Science AMA Series: We are scientists working on the first-ever NASA
mission dedicated to studying pulsars, the ‘weird’ stellar objects that
were accidentally discovered 50 years ago. Ask Us Anything!
Abstract
That’s all we have time to answer now! Thanks for all your pulsar
related questions. You can stay up-to-date on the mission here:
https://www.nasa.gov/nicer. And learn more technical information about
NICER here: https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/nicer/. Pulsars are
rotating “lighthouse” neutron stars that began their lives as stars
between about seven and 20 times the mass of our sun. They spin hundreds
of times per second, faster than the blades of a household blender and
they possess enormously strong magnetic fields, trillions of times
stronger than Earth’s. For the first time, NASA has a mission to study
pulsars using X-ray technology to uncover mysteries of the cosmos while
paving the way for future space exploration. This two-in-one mission is
called NICER-SEXTANT and it’s currently aboard the International Space
Station. NICER (the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer) uses 56
telescopes to study the structure, dynamics and energetics of these
spinning neutron stars. What makes up their cores is not known, but if
these super-dense objects were compressed much further they’d collapse
into black holes. SEXTANT (the Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and
Navigation Technology) uses NICER’s observations to test - for the first
time in space – technology that uses pulsars to create a GPS-like
system. This technology could support spacecraft navigation throughout
the solar system, enabling deep-space exploration in the future. More
background:
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/nasa-continues-to-study-pulsars-50-years-after-their-chance-discovery
Read about five famous pulsars from the past 50 years:
https://nasa.tumblr.com/post/163637443034/five-famous-pulsars-from-the-past-50-years
We are: · Dr. Keith Gendreau – NICER Principal Investigator,
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center · Dr. Zaven Arzoumanian – NICER
Science Lead, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center · Dr. Craig Markwardt
– NICER Calibration Lead & Neutron Star Scientist, NASA’s Goddard
Space Flight Center · Dr. Luke Winternitz – SEXTANT Systems Architect,
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center · Dr. Jason Mitchell – SEXTANT
Project Manager, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center · Dr. Rita Sambruna
– NICER Program Scientist, NASA Headquarters · Dr. Stefan Immler –
NICER Deputy Program Scientist, NASA Headquarters · Dr. Slavko Bogdanov
– Pulsar/Neutron star Scientist, Columbia University Communications
Support: · Aries Keck – NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center · Clare
Skelly – NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center · Claire Saravia – NASA’s
Goddard Space Flight Center · Dr. Barb Mattson – NASA’s Goddard Space
Flight Center · Sara Mitchell – NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Don’t forget to follow the NICER mission at www.nasa.gov/nicer and
@NASAGoddard on Twitter and Facebook!