{"id":194044,"date":"2025-04-02T02:55:32","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T16:55:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?p=842945"},"modified":"2025-04-02T02:55:32","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T16:55:32","slug":"nasas-spherex-takes-first-images-preps-to-study-millions-of-galaxies-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=194044","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s SPHEREx Takes First Images, Preps to Study Millions of Galaxies"},"content":{"rendered":"
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5 min read<\/p>\n

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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NASA\u2019s SPHEREx, which will map millions of galaxies across the entire sky, captured one of its first exposures March 27. The observatory\u2019s six detectors each captured one of these uncalibrated images, to which visible-light colors have been added to represent infrared wavelengths. SPHEREx\u2019s complete field of view spans the top three images; the same area of the sky is also captured in the bottom three images. <\/div>\n
NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Processed with rainbow hues to represent a range of infrared wavelengths, the new pictures indicate the astrophysics space observatory is working as expected.<\/em><\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s SPHEREx (short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) has turned on its detectors for the first time in space. Initial images from the observatory, which launched March 11, confirm that all systems are working as expected.<\/p>\n

Although the new images are uncalibrated and not yet ready to use for science, they give a tantalizing look at SPHEREx\u2019s wide view of the sky. Each bright spot is a source of light, like a star or galaxy, and each image is expected to contain more than 100,000 detected sources.<\/p>\n

There are six images in every SPHEREx exposure \u2014 one for each detector. The top three images show the same area of sky as the bottom three images. This is the observatory\u2019s full field of view, a rectangular area about 20 times wider than the full Moon. When SPHEREx begins routine science operations in late April, it will take approximately 600 exposures every day.<\/p>\n

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Each image in this uncalibrated SPHEREx exposure contains about 100,000 light sources, including stars and galaxies. The two insets at right zoom in on sections of one image, showcasing the telescope\u2019s ability to capture faint, distant galaxies. These sections are processed in grayscale rather than visible-light color for ease of viewing.<\/div>\n
NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cOur spacecraft has opened its eyes on the universe,\u201d said Olivier Dor\u00e9, SPHEREx<\/a> project scientist at Caltech and NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, both in Southern California. \u201cIt\u2019s performing just as it was designed to.\u201d<\/p>\n

The SPHEREx observatory detects infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye. To make these first images, science team members assigned a visible color to every infrared wavelength captured by the observatory. Each of the six SPHEREx detectors has 17 unique wavelength bands, for a total of 102 hues in every six-image exposure.<\/p>\n

Breaking down color this way can reveal the composition of an object or the distance to a galaxy. With that data, scientists can study topics ranging from the physics that governed the universe less than a second after its birth to the origins of water in our galaxy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the high point of spacecraft checkout; it\u2019s the thing we wait for,\u201d said Beth Fabinsky, SPHEREx deputy project manager at JPL. \u201cThere\u2019s still work to do, but this is the big payoff. And wow! Just wow!\u201d<\/p>\n

During the past two weeks, scientists and engineers at JPL, which manages the mission for NASA, have executed a series of spacecraft checks that show all is well so far. In addition, SPHEREx\u2019s detectors and other hardware have been cooling down to their final temperature of around minus 350 degrees Fahrenheit (about minus 210 degrees Celsius). This is necessary because heat can overwhelm the telescope\u2019s ability to detect infrared light, which is sometimes called heat radiation. The new images also show that the telescope is focused correctly. Focusing is done entirely before launch and cannot be adjusted in space.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on the images we are seeing, we can now say that the instrument team nailed it,\u201d said Jamie Bock, SPHEREx\u2019s principal investigator at Caltech and JPL.<\/p>\n

How It Works<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Where telescopes like NASA\u2019s Hubble and James Webb space telescopes were designed to target small areas of space in detail, SPHEREx is a survey telescope and takes a broad view. Combining its results with those of targeted telescopes will give scientists a more robust understanding of our universe.<\/p>\n

The observatory will map the entire celestial sky four times during its two-year prime mission. Using a technique called spectroscopy<\/a>, SPHEREx will collect the light from hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies in more wavelengths any other all-sky survey telescope.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tTrack SPHEREx with NASA's Eyes on the Solar System<\/span>
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When light enters SPHEREx\u2019s telescope, it\u2019s directed down two paths that each lead to a row of three detectors. The observatory\u2019s detectors are like eyes, and set on top of them are color filters, which are like color-tinted glasses. While a standard color filter blocks all wavelengths but one, like yellow- or rose-tinted glasses, the SPHEREx filters are more like rainbow-tinted glasses: The wavelengths they block change gradually from the top of the filter to the bottom.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m rendered speechless,\u201d said Jim Fanson, SPHEREx project manager at JPL. \u201cThere was an incredible human effort to make this possible, and our engineering team did an amazing job getting us to this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

More About SPHEREx<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The SPHEREx mission is managed by JPL for the agency\u2019s Astrophysics Division within the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. BAE Systems (formerly Ball Aerospace) built the telescope and the spacecraft bus. The science analysis of the SPHEREx data will be conducted by a team of scientists located at 10 institutions in the U.S., two in South Korea, and one in Taiwan. Caltech managed and integrated the instrument. Data will be processed and archived at IPAC<\/a> at Caltech. The mission\u2019s principal investigator is based at Caltech with a joint JPL appointment. The SPHEREx dataset will be publicly available at the NASA-IPAC Infrared Science Archive<\/a>. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.<\/p>\n

For more about SPHEREx, visit:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/spherex\/<\/a><\/p>\n

News Media Contact<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Calla Cofield
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
626-808-2469
calla.e.cofield@jpl.nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n

2025-045<\/p>\n

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