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NASA shuts down the incredible Spitzer Space Telescope
Goodnight, sweet Spitzer.

- One of NASA's most important telescopes has been put to sleep in space.
- The infrared Spitzer Space telescope made a number of science-shaking discoveries over the course of its 16-year lifespan.
- Without Spitzer, we wouldn't know about the TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets.
It was one of NASA's four Great Observatories. Each of the telescopes was tuned to its own wavelength of light, watching the universe in its own way. Together, the quartet presented to scientists a universe of unprecedented detail. There was the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, and the Spitzer Space Telescope, capturing infrared light. Last Thursday, at 2:30 p.m. PST, Spitzer was decommissioned after 16 years of invaluable observations, and 11 years after its original mission ended. It now continues to orbit the Sun in safe mode some 266,600,037 kilometers from Earth.
While not as well-known as other telescopes, particularly the Hubble, Spitzer's contributions were nonetheless equally as important. According to NASA's Thomas Zurbuchen, "Spitzer has taught us about entirely new aspects of the cosmos and taken us many steps further in understanding how the universe works, addressing questions about our origins, and whether or not are we alone." Moreover, Zurbuchen points out, "This Great Observatory has also identified some important and new questions and tantalizing objects for further study, mapping a path for future investigations to follow. Its immense impact on science certainly will last well beyond the end of its mission."
Spitzer will be replaced by the Webb telescope, launching in 2021.
Spitzer, take a bow
Spitzer image of the Tarantula Nebula
Image source: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Spitzer weighs about 865 kilograms (nearly a ton) and is about 4 meters tall. For its sensors to detect infrared light, their temperature control is critical — they have to operate at about 5 degrees above absolute zero (That's -450 F or -268 C). Other equipment on the telescope needs to be relatively warms, so its body is divided into the frigid Cryogenic Telescope Assembly and the spacecraft itself.
In the Cryogenic Telescope Assembly is a 0.85-meter telescope, as well as a multiple instrument chamber containing the Infrared Array Camera, the Infrared Spectrograph, the Multiband Imaging Photometer, and the Cryostat, in addition to the Outer-Shell Group. The Assembly was cooled with liquid helium, though by the end of the original mission in 2009 it had been depleted. Since that time, just two of the Infrared Array Camera's four wavelength bands have been scanning the stars.
The spacecraft itself contains what you'd expect: navigation, communication, solar panels, and so on.
TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets
Representation of Trappist-1 system
Image source: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Probably the most famous of Spitzer's accomplishment is its discovery of the TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets, seven Earth-sized bodies orbiting a single star. Three of them occupy the habitable zone around their sun, which is a bit cooler than ours, and are potentially capable of supporting life. Spitzer provided some 500 hours-worth of observations of the TRAPPIST-1 system.
Big babies
Big mature galaxies as seen by Spitzer in an early universe
Image source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA
Spitzer was especially good at detecting distant, ancient young galaxies. The oldest infrared light it captured was from about 13.4 billion years ago, just 400 million years after the universe's birth. Spitzer also revealed and identified a set of "big baby" galaxies that were unexpectedly well-developed for their relative youth — the implication being that larger galaxies may not have resulted from collisions of smaller ones after all, but came together quickly on their own in the early days of the universe.
Great buckyballs in space!
Artist rendering of NGC 2440 nebula
Image source: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Buckyballs are spherical carbon molecules whose hexagon-pentagon-patterned surfaces make them look like soccer balls. They belong to a molecule class called buckminsterfullerenes, named after the famous dome-shaped buildings designed by architect Buckminster Fuller. Spitzer found buckyballs in space orbiting a dying star called Tc 1.
So much more
The final ovation
Image source: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Spitzer's been incredibly productive over the years, and NASA's compiled a page of 15 of its most notable accomplishments. "Everyone who has worked on this mission should be extremely proud today," said Spitzer Project Manager Joseph Hunt. "There are literally hundreds of people who contributed directly to Spitzer's success, and thousands who used its scientific capabilities to explore the universe. We leave behind a powerful scientific and technological legacy."
- Why are so many objects in space shaped like discs? - Big Think ›
- How fast is Earth moving through space? That depends. - Big Think ›
Archaeologists identify contents of ancient Mayan drug containers
Scientists use new methods to discover what's inside drug containers used by ancient Mayan people.
A Muna-type paneled flask with distinctive serrated-edge decoration from AD 750-900.
- Archaeologists used new methods to identify contents of Mayan drug containers.
- They were able to discover a non-tobacco plant that was mixed in by the smoking Mayans.
- The approach promises to open up new frontiers in the knowledge of substances ancient people consumed.
PARME staff archaeologists excavating a burial site at the Tamanache site, Mérida, Yucatan.
Credit: WSU
Why cities are critical to achieving a carbon-neutral world
In May 2018, the city of Paris set an ambition to be carbon-neutral by 2050.
- Countries, governments and companies are aligning on a need for net-zero - and this is an opportunity to rethink decarbonizing our cities.
- There is no "one-size-fits-all" solution – each city's needs must be at the heart of developing integrated energy solutions.
- A city can only decarbonize through collaboration between government, the private sector, and local communities.
Japanese government appoints new "Minister of Loneliness"
While not the first such minister, the loneliness epidemic in Japan will make this one the hardest working.
