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nasa · 8 months

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Navigating Deep Space by Starlight

On August 6, 1967, astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell noticed a blip in her radio telescope data. And then another. Eventually, Bell Burnell figured out that these blips, or pulses, were not from people or machines.

The blips were constant. There was something in space that was pulsing in a regular pattern, and Bell Burnell figured out that it was a pulsar: a rapidly spinning neutron star emitting beams of light. Neutron stars are superdense objects created when a massive star dies. Not only are they dense, but neutron stars can also spin really fast! Every star we observe spins, and due to a property called angular momentum, as a collapsing star gets smaller and denser, it spins faster. It’s like how ice skaters spin faster as they bring their arms closer to their bodies and make the space that they take up smaller.

The pulses of light coming from these whirling stars are like the beacons spinning at the tops of lighthouses that help sailors safely approach the shore. As the pulsar spins, beams of radio waves (and other types of light) are swept out into the universe with each turn. The light appears and disappears from our view each time the star rotates.

After decades of studying pulsars, astronomers wondered—could they serve as cosmic beacons to help future space explorers navigate the universe? To see if it could work, scientists needed to do some testing!

First, it was important to gather more data. NASA’s NICER, or Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer, is a telescope that was installed aboard the International Space Station in 2017. Its goal is to find out things about neutron stars like their sizes and densities, using an array of 56 special X-ray concentrators and sensitive detectors to capture and measure pulsars’ light.

But how can we use these X-ray pulses as navigational tools? Enter SEXTANT, or Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation Technology. If NICER was your phone, SEXTANT would be like an app on it.

During the first few years of NICER’s observations, SEXTANT created an on-board navigation system using NICER’s pulsar data. It worked by measuring the consistent timing between each pulsar’s pulses to map a set of cosmic beacons.

When calculating position or location, extremely accurate timekeeping is essential. We usually rely on atomic clocks, which use the predictable fluctuations of atoms to tick away the seconds. These atomic clocks can be located on the ground or in space, like the ones on GPS satellites. However, our GPS system only works on or close to Earth, and onboard atomic clocks can be expensive and heavy. Using pulsar observations instead could give us free and reliable “clocks” for navigation. During its experiment, SEXTANT was able to successfully determine the space station’s orbital position!

We can calculate distances using the time taken for a signal to travel between two objects to determine a spacecraft’s approximate location relative to those objects. However, we would need to observe more pulsars to pinpoint a more exact location of a spacecraft. As SEXTANT gathered signals from multiple pulsars, it could more accurately derive its position in space.

So, imagine you are an astronaut on a lengthy journey to the outer solar system. You could use the technology developed by SEXTANT to help plot your course. Since pulsars are reliable and consistent in their spins, you wouldn’t need Wi-Fi or cell service to figure out where you were in relation to your destination. The pulsar-based navigation data could even help you figure out your ETA!

None of these missions or experiments would be possible without Jocelyn Bell Burnell’s keen eye for an odd spot in her radio data decades ago, which set the stage for the idea to use spinning neutron stars as a celestial GPS. Her contribution to the field of astrophysics laid the groundwork for research benefitting the people of the future, who yearn to sail amongst the stars.

Keep up with the latest NICER news by following NASA Universe on X and Facebook and check out the mission’s website. For more on space navigation, follow @NASASCaN on X or visit NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation website.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

#NASA #pulsar #Jocelyn Bell Burnell #spaceblr #space #star #neutron star #deep space #telescope #navigation #universe #astronomy #science

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heckingheckonaheck · 2 years

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ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ATTENTION!

URGENT ANNOUNCEMENT!

THE JWST HAS TAKEN TEST IMAGES THAT WERE JUST RELEASED

LOOK AT THIS PICTURE DUDE!!! IT’S SPACE BUT LIKE INSANELY FAR AWAY!!!

JWST EVEN TOOK A SELFIE!!! (you gotta appreciate that near not blurry photo… it is hurtling through space at 720 MPH)

HERE’S A FEW MORE PHOTOS!!!

THERE IS A LOT MORE AVAILABLE AT NASA’S JAMES WEBB TELESCOPE FLICKR PAGE. THERE ARE EVEN GRAPHS!!!

