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Received — 16 June 2026 ⏭

Backyard Worlds: Binaries

✇NASA Science
By: Julie Stoltz
16 June 2026 at 14:00

Backyard Worlds: Binaries

Most stars in our Milky Way galaxy exist in groups, including pairs or “binaries,” in which two stars orbit each other. Some binaries are stars paired with brown dwarfs, balls of gas more massive than planets without enough mass to sustain nuclear fusion. Finding brown dwarfs in pairs helps scientists deduce their ages and origin stories! Backyard Worlds: Binaries invites you to search images made by NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) space telescope to find these vital brown dwarfs in binary systems. Your discoveries will teach us about brown dwarf formation and identify objects that resemble giant planets like Jupiter.

Go to Project Website about Backyard Worlds: Binaries

project task

Examining Images

division

Astrophysics

where

Online

launched

2026

Illustration showing a large, dark red gas‑giant–like world in orbit with a white dwarf shown as a bright white dot. The bright band of the Milky Way stretching across the star‑filled background.
Artist’s rendition of a brown dwarf orbiting a white dwarf (the bright white circle) with the Milky Way in the background.
 NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Marenfeld

What you’ll do

  • Learn how to recognize binary systems and brown dwarfs in images made by NASA’s WISE space telescope. 
  • Click buttons to indicate whether or not they contain binaries. If you see a binary, click a button to indicate whether or not it includes a brown dwarf. Review as many image sets as you like, 
  • If you want to, you can discuss what you have found with other volunteers and scientists in the Talk forum.

Requirements

  • Time: 5-15 minutes to complete the tutorial
  • Equipment: Web-connected device.
  • Knowledge: None. In project tutorial provides all instruction needed.

Get started!

  1. Visit the project website.  
  2. Complete the in-project tutorial to learn how to spot binary systems in short animations of WISE data.
  3. Start identifying candidate binary systems containing a brown dwarf, using a Field Guide reference as necessary.

Learn More

The Backyard Worlds: Binaries Research page gives an overview of the research being pursued and its value towards expanding what we know about how star and planetary systems form. Links throughout this page take the reader to additional sources of information. The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page has additional information relevant to the work of the project. 

You might also like to try Backyard Worlds: Cool Neighbors and Backyard Worlds: Planet 9!

A vibrant logo set against a starry space background. In the center is a colorful, striped planet featuring shades of blue, green, and pink, surrounded by a glowing orange-red ring. A white silhouette of a telescope on a tripod points up toward the planet. Arcing above the planet is the text "BACKYARD WORLDS:" in white, blue-outlined letters. Arcing below is the word "BINARIES" in large, stylized red bubble letters on a white, cloud-like background.

Looping side‑by‑side animation showing two sky images: the original WISE sky view on the left and processed images on the right. Pixelated points labeled as M‑dwarf stars shift position between frames, illustrating how subtracting sequential images reveals moving objects.
Animated images from the Backyard Worlds: Binaries project showing two distinct “dipoles” – single objects moving through space – that appear to be moving together. These dipoles “flip” together, indicating that they are moving in the same direction.
Backyard Worlds: Binaries WISE data.

Get to know the people of Backyard Worlds: Binaries!

Mei Lin

Intern, undergraduate student
Harvard University

Portrait photo of a man wearing a blue shirt and blazer

Aaron Meisner

Staff Astronomer
NSF’s NOIRLab and Harvard University

Zachary Hartman

NASA Postdoctoral Fellow
NASA Ames Research Center

Austin Rothermich

Graduate Student
City University of New York and American Museum of Natural History

Portrait photo of a woman with long curly hair

Jackie Faherty

Astrophysicist / Scientist at American Museum of Natural History

Adam Schneider

United States Naval Observatory

Portrait photo of a smiling man

J. Davy Kirkpatrick

Astronomer, Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) at the California Institute of Technology 

Portrait photo of a bearded young man

Dan Caseldon

Citizen scientist and Research Associate, American Museum of Natural History

Arjun Dey

Astronomer, NSF’s NOIRLab 

John Gizis

Observational Astronomer, University of Delaware

The post Backyard Worlds: Binaries appeared first on NASA Science.

Received — 15 June 2026 ⏭

Amendment 59: Several Updates to the ROSES-25 Summary of Solicitation

✇NASA Science
By: amdollar
15 June 2026 at 19:55

Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES)-2025 is an ongoing “omnibus” or “umbrella” solicitation meaning that it includes many individual program elements each with its own topics and due dates. Refer to Table 3 of ROSES-25 for a list of those program elements. The ROSES-25 “Summary of Solicitation” is the front matter that sets the default backstop rules for each of the program elements in ROSES-25.

ROSES-25 Amendment 59 makes several additions, changes, and clarifications to the ROSES-25 Summary of Solicitation to conform with Agency and administration priorities, see Sections I, I(g), II(a), II(b), III(b), III(d), V(b)ii, VI(c) & VIII(b). New text is in bold.

Important and substantial revisions to 2 CFR 200, the government-wide guidance for grants and cooperative agreements are proposed to take effect October 1, 2026, see https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/29/2026-10817/regulation-for-federal-financial-assistance#h-8. Many types of currently allowable costs, such as but not limited to publications, research or events outside the United States, and domestic conferences may be restricted, denied, or may be allowable by legal exception or special award conditions only. Public comments on the revisions to 2 CFR 200 may be submitted until July 13, 2026, at https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/OMB-2026-0034-0001

On or about June 15, 2026, this Amendment to the NASA Research Announcement “Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) 2025” (NNH25ZDA001N) will be posted on the NASA research opportunity homepage at https://solicitation.nasaprs.com/ROSES2025 and will appear on SARA’s ROSES blog at: https://science.nasa.gov/researchers/solicitations/roses-2025/

Questions concerning this amendment to ROSES-25 may be directed to SARA@nasa.gov.

