A new NASA project lets Instagram users 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 stunningly beautiful celestial bodies and places them right next to you on camera.
This includes the debris of stars that have been destroyed by massive supernova explosions and the dense clouds of gas and cosmic dust where stars are actively being forged. 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 select the one you want. You can then save the effect to your camera roll and apply it to your stories, or you can select the “Try” button for instant access.
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“We are excited to bring data from the universe to Earth in this way,” Kimberly Arcand, Chandra X-ray Center visualization and emerging technology scientist, said in a statement. “Enabling people to access cosmic data on their phones and through AR brings Chandra’s amazing discoveries literally to your fingertips.”
What heavenly bodies can you bring to Earth?
The Instagram experience was created using 3D models created from Chandra data and observations from other telescopes. A bit of mathematical modeling was also required to bring those cosmic muses into focus.
Such 3D modeling of objects, usually seen as 2D projections on the celestial sphere above the Earth, has become possible only in recent years thanks to new instruments and techniques. This has led to an explosion in the sophistication of data-driven 3D models of distant celestial bodies.
As this technology has boomed, the opportunities offered to the public through virtual, augmented and augmented reality have also blossomed. 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 on your own. However, we will provide you with some objects to get you started.
The Vela pulsar is seen as a pair of purple arcs with a faint band running through their centers. When you grab this object and pull it from its home 1,000 light years away, you will actually 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 about twice that of the sun. This means that the matter it contains is so dense that a tablespoon brought to Earth would weigh over 1 billion tons. It is heavier than Mount Everest.
Pulsar Vela is rotating so fast that it completes 11 revolutions per second. This means it spins faster than the blades of a helicopter. And as it does so, it blasts jets from the poles at about 70% the speed of light. These rays that create almost a light year long sweep the universe.
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 apart a massive star as the star’s core collapses.
NASA’s new Instagram experience gives users a chance to explore one of the most spectacular examples of such stellar deaths.
Tycho’s supernova remnant, also known as SN 1572 or B Cassiopeiae (B Cas), is the name given to supernova debris located between 8,000 and 10,000 light-years from Earth. First seen in 1572, 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 from the explosions that represent the birth of a neutron star.
Type Ia supernovae occur when stellar debris called white dwarfs pull material away from a companion star. This material accumulates on the white dwarf until it causes a nuclear explosion that completely destroys the stellar remnant.
The Instagram experience also features the remains of another dead star. This is found in the form of the Helix Nebula, an expanding cloud of stellar material located about 650 light-years away in the constellation of Aquarius.
The Helix Nebula is an example of a planetary nebula (which confusingly has nothing to do with planets), an expanding shell of gas and dust that were once the outer layers of a dying star. At the heart of this material, marked in the Chandra image as a purple blob, is an angry stellar core.
The Cat’s Eye Nebula is also a planetary nebula, although it is located 3,262 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Draco. This planetary nebula can be seen in exquisite detail, revealing twisted spirals of dust and gas and expanding shells of what was once stellar material.
However, it’s not all about the visuals with this NASA Instagram experience. The program also contains space data transformed into sound through a process called “sonification”. This was made possible as part of a Chandra accessibility program that has been running for the past four years.
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’s mission control, travel into low Earth orbit with the International Space Station (ISS) and zip through Mars with the Perseverance rover.
“These Chandra experiences on Instagram are another way to share this cosmic data with the public,” said Arcand. “We hope this will help reach new audiences, especially those who want to get their information through social media.”