Hubble Zooms in on a Magnified Galaxy
February 4, 2012
Thanks to the presence of a natural “zoom lens” in space, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope got a uniquely close-up look at the brightest “magnified” galaxy yet discovered.
This observation provides a unique opportunity to study the physical properties of a galaxy vigorously forming stars when the universe was only one-third its present age.
A so-called gravitational lens is produced when space is warped by a massive foreground object, whether it is the Sun, a black hole, or an entire cluster of galaxies. The light from more-distant background objects is distorted, brightened, and magnified as it passes through this gravitationally disturbed region.
Magnetic Fields Set Stage for Birth of New Stars
November 21, 2011
Astronomers at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy have, for the first time, measured the alignment of magnetic fields in gigantic clouds of gas and dust in a distant galaxy. Their results suggest that such magnetic fields play a key role in channeling matter to form denser clouds, and thus in setting the stage for the birth of new stars.
The work is being published in the journal Nature.
Stars and their planets are born when giant clouds of interstellar gas and dust collapse. You’ve probably seen the resulting stellar nurseries in beautiful astronomical images: Colorful nebulae, lit by the bright young stars they have brought forth.
Longstanding Mysteries About Cygnus X-1 Unraveled
November 19, 2011
For the first time, astronomers have produced a complete description of a black hole, a concentration of mass so dense that not even light can escape its powerful gravitational pull. Their precise measurements have allowed them to reconstruct the history of the object from its birth some six million years ago.
Using several telescopes, both ground-based and in orbit, the scientists unravelled longstanding mysteries about the object called Cygnus X-1, a famous binary-star system discovered to be strongly emitting X-rays nearly a half-century ago. The system consists of a black hole and a companion star from which the black hole is drawing material. The scientists’ efforts yielded the most accurate measurements ever of the black hole’s mass and spin rate.
How Galaxies Form: Dark Matter Theory Conflict Resolved
January 14, 2010
For more than two decades, the cold dark matter theory has been used by cosmologists to explain how the smooth universe born in the big bang more than 13 billion years ago evolved into the filamentary, galaxy-rich cosmic web that we see today.
There’s been just one problem: the theory suggested most galaxies should have far more stars and dark matter at their cores than they actually do. The problem is most pronounced for dwarf galaxies, the most common galaxies in our own celestial neighborhood. Each contains less than 1 percent of the stars found in large galaxies such as the Milky Way.
Now an international research team, led by a University of Washington astronomer, reports Jan. 14 in Nature that it resolved the problem using millions of hours on supercomputers to run simulations of galaxy formation (1 million hours is more than 100 years). The simulations produced dwarf galaxies very much like those observed today by satellites and large telescopes around the world.
Lowell Observatory Participates in Heritage Preservation’s Conservation Assessment Program
December 29, 2009
Flagstaff, Ariz. — Lowell Observatory and Heritage Preservation are pleased to announce that the Observatory has been chosen to participate in the 2010 Conservation Assessment Program (CAP). Lowell Observatory joins 2,700 museums that have participated in CAP in its 20-year history of serving small museums. Heritage Preservation’s CAP is supported through a cooperative agreement with the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services. CAP assists museums by providing funds for professional conservation and preservation specialists to identify conservation needs of their collections and historic buildings and recommend ways to correctly improve collections and the conditions of buildings. “Lowell Observatory is making the vital work of caring for collections and sites a priority, even in these challenging financial times, and is helping ensure that they are available to present and future generations,” said Lawrence L. Reger, Historic Preservation’s President.
“We have taken the first step in identifying and preserving our collections and historic buildings,” said Antoinette Beiser, manager of Lowell Observatory’s library and archives.
Through this program, CAP will provide a general conservation assessment of the Observatory’s collections and historic buildings. A professional conservator will spend two days surveying Lowell’s Mars Hill campus and three days writing a comprehensive report to identify conservation priorities. The on-site consultation will enable Lowell Observatory to evaluate its current collections care policies, procedures and environmental conditions. The assessment report will allow the Observatory to seek funding to make appropriate improvements for the immediate, mid-range, and long-term care of important historic structures and collections.
