tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-192494732024-03-19T00:00:32.987-03:00Astronomy CmarchesinReleases from NASA, HubbleSite, Spitzer, ESO, ESA, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, Royal Astronomical Society, Harvard-Smithsonian Center For Astrophysics, Max Planck Institute, Gemini Observatory, Subaru Telescope, W. M. Keck Observatory, JPL-Caltech, ICRAR, Webb Space Telescope, etcCmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comBlogger5775125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-69934867423224978052024-03-19T00:00:00.003-03:002024-03-19T00:00:00.134-03:00Citizen Astronomers and AI Discover 30,000 Ring Galaxies<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="350" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bmYV99mLlOY" width="640" youtube-src-id="bmYV99mLlOY"></iframe></div>Movie: An AI algorithm trained on approximately 900 ring galaxies selected by GALAXY CRUISE, was able to find over 30,000 ring galaxies in the entire data set. Credit: NAOJ</span><br /><br /><hr /><br />
Building on the synergy between citizen astronomer classifications and Artificial Intelligence, astronomers have discovered approximately 400,000 spiral galaxies and 30,000 ring galaxies in data from the Subaru Telescope. This is the first example of research building on the classification data from the citizen science project "GALAXY CRUISE." <br /><br />
Galaxies display a wide variety of morphologies which reflect the histories of the individual galaxies. Data sets from powerful cutting-edge facilities like the Subaru Telescope contain so many galaxies that astronomers cannot classify them all by hand. In the GALAXY CRUISE citizen science project, professional astronomers asked more than 10,000 citizen astronomer volunteers to do the classifications. But even divided among thousands of volunteers, classification still takes time.<br /><br />
Artificial Intelligence can conduct classifications quickly, but first the AI needs to be trained on a catalog of classification examples prepared by humans.<br /><br />
In this research a team led by Rhythm Shimakawa, associate professor at Waseda University, trained an AI on a set of 20,000 galaxies classified by humans as part of GALAXY CRUISE. The team then turned the AI loose on all 700,000 galaxies in the Subaru Telescope data set. The AI classified 400,000 of them as spiral galaxies and 30,000 as ring galaxies. Even though ring galaxies account for less than 5% of all galaxies, this research yielded a sample large enough for meaningful statistical analysis.<br /><br />
Statistical analysis showed that on average, ring galaxies show intermediate characteristics between spiral and elliptical galaxies. This is consistent with the latest supercomputer simulations.<br /><br />
Shimakawa comments about the role of GALAXY CRUISE in his research and future prospects, "Although AI classification takes less than one hour even for 700,000 galaxies, this work cannot be done without the data collected by GALAXY CRUISE over the past two years. We would like to thank all the citizen astronomers who participate in the project. I hope to see more collaborative outcomes in the future."<br /><br />
These results appeared as Shimakawa et al. "<a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/pasj/psae002">GALAXY CRUISE: Spiral and ring classifications for bright galaxies at z = 0.01-0.3</a>" in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan (PASJ)on January 29, 2024.<br /><br />
This research is supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers 22H01270 and 22K14078.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Source:</span> <a href="https://subarutelescope.org/en/">Subaru Telescope</a></div><br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>About the Subaru Telescope</b><br /></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #f1c232;">The Subaru Telescope is a large optical-infrared telescope operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, National Institutes of Natural Sciences with the support of the MEXT Project to Promote Large Scientific Frontiers. We are honored and grateful for the opportunity of observing the Universe from Maunakea, which has cultural, historical, and natural significance in Hawai`i.</span><br /></div><br /><hr /><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Relevant Links</span></b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://subarutelescope.org/en/results/2023/10/09/3308.html">A Joint Team of Astronomers and Citizen Astronomers Addresses Mysteries of Galaxies! (Subaru Telescope October 9, 2023 Press Release)</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://subarutelescope.org/en/news/topics/2021/09/30/2992.html">Third Public Data Release by the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (Subaru Telescope September 30, 2021 Topics)</a></li><li>
<a href="https://subarutelescope.org/en/news/topics/2020/02/18/2836.html">GALAXY CRUISE -- Your Galactic Journey as a Citizen Scientist (Subaru Telescope February 18, 2020 Topics)</a></li><li>
<a href="https://galaxycruise.mtk.nao.ac.jp/en/sprial_ring.html">Spiral and Ring Classification Catalog (Shimakawa et al. 2024)</a></li></ul><br /><hr />
Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-22717657461656144122024-03-18T00:00:00.001-03:002024-03-18T00:00:00.141-03:00Hubble Tracks Jupiter's Stormy Weather<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9g7cmWVDaSxgFyKgFKbnewks9StPHoUo9asdiARTV88uf3q2rrXuJVTwrlAM_lM0eta9oTwA3Sa0bOxA3gW9RmO3qoUSjw97fI-IYfpJvilEBlRQ3T5rpfLoRLF-q3x-IEZzqW6K_RbiEG3LHVKJnjGqji_pmuyY-s-JP4fmamujd0PEqiIIeg/s1280/heic2404a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9g7cmWVDaSxgFyKgFKbnewks9StPHoUo9asdiARTV88uf3q2rrXuJVTwrlAM_lM0eta9oTwA3Sa0bOxA3gW9RmO3qoUSjw97fI-IYfpJvilEBlRQ3T5rpfLoRLF-q3x-IEZzqW6K_RbiEG3LHVKJnjGqji_pmuyY-s-JP4fmamujd0PEqiIIeg/w640-h320/heic2404a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><a href="https://esahubble.org/images/heic2404a/">PR Image heic2404a</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Hubble’s two new views of Jupiter (January 2024) </span><br /></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrMIXvkeR80akVlAVLQ6NB3mLfqx2od8ttJdg5CkMZ7m1KVKK_qvswQXUjj8qRBfXPSlkYz7clIRGXqJyjsGT0iI6yU3RB207_kgp_HZUBxZSGE5f-a2rbmomrfWEDhxYT-CVL9ZebiaDdOCgGTIxIKBGnVf-02gLKirNzsSBVqtbFpLd7fAVaJA/s1280/heic2404b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrMIXvkeR80akVlAVLQ6NB3mLfqx2od8ttJdg5CkMZ7m1KVKK_qvswQXUjj8qRBfXPSlkYz7clIRGXqJyjsGT0iI6yU3RB207_kgp_HZUBxZSGE5f-a2rbmomrfWEDhxYT-CVL9ZebiaDdOCgGTIxIKBGnVf-02gLKirNzsSBVqtbFpLd7fAVaJA/w640-h640/heic2404b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><a href="https://esahubble.org/images/heic2404b/">PR Image heic2404b</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Jupiter (5 January 2024)</span><br /></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSw_iaP-8GFTrt2SYoJQzC7_BLe29tNucd1H_C115cBShdNDf0a1oiCksEgB3EVVeJ4OKPNQg08C51uecAnCHK01tll3xbtRHMnhYgoKOxXimaXbJ-4PeuXPFzwkR9y8jtHgg2JznW7eOzkvlGA4uYxawBRoJw8BeUTfpg8vtFVGyvQaC_vTQFow/s1280/heic2404c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSw_iaP-8GFTrt2SYoJQzC7_BLe29tNucd1H_C115cBShdNDf0a1oiCksEgB3EVVeJ4OKPNQg08C51uecAnCHK01tll3xbtRHMnhYgoKOxXimaXbJ-4PeuXPFzwkR9y8jtHgg2JznW7eOzkvlGA4uYxawBRoJw8BeUTfpg8vtFVGyvQaC_vTQFow/w640-h640/heic2404c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><a href="https://esahubble.org/images/heic2404c/">PR Image heic2404c</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Jupiter (6 January 2024)</span><br /></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVBMAmZMs4pxxpKe9HTyC93_EvQPaGIbIYkXovRWYlE5i4jkatdrmmxrpoyZcnqwYn0ZXmWm2clWq3lgRbZAS5GaaBmc7fzs9WsgwEtYgknlVp5fPYWaBxB4jylWIffIBAPpezQ4ItzhOyrXyg40r-mhtLxE1Ahp8nHov3vTu4Fo6rXHYKAzEE6Q/s1280/heic2404d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1004" data-original-width="1280" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVBMAmZMs4pxxpKe9HTyC93_EvQPaGIbIYkXovRWYlE5i4jkatdrmmxrpoyZcnqwYn0ZXmWm2clWq3lgRbZAS5GaaBmc7fzs9WsgwEtYgknlVp5fPYWaBxB4jylWIffIBAPpezQ4ItzhOyrXyg40r-mhtLxE1Ahp8nHov3vTu4Fo6rXHYKAzEE6Q/w640-h502/heic2404d.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><a href="https://esahubble.org/images/heic2404d/">PR Image heic2404d</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Jupiter OPAL observations (January 2024)</span><br /></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhidvEnr0KKKTaGf0zR7pb0kxRUyPz9mjyU_WeHKqrWGmPFIhVrK0HsTw11CkgrOL05hE-P-N57viYhr_LJkDrF5rS4bCjFJBzkG8aTGoJoYaVelNVYATaZhiWVPhZzDATXR7SGgVUcLqNwBwsfE4kKgv1qek6MLd3xI9hPn0-JwGhu_cQR-3m0-g/s1280/heic2404e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhidvEnr0KKKTaGf0zR7pb0kxRUyPz9mjyU_WeHKqrWGmPFIhVrK0HsTw11CkgrOL05hE-P-N57viYhr_LJkDrF5rS4bCjFJBzkG8aTGoJoYaVelNVYATaZhiWVPhZzDATXR7SGgVUcLqNwBwsfE4kKgv1qek6MLd3xI9hPn0-JwGhu_cQR-3m0-g/w640-h320/heic2404e.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><a href="https://esahubble.org/images/heic2404e/">PR Image heic2404e</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Hubble’s two new views of Jupiter (January 2024, compass image)</span><br /></div><br /><hr /><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Videos</span></b><br /><br />
<a href="https://esahubble.org/videos/heic2404a/"><img alt="Jupiter rotation (OPAL January 2024)" class="img-responsive" src="https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/videos/news/heic2404a.jpg" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://esahubble.org/videos/heic2404a/">PR Video heic2404a</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Jupiter rotation (OPAL January 2024) </span></div><br /><hr /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The giant planet Jupiter, in all its
banded glory, is revisited by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in
these latest images, taken on 5–6 January 2024, that capture both sides
of the planet. Hubble monitors Jupiter and the other outer Solar System
planets every year under the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy programme
(OPAL). This is because these large worlds are shrouded in clouds and
hazes stirred up by violent winds, leading to a kaleidoscope of
ever-changing weather patterns.<br /><br />
The largest and nearest of the giant outer planets, Jupiter's
colourful clouds present an ever-changing kaleidoscope of shapes and
colours. This is a planet where there is always stormy weather:
cyclones, anticyclones, wind shear, and the largest storm in the Solar
System, the Great Red Spot. Jupiter has no solid surface and is
perpetually covered with largely ammonia ice-crystal clouds that are
only about 48 kilometres thick in an atmosphere that's tens of thousands
of kilometres deep and give the planet its banded appearance. The bands
are produced by air flowing in different directions at various
latitudes with speeds approaching 560 kilometres per hour. Lighter-hued
areas where the atmosphere rises are called zones. Darker regions where
air falls are called belts. When these opposing flows interact, storms
and turbulence appear. Hubble tracks these dynamic changes every year
with unprecedented clarity, and there are always surprises. The many
large storms and small white clouds seen in Hubble's latest images are
evidence for a lot of activity going on in Jupiter's atmosphere right
now.<br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZ-vXnGwYg53goCWodZEK5Seu_siajmiY53iY2q-Z3wJF70XGZRtkOKpEB6t6XC4TBE_jEmWh9orUQCamPZyXnkqxnt2v8f7gMu7mor-OoX11-_qGsDVsfEvcrTGbRqwvtx4j0nMEIyDxWAh8_xQxHvW3-_AxN9Whu9H4XQ6b_Ikhk8v2nFBxzQ/s733/heic2404a%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="733" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZ-vXnGwYg53goCWodZEK5Seu_siajmiY53iY2q-Z3wJF70XGZRtkOKpEB6t6XC4TBE_jEmWh9orUQCamPZyXnkqxnt2v8f7gMu7mor-OoX11-_qGsDVsfEvcrTGbRqwvtx4j0nMEIyDxWAh8_xQxHvW3-_AxN9Whu9H4XQ6b_Ikhk8v2nFBxzQ/w640-h262/heic2404a%20(1).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />[</i><b><i>Image 1</i></b></span><i><span style="color: #f1c232;">]</span> –</i> Big enough to
swallow Earth, the classic Great Red Spot stands out prominently in
Jupiter's atmosphere. To its lower right, at a more southerly latitude,
is a feature sometimes dubbed Red Spot Jr. This anticyclone was the
result of storms merging in 1998 and 2000, and it first appeared red in
2006 before returning to a pale beige in subsequent years. This year it
is somewhat redder again. The source of the red coloration is unknown
but may involve a range of chemical compounds: sulphur, phosphorus or
organic material. Staying in their lanes, but moving in opposite
directions, Red Spot Jr. passes the Great Red Spot about every two
years. Another small red anticyclone appears in the far north.<br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><i>[</i><b><i>Image 2</i></b><i>]</i></span> – Storm
activity also appears in the opposite hemisphere. A pair of storms, a
deep red cyclone and a reddish anticyclone, appear next to each other at
right of centre. They look so red that at first glance, it looks like
Jupiter skinned a knee. These storms are rotating in opposite
directions, indicating an alternating pattern of high- and low-pressure
systems. For the cyclone, there's an upwelling on the edges with clouds
descending in the middle, causing a clearing in the atmospheric haze.The
storms are expected to bounce past each other because their opposing
clockwise and counterclockwise rotation makes them repel each other.<br /><br />
Toward the left edge of the image is the innermost Galilean moon, Io —
the most volcanically active body in the Solar System, despite its
small size (only slightly larger than Earth's moon). Hubble resolves
volcanic outflow deposits on the surface. Hubble's sensitivity to blue
and violet wavelengths clearly reveals interesting surface features.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="color: #f1c232;">Source:</span> <a href="https://esahubble.org/news/">ESA/Hubble/News</a></div><br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>More information</b><br /><br />
The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.<br />
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, J. DePasquale (STScI), A. Simon (NASA-GSFC)</span><br /><br /><hr /><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Links</span></b><br />
<ul><li><a href="https://esahubble.org/news/heic2303/">Hubble’s OPAL images of Jupiter in 2023 </a></li><li><a href="https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2024/news-2024-009">Release on STScI website</a></li></ul><br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Contacts</b><br /><br />
Bethany Downer<br />
ESA/Hubble Chief Science Communications Officer<br />
Email: </span><a href="mailto:Bethany.Downer@esahubble.org">Bethany.Downer@esahubble.org</a><br /><br /><hr />Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-23273944414510857342024-03-17T00:00:00.001-03:002024-03-17T00:00:00.187-03:00 K2-18b May Not Be Habitable After All<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj060YffFckekfMiawD9rNSE4mHuTbB0zKnIc4b7IReCIXJC4uWnsgwcDzeb8V6E8d9m9UY6iCOXehoplc8FXkuNiov0_n_u13g3KJ_MlDhr9KekaaLPDKcve2uBiGTZwUBu5pdxPHimm9eSP5d5onH_hnHJ3v8gNUep7UfDcffmvRFWU-rI24S9g/s1280/Awa_3_1280.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="1280" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj060YffFckekfMiawD9rNSE4mHuTbB0zKnIc4b7IReCIXJC4uWnsgwcDzeb8V6E8d9m9UY6iCOXehoplc8FXkuNiov0_n_u13g3KJ_MlDhr9KekaaLPDKcve2uBiGTZwUBu5pdxPHimm9eSP5d5onH_hnHJ3v8gNUep7UfDcffmvRFWU-rI24S9g/w640-h358/Awa_3_1280.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Cartoon showing a variety of exoplanet types. Figuring out whether a
planet is rocky or gaseous can be a challenge, as is the case for
K2-18b. Credit: </span><a href="https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/news/1673/whats-out-there-the-exoplanet-sky-so-far/">NASA/JPL-Caltech/Lizbeth B. De La Torre</a><br /></div><div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Exoplanet K2-18b made headlines when researchers reported that JWST
observations of the planet were consistent with a habitable ocean world.
Now, another team has published a different interpretation of the data,
suggesting that the purported water world is instead a gas-rich planet
with no habitable surface.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesNM_MQH1W_FpKXJ07gBBoSgJvHn8JNVmybFO3ZROU2j5s642dHpF_gES1YNOEnhUbZmM1IymBHcWunfIQ00sA2v1gFAbnARSh68a72QU5CKijPQDp8Ag1j-sthJ0isG-LeOPvofMS03DEcTwdRFlip3UBLl5NstpMDcyzjHSh-gX0OWTS5Ui0A/s960/sep-11-23-stsci-01h9r8bbf7kfspgq2xx3a8sz34-1k.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesNM_MQH1W_FpKXJ07gBBoSgJvHn8JNVmybFO3ZROU2j5s642dHpF_gES1YNOEnhUbZmM1IymBHcWunfIQ00sA2v1gFAbnARSh68a72QU5CKijPQDp8Ag1j-sthJ0isG-LeOPvofMS03DEcTwdRFlip3UBLl5NstpMDcyzjHSh-gX0OWTS5Ui0A/w640-h360/sep-11-23-stsci-01h9r8bbf7kfspgq2xx3a8sz34-1k.webp" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">An artist’s impression of K2-18b as an ocean world.<br />
Credit:</span> <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2023/139/01H9R88HG8YXRMARWZ5B1YDT27">NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)</a></div><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Everybody Wants to <del>Rule the</del> Find a Habitable World</span></b><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The small, cool star K2-18 is home to two planets, one of which has garnered plenty of attention in the decade since its discovery. Recently, JWST data of K2-18b, an 8.6-Earth-mass planet, revealed the presence of atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane. Some researchers have interpreted these data, coupled with the non-detection of ammonia, water, and carbon monoxide, to mean that K2-18b is a Hycean world: a rocky planet covered in oceans.<br /><br />
To make matters more interesting, the same research team reported weak evidence for dimethyl sulfide, a compound that on Earth forms almost exclusively due to life. This led many onlookers to the eyebrow-raising conclusion that K2-18b is not just habitable but inhabited.<br />
These intriguing interpretations, however, are far from settled. Is K2-18b truly a habitable ocean world, or could alternative explanations fit the JWST data equally well?<br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYSDcMrdB3Xly8yEDglAqyshPlax4LTittUsrXpjVpgeooamJEO70NGpgyHNv0dsw_QeDrOBpqtKqDd7fiArQBavfkoB_DOSqxY-vKlQKMBPLavSMafEw7kts4lz3Y88WTjHKnprhyphenhyphenccVGwwRz5y_Jc7hK6Isx2BxS7cuxAXkZR_0bpb9odgsog/s1350/apjlad2616f3_hr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="871" data-original-width="1350" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYSDcMrdB3Xly8yEDglAqyshPlax4LTittUsrXpjVpgeooamJEO70NGpgyHNv0dsw_QeDrOBpqtKqDd7fiArQBavfkoB_DOSqxY-vKlQKMBPLavSMafEw7kts4lz3Y88WTjHKnprhyphenhyphenccVGwwRz5y_Jc7hK6Isx2BxS7cuxAXkZR_0bpb9odgsog/w640-h412/apjlad2616f3_hr.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Example simulation output for K2-18b as a gas-rich planet without a habitable surface.<br />
Credit: Wogan et al. 2024</span></div><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Water World or Gas Planet?</span></b><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">A team led by Nicholas Wogan (NASA Ames Research Center and University of Washington) tackled this question by applying two sets of models to the JWST data. The first set describes rocky planets with surface oceans, with and without life, and the second set describes gaseous planets without a surface and without life. The models predict the planet’s photochemistry — chemical reactions in the atmosphere driven by photons from the host star — and climate.<br /><br />
Wogan’s team found that K2-18b is unlikely to be a lifeless water world, since this type of planet wouldn’t contain enough methane in its atmosphere to produce the signal seen in the JWST observations. Intriguingly, a water world with microbial life is more promising: acetotrophic methanotrophs — a tongue-twisting name for simple methane-producing organisms — may be able to produce the supply of methane seen in the planet’s atmosphere.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYysinhT1juQsRyO9iqE6h-ol9sZ-YWJhknxtp6I3qg_-8fMW7wX0CtR3hItceAv1nVsri_PZJ0jmF3sdvJSnptU_DS1A2AYUQ6Hcr_rqidentMWDT2avh9XzBn0nN8kMtinpMAjRgxgIwGDzWkBaI4pKHsvr9wsnZ98gUfXmHLopraZzvz7Ayng/s2051/apjlad2616f4_hr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1053" data-original-width="2051" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYysinhT1juQsRyO9iqE6h-ol9sZ-YWJhknxtp6I3qg_-8fMW7wX0CtR3hItceAv1nVsri_PZJ0jmF3sdvJSnptU_DS1A2AYUQ6Hcr_rqidentMWDT2avh9XzBn0nN8kMtinpMAjRgxgIwGDzWkBaI4pKHsvr9wsnZ98gUfXmHLopraZzvz7Ayng/w640-h328/apjlad2616f4_hr.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">JWST transmission spectra (black and gray points with error bars) and modeled spectra for K2-18b as a lifeless ocean world (top left), an ocean world with life (bottom left), and a lifeless gas-rich planet (bottom right). Click to enlarge. Credit: Wogan et al. 2024</span></div><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Not So Fast…</span></b><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">As exciting as this sounds, Wogan and collaborators found that the uninhabitable gas-rich exoplanet model fits the JWST data equally well, and this model may pose fewer problems. Not only does the ocean-world model require life to explain its atmospheric composition, it’s also hard to reconcile the necessary cool surface temperature with the high likelihood of the planet experiencing a runaway greenhouse effect.<br /><br />
This isn’t the last word on K2-18b — there are features in the planet’s spectrum that aren’t well fit by a lively ocean world or a lifeless gas-rich planet, and both models have their challenges. Future data from JWST might dredge up a detection of ammonia, which would point to a gaseous planet, or dimethyl sulfide, which would tilt the scales considerably toward an inhabited water world. In the meantime, the hunt for habitable planets goes on.</div><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">By</span> <a href="https://aasnova.org/person/kerry-hensley/">Kerry Hensley</a><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Citation</b><br /><br />
“JWST Observations of K2-18b Can Be Explained by a Gas-Rich Mini-Neptune with No Habitable Surface,” Nicholas F. Wogan et al 2024 ApJL 963 L7.</span> <a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad2616">doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ad2616</a><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Source:</span> <a href="https://aasnova.org/">American Astronomical Society/AAS-Nova</a><br /><br /></div><hr /></div></div>Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-90090643226944726112024-03-16T00:00:00.001-03:002024-03-16T00:00:00.133-03:00An unlikely spiral<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG-yMR-PpNBl83Ywr5iSQlTLryTN2Bw-UMIs6UtTAfCK1MKAFgG5XMHxjDHHrILpwWgNXQWkvPnrAxCm9JfW5wrLMy-c5j9lrADDkMR8xmoaK_snDgTSvIykipMV66sq56I5OfArbFp4DkDmtMrCCrdmipDBZsIK3MRL8GSCr6FOybWoj66VtXtA/s1280/potw2411a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1033" data-original-width="1280" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG-yMR-PpNBl83Ywr5iSQlTLryTN2Bw-UMIs6UtTAfCK1MKAFgG5XMHxjDHHrILpwWgNXQWkvPnrAxCm9JfW5wrLMy-c5j9lrADDkMR8xmoaK_snDgTSvIykipMV66sq56I5OfArbFp4DkDmtMrCCrdmipDBZsIK3MRL8GSCr6FOybWoj66VtXtA/w640-h516/potw2411a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/large/potw2411a.jpg">LEDA 4216</a><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">A distorted dwarf galaxy, obscured by dust and by bright outbursts caused by star formation, floats roughly in the centre. A few distant galaxies are visible in the background around it, many as little spirals, and also including a prominent elliptical galaxy. A bright star hangs above the galaxy in the foreground, marked by cross-shaped diffraction spikes. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Sun</span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><p>This image shows LEDA 42160, a <a href="https://esahubble.org/wordbank/galaxy/">galaxy</a>
about 52 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo. The
dwarf galaxy is one of many forcing its way through the comparatively
dense gas in the Virgo cluster, a massive cluster of galaxies. The
pressure exerted by this intergalactic gas, known as <a href="https://esahubble.org/images/potw2408a/">ram pressure</a>, has dramatic effects on star formation in LEDA 42160, which are presently being studied using the Hubble Space Telescope.<br />
</p><p>LEDA 42160 falls into the category of ‘Magellanic spiral galaxy’, or
type Sm for short, under the de Vaucouleurs galaxy classification
system. Magellanic spiral galaxies can be further sub-categorised as
barred (SBm), unbarred (SAm) and weakly barred (SABm), where a ‘bar’ is
an elongated bar-shape at a galaxy’s core. Generally speaking,
Magellanic spiral galaxies are dwarf galaxies with only one single
spiral arm. They are named after their prototype, the Large Magellanic
Cloud, which is an SBm galaxy. Magellanic spiral galaxies are an
interesting example of how galaxy categorisation is actually more
nuanced than simply ‘<a href="https://esahubble.org/wordbank/spiral-galaxy/">spiral</a>’, ‘<a href="https://esahubble.org/wordbank/elliptical-galaxy/">elliptical</a>’ or ‘irregular’.
