Matt Williams, Author at Universe Today

December 5, 2024December 5, 2024 by Matt Williams

MAUVE: An Ultraviolet Astrophysics Probe Mission Concept

An illustration of the variations among the more than 5,000 known exoplanets discovered since the 1990s. Could their stars' metallicity play a role in making them habitable to life? Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

For the past thirty years, NASA’s Great Observatories – the Hubble, Spitzer, Compton, and Chandra space telescopes – have revealed some amazing things about the Universe. In addition to some of the deepest views of the Universe provided by the Hubble Deep Fields campaign, these telescopes have provided insight into the unseen parts of the cosmos – i.e., in the infrared, gamma-ray, and ultraviolet spectrums. With the success of these observatories and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), NASA is contemplating future missions that would reveal even more of the “unseen Universe.”

This includes the UltraViolet Explorer (UVEX), a space telescope NASA plans to launch in 2030 as its next Astrophysics Medium-Class Explorer mission. In a recent study, a team led by researchers from the University of Michigan proposed another concept known as the Mission to Analyze the UltraViolet universE (MAUVE). This telescope and its sophisticated instruments were conceived during the inaugural NASA Astrophysics Mission Design School. According to the team’s paper, this mission would hypothetically be ready for launch by 2031.

December 4, 2024December 4, 2024 by Matt Williams

China Plans to Retrieve Mars Samples by 2031

The launch of the Tianwen-1 mission, Wenchang City, south China's Hainan Province, July 23, 2020. Credit: CFP

China’s growing presence in space has been undeniable since the turn of the century. Between sending the first “taikonaut” to space in 2003 (Yang Liwei), launching the first Chinese robotic mission to the Moon (Chang’e-1) in 2007, and the deployment of their Tiangong space station between 2021-2022, China has emerged as a major power in space. Accordingly, they have bold plans for the future, like the proposed expansion of their Tiangong space station and the creation of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) by 2035.

In their desire to become a space power that can rival NASA, China also has its sights on Mars. In addition to crewed missions that will culminate in a “permanent base,” they intend to conduct a sample-return mission in the near future. This will be performed by the Tianwen-3 mission, which is currently scheduled to launch in 2028 and return samples to Earth by 2031. In a recent article, the Tianwen-3 science team outlined their exploration strategy, including the methods used to retrieve the samples, the target locations, and how they’ll be analyzed for biosignatures that could indicate the presence of past life.

November 27, 2024November 27, 2024 by Matt Williams

Stem Cells Grown in Space Could Revolutionize Medicine Here on Earth

The International Space Station (ISS) in orbit. Credit: NASA

Extended periods spent in microgravity can take a serious toll on the human body, leading to muscular atrophy, bone density loss, vision problems, and changes to the cardiovascular, endocrine, and nervous systems. At the same time, however, scientists have found that microgravity may play a key role in the future of medicine. This includes bioprinting in space, where cultured cells are printed out to form organic tissues and organs without the need for grafts. Printing in microgravity also ensures that fragile cell structures do not collapse due to pressures caused by Earth’s gravity.

However, space medicine may also have applications for stem cell research, which also benefit from a microgravity environment. Stem cells have countless applications in medicine because of their ability to quickly replicate and differentiate into many different types of cells. Based on experiments carried out aboard the International Space Station (ISS), researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Florida determined that these abilities are enhanced when grown in space. These findings could have significant benefits in the study of disease prevention and treatment on Earth, as well as medical treatments delivered in space.

November 26, 2024November 26, 2024 by Matt Williams

Scientists Reveal a New Way to Study Near-Earth Asteroids

A timelapse image of the fireball event from start to finish. Credit: Western Meteor Group

On November 18th, 2022, shortly before midnight, the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) in Arizona and other observatories worldwide detected a small object (now designated 2022 WJ1) heading toward Earth. For the next three hours, the CSS and the Southern Ontario Meteor Network (SOMN) at the University of Western Ontario monitored the object before it entered Earth’s atmosphere above Southern Ontario. At 03:26 a.m. EST (12:26 a.m. PST) on November 19th, the object appeared as a bright fireball that scattered meteorite fragments across the Niagara region.

This event triggered an international collaboration to hunt down the fragments for analysis, but none have been found yet. In a recent study led by Western University and Lowell Observatory, an international team of scientists described a new approach for studying near-Earth asteroids (NEA) based largely on 2022 WJ1. The study is significant in that the team determined the NEA’s composition—the smallest asteroid characterized to date—and established a new and integrated methodology for studying other NEAs that may impact Earth someday.

November 25, 2024November 24, 2024 by Matt Williams

NASA, SpaceX Illustrate Key Moments of Artemis Lunar Lander Mission

Artist's rendering of the Starship HLS on the lunar surface. NASA has contracted with SpaceX to provide the lunar landing system. Credit: SpaceX — Artist's rendering of the Starship HLS on the Moon's surface. NASA has contracted with SpaceX to provide the lunar landing system. Credit: SpaceX

Before the decade is out, as part of the Artemis Program, NASA plans to send astronauts to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo Era. To realize this goal, they have contracted with commercial space industries to develop all the necessary components. This includes the Space Launch System (SLS) and the Orion spacecraft that will take the Artemis astronauts to the Moon. There’s also the Lunar Gateway and the Artemis Base Camp, the infrastructure that will facilitate regular missions to the Moon after 2028.

