A solar “light leak” damages NASA’s NICER telescope

2023-06-09 11:20:01

NICER telescope – NASA

MADRID, 9 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –

NASA’s NICER telescope, an X-ray observatory on the International Space Station, suffered a “leak” or unwanted sunlight infiltration into the instrument.

While analyzing the incoming data since then, the team identified an impact on daytime observations. Nighttime observations appear to have been unaffected.

The NICER (Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer) team suspects that at least one of the thin heat shields of the telescope’s 56 X-ray concentrators has been damaged, allowing sunlight to reach its sensitive detectors. reports NASA.

To mitigate the effects on the measurements, the NICER team has limited daytime observations to objects far from the Sun’s position in the sky. The team also updated NICER’s commands that automatically reduce its sensitivity during the orbital day to reduce the effects of solar pollution. The team is evaluating these changes and evaluating additional measures to reduce the impact on scientific observations.

To date, more than 300 scientific papers have used NICER observations, and the team is confident that this device will continue to produce world-class science.

NICER provides precise measurements of neutron stars, objects on the verge of collapsing into black holes.