Daily Archives: August 2, 2021

Growing up in a Quaker household, Jocelyn Bell Burnell was raised to believe that she had as much right to an education as anyone else. But as a girl in the 1940s in Northern Ireland, her enthusiasm for the sciences was met with hostility from teachers and male students. Undeterred, she went on to study radio astronomy at Glasgow University, where she was the only woman in many of her classes.

In 1967, Burnell made a discovery that altered our perception of the universe. As a Ph.D. student at Cambridge University assisting the astronomer Anthony Hewish, she discovered pulsars compact, spinning celestial objects that give off beams of radiation, like cosmic lighthouses. (A visualization of some early pulsar data is immortalized as the album art for Joy Divisions Unknown Pleasures.)

But as the short documentary above shows, the world wasnt yet ready to accept that a breakthrough in astrophysics could have come from a young woman.

Ben Proudfoot is a filmmaker and the founder and C.E.O. of Breakwater Studios. He co-directed the Oscar-nominated Op-Doc A Concerto Is a Conversation.

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Opinion | The Silent Pulse of the Universe: What Jocelyn Bell Burnell Discovered - The New York Times

A staple of mythology, the hero Hercules has a strange celestial story.

One of the best-known star patterns, Hercules stands high over our heads in the Northern Hemisphere at nightfall this week.

Like many of our oldest constellations, Hercules can be traced to the beginnings of recorded history about 5,000 years ago in the Middle East, specifically Mesopotamia (the region that today we call Iraq), although we refer to the ancient hero by his Latin name. Hercules has long represented a man of extraordinary strength and he appears in various forms in the legends of many peoples throughout the region, including the tale of Sampson in the Bible.

Related: Best night sky events (stargazing maps)

Depending on what astronomy guide book you are consulting, there are several variations on how Hercules is traced out. Initially, you might expect this mighty strongman to be a bright and conspicuous constellation, something along the lines of Orion the Hunter with his distinctive three-star belt.

But this is not so.

In his book "Find the Constellations" (Houghton Mifflin Co., 2008), author H.A. Rey perhaps said it best when he noted that "Hercules was ... famous for his strength, but as a constellation he is rather weak, without bright stars."

Mesopotamian skywatchers in 3000 BC saw Hercules standing upright high in the northern sky during the summer. Hercules' brightest star is third-magnitude Ras Algethi, which is Arabic for "Head of the Kneeler." And indeed, in the sky Hercules was portrayed posturing on one knee, with Ras Algethi, a red supergiant star, marking his head.

But over the past 5,000 years, the wobbling of the Earth's axis (called "precession") has caused the position of the stars to shift in such a manner so that today Hercules appears to be performing acrobatics, with his head passing well south of the zenith. In other words, Hercules is now standing on his head!

Rey reimagined this group of stars according to its current orientation as "a man swinging a club," he writes, "Hercules' favorite weapon." In Rey's version, a keystone-shaped quadrilateral which the ancients envisioned as his waist and hips ends up as Hercules' head. Meanwhile, the star Ras Algethi that the ancients considered the hero's head marks Hercules' left foot. Different strokes for different folks.

Meanwhile, in his book "Introducing the Constellations" (Viking Press, 1937), astronomer Robert H. Baker traced out Hercules as "a figure of six stars that outlines a butterfly with outstretched wings." This figure also somewhat resembles the letter "H," which of course is also the initial for Hercules.

Hercules was known in Greek culture as Heracles, and the extensive legends surrounding him are among the best known of Greek mythology. We call him Hercules in keeping with the tradition of using Latin names for the constellations.

Many Greek gods, heroes, heroines, and other legendary personalities were adopted by the Romans, who identified them with characters of their own. Thus, Zeus became Jupiter; Hera, Juno; Ares, Mars; and so forth. When astronomical bodies are given mythological names in modern times, the Latin version has generally been preferred.

The great Roman author, statesman and philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BC-AD 65) relates in verse some of the leading Hercules legends in "Hercules Furens" ("Mad Hercules"), including a diatribe by Juno against Hercules her husband's (Jupiter's) demigod son by another woman, the mortal Alcmene.

There is actually a connection between Hercules and two other constellations, the nine-headed serpentine water monster known as the Lernean Hydra, and a much smaller creeping sea creature.

A jealous Juno summoned a crab (Cancer) to fatally bite Hercules. Her crustacean arrived just at that moment that Hercules was busy slaying the multiheaded Hydra, one of his 12 assigned superhuman "labors."