</p></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Source:</span> <a href="https://esahubble.org/images/potw/">ESA/Hubble/potw</a></div><br /><hr />Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-49189623352511005282024-03-15T00:00:00.001-03:002024-03-15T00:00:00.133-03:00Study Reveals Ancient Ice May Still Exist in Distant Space Objects<div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBbtWK8Hs4ORuJEwOL27hdr-5BQNPe-t4Pr6fAOsN7l5watArSCTmqAyJT1mKINNiRIAAwxmxEamjQeCiIWwUchol6WyWNR_GV2pkKjaXS1ANiqkTUTZnORA8rqfdKuj2_Y6-pfpzfwTgNArSOOo5nojf-05wlzWrQjOAVf1bFzbBVoPHnNFKpsg/s1400/Arrokoth-MVIC-and-orbitally-averaged-temperature-at-the-seasonal-skin-depth-of-Arrokoth.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBbtWK8Hs4ORuJEwOL27hdr-5BQNPe-t4Pr6fAOsN7l5watArSCTmqAyJT1mKINNiRIAAwxmxEamjQeCiIWwUchol6WyWNR_GV2pkKjaXS1ANiqkTUTZnORA8rqfdKuj2_Y6-pfpzfwTgNArSOOo5nojf-05wlzWrQjOAVf1bFzbBVoPHnNFKpsg/w640-h320/Arrokoth-MVIC-and-orbitally-averaged-temperature-at-the-seasonal-skin-depth-of-Arrokoth.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Left image was captured by the Multicolor Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC), a part of the
ralph instrument aboard New Horizons. Taken on January 1, 2019, just 7
minutes before its closest approach, the spacecraft was only about 6700
km from the surface. Credit for this remarkable capture goes to NASA,
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and Southwest
Research Institute. Right image shows the orbitally averaged temperature
at the seasonal skin depth of Arrokoth, calculated based on Umurhan et
al.’s 2022 method. The scale is in kilometers, and the view orientation
is similar to image on left, looking down towards the south pole</span>.<br /><br />
March 14, 2024, Mountain View, CA -- A paper recently accepted by Icarus
presents findings about the Kuiper Belt Object 486958 Arrokoth, shedding
new light on the preservation of volatile substances like carbon
monoxide (CO) in such distant celestial bodies. Co-authored by Dr.
Samuel Birch at Brown University and SETI Institute senior research
scientist <a href="https://www.seti.org/our-scientists/orkan-umurhan">Dr. Orkan Umurhan</a>,
the paper “Retention of CO Ice and Gas Within 486958 Arrokoth” uses
Arrokoth as a case study to propose that many Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs)
- remnants from the dawn of our solar system - could still retain their
original volatile ices, challenging previous notions about the
evolutionary path of these ancient entities.<br /><br />
Previous KBO evolution models have needed help predicting the fate of
volatiles in these cold, distant objects. Many relied on cumbersome
simulations or flawed assumptions, underestimating how long these
substances could last. The new research offers a simpler yet effective
approach, likening the process to how gas escapes through porous rock.
It suggests that KBOs like Arrokoth can maintain their volatile ices for
billions of years, forming a kind of subsurface atmosphere that slows
further ice loss.<br /><br />
“I want to emphasize that the key thing is that we corrected a deep
error in the physical model people had been assuming for decades for
these very cold and old objects,” said Umurhan. “This study could be the
initial mover for re- evaluating the comet interior evolution and
activity theory.”</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9Z1H-z5M_jcKfQuAwanaXnYSd0YELcFgPjQ4scLbz_0KlD8cOKfrtjyWG9DXeqW_KyUpU1kyVYoPnny5Ax4o6a9SA0SVNSXTMtm6MX5YbCW9-Uop3tkV8RwPHGw03HG6QEjUDuHnYFfrCcan8-rrwlsXSb2sF4_s2LcWQYbpgHmhb3A0-F1qRw/s1638/Figure-model-features-a-porous-rubble-pile.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="1638" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9Z1H-z5M_jcKfQuAwanaXnYSd0YELcFgPjQ4scLbz_0KlD8cOKfrtjyWG9DXeqW_KyUpU1kyVYoPnny5Ax4o6a9SA0SVNSXTMtm6MX5YbCW9-Uop3tkV8RwPHGw03HG6QEjUDuHnYFfrCcan8-rrwlsXSb2sF4_s2LcWQYbpgHmhb3A0-F1qRw/w640-h222/Figure-model-features-a-porous-rubble-pile.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Our model features a porous rubble pile, made up of a mix of CO and refractory amorphous H2O ice, with specific pore radii 𝑟𝑝. The top layer, depicted in brown, undergoes thermal processing in just one orbit, resulting in the loss of CO (both ice and gas) in this layer. Below the sublimation front 𝑟𝑏, shown in dark blue, the original CO ice volume remains intact. Over time, as the sublimation front progresses downward (to the right in the model), CO ice embedded in the amorphous H2O ice matrix begins to sublimate. The gas produced, indicated in light blue, then fills the pores and moves upward, away from the sublimation front.</span><br /></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This study challenges existing predictions and opens up new avenues for understanding the nature of comets and their origins. The presence of such volatile ices in KBOs supports a fascinating narrative of these objects as “ice bombs,” which activate and display cometary behavior upon altering their orbit closer to the sun.
This hypothesis could help explain phenomena like the intense outburst activity of comet 29P/Schwassmann– Wachmann, potentially changing the understanding of comets.<br /><br />
As co-investigators on the upcoming CAESAR mission proposal, the researchers are taking a fresh approach to understanding the evolution and activity of cometary bodies. This study has implications for future explorations and is a reminder of the enduring mysteries of our solar system, waiting to be uncovered.</div><br />
The paper can be found in Icarus here: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2024.116027">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2024.116027</a><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Source:</span> <a href="https://www.seti.org/press-releases">Seti Institute/Press Release</a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.calameo.com/read/004812363e4f8f0582b2d">Download Full Press Release</a></div><br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>About the SETI Institute</b><br /><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Founded in 1984, the SETI Institute is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary research and education organization whose mission is to lead humanity’s quest to understand the origins and prevalence of life and intelligence in the Universe and to share that knowledge with the world. Our research encompasses the physical and biological sciences and leverages expertise in data analytics, machine learning and advanced signal detection technologies. The SETI Institute is a distinguished research partner for industry, academia and government agencies, including NASA and NSF.</span></div><br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Contact information</b><br /><br />
Rebecca McDonald<br />
Director of Communications<br />
SETI Institute</span><br /><a href="mailto:rmcdonald@seti.org">rmcdonald@seti.org</a><br /><br /><hr /></div>Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-22532412003426970282024-03-14T00:00:00.323-03:002024-03-14T00:00:00.133-03:00Ghostly Stellar Tendrils Captured in Largest DECam Image Ever Released<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8MljD26aNOm6MrTuSL-JBI0PNKw0zHIGR87_WmrDN1XddD3MMDC-rWfA_i8yrxi_tFQWck-CEUcFDcz0tWXrsQZad9VW3biIEbE7gX-KnkfxzpBD1IKWmRQlEdEzBRy8HGb6MmHu3JUD6lWsgKsKGj6HgrsggTIZYVe5eZXvGqKM8u4hWNKDdA/s1284/noirlab2406a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1284" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8MljD26aNOm6MrTuSL-JBI0PNKw0zHIGR87_WmrDN1XddD3MMDC-rWfA_i8yrxi_tFQWck-CEUcFDcz0tWXrsQZad9VW3biIEbE7gX-KnkfxzpBD1IKWmRQlEdEzBRy8HGb6MmHu3JUD6lWsgKsKGj6HgrsggTIZYVe5eZXvGqKM8u4hWNKDdA/w638-h640/noirlab2406a.jpg" width="638" /></a></div>
<a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2406a/">PR Image noirlab2406a</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Ghostly Stellar Tendrils of the Vela Supernova Remnant</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAP-kAHIZrHO5dNVeC81YTDqcdq8QN5yGV_x5s-_pL9B3NcR3q_lC56oYPPtQKQCDQo1C9bokmg7tavlJNzxdcWKOhdRBXroevUkMeC5u-ECFgYWQofVZkM-kzVd16IubL2-TqCYXIVTe6MAWA9KqsPwQHHfXSITPQqezCu5oc__lYmfxESbkVWw/s1280/noirlab2406b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="776" data-original-width="1280" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAP-kAHIZrHO5dNVeC81YTDqcdq8QN5yGV_x5s-_pL9B3NcR3q_lC56oYPPtQKQCDQo1C9bokmg7tavlJNzxdcWKOhdRBXroevUkMeC5u-ECFgYWQofVZkM-kzVd16IubL2-TqCYXIVTe6MAWA9KqsPwQHHfXSITPQqezCu5oc__lYmfxESbkVWw/w640-h388/noirlab2406b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2406b/">PR Image noirlab2406b</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Vela Supernova Remnant Excerpts</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM83eOdQxA91XEsvjkOZHPGu4ySCswvjvlDEmWtDQDwpDFXtGLPY9_zp0E-hulADNnYmOXiHZ0zIdrG5wRLi5WMSeJ1_djOUDhIV1K4SAefsX40KscDpCdQPcJeO2CU9SUjXuvjQztfE9Jf_bO-Ryi0ZnAJJChIB_Bka8dlGWYYqUYIl2_LAr9tg/s1280/noirlab2406c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM83eOdQxA91XEsvjkOZHPGu4ySCswvjvlDEmWtDQDwpDFXtGLPY9_zp0E-hulADNnYmOXiHZ0zIdrG5wRLi5WMSeJ1_djOUDhIV1K4SAefsX40KscDpCdQPcJeO2CU9SUjXuvjQztfE9Jf_bO-Ryi0ZnAJJChIB_Bka8dlGWYYqUYIl2_LAr9tg/w640-h640/noirlab2406c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2406c/">PR Image noirlab2406c</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Open Star Cluster [FSR2007] 1410</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizGg4I4JAkquQ3kXKUcWOFGqXhSfLY9HAoUWMpv7QsWLn23smhATaD3KYnScFHPIkNYyljYYEJk-WFN13dcemQ7FsAvZ5Bn3te0InEemBzi-MdIZee99AIDShal2ZwiK8LAmUKlVlZqxSvn8auNN71kfGePcxaG_QkJYGcvVck1GiggueGzU1rIQ/s1280/noirlab2406d.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizGg4I4JAkquQ3kXKUcWOFGqXhSfLY9HAoUWMpv7QsWLn23smhATaD3KYnScFHPIkNYyljYYEJk-WFN13dcemQ7FsAvZ5Bn3te0InEemBzi-MdIZee99AIDShal2ZwiK8LAmUKlVlZqxSvn8auNN71kfGePcxaG_QkJYGcvVck1GiggueGzU1rIQ/w640-h640/noirlab2406d.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2406d/">PR Image noirlab2406d</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Planetary Nebula PNG 262.4-01.9</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlzWPjg-mUOkZpO2cdhhIhv2UCAM3Ey6P_EdFK9tn4TAYYTDe4tIzN0iJbi66oetuTHoOnTwnPIpTO1a3ERuVkwW7JzDXsPh-GdbU2lVIacPGpc9qkosz9C9EvRkcsExyBjw4zlb-BhotPEt_ZovDfQY4LaPzYJRe_wfivJpo1RHoNu9LH_XbTXQ/s1280/noirlab2406e.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlzWPjg-mUOkZpO2cdhhIhv2UCAM3Ey6P_EdFK9tn4TAYYTDe4tIzN0iJbi66oetuTHoOnTwnPIpTO1a3ERuVkwW7JzDXsPh-GdbU2lVIacPGpc9qkosz9C9EvRkcsExyBjw4zlb-BhotPEt_ZovDfQY4LaPzYJRe_wfivJpo1RHoNu9LH_XbTXQ/w640-h640/noirlab2406e.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2406e/">PR Image noirlab2406e</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Globular Star Cluster CI Ferrero 54</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil53nqdn7CtpbKE0rIhHl6ZV4rKfSsWEkyRgEQ9A76BOLsfiMXZhuDopHISIfnfeN9A0ShFDduCs4Bp3Bw_JQyW4M812PyuAj8zVjWU1SWw5jP9_LnUGSsT-73uMzJOwim31CcvhgLbeP-3WJSxDix3GOr_KzSanP2HIObfUkJKGyD38yj2oXsbA/s1280/noirlab2406f.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil53nqdn7CtpbKE0rIhHl6ZV4rKfSsWEkyRgEQ9A76BOLsfiMXZhuDopHISIfnfeN9A0ShFDduCs4Bp3Bw_JQyW4M812PyuAj8zVjWU1SWw5jP9_LnUGSsT-73uMzJOwim31CcvhgLbeP-3WJSxDix3GOr_KzSanP2HIObfUkJKGyD38yj2oXsbA/w640-h640/noirlab2406f.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2406f/">PR Image noirlab2406f </a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Supernova Remnant Puppis A</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuZUssyFug4QSq9AHeUYWfv7vPk2dnFOvEjwXPcYRlP12hZIQGusjgOD8-VI9UWgW7ZSyVwNn4OQQ7cwnTRTgEPdv3RL-GYcQ_-8xiIkNdXj7Y5Eq6AHIfvPn5QWdg8ifeHQIBQcqkepdkfOspjFcC3YfpnktQeKKHR9Ist1yaoUyfnE5kCXtyA/s1280/noirlab2406g.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuZUssyFug4QSq9AHeUYWfv7vPk2dnFOvEjwXPcYRlP12hZIQGusjgOD8-VI9UWgW7ZSyVwNn4OQQ7cwnTRTgEPdv3RL-GYcQ_-8xiIkNdXj7Y5Eq6AHIfvPn5QWdg8ifeHQIBQcqkepdkfOspjFcC3YfpnktQeKKHR9Ist1yaoUyfnE5kCXtyA/w640-h640/noirlab2406g.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2406g/">PR Image noirlab2406g</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Dark Nebula TGU H1674</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq0vs4YNO3IW8cZJO2OGi64Lk3PAMATfmpEq93jMH8EvhveEbJT8UEFEb7HngBrQdMAWRT78BvuOF5Uog2_Df_sKt-BTip1_8x9STbnj8Vo4EHvPV3qphGs72gG7AjtTJH4NLh_sagJYwWxqTjs8nc9iCV68-ESsHK86gVWy-GfflQzvrRTYJmxw/s1280/noirlab2406h.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq0vs4YNO3IW8cZJO2OGi64Lk3PAMATfmpEq93jMH8EvhveEbJT8UEFEb7HngBrQdMAWRT78BvuOF5Uog2_Df_sKt-BTip1_8x9STbnj8Vo4EHvPV3qphGs72gG7AjtTJH4NLh_sagJYwWxqTjs8nc9iCV68-ESsHK86gVWy-GfflQzvrRTYJmxw/w640-h640/noirlab2406h.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2406h/">PR Image noirlab2406h</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Background Galaxy Found in Image of Vela Supernova Remnant</span></div><br /><hr /><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #f1c232;">Videos</b></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/videos/noirlab2406a/"><img alt="Cosmoview Episode 77: Ghostly Stellar Tendrils Captured in Largest DECam Image Ever Released" class="img-responsive" src="https://noirlab.edu/public/media/archives/videos/news/noirlab2406a.jpg" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/videos/noirlab2406a/">PR Video noirlab2406a</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Cosmoview Episode 77: Ghostly Stellar Tendrils Captured in Largest DECam Image Ever Released </span><br /><br />
<a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/videos/noirlab2406b/"><img alt="Cosmoview Episodio 77: Filamentos estelares fantasmales capturados con la imagen de DECam más grande jamás publicada" class="img-responsive" src="https://noirlab.edu/public/media/archives/videos/news/noirlab2406b.jpg" /></a>
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/videos/noirlab2406b/">PR Video noirlab2406b</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Cosmoview Episodio 77: </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Filamentos estelares fantasmales capturados con la imagen de DECam más grande jamás publicada </span><br /><br />
<a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/videos/noirlab2406c/"><img alt="Pan on the Vela Supernova Remnant" class="img-responsive" src="https://noirlab.edu/public/media/archives/videos/news/noirlab2406c.jpg" /></a>
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/videos/noirlab2406c/">PR Video noirlab2406c</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Pan on the Vela Supernova Remnant </span><br /><br />
<a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/videos/noirlab2406d/"><img alt="Zooming into the Vela Supernova Remnant" class="img-responsive" src="https://noirlab.edu/public/media/archives/videos/news/noirlab2406d.jpg" /></a>
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/videos/noirlab2406d/">PR Video noirlab2406d</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Zooming into the Vela Supernova Remnant </span></div><br /><hr /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Dark Energy Camera captures remains of a massive star that exploded nearly 11,000 years ago in huge gigapixel image</b> </span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>With the powerful, 570-megapixel
Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera (DECam), astronomers
have constructed a massive 1.3-gigapixel image showcasing the central
part of the Vela Supernova Remnant, the cosmic corpse of a gigantic star
that exploded as a supernova. DECam is one of the highest-performing
wide-field imaging instruments in the world and is mounted on the US
National Science Foundation's Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab.</b><br /><br />
This colorful web of wispy gas filaments is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vela_Supernova_Remnant">Vela Supernova Remnant</a>, an expanding <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebula">nebula</a>
of cosmic debris left over from a massive star that exploded about
11,000 years ago. Located around 800 light-years away in the
constellation <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vela_(constellation)">Vela (the Sails)</a>,
this nebula is one of the nearest supernova remnants to Earth. Though
the unnamed star ended its life thousands of years ago, the shockwave
its death produced is still propagating into the interstellar medium,
carrying glowing tendrils of gas with it.<br /><br />
This image is one of the biggest ever made of this object and was
taken with the state-of-the-art wide-field Dark Energy Camera (<a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/programs/ctio/victor-blanco-4m-telescope/decam/">DECam</a>), built by the Department of Energy and mounted on the US National Science Foundation's <a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/programs/ctio/victor-blanco-4m-telescope/">Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope</a> at <a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/programs/ctio/">Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory</a>
in Chile, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab. The striking reds, yellows, and
blues in this image were achieved through the use of three DECam filters
that each collect a specific color of light. Separate images were taken
in each filter and then stacked on top of each other to produce this <a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2406a/zoomable/">high-resolution color image</a>
that showcases the intricate web-like filaments snaking throughout the
expanding cloud of gas. This is also the largest DECam image ever
released publicly, containing an astounding 1.3 gigapixels <span style="color: #f1c232;">[1]</span>.<br /><br />
The Vela Supernova Remnant is merely the ghost of a massive star that
once was. When the star exploded 11,000 years ago, its outer layers
were violently stripped away and flung into the surrounding region,
driving the shockwave that is still visible today. As the shockwave
expands into the surrounding region, the hot, energized gas flies away
from the point of detonation, compressing and interacting with the
interstellar medium to produce the stringy blue and yellow filaments
seen in the image. The Vela Supernova Remnant is a gigantic structure,
spanning almost 100 light-years and extending to twenty times the
diameter of the full Moon in the night sky.<br /><br />
Despite the dramatics of the star’s final moments, it wasn’t entirely
wiped from existence. After shedding its outer layers, the core of the
star collapsed into a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_star">neutron star</a>
— an ultra-dense ball consisting of protons and electrons that have
been smashed together to form neutrons. The neutron star, named the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vela_Pulsar">Vela Pulsar</a>,
is now an ultra-condensed object with the mass of a star like the Sun
contained in a sphere just a few kilometers across. Located in the lower
left region of this image, the Vela Pulsar is a relatively dim star
that is indistinguishable from its thousands of celestial neighbors.
Still reeling from its explosive death, the Vela Pulsar spins rapidly on
its own axis and possesses a powerful magnetic field. These properties
result in twin beams of radiation that sweep the sky 11 times per
second, just like the consistent blips of a rotating lighthouse bulb.<br /><br />
This high-quality image demonstrates the incredible deep and wide
capabilities of DECam. From its vantage point in the Chilean Andes, the
Blanco telescope receives light that has traveled across the Universe.
