ERIK MARTIN WILLÈN: July 2026

Wednesday, July 1, 2026

NASA’s Chandra Reveals ‘Red, White, Blue’ Universe for US 250th - UNIVERSE

In celebration of the 250th birthday of the United States, NASA has unveiled four cosmic images from its Chandra X-ray Observatory rendered in red, white, and blue that represent the wonders of the universe the agency explores. The images are accompanied by a trio of new sonifications – a technique that translates astronomical data into sounds.

In celebration of the 250th birthday of the United States, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has unveiled four cosmic images rendered in red, white, and blue that represent the wonders of the universe that NASA explores.

NASA/CXC/SAO

The image set begins with Cassiopeia A in the top panel, where X-rays from Chandra (represented in blue and purple) have been combined with an infrared image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (red and white). Chandra’s X-ray vision reveals the blast wave that tore through the star, as well as elements in the debris field like iron, calcium, and oxygen. Webb’s infrared data also shows the expanding shell of material from the explosion and cosmic dust throughout the remnant.

In the bottom row, the first image on the left is the nebula NGC 3603, which contains a massive cluster of stars and is located in the Milky Way Galaxy. This new composite image contains Chandra’s X-ray data (red and white) and shows diffuse emissions near the galaxy’s center along with point-like X-ray sources throughout the middle of the image. Optical, infrared, and ultraviolet light from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (red-orange, green, blue, and yellow) reveal stars in the center of the image and dust and gas toward the bottom. The combined layering of the colors makes this nebula and the stars forming within it appear primarily red, white, and blue, with X-rays showing the sparkling lights of young stars.

The middle panel of the bottom row is a new look at the galaxy NGC 4736, also known as Messier 94. In this image, X-rays of different wavelengths from Chandra (red, orange, and blue) are layered with a visible light image from astrophotographers using their telescopes on the ground (red, green, and blue). Messier 94 is a spiral galaxy with a bright inner ring around it, called a starburst ring, where new stars are forming, perhaps fueled by gas driven in the unique oval-shaped structure seen here.

The final image in this red, white, and blue quartet features ZwCl 0024+1652. This is a distant galaxy cluster in which astronomers have found evidence for dark matter by using specially processed data from Hubble (blue). Another image from Hubble reveals the individual galaxies in the cluster (appearing as yellow and white). X-ray data from Chandra shows the enormous reservoir of superheated gas that pervades this galaxy cluster (red) with much more mass than all the galaxies taken together.

New sonifications of the three images along the bottom row of this mosaic are also available, allowing listeners to experience data through sound.

The translation of NGC 3603 into sound begins with a left to right scan, where the brightnesses of the sources once again dictate volume. Chandra’s observations of compact sources sprinkled throughout the galaxy are heard as piano notes, while the diffuse X-ray emission is mapped to a range of audio frequencies. The Hubble optical data is played as sustained tones and acoustic guitar harmonics.

In the sonification of NGC 4736, the radar-like scan moves clockwise, and the brightness of the sources dictates the volume of the sounds. X-rays from Chandra have been turned into wind-like sounds that follow the shape of the X-ray emission. Neutron stars and stellar-mass black holes (known as “compact sources”) detected by Chandra are mapped to pitched tones on a glass marimba. Optical data from ground-based observations is mapped to musically pitched tones, creating a low drone, while stars and background galaxies are heard as a soft piano.

For ZwCl 0024+1652, the sonification begins as a circle on the outside of the image and moves inward. The volume is linked to the brightness of the data, reaching one peak as the circle passes over the dark matter detected by inference from Hubble optical observations and another as it reaches the core. The background stars are heard as a swelling glockenspiel-like sound, and the galaxies are played on a piano. Chandra’s X-rays, which dominate the center of the galaxy cluster and reveal superheated gas, are represented by airy synthesizer notes.