Minister Tetsushi Sakamoto
- The Japanese government has appointed a Minister of Loneliness to implement policies designed to fight isolation and lower suicide rates.
- They are the second country, after the U.K., to dedicate a cabinet member to the task.
- While Japan is famous for how its loneliness epidemic manifests, it isn't alone in having one.
The Ministry of Loneliness
<iframe width="730" height="430" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I5FIohjZT8o" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><p><a href="https://www.jimin.jp/english/profile/members/114749.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tetsushi Sakamoto</a>, already in the government as the minister in charge of raising Japan's low birthrate and revitalizing regional economies, was appointed this <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/02/21/national/japan-tackles-loneliness/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">month</a> to the additional role. He has already announced plans for an emergency national forum to discuss the issue and share the testimony of lonely <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/02/12/national/loneliness-isolation-minister/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">individuals</a>.</p><p>Given the complexity of the problem, the minister will primarily oversee the coordination of efforts between different <a href="https://www.insider.com/japan-minister-of-loneliness-suicides-rise-pandemic-2021-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ministries</a> that hope to address the issue alongside a task <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/02/21/national/japan-tackles-loneliness/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">force</a>. He steps into his role not a moment too soon. The loneliness epidemic in Japan is uniquely well known around the world.</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Hikikomori</em></a><em>,</em> often translated as "acute social withdrawal," is the phenomenon of people completely withdrawing from society for months or years at a time and living as modern-day hermits. While cases exist in many <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00247/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">countries</a>, the problem is better known and more prevalent in Japan. Estimates vary, but some suggest that one million Japanese live like this and that 1.5 million more are at <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/article/japan-hikikomori-isolation-society" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">risk</a> of developing the condition. Individuals practicing this hermitage often express contentment with their isolation at first before encountering severe symptoms of loneliness and <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200110155241.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">distress</a>.</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodokushi" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Kodokushi</em></a>, the phenomenon of the elderly dying alone and remaining undiscovered for some time due to their isolation, is also a widespread issue in Japan that has attracted national attention for decades.</p><p>These are just the most shocking elements of the loneliness crisis. As we've discussed before, loneliness can cause health issues akin to <a href="https://www.inc.com/amy-morin/americas-loneliness-epidemic-is-more-lethal-than-smoking-heres-what-you-can-do-to-combat-isolation.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">smoking</a>. A lack of interaction within a community can cause social <a href="https://bigthink.com/in-their-own-words/how-religious-neighbors-are-better-neighbors" target="_self">problems</a>. It is even associated with changes in the <a href="https://bigthink.com/mind-brain/loneliness-brain" target="_self">brain</a>. While there is nothing wrong with wanting a little time to yourself, the inability to get the socialization that many people need is a real problem with real <a href="https://bigthink.com/mind-brain/brain-loneliness-hunger" target="_self">consequences</a>.</p>The virus that broke the camel's back
<iframe width="730" height="430" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Hp-L844-5k8" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><p> A global loneliness pandemic existed before COVID-19, and the two working in tandem has been catastrophic. </p><p>Japanese society has always placed a value on solitude, often associating it with self-reliance, which makes dealing with the problem of excessive solitude more difficult. Before the pandemic, 16.1 percent of Japanese seniors reported having nobody to turn to in a time of need, the highest rate of any nation <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/02/21/national/japan-tackles-loneliness/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">considered</a>. Seventeen percent of Japanese men surveyed in 2005 said that they "rarely or never spend time with friends, colleagues, or others in social groups." This was three times the average rate of other <a href="http://www.oecd.org/sdd/37964677.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">countries</a>. </p><p>American individualism also creates a fertile environment for isolation to grow. About a month before the pandemic started, nearly<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/01/23/798676465/most-americans-are-lonely-and-our-workplace-culture-may-not-be-helping" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> 3 in 5</a> Americans reported being lonely in a <a href="https://www.cigna.com/about-us/newsroom/studies-and-reports/combatting-loneliness/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">report</a> issued by Cigna. This is a slight increase over previous studies, which had been pointing in the same direction for years. </p><p>In the United Kingdom, the problem prompted the creation of the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness. The commission's <a href="https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/reports-and-publications/reports-and-briefings/active-communities/rb_dec17_jocox_commission_finalreport.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">final report </a>paints a stark picture of the U.K.'s situation in 2017, with millions of people from all parts of British society reporting feeling regular loneliness at a tremendous cost to personal health, society, and the economy.</p><p>The report called for a lead minister to address the problem at the national level, incorporating government action with the insights provided by volunteer organizations, businesses, the NHS, and other organizations on the crisis's front lines. Her Majesty's Government acted on the report and appointed the first Minister for Loneliness in <a href="https://time.com/5248016/tracey-crouch-uk-loneliness-minister/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2018</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracey_Crouch" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tracey Crouch</a>, and dedicated millions of pounds to battling the problem. </p><p>The distancing procedures necessitated by the COVID-19 epidemic saved many lives but exacerbated an existing problem of loneliness in many parts of the world. While the issue had received attention before, Japan's steps to address the situation suggest that people are now willing to treat it with the seriousness it deserves.</p><p>--</p><p><em>If you or a loved one are having suicidal thoughts, help is available. The suicide prevention hotline can be reached at 1-800-273-8255.</em></p>How art and design can rebuild a community
MIT professor Azra Akšamija creates works of cultural resilience in the face of social conflict.
