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ExploreAstro at Caltech IPAC

@exploreastro.bsky.social
344 followers 222 following 28 posts

Sharing out-of-this-world astrophysics with our on-this-world audience. Brought to you by @caltechipac.bsky.social.

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ExploreAstro at Caltech IPAC @exploreastro.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
The 2nd image shows the same region of the sky, but in three wavelengths chosen (from the 102 total viewed by SPHEREx) to highlight the glow of stars in the disk of the Milky Way. The wavelengths of 0.8, 1.63, and 2.6 microns have been assigned to the colors blue, green, and red.
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ExploreAstro at Caltech IPAC @exploreastro.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
The first image shows the chemical signatures of water ice (shown in bright blue) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (orange) in Cygnus X, one of the most active and turbulent regions of star birth in our Milky Way galaxy.
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ExploreAstro at Caltech IPAC @exploreastro.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
NASA's SPHEREx mission is mapping 'interstellar glaciers' across our galaxy, and these icy regions may be the origins of glaciers—and all water—on Earth 💧 spherex.caltech.edu/news/interst... 🧪 🔭 🧵
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ExploreAstro at Caltech IPAC @exploreastro.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Amaze! Amaze! Amaze! 🪨 🎶 🎵 @caltechipac.bsky.social scientist Catherine Clark was quoted in a @physicstoday.aip.org article about the science behind the book and recently released movie Project Hail Mary. Check out her quote about Rocky's home planet here: physicstoday.aip.org/news/science... 🔭⚛️🧪
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ExploreAstro at Caltech IPAC @exploreastro.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
A green-tinted double whammy: it's St. Patrick's Day & #MessierMarathon week! 💚 Messier 81 is a sight to behold in this image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. In the night sky, M81 is visible with binoculars! (but it won't look green like in this infrared image 😉) 🔭 🧵 1/3
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ExploreAstro at Caltech IPAC @exploreastro.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
This wobbly, energetic black hole is the first of its kind, and its discovery offers new insights into how galaxies evolve: www.ipac.caltech.edu/news/astrono... 🔭 🧪 ⚛️
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ExploreAstro at Caltech IPAC @exploreastro.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
"It's like seeing 2-year-old children act like teenagers" Astronomers have captured the most detailed look yet at faraway galaxies at the peak of their youth, an active time when the adolescent galaxies were hastily producing new stars. Read more: www.ipac.caltech.edu/news/young-g... 🔭 🧪 ⚛️
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ExploreAstro at Caltech IPAC @exploreastro.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
Anyone hungry for a pizza pie on #PiDay? This galaxy’s warped shape reminds us of pizza dough being flung in the air by a chef! 🍕 Galaxy ESO 510-G13 lies in the southern constellation Hydra, some 150 million light-years from Earth. Read more about it on AstroPix: www.astropix.org/image/stsci/...
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ExploreAstro at Caltech IPAC @exploreastro.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
#CountdownToLaunch: Meet Daphne 💻 @lunartrailblazer.bsky.social is lucky to have many amazing interns working on the mission. Daphne Nea is a student at Pasadena City College studying computer science, and she is helping to launch a satellite to the Moon! Stay tuned for more LTB content!
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ExploreAstro at Caltech IPAC @exploreastro.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
#CountdownToLaunch: Meet Lunar Trailblazer 🌙 Dr. Bethany Ehlmann introduces us to the @lunartrailblazer.bsky.social primary science goals. Stay tuned for more LTB content as we #CountdownToLaunch with @caltechipac.bsky.social !
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ExploreAstro at Caltech IPAC @exploreastro.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
It’s #SuperBowlSunday! Throwback to when @ucf.bsky.social highlighted NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope in their SpaceU uniforms. Who knew astronomy and football could go so well together? ucfknights.exposure.co/mission-vi-i...
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ExploreAstro at Caltech IPAC @exploreastro.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
#CountdownToLaunch: Lunar Trailblazer up close 🔎 This animation shows the period reduction phase when @lunartrailblazer.bsky.social is slowing down and settling into its science orbit around the Moon. Stay tuned for more LTB content as we #CountdownToLaunch with @caltechipac.bsky.social !
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ExploreAstro at Caltech IPAC @exploreastro.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
#OTD in 2020, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope mission officially ended. The spacecraft was put into safe mode after 16+ years of observing the universe in the infrared, laying the groundwork for missions like NASA's JWST. Learn more about its #astro legacy: www.spitzer.caltech.edu/news/ssc2020...
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