When he was growing up, Jonathan LeyVa thought hed follow his passion for race cars and pick a profession in automotive engineering. Instead hes working on what will become one of the worlds most sensitive searches for dark matter, the invisible substance that accounts for more than 85%of the mass of the universe.

LeyVa works in a clean room at the Department of Energys SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, where crews are building detectors for the latest in a series ofSuper Cryogenic Dark Matter Search, or SuperCDMS,experiments. As an early-career physicist, part of his job is keeping track of how much exposure to cosmic rayshigh-energy particles falling in from spacethe detector components are getting. Researchers want to keep that exposure to a minimum because it could harm their ability to detect dark matter later on.

Ive been interested in cosmology since my senior year in college, LeyVa says, so Im lucky enough to be able to contribute to an exciting project like this at the frontline of dark matter research.

As a freshman at Santa Clara University, LeyVa started out in mechanical engineering, following his childhood dream of doing something with cars. But he soon realized that the field wasnt for him. Inspired by his dad, who holds a physics degree, and by his physics professor at Santa Clara, he began studying physics during his sophomore year.

Having been committed to engineering at first, making this switch was quite daunting, LeyVa says. But he quickly got into the physics world and completed his undergraduate studies in 2017.

Around the time of his graduation, Santa Clara Professor Betty Young suggested that LeyVa spend some time inKent Irwins labat Stanford University, where Young is a visiting scholar. There he learned about SQUIDssuperconducting quantum interference devices used in precision sensors, including those for dark matter searches with SuperCDMS.

This experience got LeyVa hooked on dark matter, whose nature is still unknown and one of the biggest mysteries of modern physics.

He spent the following year with Blas Cabreras team at Stanford, looking for ways of making future SuperCDMS detectorsmore sensitive to lightweight dark matter particles. In 2018he became a member of the SuperCDMS group at SLACs and StanfordsKavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, which is building detector towers for the current version of the experiment; its scheduled to begin its hunt for dark matter at the Canadian underground lab SNOLAB in the early 2020s.

Nowadays, LeyVa spends a lot of his time in a clean room at SLAC, supporting the SuperCDMS team in assembling the detector towers.

SuperCDMS SNOLAB will initially have four towers, each containing a stack of six silicon and germanium crystals and a bunch of sensitive electronics. Cooled down to almost absolute zero temperature, the crystals will vibrate ever so slightly if a dark matter particle rushes through them, and its these tiny vibrations that the experiment will be looking for.

A major challenge in building the experiment is that the crystals and other detector components are sensitive to particle showers produced when cosmic rays hit the atmosphere. These showers cause unwanted background signals that could make it hard to pick up potential dark matter signals. Thats why the experiment at SNOLAB will operate 6800 feet underground, where its protected from those effects.

It also means that the SuperCDMS team must limit how much detector components are exposed to cosmic rays during the construction of the experiment. Components for the detector towers, for example, are kept three stories underground in a tunnel at Stanford, where they are relatively protected. For the tower assembly and testing, they are brought to SLAC, but each tower can spend only a total of a week at the surface. LeyVa is like a cosmic-ray bookkeeper, closely tracking and logging the number of hours that crystals and hundreds of other detector components are being handled at the lab. Working closely with the teams software developers, hes maintaining and improving the database for that task.

In addition, hes involved in a number of other parts of the project, including noise studies of the system that will collect SuperCDMS data and R&D for future generations of the experiment.

Working on SuperCDMS is just the type of hands-on experience LeyVa enjoys. He loves to experimentat work and in his spare time. It seems that I have too many hobbies for my own good, he says jokingly.

In college, LeyVa volunteered on film crews, which involved him in videography, lighting and acting for several productions. As a media systems technician at his university he set up large-scale sound and video systems for important events. One of the most memorable ones, he says, was a talk by actor Martin Sheen.

Sheen talked about social justice and activism, and I remember his presence created quite a buzz at SCU, he says. I grew up seeing him in some of my favorite movies. He seemed to be a very warm, kind person.

LeyVa is also into photographyan interest that was sparked by his parents. In the early 2000s up to about 2010-ish both my parents ran an advertising agency, taking jobs from some Silicon Valley tech companies. My dad would do photography and my mom would do editing work and graphic design, he says. My parents and my activities in college were influences that may have inspired me to fiddle with instruments in more depth.

In SLACs clean room he continues to find inspiration. SuperCDMS allows him to work on many sides of the projects science and technology, which he considers to be a great learning experience.

Right now, LeyVas planning his next steps in life, such as going to grad school. Particle physics with an emphasis on cosmology and astrophysics is what interests me the most, so becoming involved in cutting-edge cosmological research has been a dream come true for me, he says. Its motivating me to take it to the next level and follow in the footsteps of the great researchers Im working with.

Editor's note: This article is adapted from anarticleoriginally published by SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

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A day in the life of a cosmic-ray 'bookkeeper' - Symmetry magazine

Missouri S&T has joined the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) as one of 11 international institutions that are collaborating to define the force causing the accelerated expansion of the universe.

The cosmic acceleration is one of the biggest mysteries in our fundamental physics, says Dr. Shun Saito, cosmologist, assistant professor of physics and leader of Missouri S&Ts HETDEX research group.

To explain this phenomenon we believe began 5 billion years ago, we must introduce an unknown energy component with negative pressure into the universe. That component is what we now call dark energy, Saito says.

Two independent scientific teams unexpectedly discovered cosmic acceleration in 1998. They had initially set out to prove the deceleration of the universe based on a common belief that the universe was dominated by matter, and that its expansion would be slowed down by the pull of gravity. Their discovery that the expansion was not slowing down, but actually accelerating, led to the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics for three members of those teams.

Saito says the best prevailing model to define dark energy is the cosmological constant Einsteins concept of the energy density or vacuum energy of space he introduced in 1917 when he wantedto stop the universe from collapsing.

HETDEX is stepping into unexplored territory of the universe, says Saito. The discovery potential ofthe experiment is huge we may be able to find that dark energy isnt Einsteins cosmological constant, and this would require a newunderstanding of fundamental physics.

To pursue this quest, Missouri S&T recently joined HETDEX through a memorandum of understanding between the University of Missouri Board of Curators on the recommendation of S&Ts physics department, and the University of Texas at Austin on behalf of its McDonald Observatory, located in the Davis Mountains of West Texas.

The McDonald Observatory contains the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET), one of the worlds largest optical telescopes. It has a primary mirror made up of 91 hexagonal segments, and was recently upgraded to a usable aperture of 10 meters with a new wide-field instrument suite, specifically for the HETDEX project.

The immense light-gathering power of this telescope allows us to map out one million distant galaxies that are 9 to 11 billion light-years away, Saito says. Saito will contribute to HETDEX by analyzing the gigantic three-dimensional galaxy maps produced from a set of 78 spectrographs mounted on HET.

Intensity mapping is a novel technique for observing the large-scale structure of the universe its our future, says Saito. It gives us a more efficient and powerful way to extract cosmological information from the data. Even though the technique is mainly used by radio astronomers, we hope to pioneer it in the optical field with HETDEX.

HETDEX observations began in December 2017, and Saito expects the project to continue for about three years.

Over the last year, Missouri S&T has focused on further advancing its astrophysics program.

Saito joined S&T in January from the Max-Planck-Institute for Astrophysics in Germany, where as a postdoctoral researcher, he contributed his cosmological mapping expertise to HETDEX and other spectroscopic, or light-measuring, galaxy surveys. He also contributed to the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-III where space-time measurements were used to investigate dark energy.

Dr. Siddhartha Gurung-Lopez from Centro de Estudios de Fsica del Cosmos de Aragn in Spain recently joined S&Ts HETDEX research group to simulate realistic, computer-generated galaxy populations to compare to the HETDEX observations.

