{ "count": 122, "next": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/api/search/?limit=100&offset=100&search=%22Binary%22", "previous": null, "results": [ { "id": 31372, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/31372/", "result_type": "Hyperwall Visual", "release_date": "2026-03-17T18:59:59-04:00", "title": "Tour of the Serpens Nebula", "description": "This video tours the Serpens Nebula, a star-forming region that lies 1,300 light-years away from Earth. A new image of Serpens from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows an intriguing group of aligned protostellar outflows within one region of the nebula. Protostellar outflows are formed when jets of gas spewing from newborn stars collide with nearby gas and dust at high speeds. This region has several captivating features.", "hits": 122 }, { "id": 14884, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14884/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2026-01-29T11:00:00-05:00", "title": "NASA Supercomputer Probes Tangled Magnetospheres of Merging Neutron Stars", "description": "New supercomputer simulations explore the tangled magnetic structures around merging neutron stars. These structures, called magnetospheres, interact as the city-sized stars enter their final orbits. Magnetic field lines can connect both stars, break, and reconnect, while currents surge through surrounding plasma moving at nearly the speed of light. The simulations show that these systems may produce X-rays and gamma rays that future observatories should be able to detect. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight CenterAlt text: Narrated video introducing simulations of merging neutron star magnetospheresMusic: “A Theory Develops,” Pip Heywood [PRS], Universal Production MusicWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || NS_Binary_Sim_Still.jpg (5760x3240) [1.4 MB] || NS_Binary_Sim_Still_searchweb.png (320x180) [67.6 KB] || NS_Binary_Sim_Still_thm.png (80x40) [5.2 KB] || 14884_NeutronStarBinarySim2_good.mp4 (1920x1080) [220.4 MB] || 14884_NeutronStarBinarySim2_best.mp4 (1920x1080) [363.9 MB] || NeutronStarBinarySimulationCaptions.en_US.srt [2.4 KB] || NeutronStarBinarySimulationCaptions.en_US.vtt [2.2 KB] || 14884_NeutronStarBinarySim2_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [1.7 GB] || ", "hits": 448 }, { "id": 14917, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14917/", "result_type": "Infographic", "release_date": "2025-12-12T10:00:00-05:00", "title": "Roman Galactic Plane Survey", "description": "No description available.", "hits": 223 }, { "id": 14868, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14868/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2025-07-23T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "XRISM Satellite X-rays Milky Way’s Sulfur in Detail", "description": "An international team of scientists have provided an unprecedented tally of elemental sulfur spread between the stars using data from the Japan-led XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) spacecraft.Astronomers used X-rays from two binary star systems to detect sulfur in the interstellar medium, the gas and dust found in the space between stars. It’s the first direct measurement of both sulfur’s gas and solid phases, a unique capability of X-ray spectroscopy, XRISM’s (pronounced “crism”) primary method of studying the cosmos.Using ultraviolet light, researchers have found gaseous sulfur in the space between stars. In denser parts of the interstellar medium, such as the molecular clouds where stars and planets are born, this form of sulfur quickly disappears.Scientists assume the sulfur condenses into a solid, either by combining with ice or mixing with other elements.When a doctor performs an X-ray here on Earth, they place the patient between an X-ray source and a detector. Bone and tissue absorb different amounts of the light as it travels through the patient's body, creating contrast in the detector.Scientists did something similar by picking a portion of the interstellar medium with the right density — not so thin that all the X-rays would pass through unchanged, but also not so dense that they would all be absorbed.Then they selected a bright X-ray source behind that section of the medium, a binary star system called GX 340+0 located over 35,000 light-years away in the southern constellation Scorpius.Using the Resolve instrument on XRISM, the researchers were able to measure the energy of GX 340+0’s X-rays and determined that sulfur was present not only as a gas, but also as a solid, possibly mixed with iron.Iron-sulfur compounds are often found in meteorites, so scientists have long thought they might be one way sulfur solidifies out of molecular clouds to travel through the universe. XRISM’s observations could match a few of these compounds — pyrrhotite, troilite, and pyrite, which is sometimes called fool’s gold.The researchers were also able to use measurements from a second X-ray binary called 4U 1630-472 that helped confirm their findings. || ", "hits": 95 }, { "id": 14793, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14793/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2025-05-27T20:55:00-04:00", "title": "Black Holes Vertical Video", "description": "This page collects Astrophysics vertical videos with black-hole-related content", "hits": 1400 }, { "id": 14799, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14799/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2025-05-27T20:54:00-04:00", "title": "Astrophysics: Observing the Universe Vertical Video", "description": "This page contains vertically-formatted Astrophysics videos related to general astrophysical imagery.", "hits": 436 }, { "id": 5442, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5442/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2025-01-29T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Water Cycle Nonstationarity", "description": "The global water cycle is undergoing unprecedented shifts from climate change, intensified by human water and land management practices. These changes are evident in phenomena such as depleted groundwater, earlier snowmelt, and erratic fluctuations in floods and drought occurrences. To better understand these changes in terrestrial water storage, scientists have integrated multiple remote sensing datasets with NASA’s advanced land surface model through data assimilation, creating a global water storage reanalysis dataset. The results capture the complex patterns of global water cycle shifts in response to both climate and human activities. Using this new integrated dataset, scientists use statistical methods (time series analysis) to identify trends (TR), seasonal shifts (SS), and changes in extreme events (EFR), ultimately developing an index, the “Nonstationarity Index,” (NSI) that quantifies the degree of nonstationarity within the global water system. || ", "hits": 30 }, { "id": 14707, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14707/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2024-11-25T11:00:00-05:00", "title": "XRISM's Resolve Instrument Gazes into Cygnus X-3", "description": "Cygnus X-3 is a high-mass X-ray binary system consisting of a compact object (likely a black hole) and a Wolf-Rayet star. This artist's concept shows one interpretation of the system. High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy indicates two gas components: a heavy background outflow, or wind, produced by the massive star and a turbulent structure — perhaps a wake carved into the wind — located close to the orbiting companion. As shown here, a black hole's gravity captures some of the wind into an accretion disk around it, and the disk's orbital motion sculpts a path (yellow arc) through the streaming gas. During strong outbursts, the companion emits jets of particles moving near the speed of light, seen here extending above and below the black hole.Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight CenterAlt text: Illustration of the Cygnus X-3 systemImage description: On a cloudy reddish background, a bright blue-white circle — a representation of a hot, bright, massive star — sits near the center. Wisps of blue-white border its edges, and many lines of similar color radiate from it. In the foreground at about 4 o’clock lies a yellowish ring with a black hole in its center. From the ring trails a diffuse yellow arc, sweeping from right to left and exiting at the bottom of the illustration. Extending above and below the black hole are two blue-white triangles representing particle jets. || Cyg_X-3_illustration_4K.jpg (3840x2160) [505.1 KB] || Cyg_X-3_illustration_4K_print.jpg (1024x576) [58.5 KB] || Cyg_X-3_illustration_4K_searchweb.png (320x180) [64.7 KB] || Cyg_X-3_illustration_4K_web.png (320x180) [64.7 KB] || Cyg_X-3_illustration_4K_thm.png (80x40) [6.1 KB] || ", "hits": 597 }, { "id": 14719, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14719/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2024-11-13T09:00:00-05:00", "title": "Swift Studies Gas-Churning Monster Black Holes", "description": "Watch as a gas cloud encounters two supermassive black holes. The complex interplay of gravitational and frictional forces causes the cloud to condense and heat. Some of the gas is ejected from the system with each orbit of the black holes.Credit: F. Goicovic et al. 2016Music: \"Forgotten Fortunes,\" Magnum Opus [ASCAP] , Universal Production MusicComplete transcript available. || Sim_Video_Still.jpg (3840x2160) [744.6 KB] || Sim_Video_Still_searchweb.png (320x180) [37.6 KB] || Sim_Video_Still_thm.png (80x40) [3.4 KB] || BH_Binary_TD_Sim_1080_Final.mp4 (1920x1080) [38.5 MB] || BH_Binary_TD_Sim_4k_Final.mp4 (3840x2160) [45.5 MB] || BH_Binary_TD_Sim_4k_Final_best.mp4 (3840x2160) [67.9 MB] || 14719_BinaryBHTDE_Captions.en_US.srt [57 bytes] || 14719_BinaryBHTDE_Captions.en_US.vtt [67 bytes] || BH_Binary_TD_Sim_4k_Final_ProRes.mov (3840x2160) [1.5 GB] || ", "hits": 124 }, { "id": 14704, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14704/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2024-10-23T06:00:00-04:00", "title": "NASA Interview Opportunity: Star light, star bright, check out the evening sky on your Halloween walk tonight", "description": "Scroll down the page to find b-roll for the live shots + a pre-recorded interview with Rebekah HounsellFor more information check out: @NASAUniverse on social media platforms and universe.nasa.gov online || T_CrB_banner_-_ENGLISH.png (1800x720) [1.8 MB] || T_CrB_banner_-_ENGLISH_print.jpg (1024x409) [109.8 KB] || T_CrB_banner_-_ENGLISH_searchweb.png (320x180) [80.0 KB] || T_CrB_banner_-_ENGLISH_thm.png (80x40) [7.0 KB] || ", "hits": 77 }, { "id": 31319, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/31319/", "result_type": "Hyperwall Visual", "release_date": "2024-10-23T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "2025 NASA Science Calendar", "description": "Images from the 2025 NASA Science Calendar", "hits": 121 }, { "id": 14677, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14677/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2024-10-02T10:00:00-04:00", "title": "NASA's TESS Spots Record-breaking Stellar Triplets", "description": "This artist’s concept illustrates how tightly the three stars in the system called TIC 290061484 orbit each other. If they were placed at the center of our solar system, all the stars’ orbits would be contained a space smaller than Mercury’s orbit around the Sun. The sizes of the triplet stars and the Sun are also to scale.Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center || TESS_Triple_system_beauty_scale.jpg (3840x2160) [775.5 KB] || ", "hits": 483 }, { "id": 5290, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5290/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2024-06-21T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Identifying Eclipsing Star Systems using Light Curves", "description": "This data visualization presents a comprehensive view of four different hypothetical binary star systems, highlighting their stellar orbits and light curves. The top row offers a top-down perspective of each binary system, illustrating the stars (white spheres) and their elliptical orbits around each other. The middle row provides a side-on view of the same systems, offering a simulated perspective as if observed from Earth, assuming the systems' orbital planes are aligned similarly to the ecliptic plane of our Solar System. The bottom row displays the observed light curves for each system, graphically representing the cumulative brightness of the stars over time. || eclipsing_binary_light_curves_explainer.02000_print.jpg (1024x576) [17.3 KB] || eclipsing_binary_light_curves_explainer.02000_searchweb.png (320x180) [4.3 KB] || eclipsing_binary_light_curves_explainer.02000_thm.png (80x40) [823 bytes] || eclipsing_binary_light_curves_explainer_2160p60.mp4 [7.9 MB] || eclipsing_binary_light_curves_explainer [256.0 KB] || ", "hits": 135 }, { "id": 31291, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/31291/", "result_type": "Hyperwall Visual", "release_date": "2024-06-13T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Webb Identifies Tiniest Free-Floating Brown Dwarf", "description": "This image from the NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows the central portion of the star cluster IC 348. Astronomers combed the cluster in search of tiny, free-floating brown dwarfs: objects too small to be stars but larger than most planets. They found three brown dwarfs that are less than eight times the mass of Jupiter. The smallest weighs just three to four times Jupiter, challenging theories for star formation.The wispy curtains filling the image are interstellar material reflecting the light from the cluster’s stars – what is known as a reflection nebula. The material also includes carbon-containing molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. The bright star closest to the center of the frame is actually a pair of type B stars in a binary system, which are the most massive stars in the cluster. Winds from these stars may help sculpt the large loop seen on the right side of the field of view. || STScI-01HFC8K9A4CX579GP4QMDX2QBY-nircam_print.jpg (1024x1372) [393.6 KB] || STScI-01HFC8K9A4CX579GP4QMDX2QBY-nircam.png (3788x5077) [24.7 MB] || STScI-01HFC8K9A4CX579GP4QMDX2QBY-nircam-hw.png (3840x2160) [4.8 MB] || STScI-01HFC8K9A4CX579GP4QMDX2QBY-nircam_searchweb.png (320x180) [111.1 KB] || STScI-01HFC8K9A4CX579GP4QMDX2QBY-nircam_thm.png (80x40) [14.4 KB] || webb-identifies-tiniest-free-floating-brown-dwarf-nircam.hwshow [364 bytes] || ", "hits": 134 }, { "id": 14498, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14498/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2024-01-11T11:05:00-05:00", "title": "Finding A New Galactic 'Fossil'", "description": "Some 5 million years ago, a black hole eruption in the galaxy NGC 4945 set off a star-formation frenzy and shot a vast cloud of gas into intergalactic space. Watch and learn how two X-ray telescopes revealed the story.Music Credits: Universal Production Music\"Planetary Horizons\" by Jia Lee\"Eyes Peeled\" by Bard\"Sprinkle of Mischief\" by Ash and HaroldWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center", "hits": 124 }, { "id": 14473, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14473/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2023-11-29T11:30:00-05:00", "title": "NASA's Lucy Mission Makes an Unexpected Discovery at Dinkinesh", "description": "Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Music is \"Black Hole\" by Sergey Azbel of Universal Production Music || LUCY_THUMB_IG.jpg (2160x3840) [1.1 MB] || LUCY_DINKINESH.00487_searchweb.png (320x180) [26.2 KB] || LUCY_DINKINESH.00487_thm.png (80x40) [2.4 KB] || LUCY_DINKINESH.mp4 (2160x3840) [635.6 MB] || LUCY_REEL.en_US.srt [2.5 KB] || LUCY_REEL.en_US.vtt [2.4 KB] || ", "hits": 29 }, { "id": 14402, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14402/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2023-09-20T13:00:00-04:00", "title": "Simulated Gravitational Wave All-Sky Image", "description": "Watch as gravitational waves from a simulated population of compact binary systems combine into a synthetic map of the entire sky. Such systems contain white dwarfs, neutron stars, or black holes in tight orbits. Maps like this using real data will be possible once space-based gravitational wave observatories become active in the next decade. The center of our Milky Way galaxy lies at the center of this all-sky view, with the galactic plane extending across the middle. Brighter spots indicate sources with stronger signals and lighter colors indicate those with higher frequencies. Larger colored patches show sources whose positions are less well known. The inset shows the frequency and strength of the gravitational signal, as well as the sensitivity limit for LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna), an observatory now being designed by ESA (European Space Agency) in collaboration with NASA for launch in the 2030s.Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic: \"Shadowless\" from Universal Production MusicWatch this video on the NASA.gov Video YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || LISA_AllSky_withInset_Still.jpg (2985x1497) [795.1 KB] || LISA_AllSky_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [22.8 MB] || LISA_AllSky_1080.webm (1920x1080) [2.5 MB] || LISA_AllSky_4k.mp4 (3840x2160) [60.4 MB] || LISA_AllSky_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [205 bytes] || LISA_AllSky_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [218 bytes] || LISA_AllSky_ProRes_3840x2160_30.mov (3840x2160) [992.4 MB] || ", "hits": 87 }, { "id": 14374, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14374/", "result_type": "Infographic", "release_date": "2023-08-03T11:00:00-04:00", "title": "A Guide to Cosmic Temperatures", "description": "Explore the temperatures of the cosmos, from absolute zero to the hottest temperatures yet achieved, with this infographic. Targets for the XRISM mission include supernova remnants, binary systems with stellar-mass black holes, galaxies powered by supermassive black holes, and vast clusters of galaxies.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott WiessingerMachine-readable PDF copy || Cosmic_Temperatures_Infographic_Final_small.jpg (1383x2048) [1.3 MB] || Cosmic_Temperatures_Infographic_Final_Full.png (5530x8192) [60.5 MB] || Cosmic_Temperatures_Infographic_Final_Full.jpg (5530x8192) [10.3 MB] || Cosmic_Temperatures_Infographic_Final_8bit.png (5530x8192) [24.5 MB] || Cosmic_Temperatures_Infographic_Final_Half.png (2765x4096) [7.0 MB] || Cosmic_Temperatures_Infographic_Final_Half.jpg (2765x4096) [4.7 MB] || ", "hits": 961 }, { "id": 40461, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/cosmic-cycles7-echoesofthe-big-bang/", "result_type": "Gallery", "release_date": "2023-03-27T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Cosmic Cycles 7: Echoes of the Big Bang", "description": "NASA studies the makeup and workings of the universe, from the smallest particles of matter and energy to its large-scale structure and evolution. Scientists look far back in space and time to learn the full cosmic history of stars and galaxies. They tease out details of the environments around black holes and observe the most powerful explosions since the big bang. NASA is discovering numerous planets beyond our solar system, decoding how planetary systems form, and learning how environments hospitable for life develop.\n\nWant to know more?\nNASA Universe Webb Space Telescope images Hubble Space Telescope", "hits": 56 }, { "id": 14289, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14289/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2023-03-14T09:55:00-04:00", "title": "Hubble Science: Einstein Rings, Optical Illusions", "description": "An Einstein Ring can be explained by a phenomenon called gravitational lensing, which causes light shining from a faraway galaxy to be warped by the gravity of an object between its source and the observer. This effect was first theorized by Albert Einstein in 1912, and later worked into his theory of general relativity.In this video, Dr. Brian Welch explains this fascinating phenomenon of nature, and goes over how important Hubble is to exploring the mysteries of the universe.For more information, visit https://nasa.gov/hubble. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Producer & Director: James LeighEditor: Lucy LundDirector of Photography: James BallAdditional Editing & Photography: Matthew DuncanExecutive Producers: James Leigh & Matthew DuncanProduction & Post: Origin Films Video Credit:Hubble Space Telescope AnimationsCredit: M. Kornmesser (ESA/Hubble) Gravitational Lensing in MACS J1149-2223Credit: ESA/Hubble, L. CalçadaMusic Credit:\"Binary Fission\" by Tom Kane [PRS] via BBC Production Music [PRS], and Universal Production Music“Cosmic Call” by Immersive Music (Via Shutterstock Music) || ", "hits": 92 }, { "id": 14281, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14281/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2023-01-26T11:00:00-05:00", "title": "Fermi Spots Gamma-ray Eclipsing 'Spider Systems'", "description": "An orbiting star begins to eclipse its partner, a rapidly rotating, superdense stellar remnant called a pulsar, in this illustration. The pulsar emits multiwavelength beams of light that rotate in and out of view and produces outflows that heat the star’s facing side, blowing away material and eroding its partner.Credit: NASA/Sonoma State University, Aurore Simonnet || GamRayEclipseG22.jpg (1800x1200) [1.1 MB] || GamRayEclipseG22_searchweb.png (320x180) [70.2 KB] || GamRayEclipseG22_thm.png (80x40) [6.8 KB] || ", "hits": 78 }, { "id": 14255, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14255/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2022-12-07T11:00:00-05:00", "title": "NASA’s Fermi, Swift Capture Revolutionary Gamma-Ray Burst", "description": "Watch to learn how an event called GRB 211211A rocked scientists’s understanding of gamma-ray bursts – the most powerful explosions in the cosmos.Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic Credits: \"Finished Plate\" by Airglo and \"Binary Fission\" by Tom KaneWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel. || Title_Card_Revolutionary_GRB.jpg (1920x1080) [1.5 MB] || Title_Card_Revolutionary_GRB_searchweb.png (320x180) [100.7 KB] || Title_Card_Revolutionary_GRB_thm.png (80x40) [7.3 KB] || NASA’s_Fermi,_Swift_Capture_Revolutionary_Gamma-Ray_Burst.mp4 (1920x1080) [171.9 MB] || NASA’s_Fermi,_Swift_Capture_Revolutionary_Gamma-Ray_Burst_ProRes.mov (1920x1080) [2.2 GB] || NASA’s_Fermi,_Swift_Capture_Revolutionary_Gamma-Ray_Burst.webm (1920x1080) [18.4 MB] || Long_GRB_Captions.en_US.srt [2.8 KB] || Long_GRB_Captions.en_US.vtt [2.8 KB] || ", "hits": 140 }, { "id": 31194, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/31194/", "result_type": "Hyperwall Visual", "release_date": "2022-10-04T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "DART: Double Asteroid Redirection Test", "description": "The DART mission is NASA's demonstration of kinetic impactor technology, impacting an asteroid to adjust its speed and path. DART was the first-ever space mission to demonstrate asteroid deflection by kinetic impactor. It impacted the moonlet Dimorphos on September 26, 2022. || ", "hits": 287 }, { "id": 14210, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14210/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2022-09-20T06:00:00-04:00", "title": "History In The Making! Next Week NASA’s First Planetary Defense Mission Will Intentionally Crash Into A Small Asteroid Live Shots", "description": "Associated b-roll for the live shots to be added shortly. Click here for DART PRESS KITClick here for full IMAGE/VIDEO/ANIMATION gallery || LIVE_INTERVIEW_OPPORTUNITIES_AVAILABLE_print.jpg (1024x576) [162.9 KB] || LIVE_INTERVIEW_OPPORTUNITIES_AVAILABLE.png (2240x1260) [3.9 MB] || LIVE_INTERVIEW_OPPORTUNITIES_AVAILABLE_searchweb.png (320x180) [99.3 KB] || LIVE_INTERVIEW_OPPORTUNITIES_AVAILABLE_thm.png (80x40) [7.4 KB] || ", "hits": 139 }, { "id": 14146, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14146/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2022-05-04T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Black Hole Desktop & Phone Wallpapers", "description": "While black holes can’t emit their own light, matter surrounding and falling toward it can create quite a light show. Here you’ll find a collection of data visualizations, illustrations, and telescope images of black hole environments. Download these phone and desktop wallpapers for your screens. || ", "hits": 9142 }, { "id": 14149, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14149/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2022-05-02T10:45:00-04:00", "title": "NASA's Black Hole Orrery", "description": "Learn more about the best-known black hole systems in our galaxy and its neighbor, the Large Magellanic Cloud. This visualization presents 22 X-ray binary systems that host confirmed black holes at the same scale, with their orbits sped up by about 22,000 times. The view of each system reflects how we see it from Earth. Star colors ranging from blue-white to reddish represent temperatures from 5 times hotter to 45% cooler than our Sun. In most of these systems, a stream of matter from the star forms an accretion disk around the black hole. In others, like the famous system called Cygnus X-1, the star produces a hefty outflow that is partly swept up by the black hole’s gravity to form the disk. The accretion disks use a different color scheme because they sport even higher temperatures than the stars. The largest disk shown, belonging to a binary called GRS 1915, spans a distance greater than that separating Mercury from our Sun. The black holes themselves are shown larger than in reality using spheres scaled to reflect their masses.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Scientific Visualization StudioMusic: \"Event Horizon\" from Gravity. Written and produced by Lars LeonhardWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || Black_Hole_Orrery_Still.jpg (3840x2160) [321.9 KB] || Black_Hole_Orrery_Still_searchweb.png (320x180) [25.6 KB] || Black_Hole_Orrery_Still_thm.png (80x40) [4.1 KB] || 14149_Black_Hole_Orrery_FINAL_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [118.8 MB] || 14149_Black_Hole_Orrery_FINAL_1080.webm (1920x1080) [12.4 MB] || 14149_Black_Hole_Orrery_ProRes_3840x2160_2997.mov (3840x2160) [1.9 GB] || 14149_Black_Hole_Orrery_FINAL_4k_Best.mp4 (3840x2160) [379.2 MB] || 14149_Black_Hole_Orrery_FINAL_4k.mp4 (3840x2160) [176.7 MB] || 14149_Black_Hole_Orrery_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [1.9 KB] || 14149_Black_Hole_Orrery_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [1.9 KB] || ", "hits": 220 }, { "id": 4996, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4996/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2022-05-02T10:15:00-04:00", "title": "An Orrery of Black Holes and Their Companions", "description": "Full visualization of the binary system black hole orrery with labels and legend included.Credit: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio || explainerComp_5-27-2022a_2160p60.02000_print.jpg (1024x576) [54.7 KB] || explainerComp_5-27-2022a (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || explainerComp_5-27-2022a_2160p60.mp4 (3840x2160) [35.7 MB] || explainerComp_5-27-2022a_2160p60.webm (3840x2160) [26.6 MB] || ", "hits": 143 }, { "id": 20367, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20367/", "result_type": "Animation", "release_date": "2022-04-28T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Gravitational Wave", "description": "Two black holes orbit around each other and generate space-time ripples called gravitational waves in this animation. As the black holes get closer, the waves increase in frequency. Eventually, the event horizons merge into a peanut-shaped object, generating one very high-frequency wave. Within a rotation, the black holes merge completely. One lower-frequency wave, called the ring down, ripples out after the merger.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab || A_Gravitational_Wave_ProRes.00450_print.jpg (1024x576) [119.9 KB] || A_Gravitational_Wave_ProRes.00450_searchweb.png (320x180) [78.6 KB] || A_Gravitational_Wave_ProRes.00450_thm.png (80x40) [6.8 KB] || A_Gravitational_Wave_ProRes.mov (3840x2160) [2.2 GB] || A_Gravitational_Wave_h264.mp4 (3840x2160) [40.4 MB] || A_Gravitational_Wave (3840x2160) [128.0 KB] || A_Gravitational_Wave_ProRes.webm (3840x2160) [15.0 MB] || ", "hits": 261 }, { "id": 14132, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14132/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2022-04-12T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Black Hole Week: Black Hole GIFs", "description": "Black Hole WeekThis page provides social media assets used during previous celebrations of Black Hole Week. Join in! Below, you'll find many GIFs to use. || ", "hits": 434 }, { "id": 14133, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14133/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2022-04-06T13:00:00-04:00", "title": "Concert videos", "description": "These videos are designed to accompany live orchestral performances. For more information and inquiries about their use, please contact Scott Wiessinger at scott.wiessinger@nasa.gov. || ", "hits": 46 }, { "id": 13944, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13944/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2021-10-14T14:00:00-04:00", "title": "Lucy L-2 Engineering Briefing", "description": "NASA will hold a virtual media briefing at 3 p.m. EDT Thursday, October 14th, to preview the engineering behind the agency’s first spacecraft to study Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids. The Trojan asteroids are remnants of the early solar system clustered in two “swarms” leading and following Jupiter in its path around the Sun. The live briefing will stream on NASA Television, the agency's website, NASA’s Twitter account and the NASA App.Lucy engineering briefing participants include:• Joan Salute, associate director for flight programs, Planetary Science Division, NASA Headquarters.• Katie Oakman, Lucy structures and mechanisms lead, Lockheed Martin Space.• Jessica Lounsbury, Lucy project systems engineer, Goddard.• Coralie Adam, deputy navigation team chief, KinetX Aerospace.Over its 12-year primary mission, Lucy will explore a record-breaking number of asteroids. The spacecraft will fly by one asteroid in the solar system’s main belt and seven Trojan asteroids. Lucy’s path will circle back to Earth three times for gravity assists, which will make it the first spacecraft ever to return to our planet’s vicinity from the outer solar system.Lucy is scheduled to launch no earlier than Saturday, Oct. 16, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Lucy’s principal investigator is based out of the Boulder, Colorado, branch of Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland provides overall mission management, systems engineering, and safety and mission assurance. Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, built the spacecraft. Lucy is the 13th mission in NASA’s Discovery Program. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Discovery Program for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The launch is managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. || ", "hits": 27 }, { "id": 4943, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4943/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2021-09-28T09:00:00-04:00", "title": "Lucy Mission Trajectory 'Over-the-Shoulder' Views", "description": "This visualization is a view from the Lucy spacecraft as it travels through the solar system, represented in a Jupiter-rotating reference frame. In this reference frame, Jupiter appears fixed in space. This visualization spans from launch through the flyby of the main belt asteroid DonaldJohanson. (Part 1 of 3) || lucy_pov_p1.2520_print.jpg (1024x576) [47.5 KB] || lucy_pov_p1.2520_searchweb.png (320x180) [39.2 KB] || lucy_pov_p1.2520_thm.png (80x40) [2.4 KB] || lucy_pov_p1_2160p60.mp4 (3840x2160) [69.7 MB] || lucy_pov_p1_2160p60.webm (3840x2160) [18.9 MB] || lucy_pov_p1 (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || lucy_pov_p1_prores.mov (3840x2160) [9.5 GB] || ", "hits": 58 }, { "id": 13852, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13852/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2021-05-26T10:00:00-04:00", "title": "NASA’s Roman Mission to Probe Cosmic Secrets Using Exploding Stars", "description": "NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will see thousands of exploding stars called supernovae across vast stretches of time and space. Using these observations, astronomers aim to shine a light on several cosmic mysteries, providing a window onto the universe’s distant past and hazy present.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic: \"Relentless Data\" from Universal Production MusicWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || Supernova_IA_1285_print.jpg (1024x576) [53.0 KB] || Supernova_IA_1285.png (3840x2160) [5.0 MB] || Supernova_IA_1285_searchweb.png (320x180) [46.9 KB] || Supernova_IA_1285_thm.png (80x40) [4.6 KB] || 13852_Roman_Standard_Candle_Supernovae_1080_Best.webm (1920x1080) [28.3 MB] || 13852_Roman_Standard_Candle_Supernovae_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [136.7 MB] || 13852_Roman_Standard_Candle_Supernovae_1080_Best.mp4 (1920x1080) [654.2 MB] || 13852RomanStandardCandleSupernovaeCaptionsFix.en_US.srt [4.7 KB] || 13852RomanStandardCandleSupernovaeCaptionsFix.en_US.vtt [4.7 KB] || 13852_Roman_Standard_Candle_Supernovae_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [3.2 GB] || ", "hits": 113 }, { "id": 20344, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20344/", "result_type": "Animation", "release_date": "2021-05-26T10:00:00-04:00", "title": "Type Ia Supernovae Animations", "description": "White Dwarf establishing shot. || WDStar_4k_60fps_ProRes.00600_print.jpg (1024x576) [27.4 KB] || WDStar_4k_60fps_ProRes.00600_searchweb.png (320x180) [30.7 KB] || WDStar_4k_60fps_ProRes.00600_thm.png (80x40) [3.2 KB] || WDStar_4k_60fps_h264.mp4 (3840x2160) [37.3 MB] || WDStar_4k (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || WDStar_4k_60fps_ProRes.webm (3840x2160) [4.1 MB] || WDStar_4k_60fps_ProRes.mov (3840x2160) [3.0 GB] || ", "hits": 348 }, { "id": 13831, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13831/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2021-04-15T13:00:00-04:00", "title": "NASA Visualization Probes the Doubly Warped World of Binary Black Holes", "description": "Explore how the extreme gravity of two orbiting supermassive black holes distorts our view. In this visualization, disks of bright, hot, churning gas encircle both black holes, shown in red and blue to better track the light source. The red disk orbits the larger black hole, which weighs 200 million times the mass of our Sun, while its smaller blue companion weighs half as much. Zooming into each black hole reveals multiple, increasingly warped images of its partner. Watch to learn more. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Jeremy Schnittman and Brian P. PowellMusic: \"Gravitational Field\" from Orbit. Written and produced by Lars Leonhard.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || Supermassive_BlackHole_Binary_Still.jpg (3840x2160) [726.7 KB] || Supermassive_BlackHole_Binary_Still_searchweb.png (320x180) [18.9 KB] || Supermassive_BlackHole_Binary_Still_thm.png (80x40) [2.5 KB] || 13831_BlackHoleBinary_Simulation_1080.webm (1920x1080) [23.8 MB] || 13831_BlackHoleBinary_Simulation_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [234.7 MB] || 13831_BlackHoleBinary_Simulation_4k.mp4 (3840x2160) [348.3 MB] || 13831_BlackHoleBinary_Simulation_4k_Best.mp4 (3840x2160) [936.6 MB] || 13831_BlackHoleBinary_Simulation_ProRes_3840x2160_30.mov (3840x2160) [4.1 GB] || 13831_BlackHoleBinary_Simulation_4k_Best.mp4.hwshow [137 bytes] || ", "hits": 273 }, { "id": 13806, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13806/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2021-03-12T11:00:00-05:00", "title": "Scientists Build a Detailed Image of U Mon Binary", "description": "Two stars orbit each other within an enormous dusty disk in the U Monocerotis system, illustrated here. When the stars are farthest from each other, they funnel material from the disk’s inner edge. At this time, the primary star is slightly obscured by the disk from our perspective. The primary star, a yellow supergiant, expands and contracts. The smaller secondary star is thought to maintain its own disk of material, which likely powers an outflow of gas that emits X-rays.This listing includes Spanish-language and music-free versions.Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith (USRA/GESTAR)Music: \"Moving in Thought\" from Universal Production MusicNote: While this video in its entirety can be shared without permission, its music has been licensed and may not be excised or remixed in other products. || u_mon_full_edit_still.jpg (1920x1080) [707.8 KB] || u_mon_full_edit_still_print.jpg (1024x576) [294.6 KB] || u_mon_full_edit_still_searchweb.png (320x180) [80.8 KB] || u_mon_full_edit_still_web.png (320x180) [80.8 KB] || u_mon_full_edit_still_thm.png (80x40) [6.4 KB] || u_mon_full_edit_w_music_spanish_LQ.mp4 (1920x1080) [47.5 MB] || u_mon_full_edit_HQ.mp4 (1920x1080) [90.3 MB] || u_mon_full_edit_w_music_LQ.mp4 (1920x1080) [47.5 MB] || u_mon_full_edit_w_music_SVS_preview.webm (1280x720) [5.5 MB] || u_mon_full_edit_w_music_spanish_prores.mov (1920x1080) [526.2 MB] || u_mon_full_edit_w_music_spanish_HQ.mp4 (1920x1080) [96.6 MB] || u_mon_full_edit_w_music_prores.mov (1920x1080) [526.5 MB] || u_mon_full_edit_w_music_SVS_preview.mp4 (1280x720) [30.0 MB] || u_mon_full_edit_w_music_HQ.mp4 (1920x1080) [96.6 MB] || u_mon_full_edit_spanish_prores.mov (1920x1080) [488.5 MB] || u_mon_full_edit_prores.mov (1920x1080) [488.8 MB] || u_mon_full_edit_LQ.mp4 (1920x1080) [48.6 MB] || u_mon_full_edit_captions.en_US.vtt [536 bytes] || u_mon_full_edit_captions.en_US.srt [581 bytes] || ", "hits": 28 }, { "id": 13738, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13738/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2020-10-19T11:30:00-04:00", "title": "OSIRIS-REx Science and Engineering Briefing", "description": "Main title for T-1 OSIRIS-REx Science and Engineering Briefing || t-1_title.jpg (2878x1618) [2.5 MB] || t-1_title_searchweb.png (320x180) [58.9 KB] || t-1_title_thm.png (80x40) [4.2 KB] || ", "hits": 41 }, { "id": 13636, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13636/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2020-09-30T10:00:00-04:00", "title": "Join the Hunt for New Worlds Through Planet Patrol", "description": "Want to hunt the skies for uncharted worlds from home? Join Planet Patrol! Watch to learn how you can collaborate with professional astronomers and analyze images from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) on your own. You'll answer questions about each TESS image and help scientists figure out if they contain signals from new worlds or planetary imposters.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Conceptual Image LabMusic: \"A Wonderful Loaf\" from Universal Production MusicWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || Planet_Patrol_Still-logo_print.jpg (1024x576) [111.4 KB] || Planet_Patrol_Still-logo.jpg (3840x2160) [1.1 MB] || Planet_Patrol_Still-logo_searchweb.png (320x180) [61.9 KB] || Planet_Patrol_Still-logo_thm.png (80x40) [9.8 KB] || 13636_Planet_Patrol_Best_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [100.9 MB] || 13636_Planet_Patrol_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [39.6 MB] || 13636_Planet_Patrol_Best_1080.webm (1920x1080) [7.9 MB] || 13636_Planet_Patrol_ProRes_3840x2160_2997.mov (3840x2160) [3.6 GB] || 13636_Planet_Patrol_4k.mp4 (3840x2160) [114.2 MB] || 13636_Planet_Patrol_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [878 bytes] || 13636_Planet_Patrol_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [890 bytes] || ", "hits": 67 }, { "id": 13724, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13724/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2020-09-24T14:25:00-04:00", "title": "OSIRIS-REx: Countdown to TAG", "description": "Trailer for the OSIRIS-REx TAG EventUniversal Production Music: \"The Glory of Victory\" by Frederik WiedmannCredit: NASA/Goddard || tagtrailer13725_print.jpg (1024x576) [67.1 KB] || tagtrailer13725.jpg (3840x2160) [354.2 KB] || tagtrailer_twitter_720.mp4 (1280x720) [18.8 MB] || tagtrailer_facebook_720.webm (1280x720) [11.4 MB] || tagtrailer_facebook_720.mp4 (1280x720) [107.3 MB] || tagtrailercaption.en_US.srt [1.6 KB] || tagtrailercaption.en_US.vtt [1.6 KB] || tagtrailer.mp4 (3840x2160) [106.9 MB] || ", "hits": 58 }, { "id": 13708, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13708/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2020-09-16T11:00:00-04:00", "title": "Potential Giant World Circles a Tiny Star", "description": "Watch to learn how a possible giant planet may have survived its tiny star’s chaotic history. Jupiter-size WD 1856 b is nearly seven times larger than the white dwarf it orbits every day and a half. Astronomers discovered it using data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite and now-retired Spitzer Space Telescope.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic: \"Titanium\" from Killer Tracks.Complete transcript available. || wd_1856_still.jpg (1920x1080) [306.2 KB] || wd_1856_still_print.jpg (1024x576) [106.2 KB] || wd_1856_still_searchweb.png (320x180) [46.5 KB] || wd_1856_still_web.png (320x180) [46.5 KB] || wd_1856_still_thm.png (80x40) [4.2 KB] || WD_1856_HQ.mp4 (1920x1080) [279.8 MB] || WD_1856_LQ.mp4 (1920x1080) [146.4 MB] || WD_1856_prores.mov (1920x1080) [1.5 GB] || WD_1856_LQ.webm (1920x1080) [17.1 MB] || WD_1856_prores.en_US.srt [3.0 KB] || WD_1856_prores.en_US.vtt [2.9 KB] || ", "hits": 304 }, { "id": 4851, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4851/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2020-09-09T13:15:00-04:00", "title": "Deep Star Maps 2020", "description": "The star map in celestial coordinates, at five different resolutions. The map is centered at 0h right ascension, and r.a. increases to the left. || starmap_2020_4k_print.jpg (1024x512) [41.8 KB] || starmap_2020_4k_searchweb.png (320x180) [53.9 KB] || starmap_2020_4k_thm.png (80x40) [5.5 KB] || starmap_2020_4k.exr (4096x2048) [34.3 MB] || starmap_2020_8k.exr (8192x4096) [124.5 MB] || starmap_2020_16k.exr (16384x8192) [422.9 MB] || starmap_2020_32k.exr (32768x16384) [1.4 GB] || starmap_2020_64k.exr (65536x32768) [3.8 GB] || ", "hits": 3701 }, { "id": 13663, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13663/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2020-08-11T11:00:00-04:00", "title": "TESS Completes Its Primary Mission", "description": "NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has completed its two-year primary mission and is continuing its search for new worlds. Watch to review some of TESS’s most interesting discoveries so far.Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic: \"Drive to Succeed\" from Universal Production MusicWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || TESS_2_Still.jpg (1920x1080) [661.7 KB] || TESS_2_Still_print.jpg (1024x576) [187.0 KB] || 13663_TESS_2nd_Anniversary_Highlights.mp4 (1920x1080) [215.9 MB] || 13663_TESS_2nd_Anniversary_Highlights_Best.mp4 (1920x1080) [611.5 MB] || 13663_TESS_2nd_Anniversary_Highlights_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [2.7 GB] || 13663_TESS_2nd_Anniversary_Highlights.webm (1920x1080) [23.4 MB] || TESS_2nd_Anniversary_Highlights_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [4.0 KB] || TESS_2nd_Anniversary_Highlights_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [4.0 KB] || ", "hits": 166 }, { "id": 13568, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13568/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2020-03-02T10:00:00-05:00", "title": "OSIRIS-REx Observes a Black Hole", "description": "On Nov. 11, 2019, while the REXIS instrument was performing detailed science observations of Bennu, it captured X-rays radiating from a point off the asteroid’s edge. This video shows the REXIS team building the instrument and the data received when it glimpsed MAXI J0637-430.Music is \"Castles and Cathedrals\" from Universal Production Music. || 13568_thumb.jpg (3840x2160) [891.9 KB] || 13568_REXIS_BLACKHOLE_MASTER.00367_searchweb.png (320x180) [102.0 KB] || 13568_REXIS_BLACKHOLE_MASTER.00367_thm.png (80x40) [6.6 KB] || 13568_REXIS_BLACKHOLE_MASTER1_facebook_720.mp4 (1280x720) [124.5 MB] || 13568_REXIS_BLACKHOLE_MASTER1_twitter_720.mp4 (1280x720) [21.4 MB] || 13568_REXIS_BLACKHOLE_MASTER1.webm (960x540) [48.3 MB] || 13568_REXIS_BLACKHOLE_MASTER1.mov (3840x2160) [9.4 GB] || 13568_Caption.en_US.srt [2.6 KB] || 13568_Caption.en_US.vtt [2.6 KB] || ", "hits": 42 }, { "id": 13556, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13556/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2020-02-14T03:00:00-05:00", "title": "Astrophysics Valentines", "description": "Download our astrophysics-themed valentines! || Will you still love me tomorrow? Many cosmic couples, from binary stars to gravitationally bound galaxies, spend millions or even billions of years together — but some age more gracefully than others. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center || LoveMeTomorrow.gif (540x304) [2.4 MB] || ", "hits": 80 }, { "id": 13197, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13197/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2020-02-11T09:00:00-05:00", "title": "Gravitational Wave Simulations of Merging Black Holes: 1080 and 8k Resolutions", "description": "This visualization shows gravitational waves emitted by two black holes (black spheres) of nearly equal mass as they spiral together and merge. Yellow structures near the black holes illustrate the strong curvature of space-time in the region. Orange ripples represent distortions of space-time caused by the rapidly orbiting masses. These distortions spread out and weaken, ultimately becoming gravitational waves (purple). The merger timescale depends on the masses of the black holes. For a system containing black holes with about 30 times the sun’s mass, similar to the one detected by LIGO in 2015, the orbital period at the start of the movie is just 65 milliseconds, with the black holes moving at about 15 percent the speed of light. Space-time distortions radiate away orbital energy and cause the binary to contract quickly. As the two black holes near each other, they merge into a single black hole that settles into its \"ringdown\" phase, where the final gravitational waves are emitted. For the 2015 LIGO detection, these events played out in little more than a quarter of a second. This simulation was performed on the Pleiades supercomputer at NASA's Ames Research Center. Fixed view.Credit: NASA/Bernard J. Kelly (Goddard and Univ. of Maryland Baltimore County), Chris Henze (Ames) and Tim Sandstrom (CSC Government Solutions LLC)Watch this video on the NASAgovVideo YouTube channel. || Merger_Fixed_Still.png (1920x1080) [1.2 MB] || Merger_Fixed_Still_print.jpg (1024x576) [59.6 KB] || BH_merger_fixed_camera_close_H264_YouTube_720p.mp4 (1280x720) [65.5 MB] || BH_merger_fixed_camera_close_H264_YouTube_1080p.mp4 (1920x1080) [65.2 MB] || BH_merger_fixed_camera_close_H264_YouTube_720p.webm (1280x720) [3.9 MB] || BH_merger_fixed_camera_close_ProRes_1920x1080.mov (1920x1080) [1.1 GB] || ", "hits": 366 }, { "id": 40409, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/fermi-stills/", "result_type": "Gallery", "release_date": "2020-01-22T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Fermi Stills", "description": "A collection of Fermi-related still images, illustrations, graphics and short clips.", "hits": 271 }, { "id": 13510, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13510/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2020-01-06T19:15:00-05:00", "title": "TESS Satellite Discovered Its First World Orbiting Two Stars", "description": "NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite found its first circumbinary planet, a world orbiting two stars 1,300 light-years away. Watch to learn more about this Saturn-size world called TOI 1338 b.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic: \"Albatross\" from Universal Production Music.Complete transcript available.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel. || TOI_1338b_video_still.jpg (1920x1080) [389.2 KB] || TOI_1338b_video_still_print.jpg (1024x576) [128.2 KB] || TOI_1338b_video_still_searchweb.png (320x180) [75.4 KB] || TOI_1338b_video_still_web.png (320x180) [75.4 KB] || TOI_1338b_video_still_thm.png (80x40) [7.0 KB] || TOI_1338b_video_HQ.mp4 (1920x1080) [200.1 MB] || TOI_1338b_video_LQ.mp4 (1920x1080) [107.2 MB] || TOI_1338b_video_prores.mov (1920x1080) [1.0 GB] || TOI_1338b_video_LQ.webm (1920x1080) [12.1 MB] || TOI_1338b_video.en_US.srt [2.0 KB] || TOI_1338b_video.en_US.vtt [2.0 KB] || ", "hits": 297 }, { "id": 13512, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13512/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2020-01-06T19:15:00-05:00", "title": "TESS Shows Ancient North Star Has Eclipses", "description": "This animation illustrates a preliminary model of the Thuban system, now known to be an eclipsing binary thanks to data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The stars orbit every 51.4 days at an average distance slightly greater than Mercury’s distance from the Sun. We view the system about three degrees above the stars’ orbital plane, so they undergo mutual eclipses, but neither is ever completely covered up by its partner. The primary star is 4.3 times bigger than the Sun and has a surface temperature around 17,500 degrees Fahrenheit (9,700 C), making it 70% hotter than our Sun. Its companion, which is five times fainter, is most likely half the primary’s size and 40% hotter than the Sun. Thuban, also called Alpha Draconis, is located about 270 light-years away in the northern constellation Draco.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith (USRA)Watch this video on the NASA.gov Video YouTube channel. || partially_eclipsing_binary_still.jpg (1920x1080) [236.1 KB] || partially_eclipsing_binary_still_print.jpg (1024x576) [95.3 KB] || partially_eclipsing_binary_still_searchweb.png (320x180) [57.6 KB] || partially_eclipsing_binary_still_web.png (320x180) [57.6 KB] || partially_eclipsing_binary_still_thm.png (80x40) [5.1 KB] || partially_eclipsing_binary_HQ.mp4 (1920x1080) [68.5 MB] || partially_eclipsing_binary_LQ.mp4 (1920x1080) [36.6 MB] || partially_eclipsing_binary_prores.mov (1920x1080) [294.3 MB] || partially_eclipsing_binary_LQ.webm (1920x1080) [3.4 MB] || partially_eclipsing_binary_LQ.en_US.vtt [64 bytes] || ", "hits": 116 }, { "id": 13419, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13419/", "result_type": "Animation", "release_date": "2019-11-07T13:00:00-05:00", "title": "NICER Catches Milestone X-ray Burst", "description": "At about 10:04 p.m. EDT on Aug. 20, NASA’s Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) telescope on the International Space Station detected a sudden spike of X-rays caused by a massive thermonuclear flash on the surface of a pulsar, the crushed remains of a star that long ago exploded as a supernova. The X-ray burst, the brightest seen by NICER so far, came from an object named SAX J1808.4-3658, or J1808 for short. The observations reveal many phenomena that have never been seen together in a single burst. In addition, the subsiding fireball briefly brightened again for reasons astronomers cannot yet explain. The data reveal a two-step change in brightness, which scientists think is caused by the ejection of separate layers from the pulsar surface, and other features that will help them decode the physics of these powerful events.The explosion, which astronomers classify as a Type I X-ray burst, released as much energy in 20 seconds as the Sun does in nearly 10 days.J1808 is located about 11,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius, spins at a dizzying 401 rotations each second, and is one member of a binary system. Its companion is a brown dwarf, an object larger than a giant planet yet too small to be a star. A steady stream of hydrogen gas flows from the companion toward the neutron star, and it accumulates in a vast storage structure called an accretion disk.Hydrogen raining onto the pulsar's surface forms a hot, ever-deepening global “sea.” At the base of this layer, temperatures and pressures increase until hydrogen nuclei fuse to form helium nuclei, which produces energy — a process at work in the core of our Sun. The helium settles out and builds up a layer of its own. Eventually, the conditions allow helium nuclei to fuse into carbon. The helium erupts explosively and unleashes a thermonuclear fireball across the entire pulsar surface.As the burst started, NICER data show that its X-ray brightness leveled off for almost a second before increasing again at a slower pace. The researchers interpret this “stall” as the moment when the energy of the blast built up enough to blow the pulsar’s hydrogen layer into space. The fireball continued to build for another two seconds and then reached its peak, blowing off the more massive helium layer. The helium expanded faster, overtook the hydrogen layer before it could dissipate, and then slowed, stopped and settled back down onto the pulsar’s surface. Following this phase, the pulsar briefly brightened again by roughly 20 percent for reasons the team does not yet understand. || ", "hits": 83 }, { "id": 4719, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4719/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2019-10-21T10:00:00-04:00", "title": "Lucy mission trajectory", "description": "Jupiter's swarms of Trojan asteroids may be remnants of the primordial material that formed the outer planets, and serve as time capsules from the birth of our Solar System more than 4 billion years ago. The Trojans orbit in two loose groups that orbit the Sun, with one group always ahead of Jupiter in its path, the other always behind. At these two Lagrange points the bodies are stabilized by the Sun and Jupiter in a gravitational balancing act. These primitive bodies hold vital clues to deciphering the history of the solar system, and perhaps even the origins of life and organic material on Earth.Lucy will be the first space mission to study the Trojans. The mission takes its name from the fossilized human ancestor (called “Lucy” by her discoverers) whose skeleton provided unique insight into humanity's evolution. Likewise, the Lucy mission will revolutionize our knowledge of planetary origins and the formation of the solar system.Lucy will launch in October 2021 and, with boosts from Earth's gravity, will complete a twelve-year journey to eight different asteroids — a Main Belt asteroid and seven Jupiter Trojans, the last two members of a “two-for-the-price-of-one” binary system. Lucy’s complex path will take it to both clusters of Trojans and give us our first close-up view of all three major types of bodies in the swarms (so-called C-, P- and D-types). || ", "hits": 162 }, { "id": 20301, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20301/", "result_type": "Animation", "release_date": "2019-10-21T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Lucy Mission Animations", "description": "Lucy flies by its final target, the binary asteroid Patroclus/Menoetius. When it completes this flyby, Lucy will have visited an unprecedented seven asteroids. || Lucy_Flyby_main_seq_00315_print.jpg (1024x576) [85.2 KB] || Lucy_Flyby_main_seq_00315_searchweb.png (320x180) [77.9 KB] || Lucy_Flyby_main_seq_00315_thm.png (80x40) [6.1 KB] || Lucy_Flyby_main_1080_H264.mp4 (1920x1080) [45.0 MB] || Lucy_Flyby_main_1080_H264.webm (1920x1080) [2.8 MB] || Lucy_Flyby_1080_ProRes.mov (1920x1080) [282.0 MB] || Lucy_flyby_4k_prores_seq (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || Lucy_Flyby_main_4k_H264.mp4 (3840x2160) [27.5 MB] || Lucy_Flyby_main_4k_H264.webm (3840x2160) [5.9 MB] || Lucy_Flyby_main_4k.mov (3840x2160) [758.8 MB] || ", "hits": 69 }, { "id": 4720, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4720/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2019-09-06T10:00:00-04:00", "title": "CGI Moon Kit", "description": "These color and elevation maps are designed for use in 3D rendering software. They are created from data assembled by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter camera and laser altimeter instrument teams.", "hits": 42712 }, { "id": 40373, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/general-relativity/", "result_type": "Gallery", "release_date": "2019-05-29T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "General Relativity", "description": "This is a collection of media resources available on the Scientific Visualization Studio website relating to Einstein's general theory of relativity. \n\nMore information and media can be found at:\nNASA's Blueshift Blog\n100 Years of General Relativity\nHow Scientists Captured the First Image of a Black Hole\n\nFor students and teachers:\nNASA's Space PLace - Einstein\nNASA's Cosmic Times - the universe\nNASA's Cosmic Times - pulsar gravitational waves\nNASA's Physics and Engineering Collection\nGravity's Grin\n\n\nNews and missions:\nThree Ways to Travel at (Nearly) the Speed of Light\nGravity Probe B\nLISA - Laser Interferometer Space Antenna\nScientist further confirms Einstein’s theory through new solar research\nLIGO Has Detected Gravitational Waves\nSimulation Sheds Light on Spiraling Supermassive Black Holes\nResults of Epic Space-Time Experiment\nListening for Gravitational Waves Using Pulsars \nBlack Hole Image Makes History\nTracking the Motion of Mercury", "hits": 534 }, { "id": 12944, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12944/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2018-10-08T12:00:00-04:00", "title": "Pumpkin Stars", "description": "Meet the stars that spin so quickly they squash themselves into the shape of a pumpkin. || COVER_Pumpkin_Star_Still_print.jpg (1024x576) [85.7 KB] || COVER_Pumpkin_Star_Still_print_print.jpg (1024x576) [72.8 KB] || COVER_Pumpkin_Star_Still_print_searchweb.png (320x180) [69.5 KB] || COVER_Pumpkin_Star_Still_print_thm.png (80x40) [5.0 KB] || ", "hits": 51 }, { "id": 13043, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13043/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2018-10-02T10:50:00-04:00", "title": "New Simulation Sheds Light on Spiraling Supermassive Black Holes", "description": "Gas glows brightly in this computer simulation of supermassive black holes only 40 orbits from merging. Models like this may eventually help scientists pinpoint real examples of these powerful binary systems. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018Music: \"Games Show Sphere 01\" from Killer TracksWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || SMBH_Sim_Still_1.jpg (1920x1080) [333.8 KB] || SMBH_Sim_Still_1_print.jpg (1024x576) [138.8 KB] || SMBH_Sim_Still_1_searchweb.png (320x180) [69.3 KB] || SMBH_Sim_Still_1_thm.png (80x40) [6.4 KB] || 13043_SMBH_Simulation_1080.webm (1920x1080) [17.4 MB] || 13043_SMBH_Simulation_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [202.8 MB] || SMBH_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [2.0 KB] || SMBH_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [1.9 KB] || 13043_SMBH_Simulation_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [2.0 GB] || ", "hits": 253 }, { "id": 13086, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13086/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2018-10-02T10:50:00-04:00", "title": "Supermassive Black Hole Binary Simulation Visualizations in 4k", "description": "Simulation of the light emitted by a supermassive black hole binary system where the surrounding gas is optically thin (transparent). Viewed from 0 degrees inclination, or directly above the plane of the disk. The emitted light represents all wavelengths.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018 || image-000-_000150_print.jpg (1024x576) [33.9 KB] || image-000-_000150.png (3840x2160) [5.1 MB] || 0Degrees (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || SMBH_Sim_Thin0_4kFull.mp4 (3840x2160) [15.0 MB] || SMBH_Sim_Thin0_4kFull.webm (3840x2160) [2.2 MB] || SMBH_Sim_Thin0_4kFull.mov (3840x2160) [427.6 MB] || ", "hits": 537 }, { "id": 13030, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13030/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2018-08-06T10:00:00-04:00", "title": "NASA's Planet-Hunting TESS Catches a Comet Before Starting Science", "description": "This video is compiled from a series of images taken on July 25 by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. The angular extent of the widest field of view is six degrees. Visible in the images are the comet C/2018 N1, asteroids, variable stars, asteroids and reflected light from Mars. TESS is expected to find thousands of planets around other nearby stars. Credit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology/NASA’s Goddard Space Flight CenterWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || TESS_Comet_Still.jpg (1920x1080) [409.0 KB] || TESS_Comet_Still_print.jpg (1024x576) [112.2 KB] || TESS_Comet_Still_searchweb.png (320x180) [50.8 KB] || TESS_Comet_Still_thm.png (80x40) [3.8 KB] || 13030_TESS_Comet_ProRes_1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [1.7 GB] || 13030_TESS_Comet_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [118.6 MB] || 13030_TESS_Comet_H264_1080_Best.mov (1920x1080) [173.0 MB] || 13030_TESS_Comet_H264_1080_Good.m4v (1920x1080) [114.8 MB] || 13030_TESS_Comet_ProRes_1080_2997.webm (1920x1080) [10.8 MB] || 13030_TESS_Comet_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [1.3 KB] || 13030_TESS_Comet_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [1.3 KB] || ", "hits": 50 }, { "id": 12989, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12989/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2018-07-03T11:00:00-04:00", "title": "Superstar Eta Carinae Shoots Cosmic Rays", "description": "Zoom into Eta Carinae, where the outflows of two massive stars collide and shoot accelerated particles cosmic rays into space.Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Music: \"Expectant Aspect\" from Killer Tracks.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || Eta_Car_CR_Still.jpg (1920x1080) [307.1 KB] || Eta_Car_CR_Still_print.jpg (1024x576) [127.9 KB] || Eta_Car_CR_Still_searchweb.png (320x180) [98.2 KB] || Eta_Car_CR_Still_thm.png (80x40) [7.3 KB] || 12989_Eta_Car_CosmicRay_ProRes_1080.webm (1920x1080) [16.1 MB] || 12989_Eta_Car_CosmicRay_1080.m4v (1920x1080) [155.6 MB] || 12989_Eta_Car_CosmicRay_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [234.6 MB] || 12989_Eta_Car_CosmicRay_1080p.mov (1920x1080) [311.6 MB] || 12989_Eta_Car_CosmicRay_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [2.0 KB] || 12989_Eta_Car_CosmicRay_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [2.0 KB] || 12989_Eta_Car_CosmicRay_ProRes_1080.mov (1920x1080) [2.1 GB] || ", "hits": 181 }, { "id": 12938, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12938/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2018-05-10T13:00:00-04:00", "title": "NICER Finds X-ray Pulsar in Record-fast Orbit", "description": "Scientists analyzing the first data from the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) mission have found two stars that revolve around each other every 38 minutes. One of the stars in the system, called IGR J17062–6143 (J17062 for short), is a rapidly spinning, superdense star called a pulsar. The other is probably a hydrogen-poor white dwarf. The discovery bestows the stellar pair with the record for the shortest-known orbital period for a certain class of pulsar binary system.Music: \"Games Show Sphere 2\" from Killer TracksComplete transcript available.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel. || NICER_Binary_Still.jpg (1920x1080) [197.3 KB] || NICER_Binary_Still_print.jpg (1024x576) [89.4 KB] || NICER_Binary_Still_searchweb.png (320x180) [46.7 KB] || NICER_Binary_Still_thm.png (80x40) [4.0 KB] || 12938_NICER_Binary_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [91.4 MB] || 12938_NICER_Binary_1080p.mov (1920x1080) [47.8 MB] || 12938_NICER_Binary_Good_1080.m4v (1920x1080) [44.7 MB] || 12938_NICER_Binary_1080p.webm (1920x1080) [7.0 MB] || 12938_NICER_Binary_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [456.9 MB] || NICER_Binary_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [767 bytes] || NICER_Binary_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [741 bytes] || ", "hits": 108 }, { "id": 12861, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12861/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2018-02-14T09:00:00-05:00", "title": "NASA Valentines", "description": "Download our collection of valentines, featuring science visualizations and imagery from NASA missions.Want more NASA valentines? Visit https://mars.nasa.gov/free-holiday-ecard/love-valentine/#Send-A-Card ||", "hits": 95 }, { "id": 12399, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12399/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2016-10-27T12:55:00-04:00", "title": "NASA's Kepler, Swift Missions Harvest ‘Pumpkin’ Stars", "description": "Dive into the Kepler field and learn more about the origins of these rapidly spinning stars.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic: \"Electric Cosmos\" from Killer TracksWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || Pumpkin_Star_Still.png (1920x1080) [10.8 MB] || Pumpkin_Star_Still_print.jpg (1024x576) [85.7 KB] || Pumpkin_Star_Still_searchweb.png (320x180) [66.5 KB] || Pumpkin_Star_Still_thm.png (80x40) [4.4 KB] || 12399_Swift_Pumpkin_Star2_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [2.0 GB] || 12399_Swift_Pumpkin_Star_FINAL2_youtube_hq.mov (1920x1080) [1.2 GB] || 12399_Swift_Pumpkin_Star2_H264_1080.mov (1920x1080) [221.8 MB] || 12399_Swift_Pumpkin_Star2_1080_Good.m4v (1920x1080) [147.1 MB] || 12399_Swift_Pumpkin_Star2_1080_Most_Compatible.m4v (960x540) [59.7 MB] || 12399_Swift_Pumpkin_Star_FINAL2_HD.wmv (1920x1080) [332.6 MB] || 12399_Swift_Pumpkin_Star2_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.webm (1920x1080) [17.0 MB] || 12399_Swift_Pumpkin_Star_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [2.3 KB] || 12399_Swift_Pumpkin_Star_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [2.3 KB] || 12399_Swift_Pumpkin_Star_FINAL2_ipod_sm.mp4 (320x240) [26.8 MB] || ", "hits": 103 }, { "id": 12386, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12386/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2016-10-06T11:00:00-04:00", "title": "Two Stars, One Powerful Glow", "description": "NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope finds record-breaking binary in a galaxy next door. || c-1024.jpg (1024x576) [130.2 KB] || c-1280.jpg (1280x720) [188.0 KB] || c-1920.jpg (1920x1080) [291.3 KB] || c-1024_print.jpg (1024x576) [135.4 KB] || c-1024_searchweb.png (320x180) [61.7 KB] || c-1024_web.png (320x180) [61.7 KB] || c-1024_thm.png (80x40) [4.3 KB] || ", "hits": 106 }, { "id": 12376, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12376/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2016-09-29T13:00:00-04:00", "title": "Fermi Finds Record-breaking Gamma-ray Binary", "description": "Dive into the Large Magellanic Cloud and see a visualization of LMC P3, an extraordinary gamma-ray binary system discovered by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || LMC_P3_Still_2.jpg (2880x1620) [539.2 KB] || LMC_P3_Still_2_searchweb.png (320x180) [58.0 KB] || LMC_P3_Still_2_thm.png (80x40) [4.3 KB] || LMC_P3_FB_Final_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [1.3 GB] || 12376_LMC_P3_FB_Final_youtube_hq.mov (1920x1080) [660.0 MB] || LMC_P3_FB_Final_H264.mp4 (1920x1080) [182.3 MB] || LMC_P3_FB_Final_H264_HD_1080p.mov (1920x1080) [137.8 MB] || 12376_LMC_P3_FB_Final_large.mp4 (1920x1080) [92.6 MB] || LMC_P3_FB_Final_Apple_Devices_HD.m4v (1920x1080) [90.7 MB] || 12376_LMC_P3_FB_Final_appletv.m4v (1280x720) [42.5 MB] || 12376_LMC_P3_FB_Final_appletv.webm (1280x720) [9.9 MB] || 12376_LMC_P3_FB_Final_appletv_subtitles.m4v (1280x720) [42.5 MB] || 12376_LMC_P3_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [373 bytes] || 12376_LMC_P3_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [386 bytes] || ", "hits": 116 }, { "id": 12216, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12216/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2016-04-18T12:00:00-04:00", "title": "NASA's Fermi Preps to Narrow Down Gravitational Wave Sources", "description": "Fermi's GBM saw a fading X-ray flash at nearly the same moment LIGO detected gravitational waves from a black hole merger in 2015. This movie shows how scientists can narrow down the location of the LIGO source on the assumption that the burst is connected to it. In this case, the LIGO search area is reduced by two-thirds. Greater improvements are possible in future detections.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Watch this video on the NASAgovVideo YouTube channel. || LIGO_GBM_Common_only_Earth.png (1920x1080) [4.2 MB] || LIGO_GBM_Common_only_Earth_print.jpg (1024x576) [168.3 KB] || LIGO_GBM_Common_only_Earth_searchweb.png (320x180) [97.0 KB] || LIGO_GBM_Common_only_Earth_web.png (320x180) [97.0 KB] || LIGO_GBM_Common_only_Earth_thm.png (80x40) [6.6 KB] || Fermi_LIGO_GBM_localizations_H264_YouTube_1080p.mp4 (1920x1080) [82.8 MB] || Fermi_LIGO_GBM_localizations_H264_720p.mp4 (1280x720) [35.4 MB] || Fermi_LIGO_GBM_localizations_H264_720p.webm (1280x720) [2.3 MB] || Fermi_LIGO_GBM_localizations_ProRes_1920x1080_30.mov (1920x1080) [431.3 MB] || 12216_Fermi_LIGO_Localization_4K.mov (4096x2304) [90.6 MB] || 12216_Fermi_LIGO_Localization_4K.m4v (3840x2160) [140.3 MB] || 12216_Fermi_LIGO_Localization_ProRes_7282x4096_30.mov (7282x4096) [6.0 GB] || ", "hits": 68 }, { "id": 12101, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12101/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2016-01-04T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Fermi Hyperwall--2016 AAS Technical", "description": "Upresed 5760x3240 animation of the Fermi spacecraft.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab || frame-000020_print.jpg (1024x576) [147.2 KB] || Fermi_Beauty_EarthandStars_1080p.webm (1920x1080) [1.4 MB] || Fermi_Beauty_EarthandStars_1080p.mov (1920x1080) [25.4 MB] || FermiBeautyDraft (5760x3240) [0 Item(s)] || Fermi_Beauty_EarthandStars_4k.mov (4096x2304) [47.9 MB] || Fermi_Beauty_EarthandStars_4k_ProRes.mov (5760x3240) [808.7 MB] || ", "hits": 82 }, { "id": 12102, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12102/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2016-01-04T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Fermi Hyperwall--2016 AAS, A Walk Through Fermi Science", "description": "3x3 hyperwall-resolution image of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope with instruments labeled.Credit: NASA/JIm Grossmann || Fermi_Hyperwall_2_2_Instruments_5760_print.jpg (1024x576) [86.4 KB] || Fermi_Hyperwall_2_2_Instruments_5760.png (5760x3240) [32.3 MB] || fermi-2-2-Instruments.hwshow [294 bytes] || For additional Fermi hyperwall visuals please check the second hyperwall page || ", "hits": 51 }, { "id": 40110, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/astro-galaxy/", "result_type": "Gallery", "release_date": "2015-09-18T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Astrophysics Galaxy Listing", "description": "No description available.", "hits": 121 }, { "id": 40111, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/astro-star/", "result_type": "Gallery", "release_date": "2015-09-18T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Astrophysics Star Listing", "description": "No description available.", "hits": 171 }, { "id": 40244, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/hyperwall-universe/", "result_type": "Gallery", "release_date": "2015-07-24T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Hyperwall Universe", "description": "hyperwall-ready visualizations about astrophysics\nReturn to Main Hyperwall Gallery.", "hits": 11 }, { "id": 11948, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11948/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2015-07-09T13:00:00-04:00", "title": "X-ray Echoes Create a Black Hole Bull's-eye", "description": "Rings of X-ray light centered on V404 Cygni, a binary system containing an erupting black hole (dot at center), were imaged by the X-ray Telescope aboard NASA's Swift satellite from June 30 to July 4. A narrow gap splits the middle ring in two. Color indicates the energy of the X-rays, with red representing the lowest (800 to 1,500 electron volts, eV), green for medium (1,500 to 2,500 eV), and the most energetic (2,500 to 5,000 eV) shown in blue. For comparison, visible light has energies ranging from about 2 to 3 eV. The dark lines running diagonally through the image are artifacts of the imaging system.Credit: Andrew Beardmore (Univ. of Leicester) and NASA/Swift || rings_1080.gif (1080x1080) [1.3 MB] || ", "hits": 76 }, { "id": 11895, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11895/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2015-07-02T10:00:00-04:00", "title": "Astronomers Predict Cosmic Light Show from 2018 Stellar Encounter", "description": "Coming attraction: Astronomers are expecting high-energy explosions when pulsar J2032 swings around its massive companion star in early 2018. The pulsar will plunge through a disk of gas and dust surrounding the star, triggering cosmic fireworks. Scientists are planning a global campaign to watch the event across the spectrum, from radio waves to gamma rays. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here. || Binary_Pulsar_Still.png (1920x1080) [2.0 MB] || Binary_Pulsar_Still_print.jpg (1024x576) [88.4 KB] || Binary_Pulsar_Still_searchweb.png (320x180) [74.7 KB] || Binary_Pulsar_Still_thm.png (80x40) [8.1 KB] || 11895_Fermi_Binary_Pulsar_.mov (1920x1080) [1.5 GB] || 11895_Fermi_Binary_Pulsar_-H264_Best_1920x1080_29.97.mov (1920x1080) [523.1 MB] || 11895_Fermi_Binary_Pulsar_-H264_Good_1080_29.97.mov (1920x1080) [77.1 MB] || YOUTUBE_HQ_G2015-051_Fermi_Binary_Pulsar_FINAL_VX-171746_youtube_hq.mov (1280x720) [174.9 MB] || 11895_Fermi_Binary_Pulsar_MPEG4_1920X1080_2997.mp4 (1920x1080) [53.1 MB] || WMV_G2015-051_Fermi_Binary_Pulsar_FINAL_VX-171746_1280x720.wmv (1280x720) [48.3 MB] || APPLE_TV_G2015-051_Fermi_Binary_Pulsar_FINAL_VX-171746_appletv.m4v (1280x720) [71.5 MB] || 11895_Fermi_Binary_Pulsar_.webm (1920x1080) [14.4 MB] || APPLE_TV_G2015-051_Fermi_Binary_Pulsar_FINAL_VX-171746_appletv_subtitles.m4v (1280x720) [71.6 MB] || 11895_Fermi_Binary_Pulsar_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [1.8 KB] || 11895_Fermi_Binary_Pulsar_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [1.8 KB] || ", "hits": 72 }, { "id": 20225, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20225/", "result_type": "Animation", "release_date": "2015-07-02T10:00:00-04:00", "title": "Binary Pulsar J2032 animation", "description": "Binary Pulsar J2032 animation || BinaryPulsar.png (1920x1080) [2.0 MB] || Cam1_00312_print.jpg (1024x576) [65.8 KB] || Cam1_00312_searchweb.png (320x180) [68.9 KB] || Cam1_00312_thm.png (80x40) [5.7 KB] || BinaryPulsar_1080p60.webm (1920x1080) [2.1 MB] || 1920x1080_16x9_60p (1920x1080) [32.0 KB] || BinaryPulsar_1080p60.mp4 (1920x1080) [11.6 MB] || Bin_pulsar_442.mov (1920x1080) [534.0 MB] || Bin_pulsar_H264.mov (1920x1080) [315.4 MB] || ", "hits": 206 }, { "id": 11804, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11804/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2015-05-14T14:00:00-04:00", "title": "RXTE Data Link Pulsar Pulses with a QPO", "description": "This animation illustrates the direct relationship between a pulsar's X-ray pulses and its quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO), a flickering signal that hovers around certain frequencies. The QPO is shown here as a bright patch near the inner edge of the disk of gas that feeds matter to the pulsar at the center, called SAX J1808. Guided by magnetic fields, gas streaming onto the neutron star forms bright hot spots. As the pulsar spins 401 times a second, telescopes detect X-ray pulses as these locations swing into view from Earth. When the QPO orbits more slowly than the pulsar’s spin, the neutron star’s magnetic field holds back flowing gas, dimming the X-ray pulses. But during an outburst, the inner edge of the disk is forced closer to the pulsar, resulting in a faster-moving QPO and compression of the pulsar's magnetic field. When the QPO matches or bests the pulsar’s spin, more gas streams onto the neutron star, and the pulses brighten. Gas may even flow directly onto the pulsar's equatorial region, producing extra hot spots. NASA’s Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer observed this relationship during outbursts in 2002, 2005, and 2008. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab || QPO_16bit_00728_print.jpg (1024x576) [96.1 KB] || QPO_16bit_00728_web.jpg (320x180) [16.6 KB] || QPO_16bit_00728_thm.png (80x40) [7.1 KB] || 1920x1080_16x9_30p (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || 11804_RXTE_QPO_H264_Good_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [45.4 MB] || 11804_RXTE_QPO_MPEG4_1920X1080_2997.mp4 (1920x1080) [28.0 MB] || QPO_16bit_00728.tif (1920x1080) [11.9 MB] || 11804_RXTE_QPO_H264_Good_1920x1080_2997.webm (1920x1080) [3.9 MB] || 11804_RXTE_QPO_H264_Best_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [240.9 MB] || 11804_RXTE_QPO_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [416.6 MB] || ", "hits": 65 }, { "id": 11745, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11745/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2015-02-05T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Solarium - Resource Page", "description": "A child looks up at Solarium at the Goddard Visitor Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.Photo Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center || E_LowAngle_304_crop_print.jpg (1024x677) [110.0 KB] || E_LowAngle_304_crop.png (3938x2604) [11.3 MB] || E_LowAngle_304_crop.jpg (3938x2604) [1.8 MB] || E_LowAngle_304_crop_web.png (320x211) [82.5 KB] || ", "hits": 49 }, { "id": 11725, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11725/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2015-01-07T13:15:00-05:00", "title": "NASA Missions Take an Unparalleled Look into Superstar Eta Carinae", "description": "Explore Eta Carinae from the inside out with the help of supercomputer simulations and data from NASA satellites and ground-based observatories. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here. || Eta_Car_Density_XY_R10_R100_STILL_1920.jpg (1920x1080) [804.4 KB] || Eta_Car_Density_XY_R10_R100_STILL_1920_print.jpg (1024x576) [52.0 KB] || Eta_Car_Density_XY_R10_R100_STILL.jpg (4928x2772) [874.1 KB] || Eta_Car_Density_XY_R10_R100_STILL.png (4928x2772) [36.6 MB] || Eta_Car_Density_XY_R10_R100_STILL_1920_web.jpg (320x180) [13.1 KB] || Eta_Car_Density_XY_R10_R100_STILL_1920_searchweb.png (320x180) [55.9 KB] || Eta_Car_Density_XY_R10_R100_STILL_1920_thm.png (80x40) [8.0 KB] || Eta_Car_Density_XY_R10_R100_STILL_1920.tiff (1920x1080) [11.9 MB] || G2015-001_Eta_Car_Binary_Final_appletv.webm (960x540) [30.5 MB] || G2015-001_Eta_Car_Binary_Final_ipod_lg.m4v (640x360) [43.2 MB] || G2015-001_Eta_Car_Binary.en_US.vtt [5.2 KB] || G2015-001_Eta_Car_Binary.en_US.srt [5.2 KB] || G2015-001_Eta_Car_Binary_Final_ipod_sm.mp4 (320x240) [22.8 MB] || G2015-001_Eta_Car_Binary_Final_appletv_subtitles.m4v (960x540) [103.9 MB] || G2015-001_Eta_Car_Binary_Final_appletv.m4v (960x540) [104.0 MB] || G2015-001_Eta_Car_Binary_Final_1280x720.wmv (1280x720) [107.6 MB] || 11725_Eta_Car_Binary2_MPEG4_1920X1080_2997.mp4 (1920x1080) [116.9 MB] || 11725_Eta_Car_Binary2_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [3.5 GB] || 11725_Eta_Car_Binary2_H264_Best_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [2.6 GB] || 11725_Eta_Car_Binary2_H264_Good_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [506.2 MB] || Eta_Car_Density_XY_R10_R100_STILL.tiff (4928x2772) [104.2 MB] || ", "hits": 143 }, { "id": 11722, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11722/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2015-01-07T13:00:00-05:00", "title": "Supercomputer Simulations of Eta Carinae", "description": "Density simulation. This movie shows a wide view of the system looking down on the orbital plane of the two stars, which are located at the center. The view spans 3,200 times the average distance between Earth and the sun, or 298 billion miles (478 billion kilometers). Lighter colors indicate greater densities, with the highest densities occurring near the primary and in the wind interaction region. The faster wind of the smaller star carves a spiral cavity into the dense wind of the primary star, and this structure expands outward with the primary wind at about 1 million mph (1.6 million km/h. || R100_density_xy_axes_and_colorbar_print.jpg (1024x1024) [84.9 KB] || R100_density_xy_axes_and_colorbar.png (4096x4096) [2.8 MB] || R100_density_xy_axes_and_colorbar_web.jpg (320x320) [17.8 KB] || Eta_Car_R100_Density_XY_H264_Good_1024x1024_searchweb.png (320x180) [57.8 KB] || Eta_Car_R100_Density_XY_H264_Good_1024x1024.mov (1024x1024) [3.8 MB] || Eta_Car_R100_Density_XY_H264_Good_1024x1024.webm (1024x1024) [2.4 MB] || Eta_Car_R100_Density_XY_4k.mov (4096x4096) [876.4 MB] || ", "hits": 74 }, { "id": 11680, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11680/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2014-11-06T11:00:00-05:00", "title": "Clashing Winds", "description": "A star cluster located about 4,700 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus holds some of the galaxy’s rarest suns. Of some 3,000 stars in the group, about 100 are classified as type O. These massive suns shine so hot and bright they drive their own surface gases outward at high speed in powerful outflows called stellar winds. Two of these stars circle each other tightly, forming the binary system known as Cygnus OB2 #9. Scientists long suspected that the winds from these stars collided, but never had direct evidence of this interaction. In June 2011, scientists made a breakthrough discovery. Using NASA’s Swift satellite and other space telescopes, they observed a sharp rise in X-rays coming from the system as the stars raced toward their closest approach. It turns out the X-ray increase was tied to their colliding winds, crashing together at speeds of millions of miles per hour. Watch the video to learn more. || ", "hits": 84 }, { "id": 11672, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11672/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2014-10-09T11:30:00-04:00", "title": "Superflare", "description": "On April 23, 2014, NASA's Swift satellite detected the strongest, hottest, and longest-lasting sequence of stellar flares ever seen from a nearby red dwarf star. The outbursts came from one of the stars in a close binary system known as DG Canum Venaticorum, or DG CVn for short, located about 60 light-years away. Both stars are dim red dwarfs with masses and sizes about one-third of our sun's. When stellar flares erupt they emit radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to visible, ultraviolet and X-ray light. At 5:07 p.m. EDT on April 23, the rising tide of X-rays from DG CVn's initial blast triggered Swift’s detector. Scientists found the explosion was as much as 10,000 times more powerful than the largest solar flare ever recorded. Watch the video to learn more. || ", "hits": 82 }, { "id": 11531, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11531/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2014-09-30T14:00:00-04:00", "title": "Swift Catches Mega Flares from a Mini Star", "description": "On April 23, NASA's Swift satellite detected the strongest, hottest, and longest-lasting sequence of stellar flares ever seen from a nearby red dwarf star. The initial blast from this record-setting series of explosions was as much as 10,000 times more powerful than the largest solar flare ever recorded. At its peak, the flare reached temperatures of 360 million degrees Fahrenheit (200 million Celsius), more than 12 times hotter than the center of the sun. The \"superflare\" came from one of the stars in a close binary system known as DG Canum Venaticorum, or DG CVn for short, located about 60 light-years away. Both stars are dim red dwarfs with masses and sizes about one-third of our sun's. They orbit each other at about three times Earth's average distance from the sun, which is too close for Swift to determine which star erupted. At 5:07 p.m. EDT on April 23, the rising tide of X-rays from DG CVn's superflare triggered Swift's Burst Alert Telescope (BAT). Swift turned to observe the source in greater detail with other instruments and, at the same time, notified astronomers around the globe that a powerful outburst was in progress.For about three minutes after the BAT trigger, the superflare's X-ray brightness was greater than the combined luminosity of both stars at all wavelengths under normal conditions.The largest solar explosions are classified as extraordinary, or X class, solar flares based on their X-ray emission. The biggest flare ever seen from the sun occurred in November 2003 and is rated as X 45. But if the flare on DG CVn were viewed from a planet the same distance as Earth is from the sun and measured the same way, it would have been ranked 10,000 times greater, at about X 100,000. How can a star just a third the size of the sun produce such a giant eruption? The key factor is its rapid spin, a crucial ingredient for amplifying magnetic fields. The flaring star in DG CVn rotates in under a day, about 30 or more times faster than our sun. The sun also rotated much faster in its youth and may well have produced superflares of its own, but, fortunately for us, it no longer appears capable of doing so. || ", "hits": 97 }, { "id": 11639, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11639/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2014-09-11T11:30:00-04:00", "title": "Mini Nebula", "description": "Eta Carinae lies about 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation of Carina and is one of the most massive binary star systems in our Milky Way galaxy. In the middle of the 19th century, it underwent an explosion that astronomers call the Great Eruption. As a part of this event, a gaseous shell containing at least 10 and perhaps as much as 40 times the sun's mass was shot into space. Using new observations, astronomers created the first high-resolution 3-D model of the expanding cloud produced by this outburst. The model suggests the twin-lobed dust-filled cloud known as the Homunculus Nebula—which is now about a light-year long and continues to expand at more than 1.3 million mph—was molded by interactions between Eta Carinae's two stars. Watch the video to learn more. || ", "hits": 82 }, { "id": 11608, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11608/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2014-07-31T14:00:00-04:00", "title": "Fermi Reveals Novae as a New Class of Gamma-Ray Sources", "description": "Observations of four stellar eruptions, called novae, by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope firmly establish that these relatively common outbursts nearly always produce gamma rays, the most energetic form of light. A nova is a sudden, short-lived brightening of an otherwise inconspicuous star caused by a thermonuclear explosion on the surface of a white dwarf, a compact star not much larger than Earth. Novae occur because a stream of gas flowing from the star continually piles up into a layer on the white dwarf's surface. This layer eventually reaches a flash point and detonates in a runaway thermonuclear explosion. Each nova releases up to 100,000 times the annual energy output of our sun. Prior to Fermi, no one suspected these outbursts were capable of producing high-energy gamma rays. Such emission, with energies millions of times greater than visible light, usually is associated with far more powerful cosmic blasts.Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT) scored its first nova detection in March 2010 with an outburst of V407 Cygni. In this rare type of system, a white dwarf interacts with a red giant star more than a hundred times the size of our sun. Other members of this unusual stellar class have been observed to \"go nova\" every few decades.In 2012 and 2013, the LAT found three much more typical, or \"classical,\" novae: V339 Delphini in 2013 and V1324 Scorpii and V959 Monocerotis in 2012. The outbursts occurred in comparatively common systems where a white dwarf and a sun-like star orbit each other every few hours. Astronomers estimate that between 20 and 50 novae occur each year in our galaxy. Most go undetected, their visible light obscured by intervening dust and their gamma rays dimmed by distance. All of the gamma-ray novae found so far lie between 9,000 and 15,000 light-years away, which is relatively nearby compared to our galaxy's size.One explanation for the gamma-ray emission is that the blast creates multiple shock waves, which expand into space at slightly different speeds. Faster shocks could interact with slower ones, accelerating particles to near the speed of light. These particles ultimately could produce gamma rays. || ", "hits": 129 }, { "id": 11567, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11567/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2014-07-22T10:00:00-04:00", "title": "PSR J1023, A 'Transformer' Pulsar—Animations", "description": "Pulsar J1023 is a member of an exceptional binary system containing a rapidly spinning neutron star. In June 2013, the pulsar underwent a dramatic change in behavior never before observed. Its radio beacon vanished, while at the same time the system brightened significantly in gamma rays, the highest-energy form of light.The stellar system, known as AY Sextantis and located about 4,400 light-years away in the constellation Sextans, pairs a 1.7-millisecond pulsar named PSR J1023+0038 — J1023 for short — with a star containing about one-fifth the mass of the sun. The stars complete an orbit in only 4.8 hours, which places them so close together that a high-energy \"wind\" of charged particles from the pulsar is gradually evaporating its companion. What's happening, astronomers say, are the last sputtering throes of the pulsar spin-up process, where a flow of matter from the companion has, over millions of years, dramatically increased the pulsar's rotation. J1023 now spins at about 35,000 rpm, but the gas stream from the companion is no longer continuous. Researchers regard the system as a unique laboratory for understanding how millisecond pulsars form and for studying details of how accretion takes place on neutron stars. || ", "hits": 309 }, { "id": 11609, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11609/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2014-07-22T10:00:00-04:00", "title": "NASA's Fermi Catches a 'Transformer' Pulsar", "description": "In late June 2013, an exceptional binary system containing a rapidly spinning neutron star underwent a dramatic change in behavior never before observed. The pulsar's radio beacon vanished, while at the same time the system brightened fivefold in gamma rays, the most powerful form of light, according to measurements by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.The system, known as AY Sextantis, is located about 4,400 light-years away in the constellation Sextans. It pairs a 1.7-millisecond pulsar named PSR J1023+0038 — J1023 for short — with a star containing about one-fifth the mass of the sun. The stars complete an orbit in only 4.8 hours, which places them so close together that the pulsar will gradually evaporate its companion. To better understand J1023's spin and orbital evolution, the system was routinely monitored in radio. These observations revealed that the pulsar's radio signal had turned off and prompted the search for an associated change in its gamma-ray properties.What's happening, astronomers say, are the last sputtering throes of the pulsar spin-up process. Researchers regard the system as a unique laboratory for understanding how millisecond pulsars form and for studying details of how accretion takes place on neutron stars. In J1023, the stars are close enough that a stream of gas flows from the sun-like star toward the pulsar. The pulsar's rapid rotation and intense magnetic field are responsible for both the radio beam and its powerful pulsar wind. When the radio beam is detectable, the pulsar wind holds back the companion's gas stream, preventing it from approaching too closely. But now and then the stream surges, pushing its way closer to the pulsar and establishing an accretion disk. When gas from the disk falls to an altitude of about 50 miles (80 km), processes involved in creating the radio