Star Astronomy News

Understanding how large star clusters form could tell us more about star formation when the universe was young

Tonight we’ll journey to the truly titanic 30 Doradus nebula (also called the Tarantula nebula), 170 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. The Large Magellanic Cloud is a smaller satellite galaxy to the Milky Way, where astronomers recently discovered something they suspected about the formation of larger star clusters.

The spider legs seen in this Hubble Space Telescope are regions of intense star formation

Using Hubble’s the Wide Field Camera 3, we’ll be able to look at images of the Tarantula nebula filled with startling reds, greens and blues, which indicates to astronomers the elemental composition of the region. Blue light is from the hottest, most massive stars astronomers have found to date. Red light is from fluorescing hydrogen gas, while green light is the glow of oxygen.

Every element on the periodic table gives off light with a specific signature upon fluorescing. Scientists use this knowledge to analyze the light reaching Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 from the Tarantula nebula, to determine the elemental composition of the matter in question. They hope to use this knowledge to answer questions they have concerning star formation when the universe was still in its infancy.

We’ll specifically journey to a region of the 30 Doradus nebula where astronomers recently discovered a pair of star clusters, which they first thought was a single star cluster, is in fact a pair of star clusters in the initial stages of merging into a larger star cluster. Astronomers now think the merging of star clusters could help explain the abundance of large star clusters throughout the visible universe.

Lead scientist Elena Sabbi of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland and her team first started looking at the region to find runaway stars. Runaway stars are fast-moving stars that have been kicked out of the stellar nursery where they first formed. Astronomers found the region surrounding 30 Doradus has a large number of runaway stars, which according to current star formation theories could not have formed at their present location. Astronomers now believe the runaway stars outside 30 Doradus could have been ejected out of the region at high speed due to dynamic interactions with other stellar bodies as the two star clusters merge into one larger star cluster.

The first clue to the true nature of the event astronomers were viewing was the fact that parts of the star cluster varied in age by about 1 million years. Upon further study the team noticed the distribution of low-mass stars detected by Hubble were not spherical in shape as astronomers expected, but resembled the elongated shape of two merging galaxies. Now astronomers are studying this region of space and time to find clues to help them understand the way larger star clusters are formed in the universe. They also hope this discovery will help determine interesting and enlightening facts concerning the formation of star clusters when the universe was still young.

Astronomers are also looking further at this region of space and time to find other star clusters in the process of merging in the 30 Doradus nebula. They plan on using the ability of the James Webb Space Telescope to detect infrared light, once it comes on line, to take a closer look at areas within the Tarantula nebula where they think stars hidden within cocoons of dust are blocked from the view of telescopes and instruments detecting visible light.

Can be viewed in the pulsar zoo

Space News

Thursday, December 29, 2011 – Astronomers once believed that stars with a mass over 25 times that of our own sun would eventually become black holes. Astronomers are presently reassessing this belief in light of new evidence suggesting magnetars with a mass as much as 40 times that of our sun exist amidst the pulsar zoo. Magnetars are neutron stars with magnetic fields a million billion times as powerful as the one surrounding Earth. Presently astronomers have discovered about 16 stellar bodies they believe to be magnetars.

Astronomers of The Open University in the United Kingdom recently discovered a stellar body they believe to be a magnetar, they have designed CXO J164710.2-455216, while studying the closest super-star cluster to Earth Westerlund 1. Taking a closer look at a binary star system in Westerlund 1. Astronomers determined the stellar object designed as CXO J164710.2-455216 must have once had a stellar mass at least 40 times that of our own sun. This news is currently causing astronomers to rethink present theories on the formation of black holes. They're presently trying to determine the stellar mass a sun needs to collapse to form a black hole.

