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In Case You Missed It: A Weekly Summary of Top Content from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center

The headshot image of Beth Ridgeway

Beth Ridgeway

Feb 17, 2023
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Contents

Week of February 13 – February 17, 2023

The Sun appears different depending on who’s looking. From left, NASA’s NuSTAR sees high-energy X-rays; the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Hinode mission sees lower energy X-rays; and NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory sees ultraviolet light.

NASA’s NuSTAR Telescope Reveals Hidden Light Shows on Sun

Even on a sunny day, human eyes can’t see all the light the Sun gives off. A new image displays some of this hidden light, including the high-energy X-rays emitted by the hottest material in the Sun’s atmosphere, as observed by NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR).

A size comparison of (152830) Dinkinesh (shown in blue in the artist concept) to the main belt asteroid (2867) Steins and the near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu.

NASA’s Lucy Asteroid Target Gets Name

The first asteroid to be visited by NASA’s Lucy mission now has a name. The International Astronomical Union has approved the name (152830) Dinkinesh for the tiny main belt asteroid that the Lucy spacecraft will encounter Nov. 1. “Dinkinesh” is the Ethiopian name for the human ancestor fossil, also known as Lucy, which was found in that country and is currently curated there.

Saturn with its rings and one of them seems to be dark due to the autum or spoke season.

Hubble Captures Start of New Spoke Season at Saturn

New images of Saturn from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope herald the start of the planet’s “spoke season” surrounding its equinox when enigmatic features appear across its rings. The cause of the spokes, as well as their seasonal variability, has yet to be fully explained by planetary scientists.

The Pandora Cluster as seen from James Webb Space Telescope.

NASA’s Webb Uncovers New Details in Pandora’s Cluster

Astronomers have revealed the latest deep field image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, featuring never-before-seen details in a region of space known as Pandora’s Cluster (Abell 2744). Webb’s view displays three clusters of galaxies – already massive – coming together to form a megacluster.

An astronaut aboard the ISS performing a science experiment.

It’s Always Heart Month on Space Station

The human heart takes center stage during the month of February, which is American Heart Month, an effort to raise awareness about heart disease prevention. On the International Space Station, the human heart is important year-round, with research being done on ways to protect astronauts from the effects microgravity has on the heart and overall health.

For more information or to learn about other happenings at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, visit NASA Marshall. For past issues of the ICYMI newsletter, click here.