beam are either shut down or, more likely, obscured. Some of the gas may be accelerated outward at nearly the speed of light, forming dual particle jets firing in opposite directions. Shock waves within and along the periphery of these jets are a likely source of the bright gamma-ray emission detected by Fermi. || ", "hits": 98 }, { "id": 11568, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11568/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2014-07-08T10:00:00-04:00", "title": "Eta Carinae's Homunculus Nebula Now in 3D", "description": "An international team of astronomers has developed a 3D model of a giant cloud ejected by the massive binary system Eta Carinae during its 19th century outburst. Eta Carinae lies about 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation of Carina and is one of the most massive binary systems astronomers can study in detail. The smaller star is about 30 times the mass of the sun and may be as much as a million times more luminous. The primary star contains about 90 solar masses and emits 5 million times the sun's energy output. Both stars are fated to end their lives in spectacular supernova explosions.Between 1838 and 1845, Eta Carinae underwent a period of unusual variability during which it briefly outshone Canopus, normally the second-brightest star. As a part of this event, which astronomers call the Great Eruption, a gaseous shell containing at least 10 and perhaps as much as 40 times the sun's mass was shot into space. This material forms a twin-lobed dust-filled cloud known as the Homunculus Nebula, which is now about a light-year long and continues to expand at more than 1.3 million mph (2.1 million km/h). Using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope and its X-Shooter spectrograph, the team imaged near-infrared, visible and ultraviolet wavelengths along 92 separate swaths across the nebula, making the most complete spectral map to date. The researchers have used the spatial and velocity information provided by this data to create the first high-resolution 3D model of the Homunculus Nebula.The shape model was developed using only a single emission line of near-infrared light emitted by molecular hydrogen gas. The characteristic 2.12-micron light shifts in wavelength slightly depending on the speed and direction of the expanding gas, allowing the team to probe even dust-obscured portions of the Homunculus that face away from Earth. || ", "hits": 228 }, { "id": 11513, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11513/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2014-04-03T11:00:00-04:00", "title": "Fermi Hints at Dark Matter", "description": "Using public data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, independent scientists at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Harvard University, MIT and the University of Chicago have developed new maps showing that the galactic center produces more high-energy gamma rays than can be explained by known sources and that this excess emission is consistent with some forms of dark matter. No one knows the true nature of dark matter, but WIMPs, or Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, represent a leading class of candidates. Theorists have envisioned a wide range of WIMP types, some of which may either mutually annihilate or produce an intermediate, quickly decaying particle when they collide. Both of these pathways end with the production of gamma rays — the most energetic form of light — at energies within the detection range of Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT).The galactic center teems with gamma-ray sources, from interacting binary systems and isolated pulsars to supernova remnants and particles colliding with interstellar gas. It's also where astronomers expect to find the galaxy's highest density of dark matter, which only affects normal matter and radiation through its gravity. Large amounts of dark matter attract normal matter, forming a foundation upon which visible structures, like galaxies, are built. When the astronomers carefully subtract all known gamma-ray sources from LAT observations of the galactic center, a patch of leftover emission remains. This excess appears most prominent at energies between 1 and 3 billion electron volts (GeV) — roughly a billion times greater than that of visible light — and extends outward at least 5,000 light-years from the galactic center. The researchers find these features difficult to reconcile with other explanations proposed, such as undiscovered pulsars. The gamma-ray spectrum of the excess, its symmetry around the galactic center and its overall brightness, is, however, consistent with annihilations of dark matter particles in the mass range of 31 and 40 GeV. The scientists note that discoveries in other astronomical objects, such as dwarf galaxies, and experiments on Earth designed to directly detect dark matter particles will be needed to confirm this interpretation. For more information: Fermi Data Tantalize With New Clues To Dark Matter || ", "hits": 72 }, { "id": 11215, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11215/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2014-02-20T11:00:00-05:00", "title": "PSR J1311-3430 'Black Widow' Pulsar Animations", "description": "The essential features of black widow binaries, and their cousins, known as redbacks, are that they place a normal but very low-mass star in close proximity to a millisecond pulsar, which has disastrous consequences for the star. Black widow systems contain stars that are both physically smaller and of much lower mass than those found in redbacks.So far, astronomers have found at least 18 black widows and nine redbacks within the Milky Way, and additional members of each class have been discovered within the dense globular star clusters that orbit our galaxy. These animations show artist's impressions of one system, named PSR J1311-3430. Discovered in 2012, J1311 sets the record for the tightest orbit of its class and contains one of the heaviest neutron stars known. The pulsar's featherweight companion, which is only a dozen or so times the mass of Jupiter and just 60 percent of its size, completes an orbit every 93 minutes – less time than it takes to watch most movies. Recent studies allow a range of values extending down to 2 solar masses for the pulsar, still among the highest-known for neutron stars. || ", "hits": 247 }, { "id": 11216, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11216/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2014-02-20T11:00:00-05:00", "title": "Black Widow Pulsars Consume Their Mates", "description": "Black widow spiders and their Australian cousins, known as redbacks, are notorious for an unsettling tendency to kill and devour their male partners. Astronomers have noted similar behavior among two rare breeds of binary system that contain rapidly spinning neutron stars, also known as pulsars. The essential features of black widow and redback binaries are that they place a normal but very low-mass star in close proximity to a millisecond pulsar, which has disastrous consequences for the star. Black widow systems contain stars that are both physically smaller and of much lower mass than those found in redbacks.So far, astronomers have found at least 18 black widows and nine redbacks within the Milky Way, and additional members of each class have been discovered within the dense globular star clusters that orbit our galaxy. One black widow system, named PSR J1311-3430 and discovered in 2012, sets the record for the tightest orbit of its class and contains one of the heaviest neutron stars known. The pulsar's featherweight companion, which is only a dozen or so times the mass of Jupiter and just 60 percent of its size, completes an orbit every 93 minutes – less time than it takes to watch most movies. The side of the star facing the pulsar is heated to more than 21,000 degrees Fahrenheit (nearly 12,000 C), or more than twice as hot as the sun's surface. Recent studies allow a range of values extending down to 2 solar masses for the pulsar, making it one of the most massive neutron stars known. Watch the video to learn more about this system and its discovery from some of the scientists involved. || ", "hits": 63 }, { "id": 11459, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11459/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2014-01-24T14:30:00-05:00", "title": "NASA's Swift Images SN 2014J in M82", "description": "An exceptionally close stellar explosion discovered on Jan. 21 has become the focus of observatories around and above the globe, including several NASA spacecraft. The blast, designated SN 2014J, occurred in the galaxy M82 and lies only about 12 million light-years away. This makes it the nearest optical supernova in two decades and potentially the closest type Ia supernova to occur during the life of currently operating space missions. As befits its moniker, Swift was the first to take a look. On Jan. 22, just a day after the explosion was discovered, Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) captured the supernova and its host galaxy.A type Ia supernova represents the total destruction of a white dwarf star by one of two possible scenarios. In one, the white dwarf orbits a normal star, pulls a stream of matter from it, and gains mass until it reaches a critical threshold and explodes. In the other, the blast arises when two white dwarfs in a binary system eventually spiral inward and collide. Either way, the explosion produces a superheated shell of plasma that expands outward into space at tens of millions of miles an hour. Short-lived radioactive elements formed during the blast keep the shell hot as it expands. The interplay between the shell's size, transparency and radioactive heating determines when the supernova reaches peak brightness. Astronomers expect SN 2014J to continue brightening into the first week of February, by which time it may be visible in binoculars.M82, also known as the Cigar Galaxy, is located in the constellation Ursa Major and is a popular target for small telescopes. M82 is undergoing a powerful episode of star formation that makes it many times brighter than our own Milky Way galaxy and accounts for its unusual and photogenic appearance. || ", "hits": 87 }, { "id": 11118, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11118/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2014-01-08T10:00:00-05:00", "title": "Swift Catches X-ray Activity at the Galaxy's Center", "description": "A seven-year campaign to monitor the center of our galaxy with NASA's Swift spacecraft has provided astronomers with a unique bounty, more than doubling the number of bright X-ray flares observed from our galaxy's central black hole and leading to the discovery of a rare type of neutron star.The innermost region of our galaxy lies 26,000 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius. At the center of it all lurks Sgr A* (pronounced \"saj a-star\"), a behemoth black hole containing 4 million times the sun's mass.Sgr A* regularly produces bright X-ray flares today, but astronomers know it was much more active in the past. To better understand its long-term behavior, the Swift team began regular observations of the galactic center in February 2006. Every few days, the spacecraft turns toward the inmost galaxy and takes a 17-minute-long \"snapshot\" with its X-Ray Telescope (XRT). Swift's XRT has now detected six bright flares, during which the black hole's X-ray emission brightened by up to 150 times for a couple of hours. These new detections, in addition to four found by other spacecraft, enabled astronomers to estimate that similar flares occur every five to 10 days. The Swift XRT team is on the lookout for the first sign that a small cold gas cloud named G2, which is swinging near Sgr A*, has begun emitting X-rays. This is expected to start sometime in spring 2014. The event will unfold for years and may fuel strong activity from the monster black hole. The monitoring campaign has already yielded one important discovery: SGR J1745-29, an object called a magnetar. This subclass of neutron star has a magnetic field thousands of times stronger than normal; so far, only 26 magnetars are known. A magnetar orbiting Sgr A* may allow scientists to explore important properties of the black hole and test predictions of Einstein’s theory of general relativity. || ", "hits": 90 }, { "id": 11342, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11342/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2013-08-21T13:00:00-04:00", "title": "Fermi's Five-year View of the Gamma-ray Sky", "description": "This all-sky view shows how the sky appears at energies greater than 1 billion electron volts (GeV) according to five years of data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. (For comparison, the energy of visible light is between 2 and 3 electron volts.) The image contains 60 months of data from Fermi's Large Area Telescope; for better angular resolution, the map shows only gamma rays converted at the front of the instrument's tracker. Brighter colors indicate brighter gamma-ray sources. The map is shown in galactic coordinates, which places the midplane of our galaxy along the center. The five-year Fermi map is available in multiple resolutions below, along with additional plots containing reference information and identifying some of the brightest sources. || ", "hits": 152 }, { "id": 40140, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/fermi-pulsar/", "result_type": "Gallery", "release_date": "2013-08-05T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Fermi: Pulsars", "description": "Interactive pulsar map.", "hits": 159 }, { "id": 40141, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/fermi-animations/", "result_type": "Gallery", "release_date": "2013-08-05T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Fermi: Animations", "description": "No description available.", "hits": 83 }, { "id": 11236, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11236/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2013-04-18T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Flash In The Dark", "description": "A distant object suddenly bursts with light, then darkens. Space telescopes Spitzer and Hubble have watched this phenomenon repeat like clockwork every 25 days. The light appears to emanate from a protostar named LRLL 54361. It is not the first object to blink in this unusual way, but it is both the brightest and the most regular one ever observed. Astronomers think LRLL 54361 may actually consist of two newborn stars in a binary system. Drawn together by gravity, they circle around each other, kicking up nearby dust and gas. This material then slams back into the stars, causing a blast of radiation and—there!