It had sufficient
details to convince other independent scientists, engineers, technologists,
cost analysts, and program managers this is an exciting and breakthrough
experiment for NASA to sponsor," said NASA's Deputy Associate Administrator
for the Science Mission Directorate, Dr.

It is now considered to be the source of the short-period comets.

discoverer kuiper

, manages the Chandra
program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate.
IBEX is the first mission designed to detect the edge of the Solar System. Dr.
NASA has decided to continue studying another proposed mission, the
Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR ). The missions
include the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI)
launched in February 2002, and the Galaxy Evolution Explorer launched in April
2003.

frigid unexplored

"Stars with smaller flares , on the other
hand, might end up with Earth-like planets plummeting into the star.

nationalgeographic reconaissance

NASA'S Chandra Observatory Catches X-Ray Super-Flares

This charge, combined with motion of
the disk and the effects of magnetic fields, should create turbulence in the
disk.S.harvard.nasa.

NASA Selects Small Explorer Mission

IBEX will make these observations from a highly elliptical
orbit that takes it beyond the interference of the Earth's magnetosphere.
The Explorer Program is designed to provide frequent, low-cost access to
space for physics and astronomy missions with small to mid-sized spacecraft. The next SMEX mission is the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM)
mission, scheduled to launch in September 2006. NASA selected six
proposals in November 2003 for detailed feasibility studies.

tombaugh icy

, was the prime development contractor for the
observatory.
"The mission will continue the NASA Explorer Program's successful record
of scientific exploration of space over the past four decades, and it supports
the Vision for Space Exploration," Asrar added.
is the Principal Investigator for NuSTAR.edu/

NuSTAR: http://www.

ub313 nationalgeographic

Scientists have discovered these young
stars erupt in enormous flares that dwarf, in energy, size and frequency,
anything seen from our sun today. This difference may specifically affect
the fate of planets that are relatively small and rocky, like the Earth. Specifically, this turbulence can help prevent planets
from rapidly migrating towards the young star. AIM will study the Earth's
highest clouds for clues to climate change.

orrery tombaugh

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
The selected proposals were among 29 SMEX and eight mission-of-opportunity
proposals submitted to NASA in May 2003.org/

For information about NASA's Explorer Program on the Internet, visit:

http://explorers.nasa.

icy swri

The Orion Nebula is the nearest rich stellar nursery,
located just 1,500 light years away from Earth. "These flares may be acting
like a planetary protection program. IBEX contains two neutral
atom imagers designed to detect particles from the termination shock at the
boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space. The Small Explorer program (SMEX)
consists of rapid , small, and focused science exploration missions.
"Explorer missions continue to efficiently address NASA's objectives,
because of the competitive character of the Explorer Program. Ghassem Asrar.
NASA has successfully launched six SMEX missions since 1992.

nationalgeographic jewitt

"We don't have a time machine to see how the young sun behaved, but the
next best thing is to observe sun-like stars in Orion," said Scott Wolk of
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass."
A key finding is the more violent stars produce flares one hundred times
as energetic as the more docile ones.
"Big X-ray flares could lead to planetary systems like ours, where Earth
is a safe distance from the sun," said Eric Feigelson of Penn State University
in University Park. A decision
on proceeding to flight development with NuSTAR will be made by early 2006. Fiona Harrison of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.xraysmex.

96th stsci

David McComas of Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio will lead IBEX.
It will cost approximately $134 million.

frigid puzzling

Additional information and images pertaining to this research is available at:

http://chandra . It is the first telescope
capable of detecting black holes in the local universe with 1,000 times more
sensitivity than previous missions sensitive to energetic X-rays.

nationalgeographic kbos

"Although these flares may be creating havoc in the disks, they ultimately
could do more good than harm," said Feigelson . NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

frigid kuiper

They were in response to an Explorer
Program Announcement of Opportunity issued in February 2003.gov/

ecliptic ekos

WASHINGTON, New results from NASA's Chandra X-ray
Observatory about the Orion Nebula imply super-flares torched our young solar
system.
By focusing on the Orion Nebula almost continuously for 13 days, a team of
scientists used Chandra to obtain the deepest X-ray observations ever taken of
any star cluster.
IBEX also will study galactic cosmic rays, energetic particles from beyond
the Solar System that pose a health and safety hazard for humans exploring
beyond Earth orbit.

puzzling ekos

puzzling orrery

Such X-ray flares likely affected the planet-forming disk around the
early sun, and may have enhanced the survival chances of Earth .edu
+
http://chandra.
As the solar wind from the sun flows out beyond Pluto, it collides with the
material between the stars, forming a shock front.

dedicates pluto

"
According to recent theoretical work, X-ray flares can create turbulence
when they strike planet-forming disks, and this affects the position of rocky
planets as they form. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and
flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass. WASHINGTON, A satellite that will make the first
map of the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space has been
selected as part of NASA's Small Explorer program.
Funded by NASA, up to $450,000 each, these studies focus on cost,
management , and technical plans, including small business involvement and
educational outreach.

dedicates 96th

He is the principal investigator for the international
Chandra Orion Ultradeep Project. McComas and
his co-investigators submitted a compelling proposal.

kuiper stsci

"We are
getting a unique look at stars between one and 10 million years old -- a time
when planets form., Italy, France, Germany,
Taiwan, Japan and the Netherlands .gov

Dr.ibex.swri.

dedicates 96th

gsfc.

fleeting puzzling

The team
contains 37 scientists from institutions in the U. Northrop Grumman,
Redondo Beach, Calif.

reconaissance kbos

"
About half of the young suns in Orion show evidence of planet -forming
disks including four lying at the center of proplyds (proto-planetary disks)
imaged by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.
Dr.,
manages the Explorer Program for the Science Mission Directorate .
For information and artist's concepts of these missions on the Internet,
visit:

IBEX: http://www.

kuiper ekos

The Orion Nebula provides an unparalleled view of 1,400 young stars, 30 of
which are prototypes of the early sun.
The numerous results from the Chandra Orion Ultradeep Project will appear
in an upcoming issue of The Astrophysical Journal Supplement .

The Kuiper Belt is a disk-shaped region past the orbit of Neptune roughly 30 to 100 AU from the Sun containing many small icy bodies.

swri dedicates

X-ray flares bombard these disks,
likely giving them an electric charge. The Interstellar Boundary
Explorer (IBEX) mission will be launched in 2008.

farthest icy

ecliptic stsci

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