Missouri S&Ts astrophysics program is off to an excellent start, says Dr. Thomas Vojta, chair of the physics department and Curators Distinguished Professor of physics. With our participation in HETDEX and in the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory) Scientific Collaboration, we now have cutting-edge research groups in gravitational wave physics and in cosmology. S&T is keeping its eyes wide open to the sky.

HETDEX is a collaboration of The University of Texas at Austin,Pennsylvania State University, Texas A&M University, Ludwig MaximilianUniversity of Munich, Leibniz Institute for Astrophyics Potsdam (AIP), Max PlanckInstitute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Institutefor Astrophysics in Gttingen, The University of Oxford, The University ofTokyo and Missouri University of Science and Technology. Financial support isprovided by the State of Texas, the United States Air Force, the NationalScience Foundation, partner institutions and the generous contributions of manyprivate foundations and individuals.

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Missouri S&T joins dark energy experiment to solve accelerating cosmos mystery - Missouri S&T News and Research

AstronomyHow a discovery at a Hawaii volcano sparked a project with a history unlike anything else on campus

The unassuming observatory dome on the roof of the Physics and Biology Research Building, while unused today, has a storied past. Photo by Jackie Ricciardi

Every day, hundreds of BU students walk down Cummington Mall, unaware that they are passing by a fascinating and unique campus relic, with a story full of drama, mystery, near-disaster, and earth-shattering scientific intrigue.

The unassuming observatory dome on the roof of the Physics and Biology Research Building (PRB) has a storied past: it was built to house a telescope that was eventually used at the South Pole.

The story of this observatory began in 1990 when astronomers at Mauna Kea, a mostly underwater volcano on the island of Hawaii, detected carbon in interstellar clouds that was 10 times brighter than anyone had expected. Interstellar clouds are accumulations of gas, dust, and plasma between star systems in a galaxy. Astronomers can determine the chemical compositions of these clouds by studying the radiation they emanate. The unexpected abundance of carbon detected on Mauna Kea was excitingit could point to something new in the field of astronomy.

The notion was that there may be a lot of atomic carbon that weve never properly mapped, says Thomas Bania, a College of Arts & Sciences professor of astronomy. Carbon is a very important atomic element, and if theres a whole lot of carbon in atomic form that we dont know about, it completely changes the way we study the chemistry of the interstellar medium and the chemistry of molecular clouds, things like that. Detecting that much more carbon would radically change our understanding of the composition of significant portions of the Milky Way Galaxy, transforming our understanding of galactic evolution, the formation of stars and planets, and perhaps even the origin of life in the universe.

Eager to follow this lead, Anthony Stark, an astrophysicist at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, teamed up with Bania and a team of astronomers from BU and Harvard to create the Antarctic Submillimeter Telescope and Remote Observatory (AST/RO) project. Their group included BU astronomy doctoral students Maohai Huang (GRS00), Alberto Bolatto (GRS01), James Ingalls (GRS98), and undergraduate Edgar Castro (ENG95). Together, they set out to design and build a telescope from scratchone that they would eventually send all the way down to the South Pole for carbon observations.

Observational astronomers run into all sorts of issues when trying to operate a telescope in warmer environments: high wind speeds can shake the instruments, rapid temperature fluctuations cause metal and glass in the telescope to expand and contract, wet weather can damage the sensitive instrumentation, and nosy animals or errant birds can interfere with the telescope.

But these arent issues at the South Pole. It may not be a livable environment, but for over a century, astronomers have been conducting science in this inhospitable place, because with all the inconveniences of moderate climates, scientists have decided the benefits of what they might learn there make getting a bit cold worthwhile.

From 1990 to 1992, the AST/RO telescope was built from scratch at Bell Laboratories in New Jersey and BUs Scientific Instrument Facility in the PRB basement. Its design is called offset Gregorian: once light enters the telescope, it bounces off four mirrors that direct it into a room below, called a Coud room, where it is focused into an image.

As the telescope was being built, a team of BU Facilities Management & Planning workers constructed the test dome on the PRB roof. This was an ideal place to test the telescope since the rooftop had a clear view of the southern horizon (the Life Science & Engineering Building wasnt there yet). One challenge, though, would be getting the telescope up there. The elevator goes only as high as the fifth floorfrom there you have to climb another flight of stairs and then a ladder to get to the porthole that opens onto the roof. The AST/RO researchers made this climb every time they had to get to the observatory. That ladder is still the only way to get to the roof.

There was no way they could bring the telescope in pieces, one by one, up the ladder and through the two-foot-by-two-foot porthole. So the team installed a small crane inside the dome and used it to lift several of the telescope pieces from the fifth floor, through a series of hatchwaysand through a biology labto the observatory. The biggest telescope pieces had to be hoisted onto the roof from a crane outside the building.

Once everything was assembled on the roof, the team spent 18 months testing the instrumentation. Huang remembers spending many long nights at the test site, even taking naps in the control room below the telescope. But every so often, he would wander up to the rooftop dome and enjoy a few quiet moments in the Boston morning. There is nobody there, of course, he says, as the sun is just beginning to crest over the city skyline in the east, and you can see very faryou can see the Charles River, and everything.

In 1995, the AST/RO telescope was finally ready for the South Pole. The team packed it up in a green-painted wooden crate (nicknamed the Green Monster). Its journey to the South Pole took three weeks and multiple modes of transportation: Boston to Los Angeles via truck, Los Angeles to McMurdo Station in Antarctica by ship, then McMurdo to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station aboard a C130 military plane.

But it did not go gentle: on the first leg of the trip, the truck carrying it crashed on a highway near Little Rock, Ark. Bania recalls going down to assess the damage with James Jackson, a CAS adjunct professor of astronomy. We had the telescope, all of its computers, all of its electronics, all of the spares, all of the tools that it was going to take to put it back together, all of the documentation for an entire state-of-the-art high-frequency radio observatory in one truck, says Bania. He and Jackson had to decide if it was worth the risk to send the telescope down to the South Pole, or if they should just bring it back to Boston and take stock of the damage there, losing a year in the process.

They decided to send it down to Antarctica. Fortunately, their gamble paid offthe telescope arrived in working condition.

The AST/RO telescope operated at the South Pole from 1995 to 2001. Bania and his students went down every year during the Antarctic summer (winter in the Northern Hemisphere) to perform maintenance and keep it operational.

In the end, though, the project was deemed a flop. After 10 years of work, it turned out that, no, carbon was brighter for a different reasonand so there wasnt this vast reservoir of atomic carbon, Bania says. And proving a negative never leads to a sexy press release.

With that, AST/RO was unceremoniously boxed back up and left in a graveyard of other abandoned scientific instruments at the South Pole. Its now probably buried under ice.

For those who spent hours, days, weeks, and years of their lives on the project, however, it was hardly a flop; all four BU grad students who worked on it got their doctorates and are still doing astronomy research. Huang, for example, is a research professor at the National Astronomical Observatory of China, where he works on the science operation and data processing system for astronomical systems, including the Herschel Space Observatory. What I learned from AST/RO really directly goes into what Im working on now, Huang says. Controlling AST/RO was as difficult as controlling a telescope in space, he says: both are hard to access, so youd better make sure things work the first time. If something breaks, its going to take a very long time to fix.

And, almost 30 years later, the AST/RO test dome remains atop the southwest corner of PRB, a monument to the teams decade of work.

For those researchers like Bania, it stirs up mixed memories. On bad days, I think I wasted 10 years of my life, he says. On good days, I think, well, you know, I had the opportunity to build an observatory from the ground up and operate it. Not many people can say that.

