NSF NOIRLab

Meet Leilani Lozi! Our NSF NOIRLab’s Education and Engagement Manager in Hawai‘i has been recognized with the 40 under 40 award for her leadership in community-centered educational programming centered on astronomy and Hawaiian values. Read more in our NOIRLab Blog stories: https://lnkd.in/ePVrAguN

Look at that Milky Way over Cerro Tololo Inter American Observatory! 🌌🤩 In this #imageoftheweek the Milky Way elegantly stretches into the night sky from the horizon, as yellow, green, and red airglow seemingly permeate what would otherwise be a black sky. 🔭Did you know Cerro Tololo is a Program of NSF NOIRLab and is home to approximately 40 telescopes from 11 tenant observatories and research projects? Featured here is one such facility: the SARA Cerro Tololo Telescope, operated by the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA). SARA is a collaborative partnership of American universities that operate telescopes at multiple locations around the world, including the Canary Islands 🇪🇸and Arizona 🇺🇲and the location of the SARA Cerro Tololo Telescope in Chile 🇨🇱 gives it a capability that other SARA telescopes don’t have: full access to the southern sky. Petr Horálek, the photographer, is a NOIRLab Audiovisual Ambassador. Download the high resolution version of this image here: https://lnkd.in/eVj7_78m. This image is also available in panoramic and fulldome views. Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Horálek (Institute of Physics in Opava) @petrhoralek

Take part in science! Participate in a Globe At Night sky brightness measurement between now and 4 September. Have a computer, tablet, or smartphone? Help us raise public awareness about light pollution! Let's reach 20,000 data points together by the end of 2024! 🌃 Visit www.globeatnight.org to learn more and submit your observations. #NOIRLab #CitizenScience #DiscoverTogether #Astronomy

Are you interested in volunteering for Kitt Peak National Observatory? If you are service-minded, interested in astronomy, enjoy meeting people, and would relish the opportunity to work at one of the most scenic spots in Southern Arizona, then consider joining the Kitt Peak Docent Program. Docents lead three public daytime tours of our major research telescopes and interact with guests in the Visitor Center to ensure an engaging and educational visit. Sign up to be a Docent at Kitt Peak National Observatory — an hour west of Tucson: https://lnkd.in/enX8vrEY #kittpeak #astronomy #volunteer

This panorama image features Gemini North, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, supported in part by the NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration and operated by NSF NOIRLab and its neighboring telescopes on what appears to be on a flat landscape with low hills. But actually, these small peaks sit atop a much larger mountain. ⛰️ Maunakea is an inactive shield volcano and one of the tallest mountains on Earth. 🗻 It rises 4205 meters (13,786 feet) above sea level, but extends about 6000 meters (19,700 feet) below sea level to meet the deep ocean floor. ✨ Its total height is nearly 10,211 meters (33,500 feet). Theofanis Matsopoulos, the photographer, is a NOIRLab Audiovisual Ambassador. Download the high resolution version here: https://lnkd.in/e_vs35ty Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/T. Matsopoulos #astronomy #maunakea #hawaii #astrophotography

Just how dark is deep space? 🌌 In 2021 a team of astronomers, including Tod Lauer from NSF NOIRLab attempted to answer this question by tapping into the capabilities and distant position of NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s New Horizons spacecraft, which allowed them to make the most precise, direct measurements ever of the total amount of light the Universe generates. The results: ✨ The Universe was brighter than expected, and the origin of the mysterious ‘extra light’ became the new question 🔍👀. 🚀 Now, thanks to new and improved data from New Horizons, the team has determined that this extra light was actually a consequence of contaminating foreground light 🤯💡. Read more in our announcement: https://lnkd.in/d5igmAi3 📷: New Horizons #astronomy #space #NASA

Attention observers and theorists! Registration is open for The First Gigayear(s): 30 Sept – 3 Oct in Hawai‘i. At the meeting we will discuss how our view of the first gigayear(s) of cosmic history has been revolutionized by new instruments, surveys & simulations. Register here: https://ow.ly/JS7q50T6UAN

We’re hiring a Mechanical Engineer to work in La Serena, Chile. The selected candidate will work closely with other mechanical, electrical, optical and software engineers and technicians to solve technical problems, develop improvements to existing systems and support new instrument projects. Apply here: https://ow.ly/AiUf50T5hNv #hiring #jobs

Let’s take a peek into NGC 6744, the stunning spiral galaxy that's like a twin to our Milky Way! 🔭This #imageoftheweek was taken by the Dark Energy Camera on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of NSF NOIRLab in Chile. ✨Located around 30 million light-years away in the constellation Pavo, NGC 6744 exhibits a luminous core and spiral arms spanning 175,000 light-years across. 🔍 Can you spot its faint companion galaxy?! It is located in the lower right of NGC 6744, at the end of the spiral arm. This is its companion galaxy known as NGC 6744A. 📸 This is one of the deepest images of NGC 6744 ever taken, and keen observers can spy the faint extended arm on the left hand side of the galaxy — rarely visible in most images. Download this image here: https://lnkd.in/d38zVXVA Credit: Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA Image processing: R. Colombari & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab) #astronomy #astrophotography #galaxies #cosmos #universe

🌕Total Lunar eclipse alert! 🌑 The Moon crosses the sky during this 2022 total lunar eclipse over Kitt Peak National Observatory, a Program of NSF NOIRLab outside of Tucson, AZ. See how the stars become brighter? During a lunar eclipse, the Moon passes into the shadow of the Earth, receiving no direct sunlight. As the Moon darkens, the background sky becomes less illuminated by its glare, allowing stars to shine brightly. As the Moon leaves the Earth’s shadow it illuminates the sky, causing stars to become dim again. Credit: KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Horálek