Daily Archives: October 17, 2022

Editors: Sabina Sagynbayeva, Jason Hinkle, Ryan Golant

(NOTE: This is an updated and expanded version of an older Astrobites guide to the electromagnetic spectrum the older guide (edited by Tanmoy Laskar) can be found here)

Astronomy is arguably one of the oldest observational sciences, with astronomical records found in many ancient societies, including Ancient Greece, Egypt, Babylon, and China. What linked all these early astronomers was the use of their unaided eyes to study the heavens. Since the invention of the first optical telescope in the early 1600s, observational astronomy has come a long way. By the early 20th century, large optical telescopes existed on the ground and soon thereafter the first telescopes for detecting radio waves were built in the 1930s. By the 1970s, rocket-borne ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma-ray detectors allowed us to observe the highest-energy phenomena in the universe. Finally, in the 1980s, detector technology improved in the infrared, meaning that astronomers could now view light from essentially any portion of the electromagnetic spectrum the wide array of waves that propagate as electromagnetic radiation.

Technology often drives astronomy forward each time a new window in the electromagnetic spectrum is opened, new scientific discoveries are made. But, while modern telescopes are invariably bigger and better than their predecessors, the basic designs amongst telescopes tuned to see similar wavelengths havent changed much. In this guide, we examine each band of the electromagnetic spectrum from low-energy radio waves up to -rays and address the following key questions:

Wavelength: Longer than 1 mmFrequency: Lower than 300 GHz

Radio waves are the lowest-energy radiation in the universe. Radio light is commonly produced by phenomena such as synchrotron radiation due to the gyration of charged particles around magnetic field lines and free-free radiation due to the deceleration of charged particles in an electric field. Very often, radio waves in astrophysical scenarios trace magnetic fields and regions where particles are accelerated.

Common astrophysical sources of radio waves include the powerful jets produced by active galactic nuclei (AGN) and gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Additionally, some transient events like supernovae and tidal disruption events (TDEs) emit radio waves. At lower luminosities (i.e., lower intrinsic brightness), radio waves are also commonly seen originating from H II regions, where ionized hot gas surrounds young, hot OB stars.

Fortunately for Earth-based astronomers, most radio waves can easily penetrate through the Earths atmosphere, even through clouds.

Radio telescopes operate in two main ways: some facilities, such as the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) and the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), use a single radio dish, while others, including the Very Large Array (VLA), the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), and the Low-Frequency Array (LoFAR), use many radio dishes, combining the signals using interferometry; interferometry effectively turns an array of telescopes into one big telescope with superior resolution.

Further reading on radio astronomy: NRAO, JPL, Wikipedia

Wavelength: 300 microns (m) to 1 mmFrequency: 1 THz to 300 GHz

The microwave and sub-millimeter (sub-mm) bands occupy the wavelength range between radio and far-infrared light. Processes that emit radio light can also produce emission at microwave/sub-mm wavelengths. Additionally, thermal emission from cold material can produce light in this range.

Perhaps the most well-known example of microwave radiation in the universe is the cosmic microwave background (or CMB), the earliest light we can observe, produced when electrons and free nuclei first combined to form neutral atoms. From our perspective, the CMB has a remarkably consistent temperature across the sky about 2.725 K, with small fluctuations on the order of 10-5 to 10-4 Kelvin.

Sub-mm emission can come from higher-energy phenomena, such as relativistic jets (fast streams of ionized matter ejected by a compact object, like a black hole or a neutron star). However, these wavelengths of light can also come from very cold dust and gas in star-forming galaxies, particularly those at high redshift (i.e., very distant galaxies).

Some well-known microwave experiments include the Nobel-prize-winning Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), and Planck. Examples of sub-mm facilities include the Submillimeter Array (SMA) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).

Further reading on microwave/sub-mm astronomy: ALMA, ESA, Wikipedia

Wavelength: 15 microns (m) to 300 micronsFrequency: 20 THz to 1 THz

Far-infrared (FIR) emission in the universe comes predominantly from thermal blackbody emission. Wiens law which relates the temperature of an object to the wavelength at which the object gives off most of its light tells us that far-infrared light comes from cool dust or gas. Even for the shortest wavelengths (highest energies) of FIR emission, the typical temperatures are roughly 200 K (-70 or -100 ). Star-forming galaxies and young stellar objects (i.e., protostars and pre-main-sequence stars) are some of the strongest sources of far-infrared emission in the universe.