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The Secret History of BU's PRB Observatory and the Telescope It Was Built to House | BU Today - BU Today

Astronomers have spotted three supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at the center of three colliding galaxies a billion light years away from Earth. That alone is unusual, but the three black holes are also glowing in x-ray emissions.

This is evidence that all three are also active galactic nuclei (AGN,) gobbling up material and flaring brightly.

This discovery may shed some light on the "final parsec problem," a long-standing issue in astrophysics and black hole mergers.

Astronomers found the three SMBHs in data from multiple telescopes, including the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS,) the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE.)

The three black holes are wrapped up in an almost unimaginably epic event; a merger of three galaxies. These triplet mergers may play a critical role in how the most massive black holes grow over time.

The astronomers who found it were not expecting to find three black holes in the center of a triple-galaxy merger.

"We were only looking for pairs of black holes at the time, and yet, through our selection technique, we stumbled upon this amazing system," said Ryan Pfeifle of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, the first author of a new paper in The Astrophysical Journal describing these results.

"This is the strongest evidence yet found for such a triple system of actively feeding supermassive black holes."

Triple black hole systems are difficult to spot because there's so much going on in their neighbourhood. They're shrouded in gas and dust that makes it challenging to see into. In this study, it took several telescopes operating in different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum to uncover the three holes. It also took the work of some citizen scientists.

They're not only difficult to spot, but rare.

"Dual and triple black holes are exceedingly rare," said co-author Shobita Satyapal, also of George Mason, "but such systems are actually a natural consequence of galaxy mergers, which we think is how galaxies grow and evolve."

(Hubble/Pfeifle et. al., arXiv, 2019)

The SDSS was the first to spot this triple-merger in visible light, but it was only through Galaxy Zoo, a citizen science project, that it was identified as a system of colliding galaxies.

Then WISE saw that the system was glowing in the infrared, indicating that it was in a phase of galaxy merger when more than one of the black holes was expected to be feeding.

The Sloan and WISE data were just tantalizing clues though, and astronomers turned to the Chandra Observatory and the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) for more confirmation. Chandra observations showed that there were bright x-ray sources in the center of each galaxy. That's exactly where scientists expect to find SMBHs.

More evidence showing that SMBHs were there arrived from Chandra and NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array(NuSTAR) satellite. They found evidence of large amounts of gas and dust near one of the black holes.

That's expected when black holes are merging. Other optical light data from the SDSS and the LBT provided spectral evidence that's characteristic of the three SMBHs feeding.

(NASA/CXC/NGST)

"Optical spectra contain a wealth of information about a galaxy," said co-author Christina Manzano-King of University of California, Riverside. "They are commonly used to identify actively accreting supermassive black holes and can reflect the impact they have on the galaxies they inhabit."

With this work, the team of astronomers have developed a way to find more of these triple black hole systems.

"Through the use of these major observatories, we have identified a new way of identifying triple supermassive black holes. Each telescope gives us a different clue about what's going on in these systems," said Pfeifle. "We hope to extend our work to find more triples using the same technique."

They may have also shed some light on the final parsec problem.

The final parsec problem is central to our understanding of binary black hole mergers. It's a theoretical problem that says when two black holes approach each other, their excessive orbital energy stops them from merging. They can get to within a few light years, then the merging process stalls.

When two black holes initially approach each other, their hyperbolic trajectories carry them right past each other. Over time, as the two holes interact with stars in their vicinity, they slingshot the stars gravitationally, transferring some of their orbital energy to a star each time they do it. The emission of gravitational waves also decreases the black holes' energy.

Eventually the two black holes shed enough orbital energy to slow down and approach each other more closely, and come to within just a few parsecs of each other.

The problem is, as they close the distance, more and more matter is ejected from their vicinity via sling-shotting. That means there's no more matter for the black holes to interact with and shed more orbital energy. At that point, the merging process stalls. Or it should.

Yet astrophysicists know that black holes merge because they've witnessed the powerful gravitational waves. In fact, LIGO (Laser Interferometry Gravitational-Wave Observatory) is discovering a black hole merger about once a week. How they merge with each other at the end is called the final parsec problem.

The team behind this study thinks that they might have an answer. They think that a third black hole, like they've observed in this system, could provide the boost needed to get two holes to merge.

As a pair of black holes in a trinary system approach each other, the third hole could influence them to close the final parsec and merge.

According to computer simulations, about 16% of pairs of supermassive black holes in colliding galaxies will have interacted with a third supermassive black hole before they merge.

Those mergers would produce gravitational waves, but the problem is that those waves would be too low-frequency for LIGO or the VIRGO observatory to detect.

(ESA/NASA/LISA)

To detect those, scientists may have to rely on future observatories like LISA, ESA/NASA's Laser Interferometer Space Antenna. LISA will observe lower frequency gravitational waves than LIGO or VIRGO and is better-equipped to find super-massive black holes merging.

The paper presenting these results is titled "A Triple AGN in a Mid-Infrared Selected Late Stage Galaxy Merger."

This article was originally published by Universe Today. Read the original article.

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Astronomers Find a Place With Three Supermassive Black Holes Orbiting Each Other - ScienceAlert

Renowned cosmologist speaks about major scientific discovery in her latest book

By Sara Abdelouahed, Collegian CorrespondentOctober 1, 2019

On Thursday, Sept. 26th, the Commonwealth Honors College began a year-long series of events celebrating its 20th anniversary at the University of Massachusetts. This preliminary event, the Williamson Lecture, featured world-renowned author and cosmologist Janna Levin.

The focus of Levins talk was her newest book, Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space, which explores the discovery of gravitational waves produced by black holes. Her knowledge and connections to those involved in the discovery allowed her to bring the story of the 50-year endeavor to life.

Honors College Dean Gretchen Gerzina introduced Levin with a brief summary of her background and experience. Levin is well known in the astronomy community for her work in understanding black holes and the cosmology of extra dimensions. She previously presented the NOVA show Black Hole Apocalypse on PBS, the shows first female presenter in 35 years. Along with her newest release, Levin has now published three books.

According to Gerzina, she is the rock star of astrophysics.

Her presence in the scientific community is known even to college students, including freshman physics major Garrett Mann. Mann had previously seen Levin on a YouTube show with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. Manns curiosity and desire to know how [blackholes] work drew him to the event to hear her speak in person.

Other students echoed his desire to learn more. Freshman biochemistry major Aurora OConnor came without prior knowledge of the subject matter.

I know nothing about black holes, OConnor said. Maybe I should learn something about them.

Levin highlighted the exciting ups and downs of the scientific breakthrough using metaphors, anecdotes, and humor, allowing listeners of all backgrounds to comprehend the significance of the feat.

When asked about her favorite aspect of talking to college students, Levin said that everyone was really engaged. Its so fun when people are that present and curious and energized.

Students were eager to ask questions after the discussion, quickly lining up for the opportunity to talk to Levin and have their copies of her book signed. Amherst Books sold Levins newest publication at the event.

Colby Pratt, a freshman astronomy major at the University, said that her personal interest drew her to the event. Not only did she want to better understand black holes, but she [wanted] to be able to share that with other people.

Levin shares a similar philosophy.

[Physics] is like a gift, it belongs to you, she explained. Its something you inherit as soon as you learn it and then its yours to teach to somebody else. She said that the ability to share learned information with others was something that [she] found just incredibly, overwhelmingly exciting.

The 20th Anniversary celebration of the Commonwealth Honors College continues on Oct. 1 with a lecture from Banu Subramaniam, titled A Scientific Renaissance: Gender, Race, and the Practice of Science.

Sara Abdelouahed can be reached at [emailprotected].

