NASA Spots Plankton Swarms from Space to Help Save North Atlantic Right Whales
North Atlantic Right Whales (NARW) are one of the Earth’s most critically endangered mammals. While commercial whaling is no longer a threat to them, accidental entanglement in fishing gears and vessel strikes account for a lot of NARW deaths. Researchers have been tracking their movements to prevent these by mapping their primary food source, a reddish planktonic copepod named Calanus Finmarchicus. Using NASA satellite data, they found a way to detect Calanus swarms at the ocean surface in the Gulf of Maine, picking up on the animals’ natural red pigment. This new approach may help to understand the migration pattern of the NARW based on those copepod gatherings.
Understanding the patterns
According to a new study, this approach uses data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite. The MODIS instrument reads how the spectrum of sunlight reflected from the ocean surface changes in response to what’s in the water.
Astaxanthin, the reddish pigment of the copepods, alters the absorption or scattering of photons in the ocean, affecting the mix of living and non-living matter, allowing MODIS to detect colour changes when a large number of zooplanktons rise to the surface.
Researchers tested a satellite-based copepod detection technique in Norwegian seas a few years ago. The Gulf of Maine, a vital feeding place for right whales during their northern journey, is now the subject of some of the same scientists’ improved methodology. They could estimate the number of microscopic organisms and create improved photos that showed Calanus swarms at the sea surface by integrating satellite data, a model, and field observations.
Future of ocean observation
The efficiency of MODIS is limited because it only detects the red pigment of the copepods rather than the organism itself. It leaves the chance of false detections of other small reddish animals. Cloud cover, rough seas, or deeper swarms limit what satellites can spot.
NASA’s next-generation PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) satellite — launched in 2024 — is poised to improve the detection of zooplankton and phytoplankton dramatically.
The PACE mission utilizes the Ocean Colour Instrument, detecting over 280 wavelengths of light, providing better insights into ocean colour and plankton types.
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Astronomers international team has employed various satellites and telescopes for performing multiwavelength observations of a supernova remnant known as SNR J0450.4-7050. The result that scientists got after an observational campaign, published on June 18, 2025, on the preprint server arXiv, gained new insights into the properties of this remnant, and observed that it is much larger than thought in the past. Supernova remnants (SNRs) are expanded structures resulting from the explosion of a supernova. It usually lasts for several hundred thousand years before the time it disperses into the interstellar medium.
Multiwavelength Observations Reveal New Details of SNR J0450.4-7050
As per the study by NASA, observations by the scientists indicate that SNRs contain the ejected expansion of material from the explosion and other interstellar material swept by the passage of the shockwave from the star that exploded. SNR studies beyond the Milky Way are important for comprehending the feedback in different evolutionary phases and gaining valuable insights into the local ISM. The Large Magellanic Cloud is the galaxy that has its SNR population explored in depth.
Importance of Studying Supernova Remnants Beyond the Milky Way
The recent observations reveal that SNR J0450.4-7050, a large supernova remnant in the LMC having physical dimensions of 332 by 244 light years, is estimated to have the remnants of around 45,000 years old. Scientists named it Veliki, which means large in Serbian. It also showcases the complex filamentary morphology with different inner and outer shell structures.
Discovery of Veliki: A Large, Aged Remnant in the Large Magellanic Cloud
An astronomer’s group led by Zachary J. Smeaton decided to take a closer observation of SNR J0450.4−7050 by the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder and MeerKAT radio telescope. The SNR showed a high radial surface brightness with one of the lowest average radio spectral indices, with similar remnants.
Unusual Radio Properties Suggest Veliki is a Fully Radiative SNR
These unusual features, according to the scientists, give the prediction that Veliki is mainly a radiative SNR with a high shock compression ratio. This states about the non-thermal spectrum and higher surface brightness and emissions. Further observations of the surrounding environment are needed to confirm the hypothesis with an understanding of the remnants’ nature in a better way.
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