In the decades following the launch of NASA’s , astronomers have tallied over 1 trillion galaxies in the universe. But only one galaxy stands out as the most important nearby stellar island to our Milky Way 鈥� the Andromeda galaxy. It can be seen with the naked eye on clear autumn nights as a faint oval object roughly the size of the moon.

A century ago, astronomer Edwin Hubble first established that this so-called “spiral nebula” was approximately 2.5 million light years away from our own Milky Way galaxy.

Now, the space telescope named after Hubble has accomplished the most comprehensive survey of this galaxy. The work yields new clues to the evolutionary history of Andromeda 鈥� and it looks markedly different from the Milky Way’s history.

天美影视传媒 astronomers presented the findings Jan. 16 in Maryland at a meeting of the , and in an accompanying published the same date in The Astrophysical Journal.

Without Andromeda as an example of a spiral galaxy, astronomers would know much less about the structure and evolution of our own Milky Way. That’s because Earth is embedded inside the Milky Way. This is like trying to understand the layout of New York City by standing in the middle of Central Park.听

“With Hubble we can get into enormous detail about what’s happening on a holistic scale across the entire disk of the galaxy. You can’t do that with any other large galaxy,” said principal investigator , a UW research associate professor of astronomy.听听

Hubble’s sharp imaging capabilities can resolve more than 200 million stars in the Andromeda galaxy, detecting only stars brighter than our sun. They look like grains of sand across the beach. But the telescope can鈥檛 capture everything. Andromeda’s total population is estimated to be 1 trillion stars, with many less massive stars falling below Hubble’s sensitivity limit.听

Photographing Andromeda was a Herculean task because the galaxy is a much bigger target in the sky than the galaxies Hubble routinely observes, which are often billions of light years away. The full mosaic was carried out under two Hubble programs. In total it required over 1,000 Hubble orbits, spanning more than a decade.听

This panorama started about a decade ago with the . Images were obtained at near-ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared wavelengths using instruments aboard Hubble to photograph the northern half of Andromeda.听

This has now been followed by the newly published . This phase added images of approximately 100 million stars in the southern half of Andromeda. This southern region is structurally unique and more sensitive to the galaxy’s merger history than the northern disk mapped earlier.听

Combined, the two programs collectively cover the entire disk of Andromeda, which is seen almost edge on 鈥� tilted by 77 degrees relative to the view we see from Earth. The galaxy is so large that the mosaic is assembled from approximately 600 separate fields of view. The mosaic image is made up of at least 2.5 billion pixels.听

鈥淭he asymmetry between the two halves 鈥� now visually evident in this image 鈥� is incredibly intriguing,鈥� said , a UW postdoctoral researcher in astronomy and lead author of the accompanying . 鈥淚t鈥檚 fascinating to see the detailed structures of an external spiral galaxy mapped over such a large, contiguous area.鈥�听

The complementary Hubble survey programs provide information about the age, heavy-element abundance and stellar masses inside Andromeda. This will allow astronomers to distinguish between competing scenarios where Andromeda merged with one or more galaxies. Hubble’s detailed measurements constrain models of Andromeda’s merger history and disk evolution.听

鈥淭his ambitious photography of the Andromeda galaxy sets a new benchmark for precision studies of large spiral galaxies,鈥� Chen said.听

Though the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies formed presumably around the same time many billions of years ago, observational evidence shows that they have very different evolutionary histories, despite growing up in the same cosmological neighborhood. Andromeda seems to be more highly populated with younger stars and unusual features like coherent streams of stars, researchers say. This implies it has a more active recent star formation and interaction history than the Milky Way.听

“This detailed look at the resolved stars will help us to piece together the galaxy’s past merger and interaction history,” Williams said.听

This research was funded by NASA and the Simons Foundation. A full list of co-authors is listed with the .

For more information, contact Williams at benw1@uw.edu or Chen at zczhuo@uw.edu.听

This article was adapted from a by the Space Telescope Science Institute. See related posts from and the .

NASA last month to establish a regional scientific consortium based at the 天美影视传媒, in partnership with Washington State University and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, that will use an interdisciplinary approach to explore how the space environment 鈥� both in low-Earth orbit and beyond 鈥� affects living things.