But Cancer's bite was no more than a mere annoyance to our hero, who abruptly crushed the attacker under his heel. Infuriated with the crab's less-than-heroic fate, Juno banished this hapless creature to the heavens as one of the most inconspicuous of the traditional constellations.

As for the Hydra, each time Hercules lopped off one head, two others grew in its place. But Hercules emerged victorious by having his nephew, Iolaus, burn the stump of each severed neck, preventing new heads from sprouting. Interestingly, in our current evening sky, as Hercules stands triumphantly at the top of the heavens, the tail of the constellation Hydra can be seen slithering below the southwest horizon and hurrying out of sight.

The object that always draws the most attention in Hercules and is regarded as a showpiece for Northern Hemisphere observers is M13, the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules. It is within the Keystone, about two-thirds of the way from the butterfly's head along the western edge of the northern wing. With a total light equivalent of about a sixth-magnitude star, it can be seen with the unaided eye in a very dark sky, as it was by Edmond Halley, who discovered this cluster in 1714.

At a distance of roughly 22,000 light years, M13 is among the nearest globulars; scientists believe that this great swarm contains at least several hundred thousand stars. Binoculars will show it as a pale, colorless glow with a diameter as much as half that of the moon. But through telescopes it becomes a sight to behold. Small telescopes of 4 to 6-inches will reveal the outer stars, while larger telescopes of 8 or more inches reveal the entrancing beauty of a great ball of stars.

The Hercules cluster is a celebrated object, often shown to those who might pay an evening summertime visit to an observatory. Next week (Aug. 5 to Aug. 8) will be the 85th annual Stellafane Convention which is held just outside of Springfield, Vermont. Weather permitting, assiduous amateur astronomers will set up their equipment under dark New England skies or congregate at the McGregor Observatory for views through the 13-inch Schupmann telescope or at the 12-inch Porter Turret Telescope.

An oft-told story about M13 stars deep-sky authority Walter Scott Houston (1912-1993), who had a regular column in Sky & Telescope magazine for nearly half a centuryand was known to one and all as "Scotty."

One evening he noticed a long line of people patiently waiting their turn to get a look through the Porter scope. "What are you folks looking at?" he asked as he poked his head through the observatory door. From out of the darkness, several people quietly murmured: M13.

"M13?" replied Scotty, with a tinge of skepticism. "So many people have looked at it, you would think it'd be worn out by now!"

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York'sHayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy forNatural History magazine, theFarmers' Almanacand other publications. Follow uson Twitter@Spacedotcomand onFacebook.

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Hercules, the mighty strongman of the summer sky - Space.com

Part of an astronomy team, Indian astronomers have detected a very short, powerful burst of high-energy radiation that lasted for about a second. The event had been travelling for nearly half the present age of the universe before it hit Earth. The universe is nearly 14 billion years old.

The burst was first detected by Nasas Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope last year. Analysis of the data showed that the shortest Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) was caused by the death of a massive star. These bursts are considered one of the most powerful events in the universe and can travel across billions of light-years.

Named GRB 200826A, after the date it occurred, researchers released the details of the event in two papers published in Nature Astronomy. While the first paper led by Bin-bin Zhang at Nanjing University in China explores the gamma-ray data. The second, led by Toms Ahumada, a doctoral student at the University of Maryland, describes the GRBs fading multiwavelength afterglow and the emerging light of the supernova explosion that followed.

Dr Shashi Bhushan Pandey from Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) was part of the study, apart from scientists from other Indian institutions. They showed for the first time that a dying star can produce short bursts too. Such a discovery has helped to resolve the long-standing issues related to gamma-ray bursts. Also, this study triggers to re-analyse all such known events to constrain number densities better, Dr Pandey said.

The Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune (IUCAA), National Centre for Radio Astrophysics - Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Pune (NCRA) and IIT Mumbai also participated in the study, the Ministry of Science & Technology said in a statement.

While the burst was detected for barely a second, astronomers estimate that it emitted 14 million times the energy released by the entire Milky Way galaxy over the same amount of time, making it one of the most energetic short-duration GRBs ever seen.

When a star much more massive than the Sun runs out of fuel, its core suddenly collapses and forms a black hole. As matter swirls toward the black hole, some of it escapes in the form of two powerful jets that rush outward at almost the speed of light in opposite directions.

Astronomers only detect a GRB when one of these jets happens to point almost directly toward Earth. When a star much more massive than the Sun runs out of fuel, its core suddenly collapses and forms a black hole. As matter swirls toward the black hole, some of it escapes in the form of two powerful jets that rush outward at almost the speed of light in opposite directions. Astronomers only detect a GRB when one of these jets happens to point almost directly toward Earth.