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Sounds of space: Janna Levin kicks off celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Commonwealth Honors College - The Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Enlarge / Bobby Braun, seen in Mission Control at NASA's Jet Propulsion, will move to the lab in early 2020.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has found a new leader for its Solar System exploration program, and the choice of Bobby Braun signals a willingness to adapt to the changing world of aerospace.

Braun, an engineer who specializes in cutting-edge technology, will join the NASA laboratory from the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he served as dean. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (or JPL) has led NASA's efforts to explore the Solar System with uncrewed spacecraft from the beginning.

"JPL has always been a special place to me," Braun said in an interview. "It is the center of our nation's planetary exploration efforts, with flagship missions that have rewritten our textbooks." Those missions have included the Voyager excursions through and beyond the Solar System, dedicated probes to Jupiter and Saturn, and multiple landings on Mars.

JPL's preeminence as the world leader in planetary probes is not in doubt, but several threatssuch as budget pressures and competition from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory for missionsmay have led Center Director Michael Watkins to conduct a broad search for a new leader of the lab's programs for Solar System exploration.

In a Monday memo to JPL employees announcing Braun's appointment to the position, effective January 15, 2020, Watkins wrote, "Over the past several months, I have conducted a national search for the right leader to carry forward implementation of our present planetary exploration missions and, in concert with the external community, plan the future of this enterprise which is critical to the Lab, NASA, and the nation."

Braun has experience working with JPL, as well as for NASAfrom 2010 to 2011, he served as the NASA chief technologist and created what is now the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate. But he also has spent half of his career in academia, so he is attuned to the needs of scientists who propose and lead these exploration missions, and he also has a reputation for working with private spaceflight companies to harness commercial ideas to improve government-led projects.

For example, Braun was heavily involved in setting up a partnership between JPL, NASA, and the rocket company SpaceX to use its Red Dragon proposal for the scientific exploration of Mars. This ultimately did not happen for a number of reasons, including the decision by SpaceX to move on to building the much larger Starship vehicle. But it is an example of Braun working beyond traditional means of Solar System exploration."Sometimes it takes somebody from the outside to bring organizations together around these kinds of ideas," Braun said.

As part of Braun's hiring, JPL will likely undergo a reorganization, according to Watkins' memo. The lab isconducting a study about merging significant portions of the existing Mars Exploration Directorate into the Solar System Exploration Directorate. This would bring about half of JPL's exploration activities under Braun's leadership of Solar System programs. The other half includes Earth science, astrophysics, and work JPL does for other NASA centers.

Braun will have to hit the ground running. The lab's next major mission, the Mars 2020 rover, is due to launch on July 17. Braun will also superintend work on an ambitious orbital mission to the Jupiter system focused on its icy moon Europa as well as the Psyche mission to a metallic asteroid. Both could launch in the early 2020s depending on budget and work schedules.

Beyond that, Braun said he hopes to further NASA's efforts to possibly find life elsewhere in the Solar System and help ensure that a long-awaited Mars Sample Return mission finally happens.

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NASA signals openness to change with new Solar System exploration hire - Ars Technica

Barbies You Can Be Anything campaign matches girls up with female mentors excelling in male-dominated fields.

Girls everywhere have been fans of Mattels iconic Barbie doll since the toy debuted in 1959. Victoria Kaspi, an astrophysicist at McGill University, was no different; she loved Barbies feminine clothing when she was a child, and played with the doll as much as she played with her Lego and math toys.

Barbie didnt serve as an inspiration for the career Dr. Kaspi has today. But Mattels You Can Be Anything campaign, in partnership with National Geographic, could be the inspiration some girls need to see themselves in male-dominated fields like astronomy. The campaign, which is in its fourth year, included the launch of five new Barbie dolls in careers where women are underrepresented, and a contest that sends girls from across Canada to spend a day with female mentors who work in those fields all in an effort to encourage girls to believe they can be anything. This years dolls represent the fields of astrophysics, polar marine biology, wildlife conservation, entomology and wildlife photojournalism. Dr. Kaspi, one of the mentors chosen for 2019, spent a day with her six-year-old mentee in August.

The five new dolls (left to right): astrophysicist, polar marine biologist, photojournalist, wildlife conservationist, and entomologist.

Barbie dolls are very popular among girls, Dr. Kaspi says. Getting these kind of careers to be normalized, to seem normal to little girls is one of the many things I think is important to do to increase the number of women in STEM.

The two visited Mont Megantic Observatory and the Astrolab museum near Sherbrooke, Quebec, and discussed astronomy, how astronomical equipment works and why understanding weather patterns is important for stargazing. Dr. Kaspi says the conversation went on naturally, as if the experience of women and girls together discussing the details of scientific research was a common experience. It was all presented in a positive light, Dr. Kaspi says. She adds that her mentee was really fun to be with, curious, inquisitive, a little shy.

Dr. Kaspi with her six-year-old mentee, Zoey.

Dr. Kaspi says there are intangible barriers that make it harder for women in science. You have to prove yourself a little bit more. You dont quite fit the mold, she says. To make your point in a crowd, or have your expertise trusted and believed, you have to go the extra mile to be accepted as an authority. She says the campaign isnt the one silver bullet that will solve the problem of underrepresentation of women in careers like hers, but its a step forward.

Sara Iverson, a professor at Dalhousie University, shared her marine biology expertise with an 11-year-old mentee as part of the campaign in July. They tagged sharks in the Atlantic Ocean and visited Dr. Iversons lab to meet graduate students and learn about the marine biology work the students do. Although the water was rough and half the boat crew got sick, including the little girl, Dr. Iverson says her mentee is a huge fan of sharks and was ultimately thrilled by the experience.

Its no secret Barbie has faced criticism for presenting an unrealistic body image and beauty standards. And over the years, the dolls interests and career choices have tended to fields traditionally associated with women shes been a teacher, ballerina, babysitter and baby doctor, just to name a few. But the fact that Mattel moved to creating dolls with different body types and different skin colours, and really trying to embrace different kinds of careers, I think thats a really good message, Dr. Iverson says.

My opinion is simply that little girls are going to play with Barbie, she adds. What better way to play with them than to use it to imagine a really cool career? I think outreach and education and messaging about imagining what you can do can come in all sorts of forms. And play is one of those forms.

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Canadian scientists team up with Barbie to help girls imagine a 'really cool career' - University Affairs

An artists impression of CSIROs ASKAP radio telescope detecting a fast radio burst (FRB). Scientists dont know what causes FRBs but it must involve incredible energyequivalent to the amount released by the Sun in 80 years. Credit: OzGrav, Swinburne University of Technology.

Astronomers studying the outskirts of a distant galaxy have discovered the galaxy sits in a serene ocean of gas.

The massive galaxy, which is about four billion light-years from Earth, is surrounded by a halo of gas that is much less dense and less magnetized than expected.

The finding was published on September 26, 2019, in the journal Science.

Co-author Associate Professor Jean-Pierre Macquart, from the Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), said gas on the outskirts of galaxies has traditionally been hard to study.

The halo of gas can actually extend out 10 times further than the stars in a galaxy, and can contain a substantial amount of the matter thats in a galaxy, he said.

But its very difficult to see the gas directly with a telescope.

Associate Professor Macquart said this discovery was made using a new technique involving fast radio burstspowerful flashes of energy from deep space.

Fast radio bursts come from all over the sky and last for just milliseconds, he said.

They involve incredible energyequivalent to the amount released by the Sun in 80 years.

Were not sure what causes them, and have only recently been able to pinpoint the galaxies they come from.

Associate Professor Macquart said the research team looked at how a single fast radio burst distorted as it traveled five billion light-years through the Universe.