After entering the telescope’s tube, the light is reflected by a mirror
4-meters (13-feet) wide — a massive, aluminum-coated and precisely
shaped piece of glass roughly the weight of a semi-truck. The light is
then guided into the optical innards of DECam, passing through a
corrective lens nearly a meter (3.3 feet) across before falling on a
grid of 62 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge-coupled_device">charge-coupled devices</a>
(CCDs), which act like the ‘eyes’ of the camera. The incoming light is
then converted into electrical signals which are read out as pixels.<br /><br />
A single image taken with DECam has 570 megapixels, so with multiple
exposures stacked on top of one another, the amount of detail that can
be captured is truly remarkable. Owing to DECam’s large mosaic of CCDs,
astronomers are able to create mesmerizing images of faint astronomical
objects, such as the Vela Supernova Remnant, that offer a limitless
starscape to explore.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Source:</span> <a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/news/">NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab)/News</a></div><br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Notes</b><br /><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">[1] For comparison, the pixel count of an image taken with the camera in a standard smartphone
can range from 12 to 48 megapixels. This image contains a total of 35786
x 35881 pixels, or 1.28 gigapixels.</span></div><br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>More information</b></span><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://noirlab.edu">NSF’s NOIRLab</a>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"> (National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory), the US
center for ground-based optical-infrared astronomy, operates the
international</span> <a href="https://www.noirlab.edu/public/programs/gemini-observatory/">Gemini Observatory</a> <span style="color: #f1c232;">(a facility of</span> <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">NSF</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">,</span> <a href="http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/solutions/facilities/gemini.html">NRC–Canada</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">,</span> <a href="http://www.conicyt.cl/astronomia/oficina-gemini-chile/">ANID–Chile</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">,</span> <a href="https://www.gov.br/mcti/pt-br">MCTIC–Brazil</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">,</span> <a href="http://www.geminiargentina.mincyt.gob.ar/">MINCyT–Argentina</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">, and</span> <a href="http://kgmt.kasi.re.kr/kgmtscience">KASI–Republic of Korea</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">), Kitt Peak National Observatory (</span><a href="https://www.noirlab.edu/public/programs/kitt-peak-national-observatory/">KPNO</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">), Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (</span><a href="https://www.noirlab.edu/public/programs/ctio/">CTIO</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">), the Community Science and Data Center (</span><a href="https://www.noirlab.edu/public/programs/csdc/">CSDC</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">), and</span> <a href="https://www.noirlab.edu/public/programs/vera-c-rubin-observatory/">Vera C. Rubin Observatory</a> <span style="color: #f1c232;">(in cooperation with </span><a href="https://www.energy.gov/science/office-science">DOE</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">’s</span> <a href="https://www6.slac.stanford.edu/">SLAC</a> <span style="color: #f1c232;">National Accelerator Laboratory). It is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (</span><a href="https://www.aura-astronomy.org/">AURA</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">) under a cooperative agreement with <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">NSF</a>
and is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. The astronomical community is
honored to have the opportunity to conduct astronomical research on
Iolkam Du’ag (Kitt Peak) in Arizona, on Maunakea in Hawai‘i, and on
Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachón in Chile. We recognize and acknowledge the
very significant cultural role and reverence that these sites have to
the Tohono O'odham Nation, to the Native Hawaiian community, and to the
local communities in Chile, respectively.</span></div><br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Links</b></span><br />
<ul><li><a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2406a/zoomable/">Explore the Vela Nebula in more detail</a></li><li><a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/images/archive/search/?adv=&subject_name=V%C3%ADctor%20M.%20Blanco%204-meter%20Telescope">Photos of the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope</a></li><li><a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/videos/archive/search/?adv=&subject_name=V%C3%ADctor%20M.%20Blanco%204-meter%20Telescope">Videos of the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope</a></li><li><a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/images/archive/search/?ranking=0&fov=0&release_id=&minimum_size=0&description=&published_until_year=0&published_until_month=0&title=&subject_name=DECam&credit=&published_until_day=0&published_since_day=0&published_since_month=0&id=&published_since_year=0">Photos of DECam</a></li><li><a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/images/archive/search/?adv=&instrument=21">Images taken by DECam</a></li><li><a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/news/archive/search/?release_type=2">Check out other NOIRLab Photo Releases</a></li></ul><br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Contacts:</b><br /><br />
Josie Fenske<br />
Jr. Public Information Officer<br />
NSF’s NOIRLab<br />
Email:</span> <a href="mailto:josie.fenske@noirlab.edu">josie.fenske@noirlab.edu</a><br /><br /><hr />Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-14972505582084484032024-03-13T00:00:00.118-03:002024-03-13T14:59:57.229-03:00Cheers! NASA's Webb Finds Ethanol, Other Icy Ingredients for Worlds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRx61a9mxjQJVTRzSSWNP7PNuoFX2mtgiVw8JkyKg96LWy8E799vskIZjt-kZsnLJMTtyRzK2iy-VxZBXGxziHHROpZOcNaaLkFkYnR6Zs7aRGZMNcm93OV1qH-KCpF8v7Z95EY0SbS_DjJATsytCwMz_5_s_UKysMHV5liCKZIbl81Z2aWofouA/s1039/STScI-01HQK9J5BZE4JSJQYXKVJC0XQS.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1039" data-original-width="668" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRx61a9mxjQJVTRzSSWNP7PNuoFX2mtgiVw8JkyKg96LWy8E799vskIZjt-kZsnLJMTtyRzK2iy-VxZBXGxziHHROpZOcNaaLkFkYnR6Zs7aRGZMNcm93OV1qH-KCpF8v7Z95EY0SbS_DjJATsytCwMz_5_s_UKysMHV5liCKZIbl81Z2aWofouA/w412-h640/STScI-01HQK9J5BZE4JSJQYXKVJC0XQS.png" width="412" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Parallel Field to Protostar IRAS 23385 (MIRI Image)<br />
Credits: Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, W.R.M. Rocha (LEI)</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjNIm4I3kV_6p3PHeMxVXaT0hJLXyNQyUj2XmlAzqCaphPI8PDBwRKdLEMyTJfOKSpWh4lQpxjy2qeS6WJ63wPh2Bxpa_H4yup5AKX_nBDdB-8VeTZJ2DngtUv_nJfNbDHpn4o-jIS5V3oCCyBmBGQAD2QdU5bO6YEmnSIqim0SfBfdeFF4qdhCg/s1920/STScI-01HRCT0DN8XPKM6CK7W6FTMXTP.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1383" data-original-width="1920" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjNIm4I3kV_6p3PHeMxVXaT0hJLXyNQyUj2XmlAzqCaphPI8PDBwRKdLEMyTJfOKSpWh4lQpxjy2qeS6WJ63wPh2Bxpa_H4yup5AKX_nBDdB-8VeTZJ2DngtUv_nJfNbDHpn4o-jIS5V3oCCyBmBGQAD2QdU5bO6YEmnSIqim0SfBfdeFF4qdhCg/w640-h462/STScI-01HRCT0DN8XPKM6CK7W6FTMXTP.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Complex Organic Molecules of NGC 1333 IRAS 2A Protostar (MIRI)<br />
Credits: Illustration: NASA, ESA, CSA, Leah Hustak (STScI)</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2024/news-2024-111#section-id-2">Images</a></div><br /><hr /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">What do margaritas, vinegar, and ant stings have in common? They contain chemical ingredients that NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has identified surrounding two young protostars known as IRAS 2A and IRAS 23385. Although planets are not yet forming around those stars, these and other molecules detected there by Webb represent key ingredients for making potentially habitable worlds.<br /><br />
An international team of astronomers used Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) to identify a variety of icy compounds made up of complex organic molecules like ethanol (alcohol) and likely acetic acid (an ingredient in vinegar). This work builds on <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2023/news-2023-106">previous Webb detections</a> of diverse ices in a cold, dark molecular cloud.<br /><br />
“This finding contributes to one of the long-standing questions in astrochemistry,” said team leader Will Rocha of Leiden University in the Netherlands. “What is the origin of complex organic molecules, or COMs, in space? Are they made in the gas phase or in ices? The detection of COMs in ices suggests that solid-phase chemical reactions on the surfaces of cold dust grains can build complex kinds of molecules.”<br /><br />
As several COMs, including those detected in the solid phase in this research, were previously detected in the warm gas phase, it is now believed that they originate from the sublimation of ices. Sublimation is to change directly from a solid to a gas without becoming a liquid. Therefore, detecting COMs in ices makes astronomers hopeful about improved understanding of the origins of other, even larger molecules in space.<br /><br />
Scientists are also keen to explore to what extent these COMs are transported to planets at much later stages of protostellar evolution. COMs in cold ices are thought to be easier to transport from molecular clouds to planet-forming disks than warm, gaseous molecules. These icy COMs can therefore be incorporated into comets and asteroids, which in turn may collide with forming planets, delivering the ingredients for life to possibly flourish.<br /><br />
The science team also detected simpler molecules, including formic acid (which causes the burning sensation of an ant sting), methane, formaldehyde, and sulfur dioxide. Research suggests that sulfur-containing compounds like sulfur dioxide played an important role in driving metabolic reactions on the primitive Earth.<br /><br />
Of particular interest is that one of the sources investigated, IRAS 2A, is characterized as a low-mass protostar. IRAS 2A may therefore be similar to the early stages of our own solar system. As such, the chemicals identified around this protostar were likely present in the first stages of development of our solar system and later delivered to the primitive Earth. <br /><br />
“All of these molecules can become part of comets and asteroids and eventually new planetary systems when the icy material is transported inward to the planet-forming disk as the protostellar system evolves,” said Ewine van Dishoeck of Leiden University, one of the coordinators of the science program. “We look forward to following this astrochemical trail step-by-step with more Webb data in the coming years.”<br /><br />
These observations were made for the JOYS+ (James Webb Observations of Young ProtoStars) program. The team dedicated these results to team member Harold Linnartz, who unexpectedly passed away in December 2023, shortly after the acceptance of this paper.</div><br />
This research has been accepted for publication in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202348427">Astronomy & Astrophysics</a>.<br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.</i></div><span style="color: #f1c232;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">
Source:</span> <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/news">NASA's James Webb Space Telescope/News</a><br /></div><div><br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b><u>About This Release</u></b><br /><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Credits:</b><br /><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Media Contact:</b><br /><br />
Bethany Downer<br />
ESA/Webb, Baltimore, Maryland<br /><br />
Christine Pulliam<br />
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland<br /><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Science:</b> W.R.M. Rocha (LEI) <br /><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Permissions:</b></span> <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/copyright">Content Use Policy</a><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Contact Us:</b> Direct inquiries to the</span> <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2024/news-2024-111">News Team</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">.</span><br /><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;"><u>Related Links and Documents</u></span></b><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>
<a href="https://www.aanda.org/component/article?access=doi&doi=10.1051/0004-6361/202348427">The science paper by W.R.M. Rocha et al.</a>
<a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.07901">A related science paper by P. Nazari et al.</a></li></ul><br /><hr />
</div>Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-60735184102272176212024-03-12T00:00:00.124-03:002024-03-12T00:00:00.127-03:00NASA's Webb, Hubble Telescopes Affirm Universe's Expansion Rate, Puzzle Persists<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn8Pc334qSzgibaCYH4AB5JbU6s4TEmJMTywPlJtUtf5t2VrwuQ2jI3aKqtIcRzU0bTeCc2j6EQ3OoBW9NiIxPlekyOr5ZhoK5RM1vWZl2bOLvEjNhbpRPPxQzskagvVsFbXdTKav3Ktq50MWF8vow4bNncvuP9coe8i0peoTjOpFkdrnJlUcj4w/s2000/STScI-01HQ6CN7CCP7X4DQCW7KTMWSZ6.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1988" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn8Pc334qSzgibaCYH4AB5JbU6s4TEmJMTywPlJtUtf5t2VrwuQ2jI3aKqtIcRzU0bTeCc2j6EQ3OoBW9NiIxPlekyOr5ZhoK5RM1vWZl2bOLvEjNhbpRPPxQzskagvVsFbXdTKav3Ktq50MWF8vow4bNncvuP9coe8i0peoTjOpFkdrnJlUcj4w/w636-h640/STScI-01HQ6CN7CCP7X4DQCW7KTMWSZ6.png" width="636" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">NGC 5468 (Webb NIRCam + Hubble WFC3)<br />
Credits: Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Adam G. Riess (JHU, STScI)</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfEOtUJlT44sdHKlMrJbQNMZxdXqgv69f5LZkvzy-U8pYz25uQx4NcVsxbZ7u5Kgnzp7CTSHgSqWLTKeM_vww7E6ZcZAZbNEBd5loUV4HlJCcyM4OAVi-CHPDSO1u7FKgofXSz8WAZ-HbiIswvtQ44yZW8DZ0f6Pntv1XQieEbgUz2dToKu8OoA/s1298/STScI-01HR59VHJ7FPB7SW3CGRTAZ8E5.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="1298" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfEOtUJlT44sdHKlMrJbQNMZxdXqgv69f5LZkvzy-U8pYz25uQx4NcVsxbZ7u5Kgnzp7CTSHgSqWLTKeM_vww7E6ZcZAZbNEBd5loUV4HlJCcyM4OAVi-CHPDSO1u7FKgofXSz8WAZ-HbiIswvtQ44yZW8DZ0f6Pntv1XQieEbgUz2dToKu8OoA/w640-h358/STScI-01HR59VHJ7FPB7SW3CGRTAZ8E5.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Cepheid Variable Star P42 in NGC 5468<br />
Credits: Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Adam G. Riess (JHU, STScI)</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2024/news-2024-108#section-id-2">Images</a></div><br /><hr /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When you are trying to solve one of the biggest conundrums in cosmology, you should triple check your homework. The puzzle, called the "Hubble Tension," is that the current rate of the expansion of the universe is faster than what astronomers expect it to be, based on the universe's initial conditions and our present understanding of the universe’s evolution.<br /><br />
Scientists using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and many other telescopes consistently find a number that does not match predictions based on observations from ESA's (European Space Agency's) <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Planck/Planck_at_a_glance">Planck</a> mission. Does resolving this discrepancy require new physics? Or is it a result of measurement errors between the two different methods used to determine the rate of expansion of space? <br /><br />
Hubble has been measuring the current rate of the universe’s expansion for <a href="https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2022/news-2022-005">30 years</a>, and astronomers want to eliminate any lingering doubt about its accuracy. Now, Hubble and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have tag-teamed to produce definitive measurements, furthering the case that something else – not measurement errors – is influencing the expansion rate. <br /><br />
“With measurement errors negated, what remains is the real and exciting possibility we have misunderstood the universe,” said Adam Riess, a physicist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Riess holds a Nobel Prize for co-discovering the fact that the universe’s expansion is accelerating, due to a mysterious phenomenon now called “dark energy.”<br /><br />
As a crosscheck, an <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/contents/early-highlights/webb-confirms-accuracy-of-universes-expansion-rate-measured-by-hubble">initial Webb observation in 2023</a> confirmed that Hubble measurements of the expanding universe were accurate. However, hoping to relieve the Hubble Tension, some scientists speculated that unseen errors in the measurement may grow and become visible as we look deeper into the universe. In particular, stellar crowding could affect brightness measurements of more distant stars in a systematic way.<br /><br />
The SH0ES (Supernova H0 for the Equation of State of Dark Energy) team, led by Riess, obtained additional observations with Webb of objects that are critical cosmic milepost markers, known as <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/glossary.html#h3-CK-30247c84-7dff-4b6b-833d-1f8b5d420096">Cepheid variable stars</a>, which now can be correlated with the Hubble data. <br /><br />
“We’ve now spanned the whole range of what Hubble observed, and we can rule out a measurement error as the cause of the Hubble Tension with very high confidence,” Riess said.<br /><br />
The team’s first few Webb observations in 2023 were successful in showing Hubble was on the right track in firmly establishing the fidelity of the first rungs of the so-called <a href="https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/2019/25/4489-Image.html">cosmic distance ladder</a>. <br /><br />
Astronomers use various methods to measure relative distances in the universe, depending upon the object being observed. Collectively these techniques are known as the cosmic distance ladder – each rung or measurement technique relies upon the previous step for calibration.<br /><br />
But some astronomers suggested that, moving outward along the “second rung,” the cosmic distance ladder might get shaky if the Cepheid measurements become less accurate with distance. Such inaccuracies could occur because the light of a Cepheid could blend with that of an adjacent star – an effect that could become more pronounced with distance as stars crowd together and become harder to distinguish from one another.<br /><br />
The observational challenge is that past Hubble images of these more distant Cepheid variables look more huddled and overlapping with neighboring stars at ever farther distances between us and their host galaxies, requiring careful accounting for this effect. Intervening dust further complicates the certainty of the measurements in visible light. Webb slices though the dust and naturally isolates the Cepheids from neighboring stars because its vision is sharper than Hubble’s at infrared wavelengths. <br /><br />
“Combining Webb and Hubble gives us the best of both worlds. We find that the Hubble measurements remain reliable as we climb farther along the cosmic distance ladder,” said Riess.<br /><br />
The <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ad1ddd">new Webb observations</a> include five host galaxies of eight Type Ia supernovae containing a total of 1,000 Cepheids, and reach out to the farthest galaxy where Cepheids have been well measured – NGC 5468 – at a distance of 130 million light-years. “This spans the full range where we made measurements with Hubble. So, we've gone to the end of the second rung of the cosmic distance ladder,” said co-author Gagandeep Anand of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which operates the Webb and Hubble telescopes for NASA.<br /><br />
Hubble and Webb’s further confirmation of the Hubble Tension sets up other observatories to possibly settle the mystery. NASA’s upcoming <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/roman-space-telescope/">Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope</a> will do wide celestial surveys to study the influence of dark energy, the mysterious energy that is causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate. ESA's <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid">Euclid</a> observatory, with NASA contributions, is pursuing a similar task.<br /><br />
At present it’s as though the distance ladder observed by Hubble and Webb has firmly set an anchor point on one shoreline of a river, and the afterglow of the big bang observed by Planck’s measurement from the beginning of the universe is set firmly on the other side. How the universe’s expansion was changing in the billions of years between these two endpoints has yet to be directly observed. “We need to find out if we are missing something on how to connect the beginning of the universe and the present day,” said Riess.</div><br />
These findings were published in the February 6, 2024 issue of The <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ad1ddd">Astrophysical Journal Letters</a>.<br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. Goddard also conducts mission operations with Lockheed Martin Space in Denver, Colorado. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble and Webb science operations for NASA.</i><br /><br />
<i>The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency. <br /></i><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Source: </span><a href="https://webbtelescope.org/news">NASA's James Webb Space Telescope/News</a><br /></div><div><div><br /><hr /><span style="color: #f1c232;"><br /></span>
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Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland<br /><br />
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Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland</span><br /><br />
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<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b><u>Related Links and Documents</u></b></span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>
<a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ad1ddd">The science paper by A. Riess et al.</a></li></ul><br /><hr /></div></div>Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-52129235057867036672024-03-11T00:00:00.101-03:002024-03-11T00:00:00.139-03:00Peering Into the Tendrils of NGC 604 with NASA's Webb<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZdisrhnG8WiwZJ8yICY8oxfGAeTGbcrbfACLjOnOKSem65KP73XEPv0kpE0F6JC0PjyWdkOvdhiQGc-J7IQVw6vA5PpzK3CtBVnuZ_MWtmHwD35gaXV4XPOjF2zHRduuIieal7yFOUOmscvCuxleQWsjl-unb8DUF8Cbd0e_fCP3WBvw4DDW3wA/s2000/STScI-01HQNVFG4DPEVRZC18XTF2QBCG.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1623" data-original-width="2000" height="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZdisrhnG8WiwZJ8yICY8oxfGAeTGbcrbfACLjOnOKSem65KP73XEPv0kpE0F6JC0PjyWdkOvdhiQGc-J7IQVw6vA5PpzK3CtBVnuZ_MWtmHwD35gaXV4XPOjF2zHRduuIieal7yFOUOmscvCuxleQWsjl-unb8DUF8Cbd0e_fCP3WBvw4DDW3wA/w640-h520/STScI-01HQNVFG4DPEVRZC18XTF2QBCG.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">NGC 604 (NIRCam Image)<br />
Credits: Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI </span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihXENZ_lkYZtm8MtDHLmEQhS5uKRp46C_XY4YaoYQAd_IjQy6LRg3x3rKrqJr_8P9KtJGxOQBXnDJwmTSDsQXLlyQpyM9J5qvpAxtVpbpnYl1N4nY_U51of1_w08n_VEcDXF4ZpPGxZ3a1hnUYS3MqiErLjVnOH2UMuTm-4y-f4hP9-6ODRokmYw/s2000/STScI-01HQP6MM57YXT09YC7TP10CQJJ.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1698" data-original-width="2000" height="544" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihXENZ_lkYZtm8MtDHLmEQhS5uKRp46C_XY4YaoYQAd_IjQy6LRg3x3rKrqJr_8P9KtJGxOQBXnDJwmTSDsQXLlyQpyM9J5qvpAxtVpbpnYl1N4nY_U51of1_w08n_VEcDXF4ZpPGxZ3a1hnUYS3MqiErLjVnOH2UMuTm-4y-f4hP9-6ODRokmYw/w640-h544/STScI-01HQP6MM57YXT09YC7TP10CQJJ.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">NGC 604 (MIRI Image)<br />
Credits: Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI</span></div><br /><hr /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The formation of stars and the chaotic environments they inhabit is one of the most well-studied, but also mystery-shrouded, areas of cosmic investigation. The intricacies of these processes are now being unveiled like never before by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.<br /><br />
Two new images from Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) showcase star-forming region NGC 604, located in the <a href="https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/2019/01/4305-Image.html">Triangulum galaxy (M33)</a>, 2.73 million light-years away from Earth. In these images, cavernous bubbles and stretched-out filaments of gas etch a more detailed and complete tapestry of star birth than seen in the past. <br /><br />
Sheltered among NGC 604’s dusty envelopes of gas are more than 200 of the hottest, most massive kinds of stars, all in the early stages of their lives. These types of stars are B-types and O-types, the latter of which can be more than 100 times the mass of our own Sun. It’s quite rare to find this concentration of them in the nearby universe. In fact, there’s no similar region within our own Milky Way galaxy.<br /><br />
This concentration of massive stars, combined with its relatively close distance, means NGC 604 gives astronomers an opportunity to study these objects at a fascinating time early in their life.<br /><br />
In Webb’s near-infrared NIRCam image, the most noticeable features are tendrils and clumps of emission that appear bright red, extending out from areas that look like clearings, or large bubbles in the nebula. Stellar winds from the brightest and hottest young stars have carved out these cavities, while ultraviolet radiation <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/glossary.html#h3-CK-6161ccfd-f33b-4fc8-857c-731b77ec49f9">ionizes</a> the surrounding gas. This ionized hydrogen appears as a white and blue ghostly glow.<br /><br />
The bright orange-colored streaks in the Webb near-infrared image signify the presence of carbon-based molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. This material plays an important role in the interstellar medium and the formation of stars and planets, but its origin is a mystery. As you travel farther from the immediate clearings of dust, the deeper red signifies molecular hydrogen. This cooler gas is a prime environment for star formation.<br /><br />
Webb’s exquisite resolution also provides insights into features that previously appeared unrelated to the main cloud. For example, in Webb’s image, there are two bright, young stars carving out holes in dust above the central nebula, connected through diffuse red gas. In <a href="https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/2003/30/1422-Image.html">visible-light imaging from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope</a>, these appeared as separate splotches. <br /><br />
Webb’s view in mid-infrared wavelengths also illustrates a new perspective into the diverse and dynamic activity of this region. In the <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2024/110/01HQP6CFV549TS0WBW4A6XJ103">MIRI view of NGC 604</a>, there are noticeably fewer stars. This is because hot stars emit much less light at these wavelengths, while the larger clouds of cooler gas and dust glow. Some of the stars seen in this image, belonging to the surrounding galaxy, are red supergiants – stars that are cool but very large, hundreds of times the diameter of our Sun. Additionally, some of the background galaxies that appeared in the NIRCam image also fade. In the MIRI image, the blue tendrils of material signify the presence of PAHs. <br /><br />
NGC 604 is estimated to be around 3.5 million years old. The cloud of glowing gases extends to some 1,300 light-years across. <br /><br />
<i>The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.</i><br /><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Source:</span> <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/news">NASA's James Webb Space Telescope/News</a><br /></div><div><br /><hr /><br />
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<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Media Contact:</b><br /><br />
Hannah Braun<br />
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland<br /><br />
Christine Pulliam<br />
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland<br /><br /></span>
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<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Contact Us:</b> Direct inquiries to the</span> <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2024/news-2024-110">News Team</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">. </span><br /><br /><hr /></div>Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-80632251519885862512024-03-10T00:00:00.099-03:002024-03-10T00:00:00.335-03:00What Are Hubble and Webb Observing Right Now? NASA Tool Has the Answer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxbdC56nztfV4t5i_EDfU-QRIP1NY9KNRldPm8FyLsDV8LS5E6sKUMuvi0qklIhzL3rlh5kuHkWQwMTO3I8YEB8PhzUAcP6N_nWyonRMdfJfxwyt9pnykdMVhAAGth_YvvjyCRd3p4uIbNPv4xqC9w5MQgVGlSTQb0ojZ2hUz88U12OYlbbKAIBw/s1340/STScI-01HQ194V8TS6PAVZZWSXVDX6DZ.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="1340" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxbdC56nztfV4t5i_EDfU-QRIP1NY9KNRldPm8FyLsDV8LS5E6sKUMuvi0qklIhzL3rlh5kuHkWQwMTO3I8YEB8PhzUAcP6N_nWyonRMdfJfxwyt9pnykdMVhAAGth_YvvjyCRd3p4uIbNPv4xqC9w5MQgVGlSTQb0ojZ2hUz88U12OYlbbKAIBw/w640-h248/STScI-01HQ194V8TS6PAVZZWSXVDX6DZ.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="color: #f1c232;"><div style="text-align: center;">NASA's Hubble Space Telescope/NASA's James Webb Space Telescope</div></span><br /><hr /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It’s not hard to find out what NASA’s Hubble and James Webb space telescopes have observed in the past. Barely a week goes by without news of a cosmic discovery made possible using images, <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/glossary.html#h3-CK-b6199c5e-9065-4803-891c-6f17deada9a6">spectra</a>, and other data captured by NASA’s prolific astronomical observatories. <br /><br />
But what are Hubble and Webb looking at right this minute? A shadowy pillar harboring nascent stars? A pair of colliding galaxies? The atmosphere of a distant planet? Galactic light, stretched and distorted on a 13-billion-year journey across space?<br /><br />
<a href="https://webbtelescope.org/glossary.html#h3-CK-b6199c5e-9065-4803-891c-6f17deada9a6">NASA’s Space Telescope Live</a>, a web application originally developed in 2016 to deliver real-time updates on Hubble targets, now affords easy access to up-to-date information on current, past, and upcoming observations from both <a href="https://hubblesite.org/mission-and-telescope/what-is-hubble-observing-now">Hubble</a> and <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/webb-science/the-observatory/what-is-webb-observing-now">Webb</a>. <br /><br />
Designed and developed for NASA by the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, this exploratory tool offers the public a straightforward and engaging way to learn more about how astronomical investigations are carried out.<br /><br />
With its redesigned user interface and expanded functionality, users can find out not only what planet, star, nebula, galaxy, or region of deep space each telescope is observing at the moment, but also where exactly these targets are in the sky; what scientific instruments are being used to capture the images, spectra, and other data; precisely when and how long the observations are scheduled to occur; the status of the observation; who is leading the research; and most importantly, what the scientists are trying to find out. <br /><br />
Information for observations from approved science programs is available via the <a href="https://archive.stsci.edu/">Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes</a>. NASA’s Space Telescope Live offers easy access to this information – not only the current day’s targets, but the entire catalog of past observations as well – with Webb records dating back to its first <a href="https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2022/01/31/following-webbs-arrival-at-l2-telescope-commissioning-set-to-begin/">commissioning</a> targets in January 2022, and Hubble records all the way back to the beginning of its operations in May 1990. <br /><br />
The zoomable sky map centered on the target’s location was developed using the <a href="https://aladin.cds.unistra.fr/">Aladin Sky Atlas</a>, with imagery from ground-based telescopes to provide context for the observation. (Because the Hubble and Webb data must go through preliminary processing, and in many cases preliminary analysis, before being released to the public and astronomy community, real-time imagery is not available in this tool for either telescope.)<br /><br />
Details such as target name and coordinates, scheduled start and end times, and the research topic, are pulled directly from the observation scheduling and proposal planning databases. Links within the tool direct users to the original research proposal, which serves as a gateway to more technical information. <br /><br />
While this latest version of NASA’s Space Telescope Live constitutes a significant transformation from the previous release, the team is already gathering feedback from users and planning additional enhancements to provide opportunities for deeper exploration and understanding. <br /><br />
NASA’s Space Telescope Live is designed to work on desktop and mobile devices, and is accessible via NASA’s official <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble">Hubble</a> and <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb">Webb</a> websites. Additional details about the content, including public-friendly explanations of the information displayed in the tool, can be found in the User Guide.<br /><br />
<i>The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.<br /><br />
The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. Goddard also conducts mission operations with Lockheed Martin Space in Denver, Colorado. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble and Webb science operations for NASA.</i><br /><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Source:</span> <a href="https://hubblesite.org/news">HubbleSite/News</a><br /></div><br /><hr /><u><br /></u>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><u><b>About This Release</b><br /></u><br /></span>
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<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Media Contact:</b><br /><br />
Margaret W. Carruthers<br />
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland<br /><br />
Christine Pulliam<br />
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland<br /><br /></span>
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<b><u><span style="color: #f1c232;">Related Links and Documents</span></u></b><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>
<a href="https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2023/05/12/the-telescope-allocation-committee-selecting-what-webb-observes-next">Selecting What Webb Observes Next</a></li></ul><br /><hr />Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-72799368604284524782024-03-09T00:00:00.055-03:002024-03-09T23:30:09.687-03:00 Featured Image: Minidisks in Massive Binaries<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSLpGddPFo-545HK6DFhzozb5X1lZQQKLdCdrpBo5Ehd1kOaObsm7dFvR2ENVhtp0fZBWGgFfoJ_kddpdHdxxZHNRsyEBktjn9jn5dKEnwBws8IHhyphenhyphenBmt5sWRwjU4Zu8CpjGQWUaRYnCUfuZPoPS1KBUyxZ_R7Sb3kBy66zJifwr34AAARZ03jYQ/s2150/apjad1a17f14_hr.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1030" data-original-width="2150" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSLpGddPFo-545HK6DFhzozb5X1lZQQKLdCdrpBo5Ehd1kOaObsm7dFvR2ENVhtp0fZBWGgFfoJ_kddpdHdxxZHNRsyEBktjn9jn5dKEnwBws8IHhyphenhyphenBmt5sWRwjU4Zu8CpjGQWUaRYnCUfuZPoPS1KBUyxZ_R7Sb3kBy66zJifwr34AAARZ03jYQ/w640-h306/apjad1a17f14_hr.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />From millions of light-years away, how can we tell if a galaxy
contains one supermassive black hole or two? It’s a tricky problem: the
gas around single supermassive black holes glows across the
electromagnetic spectrum and varies on timescales from hours to years,
and it’s not obvious how adding a second black hole changes these
behaviors. As a step toward differentiating the two scenarios, a team
led by John Ryan Westernacher-Schneider (Leiden University and Clemson
University) simulated the gas surrounding pairs of black holes. When
binary black hole systems ensnare gas from their surroundings, the gas
collects in a large accretion disk around both black holes and in
smaller disks around the individual black holes. These smaller disks are
called <i>minidisks</i>. Each frame above shows a simulated minidisk
with different physical parameters. Because of instabilities, the
simulated minidisks sometimes become extremely elongated, and if future
work suggests that this elongation is likely to happen in real disks, it
may provide a way to interpret variations in the light from distant
sources and pinpoint binary black holes. To learn more about these
minidisk simulations, be sure to check out the full article linked
below.</div><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">By</span> <a href="https://aasnova.org/person/kerry-hensley/">Kerry Hensley </a><br /><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Citation</span></b><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">“Eccentric Minidisks in Accreting Binaries,” John Ryan Westernacher-Schneider et al 2024 <i>ApJ</i><b>962</b> 76. </span><br />
<a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad1a17">doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad1a17</a><br /> <br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Source:</span> <a href="https://aasnova.org/">American Astronomical Society/AAS-Nova</a><br /></div><br /><hr />Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-56454166068472595532024-03-08T00:00:00.001-03:002024-03-08T00:00:00.245-03:00A matter of perspective<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5b8Ku2GSob9A0dfRk5hPzxYs9fOBsldxZ9rrbx1oTrTvSfhD3aGqbf2uQFjHBWEXEWSGZMGVJMw5ZRGZkf87H-zstFSchY-sNRE3Xs0M-Np3vXEEw9MrC6rrFTp-Ggs4ROnIB7efAbXBIAnbamRTwXvVNds869dOrCDO4pA1gGpJ6-PH1e9WKg/s1280/potw2410a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="1280" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5b8Ku2GSob9A0dfRk5hPzxYs9fOBsldxZ9rrbx1oTrTvSfhD3aGqbf2uQFjHBWEXEWSGZMGVJMw5ZRGZkf87H-zstFSchY-sNRE3Xs0M-Np3vXEEw9MrC6rrFTp-Ggs4ROnIB7efAbXBIAnbamRTwXvVNds869dOrCDO4pA1gGpJ6-PH1e9WKg/w640-h462/potw2410a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/large/potw2410a.jpg">NGC 4423</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">A broad spiral galaxy is seen edge-on, so that its spiral arms can’t be
seen. Visible dust and stars trace the disc of the galaxy, surrounded by
a glowing halo above and below. The colour of the galaxy changes
smoothly between the outer disc at the ends and the bulge in the centre.
