DOCSLIB.ORG

Supernova Educator Guide (PDF)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Supernova Educator Guide (PDF) Supernova educator Guide http://glast.sonoma.edu http://xmm.sonoma.edu Content 2 About this Guide 2 Summary of Activities 3 National Science Education Standards for Supernova Activities 4 Mathematics Standards for Supernova Activities 5 What is XMM-Newton? 5 What is the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST)? 6 Introduction to Supernovae 8 Why Stars Explode 10 • Activity 1 - Fishing for Supernovae 14 Student Handout 15 • Activity 2 - The Crawl of the Crab 19 Student Handout 21-22 Crab images 23 Student Worksheet 25 • Activity 3 - Magnetic Poles and Pulsars 27 A. Seeing Magnetic Fields 30 Magnetic Globe Demo 31 Student Worksheet 32 B. Make Your Own Pulsar 33 Student Worksheet 34 Transfer Activity: Comparing the Earth to a Pulsar 35 Student Worksheet 37 • Activity 4 - Neutron Stars in the News 38 Student Worksheet 39 XMM-Newton makes the first measurement of a dead star’s magnetism 40 “Starquake” reveals star’s powerful magnetic field by David Shiga 41 Appendix A - Glossary 42 Appendix B - References and Resources 44-47 Appendix C - Activity 1 Playing Cards Plates Supernova Educator Guide -- Layout and Design by Aurore Simonnet, NASA Education and Public Outreach Group, Sonoma State University, CA Since st udents remember and understand better when ely engage in manipulating the concepts about they activ which they are learning, we have included several hands- on activities to help keep their interest and reinforce their About this Guide comprehension and retention of the scientific concepts Busy educators sometimes have trouble finding ways to behind the current observations of the XMM-Newton help their students feel the excitement of science in ac- mission and the future observations of the GLAST mis- tion. As a part of its educational effort, the NASA Ed- sion. We have also included information about both mis- ucation and Public Outreach group at Sonoma State sions, what kind of objects they will observe, and why as- University has put together an educational guide based tronomers are interested in them. To help you determine on the science of NASA’s Gamma-ray Large Area Space when these activities might be of most use to you in your Telescope (GLAST) and the joint ESA/NASA XMM- science and/or math curriculum, we have included in the Newton Observatory. The science specifically detailed in following pages a list of all of the national math and sci- this guide involves multi-wavelength views of the dramat- ence standards with which each activity is aligned. ic explosion at the endpoint of the life ofpulsar a massive, a rotating star What will my students learn from these activities? This se- – i.e., a supernova. We also present an activity that relates ries of activities uses supernovae – distant explosions from the Earth’s magnetic field to that of a dying stars – as an engagement to teach basic concepts in city-sized collapsed star that can be formed in the super- physical science and mathematics. Below is a summary of nova’s aftermath. There is also the opportunity to improve all of the activities in this guide. your science literacy skills by analyzing two news articles about pulsars. Both news articles are based on discoveries y of A from XMM-Newton observations. Summar ctivities Activity 1 - Fishing for Supernovae Brief overview: ime ame similar to “go fish” in which they Students will play a card g rnova separated in t match multi-wavelength images of different supernova remnants. Activity 2 – Crawl of the Crabupe pansion rate of the ief overview: Science Concepts: Br s use two images of a s • Different physical processes produce light of different wavelengths Student ades to determine the ex velengths of light to determine what is by several decglowing. gas • Scientists use different wa an be observed happening in the Universe ge over time bjects chan Science Conceptsl o ronomical objects c Duration: 1 hour me ast • Astronomica ant can be used to Essential Question: What do supernova remnants look like in differ- • The change in so upernova remn ent wavelengths of light? and measured e Grades: 7 – 8 • The expansion of a s upernova explo- determine its ag g remnant? n the date of a s ndin ion: 1 hour Durat uestion: Howg ca images of the expa Essential Q e determined usin Activity 3 – Magnetic Poles and Pulsars sion b Brief overview: Grades: 9 – 12 Students investigate magnetic fields in two and three dimensions, and compare the magnetic field of a pulsar to that of the Earth and ws -science literacy extension other astronomical objects. Activity 4 - Neutron Stars in the Ne view: out XMM-Newton Science Concepts: Brief over o different articles ab ze tw ic fields. • Magnetic field lines form closed loops in three dimensions. Students read and analy ars and their magnet nvolving neutron st • When the rotation and magnetic axes of a neutron star are not discoveries i aligned, pulsations can result. mately one Science Concepts: tron stars are approxi ic fields no neu t types • Like a pulsar, the Earth’s magnetic and rotation axes are not Even though magnet he Earth’s surface, differen onger than that on t aligned. However, the magnetic field of a pulsar is approximately trillion times str ith strengths that differ by a ave magnetic fields w one trillion times stronger than that on the Earth’s surface. of neutron stars can h factor of 10,000. Duration: 1-2 hours Essential Questions: Duration: 1 hour w do the magnetic fields of different types of - What does a dipole magnetic field look like in three dimensions? Essential Question: Ho - How do neutron stars emit