Cosmic rays strike again!

A software update fixed the #Euclid mission's Fine Guidance Sensor which was having trouble filtering out the random noise, caused by high-energy particles hitting the telescope's detector, to get the signal of real stars.

Euclid would lose its guide stars and then automatically start to look for them again, creating loopy star trails. Great for accidental science art, bad for science.

👉 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03174-4

📷 https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid/Guide_stars_found_as_Euclid_s_navigation_fine_tuned

https://cdn.masto.host/astrodonsocial/media_attachments/files/111/190/855/983/199/513/original/9fb27d803ebe1038.jpeg 

 Did you know that JPL has a whole gallery of beautifully illustrated Halloween posters, based on real science? Perfect to print and decorate your space, use as a wallpaper on your computer or phone, or as a Zoom background.

https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/alien-worlds/galaxy-of-horrors/

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 JWST is a fancy telescope designed for science. So while it can produce very beautiful images, it's not quite a point-and-shoot camera.

Here is an image of the Pillars of Creation that I downloaded from the MAST archive. Notice how all of the stars have black centers? That's not what the stars actually look like — it's an artifact introduced by the NIRCam detector. 

A 🧵 on #JWST image artifacts.
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Learn more: https://webbtelescope.org/contents/articles/how-are-webbs-full-color-images-made

#astronomy #Space #Astrodon

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 The Cygnus Loop is a 20,000-year-old supernova remnant that has expanded into a huge bubble of glowing gasses about 120 light-years in diameter, which is about the size of six full Moons on the sky.

#Hubble images of a filament of shocked gas at the edge of the Cygnus Loop taken in 2001 and 2020, show the expansion of the bubble.

More: https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2023/news-2023-018

#astronomy #space #nebula

https://cdn.masto.host/astrodonsocial/media_attachments/files/111/143/712/021/719/896/original/fff2436d32084f1b.mp4 

 Hey teachers and informal educators!

Would you like to include spaaace in your upcoming Halloween programming? Check out the resources and webinar recording from NASA's Universe of Learning — Science Briefing: Cosmic Chills: Vampire Stars, Black Widow Pulsars, and Dark Energy.

https://www.universe-of-learning.org/contents/events/science-briefings/2023/science-briefing-cosmic-chills-vampire-stars-black-widow-pulsars-and-dark-energy
#halloween #ITeachPhysics #ITeachAstronomy #SpookySeason

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