3,600 per day over the next two years, to be more specific. Pointed away from Earth about 404 miles overhead, the orbital observatory will circle the planet from north to south about 14.5 times each day as it images a single, circular strip of the sky. Given Earth's own solar orbit, it will only take about six months for SPHEREx to have glimpsed space in every direction at least once. Technically, each picture is a composite of images from six separate detectors designed for specific light wavelengths. This set of six images is referred to as an exposure, with about 600 exposures produced by SPHEREx per day. SPHEREx also alters its position after every exposure, but it does not use thrusters to shift. Instead, it uses a system of spinning reaction wheels inside the spacecraft. While other projects like COBE have previously mapped the whole sky, SPHEREx is the first to do it across so many color spectrums. Using spectroscopy, the observatory splits light across 102 infrared wavelengths that are invisible to the human eye. This will allow the observatory to construct a better 3D map that includes distances between galaxies in all directions, as well as measure the collective glow from every galaxy that's ever existed. The method also enables SPHEREx to provide information about a cosmic object's composition, which can help search for key ingredients for life like water molecules. Peering deep into the sky will additionally provide details about the first fraction of a second that followed the big bang, when cosmic inflation expanded the universe a 'trillion-trillionfold,' according to NASA. SPHEREx team members are already excited by what they've seen of the observatory. 'The performance of the instrument is as good as we hoped,' said principal investigator Jamie Bock. 'That means we're going to be able to do all the amazing science we planned on and perhaps even get some unexpected discoveries.' 'We're going to study what happened on the smallest size scales in the universe's earliest moments by looking at the modern universe on the largest scales,' said Jim Fanson, the mission's project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 'I think there's a poetic arc to that.'
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA's new SPHEREx space telescope takes its 1st cosmic images: 'The instrument team nailed it'
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. You know how the James Webb Space Telescope is said to be revolutionizing astronomy because it can study wavelengths hidden to human eyes? Well, those wavelengths lie in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum — and on April 1, NASA announced its brand new infrared space telescope, SPHEREx, has officially opened its eyes to the cosmos as well. This first light, as it's called, shows that all of the spacecraft's systems are working just as expected. "Based on the images we are seeing, we can now say that the instrument team nailed it," Jamie Bock, SPHEREx's principal investigator at Caltech and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, said in a statement. SPHEREx, which stands for (get ready for a mouthful) Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer, can be thought of as a wide-angle version of the James Webb Space Telescope. Both work with infrared wavelengths, meaning they can peer through blankets of cosmic dust and probe extremely distant parts of the universe that other visible-light instruments cannot, but they go about this differently. If the James Webb Space Telescope's expertise is decoding the intricacies of an ancient star, SPHEREx's expertise is mapping out all the stuff around the star. To be fair, SPHEREx's latest images don't exactly illustrate the ultimate gallery this spacecraft should be able to create. But they're key in its journey nonetheless. Basically, the six panels above each represent a different one of SPHEREx's six detectors. "SPHEREx's complete field of view spans the top three images; the same area of the sky is also captured in the bottom three images," according to the statement. Each detector is responsible for uncovering information in 17 unique wavelength bands; so altogether, this infrared eye on the sky is able to study the universe in a staggering 102 bands. Plus, even in each of these six test images, there are about 100,000 astronomical sources. The colors assigned to the images are, of course, present in the visible section of the electromagnetic spectrum — the region human eyes are sensitive to. However, they all represent infrared wavelengths that exist in SPHEREx's reality. Redder parts of the image represent longer wavelengths while more purple parts of the image represent shorter wavelengths. And this assignment makes a lot of sense. Within the visible region of the spectrum, the redder the wavelength, the longer the wavelength. From our perspective on and around Earth, wavelengths of light emanating from cosmic objects actually go from the bluer section of the spectrum to the red section, and then tread into infrared waters. This is because the expansion of the universe forces light wavelengths to stretch out like rubber bands while traveling to our corner of the cosmos. That's why infrared astronomy is so important. It's the way to see things that drifted very (very) far away. The most ancient of things that formed just after the Big Bang kickstarted time 13.7 billion years ago. Related Stories: — SpaceX rocket launches NASA SPHEREx space telescope and PUNCH solar probes (video) — Are James Webb Space Telescope images really so colorful? — This astronomer found a sneaky extra star in James Webb Space Telescope data The team says these panels show that SPHEREx's detectors are indeed able to turn on, for one, but that they're also able to focus. Focusing SPHEREx, according to the statement, is something that could've only been done on Earth. Nothing can be changed now on that front. At present, the detectors are continuing the process of cooling down. They need to be quite cold because too much heat can interfere with infrared measurements. For context, infrared signatures are akin to heat signatures — firefighters, for instance, use them to locate where fires might be burning in a building. Once that's done, hopefully it'll be smooth sailing for SPHEREx. "This is the observatory's full field of view, a rectangular area about 20 times wider than the full moon," the NASA statement says. "When SPHEREx begins routine science operations in late April, it will take approximately 600 exposures every day." NASA's $488 million SPHEREx space telescope launched into space on March 11.