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traverse-our-universe · 3 months

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Seagull Nebula up close | Nick Fritz

#stars #astrophotography #space #astronomy #outer space #astro community #deep space #seagull nebula #mine

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theblueseassoul · 3 months

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“Sick.”

Zayne x Reader.

Love and deep space fanfiction.

No use of Y/n. Read in the second person. Gender neutral reader. Brief Mention of vomit.

It had been a long couple of days for you. You’d been working non stop, as part of the alpha squad in the hunters association you dealt with a majority of the much harsher Wanderers. Due to working so much, you had caught a bit of a cold, and were sent home, given as much time as you needed to completely recover. Zayne was told almost immediately, of course. As your doctor and one of the people closest to you, he was bound to know eventually. And so here you were, curled up on the couch with a blanket in your house clothes. And there he was, standing in the kitchen and making you tea. You shifted, back against the arm of your couch, and watched him. His back was facing you, but you could already imagined his focused face, brows furrowed and lips slightly taut.

“Your eyes are burning holes through my skull.” He suddenly said, turning his head to meet your apparently intense gaze. You’d zoned out, blinking rapidly at him, and you caught the curl of his lips and the amusement glitter in his eyes. “What are you thinking about?” He asked, picking up the mug that you’d bought as a souvenir at one of the aquariums, it had little seals plastered over it. Somehow, it had become the go-to mug for you, and Zayne always got that one first when he made you something to drink. The dark haired doctor approached you, placing your mug in your outstretched hands.

You shrugged, “Nothing, really.” You looked at the mug in your hands and blew softly at the hot tea. “Don’t you have work today?” You asked him, shifting and sitting criss-cross as you sipped the tea, still burning your tongue despite your caution. Zayne chuckled softly at the cringe your face twisted into, and shook his head in amusement as he often did at your actions. “Not today. I shouldn’t be too busy when I do, but I trust when I’m not here you will take care of yourself.” He always snuck in a lecture about your health. Though it was well placed now, as you sat there, sniffling and breathing in the steam rising from your tea to clear your sinuses.

“Awh. Taking a day off just for me?” You teased. Though you were sick that would not stop you from picking at him, and he knew that too well. His lips curled into a slight half smile and he leaned back into the couch “I find myself doing that often. Something’s always wrong with you.” He said light heartedly. It took a long time for you to start to recognize his sarcasm and sweet jokes, because his voice was not as expressive as others were. Monotone, steady, it rarely ever changed, and you often compared him to a robot because of it. You let out a soft scoff “you don’t have to come and take care of me, you know. I’m perfectly capable of doing all of this myself.” You told him.

He hummed in reply and glanced at you, eyes glistening in the light coming through the window across the room. You always did admire his eyes, the golden centers circling his pupils. You noticed his pupils always seemed to dilate around you. You didn’t know why but you felt special because of it anyways. “You’re capable, but you don’t do it. I need linkons best hunter healthy and taken care of. Who else will protect me from wanderers, hm?” He said playfully, leaning towards you, shoulder brushing against yours. You unconsciously leaned into him and smiled, not sarcastically but a genuine, softer smile. One he always managed to draw out of you; even when you were in the sourest of moods. “I did promise, didn’t I?” He nodded at your words and tilted his head towards your cup “You did. So drink up. We’ll have food soon, and then you’re having your medication.” There it was once more, Doctor Zayne and his schedules he had made for you. He didn’t take no for an answer either, you learned that the hard way.

Having someone like him was comforting. He knew you so well, and he cared for you. Enough to take the day off to spend it with you, while you were stuck at home, sick. Infact he came over last night as well, midnight, you were sick to your stomach leaned over the toilet and he knelt down beside you, one hand keeping everything out of your way and the other carefully running up and down your back, comforting you. You couldn’t make out the words he muttered but they helped. He even sat you on the counter and gently washed the remainder from your mouth, and made you something you could keep down before bed. He’d left after that, but he came back after sometime before noon.

