A new NASA project lets Instagram users experience the wonders of space as seen by the Chandra X-ray Observatory and other space telescopes. It’s an Augmented Reality (AR) filter called the «Instagram Experience» that captures incredibly beautiful celestial bodies and puts them right next to you on camera.
These include the wreckage of stars that were destroyed in massive supernova explosions and the dense clouds of cosmic gas and dust where stars are actively being forged. The AR filter was added to Instagram to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Chandra, NASA’s flagship X-ray space telescope, which was launched on July 23, 1999.
To use the Instagram Chandra 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. You can then save the effect to your camera roll and apply it to your stories, or you can select the «Try it» button for instant access.
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«We are excited to transmit data from space to Earth in this way,» Kimberly Arcand, a visualization and technology development scientist at the Chandra X-ray Center, said in a statement. «Enabling people to access cosmic data on their phones and through AR brings Chandra’s incredible discoveries literally at their fingertips.»
Which celestial bodies can you bring down to Earth?
The Instagram experience was generated using 3D models created from Chandra data and observations from other telescopes. A bit of mathematical modeling was also required to bring these cosmic muses into focus.
Such 3D modeling of objects, which is 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 grown. This program extends those experiences beyond the solar system. It applies this innovative concept 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 do your own research. However, we will offer you a few facilities to get you started.
The Vela pulsar is seen as a stunning pair of purple arcs with a faint streak running through their centers. When you grab this object and drag it from its resting place 1000 light years away, you will actually see a neutron star that was formed by the collapse of a massive star.
Although this neutron star is only about 12 miles (20 kilometers) wide, it has about twice the mass of the Sun. This means that the substance it contains is so dense that one tablespoon brought to Earth would weigh over a billion tons. That’s harder than Mount Everest.
The Vela pulsar spins so fast that it completes 11 rotations per second. This means that it spins faster than the blades of a helicopter. And as it does so, it ejects jets from the poles at about 70% the speed of light. These rays create a nearly one light-year long sweep across space.
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 the massive star apart as the star’s core collapses.
NASA’s new Instagram experience gives users a chance to explore one of the most striking examples of such stellar deaths.
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. First observed in 1572, this supernova was named after one of its discoverers, the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. It 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 drag material away from the companion star. This material accumulates on the white dwarf until it causes a nuclear explosion that completely destroys the rest of the star.
The Instagram experience also contains the remains of another dead star. This is found in the form of the Helix Nebula, an expanding cloud of stellar material 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 envelope of gas and dust that was once the outer layers of a dying star. At the center of this material, marked in the Chandra image as a purple blob, is the star’s core that causes tantrums
The Cat’s Eye Nebula is also a planetary nebula, although it is located 3,262 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Dragon. This planetary nebula can be seen in exquisite detail, revealing tangled spirals of dust and gas and expanding shells of what was once stellar material.
However, it’s not all about the visualization of this NASA Instagram experience. The program also contains cosmic data converted to sound through a process called «sonification». This has been made possible as part of the Chandra accessibility program which has been running for the last four years.
This isn’t the first time NASA has teamed up with Instagram to create a space experience. Users of the social media platform have already been able to explore the inner workings of NASA’s Mission Control, travel into low Earth orbit with the International Space Station (ISS) and drive around Mars with the Perseverance rover.
«These Chandra Instagram experiences are another way to share this cosmic data with the public,» Arcand said. «We hope this will help us reach a new audience, especially those who like to get information through social media.»