Astronomy posts
- April 13, 2012
- 02:46 AM
- 589 views
The Universe at the Speed of Light [Infographic]
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
I try to stay active on Twitter so that I can keep up with what’s happening in the world of #astronomy and #science. I actually learn a great deal from many of those that I follow (one of the reasons I love Twitter). One astronomer that I learn from regularly is Dr. Michael Brown (@plutokiller). [...]... Read more »
Richard Davies, Hauke Engel, Erin Hicks, Natascha Foerster Schreiber, Reinhard Genzel, Linda Tacconi, Frank Eisenhauer, & Sebastian Rabien. (2010) Dissecting Galaxies with Adaptive Optics. Conference Proceedings. arXiv: 1005.5010v1
- April 12, 2012
- 09:49 PM
- 948 views
Disassociate Galaxy Clusters
by The Astronomist in The Astronomist.
A dissociative galaxy cluster is a cluster of galaxies that just can't keep it together any longer. This may sound like an unnecessary anthropomorphication of galaxies, but it is actually a description of galaxy clusters which have collided and experienced stratification of their constituent parts. In the standard and successful model of cosmology the largest scale structures in the universe, like super clusters of thousands of galaxies, form via the merger of filamentary structures compose........ Read more »
Dawson, W., Wittman, D., Jee, M., Gee, P., Hughes, J., Tyson, J., Schmidt, S., Thorman, P., Bradač, M., Miyazaki, S.... (2012) DISCOVERY OF A DISSOCIATIVE GALAXY CLUSTER MERGER WITH LARGE PHYSICAL SEPARATION. The Astrophysical Journal, 747(2). DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/747/2/L42
Jee, M., Mahdavi, A., Hoekstra, H., Babul, A., Dalcanton, J., Carroll, P., & Capak, P. (2012) A STUDY OF THE DARK CORE IN A520 WITH THE : THE MYSTERY DEEPENS . The Astrophysical Journal, 747(2), 96. DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/747/2/96
Markevitch, M., Gonzalez, A., Clowe, D., Vikhlinin, A., Forman, W., Jones, C., Murray, S., & Tucker, W. (2004) Direct Constraints on the Dark Matter Self‐Interaction Cross Section from the Merging Galaxy Cluster 1E 0657−56. The Astrophysical Journal, 606(2), 819-824. DOI: 10.1086/383178
- April 12, 2012
- 02:00 PM
- 587 views
Workings of Nearby Planetary System Revealed
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
A new observatory still under construction has given astronomers a major breakthrough in understanding a nearby planetary system and provided valuable clues about how such systems form and evolve. Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have discovered that planets orbiting the star Fomalhaut must be much smaller than originally thought. This is the first [...]... Read more »
Aaron C. Boley, Matthew J. Payne, Stuartt Corder, William Dent, Eric B. Ford, & Megan Shabram. (2012) Constraining the Planetary System of Fomalhaut Using High-Resolution ALMA Observations. APJ Letters. arXiv: 1204.0007v1
- April 12, 2012
- 11:46 AM
- 614 views
Discovery of the Musket Ball Cluster
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
Using a combination of powerful observatories in space and on the ground, astronomers have observed a violent collision between two galaxy clusters in which so-called normal matter has been wrenched apart from dark matter through a violent collision between two galaxy clusters. The newly discovered galaxy cluster is called DLSCL J0916.2 2951 (referenced below). It is similar to the Bullet Cluster shown [...]... Read more »
William A. Dawson, David Wittman, Myungkook Jee, Perry Gee, John P. Hughes, J. Anthony Tyson, Samuel Schmidt, Paul Thorman, Marusa Bradac, Satoshi Miyazaki.... (2011) Discovery of a Dissociative Galaxy Cluster Merger with Large Physical Separation. 2012 ApJ 747 L42. arXiv: 1110.4391v2
- April 11, 2012
- 04:37 PM
- 616 views
Sandstorms in Space
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
A team of researchers have used new techniques which allowed them to look into the atmospheres of distant, dying stars. The team, lead by Barnaby Norris from the University of Sydney in Australia, includes scientists from the Universities of Manchester, Paris-Diderot, Oxford and Macquarie University, New South Wales. They used the Very Large Telescope in [...]... Read more »
Norris, B., Tuthill, P., Ireland, M., Lacour, S., Zijlstra, A., Lykou, F., Evans, T., Stewart, P., & Bedding, T. (2012) A close halo of large transparent grains around extreme red giant stars. Nature, 484(7393), 220-222. DOI: 10.1038/nature10935
- April 11, 2012
- 02:39 PM
- 336 views
Psychology vs Astrology
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic
Are personality tests any more accurate than astrology?A lovely study I just came across examined this question: Science Versus the Stars. The researchers took 52 college students and got them to complete a standard NEO personality questionnaire. They also had to state the date, time and place of their birth.Three weeks later, the participants were then given two personality summaries - one based on the personality tests, and one on their astrological chart generated with a computer program.The ........ Read more »
Wyman, A., & Vyse, S. (2008) Science Versus the Stars: A Double-Blind Test of the Validity of the NEO Five-Factor Inventory and Computer-Generated Astrological Natal Charts. The Journal of General Psychology, 135(3), 287-300. DOI: 10.3200/GENP.135.3.287-300
- April 11, 2012
- 01:56 PM
- 656 views
Could ‘Advanced’ Dinosaurs Rule Other Planets?
