Latest news with #PhilKorngut
CBC
12-03-2025
- Science
- CBC
NASA SPHEREx telescope launched to study universe's origins
Social Sharing A NASA telescope was launched into space from California on Tuesday for a mission to explore the origins of the universe and to scour the Milky Way galaxy for hidden reservoirs of water, a key ingredient for life. The U.S. space agency's megaphone-shaped SPHEREx, short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer, was carried aloft by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. During its planned two-year mission, the observatory will collect data on more than 450 million galaxies, as well as more than 100 million stars in the Milky Way. It will create a three-dimensional map of the cosmos in 102 colours — individual wavelengths of light — and will study the history and evolution of galaxies. The mission aims to deepen the understanding of a phenomenon known as cosmic inflation, referring to the universe's rapid and exponential expansion from a single point in a fraction of a second after the Big Bang that occurred roughly 13.8 billion years ago. "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. "The reigning theory that describes this is called inflation. As its name posits, it proposes that the universe underwent an enormous expansion, going from smaller than the size of an atom, expanding a trillion-trillion fold in just a tiny fraction of a second," Korngut said. Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA headquarters, said SPHEREx is going to search for "reverberations from the Big Bang — the fractions of a second after the Big Bang that echoed into the areas SPHEREx is going to directly observe." SPHEREx will take pictures in every direction around Earth, splitting the light from billions of cosmic sources such as stars and galaxies into their component wavelengths to determine their composition and distance. Within our galaxy, SPHEREx will search for reservoirs of water frozen on the surface of interstellar dust grains in large clouds of gas and dust that give rise to stars and planets. It will look for water and molecules including carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide frozen on the surface of dust grains in molecular clouds, which are dense regions of gas and dust in interstellar space. Scientists believe that reservoirs of ice bound to dust grains in these clouds are where most of the universe's water forms and dwells. Being launched along with SPHEREx is a constellation of satellites for NASA's PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission to better understand the solar wind, the continuous flow of charged particles from the sun. The solar wind and other energetic solar events can cause space weather effects that play havoc with human technology, including interfering with satellites and triggering power outages. The PUNCH mission is seeking to answer how the sun's atmosphere transitions to the solar wind, how structures in the solar wind are formed and how these processes influence Earth and the rest of the solar system. The mission involves four suitcase-sized satellites that will observe the sun and its environment. "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," said PUNCH mission scientist Nicholeen Viall of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre.
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.
Reuters
12-03-2025
- Science
- Reuters
NASA SPHEREx telescope is launched to study universe's origins
Summary SPHEREx to create a three-dimensional map of the cosmos It seeks insight into phenomenon called cosmic inflation Will search for water bound to dust in interstellar clouds March 11 (Reuters) - A NASA telescope was launched into space from California on Tuesday for a mission to explore the origins of the universe and to scour the Milky Way galaxy for hidden reservoirs of water, a key ingredient for life. The U.S. space agency's megaphone-shaped SPHEREx - short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer - was carried aloft by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. During its planned two-year mission, the observatory will collect data on more than 450 million galaxies, as well as more than 100 million stars in the Milky Way. It will create a three-dimensional map of the cosmos in 102 colors - individual wavelengths of light - and will study the history and evolution of galaxies. The mission aims to deepen the understanding of a phenomenon known as cosmic inflation, referring to the universe's rapid and exponential expansion from a single point in a fraction of a second after the Big Bang that occurred roughly 13.8 billion years ago. "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. "The reigning theory that describes this is called inflation. As its name posits, it proposes that the universe underwent an enormous expansion, going from smaller than the size of an atom, expanding a trillion-trillion fold in just a tiny fraction of a second," Korngut said. Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA headquarters, said SPHEREx is going to search for "reverberations from the Big Bang - the fractions of a second after the Big Bang that echoed into the areas SPHEREx is going to directly observe." SPHEREx will take pictures in every direction around Earth, splitting the light from billions of cosmic sources such as stars and galaxies into their component wavelengths to determine their composition and distance. Within our galaxy, SPHEREx will search for reservoirs of water frozen on the surface of interstellar dust grains in large clouds of gas and dust that give rise to stars and planets. It will look for water and molecules including carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide frozen on the surface of dust grains in molecular clouds, which are dense regions of gas and dust in interstellar space. Scientists believe that reservoirs of ice bound to dust grains in these clouds are where most of the universe's water forms and dwells. Being launched along with SPHEREx is a constellation of satellites for NASA's PUNCH - short for Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere - mission to better understand the solar wind, the continuous flow of charged particles from the sun. The solar wind and other energetic solar events can cause space weather effects that play havoc with human technology, including interfering with satellites and triggering power outages. The PUNCH mission is seeking to answer how the sun's atmosphere transitions to the solar wind, how structures in the solar wind are formed and how these processes influence Earth and the rest of the solar system. The mission involves four suitcase-sized satellites that will observe the sun and its environment. "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," said PUNCH mission scientist Nicholeen Viall of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. here.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA SPHEREx telescope is launched to study universe's origins
