Thursday, March 28, 2024

[NASA HQ News] NASA Awards Promote Science, Technology, Engineering, Math Nationwide

NASA Awards Promote Science, Technology, Engineering, Math Nationwide

 

March 28, 2024
Release: 24-046


Orlando Science Center brings STEM engagement to the community via a weekly after school series, culminating in an Engineering Design Challenge.

Credit: Orlando Science Center

NASA is awarding approximately $3.7 million to 17 museums, science centers, and other informal education institutions as part of an initiative to ignite STEM excitement. The money will go toward projects that inspire students and their learning support systems to take an active role in the wonder of science, technology, engineering, and math.  

 

"We're excited to grow the community of informal education organizations through these awards," said Torry Johnson, deputy associate administrator of STEM Engagement Programs at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "These organizations bring the excitement of STEM and spaceflight to students where they are, helping us inspire the Artemis Generation of future explorers and innovators. These awards are a real catalyst for partnerships that connect STEM education and NASA's missions to communities across the nation."

 

Projects were selected for NASA's Teams Engaging Affiliated Museums and Informal Institutions (TEAM II) program and TEAM II Community Anchor Awards. Both are funded through NASA's Next Generation STEM project, which supports kindergarten to grade 12 students, caregivers, and formal and informal educators in engaging the Artemis Generation in the agency's missions and discoveries. The selected projects will particularly engage students from underserved communities in a variety of STEM learning opportunities including exhibits, mentorship, educational content, and hands-on activities.

 

TEAM II Awards
NASA's vision for TEAM II is to enhance the capability of informal education institutions to host NASA-based learning activities while increasing the institutions' capacity to bring NASA resources to students. The agency has selected four institutions to receive approximately $3.2 million in cooperative agreements for projects they will implement during the next three to four years.

 

The selected institutions and their proposed projects are:

  • Franklin Institute, Philadelphia: NASA's Next Advocates: Connecting Youth to NASA Through a Co-Created Near-Peer Mentorship Program
  • WEX Foundation, San Antonio: New Worlds Await You - Next Generation
  • Astrobotic Foundation, Pittsburgh: Cosmic Careers from the Earth to the Moon
  • EcoExploratorio, Inc., San Juan, Puerto Rico – Innovative Space Learning Activities Center: Living On and Beyond Earth

 

Community Anchor Awards

The designation as a Community Anchor recognizes institutions as locations that will bring NASA STEM and space science to students and families in traditionally underserved areas. The agency has selected 13 institutions to receive approximately $510,000 in grants to help make these one-to-two-year projects a reality, enhancing the local impact and strengthening their ability to build sustainable connections between their communities and NASA.
 
The selected institutions and their proposed projects are:

  • Exploration Works, Helena, Montana: Moon to Mars to Montana      
  • Montshire Museum of Science, Norwich, Vermont: Empowerment Through Climate Action     
  • Intrepid Museum Foundation, Inc., New York: NASA Explore Days
  • Discovery Place, Inc., Charlotte, North Carolina: NASA Community Space Stations
  • The Discovery Museum, Bridgeport, Connecticut: Using Community Science to Engage Underrepresented Youth in Authentic STEM Engagement and Research
  • Museum of Discovery and Science, Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Delivering NASA STEM Education Programs to Underserved Communities in Broward County
  • GrowingGreat, Manhattan Beach, California: Food in Space and in the City: Teens Tackle Food Security in Their Los Angeles Community
  • Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland: Expanding STEM/Astronomy Learning to Underserved Youth Communities
  • Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, McMinnville, Oregon: Spaced Out! Fostering STEM Literacy in Students Grades 5 to 8: Through Immersive Space Science Learning Experiences
  • Ocean County College, Toms River, New Jersey: Family on Campus Using Science
  • San Diego Air & Space Museum, San Diego: Imagine the Future of Space
  • FL Newspaper in Educ Coordinator, Deerfield Beach, Florida: Increasing STEM Engagement Among Underserved Youth in Tampa Bay, Florida
  • STEM Advancement, Inc., Pinola, Mississippi: Equipping and Inspiring Rural Students with SpaceRelated Experience

 

Next Gen STEM is a project within NASA's Office of STEM Engagement, which develops unique resources and experiences to spark student interest in STEM and build a skilled and diverse next generation workforce.

 

For the latest NASA STEM events, activities, and news, visit:

 

https://stem.nasa.gov

 

 

-end-

 

 

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[NASA HQ News] NASA Selects Construction Management Services Acquisition Contractor

March 28, 2024

CONTRACT RELEASE: C24-011

 

NASA Selects Construction Management Services Acquisition Contractor

 

 

NASA has selected small business Firelake-Arrowhead NASA Services Joint Venture of Lawrence, Kansas, to acquire construction management, inspection, surveying, and testing services at NASA centers across the country.

