by A new NASA project allows Instagram users to experience the wonders of the universe as seen by the Chandra X-ray Observatory and other space telescopes. It’s an augmented reality (AR) filter called the “Instagram experience” that takes beautiful celestial bodies and puts them on camera right next to you.
This includes the wreckage of stars that have been destroyed in massive supernova explosions and dense clouds of cosmic gas and dust in which the stars are actively accreting. The AR filter has been added to Instagram to help celebrate the 25th anniversary of Chandra, NASA’s flagship X-ray space telescope, which was launched on July 23, 1999.
To use the Chandra Instagram experience, search for the “NASACHandraXray” account. Select the effects options (the tab that looks like three four-pointed stars) and choose the one you want. Then, you can save the effect to your camera and apply it to your stories, or you can select the “Try it” button for immediate access.
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“We are excited to bring data from Earth down to Earth in this way,” Kimberly Arcand, Chandra X-ray Center visualization and emerging technology scientist, said in a statement. “It enables people to access cosmic data on their phones and through AR with Chandra’s amazing discoveries at your fingertips.”
What heavenly bodies can you bring down to Earth?
The Instagram experience was generated using 3D models created from Chandra data and observations from other telescopes. Targeting those cosmic muses also required a bit of mathematical modeling.
3D modeling of such objects, usually seen as 2D projections of the celestial sphere above the Earth, is only possible in recent years thanks to new tools and techniques. This has resulted in an explosion in the sophistication of data-driven 3D models of distant celestial bodies.
As this technology has boomed, so have the opportunities offered to the public through virtual, extended and augmented reality. This program extends those experiences beyond the solar system. He applies these innovative concepts to the depths of the cosmos.
We won’t spoil all the celestial bodies you can experience with this new NASA program. You’ll want to explore for yourself. However, we will provide you with some objects to get you started.
The Vela pulsar appears as a pair of brilliant purple arcs with a faint bar running through their centers. When you grab hold of this object and drag it from its home 1,000 light years away, you will see a neutron star that was formed when a massive star collapsed.
Although this neutron star is only about 12 miles (20 kilometers) across, it has a mass of about twice the mass of the Sun. That means that the material there is so dense that a tablespoon of it brought to Earth would be more than 1 billion tons. That is heavier than Mount Everest.
The Vela pulsar is spinning so fast it completes 11 rotations per second. That means it flaps around faster than helicopter blades. And, as it does so, it blasts jets out of poles at about 70% the speed of light. These beams create an almost annual light sweep across the globe.
The birth of a neutron star like the one at the heart of the Vela pulsar is accompanied by a massive cosmic explosion called a supernova that tears a massive star apart as the star’s core collapses.
NASA’s new Instagram experience allows users to explore one of the most striking examples of such a star’s death.
The Tycho supernova remnant, also known as SN 1572 or B Cassiopeiae (B Cas), is the name given to a supernova wreckage located between 8,000 and 10,000 light years from Earth. This supernova was observed for the first time in 1572, and this supernova is named after one of its discoverers, the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. This is believed to be a Type Ia supernova, which is slightly different than the explosions that mark the birth of a neutron star.
Type Ia supernovae occur when stellar remnants known as white dwarfs pull material away from a companion star. This material builds up on the white dwarf until it triggers a nuclear explosion that completely destroys the stellar remnant.
The Instagram experience also features the remains of other dead stars. This is found in the form of the Helix Nebula, an expanding cloud of interstellar material located about 650 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius.
The Helix Nebula is an example of a planetary nebula (which has nothing to do with planets), an expanding shell of gas and dust that was once the outer layers of a dying star. At the heart of this matter, marked in the Chandra image as a purple blob, is the core of a throwing star.
The Cat’s Eye Nebula is also a planetary nebula, although it is located further away from Earth in the Draco constellation 3,262 light years away. This planetary nebula can be seen in exquisite detail, revealing intricate spirals of dust and gas and expanding shells of what was once material.
It’s not all about the visuals with this NASA Instagram experience, though. The program also contains cosmic data transformed into sound through a process called “sonification.” This was made possible as part of Chandra’s accessibility program which has been running for the past four years.
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— These supernovas are kicking up a storm, fueling cosmic life and death
This isn’t the first time NASA has teamed up with Instagram to create a space-based experience. Users of the social media platform have previously been able to explore the inner workings of NASA mission control, travel to low-Earth orbit with the International Space Station (ISS) and traverse Mars with the Endurance rover.
“These Chandra Instagram experiences are another way to share this cosmic data with the public,” said Arcand. “We hope this will help reach new audiences, especially those who like to get their information through social media.”