A few bright stars surround the galaxy on a dark background. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Sun</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Here we see NGC 4423, a <a href="https://esahubble.org/wordbank/galaxy/">galaxy</a>
that lies about 55 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo.
In this image NGC 4423 appears to have quite an irregular, tubular
form, so it might be surprising to find out that it is in fact a <a href="https://esahubble.org/wordbank/spiral-galaxy/">spiral galaxy</a>.
Knowing this, we can make out the denser central bulge of the galaxy,
and the less crowded surrounding disc (the part that comprises the
spiral arms).<br /><br />
If NGC 4423 were viewed face-on it would resemble the shape that we <a href="https://esahubble.org/images/potw2112a/">most associate</a>
with spiral galaxies: the spectacular curving arms sweeping out from a
bright centre, interspersed with dimmer, darker, less populated regions.
But when observing the skies we are constrained by the relative
alignments between Earth and the objects that we are observing: we
cannot simply reposition Earth so that we can get a better face-on view
of NGC 4423!<br /><br />
Of course, celestial objects do not remain sedentary in space, but
often move at extremely rapid velocities relative to one another. This
might suggest that, should a galaxy be moving in a fortuitous direction
relative to Earth, we might be able to view it from a substantially
different perspective once it has moved far enough. This is
theoretically possible, but the reality is that the distances in space
are simply far too big, and human lifetimes far too short, for a
noticeable difference in relative alignment to occur. In other words,
this is more-or-less the view of NGC 4423 that we will always have!</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Source:</span> <a href="https://esahubble.org/images/potw/">ESA/Hubble/potw</a></div><br /><hr />Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-68267894105167064252024-03-07T00:00:00.233-03:002024-03-07T00:00:00.166-03:00Groundbreaking survey reveals secrets of planet birth around dozens of stars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2IhRqRmVADPcAjIH_dUqwpL2dZGaVAXnzVII-KQ_KUBc5bxxvla6j86xwLw6x1_dYQkv6CZCYMXYq3rFAklunYcUnZTw2s0uMY5RuU3UqhqRluDXOQOxQsheCXj-NO0LYrvG3LWF_qHAf7J6D9xzKov-D3MWtWuhXeSbU2iJrtoXfanE7mhiXYA/s1280/eso2405a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="1280" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2IhRqRmVADPcAjIH_dUqwpL2dZGaVAXnzVII-KQ_KUBc5bxxvla6j86xwLw6x1_dYQkv6CZCYMXYq3rFAklunYcUnZTw2s0uMY5RuU3UqhqRluDXOQOxQsheCXj-NO0LYrvG3LWF_qHAf7J6D9xzKov-D3MWtWuhXeSbU2iJrtoXfanE7mhiXYA/w640-h262/eso2405a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2405a/">PR Image eso2405a</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Planet-forming discs in three clouds of the Milky Way </span><br /></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTgg_lqtXB-EYCLbebrX-8KMBmtiAqF64RjgdSnEcP-sjcQC4Ce176CsEVEZ2ooNL11bRPKa2Qq9KYOMUZDSUywXOHzlRnimV-kmCr4api5KC7jAOxZGAaz3cYc84SQV_eds5jmwCKTp1zDpD-ul2x3HLPdy3DfBhPBvCYut7jr0mDGmCis_LykQ/s1280/eso2405b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTgg_lqtXB-EYCLbebrX-8KMBmtiAqF64RjgdSnEcP-sjcQC4Ce176CsEVEZ2ooNL11bRPKa2Qq9KYOMUZDSUywXOHzlRnimV-kmCr4api5KC7jAOxZGAaz3cYc84SQV_eds5jmwCKTp1zDpD-ul2x3HLPdy3DfBhPBvCYut7jr0mDGmCis_LykQ/w640-h640/eso2405b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2405b/">PR Image eso2405b</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Planet-forming discs in the Orion cloud </span><br /></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhio8EZaLYQp7FixFg83N4Kxf8wCkGwl8gVnnqacNFTXxU_NTFWrGiWJDDbWxoLB6mEzLABGWlkek2H6EbJQFPJuhEjQ6WjpkCR3k8oU31TUCXTFU016jETaV4wXiHtRg5b90rwfRp1_zzSKwfAZzs4XG6HqQLKoqWQU_GsVmHRejnfpy88vjhGSg/s1280/eso2405c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhio8EZaLYQp7FixFg83N4Kxf8wCkGwl8gVnnqacNFTXxU_NTFWrGiWJDDbWxoLB6mEzLABGWlkek2H6EbJQFPJuhEjQ6WjpkCR3k8oU31TUCXTFU016jETaV4wXiHtRg5b90rwfRp1_zzSKwfAZzs4XG6HqQLKoqWQU_GsVmHRejnfpy88vjhGSg/w640-h640/eso2405c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2405c/">PR Image eso2405c</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Planet-forming discs in the Taurus cloud </span><br /></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilr8Z1Ge786k6LEF75qw4s73bzebQi2UbT5vC6ycyKxRRRYLfRb3UrU4CfLbkqZZxfQ2zx-49vKSUcEEEN02LWzt9aPSuyhT-GSDj4ucP7s1PK-0XntBoq1McjoXjVt6ELGVWNwcEgc4guKiH8dD2zHyRXps9O4YVkqw-cCVDAzNyCNc_n2UedJQ/s1422/eso2405d.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1422" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilr8Z1Ge786k6LEF75qw4s73bzebQi2UbT5vC6ycyKxRRRYLfRb3UrU4CfLbkqZZxfQ2zx-49vKSUcEEEN02LWzt9aPSuyhT-GSDj4ucP7s1PK-0XntBoq1McjoXjVt6ELGVWNwcEgc4guKiH8dD2zHyRXps9O4YVkqw-cCVDAzNyCNc_n2UedJQ/w576-h640/eso2405d.jpg" width="576" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2405d/">PR Image eso2405d</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Planet-forming discs in the Chamaeleon cloud <br /></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZafsfPG549SXQlckcUwz8cvr6kJptxVdyFWNqO8hHNHyFI1tZLQatVp_4R1ugbMw1ILsTjzMkxuaTHd-PUBsU-_YAGZA6IuCn4JKqM0fGFt_TC_wPm-sJKhletxdEuzygvAnv9zBKHkC9tXftXMtXuaNUekvECJ_skF9uYZ4Cn8Hz1a81NhRBVw/s2048/eso2405e.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZafsfPG549SXQlckcUwz8cvr6kJptxVdyFWNqO8hHNHyFI1tZLQatVp_4R1ugbMw1ILsTjzMkxuaTHd-PUBsU-_YAGZA6IuCn4JKqM0fGFt_TC_wPm-sJKhletxdEuzygvAnv9zBKHkC9tXftXMtXuaNUekvECJ_skF9uYZ4Cn8Hz1a81NhRBVw/w640-h480/eso2405e.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2405e/">PR Image eso2405e</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">The MWC 758 planet-forming disc as seen by SPHERE and ALMA </span><br /></div><br /><hr /><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Videos</span></b></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.eso.org/public/videos/eso2405a/"><img alt="Survey reveals secrets of planet birth around dozens of stars | ESOcast Light" class="img-responsive" src="https://www.eso.org/public/archives/videos/news/eso2405a.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.eso.org/public/videos/eso2405a/">PR Video eso2405a</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Survey reveals secrets of planet birth around dozens of stars | ESOcast Light <br /></span></div><br /><hr /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>In a series of studies, a team of
astronomers has shed new light on the fascinating and complex process of
planet formation. The stunning images, captured using the European
Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) in Chile,
represent one of the largest ever surveys of planet-forming discs. The
research brings together observations of more than 80 young stars that
might have planets forming around them, providing astronomers with a
wealth of data and unique insights into how planets arise in different
regions of our galaxy.</b><br /><br />
“<i>This is really a shift in our field of study</i>,”
says Christian Ginski, a lecturer at the University of Galway, Ireland,
and lead author of one of three new papers published today in <i>Astronomy & Astrophysics</i>. “<i>We’ve gone from the intense study of individual star systems to this huge overview of entire star-forming regions.</i>”<br /><br />
To date more than 5000 planets have been discovered
orbiting stars other than the Sun, often within systems markedly
different from our own Solar System. To understand where and how this
diversity arises, astronomers must observe the dust- and gas-rich discs
that envelop young stars — the very cradles of planet formation. These
are best found in huge gas clouds where the stars themselves are
forming.<br /><br />
Much like mature planetary systems, the new images showcase the extraordinary diversity of planet-forming discs. “<i>Some of these discs show huge spiral arms, presumably driven by the intricate ballet of orbiting planets,</i>” says Ginski. “<i>Others
show rings and large cavities carved out by forming planets, while yet
others seem smooth and almost dormant among all this bustle of activity</i>,”
adds Antonio Garufi, an astronomer at the Arcetri Astrophysical
Observatory, Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), and
lead author of one of the papers.<br /><br />
The team studied a total of 86 stars across three different
star-forming regions of our galaxy: Taurus and Chamaeleon I, both
around 600 light-years from Earth, and Orion, a gas-rich cloud about
1600 light-years from us that is known to be the birthplace of several
stars more massive than the Sun. The observations were gathered by a
large international team, comprising scientists from more than 10
countries.<br /><br />
The team was able to glean several key insights from the
dataset. For example, in Orion they found that stars in groups of two or
more were less likely to have large planet-forming discs. This is a
significant result given that, unlike our Sun, most stars in our galaxy
have companions. As well as this, the uneven appearance of the discs in
this region suggests the possibility of massive planets embedded within
them, which could be causing the discs to warp and become misaligned.<br /><br />
While planet-forming discs can extend for distances
hundreds of times greater than the distance between Earth and the Sun,
their location several hundreds of light-years from us makes them appear
as tiny pinpricks in the night sky. To observe the discs, the team
employed the sophisticated Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet
REsearch instrument (<a href="https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/vlt/vlt-instr/sphere/">SPHERE</a>) mounted on ESO’s <a href="https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/vlt/">VLT</a>. SPHERE’s state-of-the-art extreme <a href="https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/technology/adaptive_optics/">adaptive optics</a>
system corrects for the turbulent effects of Earth’s atmosphere,
yielding crisp images of the discs. This meant the team were able to
image discs around stars with masses as low as half the mass of the Sun,
which are typically too faint for most other instruments available
today. Additional data for the survey were obtained using the VLT’s <a href="https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/vlt/vlt-instr/x-shooter/">X-shooter</a>
instrument, which allowed astronomers to determine how young and how
massive the stars are. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (<a href="https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/alma/">ALMA</a>),
in which ESO is a partner, on the other hand, helped the team
understand more about the amount of dust surrounding some of the stars.<br /><br />
As technology advances, the team hopes to delve even deeper
into the heart of planet-forming systems. The large 39-metre mirror of
ESO’s forthcoming Extremely Large Telescope (<a href="https://elt.eso.org/">ELT</a>),
for example, will enable the team to study the innermost regions around
young stars, where rocky planets like our own might be forming.<br /><br />
For now, these spectacular images provide researchers with a
treasure trove of data to help unpick the mysteries of planet
formation. “<i>It is almost poetic that the processes that mark the
start of the journey towards forming planets and ultimately life in our
own Solar System should be so beautiful</i>,” concludes Per-Gunnar
Valegård, a doctoral student at the University of Amsterdam, the
Netherlands, who led the Orion study. Valegård, who is also a part-time
teacher at the International School Hilversum in the Netherlands, hopes
the images will inspire his pupils to become scientists in the future.<br /><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="color: #f1c232;">Source:</span> <a href="https://www.eso.org/public/news/">ESO/News</a></div><br /><hr /><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">More information</span></b><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">This research was presented in three papers to appear in <i>Astronomy & Astrophysics</i>. The data presented were gathered as part of the SPHERE consortium guaranteed time programme, as well as the</span> <a href="https://www.christian-ginski.com/home/destinys">DESTINYS</a> <span style="color: #f1c232;">(Disk Evolution Study Through Imaging of Nearby Young Stars) ESO Large Programme.</span></div>
<ol><li dir="ltr">
<p dir="ltr"><span style="color: #f1c232;">“The SPHERE view of the Chamaeleon I star-forming region:
The full census of planet-forming disks with GTO and DESTINYS programs” (</span><a href="https://www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202244005">https://www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202244005</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">)</span></p>
</li></ol>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">The team is composed of C. Ginski (University of Galway,
Ireland; Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, the Netherlands
[Leiden]; Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of
Amsterdam, the Netherlands [API]), R. Tazaki (API), M. Benisty (Univ.
Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG, France [Grenoble]), A. Garufi (INAF,
Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Italy), C. Dominik (API), Á. Ribas
(European Southern Observatory, Chile [ESO Chile]), N. Engler (ETH
Zurich, Institute for Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Switzerland),
J. Hagelberg (Geneva Observatory, University of Geneva, Switzerland), R.
G. van Holstein (ESO Chile), T. Muto (Division of Liberal Arts,
Kogakuin University, Japan), P. Pinilla (Max-Planck-Institut für
Astronomie, Germany [MPIA]; Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University
College London, UK), K. Kanagawa (Department of Earth and Planetary
Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan), S. Kim (Department of
Astronomy, Tsinghua University, China), N. Kurtovic (MPIA), M. Langlois
(Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon, CNRS, UCBL, France), J.
Milli (Grenoble), M. Momose (College of Science, Ibaraki University,
Japan [Ibaraki]), R. Orihara (Ibaraki), N. Pawellek (Department of
Astrophysics, University of Vienna, Austria), T. O. B. Schmidt
(Hamburger Sternwarte, Germany), F. Snik (Leiden), and Z. Wahhaj (ESO
Chile). </span></div>
<ol start="2"><li dir="ltr">
<p dir="ltr"><span style="color: #f1c232;">“The SPHERE view of the Taurus star-forming region: The full census of planet-forming disks with GTO and DESTINYS programs” (</span><a href="https://www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202347586">https://www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202347586</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">)</span></p>
</li></ol>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #f1c232;">The team is composed of A. Garufi (INAF, Osservatorio
Astrofisico di Arcetri, Italy [INAF Arcetri]), C. Ginski (University of
Galway, Ireland), R. G. van Holstein (European Southern Observatory,
Chile [ESO Chile]), M. Benisty (Laboratoire Lagrange, Université Côte
d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, France; Univ. Grenoble
Alpes, CNRS, IPAG, France [Grenoble]), C. F. Manara (European Southern
Observatory, Germany), S. Pérez (Millennium Nucleus on Young Exoplanets
and their Moons [YEMS]; Departamento de Física, Universidad de Santiago
de Chile, Chile [Santiago]), P. Pinilla (Mullard Space Science
Laboratory, University College London, UK), A. Ribas (Institute of
Astronomy, University of Cambridge, UK), P. Weber (YEMS, Santiago), J.
Williams (Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai‘i, USA), L. Cieza
(Instituto de Estudios Astrofísicos, Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias,
Universidad Diego Portales, Chile [Diego Portales]; YEMS), C. Dominik
(Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, the
Netherlands [API]), S. Facchini (Dipartimento di Fisica, Università
degli Studi di Milano, Italy), J. Huang (Department of Astronomy,
Columbia University, USA), A. Zurlo (Diego Portales; YEMS), J. Bae
(Department of Astronomy, University of Florida, USA), J. Hagelberg
(Observatoire de Genève, Université de Genève, Switzerland), Th. Henning
(Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Germany [MPIA]), M. R. Hogerheijde
(Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, the Netherlands; API), M.
Janson (Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University, Sweden), F.
Ménard (Grenoble), S. Messina (INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di
Catania, Italy), M. R. Meyer (Department of Astronomy, The University of
Michigan, USA), C. Pinte (School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash
University, Australia; Grenoble), S. Quanz (ETH Zürich, Department of
Physics, Switzerland [Zürich]), E. Rigliaco (Osservatorio Astronomico di
Padova, Italy [Padova]), V. Roccatagliata (INAF Arcetri), H. M. Schmid
(Zürich), J. Szulágyi (Zürich), R. van Boekel (MPIA), Z. Wahhaj (ESO
Chile), J. Antichi (INAF Arcetri), A. Baruffolo (Padova), and T. Moulin
(Grenoble).</span></div>
<ol start="3"><li dir="ltr">
<p dir="ltr"><span style="color: #f1c232;">“Disk Evolution Study Through Imaging of Nearby Young Stars (DESTINYS): The SPHERE view of the Orion star-forming region” (</span><a href="https://www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202347452">https://www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202347452</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">)</span></p>
</li></ol>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #f1c232;">The team is composed of P.-G. Valegård (Anton Pannekoek
Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
[API]), C. Ginski (University of Galway, Ireland), A. Derkink (API), A.
Garufi (INAF, Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Italy), C. Dominik
(API), Á. Ribas (Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, UK),
J. P. Williams (Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai‘i, USA), M.
Benisty (University of Grenoble Alps, CNRS, IPAG, France), T. Birnstiel
(University Observatory, Faculty of Physics,
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany [LMU]; Exzellenzcluster
ORIGINS, Germany), S. Facchini (Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli
Studi di Milano, Italy), G. Columba (Department of Physics and
Astronomy "Galileo Galilei" - University of Padova, Italy; INAF –
Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Italy), M. Hogerheijde (API; Leiden
Observatory, Leiden University, the Netherlands [Leiden]), R. G. van
Holstein (European Southern Observatory, Chile), J. Huang (Department of
Astronomy, Columbia University, USA), M. Kenworthy (Leiden), C. F.
Manara (European Southern Observatory, Germany), P. Pinilla (Mullard
Space Science Laboratory, University College London, UK), Ch. Rab (LMU;
Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Germany), R. Sulaiman
(Department of Physics, American University of Beirut, Lebanon), A.
Zurlo (Instituto de Estudios Astrofísicos, Facultad de Ingeniería y
Ciencias, Universidad Diego Portales, Chile; Escuela de Ingeniería
Industrial, Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Diego
Portales, Chile; Millennium Nucleus on Young Exoplanets and their
Moons).<br /><br />
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) enables scientists
worldwide to discover the secrets of the Universe for the benefit of
all. We design, build and operate world-class observatories on the
ground — which astronomers use to tackle exciting questions and spread
the fascination of astronomy — and promote international collaboration
for astronomy. Established as an intergovernmental organisation in 1962,
today ESO is supported by 16 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Czechia,
Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands,
Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom),
along with the host state of Chile and with Australia as a Strategic
Partner. ESO’s headquarters and its visitor centre and planetarium, the
ESO Supernova, are located close to Munich in Germany, while the Chilean
Atacama Desert, a marvellous place with unique conditions to observe
the sky, hosts our telescopes. ESO operates three observing sites: La
Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large
Telescope and its Very Large Telescope Interferometer, as well as survey
telescopes such as VISTA. Also at Paranal ESO will host and operate the
Cherenkov Telescope Array South, the world’s largest and most sensitive
gamma-ray observatory. Together with international partners, ESO
operates ALMA on Chajnantor, a facility that observes the skies in the
millimetre and submillimetre range. At Cerro Armazones, near Paranal, we
are building “the world’s biggest eye on the sky” — ESO’s Extremely
Large Telescope. From our offices in Santiago, Chile we support our
operations in the country and engage with Chilean partners and society.<br /><br />
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an
international astronomy facility, is a partnership of ESO, the U.S.
National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Natural
Sciences (NINS) of Japan in cooperation with the Republic of Chile.
ALMA is funded by ESO on behalf of its Member States, by NSF in
cooperation with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the
National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) in Taiwan and by NINS in
cooperation with the Academia Sinica (AS) in Taiwan and the Korea
Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI). ALMA construction and
operations are led by ESO on behalf of its Member States; by the
National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), managed by Associated
Universities, Inc. (AUI), on behalf of North America; and by the
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) on behalf of East
Asia. The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the unified leadership
and management of the construction, commissioning and operation of
ALMA.</span></div><br /><br /><hr /><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Links</span></b><br />
<ul><li dir="ltr">
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Research papers:</span> <a href="https://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso2405/eso2405a.pdf">Chamaeleon</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">, </span><a href="https://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso2405/eso2405b.pdf">Taurus</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">,</span> <a href="https://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso2405/eso2405c.pdf">Orion</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.eso.org/public/images/archive/category/paranal/">Photos of the VLT</a></li><li dir="ltr"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Find out more about ESO's Extremely Large Telescope on our</span> <a href="https://elt.eso.org">dedicated website</a> <span style="color: #f1c232;">and</span> <a href="https://www.eso.org/public/archives/brochures/pdfsm/brochure_0079.pdf">press kit</a></li><li dir="ltr"><span style="color: #f1c232;">For journalists:</span> <a href="https://www.eso.org/public/outreach/pressmedia/#epodpress_form">subscribe to receive our releases under embargo in your language</a></li><li><span style="color: #f1c232;">For scientists: got a story?</span> <a href="https://www.eso.org/public/news/pitch-your-research/">Pitch your research</a></li></ul><br /><hr /><span style="color: #f1c232;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Contacts</b><br /><br />
Christian Ginski<br />
University of Galway<br />
Galway, Ireland<br />
Email: </span><a href="mailto:christian.ginski@universityofgalway.ie">christian.ginski@universityofgalway.ie</a><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Antonio Garufi<br />
INAF’s Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory<br />
Florence, Italy<br />
Email:</span> <a href="mailto:antonio.garufi@inaf.it">antonio.garufi@inaf.it</a><br /><span style="color: #f1c232;"><br />
Per-Gunnar Valegård<br />
University of Amsterdam<br />
Email:</span> <a href="mailto:p.g.valegard@uva.nl">p.g.valegard@uva.nl</a><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Bárbara Ferreira<br />
ESO Media Manager<br />
Garching bei München, Germany<br />
Tel: +49 89 3200 6670<br />
Cell: +49 151 241 664 00<br />
Email: </span><a href="mailto:press@eso.org">press@eso.org</a><br /><br /><hr /></div>Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-8125041435452070892024-03-06T00:00:00.153-03:002024-03-06T00:00:00.131-03:00Webb Unlocks Secrets of One of the Most Distant Galaxies Ever Seen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqeFUnHIa27AmEeg3m79S8B0vV2rrWW6zeGCVjahBXCvdWIWoRTFnT4DD3B9R73597L3Doozzzwfm3wU4y0LxCV52HL3l33a4yHFOeSoQtPHPW-WwS3WEngAEEEdLSOoIbU14Dw35AiKnRj60BI7cVPNYz1PebvtogYN4F3T7JFeCUKtKXGe8gA/s2000/STScI-01HDHJVPNPB6FEWWBP923DXQDE.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="969" data-original-width="2000" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqeFUnHIa27AmEeg3m79S8B0vV2rrWW6zeGCVjahBXCvdWIWoRTFnT4DD3B9R73597L3Doozzzwfm3wU4y0LxCV52HL3l33a4yHFOeSoQtPHPW-WwS3WEngAEEEdLSOoIbU14Dw35AiKnRj60BI7cVPNYz1PebvtogYN4F3T7JFeCUKtKXGe8gA/w640-h310/STScI-01HDHJVPNPB6FEWWBP923DXQDE.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">GOODS-North Field (NIRCam Image)</span>
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Credits: Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Brant Robertson (UC Santa Cruz), Ben Johnson (CfA), Sandro Tacchella (Cambridge), Marcia Rieke (University of Arizona), Daniel Eisenstein (CfA)</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzrE3H5Q1imlqLRfSx9plD3bqc7ys4iUPKyVizKyqsDo_NOwtSgS7sAkrg32DPDKdwTOEyqOJg7b9ylld2hWPCpBTazW7fatKLb_ExDA2Cb_U6voGnuu6N565IIXA9fbnhSC8zh8X4-6Dss7JINLvk_jvFazPtkkEc7g4tO2idVZBArSoEzHWLJA/s2000/STScI-01HQR7PSSR02V24VG6TCP5AZ7S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1530" data-original-width="2000" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzrE3H5Q1imlqLRfSx9plD3bqc7ys4iUPKyVizKyqsDo_NOwtSgS7sAkrg32DPDKdwTOEyqOJg7b9ylld2hWPCpBTazW7fatKLb_ExDA2Cb_U6voGnuu6N565IIXA9fbnhSC8zh8X4-6Dss7JINLvk_jvFazPtkkEc7g4tO2idVZBArSoEzHWLJA/w640-h490/STScI-01HQR7PSSR02V24VG6TCP5AZ7S.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Pristine Gas Clump Near GN-z11<br />
Credits: Illustration: NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a data-module-dynamic="scroll-to" data-update-hash="true" href="https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2024/news-2024-106#section-id-2">Images
</a><br /></div><div><br /><hr /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Looking deeply into space and time, two teams using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have studied the exceptionally luminous galaxy GN-z11, which existed when our 13.8 billion-year-old universe was only about 430 million years old. <br /><br />
Initially <a href="https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2016/news-2016-07.html">detected</a> with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, this galaxy — one of the youngest and most distant ever observed — is so bright that it is challenging scientists to understand why. Now, GN-z11 is giving up some of its secrets.<br /></div><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Vigorous Black Hole Is Most Distant Ever Found</span></b><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">A team studying GN-z11 with Webb found the first clear evidence that the galaxy is hosting a central, supermassive black hole that is rapidly accreting matter. Their finding makes this the farthest active supermassive black hole spotted to date.<br /><br />
“We found extremely dense gas that is common in the vicinity of supermassive black holes accreting gas,” explained principal investigator Roberto Maiolino of the Cavendish Laboratory and the Kavli Institute of Cosmology at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. “These were the first clear signatures that GN-z11 is hosting a black hole that is gobbling matter.” <br /><br />
Using Webb, the team also found indications of ionized chemical elements typically observed near accreting supermassive black holes. Additionally, they discovered a very powerful wind being expelled by the galaxy. Such high-velocity winds are typically driven by processes associated with vigorously accreting supermassive black holes. <br /><br />
“Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) has revealed an extended component, tracing the host galaxy, and a central, compact source whose colors are consistent with those of an accretion disk surrounding a black hole,” said investigator Hannah Übler, also of the Cavendish Laboratory and the Kavli Institute.<br /><br />
Together, this evidence shows that GN-z11 hosts a 2-million-solar-mass, supermassive black hole in a very active phase of consuming matter, which is why it's so luminous.</div><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Pristine Gas Clump in GN-z11’s Halo Intrigues Researchers</span></b><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">A second team, also led by Maiolino, used Webb’s NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) to find a gaseous clump of helium in the halo surrounding GN-z11.<br /><br />
“The fact that we don't see anything else beyond helium suggests that this clump must be fairly pristine,” said Maiolino. “This is something that was expected by theory and simulations in the vicinity of particularly massive galaxies from these epochs — that there should be pockets of pristine gas surviving in the halo, and these may collapse and form Population III star clusters.”<br /><br />
Finding the never-before-seen Population III stars — the first generation of stars formed almost entirely from hydrogen and helium — is one of the most important goals of modern astrophysics. These stars are anticipated to be very massive, very luminous, and very hot. Their expected signature is the presence of ionized helium and the absence of chemical elements heavier than helium. <br /><br />
The formation of the first stars and galaxies marks a fundamental shift in cosmic history, during which the universe evolved from a dark and relatively simple state into the highly structured and complex environment we see today.<br /><br />
In future Webb observations, Maiolino, Übler, and their team will explore GN-z11 in greater depth, and they hope to strengthen the case for the Population III stars that may be forming in its halo.<br /><br />
The <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.00953">research</a> on the pristine gas clump in GN-z11’s halo has been accepted for publication by Astronomy & Astrophysics. The results of the study of GN-z11’s black hole were published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07052-5">Nature</a> on January 17, 2024. The data was obtained as part of the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (<a href="https://jades-survey.github.io/">JADES</a>), a joint project between the NIRCam and NIRSpec teams.<br /><br />
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="color: #f1c232;">Source:</span> <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/news">NASA's James Webb Space Telescope/News</a></div><br /><hr /><p><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b><u>About This Release</u></b><br /><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Credits:</b><br /><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Media Contact:</b><br /><br />
Ann Jenkins<br />
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland<br /><br />
Christine Pulliam<br />
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland<br /><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Permissions:</b></span> <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/copyright">Content Use Policy</a><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Contact Us:</b> Direct inquiries to the</span> <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2024/news-2024-106">News Team</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">.</span><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b><u>Related Links and Documents</u></b><br /></span>
</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>
<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07052-5">"A small and vigorous black hole in the early universe" by R. Maiolino et al.</a></li><li>
<a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.00953">"JWST-JADES. Possible Population III signatures at z=10.6 in the halo of GN-z11" by R. Maiolino et al.</a></li></ul><br /><hr />
</div>Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-49383469807175313332024-03-05T00:00:00.167-03:002024-03-05T00:00:00.127-03:00Astronomers Measure Heaviest Black Hole Pair Ever Found<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuUxujekmOzXJxZzOxRD5kJxQDU9o_LIbPkt8VbxUYFwBeOZoLGxMj1-pb_cNsTfIwsq4UCDHoMneKwv-tC58FZABzpbBIR_Aip0VafGqq8tI7XHB_hSe8hDLjVNx_hnkD71y7HSr1xA3yY5JS6GpDg0iAJklyOrYr6uezQFkJLiuRfmhqUxijNQ/s1280/noirlab2405a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuUxujekmOzXJxZzOxRD5kJxQDU9o_LIbPkt8VbxUYFwBeOZoLGxMj1-pb_cNsTfIwsq4UCDHoMneKwv-tC58FZABzpbBIR_Aip0VafGqq8tI7XHB_hSe8hDLjVNx_hnkD71y7HSr1xA3yY5JS6GpDg0iAJklyOrYr6uezQFkJLiuRfmhqUxijNQ/w640-h360/noirlab2405a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2405a/">PR Image noirlab2405a</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Artist’s Impression of Heaviest Supermassive Binary Black Hole</span></div><br /><hr /><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #f1c232;">Data from Gemini North provide possible explanation for supermassive binary black hole’s halted merger</b> </div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Using archival data from the Gemini North
telescope, a team of astronomers have measured the heaviest pair of
supermassive black holes ever found. The merging of two supermassive
black holes is a phenomenon that has long been predicted, though never
observed. This massive pair gives clues as to why such an event seems so
unlikely in the Universe.</b><br /><br />
Nearly every massive galaxy hosts a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermassive_black_hole">supermassive black hole</a>
at its center. When two galaxies merge, their black holes can form a
binary pair, meaning they are in a bound orbit with one another. It’s
hypothesized that these binaries are fated to eventually merge, but this
has never been observed <span style="color: #f1c232;">[1]</span>.