NASA scientists are eagerly awaiting more Hubble Space Telescope images of a unusual galaxy in the constellation Draco that currently has the attention of astronomers around the world. The Burst Alert Telescope on NASA's Swift satellite came to life on March 28^th as it detected distant explosions over 3.8 billion light-years away in the constellation Draco. Explosions thousands or possibly millions of times more intense than any in the history of the human journey to the beginning of space and time, now known to astronomers and the world as gamma-ray burst (GRB) 110328A (Sw 1644+57). NASA scientists are currently using the imaging power of Swift, the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope to look into the mystery surrounding this series of powerful x-ray blasts that occurred in the centre of a distant galaxy over 3.8 billion years ago.

The explosions were detected as a source of x-rays emanating from the centre of the host galaxy and the original scientific data was collected over a three or four hour period on March 28. Take a look at the first image taken by Swift on March 28^th below, which was made by combining images taken by the ultraviolet and x-ray telescopes on Swift. The first light image of the centre of the host galaxy where the explosion was centred occurred was taken with Wide Angle Camera 3 of the Hubble Space Telescope on April 4.

The most interesting development in this for astronomers is the area near the centre of the host galaxy has continued to erupt and subside since Swift detected the first x-rays emanating from the centre of this distant galaxy. This is the first event of this magnitude astronomers have witnessed during the human journey to the beginning of space and time. They all want to get a front row seat to the greatest fireworks display in the history of human space exploration.

Huge x-ray bursts like the ones first detected by Swift usually signalled the death of a massive star, according to previous observations by astronomers during the human journey to the beginning of the universe. But previous x-ray bursts observed following the death of a massive star never lasted for more than a few hours, unlike the ones emanating from the centre of this host galaxy 3.8 billion light-years away, which are continuing to periodically beam x-rays across space and time like a lighthouse.

What do astronomers think caused this lighthouse in space and time to erupt at this time in the human journey to the beginning of space and time? Astronomers propose that a wandering star might have come too close to the super massive black hole believed to be at the centre of the host galaxy and all galaxies. This would certainly cause the star in question to be torn apart by gravitational forces as it wandered closer to the centre of the the host galaxy. The gases from this disrupted star would continue to be drawn into the black hole like water down the drain, which could cause the black hole to erupt in jets of particles of energy along its axis of rotation. In this case the jet of energy erupting from the black hole must be in alignment with Earth, for us to be able to witness this event for the first time in human history. A true one of a kind light show during the human journey to the beginning of space and time.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Mankind has studied the moon more than the bottom of the oceans of Earth and while to many this maybe in doubt, the facts speak for themselves. NASA and star gazers around the Earth have taken millions of images of the moon during the past fifty years, while we are just starting to dive into the deepest depths of Earth's oceans.

Apollo 11 landing site of the Eagle

NASA has also just released a new batch of images and measurements of the moon, wondrous new views and maps of the moon have been added to the inventory of data and images humankind has collected on the moon. This batch was sent back to Earth by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), which marks the fifth and final set of data for this spacecraft.

The new maps and images show three complementary views of the near side of the moon; the topography, surface slope values and roughness of the topography. All three images are also of the relatively young impact crater Tycho, a crater that hasn't been studied in depth before, but one that has been noted in previous moon studies. This time we're getting the best view of this crater and the surrounding area than ever before and the pictures show a surface you probably wouldn't want to walk on.

It of course makes sense that we studied the closest celestial body to Earth, once we did decide to venture forth beyond the boundary of our fears. Man will likely push the boundaries of exploration on both the bottom of the oceans of Earth and in the desire to travel to other planets in our solar system and stars in the galaxy in the decades to come. The bottom of the Earth is of course closer and therefore definitely easier to reach for mankind and during the adventure we'll certainly learn things that will help us survive once we venture forth into the unknown of space and time.

In a sense we are living in one of the most exciting times for science and the understanding of the world around us and in others humans are facing maybe the most troubling times of our existence on Earth. We can only hope that if we do venture forth into the unknown we take the good along with us and not just the bad human qualities, or we could be doomed to repeat the process all over again on another planet.