 

The Construction Management, Inspection, Surveying, and Testing (CMIST-II) contract was competed as a Small Business 8(a) set-aside, and the maximum contract value is approximately $38.8 million.

 

This is a hybrid contract with firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee for base services plus a firm-fixed price indefinite-delivery/indefinite aspect performed at NASA’s Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field in Cleveland and Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. It also will have a firm-fixed price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity aspect, which can be performed at any NASA center.

 

The performance period begins Monday, April 1, and includes a 30-day phase-in period, a two-year base period, a two-year option, a one-year option, and a six-month option, with the potential to extend services through Nov. 30, 2029.

 

The contractor will manage construction projects and maintenance tasks from initial concepts through completion, including requirements development, design, construction, commissioning, activation, and turnover. Leidos, Inc., of Reston, Virginia, is a subcontractor.

 

For information about NASA and other agency programs, visit:

 

https://www.nasa.gov

 

-end-

 

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Inbox Astronomy: Three-Year Study of Young Stars with NASA's Hubble Enters New Chapter

INBOX ASTRONOMY

Three-Year Study of Young Stars with NASA's Hubble Enters New Chapter

Release date: Thursday, March 28, 2024 10:00:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Three-Year Study of Young Stars with NASA's Hubble Enters New Chapter



Scientists now begin mining the data for new insights only Hubble can provide

ULLYSES—the largest Hubble Space Telescope program ever executed—recently finished collecting information on almost 500 young stars over a three-year period. Now the hard work of analysis begins as teams of scientists start to dig into the vast treasure trove of data!

This comprehensive survey provides a rich spectroscopic dataset obtained in ultraviolet light, which can only be observed from space. Only Hubble with its ultraviolet capability could accomplish such a study. Described as "transformative" and "impacting overall astrophysics," ULLYSES offers new insights into stellar formation, evolution, and the impact of young stars on their surroundings. This information may eventually be used in ways not yet imagined.



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Wednesday, March 27, 2024

[NASA HQ News] NASA Astronaut Don Pettit to Conduct Science During Fourth Mission

March 27, 2024

 

RELEASE: 24-048

 

NASA Astronaut Don Pettit to Conduct Science During Fourth Mission

 

NASA astronaut Don Pettit poses for a crew portrait at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

NASA

 

During his fourth mission to the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Don Pettit will serve as a flight engineer and member of the Expedition 71/72 crew. After blasting off to space, Pettit will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare crew for future space missions.

 

Pettit will launch on the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft in September 2024, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. The trio will spend approximately six months aboard the orbital laboratory.

 

NASA selected Pettit as an astronaut in 1996. A veteran of three spaceflights, he made integral advancements in technology and demonstrations for human exploration. He served as a science officer for Expedition 6 in 2003, operated the robotic arm for STS-126 space shuttle Endeavour in 2008, and served as a flight engineer for Expedition 30/31 in 2012. Pettit has logged 370 days in space and conducted two spacewalks totaling 13 hours and 17 minutes.

 

The Expedition 6 crew launched on STS-113 space shuttle Endeavour expecting to return on STS-114 space shuttle Discovery after a two and a half month mission. Following the space shuttle Columbia accident that grounded the shuttle fleet, the crew returned on the Soyuz TMA-1 spacecraft after five and a half months, landing in Kazakhstan. On his next 16-day mission, STS-126, Pettit helped expand the living quarters of the space station and installed a regenerative life support system to reclaim potable water from urine. During Expedition 30/31, Pettit also captured the first commercial cargo spacecraft, the SpaceX Dragon, using the robotic arm.

 

A native from Silverton, Oregon, Pettit holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Oregon State University, Corvallis, and a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Arizona, Tucson. Prior to his career with NASA, Pettit worked as a staff scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

 

For more than two decades, humans have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs that are not possible on Earth. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies focus on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a robust low Earth orbit economy, NASA is able to focus more of its resources on deep space missions to the Moon and Mars.

 

Get breaking news, images and features from the space station on the station blog, Instagram, Facebook, and X.

 

Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at:

 

https://www.nasa.gov/station

 

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Tuesday, March 26, 2024

[NASA HQ News] NASA Selects First Lunar Instruments for Artemis Astronaut Deployment

NASA Selects First Lunar Instruments for Artemis Astronaut Deployment

MAR 26, 2024

RELEASE 24-047

 

Artist’s concept of an Artemis astronaut deploying an instrument on the lunar surface.