The , which stands for Biology in Space: Establishing Networks for DUrable & REsilient Systems, will focus on innovation, acceleration and implementation of knowledge and technology of space biology centered on human-plant-microbiome relationships. The long-term goal is to enable a durable听human presence in low Earth orbit, 90 to 600 miles altitude, and beyond.

“The establishment of the BioS-ENDURES Consortium marks an exciting new chapter in space biology research at UW, WSU and PNNL,” said principal investigator , professor and chair of aeronautics and astronautics at the UW. “We’ve long recognized that successful long-term space presence requires more than just rockets and spacecraft 鈥� it demands a deep understanding of the complex interactions between humans, plants and microorganisms in space environments.

鈥淚’m particularly excited that through this consortium, we’re bringing together experts across all three institutions to develop new ways to monitor and predict these biological interactions in space, work that will be crucial for establishing a sustainable human presence beyond Earth.”

The team includes biologists studying humans, animals and plants, who will work together with microbiologists and other experts to ensure an integrated view of the space flight biosphere by enhancing data acquisition, modeling and testing. BioS-ENDURES has three focus areas related to the effects of spaceflight stressors:

• Develop monitoring to measure underlying molecular status, or biomarkers, in humans, animals, plants and their associated microbial communities
• Create models that predict human-plant-microbe robustness and interactions among organisms in space
• Validate and apply understanding of human and plant health, including promoting beneficial human-plant-microbe interactions, to enhance health in space

At the UW, the interdisciplinary team includes and in microbiology; and in environmental and forest sciences; in Earth and space sciences; in pharmaceutics; Marissa Kranz at the UW Medical Cyclotron Facility; and in genome sciences; Dr. in laboratory medicine and pathology at the UW School of Medicine; in pharmacy; and in oceanography.

The BioS-ENDURES Consortium builds on a collaboration between the UW, WSU, PNNL and science and industry advisory boards. Consortium members will work with NASA to align work with current and projected needs. The funding is spread out over five years and will support yearly proof-of-principle demonstration projects to advance the science of the three focuses, annual symposia tracks, and physical testing.

“The 天美影视传媒 is excited to have this opportunity to contribute to the听development of new capabilities that will enable a sustainable听human presence in space,”听said Mari Ostendorf, vice provost of research at the UW and UW professor of electrical and computer engineering.听“This consortium enables new partnerships and brings together investigators who have a long history with NASA and space applications with researchers who have deep expertise in human/animal, plant and microbial biology.听This research will push the boundaries of our scientific understanding to reveal new biological mechanisms that will address both sustainability and risk mitigation needs in space.听We look forward working with WSU, PNNL and NASA, as well as with other industry and science partners to accelerate space technology.”

For more information, see or contact Morgansen at morgansn@uw.edu. 听

Scientists have yet to find evidence of life on Mars, but a new study from researchers at 狈础厂础鈥檚 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the 天美影视传媒 and other universities suggests microbes could find a potential home beneath 听layers of ice known to exist on Mars鈥� surface.

In the , published Oct. 17 in Communications Earth & Environment, authors showed that enough sunlight shines through surface ice for photosynthesis to occur in shallow subsurface pools of meltwater. Similar subsurface meltwater pools that form within ice on Earth have been found to teem with life, including algae, fungi, and microscopic cyanobacteria, all of which derive energy from the sun via photosynthesis.

鈥淚f we鈥檙e trying to find life anywhere in the universe today, Martian ice exposures are probably one of the most accessible places we should be looking,鈥� said lead author at 狈础厂础鈥檚 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who will join the UW Applied Physics Laboratory as a senior research scientist in November.

Unlike Earth, Mars has two kinds of ice: frozen water and frozen carbon dioxide. The new study focused on water ice, largely formed from snow mixed with dust that fell during a series of Martian ice ages during the past million years. That ancient snow has since solidified into ice, still peppered with specks of dust.

Those dust particles are key to explaining how subsurface pools of water would form within ice when exposed to solar rays: dark dust absorbs more sunlight than the surrounding ice, causing the deeper ice to warm up and melt up to a few feet below the surface.

It鈥檚 a matter of debate whether ice can actually melt and exist as a liquid on the surface of Mars due to the planet鈥檚 thin, dry atmosphere, where water ice is believed to sublimate 鈥� turn directly into gas 鈥� the way dry ice does on Earth. But the atmospheric effects that make melting difficult on the surface wouldn鈥檛 apply below the surface of a dusty snowpack or glacier.

