Latest news with #Spectro-PhotometerfortheHistoryoftheUniverse
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA SPHEREx space telescope has captured its 1st images of cosmos: See stunning photos
NASA's newest space telescope has officially begun snapping some incredible images of the cosmos about two months after it got off the ground. SPHEREx, which the U.S. space agency sent on a mission to unravel some of the universe's biggest mysteries, first released a debut batch of uncalibrated images in April unsuited for scientific study. What followed was about six weeks of procedures to make sure the advanced instrument is working as it should. Now, the telescope has commenced mapping not just a section of the sky, but all of it as part of NASA's goal of charting the positions of hundreds of millions of galaxies in three-dimension. As of May, that includes taking some 3,600 images per day. NASA released a sampling of those images May 1, which the space agency hopes are just the tip of the iceberg. Ultimately, scientists hope SPHEREx will provide data lending new insights into the origins of the universe and whether the ingredients for life exist anywhere else in our Milky Way galaxy. Here's a look at some of SPHEREx's first images, as well as what to know about the observatory's two-year mission. SPHEREx mission: NASA launches 'incredible' new tools into space to study the universe, sun's corona See 1st photos from SPHEREx space telescope Throughout the next 25 months, the SPHEREx observatory will orbit Earth more than 11,000 times while surveying and imaging the surrounding sky. When SPHEREx takes pictures of the sky, the light is sent to six detectors that can capture different wavelengths of light, or exposures. By the mission's end, NASA will weave hundreds of thousands of SPHEREx's images into digital sky maps. Here's a look at two of the newest photos: What is the SPHEREx mission? Telescope to study origins of universe SPHEREx, short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer, was developed by NASA for a mission to uncover some of the universe's greatest mysteries. The advanced observatory, an 8½ foot-tall cone-shaped telescope with infrared capabilities, will create a 3D map of the entire celestial sky every six months. SPHEREx will also use a technique called spectroscopy to measure the distance to 450 million galaxies in the nearby universe. Astronomers theorize that the distribution of the galaxies was influenced by a universe-expanding event that took place almost 14 billion years ago after the big bang. During its mission, the telescope will also measure the glow of all the galaxies in the universe, which should provide new insights into how galaxies formed and evolved over cosmic time. But the mission isn't only studying faraway galaxies. SPHEREx will also turn its attention to our Milky Way to search for hidden reservoirs of frozen water ice and other molecules, like carbon dioxide, that are essential to life as we know it. When and where did the SPHEREx telescope launch? The telescope got off the ground March 12 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in Vandenberg, California. The space observatory shared a ride with the four small satellites that make up NASA's PUNCH mission, which will study how the sun's outer atmosphere becomes solar wind. The two missions are designed to operate in low-Earth orbit in such a way that the sun always remains in the same position relative to each spacecraft. This is essential for SPHEREx to keep its telescope shielded from the sun's light and heat, which would inhibit its observations, and for PUNCH to have a clear view in all directions around the sun, according to NASA. How is SPHEREx different from James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope? NASA believes SPHEREx could complement the famous Hubble and James Webb space telescopes, which have for years already been studying the far corners of the known universe. Hubble and Webb specialize in zooming in on small areas in great detail, unveiling planets, stars and galaxies in high resolution. But some questions "can be answered only by looking at the big picture," according to NASA. That's where SPHEREx comes in. The new telescope could help fill in the gap by getting a wider view of the galaxy – identifying objects of scientific interest that telescopes like Hubble and Webb can then go study up close. The result would provide scientists with a more complete perspective of the universe, according to NASA. Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@ This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: NASA SPHEREx space telescope unveils 1st look of cosmos: See photos
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NASA launch crew rings NYSE closing bell
April 25 (UPI) -- Members of SPHEREx, NASA's Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer, recently visited the New York Stock Exchange to ring the closing bell. Several SPHEREx team members including flight system manager Michael Thelen rang the closing bell at the Wall Street exchange earlier in the week. Members of London-based aerospace firm BAE Systems Inc. also participated in the closing bell ritual. The company provided the telescope and spacecraft bus for the mission. The two-year SPHEREx mission aims to conduct an "all-sky spectral survey" using the near-infrared space observatory. NASA built the explorer at its Joint Propulsion Laboratory at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. SPHEREx successfully launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in March, marking the first dual launch in the private company's history. The observatory "will collect data on more than 450 million galaxies along with more than 100 million stars in the Milky Way in order to explore the origins of the universe," according to NASA's mission page. The $488 mission will produce a three-dimensional map, which will take up to two years. Scientists expect it will give them more information about how the universe expanded so rapidly.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NASA's SPHEREx team rings bell at New York Stock Exchange
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Members of NASA's SPHEREx mission team celebrated Earth Day and the recent launch of the astrophysics observatory by ringing the closing bell for the New York Stock Exchange on April 22, 2025. This photo captures the moment that Michael Thelen, NASA's flight system manager for the SPHEREx observatory, rang the closing bell for the New York Stock Exchange on Earth Day, April 22, 2025. Joining him for the honor were other members of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) team, as well as team members from BAE Systems Inc., Space & Mission Systems, which built the telescope and spacecraft's main structure, known as a "bus."At 4:00 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT) on Tuesday, trading as normal came to an end as the brokers on the stock exchange floor below gathered to hear the bell ding at Thelen's command. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) located in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York (or Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) is in a sun-synchronous, low Earth orbit, circling the planet at about 430 miles (700 kilometers) above the surface. It was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in southern California on March 12, 2025. Although this is not the first time that NASA has been invited to ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange (or NASDAQ), it is still not as common as having businesses who are part of the market or other newsmakers receive the honor. What is amazing is what the SPHEREx mission promises to answer. SPHEREx was built and launched to collect data on more than 450 million galaxies and 100 million stars in the Milky Way. The information transmitted back to Earth will help improve scientists' understanding of how the universe evolved, while searching for key ingredients for life in our galaxy. You can read about another mission ringing the NYSE bell from space or see the first images taken by SPHEREx. You can also read more about the SPHEREx mission.
