Astrum

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has just sent back its first image!

This is the "first light" from its Wide Field Instrument (WFI), a 300-megapixel infrared camera. (Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Tyler Desjardins (STScI)).

It might not seem like much, but this picture tells a thousand words. This is a combination of images from WFI's 18 detectors, that cover an incredible 300 megapixels over an area of sky 100x bigger than Hubble can see at once.

Right now, the stars look fuzzy - that's because the telescope is not focused yet, engineers are just checking to see if the instruments are working. But what is really cool is that if you zoom in to the image, you can see repeating shapes. These are the PSF or Point Spread Function - created when the telescope's inner optical workings spread out the light from a point source, like a star. In this case, you can see the frame holding one of the mirrors in place! I've added an image of the telescope before launch (Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn) so you can easily see how it matches up.

First light is an exciting time for any telescope and the Nancy Grace Roman is no exception. I can't wait to see what this superpowered telescope will be able to do once it's focused in and fully operational...

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2 days ago | [YT] | 1,453

Astrum

📚 ASTRUM BOOK UPDATE 📚

Hi everyone,

I have a quick update on the Astrum book for you - we’re officially running low!

With this book, I really wanted to capture that sense of wonder I’ve always felt looking up at the night sky. Even as a kid, I was completely obsessed with the Sun, the planets, moons, and everything beyond. If you love watching Astrum videos, that feeling is probably familiar to you, too!

If you’re in the US, you can still grab a copy here: astrumspace.co/
Unfortunately, we’ve now completely sold out everywhere else in the world.

So if you want to learn more about our Solar System, or just love having stunning space images on your coffee table, make sure you get your hands on one while you still can.

I really hope you love it.

Alex

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 910

Astrum

🌓 TOTAL ECLIPSE: LIVE STREAM 🌓

The countdown begins!
Join us tomorrow (12th August at 17:30 UTC) to watch the total eclipse live with Astrum: youtube.com/live/B05nBdhWHcE

Remember to click “notify me” to set a reminder!

You can expect: a live feed of the total eclipse from Spain (courtesy of ESA), real-time science breakdowns as it all unfolds, and a live Q&A with the Astrum team in the live chat.

So join us to experience this incredible event together. It’s one of the best perks of living on this remarkable planet.

1 month ago | [YT] | 405

Astrum

🌓 ECLIPSE: LIVE WITH ASTRUM 🌓
Weds 12th Aug | 17:30 UTC

Astrum is going live on YouTube for the total solar eclipse next week!

We’ll be sharing ESA’s live telescope feed from the path of totality in Spain, breaking down everything as it happens - from initial contact, through totality, right up until sunset. We'll explain what scientists are looking out for during this rare opportunity to study the Sun’s atmosphere.

💬 Chat with us! The Astrum team will be live in the chat to answer your questions.

🌍 Will you see the eclipse from your location?
The path of totality starts in the Arctic, passing over western Iceland and northern Spain. A partial eclipse will be visible across North America, Europe, and Africa.
Check out the eclipse path here: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5656/

So join us from 17:30 UTC on Weds 12th Aug, to share in one of the most extraordinary sights on Earth together. I hope you’re as excited as I am!

See you in the chat 🚀

1 month ago | [YT] | 710

Astrum

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has said NASA are looking into making Pluto a planet again!

You can find out more in our latest Pluto supercut:
https://youtu.be/4NIRKtIWLOE

What do you think? Should Pluto be reinstated as a planet?

Vote below, and let us know why in the comments!

2 months ago | [YT] | 1,460

Astrum

🌗 ASTRUM MOON WEEK 🌗

Yesterday, NASA unveiled plans to build a lunar base and put human feet back on the Moon’s surface by 2029. So this week on Astrum, we’re celebrating all those lunar astronauts with not one, but THREE videos all about humanity’s exploration of the Moon.

Firstly, our newest Astrum video is an Artemis 2 update, available here: https://youtu.be/eCX9djgeYfo
Now that the Artemis crew are safely back on Earth, we’re breaking down everything that happened on the iconic 10-day mission, and the incredible discoveries they made.

