Hubble Space Telescope

Portrait for @SpaceCowboy
by @SpaceCowboy
2020-06-11T12:00:02+00:00
Science • Space
NASA's JWST launch postponed due to COVID-19
Ball Aerospace lead optical test engineer Dave Chaney inspects six primary mirror segments, critical elements of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, prior to cryogenic testing in the X-ray & Cryogenic Facility at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala
Ball Aerospace lead optical test engineer Dave Chaney inspects six primary mirror segments, critical elements of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, prior to cryogenic testing in the X-ray & Cryogenic Facility at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala Credit: NASA/MSFC/David Higginbotham

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on yet another industry. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope was supposed to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope with improved infrared resolution and a broader range of astronomical and cosmological investigation in March 2021, but due to the ramifications of COVID-19, the launch was postponed. Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's associate administrator for science, told the Space Studies Board of National Academies that the pandemic had slowed down the work on the spacecraft, making the March 2021 launch date impossible. A new launch date has yet to be announced.

Portrait for @ash
by @ash
2020-05-04T09:26:55+00:00
Science • Space
NASA turned image of space into sound
NASA turned image of space into sound
Credit: ESA/Hubble/NASA/potw1833a

NASA 'sonified' an image taken by the Hubble Space telescope and transformed into a musical composition. The NASA team explained that time flows from left to right, while the sound changes depending on the location of the objects.

"Objects near the bottom of the image produce lower notes, while those near the top produce higher ones. [...] Stars and compact galaxies create short, clear tones, while sprawling spiral galaxies emit longer notes that change pitch", read the description of the uploaded sound video on YouTube.