By Will Dunham (Reuters) - A NASA telescope was launched into space from California on Tuesday for a mission to explore the origins of the universe and to scour the Milky Way galaxy for hidden reservoirs of water, a key ingredient for life. The U.S. space agency's megaphone-shaped SPHEREx - short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer - was carried aloft by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. During its planned two-year mission, the observatory will collect data on more than 450 million galaxies, as well as more than 100 million stars in the Milky Way. It will create a three-dimensional map of the cosmos in 102 colors - individual wavelengths of light - and will study the history and evolution of galaxies. The mission aims to deepen the understanding of a phenomenon known as cosmic inflation, referring to the universe's rapid and exponential expansion from a single point in a fraction of a second after the Big Bang that occurred roughly 13.8 billion years ago. "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. "The reigning theory that describes this is called inflation. As its name posits, it proposes that the universe underwent an enormous expansion, going from smaller than the size of an atom, expanding a trillion-trillion fold in just a tiny fraction of a second," Korngut said. Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA headquarters, said SPHEREx is going to search for "reverberations from the Big Bang - the fractions of a second after the Big Bang that echoed into the areas SPHEREx is going to directly observe." SPHEREx will take pictures in every direction around Earth, splitting the light from billions of cosmic sources such as stars and galaxies into their component wavelengths to determine their composition and distance. Within our galaxy, SPHEREx will search for reservoirs of water frozen on the surface of interstellar dust grains in large clouds of gas and dust that give rise to stars and planets. It will look for water and molecules including carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide frozen on the surface of dust grains in molecular clouds, which are dense regions of gas and dust in interstellar space. Scientists believe that reservoirs of ice bound to dust grains in these clouds are where most of the universe's water forms and dwells. Being launched along with SPHEREx is a constellation of satellites for NASA's PUNCH - short for Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere - mission to better understand the solar wind, the continuous flow of charged particles from the sun. The solar wind and other energetic solar events can cause space weather effects that play havoc with human technology, including interfering with satellites and triggering power outages. The PUNCH mission is seeking to answer how the sun's atmosphere transitions to the solar wind, how structures in the solar wind are formed and how these processes influence Earth and the rest of the solar system. The mission involves four suitcase-sized satellites that will observe the sun and its environment. "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," said PUNCH mission scientist Nicholeen Viall of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
Boston Globe
01-03-2025
- Science
- Boston Globe
NASA telescope will study what put the bang in the big bang
This kind of cosmic expansion would not have been slow and steady. Inflation is an unimaginably faster. It would have transformed the universe from tiny to cosmic is a snap. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'How can you ask a bigger question than 'What was it like at the origin of the universe?'' said Phil Korngut, an astrophysicist at Caltech and the SPHEREx instrument scientist. Advertisement The telescope will gather light from about 450 million galaxies and create a three-dimensional map of the universe, including how everything has evolved through time. The goal of SPHEREx (a merciful acronym, for 'Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer') is to gather large amounts of data on the positions of galaxies relative to one another in a large volume of cosmic space. The galaxies are not randomly distributed, but instead form clusters and superclusters and filament-like structures at large scales, with voids in the mix. By looking at the distribution of galaxies across large swaths of the sky, scientists hope to discern evidence about how the early universe looked before it became cosmically large. That in turn could narrow the number of plausible inflation theories. Right now there are many distinct inflationary theories - it's the Wild West of cosmology. In trying to expose these theories to hard data, and narrow the range of possibilities, a mission like SPHEREx could lead to a new understanding of fundamental physics, said James Fanson, project manager for SPHEREx at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Advertisement Much of what physicists know about our universe comes from particle accelerators - huge contraptions, such as the one deep underground near Geneva, where atomic particles are sent on a collision course to see what happens. But the universe can do that kind of thing better. 'There's a limit in what we can do with particle accelerators on the ground when we are smashing atoms together. But the universe is really a high energy experiment,' Fanson said. 'There are very energetic processes in the universe going back to the big bang singularity. We have the opportunity to discover something fundamental about the universe.' Other astronomical surveys have also looked at large numbers of galaxies, but this mission is going wide rather than deep, scanning the whole sky. 'We're casting a broader net,' said the mission's top scientist, James Bock of Caltech. 'We're interested in these statistical fluctuations on large scales, where the signature of inflation is the cleanest.' The telescope will also search for evidence of water and organic molecules in star-forming regions in our own galaxy. Inflationary theory dates to the late 1970s and early 1980s, when physicists were trying to understand why the universe is so uniform at the largest scales, including the cosmic microwave background radiation. MIT physicist Alan Guth, among the founders of inflation theory, had a revelation that the appearance of the cosmos could be explained by a brief inflationary period. In an article published in the MIT Physics Annual 2002, Guth wrote that the big bang theory is incomplete: '[T]he theory says nothing about the underlying physics of the primordial bang. It gives not even a clue about what banged, what caused it to bang, or what happened before it banged. The inflationary universe theory, on the other hand, is a description of the bang itself … ' Advertisement But did that really happen? And if it did happen, how? What were the physics involved? 'We don't yet know for sure if inflation happened,' Jo Dunkley, a Princeton University astrophysicist, said in an email. 'And if it did, we still want to know how it happened - what physical 'field' (or multiple fields) was around at that time that drove the rapid expansion, before there were any particles.' She said SPHEREx could help shine light on inflation theory because it's an all-sky survey that will measure the distribution of galaxies "and will be able to look for these subtle signatures in how galaxies are positioned. It will be really unique in observing the sky in this way." Michael Turner, a cosmologist at UCLA and one of the architects of inflation theory, said in an email that 'the relationship of inflation and the big bang is not settled or simple.' One possibility is that an inflationary event was our big bang, and anything that happened before that point will probably be impossible to measure. But he added, 'If you are a multiverse person, there were and continue to be an infinite [number] of big bangs occurring creating the disconnected regions we cannot see.' So there's that nugget to ponder: The universe we see, which is big, may be only the tiniest, infinitesimal fraction of the grander thing out there.
