Nov 6 2014

From The Space Library

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Current revision

RELEASE 14-310 NASA Rocket Experiment Finds the Universe Brighter Than We Thought

A NASA sounding rocket experiment has detected a surprising surplus of infrared light in the dark space between galaxies, a diffuse cosmic glow as bright as all known galaxies combined. The glow is thought to be from orphaned stars flung out of galaxies.

The findings redefine what scientists think of as galaxies. Galaxies may not have a set boundary of stars, but instead stretch out to great distances, forming a vast, interconnected sea of stars.

Observations from the Cosmic Infrared Background Experiment, or CIBER, are helping settle a debate on whether this background infrared light in the universe, previously detected by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, comes from these streams of stripped stars too distant to be seen individually, or alternatively from the first galaxies to form in the universe.

"We think stars are being scattered out into space during galaxy collisions," said Michael Zemcov, lead author of a new paper describing the results from the rocket project and an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. "While we have previously observed cases where stars are flung from galaxies in a tidal stream, our new measurement implies this process is widespread."

Using suborbital sounding rockets, which are smaller than those that carry satellites to space and are ideal for short experiments, CIBER captured wide-field pictures of the cosmic infrared background at two infrared wavelengths shorter than those seen by Spitzer. Because our atmosphere itself glows brightly at these particular wavelengths of light, the measurements can only be done from space.

"It is wonderfully exciting for such a small NASA rocket to make such a huge discovery," said Mike Garcia, program scientist from NASA Headquarters. “Sounding rockets are an important element in our balanced toolbox of missions from small to large.”

During the CIBER flights, the cameras launch into space, then snap pictures for about seven minutes before transmitting the data back to Earth. Scientists masked out bright stars and galaxies from the pictures and carefully ruled out any light coming from more local sources, such as our own Milky Way galaxy. What's left is a map showing fluctuations in the remaining infrared background light, with splotches that are much bigger than individual galaxies. The brightness of these fluctuations allows scientists to measure the total amount of background light.

To the surprise of the CIBER team, the maps revealed a dramatic excess of light beyond what comes from the galaxies. The data showed that this infrared background light has a blue spectrum, which means it increases in brightness at shorter wavelengths. This is evidence the light comes from a previously undetected population of stars between galaxies. Light from the first galaxies would give a spectrum of colors that is redder than what was seen.

"The light looks too bright and too blue to be coming from the first generation of galaxies," said James Bock, principal investigator of the CIBER project from Caltech and JPL. "The simplest explanation, which best explains the measurements, is that many stars have been ripped from their galactic birthplace, and that the stripped stars emit on average about as much light as the galaxies themselves."

Future experiments can test whether stray stars are indeed the source of the infrared cosmic glow. If the stars were tossed out from their parent galaxies, they should still be located in the same vicinity. The CIBER team is working on better measurements using more infrared colors to learn how stripping of stars happened over cosmic history.

Results from two of four CIBER flights, both of which launched from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico in 2010 and 2012, appear Friday, Nov. 7 in the journal Science.

Caltech manages JPL for NASA. The work was supported by NASA, with initial support provided by JPL's Director's Research and Development Fund. Japanese participation in CIBER was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Korean participation in CIBER was supported by the Korean Astronomy and Space Science Institute."

MEDIA ADVISORY M14-188 NASA’s Orion Spacecraft Set to Roll out to Launch Pad for its First Flight

At 4:30 p.m. EST, NASA Television will air a news briefing live from the LASF before Orion’s move. Participants in the briefing include:

• Robert Cabana, Kennedy Space Center director
• Ellen Ochoa, Johnson Space Center director
• Mark Geyer, Orion Program manager
• Mike Hawes, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company director of Human Space Flight Programs

Media should arrive at Kennedy’s Press Site at 3:45 p.m. to be escorted to the briefing. Following the briefing, media will be escorted back to the Press Site at approximately 5 p.m. The spacecraft will start its journey to the launch pad at 8 p.m. The rollout will not be carried live on NASA TV, but highlights of the move will air on NASA TV's Video File segments and the agency's website starting Tuesday morning, Nov. 11.

Media should arrive at the Press Site at 7 p.m. Monday to be escorted to the LASF at 7:30 p.m. Following the beginning of the move, media will be escorted back to the Press Site at approximately 8:30 p.m.

Around 10 p.m., the spacecraft will stop in front of Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building for a photo opportunity.

The spacecraft is expected to reach Space Launch Complex 37 at approximately 2 a.m., Tuesday. Media will be escorted to the launch pad at 1 a.m. Following the arrival, media will be escorted back to the press site at approximately 2:30 a.m. The Kennedy newsroom will close no later than 4 a.m.

Badges will be available for pickup at the Press Accreditation Office located on State Road 3. Hours will be from 3 to 7 p.m. Monday.

All media must present two current forms of legal, government identification to enter Kennedy. One form must be a photo ID, such as a passport or driver's license.