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stormwyrm writes:

In a paper (paywalled) published in the journal Icarus, a team of scientists led by Carey Lisse and Ralph McNutt of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (that designed, built, and operates the New Horizons spacecraft) have made, using the Chandra X-Ray Telescope, the puzzling detection of X-ray emissions from Pluto. Being a cold, icy world with no magnetic field, Pluto has no obvious mechanism for producing X-rays, but it is known that the interaction of gases surrounding such bodies and the solar wind can produce X-rays, though the intensity of the emissions is still higher than would be expected given the measurements of the dwarf planet's tenuous atmosphere and its great distance from the sun. From the JHUAPL press release:

While NASA's New Horizons spacecraft was speeding toward and beyond Pluto, Chandra was aimed several times on the dwarf planet and its moons, gathering data on Pluto that the missions could compare after the flyby. Each time Chandra pointed at Pluto — four times in all, from February 2014 through August 2015 — it detected low-energy X-rays from the small planet.

[...] "We've just detected, for the first time, X-rays coming from an object in our Kuiper Belt, and learned that Pluto is interacting with the solar wind in an unexpected and energetic fashion," said Carey Lisse, an astrophysicist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, who led the Chandra observation team with APL colleague and New Horizons Co-Investigator Ralph McNutt. "We can expect other large Kuiper Belt objects to be doing the same."

[...] The immediate mystery is that Chandra's readings on the brightness of the X-rays are much higher than expected from the solar wind interacting with Pluto's atmosphere.

[...] Lisse and his colleagues [...] suggest several possibilities for the enhanced X-ray emission from Pluto. These include a much wider and longer tail of gases trailing Pluto than New Horizons detected using its SWAP instrument. Other possibilities are that interplanetary magnetic fields are focusing more particles than expected from the solar wind into the region around Pluto, or the low density of the solar wind in the outer solar system at the distance of Pluto could allow for the formation of a doughnut, or torus, of neutral gas centered around Pluto's orbit.

Other coverage from Starts With A Bang and Gizmodo.

Original Submission

Arthur T Kanckerbracket writes:

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

A new project using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes allows people to navigate through real data of the remains of an exploded star for the first time.

This three-dimensional virtual reality (VR) project with augmented reality (AR) allows users to explore inside the debris from actual observations of the supernova remnant called Cassiopeia A. Cassiopeia A (Cas A, for short) is the debris field of a massive star that blew itself apart over 400 years ago.

The new 3-D VR/AR project of Cas A is a collaboration between the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass., and Brown University's Center for Computation and Visualization in Providence, RI, and will provide new opportunities for public communications, informal education, and research.

"The stars are much too far away to touch, but this project will let experts and non-experts—at least virtually—walk among one of the most famous supernova remnants in our sky," said Kimberly Arcand, Visualization Lead at the Chandra X-ray Center.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Galaxy Punches Through Neighbor to Spawn Giant Ring of Black Holes

A giant ring of black holes has been discovered 300 million light-years away, offering new clues about what happens when galaxies collide. [...] The observed ring of black holes or neutron stars is believed to be the result of a galaxy collision. The galaxies were likely drawn together by gravity, and the gravitational force from one galaxy created waves in the gas surrounding its neighbor, which, in this case, is AM 0644. The ripples would have then caused the gas to expand or clump together in denser areas, triggering the birth of new stars.

"The most massive of these fledgling stars will lead short lives — in cosmic terms — of millions of years," representatives from the Chandra X-ray Observatory said in a statement. "After that, their nuclear fuel is spent, and the stars explode as supernovas, leaving behind either black holes with masses typically between about five to twenty times that of the sun, or neutron stars with a mass approximately equal to that of the sun." The black holes or neutron stars have close cosmic companions from which they siphon gas. This gas falls inward and is heated by friction, creating the bright X-rays detected by Chandra, according to the statement.

Also at Bad Astronomy.

Original Submission

martyb writes:

NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory Enters Safe Mode; Investigation Underway:

At approximately 9:55 a.m. EDT on Oct. 10, 2018, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory entered safe mode, in which the observatory is put into a safe configuration, critical hardware is swapped to back-up units, the spacecraft points so that the solar panels get maximum sunlight, and the mirrors point away from the Sun. Analysis of available data indicates the transition to safe mode was normal behavior for such an event. All systems functioned as expected and the scientific instruments are safe. The cause of the safe mode transition (possibly involving a gyroscope) is under investigation, and we will post more information when it becomes available.

Chandra is 19 years old, which is well beyond the original design lifetime of 5 years. In 2001, NASA extended its lifetime to 10 years. It is now well into its extended mission and is expected to continue carrying out forefront science for many years to come.

Has anyone heard from Opportunity lately?

But seriously, it's amazing how many probes keep running so far beyond their designed life span. Take a look, for instance, at the Mars Rovers. And then consider the two Voyager spacecraft, launched in 1977 which are still in operation!

Original Submission

takyon writes:

NASA brings a Hubble gyro back to life after a seven-year hibernation

After NASA's Hubble Space Telescope entered "safe" mode about two weeks ago, its operations team has been scrambling to bring a balky gyroscope back online. Now, the space agency says it believes it has fixed the problem.

[...] Hubble has three pairs of two gyroscopes, with each pair consisting of a primary and back-up gyroscope. Moreover, in each pair, one of the gyroscopes is of an "old" design, while the other is an "enhanced" (or newer) design intended to last for a longer period of time. After the failure this month, all three of the "old" design gyros have stopped working. This left NASA with two enhanced gyros that were functioning normally and one that had acted up more than seven years ago before being taken out of service at that time. The Hubble telescope can operate on just a single gyro, but three working ones are optimal for normal operations.

During the last two weeks, operators have been trying to bring this third, previously balky gyro back online. And they're now reporting some success. Within the gyroscope is a wheel spinning rapidly inside a sealed cylinder, and some blockage in the fluid around this cylinder appeared to be causing erroneously high spin rates. A series of maneuvers—including turns in opposite directions—seems to have cleared any blockage.

Previously: Hubble Telescope Placed into Safe Mode after Gyroscope Failure

Related: NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory Fixed

Original Submission