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The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT), located on Mount Graham in Arizona and run by the University of Arizona, is part of the next generation of extremely large telescopes (ELTs). With two primary mirrors measuring 8.4 m (~27.5 ft), it has a collecting area slightly greater than that of a 30-meter (98.4 ft) telescope. With their resolution, adaptive optics, and sophisticated instruments, these telescopes are expected to probe deeper into the Universe and provide stunning images of everything from distant galaxies to objects in our Solar System. An international team led by the University of Arizona recently acquired images of Jupiter’s moon Io that were the highest-resolution pictures ever taken by a ground-based telescope. The images revealed surface features measuring just 80 km (50 mi) across, a spatial resolution previously reserved for spacecraft. This includes NASA’s Juno mission, which has captured some of the most stunning images of Io’s volcanoes. These images were made possible by the LBT’s new SHARK-VIS instrument and the telescope’s adaptive optics system. The team was led by Al Conrad, an Associate Staff Scientist with the University of Arizona’s Department of Astronomy, the Stewart Observatory, and the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory (LBTO). He was joined by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, the California Institute of Technology, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Their paper, “Observation of Io’s Resurfacing via Plume Deposition Using Ground-Based Adaptive Optics at Visible Wavelengths With LBT SHARK-VIS (GRL),” and the LBT images are set to be published in the Geophysical Research Letters. The Large Binocular Telescope, showing the two imaging mirrors. Credit: NASA SHARK-VIS is a high-contrast optical coronagraphic imaging instrument designed and built at INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma. The instrument is fed by the refurbished LBT extreme Adaptive Optics system, called the Single conjugated adaptive Optics Upgrade for LBT (SOUL). It was installed in 2023 on the LBT along with the near-infrared instrument, SHARK-NIR, to take advantage of the telescope’s outstanding adaptive optics system. The key to the instrument is its fast, ultra-low-noise “fast imaging” camera that captures slow-motion footage that freezes the optical distortions caused by atmospheric interference. Gianluca Li Causi, the data processing manager for SHARK-VIS at the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics, explained how it works in a recent University of Arizona News release: “We process our data on the computer to remove any trace of the sensor’s electronic footprint. We then select the best frames and combine them using a highly efficient software package called Kraken, developed by our colleagues Douglas Hope and Stuart Jefferies from Georgia State University. Kraken allows us to remove atmospheric effects, revealing Io in incredible sharpness.” The SHARK-VIS image was so rich in detail that it allowed the researchers to identify a major resurfacing event around Pele, one of Io’s largest volcanoes located in the southern hemisphere near the equator (and named after the Hawaiin deity associated with fire and volcanoes). The image shows a plume deposit around Pele covered by eruption deposits from Pillan Patera, a neighboring volcano. NASA’s Galileo spacecraft observed a similar eruption sequence while exploring the Jupiter system between 1995 and 2003. However, this was the first time an Earth-based observatory took such detailed images. An artist’s concept of the interior of Io. Credit: Kelvinsong/Wikimedia “We interpret the changes as dark lava deposits and white sulfur dioxide deposits originating from an eruption at Pillan Patera, which partially cover Pele’s red, sulfur-rich plume deposit,” said co-author Ashley Davies, a principal scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “Before SHARK-VIS, such resurfacing events were impossible to observe from Earth.” Io is the innermost of Jupiter’s largest moons (aka. Galilean moons), which include Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Since NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft flew through the Jupiter system in 1979, scientists have been fascinated by Io and its volcanic features. Along with Europa and Ganymede, Io is locked in a 1:2:4 orbital resonance, where Europa makes two orbits for every orbit made by Ganymede, and Io makes four. Between its interaction with these moons and Jupiter’s powerful gravity, Io’s interior is constantly flexing, producing hot lava that erupts through the surface. While telescopes have taken infrared images that revealed hot spots caused by eruptions, they are not sharp enough to reveal surface details or identify the locations of the eruptions. By monitoring the eruptions on Io’s surface, scientists hope to gain insights into the tidal heating mechanism responsible for Io’s intense volcanism. “Io, therefore, presents a unique opportunity to learn about the mighty eruptions that helped shape the surfaces of the Earth and the moon in their distant pasts,” said Conrad. Studies like this one, he added, will help researchers understand why some planets have active volcanoes while others do not. For instance, while Venus is thought to still be volcanically active, Mars is home to the largest volcanoes in the Solar System but is inactive. These studies may also shed light on volcanic exoplanets someday, helping astronomers to identify geological activity on distant planets (a possible indication of habitability). SHARK-VIS instrument scientist Simone Antoniucci anticipates that it will enable new observations of objects throughout the Solar System with similar sharpness, revealing all manner of features that would otherwise require spacecraft.”The keen vision of SHARK-VIS is particularly suited to observing the surfaces of many solar system bodies, not only the moons of giant planets but also asteroids,” he said. “We have already observed some of those, with the data currently being analyzed, and are planning to observe more.” Further Reading: University of Arizona The post New Telescope Images of Io are so Good, it Looks like a Spacecraft Took Them appeared first on Universe Today.