The question of whether such an event is possible has been a topic of
discussion amongst astronomers for decades. In a recently published
paper in <i>The Astrophysical Journal</i>, a team of astronomers have presented new insight into this question.<br /><br />
The team used data from the <a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/programs/gemini-observatory/gemini-north/">Gemini North telescope</a> in Hawai‘i, one half of the <a href="http://gemini.edu">International Gemini Observatory</a>
operated by NSF’s NOIRLab, which is funded by the U.S. National Science
Foundation, to analyze a supermassive black hole binary located within
the elliptical galaxy <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4C_%2B37.11">B2 0402+379</a>. This is the only supermassive black hole binary ever resolved in enough detail to see both objects separately <span style="color: #f1c232;">[2]</span>, and it holds the record for having the smallest separation ever directly measured — a mere 24 light-years <span style="color: #f1c232;">[3].</span>
While this close separation foretells a powerful merger, further study
revealed that the pair has been stalled at this distance for over three
billion years, begging the question; what’s the hold-up?<br /><br />
To better understand the dynamics of this system and its halted
merger the team looked to archival data from Gemini North’s Gemini
Multi-Object Spectrograph (<a href="https://www.gemini.edu/instrumentation/gmos">GMOS</a>), which allowed them to determine the speed of the stars within the vicinity of the black holes. <i>“The
excellent sensitivity of GMOS allowed us to map the stars’ increasing
velocities as one looks closer to the galaxy’s center,”</i> said Roger Romani, Stanford University physics professor and co-author of the paper. <i>“With that, we were able to infer the total mass of the black holes residing there.”</i><br /><br />
The team estimates the binary’s mass to be a whopping 28 billion
times that of the Sun, qualifying the pair as the heaviest binary black
hole ever measured. Not only does this measurement give valuable context
to the formation of the binary system and the history of its host
galaxy, but it supports the long-standing theory that the mass of a
supermassive binary black hole plays a key role in stalling a potential
merger <span style="color: #f1c232;">[4]</span>.<br /><br />
<i>“The data archive serving the International Gemini Observatory holds a gold mine of untapped scientific discovery,"</i> says Martin Still, NSF program director for the International Gemini Observatory. <i>"Mass
measurements for this extreme supermassive binary black hole are an
awe-inspiring example of the potential impact from new research that
explores that rich archive.”</i><br /><br />
Understanding how this binary formed can help predict if and when it
will merge — and a handful of clues point to the pair forming via
multiple <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_merger">galaxy mergers</a>. The first is that <a href="http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=4C+%2B37.11&NbIdent=1&Radius=2&Radius.unit=arcmin&submit=submit+id">B2 0402+379</a> is a ‘fossil cluster,’ meaning it is the result of an entire <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_cluster">galaxy cluster’s</a>
worth of stars and gas merging into one single massive galaxy.
Additionally, the presence of two supermassive black holes, coupled with
their large combined mass, suggests they resulted from the amalgamation
of multiple smaller black holes from multiple galaxies.<br /><br />
Following a galactic merger, supermassive black holes don’t collide
head-on. Instead they begin slingshotting past each other as they settle
into a bound orbit. With each pass they make, energy is transferred
from the black holes to the surrounding stars. As they lose energy, the
pair is dragged down closer and closer until they are just light-years
apart, where gravitational radiation takes over and they merge. This
process has been directly observed in pairs of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_black_hole">stellar-mass black holes</a> — the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_observation_of_gravitational_waves">first ever recorded</a> instance being in 2015 via the detection of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_wave">gravitational waves</a> — but never in a binary of the supermassive variety.<br /><br />
With new knowledge of the system’s extremely large mass, the team
concluded that an exceptionally large number of stars would have been
needed to slow the binary’s orbit enough to bring them this close. In
the process, the black holes seem to have flung out nearly all the
matter in their vicinity, leaving the core of the galaxy starved of
stars and gas. With no more material available to further slow the
pair’s orbit, their merger has stalled in its final stages.<br /><br />
<i>“Normally it seems that galaxies with lighter black hole pairs have enough stars and mass to drive the two together quickly,”</i> said Romani.<i>
“Since this pair is so heavy it required lots of stars and gas to get
the job done. But the binary has scoured the central galaxy of such
matter, leaving it stalled and accessible for our study.”</i><br />
<p>Whether the pair will overcome their stagnation and eventually merge
on timescales of millions of years, or continue in orbital limbo
forever, is yet to be determined. If they do merge, the resulting
gravitational waves would be a hundred million times more powerful than
those produced by stellar-mass black hole mergers. It’s possible the
pair could conquer that final distance via another galaxy merger, which
would inject the system with additional material, or potentially a third
black hole, to slow the pair’s orbit enough to merge. However, given B2
0402+379’s status as a fossil cluster, another galactic merger is
unlikely.<br /><br />
<i>“We’re looking forward to follow-up investigations of B2 0402+379’s core where we’ll look at how much gas is present,” </i>says Tirth Surti, Stanford undergraduate and the lead author on the paper.<i>
“This should give us more insight into whether the supermassive black
holes can eventually merge or if they will stay stranded as a binary.”</i>
</p></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="color: #f1c232;">Source:</span> <a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/news/">NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab)/News</a></div><br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Notes</b><br /><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">
[1] While there is evidence of supermassive black holes coming within a few light-years of
each other, it seems none have been able to overcome that final
distance. The question of whether such an event is possible is known as
the</span> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_black_hole#Final-parsec_problem">final-parsec problem</a> <span style="color: #f1c232;">and has been a topic of discussion amongst astronomers for decades.</span><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">[2] Previous observations have been
made of galaxies containing two supermassive black holes, but in these
cases they are thousands of light-years apart — too far to be in a bound
orbit with one another like the binary found in B2 0402+379.<br /><br />
[3] Other black hole-powered sources
exist with possible smaller separations, though these have been inferred
using indirect observations and therefore can best be classified as
candidate binaries.<br /><br />
[4] This theory was first put forth in
1980 by Begelman et al. and has long been argued to occur based on
decades of observations of the centers of galaxies.</span></div><br /><br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>More information</b></span><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">This research was presented in a paper accepted in <i>The Astrophysical Journal</i>. DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad14fa<br /><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">The team is composed of: Tirth Surti (Kavli Institute for Particle
Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University), Roger W. Romani (Kavli
Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford
University), Julia Scharwächter (Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab),
Alison Peck (University of Maryland) and Greg B. Taylor (University of
New Mexico, Albuquerque).<br /></span><br />
<a href="https://www.noirlab.edu/public/">NSF’s NOIRLab</a> <span style="color: #f1c232;">(National
Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory), the US center for
ground-based optical-infrared astronomy, operates the</span> <a href="https://www.noirlab.edu/public/programs/gemini-observatory/">International Gemini Observatory</a> <span style="color: #f1c232;">(a facility of </span><a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">NSF</a>, <a href="http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/solutions/facilities/gemini.html">NRC–Canada</a>, <a href="http://www.conicyt.cl/astronomia/oficina-gemini-chile/">ANID–Chile</a>, <a href="https://www.gov.br/mcti/pt-br">MCTIC–Brazil</a>, <a href="http://www.geminiargentina.mincyt.gob.ar/">MINCyT–Argentina</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">, and</span> <a href="http://kgmt.kasi.re.kr/kgmtscience">KASI–Republic of Korea</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">), Kitt Peak National Observatory (</span><a href="https://www.noirlab.edu/public/programs/kitt-peak-national-observatory/">KPNO</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">), Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (<a href="https://www.noirlab.edu/public/programs/ctio/">CTIO</a>), the Community Science and Data Center (</span><a href="https://www.noirlab.edu/public/programs/csdc/">CSDC</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">), and</span> <a href="https://www.noirlab.edu/public/programs/vera-c-rubin-observatory/">Vera C. Rubin Observatory</a> <span style="color: #f1c232;">(operated in cooperation with the</span> <a href="https://www.energy.gov/science/office-science">Department of Energy</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">’s</span> <a href="https://www6.slac.stanford.edu/">SLAC</a> <span style="color: #f1c232;">National Accelerator Laboratory). It is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (</span><a href="https://www.aura-astronomy.org/">AURA</a>
<span style="color: #f1c232;">)
under a cooperative agreement with NSF and is headquartered in Tucson,
Arizona. The astronomical community is honored to have the opportunity
to conduct astronomical research on Iolkam Du’ag (Kitt Peak) in Arizona,
on Maunakea in Hawai‘i, and on Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachón in Chile.
We recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and
reverence that these sites have to the Tohono O’odham Nation, to the
Native Hawaiian community, and to the local communities in Chile,
respectively.</span></div><br /><hr /><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Links</span></b><br />
<ul><li><a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ad14fa">Read the paper: The Central Kinematics and Black Hole Mass of 4C+37.11</a></li><li><a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/images/archive/category/gemini/?search=Gemini+North">Images of the Gemini North telescope</a></li>
<li><a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/videos/archive/search/?adv=&subject_name=Gemini%20North">Videos of the Gemini North telescope</a></li>
<li><a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/news/archive/search/?adv=&facility=1">Other Gemini North news</a></li>
<li><a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/news/archive/search/?instruments=31">Other discoveries made with GMOS-N</a></li>
<li><a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/news/archive/search/?release_type=1">Check out other NOIRLab Science Releases</a></li></ul>
<br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Contacts:</b><br /><br />
Roger Romani<br />
Stanford University<br />
Email:</span> <a href="mailto:rwr@astro.stanford.edu">rwr@astro.stanford.edu</a><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Josie Fenske<br />
Jr. Public Information Officer<br />
NSF’s NOIRLab<br />
Email:</span> <a href="mailto:josie.fenske@noirlab.edu">josie.fenske@noirlab.edu</a><br /><br /><hr />Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-84670239815117991142024-03-04T00:00:00.108-03:002024-03-04T15:21:19.492-03:00A new spin on Betelgeuse’s boiling surface<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-bLxCs_hWc_gKAkw9x8evofvnm7WgQHQumrKL_NJ3gFJya7tx7-aCCRpH0Q34efrDkukiF66MEuhvBsb-r9U_OaPH4c17H-Tmhgo39sbbI8mnbXZIz6JtzskbevYfAaz0NjkNAAa7mJp1XHAP3huFRF57-uzuXWtsc4hlX8u1UfF7zj4AcNjZA/s1400/Fig.1.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="807" data-original-width="1400" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-bLxCs_hWc_gKAkw9x8evofvnm7WgQHQumrKL_NJ3gFJya7tx7-aCCRpH0Q34efrDkukiF66MEuhvBsb-r9U_OaPH4c17H-Tmhgo39sbbI8mnbXZIz6JtzskbevYfAaz0NjkNAAa7mJp1XHAP3huFRF57-uzuXWtsc4hlX8u1UfF7zj4AcNjZA/w640-h368/Fig.1.webp" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">A direct comparison of a computer simulation of a nonrotating red supergiant with ALMA observations of Betelgeuse. If not sufficiently resolved in telescopes, the large-scale convection can result in a dipolar velocity map. The top row shows intensity maps, the bottom row shows maps of the radial velocity. The left-hand column shows the simulation of the star in full resolution; the middle column shows mock observations with reduced resolution. The right column shows the actual ALMA observation. © MPA, Ma, Jing-Ze et al, 2024</span></div><br /><hr /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Betelgeuse is a well-known red supergiant star in the constellation Orion. Recently it has gained a lot of attention, not only because variations in its brightness led to speculations that an explosion might be imminent, but also because observations indicated that it’s rotating much faster than expected. This latter interpretation is now put into question by an international team led by astronomers at Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, who propose that Betelgeuse’s boiling surface can be mistaken for rotation even in the most advanced telescopes. Other astronomers are actively analyzing new observational data to test such hypotheses.</b><br /><br />
As one of the brightest stars in the northern hemisphere, Betelgeuse can be easily found by naked-eye in the constellation of Orion. Betelgeuse is one of the biggest stars known. With a diameter larger than a billion kilometers, it is almost 1000 times larger than the Sun. If it had been in our solar system, it would have engulfed Earth with its atmosphere reaching Jupiter. A star that large is not supposed to rotate fast. In their evolution, most stars expand and spin down to conserve angular momentum. However, recent observations suggested that Betelgeuse is rotating quite fast (at 5 km/s), two orders of magnitude faster than a single evolved star should spin.<br /><br />
The most prominent evidence for Betelgeuse’s rotation came from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The 66 antennas at ALMA work together as though they were a single giant telescope. They use a technique known as interferometry, where two or more antennas pick up a signal from the Universe and join forces to analyze the signal and obtain information on its source of emission. Using this technique, astronomers discovered a dipolar radial velocity map on the outer layer of Betelgeuse: Half of the star appears to be approaching us, and the other half seems to be receding. This observation, along with previous studies, led to the interpretation that Betelgeuse is rapidly rotating.<br /><br />
This interpretation would have been a clear case, if Betelgeuse was a perfectly round sphere. However, the surface of Betelgeuse is a vibrant world, governed by a physical process called convection. We can observe convection in our daily life when we boil water, but in Betelgeuse, this process is much more violent: The boiling bubbles can be as large as Earth’s orbit around the Sun, covering a large fraction of Betelgeuse’s surface. They rise and fall at a speed of up to 30 km/s, faster than any crewed spacecraft.<br /><br />
Based on this physical picture, an international team led by Jing-Ze Ma, PhD student at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics now offers an alternative explanation to Betelgeuse’s dipolar velocity map: Betelgeuse’s boiling surface mimics rotation. A cluster of boiling bubbles rise on one side of the star, and another group of bubbles sink on the other side. Due to the limited resolution of the ALMA telescope, such convective motions would be blurred in actual observations, which would result in the dipolar velocity map.<br /><br />
The team developed a new post-processing package to produce synthetic ALMA images and submillimeter spectra from their 3D radiation hydrodynamic simulations of nonrotating red supergiant stars. In 90% of the simulations, the star would be interpreted as rotating at several km/s simply because of the large-scale boiling motions on the surface that are not clearly seen in the ALMA telescope.<br /><br />
Further observations are needed to better assess the rapid rotation of Betelgeuse, and the team made predictions for future observations with higher spatial resolution. Fortunately, other astronomers have already made higher-resolution observations of Betelgeuse in 2022. The new data is being analyzed right now, which will put the predictions to the test and help unveil the mask of Betelgeuse.<br /><br />
“Most stars are just tiny points of light in the night sky. Betelgeuse is so incredibly large and nearby that, with the very best telescopes, it is one of the very few stars where we actually observe and study its boiling surface. It still feels a bit like a Science Fiction movie, as if we have traveled there to see it up close”, says coauthor Selma de Mink (director at the Max Planck Institute for astrophysics). “And the results are so exciting. If Betelgeuse is rapidly rotating after all, then we think it must have been spun up after eating a small companion star that was orbiting it.”<br /><br />
“There is so much we still don’t understand about gigantic boiling stars like Betelgeuse.”, says co-author Andrea Chiavassa, astronomer at CNRS. “How do they really work? How do they lose mass? What molecules can form in their outflows? Why did Betelgeuse suddenly get less bright? We are working very hard to make our computer simulations better and better, but we really need the incredible data from telescopes like ALMA.”</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='500' height='300' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwUSMdVBfbTcNoYeXZMeBa7REMsZi5-OWxfgv81Fd8X9nPi1r24ZB2j_tmP08qcdyyoUXKrRWAtWjU' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Simulation of Betelgeuse’s boiling surface
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">This animation shows a simulation of how convection dominates the surface of a Betelgeuse-like star. It then shows how this would look like in actual ALMA observations, demonstrating that the boiling surface could be mistaken as signature for a rotation.</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Source:</span> <a href="https://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/">Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics</a></div><br /><hr /><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Author:</span></b><br /><br />
<a href="https://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/person/124986/1094283">Jing-Ze Ma</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">PhD student <br />
tel:2261 </span><br />
<a href="mailto:jingze@mpa-garching.mpg.de">jingze@mpa-garching.mpg.de</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/person/109764/1094283">Selma E. de Mink</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Director <br />
tel:2041 </span><br />
<a href="mailto:sedemink@mpa-garching.mpg.de">sedemink@mpa-garching.mpg.de</a><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Original publication</b><br /><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Jing-Ze Ma, Andrea Chiavassa, Selma E. de Mink, et al.</b><br />
Is Betelgeuse Really Rotating? Synthetic ALMA Observations of Large-scale Convection in 3D Simulations of Red Supergiants<br />
2024 ApJL 962 L36</span><br /><br />
<a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ad24fd">Source</a> <span style="color: #f1c232;">|</span> <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad24fd">DOI</a><br /><br /><hr />
Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-51882477984524514912024-03-03T00:00:00.001-03:002024-03-04T15:19:18.024-03:00Listen to the Universe: New NASA Sonifications and Documentary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR1cYPXSWNp05_L1bVozY6WEg3iV6RGzv5QdyIeIYeo4tDpP-REFAp3ikx8W62KouM6IvYzpMwKyn_mUMLPyiWJlYNSDp66qTiTYt7Gc5WpnU-EI7gjwTXwen2MAZQ7ZwWTDzNczUhlKfzUDp66vXdNKSOWQdGZBBHYhsQrzfk7M4ijCkgSLKPeg/s864/sonify8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="864" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR1cYPXSWNp05_L1bVozY6WEg3iV6RGzv5QdyIeIYeo4tDpP-REFAp3ikx8W62KouM6IvYzpMwKyn_mUMLPyiWJlYNSDp66qTiTYt7Gc5WpnU-EI7gjwTXwen2MAZQ7ZwWTDzNczUhlKfzUDp66vXdNKSOWQdGZBBHYhsQrzfk7M4ijCkgSLKPeg/w640-h426/sonify8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">IC 443 (Jellyfish Nebula)/M74 (Phantom Galaxy)/MSH 15-52 / PSR B1509-58</span>
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"> Credit Chandra X-ray: NASA/CXC/B.Gaensler et al; ROSAT X-ray: NASA/ROSAT/Asaoka & Aschenbach; Radio Wide: NRC/DRAO/D.Leahy; Optical: DSS; Sonification: NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2024/sonify8/sonify8.jpg">JPEG (402 kb)</a> <span style="color: #f1c232;">-</span> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2024/sonify8/sonify8_lg.jpg">Large JPEG (7.2 MB)</a> <span style="color: #f1c232;">-</span> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2024/sonify8/sonify8.tif">Tiff (53.7 MB)</a> <span style="color: #f1c232;">-</span> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2024/sonify8/more.html">More Image</a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2024/sonify8/sonify8_BU.mp4">Tour: Listen to the Universe</a> <span style="color: #f1c232;">-</span> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2024/sonify8/animations.html">More Videos</a></div><br /><hr /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Three new sonifications of images from NASA’s Chandra X-ray
Observatory and other telescopes have been released. This work is also
being featured in a new NASA+ documentary, "<a href="https://plus.nasa.gov/video/listen-to-the-universe/">Listen to the Universe</a>."<br /><br />
Sonification is the process of translating data into sounds. In the
case of Chandra and other telescopes, scientific data are collected from
space as digital signals that are commonly turned into visual imagery.
The sonification project takes these data through another step of
mapping the information into sound.</div><br />
<b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='640' height='350' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxmjUpY7rr7u9QgF-1MuxEyrkY9XLfr7G8m-peA7Fd0I8iLFNQ7axtzceGFlOSdbHMUTgbLZbdECuo' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><span style="color: #f1c232;"><br />IC 443 (Jellyfish Nebula) </span></b><span style="color: #f1c232;"> (above)</span> <br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">IC 443 is a supernova remnant, or the debris of an exploded star,
which astronomers have nicknamed the Jellyfish Nebula. A visual
composite image of IC 443 includes X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray
Observatory and German ROSAT X-ray telescope (blue) along with radio
data from the NSF’s Very Large Array (green) and optical data from the
Digitized Sky Survey (red). The sonification of IC 443 begins with a
top-down scan as the brightness of the data is correlated to the volume
of the sound. The sounds are mapped to colors in the image with red
light being heard as lower pitches, the green as medium, and the blue
light as the higher pitches. This creates notes that sweep up and down
in pitch continuously. Several colors are isolated and control the
volume of sustained tones with red controlling the lowest note and white
controlling the highest note. The background stars in the optical image
have been converted to water drop sounds in the sonification.</div><br />
<b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='640' height='350' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyVwJJS-nytdlb3voUd1rA91pjtbXjDzFC-aOaQLVkaWVJLsirVH0A5tFJyR9CngbmdpVfW8Z5RyG4' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><span style="color: #f1c232;">M74 (Phantom Galaxy):</span></b> <br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">SonificationMessier 74 is a spiral galaxy like our Milky Way, which is seen
face-on from Earth’s vantage point some 32 million light-years away.