“You’re staring again.” Zayne stated as he finished off his tea, setting his mug down and looking at you with a raised brow. “Something on my face?” He asked. You shook your head, newfound tenderness engulfing you as you leaned in closer to him, and out of instinct he had wrapped an arm around you. “Thank you.” You murmured, and he furrowed his brows in confusion “for what?”

“Being here.” You replied, shrugging. “You’re always there for me even when I don’t ask you to be. You’ve looked after me for so long. I.. I don’t think I could ever put into words how much I appreciate you doing this.” You said softly, looking up at him. He seemed to freeze, however recovered quickly and said with the same amount of tenderness “we look after each other. That’s what we do. Now hurry. Finish your tea.” He gently leaned his head against yours, and you could feel the smile spreading over his lips. You smiled and nodded, complying. He truly was the best. You wondered if his heart raced and softened the same way yours did when you saw him, when you sat with him like this. But as you leaned into his chest to listen to his heart beat as you so frequently did, you answered your own question.

It did. You wouldn’t tell him that though. It was your little victory. It had you grinning all evening, and he teased you for it.

#love and deepspace x reader #love and deepspace #deep space #zayne x reader #zayne love and deepspace

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roseve-art · 7 months

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Universal Timeline

#art #space #cosmos #universe #stars #galaxy #trippy #big bang #scientific illustration #scientific art #science #cosmology #astronomy #outer space #deep space #to infinity and beyond #Milky Way #andromeda #earth

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nightowldelta · 6 months

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A much closer look (300mm) to Pleiades. Focus is a bit off which is also why the color looks a little off. Tried my best in Photoshop to fix it, but this is the best result I was able to get. Clouds coming over didn't help either. Regardless, I'm quite happy with what I got.

#space #astrophotography #stars #astronomy #deep space #pleiades #Nebula

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euphorictruths · 2 years

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sameold-world · 5 months

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for good

#weirdcore #weirdcore edit #oddcore #liminal #aesthetic #nostalgia #nostalgiacore #old #oc #2000s #2000s aesthetic #surrealcore #dereality #space #deep space #galaxy #interstellar hotel

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retroscifiart · 10 months

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Steve R Dodd ‘Deep Space Exo-Worlds 2’ (2023)

#steve r dodd #deep space

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that-bluesybitch · 1 month

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#space #solar eclipse #solar system #planets #space photography #deep space #photography #astrology #galaxy #galaxies #my polls

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junolockscreens · 2 years

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Jupiter for James Webb | NASA, ESA, CSA, Jupiter ERS Team; image processing by Judy Schmidt.

#wallpaper #jupiter #planet #papel de parede #lockscreen #lockscreens #wallpapers #space #astronaut #james web #james webb #spacecraft #space in deep #deep space

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romanowork · 9 months

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meltingcore-end · 2 months

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"Are you also on your way to the Globular Clusters?" (OC) (My art) ♡

#my art #oc #science fiction fantasy #outer space #deep space #dreamscape #globular cluster #meltingcore

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traverse-our-universe · 5 months

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Stunning double star cluster captured by Nick Fritz on Instagram

#astrophotography #space #astronomy #star cluster #deep space #stars #curators on tumblr #photographers on instagram #original astrophotography #mine

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thefirststarr · 8 months

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The Ring Nebula (M57), is more complicated than it appears through a small telescope. The central ring is about one light-year across, but this remarkable exposure by the James Webb Space Telescope explores this popular nebula with a deep exposure in infrared light. Strings of gas, like eyelashes around a cosmic eye, are shown around the Ring in this digitally enhanced featured image in assigned colors. The long filaments may be caused by shadowing of the knots of dense gas in the nebula by light emitted within. The Ring Nebula is an elongated planetary nebula, a type of gas cloud created when a Sun-like star evolves to throw off its outer atmosphere to become a white dwarf star. The central oval in the Ring Nebula lies about 2,500 light-years away toward the constellation Lyra.

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, JWST; Processing: Zi Yang Kong

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reluctroid · 7 months

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Artist: @Max58Art

#max58art #metroid #samus aran #samus #scifi #scifiart #art #deep space #space helmet #spacesuit #nintendo

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