Some examples of far-infrared missions are the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS), the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), and the Herschel satellite.

Wavelength: 2.5 microns (m) to 15 micronsFrequency: 120 THz to 20 THz

As the name implies, mid-infrared (MIR) light has a shorter wavelength than far-infrared light, but a longer wavelength than near-infrared light. MIR radiation largely traces cosmic dust, such as the dust surrounding young stars, the dust in protoplanetary disks, and zodiacal dust. The mid-infrared also traces the predominant emission of cool Solar System objects, such as planets, comets, and asteroids.

While MIR light can be seen from the ground (e.g., by the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) and the United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope (UKIRT)), it is difficult to detect due to strong thermal background radiation from the Earth itself. Several space-based observatories have covered the mid-IR, including the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and Spitzer. JWSTs MIRI has both a camera and a spectrograph that see mid-infrared light.

Wavelength: 0.8 microns (m) to 2.5 micronsFrequency: 380 THz to 120 THz

Near-infrared (NIR) light is emitted by a wide range of sources, predominantly as blackbody radiation. The emission of cool stars (like M dwarfs) peaks in the NIR; because low-mass stars are the most common stars in the universe (see the stellar initial mass function), many galaxies have their strongest emission in the near-infrared as well.

Near-infrared light can be seen from the ground, in between strong bands of water vapor absorption. Examples of ground-based NIR telescopes include the 2MASS survey, the Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF), the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT), and the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA). Near-infrared astronomy is also commonly done from space in particular, the recently-launched JWST will revolutionize near-infrared astronomy with its NIRCam and NIRSpec instruments.

Further reading on infrared astronomy: ESA, JWST, SOFIA, Wikipedia

Wavelength: 350 nm to 800 nmFrequency: 860 THz to 380 THz

Optical (or visible) light is the radiation that is visible to human eyes. Optical light is commonly produced from blackbody processes, but can also arise from non-thermal sources. Thermal optical emission is often seen from stars and the galaxies that house stars. Ionized gasses can also produce optical emission, but often in the form of discrete spectral lines rather than a continuum of light. More extreme examples of optical emission are the blue continuum and broad emission lines seen in active galactic nuclei.

As our eyes can attest, optical light can be seen from the ground. Several large ground-based telescopes observe primarily in the optical, including the twin W.M. Keck telescopes, the four Very Large Telescopes, and the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT). Examples of optical telescopes in space include the Hubble Space Telescope, Gaia, Kepler, and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).

In recent years, a series of optical telescopes scanning the sky at very short cadences have been built to discover new transient events. Examples of these projects include the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN), the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS), and the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF). In the near future, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), conducted by the Vera Rubin Observatory, will allow us to see even fainter optical sources.

Further reading on optical astronomy: ESA, Wikipedia

Wavelength: 10 nm to 350 nmFrequency: 3e16 Hz to 860 THzEnergy: 120 eV to 3.5 eV

The longest ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths are just short enough to be invisible to the naked eye, while the shortest wavelengths are comparable to the sizes of small molecules. UV emission comes from many processes, including blackbody emission from hot sources and powerful non-thermal sources.

Thermal UV emission commonly comes from hot O stars and B stars on the main sequence, as well as from white dwarfs, the tiny cores left over by dying low-mass stars. Non-thermal UV emission can be seen, for example, in the continuum emission of AGN. Because of its short wavelengths, UV emission is easily blocked (or extinguished) by dust along our line of sight, obscuring many UV sources from view.

Except for the very longest wavelengths, UV radiation cannot be observed from the ground. Space telescopes that observe in the UV include AstroSat, the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.

Further reading on ultraviolet astronomy: NASA, Wikipedia

Wavelength: 10 pm to 10 nmFrequency: 3e19 Hz to 3e16 HzEnergy: 120 keV to 0.12 keV

X-ray emission can be produced by thermal emission from very hot sources like neutron stars and by free-free emission from the hot gas in galaxy clusters. X-rays often arise from accretion or the accumulation of matter onto compact objects like the black holes found in either X-ray binaries or AGN.

Since their short wavelengths are blocked out by the Earths atmosphere, X-rays must be observed from space. Historical examples of X-ray missions include the Uhuru, Einstein, and ROSAT telescopes. More recent telescopes include Chandra, XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, and eROSITA.