Along the way, the burst shot through a galaxys halo of gas, like a lighthouses beam cutting through the fog.

Associate Professor Macquart said the researchers expected the signal from the fast radio burst to be distorted by the galaxy.

If you go out on a hot summers day, you see the air shimmering and the trees in the background look distorted because of the temperature and density fluctuations in the air, he said.

Thats what we thought would happen, that the signal from the fast radio burst would be completely distorted after passing through the hot atmosphere of the galaxy.

But instead of the stormy galactic weather we were expecting, the pulse we observed had traveled through a calm sea of unperturbed gas.

The finding suggests that galaxy halos are much more serene than previously thought, with gas that is less turbulent, less dense and less magnetized than expected.

One reason astronomers are so interested in galaxy halos is because they can help us understand why material is ejected from galaxies, causing them to stop growing.

An artists impression of Fast Radio Burst 181112 traveling through the halo of a galaxy 4 billion light-years from Earth. J. Josephides, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology.

University of California Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics J. Xavier Prochaska, who led the research, said halo gas provides a fossil record of these ejection processes.

So our observations can inform theories about how matter is ejected and how magnetic fields are transported from the galaxy, he said.

Professor Prochaska said the team now plans to test other galaxies.

Our research appears to reveal something entirely new about galactic halos, he said.

Unless of course, this galaxy happens to be just some weird exceptionand with only one object you cant be sure about that.

A fast radio burst leaves a distant galaxy, traveling to Earth over billions of years and occasionally passing through clouds of gas in its path. Each time a cloud of gas is encountered, the different wavelengths that make up a burst are slowed by different amounts. Timing the arrival of the different wavelengths at a radio telescope tells us how much material the burst has traveled through on its way to Earth and allows astronomers to detect missing matter located in the space between galaxies. Credit: CSIRO/ICRAR/OzGrav/Swinburne University of Technology.

The research used a fast radio burst that was detected in November by CSIROs Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), in outback Western Australia.

The telescope is a precursor to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), which will be the worlds largest radio telescope when its built in the next decade.

The study was led by Professor Xavier Prochaska from the University of California and involved 19 researchers from around the world.

We acknowledge the Wajarri Yamaji as the traditional owners of the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) site and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Read Galaxys Tranquil Halo Illuminated by Enigmatic Radio Burst for more coverage of this topic.

Reference: The low density and magnetization of a massive galaxy halo exposed by a fast radio burst (PDF) by J. Xavier Prochaska, Jean-Pierre Macquart, Matthew McQuinn, Sunil Simha, Ryan M. Shannon, Cherie K. Day, Lachlan Marnoch, Stuart Ryder, Adam Deller, Keith W. Bannister, Shivani Bhandari, Rongmon Bordoloi, John Bunton, Hyerin Cho, Chris Flynn, Elizabeth K. Mahony, Chris Phillips, Hao Qiu and Nicolas Tejos, 26 September 2019, Science.DOI: 10.1126/science.aay0073

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Astronomers Discover Massive Galaxy Surrounded by an Unexpected Halo of Tranquil Gas - SciTechDaily

Globular clusters, of which seem to have formed together with the Milky Way, among the oldest objects in the universe, provide astronomers with natural laboratories for the study of stellar evolution processes and, perhaps, some speculate, may harbor advanced extraterrestrial life. An international group of astronomers using the CanadaFranceHawaii Telescope (CFHT) and Keck Observatory, has zoomed in on a satellite globular cluster, Laevens 3, one of 160 known to orbit the Milky Way in its galactic outer halo.

Globular clusters are among the oldest objects that formed about 11.5 billion years ago, 2.3 billion years after the Big Bang and shortly before the rate of cosmic star formation reached its peak, 10 billion years ago. This period is known as cosmic high noon. The clusters are very bright and can be seen at very large distances, which means that they can give us clues as to how the galaxies were assembled during this period of maximum star formation, says astrophysicist Rosa Amelia Gonzlez-Lpezlira, researcher at the Institute of Radio Astronomy and Astrophysics of the National Autonomous University of Mexico who was not involved in the new study.

Possible Abodes of Advanced Civilizations

In January of 2016 we quoted Rosanne DiStefano of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) who said that a globular cluster might be the first place in which intelligent life is identified in our galaxy. Globular star clusters are extraordinary in almost every way. Theyre densely packed, holding a million stars in a ball only about 100 light-years across on average, dating back almost to the birth of the Milky Way. And according to DiStefanos research, they also could be extraordinarily good places to look for space-faring civilizations.

Globular Clusters Orbiting the Milky Way Might Be the First Place Intelligent Life is Identified (CfA)

Located some 470,00 light-years away from the Earth, Laevens 3 (or Lae 3 for short) discovered in 2015 using the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope is a faint cluster, about eight billion years old, with a half-light radius of around 23 light-years and low metallicity. To put its distance in perspective, the Milky Ways disk is only 100,000 light years across, or about an amazing sixth of the distance to the Andromeda Galaxy.

Observation of Laevens 3 Globular Cluster

Observations of such faint and distant satellite systems, reports Tomasz Nowakowski at Phys.org, could shed more light on the formation and evolution of our home galaxy, which inspired a new study by a team of astronomers led by Nicolas Longeard of the Observatory of Strasbourg in France.

We present a photometric and spectroscopic study of the Milky Way satellite Laevens 3. Using MegaCam/CFHT g and i photometry and Keck II/DEIMOS multi-object spectroscopy, we refine the structural and stellar properties of the system, the astronomers wrote in the paper.

Globular Cluster Opportunity Harbors Milky Ways Oldest Known Planet

The study found that Laevens 3 is larger and older than previously thought. The color-magnitude diagram shows that it is about 13 billion years old.

According to the paper, all the results suggest that the cluster exhibits the main characteristics of Milky Way outer halo globular clusters. Moreover, the study found that Laevens 3 showcases signs of mass segregation, which confirms the globular cluster nature of this system.

Overall, Laevens 3 shares the typical properties of the Milky Ways outer halo globular clusters. Furthermore, we find that this system shows signs of mass segregation, which strengthens our conclusion that Laevens 3 is a globular cluster, the researchers concluded with an outer halo orbit with a pericenter of about 133,000 light-years and an apocenter of approximately 279,000 light-years..The Daily Galaxy via Phys.org and New Scientist

The Hubble image at the top of the page, Messier 54, could be just another globular cluster, but this dense and faint group of stars was in fact the first globular cluster found that is outside our galaxy.

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"Abodes of Advanced Life?" --Oldest Objects in the Universe Orbiting the Milky Way - The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel

Katharine Hayhoe never meant to become a climate scientist. In fact, in college she started out studying astrophysics, but she needed one more class to finish her degree, and she found one in the geography department on climate science.

She said taking that class completely changed her perspective. It showed her that climate change isnt an environmental issue its an everything issue.

Since then, Hayoe has dedicated her life to the cause.

Shes now the director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University, and she was just named a U.N. Champion of the Earth, the United Nations highest environmental honor.

Shes also an evangelical Christian who wrote a book with her husband whos also a pastor called "Climate for Change: Global Warming Facts for Faith-Based Decisions."

She was in Phoenix for the Geological Society of Americas annual meeting last week. The Show spoke with her about her work and why she calls climate change a threat multiplier.

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Faith And The Environment: Why Climate Change Is An Everything Issue - KJZZ

Galactic gas: A bump in the radio road

When you think about the shape of a galaxy, most of us can imagine the Milky Way and its spinning disc of stars.

But where a galaxy ends, theres still a lot of material surrounding it an area referred to as the galactic halo.

Astronomers have been studying these haloes over the years with the hope of learning more about the life cycle of galaxies.