Credits: NASA

NASA has chosen the first science instruments designed for astronauts to deploy on the surface of the Moon during Artemis III. Once installed near the lunar South Pole, the three instruments will collect valuable scientific data about the lunar environment, the lunar interior, and how to sustain a long-duration human presence on the Moon, which will help prepare NASA to send astronauts to Mars.

“Artemis marks a bold new era of exploration, where human presence amplifies scientific discovery. With these innovative instruments stationed on the Moon’s surface, we’re embarking on a transformative journey that will kick-start the ability to conduct human-machine teaming – an entirely new way of doing science,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. “These three deployed instruments were chosen to begin scientific investigations that will address key Moon to Mars science objectives.”

The instruments will address three Artemis science objectives: understanding planetary processes, understanding the character and origin of lunar polar volatiles, and investigating and mitigating exploration risks. They were specifically chosen because of their unique installation requirements that necessitate deployment by humans during moonwalks. All three payloads were selected for further development to fly on Artemis III that’s targeted to launch in 2026, however, final manifesting decisions about the mission will be determined at a later date. Members of these payload teams will become members of NASA’s Artemis III science team.

The Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) is a compact, autonomous seismometer suite designed to carry out continuous, long-term monitoring of the seismic environment, namely ground motion from moonquakes, in the lunar south polar region. The instrument will characterize the regional structure of the Moon’s crust and mantle, which will add valuable information to lunar formation and evolution models. LEMS previously received four years of NASA’s Development and Advancement of Lunar Instrumentation funding for engineering development and risk reduction. It is intended to operate on the lunar surface from three months up to two years and may become a key station in a future global lunar geophysical network. LEMS is led by Dr. Mehdi Benna, from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Lunar Effects on Agricultural Flora (LEAF) will investigate the lunar surface environment’s effects on space crops. LEAF will be the first experiment to observe plant photosynthesis, growth, and systemic stress responses in space-radiation and partial gravity.  Plant growth and development data, along with environmental parameters measured by LEAF, will help scientists understand the use of plants grown on the Moon for both human nutrition and life support on the Moon and beyond. LEAF is led by Christine Escobar of Space Lab Technologies, LLC, in Boulder, Colorado.

The Lunar Dielectric Analyzer (LDA) will measure the regolith’s ability to propagate an electric field, which is a key parameter in the search for lunar volatiles, especially ice. It will gather essential information about the structure of the Moon’s subsurface, monitor dielectric changes caused by the changing angle of the Sun as the Moon rotates, and look for possible frost formation or ice deposits. LDA, an internationally contributed payload, is led by Dr. Hideaki Miyamoto of the University of Tokyo and supported by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).

“These three scientific instruments will be our first opportunity since Apollo to leverage the unique capabilities of human explorers to conduct transformative lunar science,” said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “These payloads mark our first steps toward implementing the recommendations for the high-priority science outlined in the Artemis III Science Definition Team report.”

Artemis III, the first mission to return astronauts to the surface of the Moon in more than 50 years, will explore the south polar region of the Moon, within 6 degrees of latitude from the South Pole. Several proposed landing regions for the mission are located among some of the oldest parts of the Moon. Together with the permanently shadowed regions, they provide the opportunity to learn about the history of the Moon through previously unstudied lunar materials.

With the Artemis campaign, NASA will land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon, and establish long-term exploration for scientific discovery and preparation for human missions to Mars for the benefit of all.

For more information on Artemis science, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/lunar-science

-end-

 

Saturday, March 23, 2024

[NASA HQ News] NASA Astronaut Tracy Dyson, Crewmates Safely En Route to Space Station

March 23, 2024

 

RELEASE: 24-044

 

NASA Astronaut Tracy Dyson, Crewmates Safely En Route to Space Station

 

 

The Soyuz rocket launches to the International Space Station with Expedition 71 NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, and Belarus spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya, onboard, Saturday, March 23, 2024, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

NASA/Bill Ingalls

 

 

Three crew members including NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson successfully launched at 8:36 a.m. EDT Saturday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station.

 

Dyson, along with her crewmates Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus, will dock to the space station’s Prichal module about 11:09 a.m. on Monday, March 25, on the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft.

 

Docking coverage will begin at 10:15 a.m. on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. NASA also will air coverage, starting at 1:15 p.m., of the crew welcome ceremony on NASA+ once they are aboard the orbital outpost. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.

When the hatches between the station and the Soyuz open about 1:40 p.m., the new crew members will join NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Alexander Grebenkin, already living and working aboard the space station.