This new paper uses computer modeling to suggest that dusty ice lets in enough light for photosynthesis to occur as deep as 10 feet (3 meters) below the surface. In this scenario, the upper layers of ice prevent the shallow subsurface pools of water from evaporating while also providing protection from harmful radiation. That鈥檚 important given that, unlike Earth, Mars lacks a protective magnetic field to shield it from both the sun鈥檚 ultraviolet rays and radioactive cosmic ray particles zipping around space.

The water ice that would be most likely to form these subsurface pools would exist in Mars鈥� midlatitudes 鈥� between the latitudes of 30 degrees and 60 degrees 鈥� in both the northern and southern hemispheres.

鈥淭his latest paper examines the propagation of solar radiation into the ice, showing that just below the surface there is a zone that is safe from ultraviolet but still gets enough visible light to support photosynthesis,鈥� said co-author , professor emeritus of Earth and space sciences at the UW. 鈥淏ut of course photosynthetic organisms won鈥檛 survive unless the ice in that zone can melt, at least occasionally.鈥�

At the UW, Khuller plans to continue working to determine where liquid water is likely to exist on Mars. The next step, Khuller said, will be to recreate some of Mars鈥� dusty ice in a lab setting. Meanwhile, he and others are beginning to map out the most likely spots on Mars to look for shallow meltwater 鈥� scientific targets for possible human and robotic missions in the future.

at the University of Colorado Boulder is also a co-author on the new paper.

For more information, contact Khuller at akhuller@uw.edu and Warren at sgw@uw.edu.

Adapted from a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory .

An international team including a 天美影视传媒 scientist has found that the water on one of Saturn鈥檚 moons harbors phosphates, a key building block of life. The team led by the Freie Universit盲t Berlin used data from 狈础厂础鈥檚 Cassini space mission to detect evidence of phosphates in particles ejected from the ice-covered global ocean of Saturn鈥檚 moon Enceladus.

Phosphorus, in the form of phosphates, is vital for all life on Earth. It forms the backbone of DNA and is part of cell membranes and bones. The new , published June 14 in Nature, is the first to report direct evidence of phosphorus on an extraterrestrial ocean world.

The team found that phosphate is present in Enceladus鈥� ocean at levels at least 100 times higher 鈥� and perhaps a thousand times higher 鈥� than in Earth鈥檚 oceans.

鈥淏y determining such high phosphate concentrations readily available in Enceladus鈥� ocean, we have now satisfied what is generally considered one of the strictest requirements in establishing whether celestial bodies are habitable,鈥� said third author , a UW postdoctoral researcher in Earth and space sciences. While at Freie Universit盲t Berlin, Klenner did experiments that revealed the high phosphate concentrations present in Enceladus鈥� ocean.

One of the most profound discoveries in planetary science over the past 25 years is that worlds with oceans beneath a surface layer of ice are common in our solar system. These ice-covered celestial bodies include the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn 鈥� including Ganymede, Titan and Enceladus 鈥� as well as even more distant celestial bodies, like Pluto.

狈础厂础鈥檚 explored Saturn, its rings and its moons from 2004 to 2017. It first discovered that Enceladus鈥� harbors an ice-covered watery ocean, and analyzed material that erupted through cracks in the region of the moon鈥檚 south pole.

The spacecraft was equipped with the . which analyzed individual ice grains emitted from Enceladus and sent those measurements back to Earth. To determine the chemical composition of the grains, Klenner used a specialized setup in Berlin that mimicked the data generated by an ice grain hitting the instrument. He tried different chemical compositions and concentrations for his samples to try to match the unknown signatures in the spacecraft鈥檚 observations.

鈥淚 prepared different phosphate solutions, and did the measurements, and we hit the bullseye. This was in perfect match with the data from space,鈥� Klenner said. 鈥淭his is the first finding of phosphorus on an extraterrestrial ocean world.鈥�

Planets with surface oceans, like Earth, must reside within a narrow range of distances from their host stars (in what is known as the 鈥渉abitable zone鈥�) to maintain temperatures at which water neither evaporates nor freezes. Worlds with an interior ocean like Enceladus, however, can occur over a much wider range of distances, greatly expanding the number of habitable worlds likely to exist across the galaxy.