Universe Today has recently investigated a plethora of scientific disciplines, including impact craters, planetary surfaces, exoplanets, astrobiology, solar physics, comets, planetary atmospheres, planetary geophysics, cosmochemistry, meteorites, radio astronomy, extremophiles, organic chemistry, black holes, and cryovolcanism, while conveying their importance of how each of them continues to teach researchers and the public about our place in the vast universe. Here, we investigate the field of planetary protection, which involves preventing Earth-born organisms from contaminating other worlds or interfering with scientific analyses on those worlds, along with preventing contamination to Earth from returned samples. To investigate this, we present a 2023 paper in Acta Astronautica with additional insights from the study’s lead author, Dr. Athena Coustenis, who serves as the Chair of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Panel on Planetary Protection (PPP), regarding what planetary protection can teach us about finding life beyond Earth, exciting aspects about planetary protection, and advice for upcoming students who wish to study planetary protection. The paper discusses the importance of planetary protection regarding space exploration, stating, “Planetary protection enables scientific return from solar system bodies investigations and at the same time protects life on Earth. As we continue to explore our solar system by landing machines and humans on other planets, we need to ascertain that we do not bring potentially dangerous material home to Earth or carry anything from Earth that may contaminate another planetary body and prevent scientific investigations.” The paper discusses in greater detail the COSPAR PPP and its primary goals, including offering advice or guidance to government or private space-faring organizations and ensuring extraterrestrial samples returned from outer space do not contaminate the Earth, and specifically its biosphere. Additionally, the paper discusses recent policy actions taken by the PPP for the continued exploration of the Moon, Mars, and icy moons such as Europa, Enceladus, and Titan. For the Moon, PPP recommended steps that need to be taken to prevent potential contamination of the permanently shadowed regions of the Moon, which are hypothesized to contain large quantities of water ice and are of significant interest for the upcoming Artemis missions. For Mars, the PPP focused on safeguarding more advanced scientific endeavors, including drilling, older areas of Mars that have yet to be explored, and sample return missions, to prevent contamination of potential scientific results and Earth’s biosphere, as well. For icy moons, which the paper notes as being “possible habitable environments”, the PPP has already expressed concerns about exploring these worlds with the Planetary Protection of the Outer Solar System (PPOOS), which was led by the European Science Foundation and funded by the European Commission and is in the process of seeking additional insights in the future. Therefore, with these intriguing worlds being considered for exploration, what can planetary protection teach us about finding life beyond Earth? Dr. Coustenis tells Universe Today, “Finding ways to preserve scientific research in our solar system helps the quest for finding life elsewhere and protecting our own biosphere during space exploration is essential for life on Earth. Working to that end with a large group of scientists, agency representatives and other expert stakeholders is one of the most rewarding activities in my career. The valuable outcome which represents thorough, long-term studies and reviews of knowledge is achieved through consensus and distributed to the large community. We are very excited to be able to offer such a service to the community via the COSPAR Panel on Planetary Protection.” Along with serving as Chair of the COSPAR PPP, Dr. Coustenis has extensive research experience regarding planetary surfaces and atmospheres, specifically outer solar system objects like Europa, Ganymede, Titan, and Enceladus, as these worlds are targets for future astrobiology research. Additionally, Dr. Coustenis’ research extends far beyond the solar system as she has helped distinguish and characterize exoplanetary atmospheres, as well. Regarding planetary protection, some notable publications include being a co-author on a March 2024 paper discussing planetary protection for a future crewed Mars mission and a 2023 paper discussing COSPAR requirements for exploring Venus. Given her knowledge and experience regarding planetary protection, what are some of the most exciting aspects about planetary protection that Dr. Coustenis has encountered during her career? Dr. Coustenis tells Universe Today, “We have recently worked on the Moon exploration requirements to preserve the poles and the regions where liquid water could be found at some periods of time and are currently working on the missions that will explore icy worlds, like the moons of our giant planets that harbor liquid water oceans underneath their surfaces, as well as organic chemistry and energy sources. These could be habitable environments that we need to explore with care.” As noted in the Acta Astronautica paper, the field of planetary protection requires international collaboration not only from a multitude of scientists, but also engineers, as they are the individuals responsible for building the spacecraft that are sent to far-off worlds for scientific exploration. Other disciplines that contribute to planetary protection include geology, physics, geophysics, biotechnology, astrobiology, biomedical, planetary science. It is through this constant collaboration of scientists, engineers, and medical professionals that planetary protection has successfully prevented contamination of planetary bodies outside the Earth, but also preventing contamination of the Earth from returned samples. Therefore, what advice can Dr. Coustenis offer to upcoming students who wish to pursue a career in planetary protection? Dr. Coustenis tells Universe Today, “Planetary protection offers the possibility to contribute coming from many different fields, scientific, engineering, economic or legal. We need all these varied points of view in order to accomplish adequate characterizations of space missions and related requirements and also to establish the real value of planetary protection, the enabling capacity of this tool and to spread the word about what we do and how others can contribute, in particular the younger generations. So, we encourage students and early-career space aficionados to join COSPAR and learn more about our work and that of other commissions and panels within its structure so as to be able also to position themselves and engage with the space community.” How will planetary protection teach us about our place in the cosmos in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science! As always, keep doing science & keep looking up! The post Planetary Protection: Why study it? What can it teach us about finding life beyond Earth? appeared first on Universe Today.

The following article, Democrats Turned Trump Into ‘America’s Nelson Mandela’, was first published on Conservative Firing Line. Remember what the Japanese Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto said after his airmen had destroyed Pearl Harbor and sent over 3,000 young Americans to their death in a sneak attack? His men cheered their resounding victory. But he solemnly stated, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant.” Like Pearl Harbor, May 30 … Continue reading Democrats Turned Trump Into ‘America’s Nelson Mandela’ ...

"He's like my God in a way". The post “A way of life”: Kurt Vile on the all-encompassing influence of cosmic poet Sun Ra first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

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