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
New scientific research (referenced below) raises the possibility that advanced versions of T. rex and other dinosaurs — monstrous creatures with the intelligence and cunning of humans — may be the life forms that evolved on other planets in the universe. “We would be better off not meeting them,” concludes the study, which appears in the Journal of the [...]... Read more »
Breslow, R. (2012) Evidence for the Likely Origin of Homochirality in Amino Acids, Sugars, and Nucleosides on Prebiotic Earth. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2147483647. DOI: 10.1021/ja3012897
- April 11, 2012
- 07:25 AM
- 688 views
Let’s Explore ‘Light Echoes’ in Space
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
Astronomers have learned a great many things via the study of variable stars throughout the years. Perhaps some of the most exciting phenomena studied by scientists involve those which emit bright pulses of light during eruptive or disruptive events (such as novae or supernovae). Because of the light emitted, there is actually a brief period [...]... Read more »
A. Rest, B. Sinnott, & D. L. Welch. (2012) Light Echoes of Transients and Variables in the Local Universe. PASA. arXiv: 1204.1341v1
Rest A, Suntzeff NB, Olsen K, Prieto JL, Smith RC, Welch DL, Becker A, Bergmann M, Clocchiatti A, Cook K.... (2005) Light echoes from ancient supernovae in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Nature, 438(7071), 1132-4. PMID: 16372003
Rest, A., Sinnott, B., Welch, D., Narayan, G., Mandel, K., Huber, M., & Blondin, S. (2011) ON THE INTERPRETATION OF SUPERNOVA LIGHT ECHO PROFILES AND SPECTRA. The Astrophysical Journal, 732(1), 2. DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/732/1/2
- April 3, 2012
- 02:08 PM
- 673 views
New Study: History of Early Solar System
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
The early days of our solar system might look quite different than previously thought, according to research at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory published in Science. The study used more sensitive instruments to find a different half-life for samarium, one of the isotopes used to chart the evolution of the solar system. [...]... Read more »
Kinoshita, N., Paul, M., Kashiv, Y., Collon, P., Deibel, C., DiGiovine, B., Greene, J., Henderson, D., Jiang, C., Marley, S.... (2012) A Shorter 146Sm Half-Life Measured and Implications for 146Sm-142Nd Chronology in the Solar System. Science, 335(6076), 1614-1617. DOI: 10.1126/science.1215510
- April 3, 2012
- 01:06 PM
- 308 views
Supernova turns inside out and kicks neutron star
by Kelly Oakes in Basic Space
Astronomers have taken a fresh look at an old supernova and found that it was turned inside out during its explosion. Iron, which forms during the stars death, is usually in the centre of the supernova remnant. But in Cassiopeia A they found it on the outside instead.