A group of physicists have discovered something unusual about the galactic halo, and it could be a piece in the puzzle of why galaxies stop growing.

Image|J. Josephides, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology.

An artists impression of Fast Radio Burst 181112 travelling through the halo of a galaxy 4 billion light-years from Earth.

To explain what was found by this multinational team of astrophysicists, we first need to talk about fast radio bursts (FRBs).

FRBs are powerful flashes of energy from deep space that appear for mere milliseconds in our night sky.

Depending on what these bursts pass through as you can see in the video below the light can arrive distorted in a variety of ways.

In November 2018, an FRB was detected that had passed through a galaxy 4 billion light years away.

This burst was picked up by the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope in outback Western Australia.

When this burst passed through the galaxy, researchers expected the wild and stormy gases in its galactic halo would distort the signal.

What they found instead was a tranquil sea of gas surrounding the galaxy.

Video|CSIRO/ICRAR/OzGrav/Swinburne University of Technology.

A fast radio burst leaves a distant galaxy, travelling to Earth over billions of years and occasionally passing through clouds of gas in its path

Galactic haloes have always been difficult to study, according to astrophysicist Associate Professor Jean-Pierre Macquart.

The halo of gas can actually extend out 10 times further than the stars in a galaxy and can contain a substantial amount of the matter thats in a galaxy, he says.

But its very difficult to see the gas directly with a telescope.

Jean-Pierre is from the Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), which manages ASKAP, and is a co-author of the study.

The study brought together astronomers from around the world with researchers from Australia, Japan, Korea, America and Chile.

He says the research team looked at how a single FRB distorted as it travelled 5 billion light years through the universe.

They believed the signal would be distorted by the galactic halo, much in the same way heat can cause air to shimmer.

Thats what we thought would happen that the signal from the fast radio burst would be completely distorted after passing through the hot atmosphere of the galaxy, says Jean-Pierre.

But instead of the stormy galactic weather we were expecting, the pulse we observed had travelled through a calm sea of unperturbed gas.

It means these gas haloes could be a lot less turbulent than astronomers thought, with less density and magnetisation.

Image|OzGrav, Swinburne University of Technology.

An artists impression of fast radio bursts (FRBs).

University of California Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics J. Xavier Prochaska led the research and says halo gas has a similar use to fossil records only on a galactic scale.

Our observations can inform theories about how matter is ejected and how magnetic fields are transported from the galaxy, he says.

Our research appears to reveal something entirely new about galactic haloes.

Unless of course, this galaxy happens to be just some weird exception and with only one object, you cant be sure about that.

Finding another FRB which has travelled through a galaxys halo is the next big test.

And if we find the same results, it could help us figure out why galaxies suddenly stop growing.

Continued here:

Galactic gas: A bump in the radio road - Particle

'Ad Astra' is an unique popcorn flick packed with adventure, excitement and drama.

By Jeffrey Epro, Collegian CorrespondentOctober 1, 2019

Ad Astra, starring Brad Pitt and Tommy Lee Jones, has been hailed as this years Interstellar. I walked into the theater expecting to be blown away with lots of science, character development and philosophical-thought-fostering questions. But out of all three, Ad Astra only delivers on one, maybe two and that is not necessarily a bad thing.

The opening scene is of Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) giving a meaningful monologue about his mission. Cosmic rays have been blasting the Earth from an unknown origin outside of Saturn. As McBride is en route to repair external damage of the satellite, he is hit yet again by another cosmic blast. It seems he is doomed, but he stays calm in the face of adversity. He becomes focused, analyzing the situation he is in and does everything in his power to stay conscious during his descent to Earth. After recovering from his fall, he is enlisted by the space agency yet again this time to travel to Mars and send a message to Neptune in hopes of establishing contact with his long-lost father, played by Tommy Lee Jones.

It is unfair to walk into Ad Astra with hopes of feeling scientifically satisfied. Even though the film is branded as a science fiction movie, director James Gray only puts emphasis on the fiction aspect of this genre. The science of Ad Astra, whether it be astrophysics or space travel, could have been written by a middle-schooler in a creative writing class, to the point where it is almost insulting. It feels like the writers made a conscious decision to involve as little science as possible. In one scene, while Clifford McBride is gathering himself in the safety of a spaceship traveling to another planet, his fellow astronauts are seen in the background amusing themselves by playing with food in zero gravity. Their whole purpose of this scene is to see the astronauts play with their food and laugh about it. Other examples include impossible zero gravity leaps from spacecraft to spacecraft, characters not being ripped apart by space shrapnel and space monkeys. Science and the accuracy of space travel wasnt just set on the back burner in this film, it never made it on the grill.

Despite failing to live up the science that is expected with a space movie, Ad Astra uses the genre of science fiction as a medium to convey a story. What makes science fiction unique is that it allows storytellers to explore ideas otherwise unavailable in other genres, such as infinite, extraterrestrial life and time dissonance. One might claim that the genre of fantasy or fiction can accomplish the same goal in expressing abstract ideas, but science fiction is different in the way that it involves modernity. The presence of political turmoil and social commentary enrich the world-building of Ad Astra.

Theres plenty of common genre tropes that are present in the movie. The only reason that there is even a resemblance of meaningful character development is because of the monologues delivered in the form of video transmissions and journal entries. Without these, the intentions and thoughts of the main character McBride would be completely unknown and viewers would be devoid of any sympathy for the characters in this film. At some points in the film I had to wonder if McBride was actually a superhero because of his robust showcase of strength and intelligence. His ability to make all the right decisions is astonishing, but he is emotionally unavailable due to trauma hes experienced as a young child. This internal struggle aims to be the heart of the film.

McBride is a textbook astronaut hero. It almost seems like propaganda at some points with how well Brad Pitt personifies a perfect American astronaut. Despite this, it is still entertaining to watch. McBride has never had his heartbeat break 80 BPM while hes in the field on a mission. He has a wife, but remains detached so his emotions do not impede his decision-making. He has dedicated his life to space. He lives by the Latin quote Per aspera ad astra through hardship to the stars.

Gray perfectly captures the essence of space with beautiful cinematic shots expressing the magnitude of the position that these astronauts are in. This is a beautiful constant throughout the movie and reinforces the idea that the astronauts are in a foreign yet shockingly stunning environment. Ad Astra is rife with gorgeous cinematography and production design.

All in all, Ad Astra is a beautiful mess. I didnt get the Interstellar that I was prodded to expect from the trailers, but it had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. If you can look past some of the questionable decisions that the writers made and some glaring plot holes, it is an action-packed and exciting movie to enjoy.

Jeffrey Epro can be reached at [emailprotected]

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'Ad Astra' is enjoyable, but fails to deliver on many expectations - The Massachusetts Daily Collegian

To learn more about how this site is arranged and how to navigate it, or for those new to Company Seven please Click Here. To learn more about the latest activities, web page changes, and developments at Company Seven then visit our News and Developments page. For those new to astronomy, we also provide Observing Plan Aids to help them learn the sky.

On 8 January 2019 we celebrate 39 years of defining competence and integrity as a business, with 35 of these years promoting our hobby and our international astronomy community from our Laurel, Maryland showrooms

39 & 35

We fondly remember:

Bruce Roy Wrinkle (b. 7 August 1945, d. 28 April 2013) was the soul of our showroom; kind, witty, intelligent, and able to greet you with a funny joke. Bruce was was amazingly well read, able to hold conversations with doctors and scientists on matters from prions to dark matter. And he was our friend, a true friend in every sense of the word and every day without him lacks some luster.

