NASA: GUSTO Explorer Will Study Churning Chaos in Milky Way & Beyond

[bystander]

NASA Selects Mission to Study Churning Chaos in our Milky Way and Beyond
NASA | GUSTO | 2017 Mar 24

[img3="NASA has selected a science mission that will untangle the complexities of the interstellar medium, and map out large sections of the plane of our Milky Way galaxy and the Large Magellanic Cloud. Credits: NASA, ESA, and Hubble Heritage Team"]https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/file ... 1a1r_0.jpg[/img3][hr][/hr]

NASA has selected a science mission that will measure emissions from the interstellar medium, which is the cosmic material found between stars. This data will help scientists determine the life cycle of interstellar gas in our Milky Way galaxy, witness the formation and destruction of star-forming clouds, and understand the dynamics and gas flow in the vicinity of the center of our galaxy.

The Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO) mission, led by principal investigator of the University of Arizona, Christopher Walker, will fly an Ultralong-Duration Balloon (ULDB) carrying a telescope with carbon, oxygen and nitrogen emission line detectors. This unique combination of data will provide the spectral and spatial resolution information needed for Walker and his team to untangle the complexities of the interstellar medium, and map out large sections of the plane of our Milky Way galaxy and the nearby galaxy known as the Large Magellanic Cloud.

“GUSTO will provide the first complete study of all phases of the stellar life cycle, from the formation of molecular clouds, through star birth and evolution, to the formation of gas clouds and the re-initiation of the cycle,” said Paul Hertz, astrophysics division director in the Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “NASA has a great history of launching observatories in the Astrophysics Explorers Program with new and unique observational capabilities. GUSTO continues that tradition.”

The mission is targeted for launch in 2021 from McMurdo, Antarctica, and is expected to stay in the air between 100 to 170 days, depending on weather conditions. It will cost approximately $40 million, including the balloon launch funding and the cost of post-launch operations and data analysis. ...

[neufer]

GUSTO (n.) 1620s, "very common from the beginning of the 19th c." [OED], from Italian gusto "taste," from Latin gustus "a tasting," related to gustare "to taste, take a little of," from PIE *gus-tu-, suffixed form of root *geus- "to taste, choose" (source also of Sanskrit jus- "enjoy, be pleased," Avestan zaosa- "pleasure," Old Persian dauš- "enjoy"). The root forms words for "taste" in Greek and Latin, but its descendants in Germanic and Celtic mostly mean "try" or "choose" (such as Old English cosan, cesan, Modern English choose; Gothic kausjan "to test, to taste of," Old High German koston "try," German kosten "taste of"). The semantic development could have been in either direction. English first borrowed the French form, guste "organ of taste; sense of taste" (mid-15c.), but this became obsolete.

The Smell-O-Scope allows the user to smell odours over astronomically long distances ("If a dog craps anywhere in the universe, you can bet I won't be out of the loop"). It was created by Professor Farnsworth in 2999 and won the Academy of Inventors Academy Prize in 3000 after the prize had been taken away from Dr. Ogden Wernstrom as it became apparent that he was a jackass. The degree of odour can be measured on a meter called the "Funkometer". It is unknown how the device functions, but it apparently has a lens and a stench coil.>>