X-rays from Chandra (purple) have been combined with an infrared view of
M74 from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (green, yellow, red, and
magenta) as well as optical data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope
(orange, cyan, and blue). In sonifying these data, a clockwise-moving
radar-like scan starts around 12 o’clock. The distance from the center
controls the frequencies of sound with light farther from the center
being higher pitched. The Chandra sources correspond to relatively high
musical pitches of glassy ethereal and clear plucked sounds. In the Webb
data, large, medium, and small features are represented by low, medium,
and high frequency ranges of pitches respectively with the brightest
stars being heard as percussive sounds. The Hubble data have been turned
into breathy synthesizer sounds along with thin metallic plucked sounds
for bright stars and clusters.</div><br />
<b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='640' height='350' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzS8MT_2zxSOvh3vPf2TmJLDg5lDoqBFS2b0YXk8u9MoGX_WT2ol6ewaio_ce7onAboBeAo7rC-Y20' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><span style="color: #f1c232;">MSH 15-52 / PSR B1509-58:</span></b><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The third new sonification is of MSH 15-52, a cloud of energized
particles blown away from a dead, collapsed star. This image includes
X-rays from the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, or IXPE, (purple) as
well as Chandra (orange, green, and blue). These data have been
combined with infrared data from the Dark Energy Plane Survey 2 (red and
blue). In sound, the scan goes from the bottom to the top. The
brightness of the Chandra data of the cloud have been converted into
rough string-like sounds, while the blast wave is represented by a range
of pitches of firework-type noises. The IXPE data are heard as
wind-like sounds. The infrared data are mapped to musical pitches of a
synthesizer sound. The light curve, or brightness over time, from the
dead star’s collapsed core is heard in pulses that occur almost 7 times
every second as it does in the original data. <br /><br />
These sonifications were led by the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) and included as part of <a href="https://www.universe-of-learning.org/resources/projects">NASA's Universe of Learning</a> (UoL) program. The collaboration was driven by visualization scientist
Kimberly Arcand (CXC), astrophysicist Matt Russo, and musician Andrew
Santaguida, (both of the SYSTEM Sounds project), along with consultant
Christine Malec. <br /><br />
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's Chandra X-ray Center controls
science from Cambridge Massachusetts and flight operations from
Burlington, Massachusetts. <a href="https://www.universe-of-learning.org/resources/projects">NASA's Universe of Learning</a>
materials are based upon work supported by NASA under cooperative
agreement award number NNX16AC65A to the Space Telescope Science
Institute, working in partnership with Caltech/IPAC, Center for
Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="350" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FmzZFEYVfEw" width="640" youtube-src-id="FmzZFEYVfEw"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://youtu.be/FmzZFEYVfEw?si=hLf12XPndjEYk5hu">Listen to the Universe (Documentary Trailer)</a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Source: </span><a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/graphics/top/wsn/chandra_head.gif">NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory</a></div><br /><hr /><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Visual Description:</span></b><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">The first image in this release is the Jellyfish Nebula, also called IC 443. This supernova remnant is shaped like a huge, colorful bubble containing shades of pink, blue, red, and green. Cloud-like structures, both inside the bubble and stretching outside of the bubble to our right and upper left, are filamentary in nature, as if fingers pulled at the edges of a cotton ball. Stars, seen as red dots, are flecked across the entire image.<br /><br />
The second image is Messier 74, a spiral galaxy like our own Milky Way. Seen face-on from our vantage point on Earth, the galaxy's sparkling arms spiral out from a bright white core. The core appears vibrant and alive, and crackles with lightning-like, pale blue light. Glowing, high-energy stars in purple, white, and orange, dot the lengths of the spiraling arms. Webs of murky dust crisscross the space between the curving silver blue arms, also known as dust lanes.<br /><br />
The last image is MSH 15-52, a pulsar wind nebula, which strongly resembles a ghostly purple hand with sparkling fingertips. A pulsar is a highly magnetized collapsed star that rotates and creates jets of matter flowing away from its poles. These jets, along with intense winds of particles, form pulsar wind nebulae. Here, the pulsar wind nebula known as MSH 15-52 resembles a hazy purple cloud set against a black, starry backdrop.<br /><br />
The shape of this pulsar wind nebula strongly resembles a human hand, including five fingers, a palm and wrist. The bright white spot near the base of the palm is the pulsar itself.
The three longest fingertips of the hand shape point toward our upper right, or 1:00 on a clock face. There, a small, mottled, orange and yellow cloud appears to sparkle or glow like embers. This orange cloud is part of the remains of the supernova explosion that created the pulsar. The backdrop of stars was captured in infrared light.</span></div><br /><br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Fast Facts for IC 443 (Jellyfish Nebula):</b><br /><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Credit:</b> Chandra X-ray: NASA/CXC/B.Gaensler et al; ROSAT X-ray: NASA/ROSAT/Asaoka & Aschenbach; Radio Wide: NRC/DRAO/D.Leahy; Optical: DSS; Sonification: NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)</span></div><span style="color: #f1c232;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>About the Sound </b> <br /><br />
Top-down scan with brightness controlling volume<br />
Colors appearing in the nebula are mapped to sound in two ways.<br /></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Redder light is mapped to lower pitches while bluer light is mapped to higher pitches. This creates notes that sweep up and down in pitch continuously.</span><span style="color: #f1c232;"><br />
Several colors are isolated and control the volume of sustained tones with red controlling the lowest note and white controlling the highest note.<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"> Background stars are converted to water drop sounds. The brightness of each star is mapped to volume and pitch and reverb is controlled by the brightness of the nebula in front of them.</span></div><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Scale:</b> The image is about 46.5 arcmin across (66 light-years across)<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Category:</b></span> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_sources/supernovas.html">Neutron Stars/X-ray Binaries, Supernovas & Supernova Remnants</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Coordinates (J2000):</b> RA 06h 17m 05.20s | Dec +22° 21´ 26.70"<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Constellation:</b></span> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/constellations/gemini.html">Gemini</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Observation Date:</b> January 12, 2005<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Observation Time:</b> 11 hours<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Obs. ID: </b> 5531</span><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Instrument:</b></span> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/about/science_instruments.html#ACIS">ACIS</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>References:</b> B. Gaensler et al. 2006,</span> <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0601304v2">arXiv: astro-ph/0601304v2</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Color Code:</b> X-ray: blue; Radio: green; Optical: red<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Distance Estimate:</b> About 5,000 light-years</span><br /><br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Fast Facts for M74 (Phantom Galaxy):</b><br /><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Credit:</b> X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: ESA/Hubble & NASA; IR: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-JWST Team; Image Processing: N. Wolk and K. Arcand; Sonification: NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)</span></div><span style="color: #f1c232;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>About the Sound: </b> <br /><br />
Radar-like scan, clockwise from 12:00.<br /></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"> Brightness is mapped to volume and the distance from the center is mapped to pitch is various ways (farther from the center is higher pitched).</span></div><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"> Binaural panning moves the apparent position of the sound clockwise around the listener’s head.<br /><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Infrared (JWST)</b><br /><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Distance from the center controls the pitch with large, medium, and small scale features mapped to low, med, and high ranges of frequencies.<br />
Bright stars appearing red are accompanied by a percussive sound.<br /><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Optical (HST)</b><br /><br />
The distance from the center is mapped to musical pitches of a breathy synth sound.<br />
Bright stars and clusters are rendered as thin plucked sounds.<br /><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>X-ray (Chandra)</b><br /><br />
The distance from the center is mapped to high musical pitches of a glassy ethereal sound.<br />
Compact sources are rendered as high musical pitches of a clear plucked sound.<br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Scale: </b> Image is about 3.4 arcmin (32,000 light-years) across<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Category:</b> </span> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_sources/galaxies.html">Normal Galaxies & Starburst Galaxies</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Coordinates (J2000):</b></span><span style="color: #f1c232;"> RA 1h 36m 42s | Dec +15° 47´ 01"<br /></span>
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Constellation:</span> </b> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/constellations/pisces.html">Pisces</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Observation Date:</b> 13 observations from Jun 2001-Nov 2019<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Observation Time: </b> 81 hours 48 minutes (3 days 9 hours 48 minutes)<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Obs. ID:</b> 2057, 2058, 4753, 4854, 14801, 16000-16003, 16484, 16485, 20333, 21000<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Instrument:</b></span> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/about/science_instruments.html#ACIS">ACIS</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Color Code:</b> X-ray: purple; Optical: orange, cyan, blue, IR: green, yellow, red, magenta<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Distance Estimate:</b> About 32 million light-years</span><br /><br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Fast Facts for MSH 15-52 / PSR B1509-58:</b><br /><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Stanford Univ./R. Romani et al. (Chandra); NASA/MSFC (IXPE); Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/DECaPS; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Schmidt; Sonification: NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)</span></div><span style="color: #f1c232;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>About the Sound </b> <br /><br />
Bottom to top scan with brightness converted to audio frequency and volume using various techniques.<br />
Horizontal position in the image is reflected in the stereo position of the sound.<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Chandra (X-ray)</b><br /><br />
Brightness of pulsar nebula mapped to musical pitch on a rough string-like sound.<br />
Brightness of blastwave emission mapped to pitch of affected fireworks sounds.<br /><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>IXPE (X-ray)</b><br /><br />
Brightness mapped to continuous audio frequencies producing a wind-like sound.<br /><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>DECAPS</b><br /><br />
The brightness of stars is mapped to musical pitches with a dreamy percussive synthesizer sound.<br /><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Pulsar Lightcurve</b><br /><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">The composite includes a real-time sonification of the central pulsar’s X-ray emission (NuSTAR) which exhibits pulses 6.67 times every second. Its volume is loudest as the scanning line passes the pulsar itself.</span></div><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Scale:</b> Image is about 20 arcmin (93 light-years) across<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Category:</b></span> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_sources/supernovas.html">Supernovas & Supernova Remnants</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">,</span> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_sources/neutron_stars.html">Neutron Stars/X-ray Binaries</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Coordinates (J2000):</b> RA 15h 13m 55.52s | Dec -59° 08´ 08.8"<br /></span>
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Constellation:</span> </b> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/constellations/circinus.html">Circinus</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Observation Date:</b> 10 pointings between 14 Aug 2000 and 19 June 2008<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Observation Time:</b> 93 hours 50 minutes (3 days 21 hours 50 minutes)<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Obs. ID:</b> 754, 3833, 3834, 4384, 5534, 5535, 5562, 6116, 6117, 9138</span><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Instrument:</b></span> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/about/science_instruments.html#ACIS">ACIS</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>References:</b> Romani, R. et al., ApJ, 2023; </span><a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.16067">arXiv:2309.16067</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Color Code:</b> X-ray: orange, green, blue (Chandra), purple (IXPE); Infrared: red, blue<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Distance Estimate: </b> About 16,000 light-years</span></div><br /><hr />Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-62359937917543099362024-03-02T00:00:00.003-03:002024-03-02T00:00:00.238-03:00Astronomers reveal a new link between water and planet formation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXtrw0vbdQtakzAghRS4J9eYmZBabqqc8Qy_kdWAfELab4vN_5RT8Bucz1Q4G5X3ffjAPpG0APR9V7cQ20MNnmFKEXAuAdpsFK2rb1tIL_luC-QA4IVo9zB21rugEJUG_OuxPUMsJKHz_-G3x-7nWatEDXLHsVzB9BxkUZS_ZV5tvkgQTpjSVnw/s680/eso2404a-680x680.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="680" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXtrw0vbdQtakzAghRS4J9eYmZBabqqc8Qy_kdWAfELab4vN_5RT8Bucz1Q4G5X3ffjAPpG0APR9V7cQ20MNnmFKEXAuAdpsFK2rb1tIL_luC-QA4IVo9zB21rugEJUG_OuxPUMsJKHz_-G3x-7nWatEDXLHsVzB9BxkUZS_ZV5tvkgQTpjSVnw/w640-h640/eso2404a-680x680.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Astronomers have found water vapour in a disc around a young star exactly where planets may be forming. In this image, the new observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) show the water vapour in shades of blue. Near the centre of the disc, where the young star lives, the environment is hotter and the gas brighter. The red-hued rings are previous ALMA observations showing the distribution of dust around the star. Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/S. Facchini et al.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb_TTiGK3x97rfXjQatI6Ic8g_66FWik8BlIRb5KouxpbVcwtaqp-nf-MOuHCUudw9C95pYjLEOPSySIBhoPUSBfVwZzMqmwJX2bTuYPFu2Qbpfs_ODSHM4UOXHmYigWEsjGs_7LpWt_S926q_zGoTIAXO38VqVDL_e9SHMH8dT3Aqf_Tekbaglg/s680/eso1436a-2-680x680.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="680" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb_TTiGK3x97rfXjQatI6Ic8g_66FWik8BlIRb5KouxpbVcwtaqp-nf-MOuHCUudw9C95pYjLEOPSySIBhoPUSBfVwZzMqmwJX2bTuYPFu2Qbpfs_ODSHM4UOXHmYigWEsjGs_7LpWt_S926q_zGoTIAXO38VqVDL_e9SHMH8dT3Aqf_Tekbaglg/w640-h640/eso1436a-2-680x680.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">This is the sharpest image ever taken by ALMA — sharper than is routinely achieved in visible light with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. It shows the protoplanetary disc surrounding the young star HL Tauri. These new ALMA observations reveal substructures within the disc that have never been seen before and even show the possible positions of planets forming in the dark patches within the system. Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis1kPvVrtaYjsQwLCI6R7oQA-qrO7LgH3OSSgCQQYQKUmzMxVJZsSzm8y4ndnphbII37xD1ZRLtoUbfRSSebaLJlGadfGmRF1RrJdu8ZBlAFYW9EaDd0OVA1E2rMUcm4Xn5w4xRI740Sw6o8R5CX1_qc4NJwTJa8SCLOf2hzxyeU8WFNnIMi-wnQ/s683/eso1436h-680x683.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="680" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis1kPvVrtaYjsQwLCI6R7oQA-qrO7LgH3OSSgCQQYQKUmzMxVJZsSzm8y4ndnphbII37xD1ZRLtoUbfRSSebaLJlGadfGmRF1RrJdu8ZBlAFYW9EaDd0OVA1E2rMUcm4Xn5w4xRI740Sw6o8R5CX1_qc4NJwTJa8SCLOf2hzxyeU8WFNnIMi-wnQ/w638-h640/eso1436h-680x683.jpg" width="638" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">HL Tauri is a young star surrounded by a remarkable dusty disc. It is located in the famous constellation of Taurus (The Bull) shown in this image, close to the naked eye Pleiades and Hyades star clusters. This star is too faint to be seen with small telescopes. Credit: ESO, IAU and Sky & Telescope</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5w7VRQTOq8pCWAzyjcA3S4GZ1OB2_uyMRdB4LAggn0vVg6GYpg6JiDCr_O3afcfyvS57ICb2r0gqwRbOvEFo-v84t09mgMnv1b51gJfg2ES19_qiGrzVfHxI65NnwNRnqtMzNkhrJ0H62a9Tm1TzLPN-yL1h5gn4N6Ry7k5ZG4VK2pfLwkfRFcA/s730/eso1436g-680x730.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="680" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5w7VRQTOq8pCWAzyjcA3S4GZ1OB2_uyMRdB4LAggn0vVg6GYpg6JiDCr_O3afcfyvS57ICb2r0gqwRbOvEFo-v84t09mgMnv1b51gJfg2ES19_qiGrzVfHxI65NnwNRnqtMzNkhrJ0H62a9Tm1TzLPN-yL1h5gn4N6Ry7k5ZG4VK2pfLwkfRFcA/w596-h640/eso1436g-680x730.jpg" width="596" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">This image shows the region in which HL Tauri is situated. HL Tauri is part of one of the closest star-forming regions to Earth and there are many young stars, as well as clouds of dust, in its vicinity. This picture was created from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. Credit: ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2</span></div><br /><hr /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Researchers have used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter
Array (ALMA) to find water vapor in the disc around a young star,
precisely where planets may be forming. Water is a key ingredient for
life on Earth and is also thought to play a significant role in planet
formation. Yet, until now, we had never been able to map how water is
distributed in a stable, cool disc — the type of disc that offers the
most favorable conditions for planets to form around stars.<br /><br />
“<i>I had never imagined that we could capture an image of oceans of water vapor in the same region where a planet is likely forming</i>,” says Stefano Facchini, an astronomer at the University of Milan, Italy, who led the study published today in <i>Nature Astronomy</i>.
The observations reveal at least three times as much water as in all of
Earth’s oceans in the inner disc of the young Sun-like star HL Tauri,
located 450 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Taurus.<br /><br />
“<i>It is truly remarkable that we can not only detect but also
capture detailed images and spatially resolve water vapor at a distance
of 450 light-years from us,</i>” adds co-author Leonardo Testi, an
astronomer at the University of Bologna, Italy. The observations with
ALMA allow astronomers to determine the distribution of water in
different regions of the disc. “<i>Taking part in such an important
discovery in the iconic HL Tauri disc was beyond what I had ever
expected for my first research experience in astronomy</i>,” adds
Mathieu Vander Donckt from the University of Liège, Belgium, who was a
master’s student when he participated in the research.<br /><br />
A significant amount of water was found in the region where a known
gap in the HL Tauri disc exists. Ring-shaped gaps are carved out in gas-
and dust-rich discs by orbiting young planet-like bodies as they gather
material and grow. <i>“Our recent images reveal a substantial quantity
of water vapor at a range of distances from the star that includes a gap
where a planet could potentially be forming at the present time,” says
Facchini. </i>This suggests that this water vapor could affect the chemical composition of planets forming in those regions.<br /><br />
Observing water with a ground-based telescope is no mean feat, as the
abundant water vapor in Earth’s atmosphere degrades the astronomical
signals. ALMA is an antenna array in the Chilean Atacama Desert at about
5,000 meters elevation that was built in a high and dry environment
specifically to minimize this degradation, providing exceptional
observing conditions. <i>“To date, ALMA is the only facility able to spatially resolve water in a cool planet-forming disc,”</i> says co-author Wouter Vlemmings, a professor at the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden<sup class="fn" data-fn="2a57ca4a-f7ce-4878-9750-094b68eb45dd" style="color: #f1c232;"><a href="https://www.almaobservatory.org/en/press-releases/astronomers-reveal-a-new-link-between-water-and-planet-formation/#2a57ca4a-f7ce-4878-9750-094b68eb45dd" id="2a57ca4a-f7ce-4878-9750-094b68eb45dd-link">1</a></sup>.<br /><br />
“<i>It is truly exciting to directly witness, in a picture, water molecules being released from icy dust particles,</i>”
says Elizabeth Humphreys, an astronomer at ESO who also participated in
the study. The dust grains that make up a disc are the seeds of planet
formation, colliding and clumping into ever-larger bodies orbiting the
star. Astronomers believe that where it is cold enough for water to
freeze onto dust particles, things stick together more efficiently — an
ideal spot for planet formation. “<i>Our results show how the presence
of water may influence the development of a planetary system, just like
it did some 4.5 billion years ago in our own Solar System</i>,” Facchini adds.<br /><br />
With<a href="https://www.almaobservatory.org/en/publications/the-alma-development-roadmap/"> upgrades happening at ALMA</a> and ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (<a href="https://elt.eso.org/">ELT</a>)
coming online within the decade, planet formation and the role water
plays in it will become clearer than ever. In particular, METIS, the
Mid-infrared ELT Imager, and Spectrograph will give astronomers
unrivaled views of the inner regions of planet-forming discs, where
planets like Earth form.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ol class="wp-block-footnotes"><li id="2a57ca4a-f7ce-4878-9750-094b68eb45dd"><span style="color: #f1c232;">The
new observations used the Band 5 and Band 7 receivers on ALMA. Band 5
expanded ALMA into a new frequency range specifically for detecting and
imaging water in the local Universe. In this study, the team observed
three spectral lines of water across the two receiver frequency ranges
to map gas at different temperatures within the disc.</span> <a aria-label="Jump to footnote reference 1" href="https://www.almaobservatory.org/en/press-releases/astronomers-reveal-a-new-link-between-water-and-planet-formation/#2a57ca4a-f7ce-4878-9750-094b68eb45dd-link">↩︎</a></li></ol></div><br /><hr /><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Additional Information</span></b><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">This research was presented in a paper titled “</span><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-024-02207-w">Resolved ALMA observations of water in the inner astronomical units of the HL Tau disk</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">” to appear in <i>Nature Astronomy</i> (</span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-024-02207-w">doi:10.1038/s41550-024-02207-w</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">).</span><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">The team is composed of S. Facchini (Dipartimento di Fisica,
Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy), L. Testi (Dipartimento di
Fisica e Astronomia “Augusto Righi”, Università di Bologna, Italy), E.
Humphreys (European Southern Observatory, Germany, Joint ALMA
Observatory, Chile; European Southern Observatory Vitacura, Chile), M.