According to the Ministry of Science & Technology, "GRB 200826A was a sharp blast of high-energy emission lasting just 0.65 seconds. After travelling for aeons through the expanding universe, the signal had stretched out to about one-second-long when it was detected by Fermis Gamma-ray Burst Monitor."

The new discovery could help astronomers in understanding the nature of these bursts that are linked to supernovas. The detection of such GRB remains rare compared to exploding stars.

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Indian astronomers part of Nasa team detect radiation from death of a star over 5 billion years ago - India Today

New data from the star-mapping Gaia satellite are helping scientists unlock the mystery of our Milky Way galaxy's spiral arms.

Recently published studies exploring the Early Data Release 3 (EDR3), a batch of observations made available to the scientific community last December, reveal the spiral structure of our galaxy with a greater precision and detail than was possible before.

Since the 1950s, astronomers have known that our galaxy, the Milky Way, looks like a spiral, with several dense streams of stars and dust emanating from the galactic center, winding through the galactic disc and dissolving around its edges. However, scientists have struggled to understand how many of these streams there are and what created them.

"The problem with our galaxy is that we are inside its disc and therefore it's very difficult to understand the structure as a whole," Eleonora Zari, a scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany, and author of one of the new papers, told Space.com. "It's like being in a forest and looking around. At some point, the trees are in front of each other. Plus the forest is a bit foggy, so you really cant see what the whole forest looks like."

Related: See a virtual Milky Way map from Europe's Gaia spacecraft

The European Space Agency's (ESA) Gaia mission has been mapping the Milky Way since 2014, measuring the precise positions and distances from Earth of nearly two billion stars. The first two batches of data acquired by the spacecraft, which were released to the scientific community in 2016 and 2018, have revolutionized the study of our galaxy. In addition to the fixed positions, the spacecraft also measures how fast stars move in three-dimensional space, allowing astronomers to model the evolution of the Milky Way in the past as well as into the future.

The latest data release, EDR3, improves the accuracy of the previous data sets. And it's this precision that is enabling astronomers to disentangle the spiral arms from the rest of the stars in the galactic disc with better precision.

"We derive the distance of the stars from a measure called the parallax," Zari said. "And this parallax measurement is 20% better with the latest release. That means that stars that previously we may have seen as part of the same structure now clearly belong to different structures."

Parallax is a star's apparent movement against the background of more distant stars as Earth revolves around the sun. By measuring the change in the angle between the star and Earth from two opposite points in the planets orbit, astronomers can calculate the distance of the star using simple trigonometry.

In one new paper, Zari and her colleagues looked at concentrations of hot bright blue stars, called the OBA-type stars, in the Milky Way's disc. In areas where they could see a higher-than-average concentration of these stars, they could assume the existence of a spiral arm. They then compared their analysis with previously developed models of the galaxy.

"The position of the spiral arms is different and also the strength of the spiral arms, how bright they are, is different," Zari said.

The Milky Way is known to have two main spiral arms, the Perseus arm and the Scutum-Centaurus arm. Our galaxy also possesses two less pronounced arms, or spurs, called the Sagittarius and the Local Arm (which passes close to the sun).

But in Zari's study, the difference between the arms doesn't seem so obvious.

"The Perseus arm seems less bright, and instead the Local arm is more prominent," she said. "Aso the other two arms Sagittarius and Scutum Centaurus at least in my study, they seem to have about the same brightness."

Zari's colleague Eloisa Poggio looked at concentrations of 600,000 young stars to determine the precise position of the spiral arms. Young stars are especially valuable when studying the spiral arms, Poggio explained, because spiral arms, with their dense concentration of dust and gas, are believed to be where the majority of stars form.

"We calculated, for each position in the disc, whether that region was more or less populated with respect to the average," Poggio told Space.com. "Using that approach, we were able to construct a map of the spiral arms in the region that Gaia maps, that is about 16,000 light-years around the sun."

When the researchers compared their galaxy map to previous models, they found that the Perseus arm, one of the two dominant arms, lies further away from the center of the galaxy in the studied region. The short Local arm appeared much longer than the previous models expected.

Astronomers are also still speculating about the origin of those arms and their longevity. Some earlier theories proposed that the shape of the arms is somehow fixed and spins around the galactic center over a long period of time while individual stars, orbiting at their own velocities, move in and out of this shape.

This so-called density wave theory, however, is being disputed by the latest findings enabled by the Gaia mission. Many scientists now think that the spiral arms might not be fixed at all. Instead, they might form temporarily, as a result of the rotation of the galactic disc, and later dissolve and reform again in a different configuration.