—a flash of bright light. If this theory holds true, LRLL 54361 will teach us more about how binary stars form. Watch the video to see its light flash at increased speed in a time-lapse sequence of images from the Hubble Space Telescope. || ", "hits": 51 }, { "id": 11250, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11250/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2013-04-16T13:00:00-04:00", "title": "A Trio of Swift Bursts Form A New Class of GRBs", "description": "Three unusually long-lasting stellar explosions discovered by NASA's Swift satellite represent a previously unrecognized class of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Two international teams of astronomers studying these events conclude that they likely arose from the catastrophic death of supergiant stars hundreds of times larger than the sun. GRBs are the most luminous and mysterious explosions in the universe. The blasts emit surges of gamma rays — the most powerful form of light — as well as X-rays, and they produce afterglows that can be observed at optical and radio energies. Swift, Fermi and other spacecraft detect an average of about one GRB each day.Traditionally, astronomers have recognized two GRB types, short and long, based on the duration of the gamma-ray signal. Short bursts last two seconds or less and are thought to represent a merger of compact objects in a binary system, with the most likely suspects being neutron stars and black holes. Long GRBs may last anywhere from several seconds to several minutes, with typical durations falling between 20 and 50 seconds. These events are thought to be associated with the collapse of a star several times the sun's mass and the resulting birth of a new black hole. Both scenarios give rise to powerful jets that propel matter at nearly the speed of light in opposite directions. As they interact with matter in and around the star, the jets produce a spike of high-energy light. A detailed study of GRB 111209A, which erupted on Dec. 9, 2011, and continued to produce high-energy emission for an astonishing seven hours, making it by far the longest-duration GRB ever recorded.Another event, GRB 101225A, exploded on Christmas Day in 2010 and produced high-energy emission for at least two hours. Subsequently nicknamed the \"Christmas burst,\" the event's distance was unknown, which led two teams to arrive at radically different physical interpretations. One group concluded the blast was caused by an asteroid or comet falling onto a neutron star within our own galaxy. Another team determined that the burst was the outcome of a merger event in an exotic binary system located some 3.5 billion light-years away.Using the Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii, a team led by Andrew Levan at the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, obtained a spectrum of the faint galaxy that hosted the Christmas burst. This enabled the scientists to identify emission lines of oxygen and hydrogen and determine how much these lines were displaced to lower energies compared to their appearance in a laboratory. This difference, known to astronomers as a redshift, places the burst some 7 billion light-years away. Levan and his colleagues also examined 111209A and the more recent burst 121027A, which exploded on Oct. 27, 2012. All show similar X-ray, ultraviolet and optical emission and all arose from the central regions of compact galaxies that were actively forming stars. The astronomers conclude that all three GRBs constitute a hitherto unrecognized group of \"ultra-long\" bursts.To account for the normal class of long GRBs, astronomers envision a star similar to the size sun's size but with many times its mass. The mass must be high enough for the star to undergo an energy crisis, with its core ultimately running out of fuel and collapsing under its own weight to form a black hole. Some of the matter falling onto the nascent black hole becomes redirected into powerful jets that drill through the star, creating the gamma-ray spike, but because this burst is short-lived, the star must be comparatively small. Because ultra-long GRBs persist for periods up to 100 times greater than long GRBs, they require a stellar source of correspondingly greater physical size. Both groups suggest that the likely candidate is a supergiant, a star with about 20 times the sun's mass that still retains its deep hydrogen atmosphere, making it hundreds of times the sun's diameter.Watch this video on YouTube. || ", "hits": 153 }, { "id": 11162, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11162/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2012-12-12T13:00:00-05:00", "title": "Astronomers Catch a Jet from a Binge-eating Black Hole", "description": "In January 2012, a new X-ray source flared and rapidly brightened in the Andromeda galaxy (M31), located 2.5 million light-years away. Classified as an ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX), the object is only the second ever seen in M31 and became the target of an intense observing campaign by orbiting X-ray telescopes — including NASA's Swift — and radio observatories on the ground. These efforts resulted in the first detection of radio-emitting jets from a stellar-mass black hole outside our own galaxy. A ULX is thought to be a binary system containing a black hole that is rapidly accreting gas from its stellar companion. However, to account for the brilliant high-energy output, gas must be flowing into the black hole at a rate very near a theoretical maximum, a feeding frenzy that astronomers do not yet fully understand. As gas spirals toward a black hole, it becomes compressed and heated, eventually reaching temperatures where it emits X-rays. As the rate of matter ingested by the black hole increases, so does the X-ray brightness of the gas. At some point, the X-ray emission becomes so intense that it pushes back on the inflowing gas, theoretically capping any further increase in the black hole's accretion rate. Astronomers refer to this as the Eddington limit, after Sir Arthur Eddington, the British astrophysicist who first recognized a similar cutoff to the maximum luminosity of a star. Black-hole binaries in our galaxy that show accretion at the Eddington limit also exhibit powerful radio-emitting jets that move near the speed of light. Although astronomers know little about the physical nature of these jets, detecting them at all would confirm that the ULX is accreting at the limit and identify it as a stellar mass black hole. The European Space Agency's XMM-Newton observatory first detected the ULX, dubbed XMMU J004243.6+412519 after its astronomical coordinates, on Jan. 15. Middleton and a large international team then began monitoring it at X-ray energies using XMM-Newton and NASA's Swift satellite and Chandra X-ray Observatory. The scientists conducted radio observations using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and the continent-spanning Very Long Baseline Array, both operated by the National Science Foundation in Socorro, N.M., and the Arcminute Microkelvin Imager Large Array located at the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory near Cambridge, England. In a paper published online by the journal Nature on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012, the scientists reveal their successful detection of intense radio emission associated with a jet moving at more than 85 percent the speed of light. VLA data reveal that the radio emission was quite variable, in one instance decreasing by a factor of two in just half an hour. This tells astronomers that the region producing radio waves is extremely small in size — no farther across than the distance between Jupiter and the sun. Black holes have been conclusively detected in two varieties: \"lightweight\" ones created by stars and containing up to a few dozen times the sun's mass, and supermassive \"heavyweights\" of millions to billions of solar masses found at the centers of most big galaxies. Astronomers have debated whether many ULXs represent hard-to-find \"middleweight\" versions, containing hundreds to thousands of solar masses. || ", "hits": 121 }, { "id": 11106, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11106/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2012-10-25T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Circling Two Suns", "description": "On Earth, the daily rhythms of life sync to the sunrise and sunset of a single, bright star. But unlike our solar system, some planets have more than one sun. Using NASA's Kepler space observatory, scientists recently discovered a planetary system where two planets orbit two stars. The system, known as Kepler-47, provides the first evidence from Kepler that multiple planets can orbit a binary star—a star system consisting of two or more stars that circle each other. The outer planet, named Kepler-47c, orbits at an Earth-like distance from the larger and brighter of the two stars, residing in what astronomers call a habitable zone. This means the planet could support liquid water if it had terrestrial features, but scientists think Kepler-47c is likely made up entirely of gas. Watch the video to learn more about the discovery of this two-planet, two-star system. || ", "hits": 397 }, { "id": 11109, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11109/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2012-10-12T10:00:00-04:00", "title": "X-ray Satellites Monitor the Clashing Winds of a Colossal Binary", "description": "One of the nearest and richest OB associations in our galaxy is Cygnus OB2, which is located about 4,700 light-years away and hosts some 3,000 hot stars, including about 100 in the O class. Weighing in at more than a dozen times the sun's mass and sporting surface temperatures five to ten times hotter, these ginormous blue-white stars blast their surroundings with intense ultraviolet light and powerful outflows called stellar winds. Two of these stars can be found in the intriguing binary system known as Cygnus OB2 #9. In 2011, NASA's Swift satellite, the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton observatory and several ground-based facilities took part in a campaign to monitor the system as the giant stars raced toward their closest approach. The observations are giving astronomers a more detailed picture of the stars, their orbits and the interaction of their stellar winds. An O-type star is so luminous that the pressure of its starlight actually drives material from its surface, creating particle outflows with speeds of several million miles an hour. Put two of these humongous stars in the same system and their winds can collide during all or part of the orbit, creating both radio emission and X-rays.In 2008, research showed that Cygnus OB2 #9 emitted radio signals that varied every 2.355 years. In parallel, Yael Naz || ", "hits": 73 }, { "id": 11110, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11110/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2012-10-05T14:00:00-04:00", "title": "X-ray Nova Flaring Black Hole animation", "description": "An X-ray nova is a short-lived X-ray source that appears suddenly, reaches its emission peak in a few days and then fades out over a period of months. The outburst arises when a torrent of stored gas suddenly rushes toward one of the most compact objects known, either a neutron star or a black hole. || ", "hits": 93 }, { "id": 11108, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11108/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2012-10-05T13:29:00-04:00", "title": "X-ray Nova Reveals a New Black Hole in Our Galaxy", "description": "On Sept. 16, NASA's Swift satellite detected a rising tide of high-energy X-rays from a source toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The outburst, produced by a rare X-ray nova, announced the presence of a previously unknown stellar-mass black hole. An X-ray nova is a short-lived X-ray source that appears suddenly, reaches its emission peak in a few days and then fades out over a period of months. The outburst arises when a torrent of stored gas suddenly rushes toward one of the most compact objects known, either a neutron star or a black hole. Named Swift J1745-26 after the coordinates of its sky position, the nova is located a few degrees from the center of our galaxy toward the constellation Sagittarius. While astronomers do not know its precise distance, they think the object resides about 20,000 to 30,000 light-years away in the galaxy's inner region. The pattern of X-rays from the nova signals that the central object is a black hole.Ground-based observatories detected infrared and radio emissions, but thick clouds of obscuring dust have prevented astronomers from catching Swift J1745-26 in visible light.The black hole must be a member of a low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) system, which includes a normal, sun-like star. A stream of gas flows from the normal star and enters into a storage disk around the black hole. In most LMXBs, the gas in the disk spirals inward, heats up as it heads toward the black hole, and produces a steady stream of X-rays. But under certain conditions, stable flow within the disk depends on the rate of matter flowing into it from the companion star. At certain rates, the disk fails to maintain a steady internal flow and instead flips between two dramatically different conditions — a cooler, less ionized state where gas simply collects in the outer portion of the disk like water behind a dam, and a hotter, more ionized state that sends a tidal wave of gas surging toward the center.This phenomenon, called the thermal-viscous limit cycle, helps astronomers explain transient outbursts across a wide range of systems, from protoplanetary disks around young stars, to dwarf novae - where the central object is a white dwarf star - and even bright emission from supermassive black holes in the hearts of distant galaxies. || ", "hits": 41 }, { "id": 3959, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3959/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2012-09-27T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "RXTE Views X-ray Pulsar Occulted by the Moon", "description": "On Oct. 13, 2010, NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), a satellite in low-Earth orbit, observed a bursting X-ray pulsar as it was eclipsed by the Moon. This provided scientists with an unusual opportunity to calculate the precise position of the pulsar by timing its disappearance and reappearance at the edge of the Moon's disk.The story began a few days earlier, on Oct. 10, when the European Space Agency's INTEGRAL satellite detected a transient X-ray source in the direction of Terzan 5, a globular star cluster about 25,000 light-years away toward the constellation Sagittarius. This was the start of an extradordinary series of outbursts that ended Nov. 19. The object, dubbed IGR J17480-2446, is classed as a low-mass X-ray binary system, where a neutron star orbits a star much like the Sun and draws a stream of matter from it. As only the second bright X-ray source to be found in Terzan 5, scientists shortened the name of the system to T5X2. As shown in this animation, ingress (the moment when the pulsar disappeared) occurred on the Moon's eastern limb just above the equator. Egress, 8 minutes 32 seconds later, was near the south pole on the western limb. The timing of ingress and egress depended delicately on the shape of the terrain. In other words, it mattered whether the pulsar passed behind a mountain or a valley. So the calculation relied on the detailed topography measured by both JAXA's Kaguya and NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.The animation faithfully reproduces the angle of the Sun, the position of RXTE, the position and orientation of the Moon as seen from the satellite, the Moon's topography, and the starry background. RXTE's position was derived from the Goddard Flight Dynamics Facility ephemeris for day 6129 of the satellite's orbit, while the Sun and Moon positions came from JPL's DE421 solar system ephemeris. All of the positions and the viewing direction were transformed into Moon body-fixed coordinates, so that in the animation software, the Moon remained stationary at the origin, while the camera moved and pointed appropriately. The Moon, the stars, the pulsar, and the clock were all rendered separately and layered together. || ", "hits": 119 } ] }