Announcements

New Python API for KOA

Project News • October 14th, 2021

KOA has released a Python API that supports queries for public and protected raw science and calibration data for all active and retired instruments at the W. M. Keck Observatory.

NASA Confirms Roman Mission's Flight Design in Milestone Review

Project News • September 29th, 2021

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has successfully passed its critical design review, signaling that all design and developmental engineering work is now complete.

Navigating the Pandemic: Record Attendance AT NExScI’s Sagan Summer Workshop

Project News • September 23rd, 2021

In a world gone virtual due to a pandemic, the 2021 Sagan Summer Workshop (SSW) was a shining success. A record number of more than 800 mostly early-career astronomers from almost 60 countries participated in the 2021 fully-online workshop organized by the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute...

A New Understanding of Galaxy Evolution with NASA’s Roman Space Telescope

Project News • September 21st, 2021

When NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launches in the mid-2020s, it will revolutionize astronomy by providing a panoramic field of view at least 100 times greater than Hubble's at similar image sharpness, or resolution.

Public Data Release 7

Project News • September 8th, 2021

The Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) and IPAC at the California Institute of Technology announce the seventh ZTF Public Data Release. ZTF is an optical time-domain survey covering the northern sky visible from Palomar Observatory.

Lunar Trailblazer Is Building the Flight System to Fly to the Moon

Project News • August 31st, 2021

On July 15th 2021, Lunar Trailblazer successfully passed its Critical Design Review (CDR). This review incorporated all the systems of the Lunar Trailblazer. The CDR review provided a final system-level check of the design and schedule of the mission.

An Accidental Discovery Hints at a Hidden Population of Cosmic Objects

Project News • August 31st, 2021

A new study offers a tantalizing explanation for how a peculiar cosmic object called WISEA J153429.75-104303.3 – nicknamed “The Accident” – came to be.

Fizzing Sodium Could Explain Asteroid Phaethon’s Cometlike Activity

IPAC News • August 16th, 2021

Models and lab tests suggest the asteroid could be venting sodium vapor as it orbits close to the Sun, explaining its increase in brightness. Caltech/IPAC scientist Joe Masiero leads study.

Ground System for NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Moves into Development

Project News • July 29th, 2021

On July 23, the Roman Space Telescope successfully completed the critical design review of the mission’s ground systems.

Astronomers discover an unusually short gamma-ray burst from the death of a massive star

Project News • July 26th, 2021

ZTF and a host of other astronomical observatories have teamed up to identify a rather unusual gamma-ray burst (GRB) - the most powerful event in the universe. Caused by the death of a massive star, this GRB lasted much shorted than expected defying a clear classification of these extraordinary...