NASA Exoplanet Database Reaches 6,000 Confirmed Planets

On September 17, NASA announced that it had officially logged over 6,000 confirmed exoplanets.  Scientists believe that there is an average of at least one planet for every star. As the number of known planets continues to expand, astronomers are uncovering more about how planets form, learning which planet types are the most common, and possibly getting closer to finding a planet like Earth.

The 6,000-planet milestone comes 30 years after the discovery of the first planet orbiting a star similar to our Sun. For more, read the story on nasa.gov.

Physical Sciences Informatics Database Launches New File Download Process for Large Requests

NASA’s Physical Sciences Informatics (PSI) repository provides open access to NASA-affiliated microgravity physical science experiments. A recent update to the PSI database improves how large dataset downloads are handled, resulting in more efficient processing for users.

Download requests larger than 1GB are now delivered via email, rather than downloading directly from the website. This allows the system to prepare files in the background so that users can continue working without delays and access the files at their convenience once the request is processed. When users select their data and enter their email address, they will get a confirmation email that the submission is received. Another email will arrive with links to the data once the download is prepared.

For the full tutorial on using the new feature, read the PSI Database guide.  

VIIRS Global Burned Area Product Added to FIRMS

NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) enables access to global near real-time satellite imagery, active fire hotspots, and related products to identify the location, extent, and intensity of wildfire activity. Now, FIRMS has added another stream of data to help track the effects of wildfires: the global burned area product from Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite.

This VIIRS product provides continuity to the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-generated burned area product, and it is processed using a similar algorithm to the MODIS dataset. For more information, read the article on the Earthdata website.

Astromat Awarded CoreTrustSeal Certification

The NASA-funded Astromaterials Data System (Astromat) is a data repository which hosts all of NASA’s openly available astromaterials data. On September 15, Astromat announced it has achieved certification as a Trustworthy Data Repository from the CoreTrustSeal Standards and Certification Board. CoreTrustSeal is an international, community-based, non-governmental, and non-profit organization that promotes sustainable and trustworthy data infrastructures.

For more information, read the announcement on the Astromat website.

MAST Adds Image Previews for James Webb Data

The Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) has updated the MAST Search Form to support image previews for James Webb Space Telescope data. This will allow users to see thumbnail versions of the datasets in the search results, making it easier and quicker to find what they’re looking for.

The archive plans to add image previews for Hubble Space Telescope data searches soon. For more information and to search MAST data, read the announcement on the MAST website.

Physical Sciences Informatics (PSI) Repository Adds Five New Datasets  

NASA’s Physical Sciences Informatics (PSI) repository added five new datasets in September. The recently released datasets span a variety of physical sciences disciplines and include both flight and ground-based research.

PSI-66: A ground-based research study titled “Dynamic Response of Particle-Filled Polymeric Fluids in Flows with Complex Lagrangian Time Histories." This investigation utilized existing flight data available in PSI.

PSI-119: A ground-based study titled “Enhanced Particle Tracking in STDC Data and Its Industrial Application of Marangoni Convection.” This investigation utilized existing flight data available in PSI.

ACE-T2 (PSI-165): Conducted in partnership with the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research and the European Space Agency, ACE-T2 expanded current understanding of how micron-scale particles self-assemble into complex structures under precisely controlled temperature conditions and provided insights into both equilibrium and non-equilibrium growth processes.

ACE-T9 (PSI-167): This experiment demonstrated the advantages of using confocal microscopy to study the real-time dynamics of single colloidal chains, observing three-dimensional structures, and measuring particle binding equilibrium, an achievement not possible under Earth’s gravity.

ACE-T10 (PSI-168): Similarly employing confocal microscopy, ACE-T10 examined the evolution of colloidal structures during the coarsening process and isolated the effects of gravitational stress on structural stability limits prior to collapse. The release of these datasets highlights additional advancements in complex fluids/soft matter.

PSI now features 117 investigations available for public use, with additional datasets being prepared for release in the coming weeks. To explore all openly available PSI datasets, visit the PSI repository.