pulses? neutron stars compare? - How do the magnetic fields of the Earth and a pulsar compare? Grades: 8 – 12 Grades: 9 – 12 sonoma.edu/edu/supernova http://xmm.2 sietivitcva Aornepur Sords Fadntan Siotacude Ecniecl SaniotaN Ecniecl Siotacude Fadntan Sords Aornepur sietivitcva Activity 1 — Grades 7-8 Activity 2 — Grades 9-12 Activity 3 — Grades 9-12 Activity 4 — Grades 8-12 Fishing for Supernovae The Crawl of the Crab Magnetic Poles and Pulsars Neutron Stars in the News • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry - Use of technology and mathematics to - Identifying questions • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry Science as Inquiry improve, invest, and communicate - Design and conduct investigations - Recognize and analyze alternative - Recognize and analyze alternative - Formulate and revise scientific explanations and models explanations and models explanations • Understanding about scientific inquiry • Understanding about scientific inquiry • Understanding about scientific inquiry Physical Science • Conservation of energy and increase in • Motion and forces • Properties and changes of disorder • Interactions of energy and matter 3 properties in matter Earth and Space Science • Origin and evolution of the universe • Origin and evolution of the Universe • Abilities of technological design - Implement a proposed solution - Evaluate the solution and its • Understanding about Science and Technology consequences science and technology - Communicate the problem, process, and solution • Understanding about scientific inquiry History and Nature of • Science as a human endeavor • Science as a human endeavor • Science as a human endeavor • Science as a human endeavor Science • Nature of science knowledge • Nature of science knowledge • Nature of science knowledge • Nature of science knowledge Activity 4 - Neutron Stars in the News the in Stars 4-Neutron Activity Supernovae for 1-Fishing Activity Activities Supernova for Standards Mathematics Activity 2 Activity 3 The Crawl of the Crab - Grades 9 - 12 Magnetic Poles and Pulsars - Grades 9 - 12 • Understand patterns, relations, and functions • Represent and analyze mathematical situations and struc- tures using algebraic symbols Algebra • Use mathematical models to represent and understand quan- titative relationships : No math standards for this activity. this for standards math : No • Specify locations and describe spatial relationships using • Specify locations and describe spatial relationships using coordinate coordinate geometry and other representational systems geometry and other representational systems activity. this for standards math : No Geometry • Use visualization, spatial reasoning, and geometric modeling • Use visualization, spatial reasoning, and geometric modeling to solve to solve problems problems • Understand measurable attributes of objects and the units, • Understand measurable attributes of objects and the units, systems, and systems, and processes of measurement processes of measurement Measurement • Apply appropriate techniques, tools, and formulas to deter- • Apply appropriate techniques, tools, and formulas to determine mea- 4 mine measurements surements • Formulate questions that can be addressed with data and col- lect, organize, and display relevant data to answer them Data Analysis and Probability • Select and use appropriate statistical methods to analyze data • Develop and evaluate inferences and predictions that are based on data • Develop and evaluate inferences and predictions that are based on data • Organize and consolidate their mathematical thinking • Organize and consolidate their mathematical thinking through com- through communication munication Communication • Communicate their mathematical thinking coherently and • Communicate their mathematical thinking coherently and clearly to clearly to peers, teachers, and others peers, teachers, and others • Recognize and use connections among mathematical ideas • Recognize
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Exploring Pulsars
    High-energy astrophysics Explore the PUL SAR menagerie Astronomers are discovering many strange properties of compact stellar objects called pulsars. Here’s how they fit together. by Victoria M. Kaspi f you browse through an astronomy book published 25 years ago, you’d likely assume that astronomers understood extremely dense objects called neutron stars fairly well. The spectacular Crab Nebula’s central body has been a “poster child” for these objects for years. This specific neutron star is a pulsar that I rotates roughly 30 times per second, emitting regular appar- ent pulsations in Earth’s direction through a sort of “light- house” effect as the star rotates. While these textbook descriptions aren’t incorrect, research over roughly the past decade has shown that the picture they portray is fundamentally incomplete. Astrono- mers know that the simple scenario where neutron stars are all born “Crab-like” is not true. Experts in the field could not have imagined the variety of neutron stars they’ve recently observed. We’ve found that bizarre objects repre- sent a significant fraction of the neutron star population. With names like magnetars, anomalous X-ray pulsars, soft gamma repeaters, rotating radio transients, and compact Long the pulsar poster child, central objects, these bodies bear properties radically differ- the Crab Nebula’s central object is a fast-spinning neutron star ent from those of the Crab pulsar. Just how large a fraction that emits jets of radiation at its they represent is still hotly debated, but it’s at least 10 per- magnetic axis. Astronomers cent and maybe even the majority.
