[HN Gopher] Supernova Remnant Video from NASA's Chandra Is Decad...
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Supernova Remnant Video from NASA's Chandra Is Decades in Making
Author : dylan604
Score : 56 points
Date : 2026-01-08 17:50 UTC (5 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.nasa.gov)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.nasa.gov)
| tocs3 wrote:
| Astronomical time lapses are fascinating and there should be
| more.
| dylan604 wrote:
| you are free to create your own as NASA observatories release
| their imagery free to the public as they were paid for with the
| public's money from taxes. the problem with creating timelapse
| videos would be if the platform viewed the same object at least
| annually to see the changes.
| zelon88 wrote:
| Part of the reason you don't see them more is because
| commercial satellite mega-constellations (like Starlink) work
| against long exposure times by literally clouding and
| brightening our view of space. (1)
|
| 1) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09759-5
| dylan604 wrote:
| Not really sure how this has anything to do with space based
| platforms like Chandra (which is x-ray) and Hubble which is
| well above Starlink. Also, Starlink is only a couple of years
| old to be _problematic_ , but the ground based observatories
| have had clean skies for decades before.
|
| This just really feels like someone trying to interject a pet
| peeve. Whether the peeve is valid or not, it's not the
| problem here.
| sawjet wrote:
| Astronomical objects that visibly change in human timescales
| are pretty rare. A naked-eye visible supernova remnant was one
| of the first clues that challenged the idea that the heavens
| were static, permanently set by God.
| jmward01 wrote:
| I love this. I want more of my tax dollars going here please. As
| Hank Green might say, we need to 'increase the awesome' more with
| stuff like this.
| zelon88 wrote:
| One of the main concerns of astronomers, and one of the
| benefits of Chandra and James Webb being in orbit aboard
| sattelites, is the prevelance of commercial sattelite
| constellations ruining the view of the cosmos. (1)
|
| 1) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09759-5
| ge96 wrote:
| reminder of our insignificance, time marches on
| toss1 wrote:
| Wow, a sense of 3D perspective and motion from 17,000 light years
| away! (and of course the background stars at a much greater
| distance)
| zelon88 wrote:
| I worked for the Chandra Operations Control Center in Burlington
| MA for a while. The team was a fascinating collaboration between
| Northrop Grumman, The Smithsonian, NASA, and Harvard.
|
| The telescope was launched into orbit in 1999 and has been a
| tremendous value to astrophysics. Although it is showing signs of
| it's age, and it is not as capable or cost effective to operate
| as the James Webb telescope; it still offers scientists much
| needed capacity and logistics capability that come with having
| two telescopes in orbit instead of just one.
|
| One of the fascinating parts about the telescope is it's
| resiliance and the dedication of the staff who control it. For
| example, to maximize the usable lifespan of the anti-radiation
| shielding, and to prevent radiation damage to sensitive features,
| the position of the craft is constantly being planned and
| adjusted relative to the sun to balance radiation exposure and
| maximize observation time at various targets. Much like telling a
| small child "don't stare directly at the sun" as they take in as
| much information about their surroundings as possible.
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(page generated 2026-01-08 23:01 UTC)