This analysis has also shed some light on a phenomenon called ‘neutron star kick’, in which the neutron star formed in a supernova recoils during the explosion.... Read more »
Una Hwang, & J. Martin Laming. (2011) A Chandra X-ray Survey of Ejecta in the Cassiopeia A Supernova Remnant. ApJ. arXiv: 1111.7316v1
- April 2, 2012
- 11:12 AM
- 724 views
Honing in on Dark Energy & Neutrinos
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
Analysis of data from the 10-meter South Pole Telescope is providing new support for the most widely accepted explanation of dark energy — the source of the mysterious force that is responsible for the accelerating expansion of the universe. The results also are beginning to hone in on the masses of neutrinos, the most abundant [...]... Read more »
C. L. Reichardt, B. Stalder, L. E. Bleem, T. E. Montroy, K. A. Aird, K. Andersson, R. Armstrong, M. L. N. Ashby, M. Bautz, M. Bayliss.... (2012) Galaxy clusters discovered via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect in the first 720 square degrees of the South Pole Telescope survey. The Astrophysical Journal. arXiv: 1203.5775v1
B. A. Benson, T. de Haan, J. P. Dudley, C. L. Reichardt, K. A. Aird, K. Andersson, R. Armstrong, M. Bautz, M. Bayliss, G. Bazin.... (2011) Cosmological Constraints from Sunyaev-Zel'dovich-Selected Clusters with X-ray Observations in the First 178 Square Degrees of the South Pole Telescope Survey. The Astrophysical Journal. arXiv: 1112.5435v1
- April 2, 2012
- 02:04 AM
- 680 views
How black holes grow
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
A study (referenced below) led by a University of Utah astrophysicist found a new explanation for the growth of supermassive black holes in the center of most galaxies: they repeatedly capture and swallow single stars from pairs of stars that wander too close. Using new calculations and previous observations of our own Milky Way and [...]... Read more »
Benjamin C. Bromley, Scott J. Kenyon, Margaret J. Geller, & Warren R. Brown. (2012) Binary Disruption by Massive Black Holes: Hypervelocity Stars, S Stars, and Tidal Disruption Events. The Astrophysical Journal. arXiv: 1203.6685v1
- March 31, 2012
- 05:58 AM
- 40 views
the new BOSS in town
by Rita in we are all in the gutter
I wrote the following post yesterday, but I fell asleep before I could do anything with it. It’s about the first set of results from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), part of Sloan Digital Sky Survey-III project, which we announced to the science community and to the press yesterday. How this whole project was [...]... Read more »
Lauren Anderson, Eric Aubourg, Stephen Bailey, Dmitry Bizyaev, Michael Blanton, Adam S. Bolton, J. Brinkmann, Joel R. Brownstein, Angela Burden, Antonio J. Cuesta.... (2012) The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: Baryon Acoustic Oscillations in the Data Release 9 Spectroscopic Galaxy Sample. arXiv. arXiv: 1203.6594v1
Ashley J. Ross, Will J. Percival, Ariel G. Sanchez, Lado Samushia, Shirley Ho, Eyal Kazin, Marc Manera, Beth Reid, Martin White, Rita Tojeiro.... (2012) The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: Analysis of potential systematics. arXiv. arXiv: 1203.6499v1
Rita Tojeiro, W. J. Percival, J. Brinkmann, J. R. Brownstein, D. Eisenstein, M. Manera, C. Maraston, C. K. McBride, D. Duna, B. Reid.... (2012) The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: measuring structure growth using passive galaxies. arXiv. arXiv: 1203.6565v1
Marc Manera, Roman Scoccimarro, Will J. Percival, Lado Samushia, Cameron K. McBride, Ashley Ross, Ravi Sheth, Martin White, Beth Reid, Ariel Sánchez.... (2012) The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: a large sample of mock galaxy catalogues. arXiv. arXiv: 1203.6609v1
Ariel G. Sanchez, C. G. Scoccola, A. J. Ross, W. Percival, M. Manera, F. Montesano, X. Mazzalay, A. J. Cuesta, D. J. Eisenstein, E. Kazin.... (2012) The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: cosmological implications of the large-scale two-point correlation function. arXiv. arXiv: 1203.6616v1
Beth A. Reid, Lado Samushia, Martin White, Will J. Percival, Marc Manera, Nikhil Padmanabhan, Ashley J. Ross, Ariel G. Sánchez, Stephen Bailey, Dmitry Bizyaev.... (2012) The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: measurements of the growth of structure and expansion rate at z. arXiv. arXiv: 1203.6641v1
- March 30, 2012
- 04:18 PM
- 477 views
Clocking an Accelerating Universe
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
Some six billion light years ago, almost halfway from now back to the big bang, the universe was undergoing an elemental change. Held back until then by the mutual gravitational attraction of all the matter it contained, the universe had been expanding ever more slowly. Then, as matter spread out and its density decreased, dark [...]... Read more »
Lauren Anderson, Eric Aubourg, Stephen Bailey, & et al. (2012) The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: Baryon Acoustic Oscillations in the Data Release 9 Spectroscopic Galaxy Sample. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society . arXiv: 1203.6594v1
Beth A. Reid, Lado Samushia, Martin White, & et al. (2012) The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: measurements of the growth of structure and expansion rate at z. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society . arXiv: 1203.6641v1
- March 29, 2012
- 05:05 PM
- 817 views
how do we find relativistic alien rockets?