    [Show full text]
  • Determination of the Night Sky Background Around the Crab Pulsar Using Its Optical Pulsation
    28th International Cosmic Ray Conference 2449 Determination of the Night Sky Background around the Crab Pulsar Using its Optical Pulsation E. O˜na-Wilhelmi1,2, J. Cortina3, O.C. de Jager1, V. Fonseca2 for the MAGIC collaboration (1) Unit for Space Physics, Potchefstroom University for CHE, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa (2) Dept. de f´isica At´omica, Nuclear y Molecular, UCM, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, Madrid, Spain (3) Institut de Fisica de l’Altes Energies, UAB, Barcelona, Spain Abstract The poor angular resolution of imaging γ-ray telescopes is offset by the large collection area of the next generation telescopes such as MAGIC (17 m diameter) which makes the study of optical emission associated with some γ-ray sources feasible. In particular the optical photon flux causes an increase in the photomultiplier DC currents. Furthermore, the extremely fast response of PMs make them ideal detectors for fast (subsecond) optical transients and periodic sources like pulsars. The HEGRA CT1 telescope (1.8 m radius) is the smallest Cerenkovˆ telescope which has seen the Crab optical pulsations. 1. Method Imaging Atmospheric Cerenkovˆ Detectors (IACT) can be used to detect the optical emission of an astronomical object through the increase it generates in the currents of the camera pixels [7,3]. Since the Crab pulsar shows pulsed emission in the optical wavelengths with the same frequency as in radio and most probably of VHE γ-rays, we use the central pixel of CT1 [5] and MAGIC [1] to monitor the optical Crab pulsation. Before the Crab observations were performed, the expected rate of the Crab pulsar and background were estimated theoretically.
    [Show full text]
  • The Baader Planetarium
    1 THE BAADER PLANETARIUM INSTRUCTION MANUAL BAADER PLANETARIUM Zur Sternwarte M 82291 Mammendorf M Tel. 08145/8802 M Fax 08145/8805 www.baader-planetarium.de M [email protected] M www.celestron-deutschland.de 2 HINTS/TECHNICAL 1. YOUR PLANETARIUM OPERATES BY A DC MINIATUR MOTOR. IT'S LIFETIME IS THEREFORE LIMITED. PLEASE HAVE THE MOTOR USUALLY RUN IN THE SLOWEST SPEED POSSIBLE. FOR EXHIBITIONS OR PERMANENT DISPLAY A TIME LIMIT SWITCH IS A MUST. 2. DON'T HAVE THE SUNBULB WORKING IN THE HIGHEST STEP CONTINUOUSLY. THIS STEP IS FORSEEN ONLY FOR PROJECTING THE HEAVENS IF THE PLASTIC SUNCAP IS REMOVED. 3. CLOSE THE SPHERE AT ANY TIME POSSIBLE. HINTS/THEORETICAL 1. ESPECIALLY GIVE ATTENTION TO PAGE 5-3.F OF THE MANUAL. 2. CLOSE THE SPHERE SO THAT THE ORBIT LINES OF THE PLANETS INSIDE FIT CORRECTLY PAGE 6-5.A. 3. USUALLY DEMONSTRATE BY KEEPING THE EARTH'S ORBIT HORIZONTAL. 4. A SPECIAL EXPLANTATION FOR THE SEASONS IS POSSIBLE IF YOU TURN THE SPHERE TO A HORIZONTAL CELESTIAL EQUATOR. NOW THE EARTH MOVES UP AND DOWN ON ITS WAY AROUND THE SUN. MENTION THE APPEARING LIGHTPHASES. 5. REMEMBER THE GREATEST FINDING OF COPERNICUS: THE DISTANCE EARTH - SUN IS NEARLY ZERO COMPARED TO THE DISTANCE OF THE FIXED STARS. IN REALITY THE WHOLE SOLAR SYSTEM IN THE CELESTIAL SPHERE WOULD BE A PINPOINT IN THE CENTER. THIS HELPS TO UNDERSTAND THE MINUTE STELLAR PARALLAXE AND THE "FIXED" POSITION OF THE STARS COMPARED TO THE SUN'S CHANGING HEIGHT OVER THE HORIZON DURING THE YEAR. 3 INTRODUCTION For countless centuries the stars have been objects of mystery.