Celestial bodies in the night's sky are often named after their discoverers

Take a look at the night sky above you and name a few of the celestial objects you know in your head. Would you like to leave your name written in the annals of astronomy and human history? One of the greatest honours for an astronomer is to have their name adorn a celestial body in the night sky. Look up into the night sky and many of the stellar bodies you see will have been named in honour of their discoverer, a famous figure of history or science, or will have been given a designation of some type to distinguish them from other stellar bodies. Humans will forever speak of the distant ice balls at the fringe of the solar system we refer too as the Kuiper Belt and Haley's Comet.

True, the chances of a celestial body in the night sky being named for a particular amateur astronomer is remote, at best, considering the competition and the fact that the decision is made by other powers in the universe. The possibility of this certainly increases for a professional astronomer making a significant discovery, but the final decision is still in the hands of other powers. There are a lot more amateur astronomers looking at the night sky on a nightly basis than professional astronomers, and this fact alone is going to make it likely that amateur astronomers will make significant contributions to the history of astronomy.

It certainly wouldn't be surprising if a professional astronomer or two have spent a few moments in contemplation of a celestial body being named in their honour or moment in time when they could be making astronomy history. Speculating astronomers might have even gone to the trouble of choosing a name for their discovery? The actual naming of newly discovered celestial bodies is actually conducted by other powers in the world of astronomy.

This doesn't mean that amateur astronomers aren't honoured by having their names adorn a celestial body in the night sky. Tom Bopp, an amateur star-gazer will forever live-on in the minds of humans as the discoverer of the biggest comet of the twentieth century, Hale-Bopp, which was also independently discovered by astronomer Alan Hale.

The only way you can hope to leave your name written in the history of astronomy is to spend time watching the night sky above you. Every time you board your time machine to the stars soar upward and out into the cosmos, you could find something that no human has seen before.

Join me every night as we'll journey to the beginning of the universe and go on a voyage of discovery that will take us to unknown parts of the universe.

Oldest stars in Milky Way Galaxy appear to be captured parts of other galaxies

Astronomers studying the oldest stars in the Milky Way Galaxy think that the most ancient stars in the Milky Way Galaxy could be parts of other galaxies that have been transferred or captured by the Milky Way Galaxy during gigantic collisions between galaxies. A new computer simulation conducted as part of a study supporting this idea is expected to appear in an upcoming issue of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Andrew Cooper, of Durham University in the United Kingdom, and his fellow astronomers simulated the evolution of stars and dark matter, from 13 billions year in the past, to present time.

The Milky Way Galaxy has a disc containing young stars, including Sol, while the surrounding stellar halo is the home of stars as old as 10 billion years. Astronomers journeying to this part of space using their time machine to the stars search the stellar halo, much like archaeologists search ancient rock strata, to discern facts about the formation and life cycle of the Milky Way Galaxy. Astronomers in the United Kingdom report that the stellar halo contains stellar debris left over from a period of time during the life cycle of the Milky Way Galaxy that ended about 5 billion years ago, when smaller galaxies collided and ripped each other part.

Cycles of Life

Astrophysicists studying stars use the closest star to Earth as their main test subject, Sol. Astronomers met recently during the American Astronomical Society meeting on May 26 in Miami to discuss the usefulness and reliability of three new techniques being used by current solar scientists to delve into the mysteries of the sun. "Scientists hope these three new techniques will help them predict the future behavior of Sol and jet streams, rhythmic oscillations, and magnetic activity all hold promise for solar scientists peering into the depths of the sun."

David H. Hathaway of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center used the meridional flow scientists studying Sol associate with an increase in the intensity of the solar cycle of Sol, to make a prediction that Sol's current cycle will peak around 2013, although he thinks this peak will be about half the size of the past three solar peaks.

Sushanta Tripathy and Frank Hill of the National Solar Observatory have been studying vibrations from Sol's surface they call rhythmic oscillations. Their studies have found a strong correlation exists between rhythmic oscillations and the activity level of Sol. They used their data to show that during the present minimum activity period of Sol, a double minimum in solar activity occurred, which they think could in some way relate to Sol's current in activity.