To find which theory is correct, Alfred Castro, of the University of Leiden, in the Netherlands, looked at so-called open clusters, groups of thousands of young stars born from the same cloud of gas and dust. Due to their young age, these stars are still close to their birth place, that is within the spiral arms. If the newer theories were correct, the amount of younger open clusters in the spiral arms would be higher than the amount of older open clusters, Castro speculated. And that's exactly what the data showed.

"I saw in the data that the spiral structure appears to contain the younger population of stars but disappears if you look at the older stars," Castro told Space.com. "We see that the rotation rate of the shape is more or less similar to the rotation rate of the stars and varies with the radius to the galactic center. The shape and the stars can't be decoupled, and that means we don't have a global shape, which would be the spiral arms, and then the stars moving in and out of them as the density wave theory suggests."

According to Castro's analysis, the spiral arms may exist for about 80 to 100 million years, a small fraction of time in the 13-billion-year life of our galaxy.

In the future, Poggio hopes, scientists might be able to find out why those spiral arms in the Milky Way exist in the first place. While some theories expect this swirl of stellar streams may have been born after another, smaller galaxy crashed into the Milky Way, others believe it came to existence naturally as a result of the rotation of the galactic disc.

"We expect that we would see different signatures in the motion of the stars if the spiral arms were caused by an external impact," Poggio said. "Future Gaia data releases will give us more information about the motion of stars in a greater portion of the galactic disc, and we hope we might be able to find something there."

The next batch of Gaia data, the full Data Release 3, is expected to be made available to scientists worldwide in about mid-2022. Gaia, one of the most productive missions in history (measured by the number of scientific papers it produces), will continue scanning the sky until 2025. The vast catalogues of stellar positions, motions and velocities it creates will keep astronomers busy for decades to come.

The papers by Poggio, Castro and Zari were published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics in July.

Follow Tereza Pultarova on Twitter @TerezaPultarova. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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Why does the Milky Way have spiral arms? New Gaia data are helping solve the puzzle - Space.com

While not all of us have access to a rocketship like Branson and Bezos, we can still appreciate space from right here on Earththough it helps if you can also tap into some of those visionaries pocket change. Sonomas newest luxury resort, Montage Healdsburg, has just unveiled a new astrotourism experience to immerse guests in the wonders of the night sky that will set you back $95,000, for up to six guests, and its full of plenty of big-ticket touches.

To get to and from wine country, the group will receive a private flight from (and back to) anywhere in the US, via Jet Edge, plus airport transfers in wine country.Once at the upscale resort, which debuted in January, youll be whisked away to a 4,600-square-foot, three-bedroom hideaway thats perched on a high knoll overlooking Mount St. Helena and the vineyards of the Alexander Valley.

While in this beautiful settingwhich will be your home for two nightsyoull be treated to a private dinner on a terrace with epic views of the Mayacamas mountain range to help you really unplug. Naturally, the feast will showcase the very best local produce and an array of exclusive wines from nearby vineyards, because even astronomy buffs can appreciate the fruits of our planet.

Guests will be flown to the resort from anywhere in the US aboard a luxe private jet.JetEdge

One of the highlights of the stay will be a private tour of the Robert Ferguson Observatory. Located in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park in Santa Rosa, this is the largest observatory on the West Coast and is nestled amid a ring of hills that block out the light pollution from nearby cities, making for optimal stargazing. The observatory is equipped with several high-tech telescopes that afford views of planets, constellations and galaxies lightyears away.

Whats more, each group will enjoy a two-hour photography session with Rachid Dahnoun. The award-winning astrophotographer, who has shot the cover of National Geographics Night Sky of North America guide,specializes in nighttime photography and will snap a one-of-a-kind picture of you and your guests to encapsulate the experience.

Guests will be treated to a private dinner on an epic terrace.Christian Horan

While the two-nightSkys the Limit package does command a rather astronomical price tag, it has been organized to the nth degree and promises to impart some unforgettable memories. Who knows, you may even spot the next billionaires voyage to space.

Check out more photos of the resort below:

Christian Horan

Christian Horan

Christian Horan

Christian Horan

Christian Horan

Christian Horan

Christian Horan

Christian Horan

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This Sonoma Luxury Resorts $95,000 Astronomy Experience Is (Almost) Out of This World - Robb Report

Image Credit: Supplied

Dubai: Get ready to explore night skies at The View at The Palm, the 360-degree observation deck, during the yearly phenomenon known as Opposition.

In collaboration with Dubai Astronomy Group, visitors have a unique opportunity to observe Saturn and Jupiter at their largest and brightest on Monday, August 2 and Friday, August 20 from 8pm to 10pm, as well as take part in ongoing astronomy sessions on select dates from August 6 to 28.

