Posted on 03/12/2025 5:34:33 AM PDT by Red Badger
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) observatory and PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) satellites, launches from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. SPHEREx will use its telescope to provide an all-sky spectral survey, creating a 3D map of the entire sky to help scientists investigate the origins of our universe. PUNCH will study origins of the Sun’s outflow of material, or the solar wind, capturing continuous 3D images of the Sun’s corona and the solar wind’s journey into the solar system. Credit: NASA/Jim Ross
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NASA’s SPHEREx mission has successfully communicated with Earth, marking the start of an ambitious journey to map the cosmos. Over the next two years, the telescope will scan the entire sky, gathering data from over 450 million galaxies and 100 million stars to unlock the universe’s origins.
NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) mission has successfully established communication with Earth, confirming that the spacecraft is operating as expected and generating power.
In the coming weeks, the SPHEREx team will prepare the observatory for its science mission. This includes calibrating its instruments, cooling the telescope to its optimal operating temperature, and assessing its optical performance in space.
A Mission to Unravel the Universe’s Origins
Over its planned two-year mission, SPHEREx will survey more than 450 million galaxies and over 100 million stars in the Milky Way. By studying the origins of the universe, it will contribute to NASA’s broader goal of uncovering cosmic mysteries and searching for conditions that could support life elsewhere.
A 3D Map of the Cosmos
The mission’s 3D all-sky map will help scientists answer big-picture questions about the universe. The mission will investigate a cosmic phenomenon called inflation that caused the universe to expand rapidly for a fraction of a second after the big bang, measure the collective glow created by galaxies near and far, including hidden galaxies that have not been individually observed, and search the Milky Way galaxy for hidden reservoirs of water, carbon dioxide, and other essential ingredients for life.
A New Era of Space Exploration
The SPHEREx mission’s ability to scan large sections of the sky quickly and gather data on millions of objects complements the work of more targeted telescopes, like NASA’s Hubble and James Webb, and the observatory’s data will be freely available to scientists around the world, providing a new encyclopedia of information about hundreds of millions of cosmic objects.
It’s so strange that I only became aware of this telescope today.
That name — epic signage.
Launched on March 11 — the 70th day of the year.
Nice touch!
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