The sonification program is led by the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) and included as part of NASA's Universe of Learning program. The collaboration was driven by visualization scientist Kimberly Arcand, (CXC), Matt Russo, astrophysicist; and Andrew Santaguida, musician, SYSTEM Sounds project; along with Christine Malec, consultant. Previously released sonifications of data from Cassiopeia A can be found at chandra.si.edu/sound.

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.

To learn more about NASA’s Chandra mission, visit: https://nasa.gov/chandra

Source: NASA’s Chandra Reveals ‘Red, White, Blue’ Universe for US 250th - NASA Science

Unexpected pathway turns water and CO₂ into climate‑neutral methane on nickel–zirconia - Chemistry - Materials Science

Under an applied electric voltage, the surface of nickel on zirconia can convert carbon dioxide and water vapor into methane—a possible way to store renewable energy chemically. Credit: Vienna University of Technology

Natural gas still plays an important role in many industrial sectors, but it is a climate-damaging fossil fuel. TU Wien and the University of Innsbruck have now discovered an unexpected reaction pathway that makes it possible to synthesize natural gas, or methane (CH₄), using CO₂ that was previously captured from exhaust gas streams or directly from the air. In this way, methane can become climate-neutral overall.

To achieve this, however, special materials are needed. The search for such materials is the focus of the research project MECS, an Austrian Cluster of Excellence. Now, an important step has been achieved: The team investigated nickel on yttria-stabilized zirconia. In contact with water vapor and carbon dioxide, this material enables a complicated cascade of chemical processes, which has now been deciphered in detail for the first time—ultimately producing methane. The research is published in the journal Chemistry of Materials.

Two steps at once

"The idea of converting carbon dioxide into product gases is not new," says Prof. Günther Rupprechter from the Institute of Materials Chemistry at TU Wien. "Carbon dioxide can be split and then reacted with hydrogen. However, the question then is: Where does the hydrogen come from?"

Today, most hydrogen is still produced from fossil sources—known as "black" or "gray" hydrogen. If one relies on such hydrogen, the overall process is not climate-neutral. "For us in the MECS research cluster, it was clear that it would be much more elegant to develop a process that accomplishes two things at the same time: first, splitting carbon dioxide to provide carbon, and second, splitting water to simultaneously provide 'green' hydrogen," Rupprechter explains.

Hydrogen and carbon can then be used to form fully renewable methane (CH₄). In further steps, if required, this methane could also be converted into other substances, such as renewable liquid fuels.

Zirconia, the underestimated star

"For years, it was assumed that nickel was the main factor determining this chemical process," says Bernhard Klötzer from the University of Innsbruck. "But some experimental findings did not quite fit this picture. We wanted to understand exactly what is happening at the electrochemically active surface."

To find out, the team developed a very special porous model electrode made of nickel on yttria-stabilized zirconia and analyzed it using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. This technique makes it possible to track chemical changes directly during the process, in real time.

The result was a surprise: Zirconia had originally been used mainly because it is permeable to oxygen ions and can transport oxygen away. "But as it turned out, zirconia plays a much more active role here than previously thought," says Christoph Thurner, the first author of the study.

"When we apply an electric voltage, carbon is initially deposited on the nickel atoms—that was what we expected. But part of this carbon then migrates further onto the zirconia surface, where a reactive carbon-zirconium compound is formed. As soon as small amounts of water vapor come into contact with this compound, it reacts again, and methane is formed."

Storing solar power chemically

"The dynamic behavior of the zirconia surface turned out to be crucial," says Alexander Genest from TU Wien, who carried out simulations. "We were able to show that methane is formed via a previously unknown reaction pathway. This opens up new perspectives for the development of electrolysis cells.

"It gives us a way to use surplus electrical energy electrochemically, for example, on particularly sunny days when photovoltaics generate excess power and produce methane. In this way, energy can be stored in the form of versatile fuels that can be stored over the long term without difficulty."

Provided by Vienna University of Technology

by Vienna University of Technology

edited by Lisa Lock, reviewed by Robert Egan

Source: Unexpected pathway turns water and CO₂ into climate‑neutral methane on nickel–zirconia