And Robert Kim Carter (b. 18 Jan 1962, d. 23 April 2005) whose friendship and support originally brought this site on line in 1994. Robert founded one of the first Internet Service Providers of "Internet Valley", Digital Gateway Systems, Inc. in Vienna, Virginia. DGS used to be to ISP's, as Company Seven is to our industry.

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Company Seven | Astro-Optics Index Page

Astronomy Ireland are run a twice yearly series of Evening Classes in many towns and cities all around the country.More details HERE

As the national astronomy society in Ireland with 3,000 active members and an even bigger public following we receive a lot ofrequests for information like this so we are very keen to provide a listing of every course in Ireland and you can help us bykeeping us up to date on changes or additions so we may keep this website up to date at all times.

Astronomy Ireland takes on people/students for Work Experience. Typically these are young people doing Transition Year studentsbut we also take on people doing FS courses and others. Email office@astronomy.ie or call 086 06 46 555.

There are still some copies of the Astronomy and Space educationsupplement with what to study and where. Be sure you get your copy.

Astrophysics DeptTel:(021) 4903211

B.Sc in Physics with AstronomyCourse Director: Dr. Enda McGlynnTel: (01) 7005000

Physics with Astronomy and Space ScienceCourse Director: Lorraine HanlonTel: (01) 7162214

B.Sc. in Physics with AstrophysicsCourse Director: Ray ButlerTel: (091) 493788Email: ray.butler@nuigalway.ie

Physics with AstrophysicsHead of Department: Prof. J. Anthony MurphyTel: (01) 7083771

Physics with AstrophysicsHead of School: Prof. James Lunney.Head of Astrophysics: Dr. Peter Gallagher Tel: (01) 896 1300

The Department of Applied Physics& Instrumentation offers postgraduate studies in astrophysics, with emphasis on the development of high-speed imagingdevices.Tel: (021) 4326369

The Department of Physics and AstronomyDepartmental Office physics@qub.ac.ukTel 028 9097 3941

There is an active research community of about 150 Irish astronomers (2007) in the universities of Ireland and D.I.A.S. who canbe contacted at: http://www.arm.ac.uk/asgi

The ASGI holds 2 meetings a year in one of the member institutions, usually around the date of the equinoxes, that last 1 or 2days where short talks on a wide variety of subjects are present and a guest speaker from abroad is usually invite. ASGI also hasan emailing list with notices of meetings, study and job vacancies, etc. Contact the secretary at their website.

If you have any comments, additions or changes email to tom@astronomy.ie

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Astronomy Ireland | Studying Astronomy

155mm f7 STARFIRE EDF APOCHROMATIC REFRACTOR ULTRA-PORTABLE WITH 2.7" FOCUSERthe world-renowned standard of excellence against which all others six inch Apos are measured

Originally introduced with the avid astrophotographer in mind, the 155mm f7 StarFire EDF (6.1 inchaperture) astrograph features the gigantic focuser and included the Field Flattener lens option accommodating up to Pentax 6x7cm camera format with full field illumination. It made an astounding versatile visual telescope too; capable of extraordinarily wide fields of view at lower magnifications, with the capacity to reveal subtle features on the planets at high magnifications that few other 25 lb. telescopes can show. The astronomy community came to appreciate theversatility of this instrument and at the urging of our customers, we now offer the same excellent 155mm f7 lens in a lighter weight tube assembly incorporating the highly regarded Astro-Physics 2.7 inch focuser.

We continue to be amazed at the compact size of this instrument. At last, a 6.1 inch Apo refractor with an overall length of 40 inches (with dewcap retracted). This is less than half the length of an fl5 and approximately a foot shorter than an f9! In fact, it is about the same length as our 130mm f8, but with an inch more of aperture! You can transport it in a smaller car, store it in less space, invest in a smaller mount and shorter pier/tripod. This instrument is the fulfillment of the astronomer's dream for a truly portable 6.1 inch refractor.

This refractor can, of course, be used photographically with a 35mmcamera at prime focus with only a simple camera adapter or at afast f5.2 with the optional flat- field telecompressor. A single element field flattener is available for the Pentax 6 x 7 medium format camera,however the field is vignetted in the corners due to the restrictions of the 2.7" focuser (full coverage requires the 4"focuser/4" field flattener combination). The 2.7" focuser isinterchangeable with the 4" model should you choose at some timein the future to upgrade to the full EDF 4" package.

"Optical performance of the 155EDT was impressive. It producednary a trace of false color even on Venus. Equally impressive, thisscope provided superb images as soon as it was set outside. Evenin sub-freezing temperatures, image quality, though not perfect atfirst, was surprisingly sharp from the start. In cold weather, after amodest settle-down time of 30 minutes, in-focus star images weretextbook Airy disks with a well-defined first diffraction ring and atrace of a second outer ring. There was no sign of sphericalaberration, lens figure changes, heat plumes, or distorted Airy disksdue to tube turbulence."

We could not have said it better ourselves.

For 2004 Astro-Physics has developed a new specially designed dual-speed pinion fine dual speed geared focuser assembly. Incorporating a 9 to 1 geared reduction knob, this is the Feather Touch Micro Focuser option. It is available as an retrofit kit for existing compatible Astro-Physics focusers. Or you can order it factory installed in your new Traveler telescope.

Right: Feather Touch Focuser option on Astro-Physics 155 mm EDF Apo telescope, optional Astro-Physics 8x 50mm Finder also shown (54,384 bytes).Click on image for higher quality, enlarged view (125,877 bytes).

Left: Color correction of the Astro-Physics 155 mm EDF Apo telescope (69,285 bytes).Click on image for higher quality, enlarged view (178,123 bytes).

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Company Seven | Astro-Physics 155mm f7 Telescope, 2.7" Focuser

Astro-Physics 305mm f3.5 / 12 Inch f3.8 Riccardi-Honders Astrographic Telescope (P/N 305RHA)An amazing 1,160mm f3.8 Apo Lens!

Development of the Riccardi-Honders Design

Astro-Physics Company are known for making the world's most advanced, versatile, and desired lines of apochromatic refractor telescopes. In 2000 after more than a decade of research and development to "get it right" they surprised the astronomy community with the announcement of their first production Catadioptric telescope. This is designated the Astro-Physics Astro Physics 10" f14.6 Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope, a compact 33 lb. (15 kg) high resolution instrument designed to provide refractor like views (and images) of the brighter, small objects including the planets, moon, double stars, and the like.

Right: Astro-Physics 305mm Honders telescope (OTA to the left) as introduced in 2009 atop the Astro-Physics 3600GTO 'El Capitan' German Equatorial Mount (79,387 bytes). Image courtesy of David Illig.Click on image to see enlarged view (253,556 bytes).

Since then Astro-Physics has been working to perfect a new catadioptric telescope, one ideally suited for imaging wide areas of sky and not compromised by considering visual applications. This new telescope would be compact, perform well in temperature extremes around the world, and meet their traditional exacting requirements for optical and mechanical excellence. The result is a telescope that is the first of its kind: the Astro-Physics 305mm f3.8 Astrograph. The 'Honders" as it is known here at Company Seven and in most of the community is based on Klaas Honder's original idea of a fast optical system using a crown glass objective and meniscus correcting mirror in a Newtonian configuration. By adding a secondary mirror and field lens, Italian designer Massimo Riccardi was able to design an ultra-fast (short focal ratio) astrograph using only comparatively affordable crown glass elements. Astro-Physics has added their more than years of telescope design experience to create a truly unique and fast astrograph to take full advantage of today's CCD imaging cameras. With this telescope you will collect photons most efficiently producing wide-field of view images that you could previously only have imagined.