About Historic Preservation
Historic Preservation is a national non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of the United States. By identifying risks, developing innovative programs, and providing broad public access to expert advice, Heritage Preservation assists museums libraries, archives, historic preservation and other organizations, as well as individuals, in caring for our endangered heritage. To learn more, visit www.heritagepreservation.org.
About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute’s mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. To learn more, visit www.imls.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Please Contact:
Steele Wotkyns, Public Relations Manager, Lowell Observatory, (928) 233-3232, steele[at]lowell[dot]edu
or:
Antoinette Beiser, Manager, Library and Archives, Lowell Observatory, (928) 233-3216, asb[at]lowell[dot]edu
First Light Instrument for the Discovery Channel Telescope to Accelerate Outer Solar System Research
December 17, 2009
When Lowell Observatory’s 4.2-meter Discovery Channel Telescope delivers its first science results in a few years, some of those results are expected to help astronomers understand much more about the composition and character of the outer solar system, especially a sparse population of small icy bodies called the Kuiper Belt. This is fitting. Lowell Observatory astronomers have been leading in this area since Pluto was discovered in 1930. This work has continued through a program known as the Deep Ecliptic Survey, ongoing research on the Kuiper Belt, and direct involvement in New Horizons, NASA’s Pluto-Kuiper Belt Mission.
The newest and most advanced tool for this work is called NIHTS (pronounced “nights”), the Near-Infrared High-Throughput Spectrograph. NIHTS will be used to carry out a new research program, the Kuiper Spectral Survey (KSS).
Suzaku Catches Retreat of a Black Hole’s Disk
December 14, 2009
Studies of one of the galaxy’s most active black-hole binaries reveal a dramatic change that will help scientists better understand how these systems expel fast-moving particle jets.
Binary systems where a normal star is paired with a black hole often produce large swings in X-ray emission and blast jets of gas at speeds exceeding one-third that of light. What fuels this activity is gas pulled from the normal star, which spirals toward the black hole and piles up in a dense accretion disk.
Planet X, 2012 and the End of the World
December 10, 2009
Are you familiar with Planet X? If not, you will be.
Planet X, also known as Nibiru, supposedly passes through our solar system every 3,600 years leaving death and destruction in its wake. The planet was first spotted by astronomers in the early 1980s and has been tracked by infrared observatories ever since.
If Nibiru enters our solar system, there could be a catastrophic effect on Earth. The poles could shift, extreme natural disasters could increase and the sun might be blotted out by the dust left by Planet X for some 40 years, killing most life forms on Earth.
The Drake Equation and How It Helps SETI
December 1, 2009
In 1960 Dr Frank Drake attempted to create a way to guess how many intelligent civilizations like our own would arise in our galaxy and in the universe. The question of if we’re alone has driven astronomy and space exploration for centuries and is one of the greatest unanswered questions we have left.
What Drake wanted to do was to try and work out how likely it was that we’d ever make contact with another civilization, or if the probability of intelligence arising was so remote that we’d spend our time very much alone. The result of his attempts is the now famous Drake Equation, the formula that essentially powers SETI and helps astronomers to focus their searches for artificial signals in the universe.
Why should the U.S. Continue to Pursue the Exploration of Space
October 24, 2008
There are people in the U.S. that claim our National space program is a waste of money, and this money would be better spent; feeding the hungry, paying down the national debt, increasing spending on education, and the list of reasons goes on and on. The fact of the matter is the entire U.S. space program is only a tiny fraction of the overall yearly budget, estimated at somewhere between 0.7% and 0.8%. The American space program costs the average American less than $60 a year in taxes; that is less than the average person spends on food or entertainment or their cell phone bill each month! As for the benefits, the technological contributions we receive back for this small expenditure vastly outweighs the up front costs.
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