Further reading on X-ray astronomy: Chandra, NASA, Wikipedia

Wavelength: Shorter than 10 pmFrequency: Higher than 3e19 HzEnergy: Greater than 120 keV

Gamma-ray (-ray) photons have wavelengths comparable to or smaller than the size of an individual atom. This means that many of the processes that produce gamma-rays are associated with nuclear physics, such as gamma decay. The pair-annihilation of high-energy electrons and positrons can also produce gamma-rays. Additionally, some gamma-rays are the result of the acceleration/energization of lower-energy photons by phenomena such as shock waves and inverse-Compton scattering.

Gamma-rays can be seen from certain classes of AGN with relativistic jets, as well as from compact object binaries, like the aptly-named gamma-ray binaries. Another abundant source of gamma-rays are gamma-ray bursts, which are among the most luminous explosions in the universe.

Gamma-rays must be observed from space. Examples of gamma-ray telescopes include the Compton Gamma-ray Observatory, the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL), and Fermi.

Further reading on gamma-ray astronomy: NASA, Wikipedia

This guide is not intended to be a catch-all resource for the electromagnetic spectrum. Many other excellent resources exist on this topic, including the following links:

Featured image credit: The Foundation of Astronomical Studies and Exploration

About Ryan GolantI'm a third-year Ph.D. student in astronomy at Columbia University. I'm broadly interested in plasma astrophysics and numerical simulation; for my thesis, I'm combining small-scale particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations with large-scale cosmological MHD simulations to probe the ultimate origins of the Universe's magnetic fields. I completed my undergraduate at Princeton University, but I'm originally from Northern Virginia. Outside of astronomy, I enjoy playing violin and video games, learning about art history, and watching cat videos.

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Guide to the Electromagnetic Spectrum in Astronomy - Astrobites

UK researchers are participating in a global mission to unravel the origin of the universe in the past. Scientists are looking forward to exploring how the present cosmos formed from scrambling chaos in space.

The project will be joined by six universities in the country which will be assigned to create new space instruments for the Simons Observatory.

As Yahoo! Newsreported, the UK researchers will be helping the other foreign astronomers in upgrading the Simons Observatory or SO through the cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiment.

With that being said, new telescopes will be created to scan the skies above the Atacama desert in Chile at 5,300 meters.

The observatory will contain three 16-inch instruments that will be used for the CMB measurement. Moreover, the SO is also said to have a bigger telescope which stands at 20 feet.

The CMB is a crucial part of the project because it's the trail of heat that is left after the Big Bang took place millions of years ago.

According to the Science and Technologies Facilities Council associate director Dr. Colin Vincent, this project funding will let the UK researchers "spearhead discoveries" together with other respectable astronomers from different countries.

Dr. Vincent added that this discovery will help them unearth "the secrets from the very dawn of time."

Related Article:UK's Environment Agency Plans to Increase its Civil Cap on Pollution Fines up to $240 Million

During the 1960s US-based radio astronomers were able to detect MCB in the skies. When they unearthed this interesting stuff, they thought that it was just a simple "hum" sound up above the heavens.

In fact, the mysterious microwaves have baffled them as to when they originated. The experts later learned that it was the primordial heat that first existed when the universe was formed.

The current international project aims to dive deeper into the appearance of the universe in a fraction of a second. According to some astronomers, the present galaxies were once only energy fluctuations" when the universe underwent the so-called cosmic inflation.

To study this expansion process better, the Simons Observatory will be there for the scientists so they could propose new models for inflation.

With that being said, astronomers want to know more about dark matter and how the evolutions of the galaxies progressed over time.

Aside from the six UK universities such as Imperial College London University of Cambridge, University of Cardiff, University of Manchester, the University of Oxford, and the University of Sussex, the US-led project consists of 85 institutes across 13 countries, per The Guardian.

For the next 10 years, the Simons observatory will conduct sky mapping to boost its sensitivity. According to Cardiff's School of Physics and Astronomy Prof. Erminia Calabrese, the very small fluctuations in the CMB radiation will reveal more about the origin of the universe, its evolution, and its past composition.

Read Also: NASA Detects Most Powerful Cosmic Gamma-Ray Burst, Signals the Beginning of a New Black Hole?

