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Cosmic Rays and Supernova Du
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| Title |
Cosmic Rays and Supernova Dust |
| Explanation |
Cosmic Rays [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/topics/snr_group /cosmic_rays.html ] are celestial high energy particles traveling at nearly the speed of light, which constantly bombard the Earth. Discovered during [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961016.html ] high altitude balloon flights in 1912 their source has been a long standing mystery. But a recent theory suggests [ ftp://pao.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/pao/releases/1998/98-083.htm ] that cosmic ray particles are atomic nuclei [ http://cst.lanl.gov/CST/imagemap/periodic/periodic.html ] blasted from dust grains formed in supernovae, the death explosions of massive stars. This artist's illustration shows [ ftp://PAO.GSFC.NASA.GOV/newsmedia/CRT/EJECTA.TXT ] a supernova explosion (at left) and a conical section of the expanding cloud of ejected material. Atoms are torn from the brownish bands of "dust" [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980104.html ] material by shock waves (represented by orange rings). The shocks in the expanding blast wave [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980217.html ] then accelerate the atoms to near light speeds firing them into interstellar space like cosmic bullets. The theory is supported by observations indicating that high velocity dust was formed in the nearby supernova 1987A [ http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~soper/StarDeath/sn1987a.html ], and that Beryllium, a light element created in Cosmic Ray collisions, is found equally in both old an young stars. NASA's Advanced Composition Explorer [ http://www.srl.caltech.edu/ACE/ ] (ACE) satellite can also test details of the theory by directly measuring Cosmic Rays. |
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Workers from the Johns Hopki
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| Description |
Workers from the Johns Hopkins University?s Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) install the Cosmic Ray Isotope Spectrometer (CRIS) on the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft in KSC?s Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility-2 (SAEF-2). From left, are Al Sadilek, Marcos Gonzalez and Cliff Willey. CRIS is one of nine instruments on ACE, which will investigate the origin and evolution of solar phenomenon, the formation of the solar corona, solar flares and the acceleration of the solar wind. ACE was developed for NASA by the APL. The spacecraft is scheduled to be launched Aug. 21 aboard a two-stage Delta II 7920-8 rocket from Space Launch Complex 17, Pad A |
| Release Date |
07/02/1997 |
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Applied Physics Laboratory e
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| Description |
Applied Physics Laboratory engineers and technicians from Johns Hopkins University test solar array deployment of the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) in KSC?s Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility-II (SAEF-II). The wire hanging from the ceiling above the black solar array panel is used for "g-negation," which takes the weight off of the panel?s hinges to simulate zero gravity, mimicking deployment in space. Scheduled for launch on a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Station on Aug. 25, ACE will study low-energy particles of solar origin and high-energy galactic particles. The collecting power of instruments aboard ACE is 10 to 1,000 times greater than anything previously flown to collect similar data by NASA |
| Release Date |
07/24/1997 |
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Prelaunch processing begins
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| Description |
Prelaunch processing begins on the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft in the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility-2 (SAEF-2). ACE will investigate the origin and evolution of solar phenomenon, the formation of the solar corona, solar flares and the acceleration of the solar wind. ACE was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. The spacecraft is scheduled to be launched Aug. 21 aboard a two-stage Delta II 7920-8 rocket from Space Launch Complex 17, Pad A |
| Release Date |
06/16/1997 |
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Workers in the Spacecraft As
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| Description |
Workers in the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility-2 (SAEF-2) begin prelaunch processing of the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) which will investigate the origin and evolution of solar phenomenon, the formation of the solar corona, solar flares and the acceleration of the solar wind. ACE was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. The spacecraft is scheduled to be launched Aug. 21 aboard a two-stage Delta II 7920-8 rocket from Space Launch Complex 17, Pad A |
| Release Date |
06/16/1997 |
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