 

Novitskiy and Vasilevskaya will be aboard the station for 12 days, before providing the ride home for O’Hara on Saturday, April 6, aboard Soyuz MS-24 for a parachute-assisted landing on steppe of Kazakhstan.

 

Dyson will spend six months aboard the station as an Expedition 70 and 71 flight engineer, returning to Earth in September with Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub of Roscosmos, who will complete a year-long mission on the laboratory.

 

This will be the third spaceflight for Dyson, the fourth for Novitskiy, and the first for Vasilevskaya.

 

Learn more about space station activities at:

 

https://www.nasa.gov/station

 

-end-

 

Joshua Finch

Headquarters, Washington

202-358-1100

joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov

 

Sandra Jones

Johnson Space Center, Houston

281-483-5111

sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov

 

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Friday, March 22, 2024

[NASA HQ News] NASA, Agencies to Brief Plans for April 2024 Total Solar Eclipse

NASA, Agencies to Brief Plans for April 2024 Total Solar Eclipse

MAR 22, 2024

MEDIA ADVISORY M24-045

 

A person watches the annular solar eclipse of October 14, 2023, in Kerrville, Texas.

Credits: NASA

Millions of people across North America will experience a rare celestial sight on Monday, April 8: a total solar eclipse. NASA will host a media briefing with other government agencies at 10 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 26, at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

The briefing will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.

Over the course of about an hour, viewers in 15 states across the United States will experience up to four and half minutes of darkness when the Moon moves fully in front of the Sun, revealing the Sun’s faint outer atmosphere: the corona. Outside of the path of totality, people in the contiguous United States will have the opportunity to see a partial eclipse, when the Moon covers only a portion of the Sun. Learn how to safely view this celestial event on NASA’s eclipse website.

NASA is joining with scientific and transportation agencies to engage the public, share safety information, and conduct science during the upcoming total solar eclipse. Representatives from these agencies will brief media about plans for the solar eclipse.

Briefing participants include:

  • NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
  • NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy
  • NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free
  • Kelly Korreck, eclipse program manager, NASA Headquarters
  • Shailen Bhatt, administrator, Federal Highway Administration
  • Elsayed Talaat, director, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Space Weather Observations

Media interested in attending in person must RSVP by 5 p.m., Monday, March 25, to Tiernan Doyle at tiernan.doyle@nasa.gov. All media interested in participating by phone must request details no later than two hours before the start of the event.  NASA’s media accreditation policy is online.

On April 8, NASA will host live coverage of the eclipse on NASA+, the agency’s website, and the NASA app beginning at 1 p.m. NASA will also stream the broadcast live on its FacebookXYouTube, and Twitch social media accounts, as well as have a telescope-only feed of eclipse views on the NASA TV media channel and YouTube.

To learn more about the total solar eclipse, visit:

go.nasa.gov/Eclipse2024

-end-

 

Thursday, March 21, 2024

[NASA HQ News] NASA Science, Hardware Aboard SpaceX’s 30th Resupply Launch to Station

NASA Science, Hardware Aboard SpaceX's 30th Resupply Launch to Station

 

March 21, 2024

RELEASE: 24-043

 

NASA's SpaceX 30th commercial resupply mission launched at 4:55 p.m. EDT, Thursday, March 21 , from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Credit: NASA/Madison Tuttle

 

Following a successful launch of NASA's SpaceX 30th commercial resupply mission, new scientific experiments and technology demonstrations for the agency are on the way to the International Space Station, including studies of technologies to measure sea ice and plant growth in space.

 

SpaceX's Dragon resupply spacecraft, carrying more than 6,000 pounds of cargo to the orbiting laboratory, launched on the company's Falcon 9 rocket at 4:55 p.m. EDT Thursday, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

 

The cargo spacecraft is scheduled to autonomously dock at the space station on Saturday, March 23, at approximately 7:30 a.m. and remain at the orbital outpost for about a month.

 

Live coverage of the arrival will begin at 5:30 a.m. on NASA+, NASA Television, and on the agency's website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms.

The Dragon will deliver a new set of sensors for Astrobee robots to support automated 3D sensing, mapping, and situational awareness functions. These systems could support future Gateway and lunar surface missions by providing automated maintenance and surface scanning using rovers. Additionally, the spacecraft will deliver BurstCube, a small satellite that is designed to study gamma-ray bursts that occur when two neutron stars collide. This satellite could widen our coverage of the gamma-ray sky, improving our chances of studying bursts both with light and gravitational waves, or ripples in space-time, detected by ground-based observatories.

