Space News & Blog Articles

Humanity is in a back-and-forth relationship with nature. First, we thought we were at the center of everything, with the Sun and the entire cosmos rotating around our little planet. We eventually realized that wasn’t true. Over the centuries, we’ve found that though Earth and life might be rare, our Sun is pretty normal, our Solar System is relatively non-descript, and even our galaxy is one of the billions of spiral galaxies, a type that makes up 60% of the galaxies in the Universe.

But the Illustris TNG simulation shows that the Milky Way is special.

Illustris TNG is an ongoing series of large-scale simulations. The goal is to understand the mechanisms behind galaxy formation and evolution. The effort is a “series of large, cosmological magnetohydrodynamical simulations,” according to the Illustris TNG website. So far, the project has produced three primary runs, each one larger and higher resolution than the previous one: TNG 50, TNG 100, and TNG 300. Each run also focuses on various aspects of galaxy formation. TNG 300 is the largest, simulating a region of almost 300 million megaparsecs, over a billion light-years across, and containing millions of galaxies.

New research based on Illustris TNG shows that the Milky Way is special. But it’s not special purely for its intrinsic qualities. It’s special in relation to its surroundings.

The findings are in a new paper based on Illustris TNG 300 published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The title is “The unusual Milky Way-local sheet system: implications for spin strength and alignment.” The lead researcher is Miguel Aragón, a computational cosmologist and assistant professor at the National Astronomical Observatory, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.

In 2033, NASA and China plan to send the first crewed missions to Mars. These missions will launch every two years when Earth and Mars are at the closest points in their orbits (Mars Opposition). It will take these missions six to nine months to reach the Red Planet using conventional technology. This means that astronauts could spend up to a year and a half in microgravity, followed by months of surface operations in Martian gravity (roughly 40% of Earth gravity). This could have drastic consequences for astronaut health, including muscle atrophy, bone density loss, and psychological effects.

Aboard the International Space Station (ISS), astronauts maintain a strict exercise regimen to mitigate these effects. However, astronauts will not have the same option while in transit to Mars since their vehicles (the Orion spacecraft) have significantly less volume. To address this challenge, Professor Marni Boppart and her colleagues at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology are developing a process using regenerative cells. This work could help ensure that astronauts arrive at Mars healthy, hearty, and ready to explore!

Boppart is a professor of kinesiology and community health at the Beckman Institute and the College of Applied Health Sciences (CAHS) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Before joining UIUC, Boppart was an officer and aerospace physiologist with the U.S. Air Force who specialized in high-altitude health hazards. Her current research is focused on muscle loss and gain at the molecular level, which she hopes will lead to strategies for recovering strength in circumstances where mobility and exercise are limited.

A cut-away graphic of the Orion Crew Module. Credit: NASA

This situation presents problems considering the impact time spent in microgravity can have on the human body. These physiological effects are well-documented thanks to ongoing studies aboard the ISS, such as NASA’s famous Twins Study. As Boppart related in a recent Beckman Institute press release:

A rare ‘green’ comet is passing through our Solar System and astrophotographers have been out capturing photos. While this comet, named C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is not yet visible yet to the naked eye, it could be when it makes its closest approach to Earth on February 1, but you’ll likely need to be in a very dark site. As of now, you’ll need a telescope or binoculars to see it for yourself. The images here are taken with several minutes of exposure time.

This comet has been dubbed the “Green Comet” because of its greenish hue. Professor Paul Wiegert from Western University in Canada said that comets contain carbon-bearing molecules, which break down under ultraviolet light from the Sun. This produces, among other things, dicarbon molecules which produce the eerie green glow associated with some comets.

Our lead photo comes from photographer Chris Schur from Arizona, and he points out that the comet has a rare sun-ward pointing anti-tail. 

“The gas tail is the bluish white ray extending to the left,” Schur explained via email. “The broad fan-like dust tail is pointing downward and is a lovely golden yellow hue.  The amazing anti tail is pointing to the right and is also a beautiful golden hue as well.”

Chris said he carefully processed the head region of the comet so it clearly shows the star-like nucleus of the comet surrounded by a teal-green glow from ionized carbon atoms.