A further goal in this development effort was to equal or to approach the performance of their highly prized triplet apochromatic refractors in at least certain applications. One thought in producing these Catadioptric telescopes is that if a number of customers who do not require the versatility of the Apo refractors (which perform superbly well at extremely high magnifications, and down to very low magnifications) will order the Mak telescopes instead of the triplet Apos then this may take some of the burden from the Triplet production line, and thereby help Astro-Physics to satisfy a far greater number of the more demanding amateur and professional clientele.

In April 2008 Roland Christen had presented a paper entitled "Optical Design for High Resolution Imaging" discussing the advantages of the Riccardi-Honders optical design. The prototype 305mm f3.8 Riccardi-Honders Astrograph prototype was introduced to the public on 18 April 2009 (image at right) although by then it had already proved itself with numerous amazing images taken while at the Astro-Physics observatory. It was shown mounted in parallel with the prototype 305mm f12.5 Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope atop the Astro-Physics 3600GTO 'El Capitan' German Equatorial Mount. Pricing was announced in August 2010 as the first invitations to order were sent out. Deliveries from the first production run will commence in limited numbers in the Fall of the year 2010.OPTICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The system includes the optical tube assembly, a 3.5 inch diameter focuser, Dewcap (Lens Shade), Dust Cover, pair of Mounting Rings, and Carrying Case. Company Seven will offer an optional Airline Transport Association Approved (ATA) shipping case for this instrument.

Any optical imperfections such as a degree of surface roughness and zonal errors on the optical surface will compound the problem.Astro-Physics tested a commercial telescope where the central obstruction, optical errors and surface roughness were large enough to cause the first diffraction ring and central Airy disc to have almost equal brightness (with a 35% obstruction, theoretically there should be at least a4 to 1 difference). Even so, this sample telescope "tested" very well on the star test - it had quite similar inside and outside Fresnel patterns and might be judged to be textbook perfect by the star test. Yet it was a very poor performer on all but the most steady of nights, when the seeing was essentially perfect. The slightest motion in the atmosphere would result in a display of "cotton ball" stars. This is one reason whyAstro-Physics and Company Seven have not been a major fans of the "star test" to evaluate the actual performance of a telescope. The only unbiased way to measure an optic is with interferometry, or by an MTF (modulation transfer function) test, or with a PSF (point spread function) test, which measures the relative strength of the Airy disc versus the diffraction rings with the image in focus.

Astro-Physics has endeavored to achieve the highest absorption of stray light possible by employing state of the art baffling and anti-reflection techniques; this will help to provide the user with maximum contrast. The exterior of the telescope is finished in a durable textured off white finish, with black anodized focuser and cells; these will retain their beauty for many years. You will appreciate the unique design and fine craftsmanship of this telescope.

Knife edge baffles are machined into the walls of the telescope optical tube and of the focuser draw tube, these and painted flat black in order to maximize contrast by essentially eliminating any internal reflections. The inside diameter (I.D.) of the draw tube permits the avid astrophotographer to employ up to a 35mm format film or CCD camera to capture images. While this is designed as an astrographic instrument, you can attach a Barlow lens then attach standard 2 inch diameter accessories, and with the furnished 1.25 inch adapter (threaded for 48mm filters) to use common oculars and accessories too. Recessed brass locking rings are installed at each thumbscrew location; as you tighten a thumbscrew a brass locking ring clamps onto the part that has been inserted; consequently the focuser draw tube and any accessories are held securely in place and will not mar the surface of your accessories. This is particularly important considering the heavy and expensive accessories that you may use.

* Specifications are subject to change without notice.

Right: Company Seven ATA Case custom fitted for a Astro-Physics 13cm EDT Apochromat Telescope with 2.7 inch Focuser (65,974 bytes).Click on image to see enlarged view (215,942 bytes).

Features include:

Left: Astro-Physics Model 900 Mount in optional Company Seven ATA case.Case 1 of 2 shown here, with Declination housing (left side shown) with GTO Keypad Controllerand Counterweight Shaft (94,326 bytes).

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Company Seven | Astro-Physics 305mm f3.5 / 12 Inch f3.8 ...

Freedom of Speech was the first in a series of four paintings which depict examples of the four basic freedoms of Americans. Freedom of Speech depicts a young man who appears to be of the American working class, given his plain clothing over which he wears a plain, brown jacket. Protruding from a front pocket of the jacket is a folded document that appears to bear importance in the matter at hand.

This main character of the painting is standing in the midst of a meeting of importance to the locality in which he lives and/or works. He is surrounded by older gentlemen, wearing traditional suits and ties, but who are looking at him with a degree of curiosity mixed with consideration for the young mans oratory. The young man appears to be unfazed by his modest attire in the midst of formality, focusing instead on the subject matter that concerned him to the extent that he felt it necessary to attend this meeting and speak his mind.

Freedom of Speech was painted by renowned American artist, humorist, and painter, Norman Rockwell. The inspiration for the painting came from the State of the Union address, delivered in January of 1941 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in which he set forth the four basic freedoms that Americans have the right to enjoy. This painting was the first of the series and appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Posts February 20th issue.

Mr. Rockwell, in his usual style, includes discreet inferences in this painting which may not be immediately obvious upon initial viewing. For instance, the bench immediately in front of the young man is conspicuously empty. This has been viewed by some as an invitation to the viewer to attend the meeting as well. Others see the empty bench as a portrayal of the fact that someone did not feel compelled to attend the meeting.

Another interesting fact behind this painting is Mr. Rockwells inclusion of the faces of people he knows in his work.

And, finally, the manner in which he pointedly signs his own name in the dark background of the painting depicts his own humility in the face of such a powerful message.

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Freedom of Speech by Norman Rockwell - Facts about the ...

Neil deGrasse Tyson makes a big bang with Astrophysics for People in a Hurry.- Sloane Crosley, Vanity Fair

Tyson is a master of streamlining and simplification....taking mind-bogglingly complex ideas, stripping them down to their nuts and bolts, padding them with colorful allegories and dorky jokes, and making them accessible to the layperson- Salon

This book will keep you fascinated with succinct and dynamic explanations of a wide variety of astronomical topics. A winner that every astronomy enthusiast should have on the bookshelf!- David J. Eicher, Astronomy

This may have been written for people in a hurry, but I urge you to take your time. It will all be over far too soon.- BBC's Sky at Night

Engaging and illuminating.- GoodReads

Tyson manifests science brilliantly....[his] insights are valuable for any leader, teacher, scientist or educator.- Forbes

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry will blow your mind....it is awesome.- Hackernoon

Infectiously enthusiastic, humorous and, above all, accessible....reading Astrophysics for People in a Hurry is both a humbling and exhilarating experience.- BookPage

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Astrophysics for People in a Hurry: Neil deGrasse Tyson ...

The Astrophysics group in the School of Physics spans cosmology, extragalactic astronomy, extreme objects, relativistic astrophysics, and knowledge management associated with virtual observatories and software telescopes. Our research programs, comprising theoretical, observational and computational studies, are aligned with the major international facilities such as the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), Square-Kilometer Array (SKA), Australian Square-Kilometer Array Project (ASKAP), the Hubble space telescope, South Pole Telescope (SPT), POLARBEAR and the Simons Array, Simons Observatory and Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO). We are also leading Australias first space telescope program, SkyHopper.

The Astrophysics group currently hosts nodes in three ARC Centres of Excellence: OzGrav for gravitational wave astronomy, CAASTRO for all-sky astronomy, and ASTRO-3D to study the Universe in 3 dimensions.

Please contact us to learn more about the research projects and study opportunities available in our group, for undergraduate, Masters, and PhD students. More information can be found on the Study link. We invite applications for our Master of Science (MSc) and Doctorate (PhD) Physics degrees!

View of the Murchison Widefield Array. Credit: MWA

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Astrophysics School of Physics

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