In between, NASA has also partnered with companies to develop the Human Landing Systems (HLS) that will transport the Artemis astronauts to the lunar surface and back. This includes the Starship HLS SpaceX is currently developing for NASA, which will rendezvous with the Orion spacecraft in lunar orbit and allow the Artemis III astronauts to land on the Moon (which will take place no sooner than September 2026). In a series of newly-updated images, SpaceX has provided artistic renders of what key moments in this mission will look like.

November 24, 2024November 24, 2024 by Matt Williams

The Last Arecibo Message Celebrates the Observatory and One of its Greatest Accomplishments

The Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico. (Seth Shostak/SETI Institute/Associated Press)

The Arecibo Message, transmitted on November 16th, 1974, from the Arecibo Observatory, was humanity’s first true attempt at Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI). The message was a simple pictorial signal in binary code composed by famed astronomer and SETI researcher Frank Drake (inventor of the Drake Equation) with the assistance of Sagan and other prominent astronomers. The message was and was aimed toward Messier 13 (NGC 6205 or “The Great Hercules Cluster”), a globular star cluster located about 25,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Hercules.

In 2018, in preparation for the 45th anniversary of the historic broadcast, the Arecibo Message Global Challenge was launched. Student teams were tasked with designing a new message that could be sent to space, and by August 2020, the Boriken Voyagers team was recognized as the winner of the competition. Unfortunately, the Observatory collapsed on December 1st, 2020, and the message was never sent. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Arecibo Message, the Boriken Voyagers have shared “The Last Arecibo Message.”

November 24, 2024November 24, 2024 by Matt Williams

A Nearby Supernova Could Finally Reveal Mark Matter

SN 1987a as seen by JWST's Near-Infrared Camera. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, M. Matsuura, R. Arendt, C. Fransson

Despite 90 years of research, the nature and influence of Dark Matter continue to elude astronomers and cosmologists. First proposed in the 1960s to explain the rotational curves of galaxies, this invisible mass does not interact with normal matter (except through gravity) and accounts for 85% of the total mass in the Universe. It is also a vital component in the most widely accepted cosmological model of the Universe, the Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) model. However, according to new research, the hunt for DM could be over as soon as a nearby star goes supernova.

Currently, the axion is considered the most likely candidate for DM, a hypothetical low-mass particle proposed in the 1970s to resolve problems in quantum theory. There has also been considerable research into how astronomers could detect axions by observing neutron stars and objects with powerful magnetic fields. In a recent study supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, a team of astrophysicists at the University of California Berkeley argued that axions could be discovered within seconds of detecting gamma rays from a nearby supernova explosion.

November 21, 2024November 21, 2024 by Matt Williams

New Study Suggests Black Holes Get their “Hair” from their Mothers

This artist’s impression of a supermassive black hole and accretion disk, along with a relativistic jet emanating from its poles. Credit & ©: ESO/L. Calçada

Despite decades of study, black holes are still one of the most puzzling objects in the Universe. As we know from Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity, the gravitational force of these stellar remnants alters the curvature of spacetime around them. This causes gas, dust, and even photons (light) in their vicinity to fall inwards and form disks that slowly accrete onto their faces, never to be seen again. However, astronomers have also noted that they can produce powerful jets that accelerate charged particles to close to the speed of light (aka. relativistic jets).

These jets lead to powerful gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), which have been observed with black holes that have powerful magnetic fields. However, where these magnetic fields come from has remained a mystery to astrophysicists for some time. According to new research led by scientists from the Flatiron Institute, the source of these fields may have finally been revealed. Based on a series of simulations they conducted that modeled the life cycle of stars from birth to collapse, they found that black holes inherit their magnetic fields from the parent stars themselves.

November 18, 2024November 18, 2024 by Matt Williams

China’s Proposed Cargo Shuttle, the Haolong, Has Entered Development

The model of a Haolong spacecraft is on display at the exhibition hall of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China at the Airshow China 2024 in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province from November 12 to 17, 2024. Credit: Liu Xuanzun/GT

The 2024 China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition was held in Zhuhai last week – from November 12th to 17th, 2024. Since 1996, and with support from the Chinese aerospace industry, this biennial festival features actual products, trade talks, technological exchanges, and an air show. This year’s big highlight was China’s newly announced reusable space cargo shuttle, the Haolong (Chinese for “dragon”). According to chief designer Fang Yuanpeng, the spacecraft has entered the engineering phase and will be ready for space in the near future.

November 15, 2024November 15, 2024 by Matt Williams

Scientists Develop Technique to Create 3D Models of Cosmic Structures

Milky Way centre by the MeerKAT array of 65 radio dishes in South Africa. Credit: SAROA

For decades, astronomers have used powerful instruments to capture images of the cosmos in various wavelengths. This includes optical images, where visible light is observed, and images that capture non-visible radiation, ranging from the radio and infrared to the X-ray and Gamma-ray wavelengths. However, these two-dimensional images do not allow scientists to infer what the objects look like in three dimensions. Transforming these images into a 3D space could lead to a better understanding of the physics that drives our Universe.

In a recent study, an international team of researchers led by the Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics (MIfA) at the University of Minnesota announced the development of a new technique for radio astronomy. This first-ever technique reconstructs radio images into three-dimensional “Pseudo3D cubes” that allow astronomers to get a better idea of what cosmic structures look like. This technique could lead to an improved understanding of how galaxies, massive black holes, jet structures, and the Universe work.