In previous studies, the team at the Freie Universit盲t Berlin determined that Enceladus harbors a 鈥渟oda ocean,鈥� rich in dissolved carbonates, that also contains a vast variety of reactive and sometimes complex carbon-containing compounds. The team also found indications of hydrothermal environments on the seafloor.听 The new study now shows the unmistakable signatures of dissolved phosphates.

鈥淧revious geochemical models were divided on the question of whether Enceladus鈥� ocean contains significant quantities of phosphates at all,鈥� said lead author at Freie Universit盲t Berlin. 鈥淭hese measurements leave no doubt that substantial quantities of this essential substance are present in the ocean water.鈥�

To investigate how the ocean on Enceladus can maintain such high concentrations of phosphate, geochemical lab experiments and modeling included in the new paper were conducted by a Japan-based team led by second author at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and a U.S.-based team led by fourth author at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. Other authors are from Germany, the U.S., Japan and Finland.

For more information, contact Klenner at fklenner@uw.edu and Postberg at frank.postberg@fu-berlin.de.

Adapted from a Freie Universit盲t Berlin .

The red streaks crisscrossing the surface of Europa, one of Jupiter鈥檚 moons, are striking. Scientists suspect it is a frozen mixture of water and salts, but its chemical signature is mysterious because it matches no known substance on Earth.

An international team led by the 天美影视传媒 may have solved the puzzle with the discovery of a new type of solid crystal that forms when water and table salt combine in cold and high-pressure conditions. Researchers believe the new substance created in a lab on Earth could form at the surface and bottom of these worlds鈥� deep oceans.

The , published the week of Feb. 20 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, announces a new combination for two of Earth鈥檚 most common substances: water and sodium chloride, or table salt.

鈥淚t鈥檚 rare nowadays to have fundamental discoveries in science,鈥� said lead author , a UW acting assistant professor of Earth and space sciences. 鈥淪alt and water are very well known at Earth conditions. But beyond that, we鈥檙e totally in the dark. And now we have these planetary objects that probably have compounds that are very familiar to us, but at very exotic conditions. We have to redo all the fundamental mineralogical science that people did in the 1800s, but at high pressure and low temperature. It is an exciting time.鈥�

At cold temperatures water and salts combine to form a rigid salted icy lattice, known as a hydrate, held in place by hydrogen bonds. The only for sodium chloride was a simple structure with one salt molecule for every two water molecules.

But the two new hydrates, found at moderate pressures and low temperatures, are strikingly different. One has two sodium chlorides for every 17 water molecules; the other has one sodium chloride for every 13 water molecules. This would explain why the signatures from the surface of Jupiter鈥檚 moons are more 鈥渨atery鈥� than expected.

“It has the structure that planetary scientists have been waiting for,鈥� Journaux said.

The discovery of new types of salty ice has importance not just for planetary science, but for physical chemistry and even energy research, which uses hydrates for energy storage, Journaux said.

The experiment involved compressing a tiny bit of salty water at synchrotron facilities in France, Germany and the U.S. between two diamonds about the size of a grain of sand, squeezing the liquid up to 25,000 times the standard atmospheric pressure. The transparent diamonds allowed the team to watch the process through a microscope.

鈥淲e were trying to measure how adding salt would change the amount of ice we could get, since salt acts as an antifreeze,鈥� Baptiste said. 鈥淪urprisingly, when we put the pressure on, what we saw is that these crystals that we were not expecting started growing. It was a very serendipitous discovery.鈥�

Such cold, high-pressure conditions created in the lab would be common on Jupiter鈥檚 moons, where scientists think 5 to 10 kilometers of ice would cover oceans up to several hundred kilometers thick, with even denser forms of ice possible at the bottom.

鈥淧ressure just gets the molecules closer together, so their interaction changes 鈥� that is the main engine for diversity in the crystal structures we found,鈥� Journaux said.

Once the newly discovered hydrates had formed, one of the two structures remained stable even after the pressure was released.

鈥淲e determined that it remains stable at standard pressure up to about minus 50 C. So if you have a very briny lake, for example in Antarctica, that could be exposed to these temperatures, this newly discovered hydrate could be present there,鈥� Journaux said.

The team hopes to either make or collect a larger sample to allow more thorough analysis and verify whether the signatures from icy moons match the signatures from the newly discovered hydrates.