The anticipated annual event for observing planets in their clearest forms, Opposition is when the earth is between the sun and the opposite planet. Only planets that are further out in the solar system including Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune can be in Opposition.

Tailor-made for stargazers and astrophotographers, this is a prime opportunity to observe the planets in great detail, ranging from Saturns spectacular and complicated rings to Jupiters stripes and swirls atmosphere.

Hosted at The View at The Palm, on level 52 of The Palm Tower, each 60-minute event will start with an explanation of the phenomenon, led by Dubai Astronomy Groups CEO, Hasan Ahmad Al Hariri, followed by an in-depth Q&A session. Participants can view Saturn and Jupiter through telescopes and take images on their mobile phones or cameras.

Tickets for Saturn and Jupiter at Opposition are priced at Dh125 for adults, Dh95 for children aged four to 12, and free for kids under four.

Visitors can also take part in ongoing 90-minute astronomy sessions at The View during August to learn more about the solar system and our planets, and enjoy a session of stargazing. Tickets are Dh125 per adult and Dh95 per child.

All sessions have a limited capacity and will adhere to strict Covid-19 safety regulations including two-metre social distancing norms, the wearing of masks and sanitising protocols.

Location: The ViewCost: Dh125 for adults, Dh95 for kidsWhen: Saturn at Opposition: August 2 from 8pm to 10pm, Jupiter at Opposition:August 20 from 8pm to 10pm, Ongoing Astronomy Sessions: August 6, 7, 13, 14, 21, 27 and 28 from 8.30pm to 10pm

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See Saturn and Jupiter at The View with Dubai Astronomy Group - Gulf News

The Shanghai Astronomy Museum by Ennead Architects opened its doors to the public on July 18, 2021, after being under development since 2014. It serves as the astronomical branch of Perkins + Wills Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, which is also relatively new, completed back in 2015.

At 420,000 square feet (39,000 sqm), the Shanghai Astronomy Museum is the worlds largest museum solely dedicated to astronomy. Its a monumental structure set within an expansive green zone and designed without straight lines or right angles to echo the geometry of the universe and the dynamic energy of celestial movement.

The breathtaking new museum creates an immersive experience, placing visitors in direct engagement with real astronomical phenomena.

The website reads:

The international competition-winning design celebrates the continuum of time and space: it is modern and forward-looking while at the same time presents a link to the past, mirroring both the rich history of Chinese astronomy and the future ambitions of Chinas space exploration program.

In linking the new Museum to both scientific purposes and the celestial references of buildings throughout history, the exhibits and architecture will communicate more than scientific content: they will illuminate what it means to be human in a vast and largely unknown universe.

The building heightens visitors awareness of our fundamental relationship to the earths orbital motion and the sun through form, scale, and manipulation of light. Ennead drew from the classic three-body problem in physics for its design, looking to the intricate choreographies made by the gravitational attraction of multiple bodies within solar systems.

Thomas J. Wong, a Design Partner at Ennead Architects, said:

In making this building, we wanted to create a place where the institutional mission is fully entangled with an architecture that itself is teaching and finds form in some of the fundamental principles that shape our universe. So the big idea of the Shanghai Astronomy Museum was to infuse a visceral experience of the subject matter into the design and deliver that before you even enter the building. And at the end of your visit, there is this culminating moment directly with the sky, which is framed and supported by the architecture.

The building consists of three principal architectural components: The Sphere, The Oculus, and the Inverted Dome. They function as astronomical instruments, tracking the sun, stars, and moon.

The Sphere, half-submerged in the building, dipping into the museum proper, houses the planetarium theater. It evokes an illusion of weightlessness, floating, or anti-gravity with visible supports kept to a minimum. Its spherical form references the primordial shapes in our universe.

The Oculus, suspended over the main entry, functions as a sundial, marking the passage of time by tracking a circle of sunlight across the ground of the entry plaza and its reflecting pool. During the summer solstice at noon, a full circle aligns with a circular platform in the entry plaza.

The Inverted Dome is a giant inverted glass structure. It rests on top of the central atrium and can be reached by a 720-degree spiraling ramp from where visitors get an unimpeded view of the sky. This is the final experience for the visitor, an actual encounter with the universe.

The museum includes permanent and temporary exhibits, a 78-foot solar telescope, and several smaller surrounding buildings housing an observatory, an optical Planetarium, a Digital Sky Theater, and an Education and Research Center.

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New World's Largest Astronomy Museum Connects Visitors To The Universe Intelligent Living - Intelligent Living