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UK to Join International Astronomy Mission to Discover the Origin of the Universe - Tech Times

Enrique Lpez Rodrguez grew up surrounded by stars.

His hometown of La Laguna is on Tenerife, part of a Spanish volcanic archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa known as the Canary Islands. Thanks to a combination of atmospheric and geographic factors, the Canary Islands have some of the clearest night skies in the world.

Just living there and looking at the sky its an invitation to do astronomy, Lpez Rodrguez said. I was lucky enough to grow up there.

KIPAC astrophysicist Enrique Lpez Rodrguez stands before the teaching observatory located in the hills above the Stanford golf course. (Image credit: Andrew Brodhead)

Lpez Rodrguez is an astrophysicist at the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC), which is a collaboration between the Kavli Foundation, Stanford University, and the U.S. Department of Energy. He studies how magnetic fields affect both the formation and evolution of galaxies, as well as the growth of super-massive black holes at the center of active galaxies. His work has taken him around the world, and above it he has spent hundreds of hours soaring through the stratosphere in SOFIA, a flying NASA observatory built into a Boeing 747 but his passion for astronomy started on the ground in Tenerife.

The Canary Islands are widely considered one of the best places for stargazing, and have legal protections in place to keep light, radio, and atmospheric pollution from interfering with observatories. The islands are home to the largest telescope in the world and host an international astronomical research community. Lpez Rodrguez grew up less than a mile from the Astrophysics Institute of the Canary Islands, and the mysteries of the night sky held an irresistible draw. Visions of galaxies, stars, and far-off planets provided a much-needed escape for an imaginative kid dealing with a difficult situation at home.

When Lpez Rodrguez was only 11 years old, his father was sentenced to more than a decade in prison. His mother, suddenly trying to support two children by herself, sent him to live with his grandmother.

She was like my roommate, best friend, and matriarch all together, Lpez Rodrguez said. Having the support of my grandma and mom was what made me able to do what Im doing now. They provided the peaceful environment that I needed.

Lpez Rodrguezs grandmother didnt always know what to do with him, but she encouraged his interest in astronomy. On Wednesdays, when tickets were free, she would take him to the Museum of Science and the Cosmos, not far from where they lived in La Laguna. The interactive physics and science displays at the museum fueled his imagination and gave him something else to focus on, providing a distraction from the abrupt life changes.

In a space that is infinite, as the universe is, you can just dig your nose into it and forget everything else, Lpez Rodrguez said. When you start reading about galaxies, or black holes, or planets, your mind goes to different places. I started growing this passion for astronomy because it was a matter of escaping everything else.

Lpez Rodrguez didnt really know what a career in astronomy could look like no one in his family had more than a high school education. His teachers told him that the first step was a college education, and Spain provided fellowships for low-income students to attend university. If he studied at the University of La Laguna and its renowned astrophysics institute, he wouldnt even have to leave his hometown.

But in high school, he struggled to translate his passion for astronomy and physics into academic success. Lpez Rodrguez was skipping most of classes, showing up just in time to cram the material and squeak through final examinations with a passing grade. At that time, I didnt care about anything, he said. And I also knew that to study physics, I didnt need good grades. I only had to pass.

In college, he was able to turn things around and focus on his studies. Everything felt new and exciting, and he knew he needed good grades to keep his fellowship and achieve his goal of being an astronomer. Continuing his education also gave him a way to reconnect with his father. Lpez Rodrguez joined a program to teach basic math and physics at the prison where his father was held.

I spent every weekend going there. I spent an hour with the students at the prison and then I was in the patio with him for another half an hour or 40 minutes, Lpez Rodrguez said. I wanted to spend time with him, to understand him and get to know him as an adult.

Eventually, Lpez Rodrguezs studies would carry him away from Tenerife. He was accepted into a doctoral program at the University of Florida, and although some of his advisors projects would bring him back to the Canary Islands, he was the first person in his family to move away.

It helped, Lpez Rodrguez said, that he had his familys support. His whole extended family lived in La Laguna and they all wanted him to pursue his dream, even if none of them (Lpez Rodrguez included) really understood where this path would take him.

Everyone in the family said, Its the best thing that you can do and this is a unique opportunity. Do it, and if it doesnt work, you have the family here. You have a nest. And well figure it out afterward, he said.