Two upcoming missions will explore Jupiter鈥檚 icy moons: The European Space Agency鈥檚 mission, launching in April, and 狈础厂础鈥檚 mission, launching for October 2024. 狈础厂础鈥檚 launches to Saturn鈥檚 moon Titan in 2026. Knowing what chemicals these missions will encounter will help to better target their search for signatures of life.

“These are the only planetary bodies, other than Earth, where liquid water is stable at geological timescales, which is crucial for the emergence and development of life,鈥� Journaux said. 鈥淭hey are, in my opinion, the best place in our solar system to discover extraterrestrial life, so we need to study their exotic oceans and interiors to better understand how they formed, evolved and can retain liquid water in cold regions of the solar system, so far away from the sun.”

This research was funded by NASA. Co-authors are professor and graduate student at the UW. Additional co-authors were at the German Electron Synchrotron in Hamburg; the European Synchrotron Facility in France; the Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology in Switzerland, the Bavarian Geoinstitute for Experimental Geochemistry and Geophysics in Germany; 狈础厂础鈥檚 Jet Propulsion Laboratory; and the University of Chicago.

For more information, contact Journaux at bjournau@uw.edu.

Researchers from the 天美影视传媒 and the University of California, Berkeley have conducted experiments that measured the physical limits for the existence of liquid water in icy extraterrestrial worlds. 听This blend of geoscience and engineering was done to aid in the search for extraterrestrial life and the upcoming robotic exploration of oceans on moons of other planets.

The were recently published in Cell Reports Physical Sciences.

鈥淭he more a liquid is stable, the more promising it is for habitability,鈥� said co-corresponding author , an acting assistant professor of Earth and space sciences at the UW.听听 鈥淥ur results show that the cold, salty, high-pressure liquids found in the deep ocean of other planets鈥� moons can remain liquid to much cooler temperature than they would at lower pressures. This extends the range of possible habitats on icy moons, and will allow us to pinpoint where we should look for biosignatures, or signs of life.鈥�

Jupiter and Saturn鈥檚 icy moons 鈥� including Europa, Ganymede and Titan 鈥� are leading candidates within our solar system for hosting extraterrestrial life. These ice-encrusted moons are thought to harbor enormous liquid oceans, up to several dozen times the volume of oceans on Earth.

鈥淒espite its designation as the 鈥榖lue marble,鈥� Earth is remarkably dry when compared to these worlds,鈥� Journaux said.

The oceans on these moons may contain various types of salts and are expected to range from about 100 miles deep, on Europa, to more than 400 miles deep, on Titan.

鈥淲e know that water supports life, but the major part of the oceans on these moons are likely below zero degrees Celsius and at pressures higher than anything experienced on Earth,鈥� Journaux said. 鈥淲e needed to know how cold an ocean can get before entirely freezing, including in its deepest abyss.鈥�

The study focused on eutectics, or the lowest temperature that a salty solution can remain liquid before entirely freezing. Salt and water are one example 鈥� salty water remains liquid below the freezing temperature of pure water, one of the reasons people sprinkle salt on roads in winter to avoid the formation of ice.

The experiments used UC Berkeley equipment originally designed for the future cryopreservation of organs for medical applications and for food storage. For this research, however, the authors used it to simulate the conditions thought to exist on other planets鈥� moons.

Journaux, a planetary scientist and expert on the physics of water and minerals, worked with UC Berkeley engineers to test solutions of five different salts at pressures up to 3,000 times atmospheric pressure, or 300 megapascals 鈥� about three times the pressure in Earth鈥檚 deepest ocean trench.

鈥淜nowing the lowest temperature possible for salty water to remain a liquid at high pressures is integral to understanding how extraterrestrial life could exist and thrive in the deep oceans of these icy ocean worlds,鈥� said co-corresponding author Matthew Powell-Palm, who did the work as a postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley, also co-founder and CEO of the cryopreservation company BioChoric, Inc.

Journaux recently started working with , which will send a rotorcraft in 2027 to Saturn鈥檚 largest moon, Titan. NASA also is leading the mission in 2024 to explore Europa, one of the many moons orbiting Jupiter. Meanwhile, the European Space Agency in 2023 will send its JUICE spacecraft, or , to explore three of Jupiter鈥檚 largest moons: Ganymede, Callisto and Europa.

鈥淭he new data obtained from this study may help further researchers鈥� understanding of the complex geological processes observed in these icy ocean worlds,鈥� Journaux said.