Vander Donckt (Space sciences, Technologies & Astrophysics Research
(STAR) Institute, University of Liège, Belgium), A. Isella (Department
of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, USA [Rice]), R. Wrzosek
(Rice), A. Baudry (Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bordeaux, Univ. de
Bordeaux, CNRS, France), M. D. Gray (National Astronomical Research
Institute of Thailand, Thailand), A. M. S. Richards (JBCA, University of
Manchester, UK), W. Vlemmings (Department of Space, Earth and
Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden).</span><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">The</span> <a href="https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2404/?lang">original press release</a> <span style="color: #f1c232;">was published by ESO, an ALMA partner on behalf of Europe.</span><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an
international astronomy facility, is a partnership of the European
Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO),
the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes
of Natural Sciences (NINS) of Japan in cooperation with the Republic of
Chile. ALMA is funded by ESO on behalf of its Member States, by NSF in
cooperation with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the
National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) in Taiwan and by NINS in
cooperation with the Academia Sinica (AS) in Taiwan and the Korea
Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI).<br /><br />
ALMA construction and operations are led by ESO on behalf of its
Member States; by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO),
managed by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), on behalf of North
America; and by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) on
behalf of East Asia. The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the
unified leadership and management of the construction, commissioning and
operation of ALMA.</span></div><br /><hr /><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Videos</b></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="350" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M0NX8O3o1cw" width="640" youtube-src-id="M0NX8O3o1cw"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">This video takes you to the location of HL Tauri in the constellation of Taurus, 450 light-years away from Earth. The start of the sequence shows a wide view, including the Pleiades and Hyades naked-eye star clusters. It then zooms into a very detailed visible-light image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and ends with ALMA observations of water vapor in the HL Tauri disc. Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/NASA/ESA/N. Risinger (skysurvey.org). Music: Astral Electronic</span></div><span style="color: #f1c232;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="350" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YVfPKdginYU" width="640" youtube-src-id="YVfPKdginYU"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Researchers have found water vapour in the disc around a young star exactly where planets may be forming. Water is a key ingredient for life on Earth, and is also thought to play a significant role in planet formation. Yet, until now, we had never been able to map how water is distributed in a stable, cool disc — the type of disc that offers the most favorable conditions for planets to form around stars. The new findings were made possible thanks to the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner. This video summarises the discovery. Credit: ESO Directed by: Angelos Tsaousis and Martin Wallner. Editing: Angelos Tsaousis and Luis Calçada. Web and technical support: Gurvan Bazin and Raquel Yumi Shida. Written by: Pamela Freeman and Tom Howarth. Music: Stellardrone — The Earth is Blue. Footage and photos: ESO/L. Calçada, ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/S. Facchini et al., A. Tsaousis, C. Malin (christophmalin.com), B. Tafreshi, General Dynamics C4 Systems. Scientific consultant: Paola Amico, Mariya Lyubenova.</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"> Source:</span> <a href="https://www.almaobservatory.org/en/category/press-releases/">ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array)/Press Release</a> </div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://rdcu.be/dzXt3">Scientific Paper</a> </div><br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Contacts</b><br /><br />
Nicolás Lira<br />
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oint ALMA Observatory, Santiago - Chile<br />
Phone: <a href="tel:+56 2 2467 6519">+56 2 2467 6519</a><br />
Cel:</span> <a href="tel:+56 9 9445 7726">+56 9 9445 7726</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Email:</span> <a href="mailto:nicolas.lira@alma.cl">nicolas.lira@alma.cl</a><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Bárbara Ferreira<br />
ESO Media Manager<br />
Garching bei München, Germany<br />
Phone:</span> <a href="tel:+49 89 3200 6670">+49 89 3200 6670</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Email: </span><a href="mailto:press@eso.org">press@eso.org</a><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Naoko Inoue<br />
EPO officer, ALMA Project<br />
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ)<br />
Email:</span> <a href="mailto:naoko.inoue@nao.ac.jp">naoko.inoue@nao.ac.jp</a><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Jill Malusky<br />
Public Information Officer<br />
NRAO<br />
Phone:</span> <a href="tel: +1 304-456-2236"> +1 304-456-2236</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Email:</span> <a href="mailto:jmalusky@nrao.edu">jmalusky@nrao.edu</a><br /><br /><hr />
Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-29775798869399047662024-03-01T00:00:00.190-03:002024-03-01T00:00:00.135-03:00‘Beyond what’s possible’: new JWST observations unearth mysterious ancient galaxies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoSQCXcsPNHLDQHLuCyRjloA2dGz5OG_sAmr6tmzNOwQI9cfe608h1LfBzp6N3NM2XKcy636onsR75vYwqdi_AUmnL570QxcJmoh8yuzrQC9sEyw2D9dbWPy_M6qADixS_NU5WaYneIfQSILFIoHgvNsiO71_vsgidVNvIz-KQUsS5D5YKKILRkQ/s580/image_12694-ZF-UDS-7329.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="580" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoSQCXcsPNHLDQHLuCyRjloA2dGz5OG_sAmr6tmzNOwQI9cfe608h1LfBzp6N3NM2XKcy636onsR75vYwqdi_AUmnL570QxcJmoh8yuzrQC9sEyw2D9dbWPy_M6qADixS_NU5WaYneIfQSILFIoHgvNsiO71_vsgidVNvIz-KQUsS5D5YKKILRkQ/w640-h496/image_12694-ZF-UDS-7329.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Spectral analysis of its light with JWST revealed this red disk galaxy’s anomalous nature – it formed around 13 billion years ago even though it contains ~4x more mass in stars than our Milky Way does today. (This Webb image shows ZF-UDS-7329, a rare massive galaxy that formed very early in the Universe. Image credit: Glazebrook et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07191-9)</span><br /></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfsk6qCXf_ZovjnciaBpcCP2pzcbcqOaGv6DIMHB0rntv7GJdJYCIIdzUqUx6HPc-pFk8ReZihRMdUFxfizS8IffV7gEffRlv_D7Ejpb0WFrHPmymBgQpUcal2bOBfLL8Mo_AND3SpubCPhM6GHVngiktPIqZxmalvVoWDQBR7RCI9ijAC6ho23A/s300/Claudia-Lagos-200x300.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfsk6qCXf_ZovjnciaBpcCP2pzcbcqOaGv6DIMHB0rntv7GJdJYCIIdzUqUx6HPc-pFk8ReZihRMdUFxfizS8IffV7gEffRlv_D7Ejpb0WFrHPmymBgQpUcal2bOBfLL8Mo_AND3SpubCPhM6GHVngiktPIqZxmalvVoWDQBR7RCI9ijAC6ho23A/w267-h400/Claudia-Lagos-200x300.jpg" width="267" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Associate Professo Lagos developed the theoretical modelling used in the study.</span><br /></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Our understanding of how galaxies form and the nature of dark matter could be completely upended, after new observations of a stellar population bigger than the Milky Way from more than 11 billion years ago that should not exist.<br /><br />
A paper published today in Nature details findings using new data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The results finds that a massive galaxy in the early universe – observed 11.5 billion years ago (a cosmic redshift of 3.2) – has an extremely old population of stars formed much earlier – 1.5 billion years earlier in time (a red shift of around 11). The observation upends current modelling, as not enough dark matter has built up in sufficient concentrations to seed their formation.<br /><br />
Swinburne University of Technology’s Distinguished Professor Karl Glazebrook led the study and the international team who used the JWST for spectroscopic observations of this massive quiescent galaxy.<br /><br />
“We’ve been chasing this particular galaxy for seven years and spent hours observing it with the two largest telescopes on earth to figure out how old it was. But it was too red and too faint, and we couldn’t measure it. In the end, we had to go off earth and use the JWST to confirm its nature.”<br /><br />
The formation of galaxies is a fundamental paradigm underpinning modern astrophysics and predicts a strong decline in the number of massive galaxies in early cosmic times. Extremely massive quiescent galaxies have now been observed as early as one to two billion years after the Big Bang which challenges previous theoretical models.<br /><br />
Distinguished Professor Glazebrook worked with leading researchers all over the world, including Dr Themiya Nanayakkara, Dr Lalitwadee Kawinwanichakij, Dr Colin Jacobs, Dr Harry Chittenden, Associate Professor Glenn G Kacprzak and Associate Professor Ivo Labbe from Swinburne’s Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing.<br /><br />
“This was very much a team effort, from the infrared sky surveys we started in 2010 that led to us identifying this galaxy as unusual, to our many hours on the Keck and Very Large Telescope where we tried, but failed to confirm it, until finally the last year where we spent enormous effort figuring out how to process the JWST data and analyse this spectrum.”<br /><br />
Dr Themiya Nanayakkara, who led the spectral analysis of the JWST data, says, “we are now going beyond what was possible to confirm the oldest massive quiescent monsters that exist deep in the Universe.”<br /><br />
“This pushes the boundaries of our current understanding of how galaxies form and evolve. The key question now is how they form so fast very early in the Universe and what mysterious mechanisms leads to stopping them forming stars abruptly when the rest of the Universe doing so.”<br /><br />
Associate Professor Claudia Lagos from the University of Western Australia node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) was crucial in developing the theoretical modelling of the evolution of dark matter concentrations for the study.<br /><br />
“Galaxy formation is in large part dictated by how dark matter concentrates,” she says. “Having these extremely massive galaxies so early in the Universe is posing significant challenges to our standard model of cosmology. This is because we don’t think such massive dark matter structures as to host these massive galaxies have had time yet to form. More observations are needed to understand how common these galaxies may be and to help us understand how truly massive these galaxies are.”<br /><br />
Distinguished Professor Glazebrook hopes this could be a new opening for our understanding of the physics of dark matter.<br /><br />
“JWST has been finding increasing evidence for massive galaxies forming early in time. This result sets a new record for this phenomenon. Although it is very striking, it is only one object. But we hope to find more; and if we do this will really upset our ideas of galaxy formation.”</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Source:</span> <a href="https://www.icrar.org/category/news/">International Center for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR)/News</a></div><br /><hr />Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-52277953242886524362024-02-29T00:00:00.140-03:002024-02-29T00:00:00.215-03:00 Monthly Roundup: Discovering, Modeling, and Characterizing Pulsars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBE2tl7HMWVl9BcoRkb6RcqZN9nr_gojW4fJDv4XCFxzXYrM1Db5Bj-wO3SmewMXjeAQk9R_8fKVnb3dV7NgMCSWe_F3TnbZFpj8L9zdYSMNoceod_ZflWWYoFpCjY_42vD3RDLmOcM5sQVslJnFMSRt8MlShuW5F61KcZmzai333vnOO2Ocwi4g/s1000/crab_lg.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="649" data-original-width="1000" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBE2tl7HMWVl9BcoRkb6RcqZN9nr_gojW4fJDv4XCFxzXYrM1Db5Bj-wO3SmewMXjeAQk9R_8fKVnb3dV7NgMCSWe_F3TnbZFpj8L9zdYSMNoceod_ZflWWYoFpCjY_42vD3RDLmOcM5sQVslJnFMSRt8MlShuW5F61KcZmzai333vnOO2Ocwi4g/w640-h416/crab_lg.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Composite X-ray, optical, and infrared image of the Crab Nebula, which houses a pulsar at its center<br />
Credit:</span> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2018/crab/">X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/STScI; Infrared: NASA-JPL-Caltech</a><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">When a massive star goes supernova, the explosion can leave behind a pulsar: the core of a dead star containing 1–2 times the mass of the Sun in a sphere just 20 kilometers across. Pulsars are almost entirely composed of neutrons and spin extremely quickly — the fastest recorded pulsar spins 716 times every second, meaning that a point on its surface moves at roughly a quarter of the speed of light. Pulsars emit beams of radio waves from their poles, and an observer on Earth sees pulses of radio emission in time with the star’s rotation. The word pulsar comes from pulsating radio source.<br /><br />
Observing pulsars helps us understand the evolution of massive stars, provides a way to study the physics of ultra-dense materials, and gives us a means to search for the <a href="https://aasnova.org/2023/06/28/first-compelling-evidence-for-the-gravitational-wave-background/">background gravitational hum of supermassive black holes in colliding galaxies</a>. Today, we’ll take a look at three recent research articles that explore fundamental questions in pulsar science.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi73RpEIhHkRXcUcJw9GClyLMGb2ljKgFWtUKGnSVLAf0fvBTysNOO-L1Uu17Ix8UkuzGB5SxwWZLrrLjLMXCsH1s4XCWDi3e92IJ9wiQ3H-AMw016bjisk6sCVCMWPIFzZDKnTD8ZpmallZscuQGVxLk3gkU2wTbQAf5WW0KfMnpe7cgVaR7N0A/s1750/apjad0fe8f7_hr.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="1750" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi73RpEIhHkRXcUcJw9GClyLMGb2ljKgFWtUKGnSVLAf0fvBTysNOO-L1Uu17Ix8UkuzGB5SxwWZLrrLjLMXCsH1s4XCWDi3e92IJ9wiQ3H-AMw016bjisk6sCVCMWPIFzZDKnTD8ZpmallZscuQGVxLk3gkU2wTbQAf5WW0KfMnpe7cgVaR7N0A/w640-h170/apjad0fe8f7_hr.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">The field surrounding PSR J1032−5804 shown at, from left to right, radio, infrared, and visible wavelengths, as well as a composite of all three.
Credit: Wang et al. 2024</span></div><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">How Do We Find Pulsars?</span></b><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Jocelyn Bell Burnell discovered the first pulsar by chance in 1967, when the characteristic pulses popped up in radio observations taken with a new telescope. Today, researchers design surveys tuned to the particular properties of pulsars to make them stand out from other signals in the sky. Namely, radio surveys can search for sources with steep spectra — in other words, signals that are far brighter at low frequencies than at high frequencies — or strongly polarized light.<br /><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Ziteng Wang</span></b> (Curtin University) and collaborators used the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), a 36-dish radio interferometer, to search for circularly polarized signals from pulsars. In addition to known stars and pulsars, the observations pinpointed a strongly circularly polarized source with no known counterpart at other wavelengths. The team followed up on this promising discovery with the 64-meter Murriyang radio telescope at Parkes Observatory and found a pulsar with a rotation period of 78.72 milliseconds. The pulsar, cataloged as PSR J1032−5804, has an estimated age of 34,600 years, making it relatively young and possibly still associated with a visible supernova remnant. The team found a compact region of emission surrounding the pulsar, but they couldn’t rule out the possibility that the material belongs to unrelated nebulae.<br /><br />
PSR J1032−5804 is notable because its pulses are highly scattered by interstellar gas and dust. Highly scattered pulsar signals are hard to detect because scattering broadens and weakens the signal, especially at lower frequencies where pulsars should be at their brightest. Wang’s team has shown that searching at relatively high frequencies — the team’s observations were made at 3 gigahertz — is a viable way to detect scattered pulsars.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjaUqbvd4fnJB0MgmH4J1g7cLxKqLVu2yB88U3wy4OI9M2icLHcTzU9wCEjuWmZ0EMI41RdDtr6EZuYUgtQ8jFCgxLQ2nRpFHgvNe9CZAVAmhqF2Hf2isI2AAttN462VuRS_gcYza3gInItQYANAQOOYV7Uk_ovIRG-I0wvs-5-7Lg0ZgRobNImQ/s2170/apjlad0556f1_hr.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="744" data-original-width="2170" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjaUqbvd4fnJB0MgmH4J1g7cLxKqLVu2yB88U3wy4OI9M2icLHcTzU9wCEjuWmZ0EMI41RdDtr6EZuYUgtQ8jFCgxLQ2nRpFHgvNe9CZAVAmhqF2Hf2isI2AAttN462VuRS_gcYza3gInItQYANAQOOYV7Uk_ovIRG-I0wvs-5-7Lg0ZgRobNImQ/w640-h220/apjlad0556f1_hr.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="color: #f1c232;">Simulation output showing the magnetic field lines (green curves) and plasma density (background color) in a pulsar’s magnetosphere. Credit: Bransgrove et al. 2023</span></div><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">How Do Pulsars Make Their Pulses?</span></b><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Pulsars may be most famous for their characteristic pulses of radio emission, but the origin of those pulses is still under debate. To understand what powers these radio beacons, researchers use detailed simulations that track the behavior of individual particles to understand how they behave under the exotic conditions present at the surface of a pulsar. To date, localized simulations have been able to produce radio waves from a pulsar’s poles, and global simulations have discerned the source of pulsars’ gamma-ray pulses (10% or so of pulsars produce gamma-ray pulses in addition to radio pulses), but radio pulses have not yet been seen in global simulations.<br /><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Ashley Bransgrove</span></b> (Columbia University and Princeton University) and collaborators carried out high-resolution global simulations of a pulsar’s magnetosphere: the region immediately surrounding a pulsar where its strong magnetic field dominates the motion of charged particles. The simulations show how the rapid rotation of the pulsar lofts charged particles from its surface and accelerates them, filling the magnetosphere with gamma rays and a dense sea of electrons and their positively charged counterparts, positrons. Near the pulsar’s poles and farther out in its magnetosphere, gaps form where the electric current is mismatched, and pairs of electrons and positrons are generated in these gaps. When the gaps discharge — think of a spark, or lightning — they excite waves in the plasma and, subsequently, electromagnetic waves. The emitted radiation is similar in frequency and luminosity to observed pulsars, suggesting that electric discharge may generate the radio waves that pulsars are known for.<br /><br />
The team notes that it’s too soon to apply their simulations to observations of individual pulsars, and more work is needed to understand the role of gamma-ray emission, explore the details of electron–positron pair production, and extend the work to pulsars whose spin axes and magnetic axes are misaligned.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIGpib9LrcaO3j1njSp6h1VB1bqu8LfQjMb-I06t_yDItWHQJNFj06s3uKwzV6PTZ8Gi8h13HN6vdEWQ5SJJTAzEKbO1K6jbklYWNaTtpyJUmVLIGWSMcknxKGUtZ01867WddrMKAj0Rhv_GO5LK5kNT-D2XbZCRzBu3Skc3cjUK4hrMYGK1Bn9w/s1000/apjad0120f1_hr.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="723" data-original-width="1000" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIGpib9LrcaO3j1njSp6h1VB1bqu8LfQjMb-I06t_yDItWHQJNFj06s3uKwzV6PTZ8Gi8h13HN6vdEWQ5SJJTAzEKbO1K6jbklYWNaTtpyJUmVLIGWSMcknxKGUtZ01867WddrMKAj0Rhv_GO5LK5kNT-D2XbZCRzBu3Skc3cjUK4hrMYGK1Bn9w/w640-h462/apjad0120f1_hr.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">The location of the Boomerang within the supernova remnant surrounding the pulsar PSR J2229+6114 <br />
Credit: Pope et al. 2024</span></div></div><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">How Do Pulsars Interact with Their Surroundings?</span></b><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">When pulsars are young, they’re swaddled in the gas and dust of their surrounding supernova remnants. This leads young pulsars to create a pulsar wind nebula: a glowing cloud of gas energized by winds of relativistic charged particles streaming off the pulsar. A recent article authored by the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) collaborations presents multiwavelength observations of the Boomerang, a 10,000-year-old pulsar wind nebula well known for its complex structure.<br /><br />
The teams combined archival data from radio telescopes and the Chandra X-ray Observatory with newly collected data from NuSTAR, VERITAS, and the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope to probe the nebula’s multiwavelength behavior. These observations revealed that the nebula appears far larger at radio wavelengths than at X-ray wavelengths, a common feature of pulsar wind nebulae due to the difference sources of emission: the nebula’s size at radio wavelengths is set by outflowing particles, while its size at X-ray wavelengths comes from the rate at which electrons lose energy as they spiral around magnetic field lines and emit X-rays. The nebula’s size even varies across X-ray wavelengths, appearing smaller at shorter wavelengths.<br /><br />
Judging from how the nebula’s size changes with wavelength, its overall energy output, and its X-ray emission over the past two decades, the authors provide a new estimate on its distance and magnetic field strength, finding it to be more distant and with a far weaker magnetic field than previously thought. By modeling how the nebula’s energy output may have evolved over time, the team also found that the Boomerang is, well, boomeranging! Roughly 1,000 years ago, a backwards-moving supernova shock wave crashed into the expanding nebula, crushing the nebula and temporarily reversing its expansion. Today, the nebula is re-expanding in the wake of the shock wave, showcasing how pulsars dynamically interact with their surroundings.</div><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">By</span> <a href="https://aasnova.org/person/kerry-hensley/">Kerry Hensley</a>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Source:</span> <a href="https://aasnova.org/">American Astronomical Society/AAS-Nova</a></div><br /><hr /><span style="color: #f1c232;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Citation</b></span><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #f1c232;">“Discovery of a Young, Highly Scattered Pulsar PSR J1032-5804 with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder,” Ziteng Wang et al 2024 ApJ 961 175.</span> <a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad0fe8">doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad0fe8</a><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">“Radio Emission and Electric Gaps in Pulsar Magnetospheres,” Ashley Bransgrove et al 2023 ApJL 958 L9.</span> <a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad0556">doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ad0556</a><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">“A Multiwavelength Investigation of PSR J2229+6114 and Its Pulsar Wind Nebula in the Radio, X-ray, and Gamma-ray Bands,” I. Pope et al 2024 ApJ 960 75. </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad0120">doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad0120</a></div><br /><br /><hr />
Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-9162591473376073522024-02-28T00:00:00.205-03:002024-02-28T00:00:00.159-03:00Metal scar found on cannibal star<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim2mSWtDLxICF-sc5UD3ew412GfbSiJ6tO3AASNUWHLCFL3L6EfbqAuTztAPb9wLsiI2jwOiULDsm6g3w6OnpLBnk5blxTEokOqrYNB3qfiPqnZD5R_ZUM4nRCfseJiOYoIAutBQByWGgdljvK2k6KDifbyKOF-7v8opfwjyThZ4QBD7CUSXvmDQ/s1280/eso2403a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="1280" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim2mSWtDLxICF-sc5UD3ew412GfbSiJ6tO3AASNUWHLCFL3L6EfbqAuTztAPb9wLsiI2jwOiULDsm6g3w6OnpLBnk5blxTEokOqrYNB3qfiPqnZD5R_ZUM4nRCfseJiOYoIAutBQByWGgdljvK2k6KDifbyKOF-7v8opfwjyThZ4QBD7CUSXvmDQ/w640-h440/eso2403a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><a href="https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2403a/">PR Image eso2403a</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Artist’s impression of WD 0816-310, a magnetic white dwarf with a metal scar </span><br /></div><div><br /><hr /><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Videos</b></span><br /><br />
<a href="https://www.eso.org/public/videos/eso2403a/"><img alt="Metal scar found on cannibal star | ESOcast Light" class="img-responsive" src="https://www.eso.org/public/archives/videos/news/eso2403a.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://www.eso.org/public/videos/eso2403a/">PR Video eso2403a</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Metal scar found on cannibal star | ESOcast Light</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.eso.org/public/videos/eso2403b/"><img alt="Artist’s animation of WD 0816-310, a magnetic white dwarf, ingesting planetary fragments" class="img-responsive" src="https://www.eso.org/public/archives/videos/news/eso2403b.jpg" /></a><br />
<a href="https://www.eso.org/public/videos/eso2403b/">PR Video eso2403b</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Artist’s animation of WD 0816-310, a magnetic white dwarf, ingesting planetary fragments <br /></span></div><br /><hr /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>When a star like our Sun reaches the end
of its life, it can ingest the surrounding planets and asteroids that
were born with it. Now, using the European Southern Observatory’s Very
Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) in Chile, researchers have found a unique
signature of this process for the first time — a scar imprinted on the
surface of a white dwarf star. The results are published today in The
Astrophysical Journal Letters.</b><br /><br />
“<i>It is well known that some white dwarfs — slowly
cooling embers of stars like our Sun — are cannibalising pieces of their
planetary systems. Now we have discovered that the star’s magnetic
field plays a key role in this process, resulting in a scar on the white
dwarf’s surface,</i>” says Stefano Bagnulo, an astronomer at Armagh
Observatory and Planetarium in Northern Ireland, UK, and lead author of
the study.<br /><br />
The scar the team observed is a concentration of metals
imprinted on the surface of the white dwarf WD 0816-310, the Earth-sized
remnant of a star similar to, but somewhat more massive than, our Sun. “<i>We
have demonstrated that these metals originate from a planetary fragment
as large as or possibly larger than Vesta, which is about 500
kilometres across and the second-largest asteroid in the Solar System</i>,” says Jay Farihi, a professor at University College London, UK, and co-author on the study.<br /><br />
The observations also provided clues to how the star got
its metal scar. The team noticed that the strength of the metal
detection changed as the star rotated, suggesting that the metals are
concentrated on a specific area on the white dwarf’s surface, rather
than smoothly spread across it. They also found that these changes were
synchronised with changes in the white dwarf’s magnetic field,
indicating that this metal scar is located on one of its magnetic poles.
Put together, these clues indicate that the magnetic field funneled
metals onto the star, creating the scar <span style="color: #f1c232;">[1]</span>.<br /><br />
“<i>Surprisingly, the material was not evenly mixed over
the surface of the star, as predicted by theory. Instead, this scar is a
concentrated patch of planetary material, held in place by the same
magnetic field that has guided the infalling fragments</i>,” says
co-author John Landstreet, a professor at Western University, Canada,
who is also affiliated with the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium. “<i>Nothing like this has been seen before.</i>”<br /><br />
To reach these conclusions, the team used a ‘Swiss-army knife’ instrument on the<a href="https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/vlt/"> VLT</a> called<a href="https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/vlt/vlt-instr/fors/"> FORS2</a>, which allowed them to detect the metal scar and connect it to the star’s magnetic field. “<i>ESO has the unique combination of capabilities needed to observe faint
objects such as white dwarfs, and sensitively measure stellar magnetic
fields,</i>” says Bagnulo. In their study, the team also relied on archival data from the VLT’s<a href="https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/vlt/vlt-instr/x-shooter/"> X-shooter</a> instrument to confirm their findings.<br /><br />
Harnessing the power of observations like these,
astronomers can reveal the bulk composition of exoplanets, planets
orbiting other stars outside the Solar System. This unique study also
shows how planetary systems can remain dynamically active, even after 'death'.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Source:</span> <a href="https://www.eso.org/public/news/">ESO/News</a></div><br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Notes</b><br /><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"> [1] Previously,
astronomers have observed numerous white dwarfs polluted by metals that
were scattered over the surface of the star. These are known to
originate from disrupted planets or asteroids that veer too close to the
star, following star-grazing orbits similar to those of comets in our
Solar System. However, for WD 0816-310, the team is confident that
vaporised material was ionised and guided onto the magnetic poles by the
white dwarf's magnetic field. The process shares similarities to how
auroras form on Earth and on Jupiter.</span></div><br /><br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>More information</b><br /><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">This research was presented in a
paper titled “Discovery of magnetically guided metal accretion onto a
polluted white dwarf” to appear in <i>The Astrophysical Journal Letters</i> (</span><a href="https://www.doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad2619">doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ad2619</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">).</span><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">The team is composed of Stefano Bagnulo (Armagh Observatory
& Planetarium, UK [Armagh]), Jay Farihi (Department of Physics and
Astronomy, University College London, UK), John D. Landstreet (Armagh;
Department of Physics & Astronomy, Western University, Canada), and
Colin P. Folsom (Tartu Observatory, University of Tartu, Estonia).</span><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">The European Southern Observatory (ESO) enables scientists
worldwide to discover the secrets of the Universe for the benefit of
all. We design, build and operate world-class observatories on the
ground — which astronomers use to tackle exciting questions and spread
the fascination of astronomy — and promote international collaboration
for astronomy. Established as an intergovernmental organisation in 1962,
today ESO is supported by 16 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Czechia,
Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands,
Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom),
along with the host state of Chile and with Australia as a Strategic
Partner. ESO’s headquarters and its visitor centre and planetarium, the
ESO Supernova, are located close to Munich in Germany, while the Chilean
Atacama Desert, a marvellous place with unique conditions to observe
the sky, hosts our telescopes. ESO operates three observing sites: La
Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large
Telescope and its Very Large Telescope Interferometer, as well as survey
telescopes such as VISTA. Also at Paranal ESO will host and operate the
Cherenkov Telescope Array South, the world’s largest and most sensitive
gamma-ray observatory. Together with international partners, ESO
operates ALMA on Chajnantor, a facility that observes the skies in the
millimetre and submillimetre range. At Cerro Armazones, near Paranal, we
are building “the world’s biggest eye on the sky” — ESO’s Extremely
Large Telescope. From our offices in Santiago, Chile we support our
operations in the country and engage with Chilean partners and society.</span></div><br /><hr /><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Links</span></b><br />
<ul><li><a href="https://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso2403/eso2403a.pdf">Research paper</a></li><li><a href="http://www.eso.org/public/images/archive/category/paranal/">Photos of the VLT</a></li><li><span style="color: #f1c232;">For journalists:</span> <a href="https://www.eso.org/public/outreach/pressmedia/#epodpress_form">subscribe to receive our releases under embargo in your language</a></li><li><span style="color: #f1c232;">For scientists: got a story?</span> <a href="https://www.eso.org/sci/publications/announcements/sciann17580.html">Pitch your research</a></li></ul>
<br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Contacts</b><br /><br />
Stefano Bagnulo<br />
Armagh Observatory and Planetarium<br />
Armagh, UK<br />
Tel: +44 (0)28 3752 3689<br />
Email:</span> <a href="mailto:Stefano.Bagnulo@Armagh.ac.uk">Stefano.Bagnulo@Armagh.ac.uk</a><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Jay Farihi<br />
Department of Physics & Astronomy, University College London<br />
London, UK<br />
Email:</span> <a href="mailto:j.farihi@ucl.ac.uk">j.farihi@ucl.ac.uk</a><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">John Landstreet<br />
Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Western Ontario and Armagh Observatory and Planetarium<br />
London and Armagh, Canada and UK<br />
Email:</span> <a href="mailto:jlandstr@uwo.ca">jlandstr@uwo.ca</a><br /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Bárbara Ferreira<br />
ESO Media Manager<br />
Garching bei München, Germany<br />
Tel: +49 89 3200 6670<br />
Cell: +49 151 241 664 00<br />
Email:</span> <a href="mailto:press@eso.org">press@eso.org</a><br /><br /><hr /><p></p></div>Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-82645505367174534952024-02-27T00:00:00.058-03:002024-02-27T08:45:48.438-03:00Celestial fossils<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-UTkke3Fsm_H86qA12EbWtBp19BrEzYIaQS57VMhxkMeTYssuairKISCOyA4C2sXV1CzFAbz1ifabPtUefKxC4-o_IK8uySViWgRuPDCxcnUrcuxw3_TlJnPW7JEkbSONH8hS72tPZbcy9M3_1b7TVkz1kqRwlXoJAwdDOM4_6grfXTF7JCptfw/s1280/potw2409a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="997" data-original-width="1280" height="498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-UTkke3Fsm_H86qA12EbWtBp19BrEzYIaQS57VMhxkMeTYssuairKISCOyA4C2sXV1CzFAbz1ifabPtUefKxC4-o_IK8uySViWgRuPDCxcnUrcuxw3_TlJnPW7JEkbSONH8hS72tPZbcy9M3_1b7TVkz1kqRwlXoJAwdDOM4_6grfXTF7JCptfw/w640-h498/potw2409a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/large/potw2409a.jpg">NGC 1841</a><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">
A cluster of stars. Most of the stars are very small and uniform in size, and they are notably bluish and cluster more densely together towards the centre of the image. Some appear larger in the foreground. The stars give way to a dark background at the corners. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Sarajedini, F. Niederhofer</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This densely populated group of <a href="https://esahubble.org/wordbank/star/">stars</a> is the <a href="https://esahubble.org/wordbank/globular-cluster/">globular cluster</a> known as NGC 1841, which is found within the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite <a href="https://esahubble.org/wordbank/galaxy/">galaxy</a>
to the Milky Way galaxy that lies about 162 000 light-years away.