 

Finally, the spacecraft also will deliver sampling hardware for Genomic Enumeration of Antibiotic Resistance in Space (GEARS), an initiative that will test different locations of the space station for antibiotic-resistant microbes. In-flight gene sequencing could show how these bacteria adapt to the space environment, providing knowledge that informs measures to protect astronauts on future long-duration missions.

 

These are just a few of the hundreds of investigations conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory in the areas of biology and biotechnology, physical sciences, and Earth and space science. Advances from this scientific research will help keep astronauts healthy during long-duration space travel and demonstrate technologies for future human and robotic exploration beyond low Earth orbit to the Moon through NASA's Artemis campaign, in advance of the first crewed mission to Mars.

 

Get breaking news, images and features from the space station on Instagram, Facebook, and X.

 

Learn more about NASA commercial resupply services missions at:

 

https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/commercial-resupply/

 

-end-

 

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[NASA HQ News] NASA, Health and Human Services Highlight Cancer Moonshot Progress

NASA, Health and Human Services Highlight Cancer Moonshot Progress

 

March 21, 2024

RELEASE: 24-045

 

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson delivers remarks during an event with Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to highlight how the agencies are making progress toward President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in the Earth Information Center at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. NASA is working with agencies and researchers across the federal government to help cut the nation’s cancer death rate by at least 50% in the next 25 years, a goal of the Cancer Moonshot Initiative.

Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber

 

During an event at NASA Headquarters in Washington Thursday, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra united to note progress their respective agencies are making in space and on Earth toward President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative.

 

“We go to space not just to explore the stars, but to improve life here on Earth,” said Nelson. “In that microgravity environment, NASA is studying cancer growth—and the effect of cancer treatments— much faster than we can on Earth. I am grateful for President Biden’s leadership as we continue to make moonshot after moonshot to end cancer as we know it.”

 

Also participating in the event was Dr. W. Kimryn Rathmell, director of the National Cancer Institute, as well as NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Frank Rubio, both of whom each recently served extended science missions 250 miles off the Earth aboard the International Space Station where they conducted cancer-related research.

 

As the second leading cause of death in the United States, the President and First Lady’s Cancer Moonshot is a national effort to end cancer. Nelson noted several related experiments space station astronauts have conducted aboard the orbital laboratory for the benefit of all including protein crystal growth, nanoparticle drug delivery, tissue engineering, and stem cell research.

 

In addition to $2.9 billion across HHS in the President’s fiscal year 2025 budget proposal, Becerra discussed his agency’s capabilities to accelerate progress toward the President’s moonshot goals.

 

“Eliminating cancer as we know it is a goal that unifies the country,” said Becerra. “We all know someone, and most of us love someone, who has battled this terrible disease. As we did during the race to the Moon, we believe our technology and scientific community are capable of making the impossible a reality when it comes to ending cancer as we know it.”

 

The backdrop for the event was NASA’s Earth Information Center, which provides access to NASA satellites and other data to see how our planet is changing.

NASA is working with HHS and researchers across the federal government to help cut the nation’s cancer death rate by at least 50% in the next 25 years, a goal of the Cancer Moonshot Initiative.

 

Learn more about Cancer Moonshot at:

 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/cancermoonshot/

 

-end-

 

Inbox Astronomy: NASA's Hubble Finds that Aging Brown Dwarfs Grow Lonely

INBOX ASTRONOMY

NASA's Hubble Finds that Aging Brown Dwarfs Grow Lonely

Release date: Thursday, March 21, 2024 10:00:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

NASA's Hubble Finds that Aging Brown Dwarfs Grow Lonely



These Substellar Objects Do Not Remain Paired for Long

Brown dwarfs live in the Twilight Zone. They neither fit the category of a star or a planet. (And even the color naming is odd, "brown" is a desaturated yellow pigment. Ultra-red is a better name choice for them).

Brown dwarfs are interstellar objects larger than Jupiter but smaller than the lowest-mass stars. Like stars, they collapse out of a cloud of gas and dust but do not have enough mass to sustain the fusion of hydrogen like a normal star. In building these objects, nature is indiscriminate as to whether they light up as stars or not after forming.

Like stars, brown dwarfs can be born in pairs and orbit about each other. A Hubble Space Telescope survey finds that the older a brown dwarf is, the less likely it is to have a companion dwarf. This implies that a binary pair of dwarfs is so weakly linked by gravity that they drift apart over a few hundred million years due to the pull of bypassing stars. Call them the "lonely red hearts" of the cosmos.



Find additional articles, images, and videos at HubbleSite.org



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