The magnetic fields (streamlines) of the closest merger between two spiral galaxies, the Antennae galaxies. These observations show how mergers affect the magnetic fields in the gas within and around galaxies. The Antennae galaxies show ordered magnetic fields structures of ~8.9 kpc (29,000 light-years) connecting both galaxies, and in the tidal tail toward the intergalactic medium. Credit: SA/Hubble/SOFIA/NASA/E. Lopez-Rodriguez

Over his career, his work has taken him to the Netherlands, Japan, Texas, and eventually California, where he is using data from infrared imaging and other tools to examine the parts of the universe he could only imagine as a kid on an island grasping at stars.

Lpez Rodrguezs interest and knowledge in polarimetric instrumentation, which allows astronomers to study the cosmos by detecting and measuring polarized light, has pushed the boundaries of the polarimeters in some of the largest and most sophisticated telescopes in the world, including SOFIA and Gran Telescopio Canarias in the Canary Islands. His discoveries include the detection of magnetic fields in the densest regions of galaxies and have contributed to an improved understanding on how magnetic fields may be enhancing or even creating the powerful radio jets associated with active galaxies jets that may in turn help magnetize surrounding galaxies.

From the time he was a postdoc, Lpez Rodrguez has also worked to make sure other students have the same chance to find a place for themselves in science. He is helping lead a program called KIPAC en Espaol to inspire Spanish-speaking students at local schools to pursue astronomy or other areas of science. He mentors minority students via the Cal-Bridge program and is also mentoring previously incarcerated students through a program organized by fellow KIPAC member Susan Clark, an assistant professor of physics at Stanford.

Though Lpez Rodrguez has left the place that started him on this journey, Tenerife will always be an incredibly important part of him. And, from his perspective, it will always have the best views of the sky.

Stanford Report is exploring the stories behind the curiosity and excitement that drive foundational discoveries in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences.

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Astrophysicist's passion for astronomy started on the ground - Stanford Report - Stanford University News

ASTRONOMY Ireland are offering beginners classes to any aspiring space enthusiasts.

The world's largest national astronomy club are hosting classes for anyone interested in learning more about all things astronomical.

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There are two sets of classes offered, with one starting later this month, and another beginning early next year.

For eight classes, members of Astronomy Ireland pay 135, while non-members pay 195.

The classes are set to take place at 7pm for two hours every Tuesday, with the first session starting Tuesday October 25.

For the same price, another eight week session will be running from Wednesday February 1 2023.

The classes are suitable for all ages, and no previous knowledge of astronomy, science or maths is needed.

As well as this, as the sessions are online it means those interested can attend from anywhere across Ireland - and beyond!

On the website the course description reads: "Astronomy Ireland is the worlds most popular astronomy society.

"It has been running evening courses for beginners for many years. Thousands of people have taken these courses since then, making them by far Irelands most popular astronomy classes."

Most read in The Irish Sun

The classes teach newcomers a wide range of information crucial to astronomy and stargazing.

Those availing of the sessions will be taught an introduction to the night sky.

As well as this, those at Astronomy Ireland will teach about the planets, stars, moon and sun.

And for all those interested in sky-gazing, there will be guides detailing how to use and set up a telescope for beginners.

The end of August saw hundreds gather in Co Wicklow with the society at their annual Star-B-Q event to see the sky through some of Ireland's biggest telescopes.

From beginners to experts, a wide range of telescopes were set up to allow people to see the sights above - the club welcomed all levels of experience and allows anyone to get involved.

The opportunity to use the large telescopes enabled incredible views. Editor ofAstronomy Ireland'smagazine David Moore said: "These sights cannot be seen by the ordinary eye."

This annual event is a great opportunity to put your astronomy telescope knowledge to the test after attending the classes.

To book the classes and find out more information, visit the Astronomy Ireland website.

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Astronomy Ireland are hosting beginner classes for those interested in space, science and more... - The Irish Sun

Asteroid hunters have become increasingly good at their job. The discipline, which took a back seat in the early days of astronomy, has really come into its own as of late. Once the general public, probably spurred on by popular 1990s movies like Deep Impact and Armageddon, realized the potentially existential threat they posed, support for finding all asteroids that could be planet killers skyrocketed. At this point, astronomers think that most planet-killing asteroids have been found and have worked their way down to much smaller but still devastating impactors. And now theyve reached a new milestone with over 30,000 Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) officially discovered.

