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Cosmic Origins Newsletter, September 2016, Vol. 5, No. 2

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Cosmic Origins Newsletter, September 2016, Vol. 5, No. 2 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Cosmic Origins Newsletter September 2016 Volume 5 Number 2 Summer 2016 Cosmic Origins Program Inside this Issue Update Summer 2016 Cosmic Origins Program Update ............................1 Mansoor Ahmed, COR Program Manager Hubble Reveals Stellar Fireworks in ‘Skyrocket’ Galaxy ................2 Message from the Astrophysics Division Director .........................2 Susan Neff, COR Program Chief Scientist Light Echoes Give Clues to Protoplanetary Disk ............................3 Far-IR Surveyor Study Status .............................................................5 Welcome to the September 2016 Cosmic Origins (COR) newslet- LUVOIR Study Status .........................................................................5 ter. In this issue, we provide updates on several activities relevant to Strategic Astrophysics Technology (SAT) Selections the COR Program objectives. Some of these activities are not under for ROSES-2015 ...................................................................................6 the direct purview of the program, but are relevant to COR goals, Technology Solicitations to Enable Astrophysics Discoveries ......6 therefore we try to keep you informed about their progress. Cosmic Origins Suborbital Program: Balloon Program – BETTII ................................................................7 In January 2016, Paul Hertz (Director, NASA Astrophysics) News from SOFIA ...............................................................................8 presented his plans for four large mission concept studies, GALEX Uncovers ‘Frankenstein’ Galaxy..........................................9 in preparation for the 2020 Decadal Study of Astronomy and SOFIA Pinpoints Water Vapor in Young Star ................................10 Astrophysics, and invited all interested members of the community WFIRST Update ................................................................................10 to consider nominating themselves for one (or more) of the teams. JWST Status and Progress ................................................................11 Two studies, for a Large UV-Optical-near IR mission (LUVOIR) The Complex Material Engineering of NASA’s Webb Telescope Sunshield ...............................................................12 and for a Far-Infrared Surveyor, support COR interests. The study COPAG Status ....................................................................................13 teams’ memberships were announced in March, and the teams Meet Hubble Fellow Jon Trump ......................................................14 are off and working hard. The articles byPaul Hertz and by the Upcoming Events ..............................................................................15 Community Chairs of the Far-IR Surveyor and LUVOIR studies, recommendations of the Cosmic Origins Program Analysis Group summarize expectations, plans, and activities of these study teams. (COPAG) on Probes, and reports on other COPAG activities. All four large mission study teams have been careful to include Hubble continues to make scientific breakthroughs seem significant numbers of people at early stages of their careers, as they routine, and to collect stunning images of the Universe. Demand will be the primary users of the future observatories. We introduce for Hubble observations remains very strong; the 25th call for a Hubble fellow, Dr. Jon Trump, who is currently working on proposals received over 1000 responses, with the number of orbits the connection between galaxy growth, supermassive Black Hole requested increasing significantly over last year.Spitzer recently formation, and feedback in the early universe. announced selections from its 13th call for proposals, which had In March 2016, the three Astrophysics Program Analysis the most time ever requested in a call. A third of the proposals Groups (PAGs) recommended that the Astrophysics Division were to prepare for JWST follow-up. SOFIA is operating well and sponsor several studies of possible Astrophysics Probe-class is moving ahead with its third generation instrument selection mission concepts to determine feasibility of requesting a new and fifth cycle of observing requests (results to be announced in budget line for a program of astrophysics missions larger than a October). We include highlights of a few recent science results MIDEX (but costing less than ~$1B). In July, Dr Hertz announced from operating COR missions, in boxes throughout the newsletter. his intent to support several concept studies, and in mid August a The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) continues towards call for Astrophysics Probe Studies was released (proposals due its planned 2018 launch on time and on budget. Preparations are November 15, 2016). Dr. Hertz’s article presents his thoughts on underway for observation planning tools and proposal workshops, Astrophysics Probes. An announcement of the next MIDEX call starting this fall. We provide a quick status of JWST, as well as an is expected in September. The article by Paul Scowen presents the article about the complex manufacture of the five-layer sunshield. http://www.nasa.gov 1 The Wide-Field-Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) has started Message from the Astrophysics Division Phase A development and Science Integration Teams are hard at work. We offer an article describing the WFIRST status. Director Paul Hertz, Director, Astrophysics Division, Science Mission A key part of the COR Program is managing development Directorate, NASA Headquarters of the technologies required for future COR discoveries. The Strategic Astrophysics Technology (SAT) program is designed to The NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) saw a major bring important technologies to a level of development that can be leadership change with the departure of Associate Administrator infused into flight missions. We provide an update on selections for for SMD, John Grunsfeld, in May 2016. Geoffrey Yoder, formerly the the SAT program. We also present a summary of combined NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for SMD, has been appointed the and NSF funding opportunities for technology development. Acting Associate Administrator for SMD. Mr. Yoder is committed The suborbital program is a major part of the technology to continuing to advance all SMD missions in formulation, maturation process, as well as an excellent training ground for development, and operations; integrating strategic planning across young instrumentalists. We present an article on the BETTII all Divisions to further advance NASA objectives and Decadal balloon payload. BETTII is a Far-Infrared interferometer, Surveys; making NASA’s technical and capability management scheduled to fly for the first time in September 2016 that will study more efficient to free up resources for more missions and science; deeply buried star-formation regions. and continuing to base NASA’s decisions firmly on community We have had several changes in the Cosmic Origins Program input and peer review. Office. Tom Griffin has moved to WFIRSTthe project office; the As I described during the NASA Town Hall at the 228th new Deputy Program Manager is Azita Valina. Harley Thronson meeting of the American Astronomical Society in San Diego, CA, is replacing Bernie Seery as Chief Technologist. We welcome them and at the July meeting of the Astrophysics Subcommittee, the to the Program Office. Astrophysics Division continues to execute a portfolio that can It’s an exciting time in Cosmic Origins, as we look to the be broadly divided into Strategic Missions, Explorer Missions, future. Please, become involved if you are not already. Research and Analysis (R&A), and other cross-cutting activities. ... We rely on our advisory committees and expert community groups Hubble Reveals Stellar Fireworks in ‘Skyrocket’ Galaxy Hubble has captured spectacular star formation in a small, nearby galaxy called Kiso 5639. The dwarf galaxy is a flattened disk, but because it is tilted edge-on, it resembles a skyrocket, with a brilliant head and a long starry tail. The intense star-formation apparent at one “end” is thought to be triggered by intergalactic gas falling onto one edge of the galaxy as it moves through space. Kiso 5369 is a rare nearby example of what occurs frequently at larger distances (where we observe the universe when it was young). Observations of the early Universe, such as Hubble’s Ultra Deep Field reveal that about 10 percent of all galaxies have these elongated shapes, dubbed “tadpoles.” Lead researcher Debra Elmegreen (Vassar College) explains: “The current thinking is that galaxies in the early universe grow [by] accreting gas from the surrounding neighborhood. It’s a stage that galaxies, including our Milky Way, must go through as they are growing up.” Studies of the nearby universe have turned up only a few of Hubble image of the “tadpole” galaxy Kiso 5639. The edge-on nearby these apparently elongated systems. The development of nearby dwarf galaxy is undergoing a burst of star formation on one edge, where tadpole galaxies has lagged behind that of their peers, which primordial gas is falling onto the disk. In this image, the pink filamentary typically take billions of years to build up to a typical spiral galaxy emission indicates ionized hydrogen gas . A burst of new stars, in a region seen today. 2700 light years across, makes the hydrogen glow. Image credit: NASA, Elmegreen’s team finds that the gas in the galaxy’s bright ESA, and D. Elmegreen (Vassar) “head” contains
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