Julia Saba of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center has been taking a look at the data collected concerning the activity of Sol's magnetic field. Her work has helped her predict, up to 18 months ahead of time, when Cycle 24 would start, and to speculate that Cycle 24 will be weaker and longer in length than average.

 

　

  Supernova SN 2005E Says Hello to the Universe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A supernova is one of the most spectacular and massive events astronomers journeying backward to the beginning of space and time view, and can often be billions of times as bright as Sol, or shine brighter than an entire galaxy. Take a journey to a supernova, like SN 2005E, which astronomers became aware of when it lite up the spiral galaxy NGC 1032 in 2005, and your view of life and the universe would change forever.

Astronomers had previously only viewed supernovae occurring in two ways during their Journey to the Beginning of Space and Time. In the first example, the massive core of a star collapses inward near the end of its life cycle, creating a shock wave that expels the star's outer layers into the cold darkness of space and time. In the second, a white dwarf star steals matter from a companion star, until it reaches 1.4 solar masses. At this point, the white dwarf star is unable to support anymore weight, according to natural law, and detonates in a titanic stellar explosion brighter than a galaxy.

A team of astronomers looking at the data obtained by space scientists studying supernova SN 2005E believe this supernova could represent a third, as yet unseen, path nature uses to create a supernova. This analysis of this team of scientists has determined that this supernova occurred in a region of space and time devoid of massive stars. They also determined that this supernova only ejected a small volume of stellar material (0.3 solar masses) and abnormally high levels of calcium and radioactive titanium into the universe.

Team member Alex Filipenko of the University of California, Berkeley, and team leaders Hagai Perets of the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge and Avishay Gal-Yam of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, conclude supernova SN 2005E took place between a low-mass white dwarf star that was stealing helium from a companion star. They also believe the volume of calcium released during supernova SN 2005E was large enough that only a few similar supernovae would be sufficient per century to provide all of the calcium presently viewed in the Milky Way Galaxy.

Supernova SN 2005E Says Hello to the Universe

Locating asteroids traveling through the solar system

Locating smaller celestial objects in the night sky is harder and time-consuming, but with a little patience and perception all star-gazers, both amateur and professional, can journey to a nearby asteroid traveling through the solar system to view these smaller travelers through time and space.

How do astronomers locate small and distant celestial bodies traveling through the darkness of the solar system at speeds beyond human experience? We'll use the story of asteroid Hebe 6 to illustrate the methods and techniques professional astronomers and even amateur astronomers can use to find asteroids in the darkness of space and time.

In the solar system's distant past, two asteroids traveling through the inner solar system, collided in an explosion resulting in the formation of a huge cloud of floating debris. Fast forward to present time, these same pieces of space debris came falling to Earth one by one as meteorites. Scientists collecting the remains of these meteorites were able to follow the facts collected from their studies of these meteorites back to the source of the debris, Hebe 6.

Surprisingly, astronomers believe about 40 percent of the meteorites falling to Earth, share this same story of genesis from Hebe 6, during a collision with another unknown object in the darkness of the solar system in the distant past.

Hebe 6 appears to have survived the collision, and there haven't been any estimates of the volume of debris comprising the dust cloud resulting from this distant collision in space and time, so scientists have no real way of determining the original size of Hebe 6, so far. Hebe 6 still spans at least 120 miles and shines at 8th magnitude, so using your time-machine-to-the-stars you should be able to view Hebe 6. Travel to your favorite dark sky spot for this adventure, you'll need to point your viewer at 2nd magnitude star Beta Ceti. You'll find Beta Ceti southeast of Jupiter in October's southern night sky, just star-hop westward to 7 Ceti and then jump 2 degrees south to find Hebe 6. How will you know you have located Hebe 6 and not a background star? To make sure of the identity of Hebe 6, note the positions of the objects closest to your target, and then return in a couple of hours. Recheck the positions of the objects you recorded, if you're found Hebe 6, your target will have moved relative to the objects you have noted close by in the night sky.

Star maps and the Greek alphabet