That milestone results from years of steady work identifying and tracking those objects. Better equipment has helped with that task over 15,000 have been discovered in the last ten years alone. Given that the first NEA was discovered in the 1800s, that is a pretty impressive pickup in pace.

A new crop of improved instruments helps with that. The Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) is the most prolific, having been responsible for approximately 47% of all NEOs discovered. It continues to find a few new asteroids every week, but even so, it has dramatically improved its capabilities in recent years. In 2005, it found 310 new asteroids, whereas, in 2019, it found 1067.

With those sensing capabilities, the CSS has been even more effective at finding smaller asteroids. Scientists are pretty sure theyve found all the large space rocks that fit the definition of an NEA i.e., that its orbit takes it at least within 1.3 AU of the Sun. Large, in this case, is quantified as a few kilometers in diameter enough to cause an extinction-level event if it were to hit Earth.

More recently, CSS and its fellow asteroid hunters have been concentrating on smaller rocks on the order of a few hundred meters in diameter. Being much smaller, these are also much harder to detect as they arent as bright in the night sky as their larger cousins. While these could still cause significant damage if they were to impact Earth, none appear to be on an immediate collision course at least for the next 100 years.

However, there are over 1,400 that have a non-zero chance of hitting Earth in the future. A team of planetary defenders (and asteroid hunters) employed by ESA stress that there isnt any immediate danger, and we will have plenty of time to summon up a mission like the recently successful DART to push any threatening asteroid out of the way well before it causes any issues.

But if youre still interested in learning which floating balls of rock and ice are most dangerous, ESA maintains an Asteroid Risk List that keeps track of their orbits and the chances they will impact Earth. Hopefully, that wont be useful for anything other than to keep track of potential sites for asteroid mining.

However, even with all its improving technology and continually growing list of potential targets, there is still a chance that the planetary defenders at ESA and elsewhere missed one. Or there might be a long-period metallic comet with no tail that could literally come out of the black directly on a collision course. The only way we can eliminate that possibility is by continually monitoring the sky and, when necessary, by taking action. This 30,000 NEA milestone is another successful step on that journey.

Learn More:ESA 30 000 near-Earth asteroids discovered and risingESA NEO Risk ListUT The Most Threatening Asteroid Just got Downgraded to Harmless. No Impact in 2052UT Astronomers Just Practiced What Would Happen if a Potentially Dangerous Asteroid was Detected

Lead Image:Screenshot from a video visualizing Gaias search for stars.Credit ESA

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Astronomers Have Found More Than 30000 Near-Earth Asteroids... so far - Universe Today

HELSINKI The Chinese Academy of Sciences is considering potential missions including a Ceres orbiter and a huge telescope to hunt for clues about the nature of dark matter.

More than 20 candidates are vying for funding for further study under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Strategic Priority Program on Space Science (SPP), also known as the New Horizon Program, and are currently undergoing evaluation.

The National Space Science Center (NSSC) in Beijing is expected to organize a panel of experts to review these pre-phase A candidates and make project priority recommendations in the second half of 2022. The selected missions could then move ahead with further study and potentially be developed into missions over the next decade.

A handful of the mission proposals are named in a paper on the progress of the third round of SPP mission selection published in the Chinese Journal of Space Science. These are the Very Large Area Gamma-ray Space Telescope (VLAST), a Space Weather program, a Ceres exploration program and a Gravity Experimental Satellite.

The proposals cover the fields of space astronomy and astrophysics, exoplanets, heliophysics, planetary science, Earth science, space biology and fundamental physics.

Few details are known at this point regarding most of the missions but the Ceres and VLAST missions appear to be more defined.

It is understood the Ceres proposal would be an orbiter carrying a ground-penetrating radar as a main payload, focusing on the origin of Ceres and its underground ocean and volcanic geological activities.

The only spacecraft to visit Ceres so far is NASAs Dawn mission, approved under the Discovery Program and launched in 2007. Ceres is recognized as an ocean world with potential ongoing geological activity and could be further assessed for potential habitability. The mission could provide new insights in these areas, furthering understanding of Ceres and, by extension, ocean worlds and volatiles elsewhere in the solar system.

VLAST would seek to detect signals of dark matter in gamma ray emissions, following on from the DAMPE mission launched in 2015. It would also conduct gamma ray astronomy in the mega- and giga-electron volt range and make measurements of cosmic rays.