The Guardian
12-03-2025
- Science
- The Guardian
Nasa's new Spherex telescope lifts off to map cosmos in unprecedented detail
Nasa's newest space telescope rocketed into orbit Tuesday to map the entire sky like never before – a sweeping look at hundreds of millions of galaxies and their shared cosmic glow since the beginning of time. SpaceX launched the Spherex observatory from California, putting it on course to fly over Earth's poles. Tagging along were four suitcase-size satellites to study the sun. Spherex popped off the rocket's upper stage first, drifting into the blackness of space with a blue Earth in the background. The $488m Spherex mission aims to explain how galaxies formed and evolved over billions of years and how the universe expanded so fast in its first moments. Closer to home in our own Milky Way galaxy, Spherex will hunt for water and other ingredients of life in the icy clouds between stars where new solar systems emerge. The cone-shaped Spherex – at 1,110lbs (500kg) or the heft of a grand piano – will take six months to map the entire sky with its infrared eyes and wide field of view. Four full-sky surveys are planned over two years, as the telescope circles the globe from pole to pole 400 miles (650km) up. Spherex won't see galaxies in exquisite detail like Nasa's larger and more elaborate Hubble and Webb space telescopes, with their narrow fields of view. Instead of counting galaxies or focusing on them, Spherex will observe the total glow produced by the whole lot, including the earliest ones formed in the wake of the universe-creating big bang. 'This cosmological glow captures all light emitted over cosmic history,' said Jamie Bock, the mission's chief scientist of the California Institute of Technology. 'It's a very different way of looking at the universe,' enabling scientists to see what sources of light may have been missed in the past. By observing the collective glow, scientists hope to tease out the light from the earliest galaxies and learn how they came to be, Bock said. 'We won't see the big bang. But we'll see the aftermath from it and learn about the beginning of the universe that way,' he said. The telescope's infrared detectors will be able to distinguish 102 colors invisible to the human eye, yielding the most colorful, inclusive map ever made of the cosmos. It's like 'looking at the universe through a set of rainbow-colored glasses', said deputy project manager Beth Fabinsky of Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. To keep the infrared detectors super cold – minus 350F (minus 210C) – Spherex has a unique look. It sports three aluminum-honeycomb cones, one inside the other, to protect from the sun and Earth's heat, resembling a 10ft (3-meter) shield collar for an ailing dog. Besides the telescope, SpaceX's Falcon rocket provided a lift from Vandenberg Space Force base for a quartet of Nasa satellites called Punch. From their own separate polar orbit, the satellites will observe the sun's corona, or outer atmosphere, and the resulting solar wind. The evening launch was delayed two weeks because of rocket and other issues.
Associated Press
12-03-2025
- Science
- Associated Press
NASA's SPHEREx Observatory launches with BAE Systems-built spacecraft bus and telescope
BROOMFIELD, Colo., March 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- BAE Systems (LON: BA) is celebrating the successful launch of NASA's Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) Observatory from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The observatory launched alongside NASA's Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. BAE Systems built the spacecraft bus and telescope for the mission, along with leading observatory integration and environmental testing. SPHEREx is also equipped with the company's RAD750® single board computer, the core of the command and data handling subsystem that is used to control the spacecraft and transmit data. Over the course of a minimum two-year mission, SPHEREx will conduct four all-sky spectral surveys, observing the distribution of more than 450 million unique galaxies and delivering a 3D map of the universe in 102 infrared colors. These surveys will provide an abundance of new data on key astronomical questions: How did cosmic inflation in the moments following the Big Bang shape the universe today; what can the glowing light of distant galaxies teach us about how they formed; and how abundant and important are life-sustaining ingredients like water, carbon dioxide, and ammonia in planet-formation? 'The launch of SPHEREx is a remarkable achievement,' said Bonnie Patterson, deputy vice president and general manager of Civil Space for BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems. 'This observatory will help us look back in time to answer significant questions about how the universe formed and the phenomena that continue to evolve it today. We are proud to be part of the team that made this mission possible.' In addition to its primary missions, SPHEREx will also identify targets of interest for additional observations by the James Webb Space Telescope and other observatories. BAE Systems assisted in launch operations and will continue to support spacecraft commissioning over the coming months. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the mission, and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) developed the primary imaging payload. Caltech's Dr. Jamie Bock is the mission's principal investigator. SPHEREx continues BAE Systems' long support of NASA's astrophysics missions, including contributions to the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-Ray Observatory, James Webb Space Telescope, and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The company is also working to mature technologies for NASA's future Habitable Worlds Observatory.
Times of Oman
12-03-2025
- Science
- Times of Oman
NASA launches space telescope to unveil cosmic secrets
Florida: NASA on Tuesday launched its newest space telescope, SPHEREx, designed to map the entire sky in unprecedented colour. It rocketed toward orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The US space agency said the telescope will help explain how galaxies formed and evolved over billions of years and how the universe expanded so fast in its first moments. "SPHEREx is really trying to get at the origins of the universe - what happened in those very few first instants after the Big Bang," SPHEREx instrument scientist Phil Korngut of Caltech said. Tagging along were four suitcase-size satellites assigned to a mission called PUNCH to study the sun. The launch comes after it was postponed because of bad weather and issues with the rocket after the original window opened on February 28. What is the mission? SPHEREx — short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionisation and Ices Explorer — is a $488 million (€477 million approx.) mission. The megaphone-shaped telescope will take pictures in every direction around Earth, splitting the light from billions of cosmic sources, including stars and galaxies, into their component wavelengths to determine their composition and distance. "We are the first mission to look at the whole sky in so many colours," said NASA scientist Jamie Bock. "Whenever astronomers look at the sky in a new way, we can expect discoveries," Bock added. The observatory will take six months to survey the entire sky with its infrared eyes and wide field of view. The project will gather data on more than 450 million galaxies and create a three-dimensional map of the cosmos in 102 colors. Closer to home in our own Milky Way galaxy, Spherex will hunt for water and other ingredients of life in the icy clouds between stars where new solar systems emerge. Alongside SPHEREx, NASA launched the PUNCH mission to learn how the Sun's corona becomes the solar wind. The mission uses four small satellites, each the size of a suitcase, to study the sun and its surroundings. "Together, they piece together the three-dimensional global view of the solar corona - the sun's atmosphere - as it turns into the solar wind, which is the material that fills our whole solar system," PUNCH mission scientist Nicholeen Viall said.