The post Amendment 59: Several Updates to the ROSES-25 Summary of Solicitation appeared first on NASA Science.

Received — 11 June 2026 ⏭

NASA to Preview Katalyst Mission to Boost Swift Spacecraft’s Orbit

✇NASA Science
11 June 2026 at 14:58
LINK attached to the front of the Pegasus XL
Katalyst Space’s LINK robotic servicing satellite awaits encapsulation inside a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL on June 8, 2026, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The rocket will carry LINK to space for an attempted orbital boost of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.
Credit: NASA/Ron Beard

NASA will host an audio-only media teleconference at 11 a.m. EDT, Wednesday, June 17, to preview the Katalyst Space mission to boost the orbit of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.

Katalyst’s robotic servicing spacecraft, called LINK, will attempt to rendezvous with Swift and raise its altitude, extending its science mission lifespan and advancing a key capability for the future of space exploration. The LINK spacecraft will launch on Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus XL rocket later this month from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

Media interested in participating by phone must RSVP no later than two hours before the start of the call to Amy Barra at: amy.l.barra@nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online.

Audio of the media teleconference will stream on the agency’s website at:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

Participants in the media teleconference include:

  • Shawn Domagal-Goldman, division director, Astrophysics, NASA Headquarters in Washington
  • Brad Cenko, principal investigator, Swift, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland
  • Kieran Wilson, principal investigator, LINK, Katalyst Space
  • Robert Lamontagne, vice president, strategic partnerships, Katalyst Space
  • Wes Collier, vice president, launch systems, Northrop Grumman

The Swift mission, which launched in 2004, leads NASA’s fleet of telescopes in studying changes in the high-energy universe, like gamma-ray bursts, which are the most powerful explosions in the cosmos. When a rapid, sudden event takes place in the sky, Swift serves as a “dispatcher,” providing critical information that allows other “first responder” missions to follow up to learn more about how the universe works.

After 21 years, Swift’s low Earth orbit has begun to rapidly decay because of increased solar activity. Rather than allowing the observatory to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, as many missions do at the end of their lifetimes, NASA is using this opportunity to advance U.S. spacecraft servicing technology. In September 2025, NASA awarded a contract to Katalyst to mount a robotic servicing mission for Swift in less than a year. The mission will use LINK to rendezvous with Swift and boost it to a higher altitude, demonstrating a key capability for the future of space exploration. The mission is targeted for launch in June from Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands.

Learn more about the mission to boost Swift’s orbit at:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/swift/swift-boost-mission/

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Karen Fox / Alise Fisher
Headquarters, Washington
202-385-1287 / 202-358-2546
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov

Amy Barra
Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.
757-824-1579
amy.l.barra@nasa.gov

The post NASA to Preview Katalyst Mission to Boost Swift Spacecraft’s Orbit appeared first on NASA Science.

NASA to Preview Katalyst Mission to Boost Swift Spacecraft’s Orbit

✇NASA
By: Jessica Taveau
11 June 2026 at 14:58
LINK attached to the front of the Pegasus XL
Katalyst Space’s LINK robotic servicing satellite awaits encapsulation inside a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL on June 8, 2026, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The rocket will carry LINK to space for an attempted orbital boost of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.
Credit: NASA/Ron Beard

NASA will host an audio-only media teleconference at 11 a.m. EDT, Wednesday, June 17, to preview the Katalyst Space mission to boost the orbit of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.

Katalyst’s robotic servicing spacecraft, called LINK, will attempt to rendezvous with Swift and raise its altitude, extending its science mission lifespan and advancing a key capability for the future of space exploration. The LINK spacecraft will launch on Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus XL rocket later this month from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

Media interested in participating by phone must RSVP no later than two hours before the start of the call to Amy Barra at: amy.l.barra@nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online.

Audio of the media teleconference will stream on the agency’s website at:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

Participants in the media teleconference include:

  • Shawn Domagal-Goldman, division director, Astrophysics, NASA Headquarters in Washington
  • Brad Cenko, principal investigator, Swift, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland
  • Kieran Wilson, principal investigator, LINK, Katalyst Space
  • Robert Lamontagne, vice president, strategic partnerships, Katalyst Space
  • Wes Collier, vice president, launch systems, Northrop Grumman

The Swift mission, which launched in 2004, leads NASA’s fleet of telescopes in studying changes in the high-energy universe, like gamma-ray bursts, which are the most powerful explosions in the cosmos. When a rapid, sudden event takes place in the sky, Swift serves as a “dispatcher,” providing critical information that allows other “first responder” missions to follow up to learn more about how the universe works.

After 21 years, Swift’s low Earth orbit has begun to rapidly decay because of increased solar activity. Rather than allowing the observatory to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, as many missions do at the end of their lifetimes, NASA is using this opportunity to advance U.S. spacecraft servicing technology. In September 2025, NASA awarded a contract to Katalyst to mount a robotic servicing mission for Swift in less than a year. The mission will use LINK to rendezvous with Swift and boost it to a higher altitude, demonstrating a key capability for the future of space exploration. The mission is targeted for launch in June from Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands.

Learn more about the mission to boost Swift’s orbit at:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/swift/swift-boost-mission/

-end-

Karen Fox / Alise Fisher
Headquarters, Washington
202-385-1287 / 202-358-2546
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov

Amy Barra
Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.
757-824-1579
amy.l.barra@nasa.gov

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