Other authors are Boris Rubinsky, Brooke Chang, Anthony Consiglio, Drew Lilley and Ravi Prasher, all at UC Berkeley. The study was funded by the National Science Foundation and NASA.

For more information, contact Journaux at bjournau@uw.edu or Powell-Palm at mpowellp@berkeley.edu. 听听听

A 天美影视传媒 satellite smaller than a loaf of bread will, if all goes well, launch this weekend on its way to low-Earth orbit. It will be the first student-built satellite from Washington state to go into space.

is one of seven student-built satellites from around the country scheduled to at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time Saturday, Nov. 2, from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on the Virginia coast.

“It will be exciting once it’s in orbit,” said , a UW doctoral student in Earth and Space Sciences who has been involved since the project’s inception. “To me, the completion will be when we can get data from the satellite and send instructions back.”

HuskySat-1’s last moments on Earth will be broadcast live on . The satellites are hitching a ride on the , whose first stop will be the International Space Station to resupply astronauts and swap out materials. In early 2020 the spacecraft will leave the station and fly up to an altitude of about 310 miles (500 kilometers), where a NASA engineer will eject the student-built satellites.

The UW creation is a type of , a small satellite that measures exactly 10 centimeters (about 3 inches) along each side. HuskySat-1 is a “three-unit” system, meaning it’s the shape of a stack of three CubeSat-sized blocks. These miniature satellites were first created as a way for engineering students to test software with smaller, cheaper devices they could build from start to finish in a few years. But the devices are growing in popularity, with Planet and other companies now using nanosatellites for commercial ventures.

NASA’s helps students and nonprofit groups launch these instrument systems into space. The Washington State University satellite, CougSat-1, is scheduled to launch in October 2020.

The UW satellite weighs just under 7 pounds (3.14 kilograms) and took five years to design and build. Undergraduate and graduate students from aeronautics and astronautics, mechanical engineering, computer engineering, Earth and space sciences, physics and other departments spent hundreds of hours building the system in the .

Its trip into low-Earth orbit is organized by Nanoracks, a Texas company that, like Spaceflight Industries of Seattle and other businesses, coordinates smaller groups to provide access to launch vehicles.

After extensive testing and final checkouts this summer, Northway hand-delivered the satellite in September to the Nanoracks facility in Houston, where it was placed into the box that will carry it to space.

“These students have gained firsthand experience on what is required to build and launch a satellite, and aerospace companies have already snapped up many of them,” said , a professor of Earth and space sciences and the team’s faculty adviser as director of the UW . “Meanwhile, the UW is making its first steps to a continuing hardware presence in space. What more could you wish for?”

Three antennas installed on the roof of Johnson Hall will allow students to get information like position and altitude and send instructions to the satellite as it passes overhead. A camera built in collaboration with students at Raisbeck Aviation High School in Tukwila, Washington, will send back grainy, black-and-white photos of Earth. Students will also be able to control the satellite’s camera and thruster remotely.

“A lot of information is taught in classes, but only in a hands-on environment can you experience things like design, integration of subsystems, project management and documentation,” said team member , a senior in mechanical engineering.

HuskySat-1 will orbit at an angle of 51.6 degrees, traveling between 51.6 degrees north and south, at an altitude of 310 miles (500 kilometers) and at more than 4 miles (7 kilometers) per second. Once the students locate their satellite they will be able to predict its travel path.

Some of the student-built parts will still be in test mode. A custom-built thruster uses sparks to vaporize small amounts of solid sulfur as a propellant. The thruster will fire about 100 times as the satellite passes over Seattle, only enough thrust to provide a slight nudge. A high-bandwidth communications system built by former graduate student Paul Sturmer, now at Blue Origin, transmits at 24 Gigahertz, allowing the satellite to quickly send reams of data. That system will send down a test packet from space.

“Usually people buy most of the satellite and build one part of it. We built all the parts,” Northway said. “It was a pretty serious undertaking.”

The UW group will control HuskySat-1 for three months. In the spring it will transfer ownership and responsibility to AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, which provided the main communication system. The satellite will begin to lose altitude in about three years and will burn up as it re-enters Earth’s atmosphere. (NASA requires that all such objects deorbit within 25 years.)

HuskySat-1 grew out of a special topics course in the UW Department of Earth & Space Sciences. In 2016 members formed a registered student organization, the .