by Greg Fish in weird things
Say that somewhere out there is a species of space-faring aliens which have relativistic rockets or warp drive technology that lets it travel between solar systems. Considering the sheer size of the universe, it's probably a good bet that at least one exists. And as these aliens are tooling around, their spacecraft will likely leave [...]... Read more »
Garcia-Escartin, J.C., & Chamorro-Posada, P. (2012) Scouting the spectrum for interstellar travellers. n/a. arXiv: 1203.3980v1
- March 29, 2012
- 11:15 AM
- 494 views
Astronomers Find Anomaly Around Ancient Black Hole
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
Using the IRAM array of millimetre-wave telescopes in the French Alps, a team of European astronomers from Germany, the UK and France has discovered a large reservoir of gas and dust in a galaxy that surrounds the most distant supermassive black hole known. Light from the galaxy, called J1120+0641, has taken so long to reach [...]... Read more »
B. P. Venemans, R. G. McMahon, F. Walter, R. Decarli, P. Cox, R. Neri, P. Hewett, D. J. Mortlock, C. Simpson, & S. J. Warren. (2012) Detection of atomic carbon [CII] 158 micron and dust emission from a z. APJ Letters. arXiv: 1203.5844v1
- March 22, 2012
- 03:00 AM
- 439 views
Variable Stars: Blinking the way to better distances since 1957
by Brooke N in Smaller Questions
A research team has used parallax to empirically find the distances to several variable stars, making calculations farther along the distance ladder more accurate and precise.... Read more »
G. Fritz Benedict, Barbara E. McArthur, Michael W. Feast, Thomas G. Barnes, Thomas E. Harrison, Jacob L. Bean, John W. Menzies, Brian Chaboyer, Luca Fossati, Nicole Nesvacil.... (2011) Distance Scale Zero-Points from Galactic RR Lyrae Star Parallaxes. Astronomical Journal. arXiv: 1109.5631v1
- March 21, 2012
- 08:05 AM
- 457 views
Let’s Explore the Formation & Migration of Planets
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
Scientists from the University of Cambridge and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) recently released a paper – Recent Developments in Planet Migration Theory (referenced below) that has some interesting implications for extrasolar planetary studies. I thought a brief discussion of this topic might be beneficial to those of you that are interested in learning more about: [...]... Read more »
Clément Baruteau, & Frédéric Masset. (2012) Recent developments in planet migration theory. Tidal effects in Astronomy and Astrophysics. arXiv: 1203.3294v1
Chambers, J. (2009) Planetary Migration: What Does It Mean for Planet Formation?. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 37(1), 321-344. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.earth.031208.100122
Tanigawa, T. (2008) Migration of protoplanets: Effects on terrestrial planet formation. Planetary and Space Science, 56(13), 1758-1763. DOI: 10.1016/j.pss.2008.07.011
Harpaz, A. (1991) The formation of a planetary nebula. The Physics Teacher, 29(5), 268. DOI: 10.1119/1.2343311
Lucy, L. (1967) Formation of Planetary Nebulae. The Astronomical Journal, 813. DOI: 10.1086/110452
- March 19, 2012
- 09:34 PM
- 619 views
Astronomers discover rare ‘emerald-cut’ galaxy
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
An international team of astronomers has discovered a rare square galaxy with a striking resemblance to an emerald cut diamond. The astronomers – from Australia, Germany, Switzerland and Finland – discovered the rectangular shaped galaxy within a group of 250 galaxies some 70 million light years away. “In the Universe around us, most galaxies exist [...]... Read more »
Alister W. Graham, Lee R. Spitler, & Duncan A. Forbes. (2012) LEDA 074886: A REMARKABLE RECTANGULAR-LOOKING GALAXY. The Astrophysical Journal. info:/
- March 19, 2012
- 07:03 AM
- 600 views
Astrobiologists Discover Life Components in Meteorites…Maybe
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
New NASA research suggests that creating the building blocks of life might not necessary be as hard as previously assumed. This research means that certain components of those building blocks could have been delivered to Earth in the form of comets and meteorites. The research also advocates the idea that these building blocks could be [...]... Read more »
BURTON, A., ELSILA, J., CALLAHAN, M., MARTIN, M., GLAVIN, D., JOHNSON, N., & DWORKIN, J. (2012) A propensity for n-ω-amino acids in thermally altered Antarctic meteorites. Meteoritics . DOI: 10.1111/j.1945-5100.2012.01341.x
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