Satellite galaxies are galaxies that are bound by gravity in orbits
around a more massive host galaxy. We typically think of our galaxy’s
nearest galactic companion as being the Andromeda Galaxy, but it would
be more accurate to say that Andromeda is the nearest galaxy that is not
in orbit around the Milky Way galaxy. In fact, our galaxy is orbited by
tens of known satellite galaxies that are far closer than Andromeda,
the largest and brightest of which is the LMC, which is easily visible
to the naked eye from the southern hemisphere (although this is
decreasingly the case thanks to light pollution).<br /><br />
The LMC is home to many globular clusters. These celestial bodies
fall somewhere between open clusters — which are much less dense and
tightly bound — and small, compact galaxies. Increasingly sophisticated
observations have revealed the stellar populations and other
characteristics of globular clusters to be varied and complex, and it is
not well understood how these tightly-packed clusters form. However,
there are certain consistencies across all globular clusters: they are
very stable and so are capable of lasting a long time, and can therefore
be very old. This means that globular clusters often contain large
numbers of very old stars, which make them something akin to celestial
‘fossils’. Just as fossils provide insight into the early development of
life on Earth, globular clusters such as NGC 1841 can provide insights
into very early star formation in galaxies.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Source:</span> <a href="https://esahubble.org/images/potw2409a/">ESA/Hubblw/potw</a></div><br /><hr />
Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-20281641018604252092024-02-26T00:00:00.242-03:002024-02-26T00:00:00.279-03:00SDSS J1531+3414: Black Hole Fashions Stellar Beads on a String<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70zajqXr71e0lr_poEkL12NeddqSP8NdDcB80LCNQCUS4B6JC89qQlbl0U3DCfPE0zo_dQIV4-sGUqHvfHWfDxajiOmlAjAPT7Dsa8qX9i5p092Jhc9STlnZuZPta3X9M6fUxqTRDT6c7S0OYjUCEf2jv_8V_Lr6hmXphvxSjUY31nCQ3jrJCIA/s864/beads.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="647" data-original-width="864" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70zajqXr71e0lr_poEkL12NeddqSP8NdDcB80LCNQCUS4B6JC89qQlbl0U3DCfPE0zo_dQIV4-sGUqHvfHWfDxajiOmlAjAPT7Dsa8qX9i5p092Jhc9STlnZuZPta3X9M6fUxqTRDT6c7S0OYjUCEf2jv_8V_Lr6hmXphvxSjUY31nCQ3jrJCIA/w640-h480/beads.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">SDSS J1531+3414</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/O. Omoruyi et al.; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI/G. Tremblay et al.; Radio: ASTRON/LOFAR; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2024/beads/beads.jpg" rel="facebox">JPEG (242 kb)</a> <span style="color: #f1c232;">-</span> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2024/beads/beads_lg.jpg">Large JPEG (14.6 MB)</a> <span style="color: #f1c232;">-</span> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2024/beads/beads.tif">Tiff (49.5 MB)</a> <span style="color: #f1c232;">-</span> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2024/beads/more.html">More Images</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2024/beads/beads_BU.mp4">A Tour of MSH 15-52</a><span style="color: #f1c232;"></span><span style="color: #f1c232;"> -</span> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2024/beads/animations.html">More Videos</a><br /></div><br /><hr /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Astronomers have discovered one of the most powerful eruptions from a <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_sources/blackholes.html">black hole</a> ever recorded in the system known as SDSS J1531+3414 (SDSS J1531 for short). As explained in <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/press/24_releases/press_022024.html">our press release</a>, this mega-explosion billions of years ago may help explain the formation of a striking pattern of <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/resources/glossaryS.html">star clusters</a> around two massive <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_sources/normal_galaxies.html">galaxies</a>, resembling “beads on a string.”<br /><br />
SDSS J1531 is a massive <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_sources/galaxy_clusters.html">galaxy cluster</a> containing hundreds of individual galaxies and huge reservoirs of hot gas and <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_astro/dark_matter/index.html">dark matter</a>. At the center of SDSS J1531, which is located about 3.8 billion <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cosmic_distance.html">light-years</a> away, two of the cluster’s largest galaxies are colliding with each other. <br /><br />
Astronomers used several telescopes to study SDSS J1531 including <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/about/">NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory</a>, and the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), a <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/resources/em_radiation.html">radio</a> telescope. This composite image shows SDSS J1531 in <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_astro/xrays.html">X-rays</a> from Chandra (blue and purple) that have been combined with radio data from LOFAR (dark pink) as well as an <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/resources/em_radiation.html">optical</a> image from the Hubble Space Telescope (appearing as yellow and white).
The inset gives a close-in view of the center of SDSS J1531 in optical
light, showing the two large galaxies and a set of 19 large clusters of
stars, called <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/resources/glossaryS.html">superclusters</a>,
stretching across the middle. The image shows these star clusters are
arranged in an ‘S’ formation that resembles beads on a string. <br /><br />
The multiwavelength data provides signs of an ancient, titanic
eruption in SDSS J1531, which a team of researchers think was
responsible for creation of the 19 star clusters. Their argument is that
an extremely powerful jet from the <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_sources/blackholes_sm.html">supermassive black holes</a>
in the center of one of the large galaxies pushed the surrounding hot
gas away from the black hole, creating a gigantic cavity. The evidence
for a cavity comes from “wings” of bright X-ray emission, seen with
Chandra, tracing dense gas near the center of SDSS J1531. These wings
are the edge of the cavity and the less dense gas in between is part of
the cavity. LOFAR shows radio waves from the remains of the jet’s
energetic particles filling in the giant cavity. These features are
highlighted in a labeled version of the image.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3WV9F_0aZXjEFeZeXsG2_rW2aJvGzq23DzzHrlDvTQOgIEtw4cE00RVCS9t39hg4Ev8oqt5p3LxMVWYUj5qvr7g_T6JcIRqdcnITCnZhXTmRqYr2ZUKpu89Nx2iv4S4Xoey5_2vpNtU_0z5hAXue_JIs8e6OpDVcyGhKa-ZVUyVKeJwZ3vODasA/s864/beads_labeled.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="647" data-original-width="864" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3WV9F_0aZXjEFeZeXsG2_rW2aJvGzq23DzzHrlDvTQOgIEtw4cE00RVCS9t39hg4Ev8oqt5p3LxMVWYUj5qvr7g_T6JcIRqdcnITCnZhXTmRqYr2ZUKpu89Nx2iv4S4Xoey5_2vpNtU_0z5hAXue_JIs8e6OpDVcyGhKa-ZVUyVKeJwZ3vODasA/w640-h480/beads_labeled.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Multiwavelength Image of SDSS J1531, Labeled; Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/O. Omoruyi et al.; Optical:
NASA/ESA/STScI/G. Tremblay et al.; Radio: ASTRON/LOFAR; Image
Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk</span><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The astronomers also discovered cold and warm gas located near the
opening of the cavity, detected with the Atacama Large Millimeter and
submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Gemini North Telescope, respectively.
A separate graphic shows the optical image with the cold gas added in
green (left), and the warm gas added in red (right). The team argues
that some of the hot gas pushed away from the black hole eventually
cooled to form the cold and warm gas shown. The team thinks tidal
effects from the two merging galaxies compressed the gas along curved
paths, leading to the star clusters forming in the “beads on a string”
pattern.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDvg5Uu9DelShS__WxjDySQ0ImhFGT0k6LMdhcHVDNctEwSkG_GH6MytPJBz7y-OfLQNF_QmvBNyngWN0zjdT6AR4E0stkILVzUKZH_oVk-QNiqSCAgbI6S3o6-pHzuS8Z6WhzfBvXGv7Ku2lNiEeEHTQKYi6dChDIJTl1CMHEOMyGhO6n8nzC4w/s864/beads_alma_halpha_combined_labeled.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="864" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDvg5Uu9DelShS__WxjDySQ0ImhFGT0k6LMdhcHVDNctEwSkG_GH6MytPJBz7y-OfLQNF_QmvBNyngWN0zjdT6AR4E0stkILVzUKZH_oVk-QNiqSCAgbI6S3o6-pHzuS8Z6WhzfBvXGv7Ku2lNiEeEHTQKYi6dChDIJTl1CMHEOMyGhO6n8nzC4w/w640-h358/beads_alma_halpha_combined_labeled.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Cold and warm gas located near the opening of the cavity<br />
Credit: Optical/Halpha: NASA/ESA/STScI; Radio: ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A paper led by Osase Omoruyi of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard
& Smithsonian (CfA) describing these results has recently been
published in The Astrophysical Journal and is <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.06762">available online here</a>.
The authors of the paper are Grant Tremblay (CfA), Francoise Combes
(Paris Observatory, France), Timothy Davis (Cardiff University, UK),
Michael Gladders (University of Chicago), Alexey Vikhlinin (CfA), Paul
Nulsen (CfA), Preeti Kharb (National Centre for Radio Astrophysics —
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, India ), Stefi Baum (University
of Manitoba, Canada), Christopher O’Dea (University of Manitoba,
Canada), Keren Sharon (University of Michigan), Bryan Terrazas (Columbia
University), Rebecca Nevin (Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory),
Aimee Schechter (University of Colorado Boulder), John ZuHone (CfA),
Michael McDonald (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Hakon Dahle
(University of Oslo, Norway), Matthew B. Bayliss (University of
Cincinnati), Thomas Connor (CfA), Michael Florian (University of
Arizona), Jane Rigby (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), and Sravani
Vaddi (Arecibo Observatory)<br /><br />
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's Chandra X-ray Center controls
science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations
from Burlington, Massachusetts.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bouQkHDXMKA" width="320" youtube-src-id="bouQkHDXMKA"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bouQkHDXMKA">
Tour: Stellar Beads on a String</a></div><br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Visual Description:</b><br /><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">This is an image of a cluster of galaxies called SDSS J1531+3414 in X-ray, optical, and radio light. The overall scene resembles a colorful display of lights as if viewed through a wet, glass window.<br /><br />
Blurry orange dots of different sizes are scattered across a black background. These orange dots are entire galaxies. Near the center of the image, two central galaxies appear as bright, white dots. Star clusters, resembling beads on a string in shades of electric blue, sweep over the galaxy on the left, through the space in between the galaxy pair, and then lightly coil beneath both galaxies. Clouds of blue, X-ray light, and dark pink, radio light, surround the two galaxies.<br /><br />
The blue cloud spreads out for thousands of light-years toward the region above the central galaxies. The dark pink cloud, somewhat resembling the shape of an upside down spinning top toy, stretches far below the two galaxies and slightly toward our left. This dark pink cloud represents the remains of a powerful jet, produced by a supermassive black hole within one of the two central galaxies. In the upper right corner of the image, another dark pink cloud is present. This cloud may be the relic of a counter-jet from the same black hole outburst.</span></div><br /><br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Fast Facts for (SDSS J1531+3414):</b><br /><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Scale: </b> Image is about 1.5 arcmin (1.4 million light-years) across.<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Category:</b></span> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_sources/galaxy_clusters.html"> Groups & Clusters of Galaxies</a><span style="color: #f1c232;">,</span> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_sources/blackholes.html">Black Holes</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Coordinates (J2000):</b> RA 15h 31m 10.66s | Dec +34° 14´ 25.71"<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Constellation:</b></span> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/constellations/coronaborealis.html">Corona Borealis</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Observation Dates:</b> 2 observations Oct 20 and 28, 2015<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Observation Time:</b> 34 hours (1 day 10 hours)<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Obs. ID:</b> 17218, 18689<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Instrument:</b></span> <a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/about/science_instruments.html#ACIS">ACIS</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>References:</b> Omoruyi, O. et al., 2024, ApJ, Accepted; </span><a href="https://www.arxiv.org/abs/2312.06762">arXiv:2312.06762</a><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Color Code:</b> X-ray: blue, purple; Optical: red, green, blue; Radio: dark pink<br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Distance Estimate:</b> About 3.8 billion light-years (z=0.335)<br /></span><br /><hr />
</div>Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-30821235125581013402024-02-25T00:00:00.135-03:002024-02-25T00:00:00.331-03:00The Radcliffe Wave is Waving <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ICkK3lR9I_nniROslN7_RE2zDJL3_AvvjK2uUH5Ts-q7YIzGT45qV4IhMZmg_VFBtjpGYNXxKTSNRu_t_zwFqK2gYJtTEXdat7Es0Fm6NP5c0hi5ABAYVQEsxlNFMUk7LYfriRq5aC4Su_H7pBCOCv6N8cpPHJ1VAEmi8ZU-51dset3VRkXJpw/s1700/image2_Wave_no-black-border-lores-pr022024.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1199" data-original-width="1700" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ICkK3lR9I_nniROslN7_RE2zDJL3_AvvjK2uUH5Ts-q7YIzGT45qV4IhMZmg_VFBtjpGYNXxKTSNRu_t_zwFqK2gYJtTEXdat7Es0Fm6NP5c0hi5ABAYVQEsxlNFMUk7LYfriRq5aC4Su_H7pBCOCv6N8cpPHJ1VAEmi8ZU-51dset3VRkXJpw/w640-h452/image2_Wave_no-black-border-lores-pr022024.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">How the Radcliffe Wave moves through the backyard of our Sun
(yellow dot). Blue dots are clusters of baby stars. The white line is a
theoretical model by Ralf Konietzka and collaborators that explains the
current shape and motion of the Wave. The magenta and green lines at the
beginning show how and to what extent the Radcliffe Wave will move in
the future. Background is a cartoon model of the Milky Way. Credit: Ralf Konietzka, Alyssa Goodman & WorldWide Telescope</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">A few years ago, astronomers
at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA)
uncovered one of the Milky Way's greatest secrets: an enormous,
wave-shaped chain of gaseous clouds in our sun’s backyard, giving birth
to clusters of stars along the spiral arm of the galaxy we call home.<br /><br />
Naming this astonishing new structure the <a href="https://sites.google.com/cfa.harvard.edu/radcliffewave/home" target="_blank">Radcliffe Wave</a>, in honor of the <a href="https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu" target="_blank">Harvard Radcliffe Institute</a> where the undulation was originally discovered, astronomers at CfA now report in <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.12596" target="_blank"><cite>Nature</cite></a>
that the Radcliffe Wave not only looks like a wave, but also moves like
one – oscillating through space much like "the wave" moving through a
stadium full of fans.<br /><br />
"By using the motion of baby stars born in the gaseous clouds along the Radcliffe Wave," said <a href="https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/people/ralf-konietzka" target="_blank">Ralf Konietzka</a>, the paper's lead author and a Ph.D. student at Harvard’s Kenneth C.
Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and CfA, "we can trace the
motion of their natal gas to show that the Radcliffe Wave is actually
waving."</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='640' height='350' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzbO7ImtEw_EJAipdfYmV-9mQo9FSxnAblTfhJhFuBQtZeGUX3jVCadOrtZMwSVCpaCc3sKzbn3DMY' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />How the Radcliffe Wave moves through the backyard of our Sun (yellow dot).
Blue dots are clusters of baby stars. The white line is a theoretical
model by Ralf Konietzka and collaborators that explains the current
shape and motion of the Wave. The magenta and green lines at the
beginning show how and to what extent the Radcliffe Wave will move in
the future. Background is a cartoon model of the Milky Way. Credit:
Ralf Konietzka, Alyssa Goodman & WorldWide Telescope</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In 2018 when University of Vienna professor <a href="https://www.joaoalves.org" target="_blank">João Alves</a> was a fellow at Harvard Radcliffe Institute, he worked with <a href="https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/people/catherine-zucker" target="_blank">Catherine Zucker</a> – then a Ph.D. student at Harvard and now a Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) astrophysicist at CfA – and <a href="https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/people/alyssa-ann-goodman" target="_blank">Alyssa Goodman</a>,
Robert Wheeler Willson Professor of Applied Astronomy at CfA, to map
out the 3D positions of the stellar nurseries in the sun’s galactic
neighborhood. By combining brand-new data from the European Space
Agency's Gaia mission with the data-intensive "3D Dust Mapping"
technique – pioneered by Doug Finkbeiner, a Harvard professor at CfA and
his team – they noticed a pattern emerging, leading to the <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2001.08748" target="_blank">discovery of the Radcliffe Wave in 2020</a>.<br /><br />
"It's the largest coherent structure that we know of, and it's really, really
close to us," said Zucker. "It's been there the whole time. We just
didn’t know about it, because we couldn’t build these high-resolution
models of the distribution of gaseous clouds near the sun, in 3D."<br /><br />
The 2020 3D dust map, which was developed at the CfA, clearly showed that
the Radcliffe Wave existed, but no measurements available then were good
enough to see if the wave was moving. But in 2022, using a newer
release of Gaia data, Alves' group assigned 3D motions to the young star
clusters in the Radcliffe Wave. With the clusters' positions and
motions in hand, Konietzka's team then determined that the entire
Radcliffe Wave is indeed waving.<br /><br />
The star clusters along the Radcliffe Wave move up and down, like people in a sports stadium doing
"the wave," creating a pattern that travels through our galactic
backyard.<br /><br />
"Similar to how fans in a stadium are being pulled back
to their seats by the Earth's gravity," said Konietzka, “the Radcliffe
Wave oscillates due to the gravity of the Milky Way."<br /><br />
Understanding the behavior of this 9,000-light-year-long, gargantuan structure in our
galactic backyard, just 500 light-years away from the sun at its
closest point, allows researchers to now turn their attention to even
more challenging questions. No one yet knows what caused the Radcliffe
Wave or why it moves the way it does.<br /><br />
"Now we can go and test all these different theories for why the wave formed in the first place," Zucker said.<br /><br />
"Those theories range from explosions of massive stars, called supernovae, to
out-of-galaxy disturbances, like a dwarf satellite galaxy colliding with
our Milky Way," Konietzka added.<br /><br />
The Nature article also includes a calculation on how much dark matter might be
contributing to the gravity responsible for the Wave's motion.<br /><br />
"It turns out that no significant dark matter is needed to explain the
motion we observe," Konietzka said. “The gravity of ordinary matter
alone is enough to drive the waving of the Wave."<br /><br />
In addition, the discovery of the oscillation raises new questions about the
preponderance of these waves both across the Milky Way and other
galaxies. Since the Radcliffe Wave appears to form the backbone of the
nearest spiral arm in the Milky Way, the waving of the Wave could imply
that spiral arms of galaxies oscillate in general, making galaxies even
more dynamic than previously thought.<br /><br />
"The question is, what caused the displacement giving rise to the waving we see?," Goodman
said. “And does it happen all over the galaxy? In all galaxies? Does it
happen occasionally? Does it happen all the time?"<br /><br />
The authors of the <i>Nature</i> paper are Ralf Konietzka, Alyssa A. Goodman and Catherine Zucker, all
from CfA, Andreas Burkert (Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial
Physics in Garching, Germany), João Alves (University of Vienna),
Michael Foley (Harvard graduate student at CfA), and Cameren Swiggum,
Maria Koller, Núria Miret-Roig, all from the University of Vienna.<br /><br />
<i>The National Science Foundation, NASA, ESA, and the European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant ISM-FLOW supported this work.</i></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://youtu.be/GY5xLRr5npE?si=lNND80MiK6BAbFuE"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="350" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GY5xLRr5npE" width="640" youtube-src-id="GY5xLRr5npE"></iframe></div>The Radcliffe Wave is Waving</a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Source:</span> <a href="https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/">Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA)</a></div><br /><hr /><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>About the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian</b></span><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">
The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian is a collaboration between Harvard and the Smithsonian designed to ask—and ultimately answer—humanity's greatest unresolved questions about the nature of the universe. The Center for Astrophysics is headquartered in Cambridge, MA, with research facilities across the U.S. and around the world.</span><br />
</div><div><span style="color: #f1c232;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Media Contact:</b><br /><br />
Peter Edmonds<br />
Interim CfA Public Affairs <br />
Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian<br />
+1 617-571-7279</span><br />
<a href="mailto:pedmonds@cfa.harvard.edu">pedmonds@cfa.harvard.edu</a><br /><br /><hr /></div>Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19249473.post-5622010170618621152024-02-24T00:00:00.118-03:002024-02-24T00:00:00.270-03:00 Magnetic Last Moments<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjBYWG3cmtlmE6IT8OgKefBcTJnPDOZ5gZR8019pUDDmRfDUHVJGpVvRl_XjhK_gvBwa1v6LQGkypfYugaPRmHZVFoZbM_FDPTNcYjvALQaabcCMZtpMkFzR1L4ElHzotYbqJmobNYE4l_i25ZLKQwtlpd50y84EewHvdR2OECbK_0EgO-VRDZQ/s900/featured-1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="488" data-original-width="900" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjBYWG3cmtlmE6IT8OgKefBcTJnPDOZ5gZR8019pUDDmRfDUHVJGpVvRl_XjhK_gvBwa1v6LQGkypfYugaPRmHZVFoZbM_FDPTNcYjvALQaabcCMZtpMkFzR1L4ElHzotYbqJmobNYE4l_i25ZLKQwtlpd50y84EewHvdR2OECbK_0EgO-VRDZQ/w640-h348/featured-1.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">An illustration of a small companion disintegrating around a black widow pulsar<br />
Credit:</span> <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/universe/with-a-deadly-embrace-spidery-pulsars-consume-their-mates/">NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center </a><br /></div><div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Black widow pulsars are cruel, fascinating beasts that have understandably attracted much attention. Recently, a new set of radio observations has shined light not on the pulsars themselves, but on the properties of their unlucky victims. <br /><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_5PVJsAgWhlvTGhD0_SbvLj-zPKwZKHlhCpKjMsbX1yUZlN5bnxY70E6x-Xgho34SBAR6gcpUca0xl8Lnnheq0VcQRfFhS6C3t3IrVAs2bAMQ51uyb6TZ4h6FC3hXaJeHUsT2ee-dEwcBIX7om7q2TgL55jT2o-TSkjM4TijsVAbQJUFRHs4x2g/s900/im1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_5PVJsAgWhlvTGhD0_SbvLj-zPKwZKHlhCpKjMsbX1yUZlN5bnxY70E6x-Xgho34SBAR6gcpUca0xl8Lnnheq0VcQRfFhS6C3t3IrVAs2bAMQ51uyb6TZ4h6FC3hXaJeHUsT2ee-dEwcBIX7om7q2TgL55jT2o-TSkjM4TijsVAbQJUFRHs4x2g/w640-h426/im1.png" width="640" /></a></div>An illustration of a black widow pulsar that includes the tail of the disintegrating companion<br />
Credit:</span><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/universe/with-a-deadly-embrace-spidery-pulsars-consume-their-mates/"> NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center</a><br /></div><div><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Cruel Stars</span></b><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Black widow pulsars, as their name suggests, easily rank among the deadliest creatures that roam our galaxy. These vicious beasts are a member of the pulsar family, meaning they are dense balls of neutrons formed during the collapse of a massive star. Similarly to a more peaceful (though still quite energetic) subset of their pulsar brethren, they spin so rapidly that they complete one rotation in less than a hundredth of a second. Unlike their docile counterparts, however, each black widow has trapped a low-mass companion into a nearby orbit. These companions, usually a small star or a brown dwarf, feel the full force of the intense radiation spewing from their captors. As the companion helplessly circles the pulsar, this radiation strips material away and peels the object apart. Eventually, the companion meets the same fate as the insolent soldiers who gazed upon forbidden artifacts in Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark: they melt into nothingness, unable to withstand the heat.<br /><br />
Astronomers have watched one of these monsters named PSR J2051−0827 slowly destroy an unlucky brown dwarf since the late 1990s. Recently, however, their view of this gruesome spectacle improved thanks to the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) in China. A team led by S.Q. Wang, Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, analyzed new observations taken with this facility to inspect the disintegrating brown dwarf in exquisite detail.<br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgytCy76SgVtxSndQS3RKJfIGCz5qlv4g1hfyFU5a8Jxc1l16W4m45otjZ565z7dgCSKKOzV2VbbeHU_wQAOOdkD-_FOc9YDxfIkUWTNsSVr46mL50aT8tb6GEAg42CBTcxxuCRu8rgnYFo_8rdUooM0iJlJgukS55vV7Vgma2724kqK6J4XFxjiA/s1870/im2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="987" data-original-width="1870" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgytCy76SgVtxSndQS3RKJfIGCz5qlv4g1hfyFU5a8Jxc1l16W4m45otjZ565z7dgCSKKOzV2VbbeHU_wQAOOdkD-_FOc9YDxfIkUWTNsSVr46mL50aT8tb6GEAg42CBTcxxuCRu8rgnYFo_8rdUooM0iJlJgukS55vV7Vgma2724kqK6J4XFxjiA/w640-h338/im2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="color: #f1c232;">Different measured quantities as a function of the brown dwarf’s orbital phase. The bottom plot show the rotation measure: the authors attribute the decrease between the dash-dotted and dashed vertical line to the tail’s magnetic field. Adapted from Wang et al. 2024</span> </div><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">An Unwilling Comet</span></b><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">As the doomed brown dwarf completes laps around the pulsar, the material blown off forms a long tail extending behind it, much like a scaled-up comet. This material slightly impedes our view of the system from Earth, and with periodic regularity, it causes different properties of the observed radio emission to shift around. The simplest of these properties is the brightness of the emission: When the densest part of the comet-like tail falls into our line of sight to the pulsar, some low frequencies are blocked entirely, while higher frequencies manage to shine straight through. These “eclipses” have been seen in this system and others in the past, and the range of frequencies blocked can help constrain the environment of the tail.<br /><br />
Besides simple intensity, astronomers can also measure a property known as the rotation measure (RM) of the emission. This slightly abstract quantity measures how the polarization of the emission has changed since it left the pulsar: radiation departs the black widow with a certain polarization, but any magnetized material it encounters along the way to our telescopes on Earth causes that polarization to shift slightly in a way that’s imprinted on the RM.
During the main eclipse, the relatively dense, turbulent material of the tail leaves the polarization scrambled in a way that makes it difficult to measure the RM. However, during the egress of the eclipse when the tail begins to thin out, Wang and collaborators discovered that the RM steadily decreased until it reached its steady, out-of-eclipse value. They infer that this shift is due to a magnetic field in the tail: the material that used to make up the outer atmosphere of the brown dwarf is slightly magnetized with a field strength of about 0.1 Gauss, a little weaker than Earth’s magnetic field at the surface.</div><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Novel, For Now</span></b><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The researchers note that this is the first time this orbital-phase-dependent change in the RM has been observed, meaning that it’s also the first precise measurement of the magnetic field in the material blown away from black widow’s a companion. However, with FAST now fully operational and proven capable of this kind of measurement, similar observations are likely to follow. We’re likely about to learn much more about the tragic futures of these low-mass companions, and in doing so, more about the pulsars that will bring about about their demise.</div><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">By</span> <a href="https://aasnova.org/author/ben/">Ben Cassese</a><br /><br />
<b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Citation</span></b><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">“Change of Rotation Measure during the Eclipse of a Black Widow PSR J2051−0827,” S. Q. Wang et al 2023 ApJ 955 36. </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acea81">doi:10.3847/1538-4357/acea81</a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Source:</span> <a href="https://aasnova.org/">American Astronomical Society/AAS-Nova</a></div><br /><hr /></div></div>Cmarchesinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12413209305001933627noreply@blogger.com