“Being involved with this has taught me a lot,” said current team captain , a UW graduate student in aeronautics and astronautics. “But beyond that, it’s just validation that I’m in the right industry.”

As the Husky Satellite Lab wraps up this half-decade-long effort it plans to next tackle a project 鈥� a partly prebuilt system that can be adapted to conduct experiments in microgravity 鈥� for travel aboard a Blue Origin vehicle. Students plan to complete that project by spring of 2020.

HuskySat-1 was supported by a NASA Undergraduate Student Instrument Project award, which funded the satellite’s development and launch with a private space contractor. The team also was supported by NASA, the Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium, the UW and several companies that provided equipment for the satellite and antenna.

For more information, contact Northway at northway@uw.edu or Winglee at winglee@uw.edu. Learn more at .

For 400 years people have tracked sunspots, the dark patches that appear for weeks at a time on the sun’s surface. They have observed but been unable to explain why the number of spots peaks every 11 years.

A 天美影视传媒 published this month in the journal proposes a model of plasma motion that would explain the 11-year sunspot cycle and several other previously mysterious properties of the sun.

“Our model is completely different from a normal picture of the sun,” said first author , a UW professor of aeronautics and astronautics. “I really think we’re the first people that are telling you the nature and source of solar magnetic phenomena 鈥� how the sun works.”

The authors created a model based on their previous work with fusion energy research. The model shows that a thin layer beneath the sun’s surface is key to many of the features we see from Earth, like sunspots, magnetic reversals and solar flow, and is backed up by comparisons with observations of the sun.

“The observational data are key to confirming our picture of how the sun functions,” Jarboe said.

In the new model, a thin layer of magnetic flux and plasma, or free-floating electrons, moves at different speeds on different parts of the sun. The difference in speed between the flows creates twists of magnetism, known as magnetic helicity, that are similar to what happens in some fusion reactor concepts.

“Every 11 years, the sun grows this layer until it’s too big to be stable, and then it sloughs off,” Jarboe said. Its departure exposes the lower layer of plasma moving in the opposite direction with a flipped magnetic field.

When the circuits in both hemispheres are moving at the same speed, more sunspots appear. When the circuits are different speeds, there is less sunspot activity. That mismatch, Jarboe says, may have happened during the decades of little sunspot activity known as the “.”

“If the two hemispheres rotate at different speeds, then the sunspots near the equator won’t match up, and the whole thing will die,” Jarboe said.

“Scientists had thought that a sunspot was generated down at 30 percent of the depth of the sun, and then came up in a twisted rope of plasma that pops out,” Jarboe said. Instead, his model shows that the sunspots are in the “supergranules” that form within the thin, subsurface layer of plasma that the study calculates to be roughly 100 to 300 miles (150 to 450 kilometers) thick, or a fraction of the sun’s 430,000-mile radius.

“The sunspot is an amazing thing. There’s nothing there, and then all of a sudden, you see it in a flash,” Jarboe said.

The group’s previous research has focused on fusion power reactors, which use very high temperatures similar to those inside the sun to separate hydrogen nuclei from their electrons. In both the sun and in fusion reactors the nuclei of two hydrogen atoms fuse together, releasing huge amounts of energy.

The type of reactor Jarboe has focused on, a spheromak, contains the electron plasma within a sphere that causes it to self-organize into certain patterns. When Jarboe began to consider the sun, he saw similarities, and created a model for what might be happening in the celestial body.

“For 100 years people have been researching this,” Jarboe said. “Many of the features we’re seeing are below the resolution of the models, so we can only find them in calculations.”

Other properties explained by the theory, he said, include flow inside the sun, the twisting action that leads to sunspots and the total magnetic structure of the sun. The paper is likely to provoke intense discussion, Jarboe said.

“My hope is that scientists will look at their data in a new light, and the researchers who worked their whole lives to gather that data will have a new tool to understand what it all means,” he said.

The research was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. Co-authors are UW graduate students Thomas Benedett, Christopher Everson, Christopher Hansen, Derek Sutherland, James Penna, UW postdoctoral researchers Aaron Hossack and John Benjamin O’Bryan, UW affiliate faculty member , and Kyle Morgan, a former UW graduate student now at CTFusion in Seattle.

For more information, contact Jarboe at 206-685-3427 or jarboe@aa.washington.edu.