But… there’s more! 👇
Tomorrow on Astrum Extra, we're diving into the full story of the first time we made it to the lunar surface: Apollo 11.
It's a story so epic, we’re telling it in two parts! Discover the science behind how Neil Armstrong’s crew made it to the Moon - narrowly avoiding a crash-landing, the experiments they did on the surface, and how they made it back to Earth - with some risky hiccups along the way.

These missions have fundamentally reshaped our understanding of the Moon and prepared us for future exploration.

So if, like me, you’re fascinated by our Moon, there's never been a better time to be watching Astrum. Check out our new videos and let us know what you think!

3 months ago | [YT] | 3,039

Astrum

🚀 PSYCHE WILL FLY BY MARS TODAY 🚀

NASA’s Psyche probe will complete a Mars flyby today (15th May), making its closest approach at 15:28 EDT. The flyby will take the probe within 4,500 km of the planet and provide a gravitational boost to slingshot the probe toward its destination: a rare metal asteroid named 16 Psyche.

The probe is due to reach its destination in 2029. 16 Psyche is an M-type (metal-rich) asteroid orbiting within our solar system’s asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Scientists believe the asteroid may be the exposed nickel-iron core of an early protoplanet, one of the building blocks of our solar system.

This Mars flyby will allow Psyche to power up and calibrate its instruments for use later in the mission. Psyche’s multispectral imager is currently capturing thousands of observations of Mars.

Scientists hope Psyche will detect a faint, dusty ring around Mars, made up of dust ejected by micrometeorite impacts on the planet’s moons, Phobos and Deimos. The alignment with the Sun should allow the ring’s dust particles to scatter sunlight toward the probe.

The probe will also hunt for tiny satellites around Mars, serving as a rehearsal run for detecting “moonlets” around asteroid 16 Psyche later on.

Psyche took this “crescent Mars” photo on 3rd May as it approached the planet. We’re eagerly awaiting new photos from the flyby, which we hope NASA will release soon!

You can check out our most recent video about Mars here: https://youtu.be/5FM0upDr4L0

4 months ago | [YT] | 2,810

Astrum

🐍 THE BIGGEST SNAKE OF ALL TIME 🐍

Head over to Astrum Earth to watch our new video about Titanoboa, the largest snake to have ever existed on Earth - https://youtu.be/7J0EJEB2qII

After the extinction of the dinosaurs, the behemoth Titanoboa emerged to become the ultimate apex predator. In the video, we explore new research that proves it was even deadlier than anyone imagined.

What was the Earth like when Titanoboa stalked its surface? How did it get so big? And... could it ever return?

#Titanoboa #Snake #Earth #AstrumEarth

4 months ago | [YT] | 918

Astrum

Today is Earth day, so let's all stop for a moment to appreciate our beautiful planet. It has been said that nobody understands the fragility of our planet like the astronauts who have seen it from above - especially those who went to the Moon, and saw our pale blue marble in all its glory.

In November 1970, just one year after seeing the Earth from space, Neil Armstrong spoke at the World Wildlife Fund’s second international congress, saying
“The importance of protecting and saving that home has never been felt more strongly. Protection seems most required, however, not from foreign aggressors or natural calamity, but from its own population.”

But Neil Armstrong nearly didn’t get to the Moon at all. Discover the full story of the Apollo 11 mission and all its ups and downs in our new series on Astrum Extra:
https://youtu.be/5uP6y2hU2mo

4 months ago | [YT] | 7,080

Astrum

Hi everyone,

Our friends over at Mentour have just launched a new channel! It's called Mentour Black Box - https://youtu.be/rNLn7Exiq4s

You might already be familiar with Mentour Pilot - I’ve always loved how they break down aviation disasters from a pilot’s point of view, with thoughtful, well-researched storytelling.

So, I was excited to see that they’re expanding beyond aviation, with a new channel that investigates the decisions, missed signals, and failures behind the worst disasters on Earth.

I can't wait to see what they come up with!
Go and show some love from the Astrum community on their new video.

Alex

5 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 501