Express Tribune
07-04-2025
- Science
- Express Tribune
NASA's SPHEREx telescope captures first images, offering glimpse into the infrared universe
Launched on 11 March, the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer—better known as SPHEREx—has now powered up its ultra-cold infrared detectors and begun its initial observations. PHOTO: NASA Listen to article NASA's new space telescope, SPHEREx, has successfully captured its first images from space, offering a striking early look at the cosmos and marking a major milestone in the mission's journey to explore the origins of the universe. Launched on 11 March, the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer—better known as SPHEREx—has now powered up its ultra-cold infrared detectors and begun its initial observations. Though still uncalibrated, the first images from SPHEREx reveal a breathtaking view filled with stars and galaxies—more than 100,000 sources visible in each frame. Every SPHEREx exposure includes six images captured by its detectors, collectively covering a field about 20 times wider than the full Moon. 'This is the high point of spacecraft checkout; it's the thing we wait for,' said Beth Fabinsky, SPHEREx's deputy project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). 'There's still work to do, but this is the big payoff. And wow! Just wow!' Unlike visible light telescopes such as Hubble, SPHEREx detects infrared light, revealing phenomena invisible to the human eye. Each of the telescope's six detectors records light in 17 different wavelength bands—offering a total of 102 infrared hues. These variations allow astronomers to decode the chemical makeup of cosmic objects and estimate their distances. 'This data will allow us to study everything from galaxy formation to the origins of water,' explained Olivier Doré, SPHEREx project scientist at Caltech and JPL. 'Our spacecraft has opened its eyes on the universe. It's performing just as it was designed to.' The team has spent the past two weeks confirming the spacecraft's systems are functioning correctly and cooling the detectors to approximately –350°F (–210°C). This extreme cold is essential for capturing delicate infrared signals, which could otherwise be drowned out by thermal radiation. SPHEREx's mission includes mapping the full sky four times over two years. By using a method called spectroscopy, it will measure the light from hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies, potentially unlocking new information about: The large-scale structure of the universe The mysterious Epoch of Reionization The distribution of ices and organic molecules in our galaxy This includes investigating how elements like water, carbon dioxide, and methane—crucial for life—are distributed across interstellar dust. While telescopes like Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope offer deep, focused views of specific regions, SPHEREx is a broad-survey instrument, designed to scan vast areas of space. Its wide-angle perspective will help identify promising targets for further investigation by more focused telescopes. 'Based on the images we are seeing, we can now say that the instrument team nailed it,' said Jamie Bock, SPHEREx principal investigator at Caltech and JPL. 'I'm rendered speechless.' The spacecraft was built by BAE Systems (formerly Ball Aerospace), with Caltech overseeing the integration of its scientific instruments. A team of scientists from 10 U.S. institutions, as well as South Korea and Taiwan, will lead the mission's data analysis. All findings will be processed and archived at Caltech's IPAC Infrared Science Archive, and made publicly available. SPHEREx is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the agency's Astrophysics Division, with data expected to enhance our understanding of cosmic history and the conditions that led to life in the universe.
Ammon
02-04-2025
- Science
- Ammon
NASA's SPHEREx telescope 'opens its eyes on the universe', taking stunning debut image of 100,000 galaxies and stars
Ammon News - A new NASA space telescope has turned on its detectors for the first time, capturing its first light in images that contain tens of thousands of galaxies and stars. The Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) arrived in orbit atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on March 11. The six released images, collected by the space telescope on March 27, were each snapped by three different detectors. The top three images span the telescope's complete field of view, and are captured again in the bottom three which are colored differently to represent varying ranges of infrared wavelengths. Within each image's full field of view — an area roughly 20 times wider than the full moon — roughly 100,000 light sources from stars, galaxies, and nebulas can be glimpsed. "Our spacecraft has opened its eyes on the universe," Olivier Doré, a SPHEREx project scientist at Caltech and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement. "It's performing just as it was designed to." Costing a total of $488 million to build and launch, the new telescope has been in development for roughly a decade and is set to map the universe by observing both optical and infrared light. It will orbit Earth 14.5 times a day, completing 11,000 orbits during its lifetime to filter infrared light from distant gas and dust clouds using a technique called spectroscopy. Once it is fully online in April, SPHEREX will scan the entire night sky a total of four times using 102 separate infrared color sensors, enabling it to collect data from more than 450 million galaxies during its planned two-year operation. This amounts to roughly 600 exposures a day, according to NASA. This dataset will give scientists key insights into some of the biggest questions in cosmology, enabling astronomers to study galaxies at various stages in their evolution; trace the ice floating in empty space to see how life may have begun; and even understand the period of rapid inflation the universe underwent immediately after the Big Bang. SPHEREx's wide panorama view makes it the perfect complement for the James Webb Space Telescope, flagging regions of interest for the latter to study with greater depth and resolution. After lofting it to space, NASA scientists and engineers have performed a nail-biting series of checks on the new telescope. This includes ensuring that its sensitive infrared equipment is cooling down to its final temperature of around minus 350 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 210 degrees Celsius) and that the telescope is set to the right focus — something that cannot be adjusted in space. Based on these stunning preliminary images, it appears that everything has worked out. "This is the high point of spacecraft checkout; it's the thing we wait for," Beth Fabinsky, SPHEREx deputy project manager at JPL, said in the statement. "There's still work to do, but this is the big payoff. And wow! Just wow!"