VLAST is expected to increase the sensitivity of the Fermi Large Area Telescope by a factor of 10, according to a paper in Acta Astronomica Sinica in May this year. The roughly 16-metric-ton observatory would need to be launched by a Long March 5 rocket.

More immediately the CAS is evaluating 13 missions for possible implementation across 2025-2030 as part of the SPP III round of missions.

From the candidates 5-7 missions will be selected from the fields of space astronomy and astrophysics, exoplanets, heliophysics and planetary and Earth science. Candidates include a Venus orbiter, an astronomy constellation in lunar orbit, exoplanet hunting missions, ocean and climate missions and solar observatories.

SPP III is an effective approach to promote Chinas space activities, and make great contributions to international space science and exploration, according to the journal paper.

The emergence of the New Horizons Program shows China is also looking to develop medium-class missions alongside the flagship Change lunar and Tianwen deep space missions and could add to its deep space exploration depending on mission selection.

The proposed CAS missions are also somewhat separate from, and additional to, the Change and Tianwen missions, which are nominally under the aegis of the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

Tianwen-1 launched in 2020, sending an orbiter and rover to Mars. Tianwen-2 will be a combined near-Earth asteroid sampling and comet rendezvous mission launching around 2025, while Tianwen-3 is to attempt to collect samples from Mars and deliver them to Earth, launching in 2028.

Tianwen-4 will launch a pair of spacecraft towards Jupiter around 2030. One will study the Jovian system and enter orbit around Callisto, with the other using a gravity assist to head for a flyby of Uranus.

SPP III follows on from a first Strategic Priority Program on Space Science which saw the DAMPE, HXMT, Shijian-10 and Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS) missions launched across 2015-2017.

The SPP II missions include the Einstein Probe, due to launch next year, the Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor (GECAM) launched in 2020, the Advanced space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S) launching this year, and the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) in collaboration with the European Space Agency.

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China considering mission to Ceres and large dark matter space telescope - SpaceNews

Classification: Academic Level ASalary package: $76,271 - $95,732 per annum plus 17% SuperannuationTerm:Full time, Fixed term (5 years, Two positions available)Position Description:PD and PEWER - Academic Level A.pdf

The Area

TheANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics(RSAA) operates Australias largest optical observatory and has access to the worlds largest optical telescopes.

Our staff and students have made major contributions to astronomy, mapping the structure and formation of the Milky Way, discovering planets orbiting other stars, measuring dark matter both within our Galaxy and in the wider Universe, and discovering the accelerating expansion of the Universe.

Our astronomers include winners of the Prime Ministers Prize for Science and the Nobel Prize.

RSAA is based inMount Stromlo Observatorywhich hosts theAdvanced Instrumentation and Technology Centrewhich is a national facility established to support the development of the next generation of instruments for astronomy and space science.

The Position

We are seeking two (2) Postdoctoral Fellow(s) to work as part of Professor Mark Krumholz's research group on a research project related to his recently-awarded ARC Laureate Fellowship. The Postdoctoral Fellows will carry out research in the area of computational astrophysics and galaxy evolution.

The Person

To excel in this role you are required to have a PhD (or awarding of a PhD within six months of appointment commencement) in astronomy, physics, or a closely-related field, and to have demonstrated research ability in astrophysics as evidenced by refereed publications in the field. Past experience with large-scale simulation and astrophysical code development is highly desirable.

The Australian National University is a world-leading institution and provides a range of lifestyle, financial and non-financial rewards and programs to support staff in maintaining a healthy work/life balance whilst encouraging success in reaching their full career potential. For more information, please click here.

To see what the Science at ANU community is like, we invite you to follow us on social media at Instagram and Facebook.

For more information about the position please contact Professor Mark Krumholz on T: +61 2 6125 8033 or E: mark.krumholz@anu.edu.au

ANU Values diversity and inclusion and is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to those of all backgrounds and identities. People with a disability are encouraged to apply. For more information about staff equity at ANU, click here.

Application information

In order to apply for this role, please make sure that you upload the following documents:

Applications which do not address the selection criteria may not be considered for the position.

Please note: The successful candidate will be required to undergo a background check during the recruitment process. An offer of employment is conditional on satisfactory results.

Closing date: 23 December 2022

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Postdoctoral Fellow, ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics job with AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY (ANU) | 312342 - Times Higher Education