NASA’s NEOWISE infrared space telescope, a vital tool in asteroid and comet hunting, is nearing the end of its operational life. After a decade of groundbreaking discoveries, including identifying a unique comet and tracking thousands of near-Earth objects, solar activity is causing its orbit to decay. Learn about its remarkable contributions to planetary defense and space exploration before its fiery atmospheric re-entry.
NASA’s NEOWISE space telescope, dedicated to detecting near-Earth asteroids and comets, has ended its 15-year mission. The spacecraft, which vastly exceeded its original seven-month lifespan, discovered over 200 previously unknown near-Earth objects and provided valuable data on thousands more. The end of its mission is due to the sun’s increasing activity, which poses a threat to the spacecraft’s stability. While NEOWISE’s retirement leaves a temporary gap in Earth’s planetary defense, NASA’s NEO Surveyor telescope is in development, aiming to fill the void starting in 2027.
The James Webb Space Telescope has captured a breathtaking image of a young star called a protostar, L1527, and the massive outflows of dust and gas it emits as it consumes material from its surrounding cloud. This new image, taken with Webb’s MIRI instrument, reveals intricate details of the protostar’s environment, including filaments of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and the thickest pockets of dust. The image showcases the complex processes involved in star formation, highlighting the role of dust and gas in shaping these celestial objects.
