Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Explanation:It is time to say goodbye toNASA'sNeil Gehrels Swift Observatory. After nearly 22 years of service, the satellitere-entered Earth's atmosphereon November 4 at 7:39 EST over theNorth Sumatraregion ofIndonesia. Thefeatured imageis a mosaic created in 2018 using the first one millionimagescaptured by the satellite'sUltraviolet/Optical Telescope. Swift had a combination of instruments, including anX-ray telescopeand agamma-ray telescope, that worked together to enable humanity to study, in unprecedented detail, the fastest and most energeticexplosionsin the universe. The most recentsolar maximumaccelerated the decay of the satellite's orbit. Aninnovative missiontorescue Swiftby boosting its orbit wasnot successful. Swift burned onreentrylike a shooting star, but the impressive data acquired by the telescope over its mission will continue to bring light to the mysteries of the cosmos for years to come. May it keep inspiring new missionsto boldly gointo space, explore new data and seek out new science.Tomorrow's picture:what's next?