    [Show full text]
  • Reconsidering the Identification of M101 Hypernova Remnant
    Reconsidering the Identification of M101 Hypernova Remnant Candidates S. L. Snowden1,2, K. Mukai1,3, and W. Pence4 Code 662, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 and K. D. Kuntz5 Joint Center for Astrophysics, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, 21250 ABSTRACT Using a deep Chandra AO-1 observation of the face-on spiral galaxy M101, we examine three of five previously optically-identified X-ray sources which are spatially correlated with optical supernova remnants (MF54, MF57, and MF83). The X-ray fluxes from these objects, if due to diffuse emission from the remnants, are bright enough to require a new class of objects, with the possible attribution by Wang to diffuse emission from hypernova remnants. Of the three, MF83 was considered the most likely candidate for such an object due to its size, nature, and close positional coincidence. However, we find that MF83 is clearly ruled out as a hypernova remnant by both its temporal variability and spectrum. The bright X-ray sources previously associated with MF54 and MF57 are seen by Chandra to be clearly offset from the optical positions of the supernova remnants by several arc seconds, confirming a result suggested by the previous work. MF54 does have a faint X-ray counterpart, however, with a luminosity and temperature consistent with a normal supernova remnant of its size. The most likely classifications of the sources are as X-ray binaries. Although counting statistics are limited, over the 0.3–5.0 keV spectral band the data are well fit by simple absorbed power laws with luminosities in the 1038 − 1039 ergs s−1 range.
    [Show full text]
  • Experiencing Hubble
    PRESCOTT ASTRONOMY CLUB PRESENTS EXPERIENCING HUBBLE John Carter August 7, 2019 GET OUT LOOK UP • When Galaxies Collide https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP3x7TgvgR8 • How Hubble Images Get Color https://www.youtube.com/watch? time_continue=3&v=WSG0MnmUsEY Experiencing Hubble Sagittarius Star Cloud 1. 12,000 stars 2. ½ percent of full Moon area. 3. Not one star in the image can be seen by the naked eye. 4. Color of star reflects its surface temperature. Eagle Nebula. M 16 1. Messier 16 is a conspicuous region of active star formation, appearing in the constellation Serpens Cauda. This giant cloud of interstellar gas and dust is commonly known as the Eagle Nebula, and has already created a cluster of young stars. The nebula is also referred to the Star Queen Nebula and as IC 4703; the cluster is NGC 6611. With an overall visual magnitude of 6.4, and an apparent diameter of 7', the Eagle Nebula's star cluster is best seen with low power telescopes. The brightest star in the cluster has an apparent magnitude of +8.24, easily visible with good binoculars. A 4" scope reveals about 20 stars in an uneven background of fainter stars and nebulosity; three nebulous concentrations can be glimpsed under good conditions. Under very good conditions, suggestions of dark obscuring matter can be seen to the north of the cluster. In an 8" telescope at low power, M 16 is an impressive object. The nebula extends much farther out, to a diameter of over 30'. It is filled with dark regions and globules, including a peculiar dark column and a luminous rim around the cluster.
    [Show full text]
  • The Magic of the Atwood Sphere
    The magic of the Atwood Sphere Exactly a century ago, on June Dr. Jean-Michel Faidit 5, 1913, a “celestial sphere demon- Astronomical Society of France stration” by Professor Wallace W. Montpellier, France Atwood thrilled the populace of [email protected] Chicago. This machine, built to ac- commodate a dozen spectators, took up a concept popular in the eigh- teenth century: that of turning stel- lariums. The impact was consider- able. It sparked the genesis of modern planetariums, leading 10 years lat- er to an invention by Bauersfeld, engineer of the Zeiss Company, the Deutsche Museum in Munich. Since ancient times, mankind has sought to represent the sky and the stars. Two trends emerged. First, stars and constellations were easy, especially drawn on maps or globes. This was the case, for example, in Egypt with the Zodiac of Dendera or in the Greco-Ro- man world with the statue of Atlas support- ing the sky, like that of the Farnese Atlas at the National Archaeological Museum of Na- ples. But things were more complicated when it came to include the sun, moon, planets, and their apparent motions. Ingenious mecha- nisms were developed early as the Antiky- thera mechanism, found at the bottom of the Aegean Sea in 1900 and currently an exhibi- tion until July at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in Paris. During two millennia, the human mind and ingenuity worked constantly develop- ing and combining these two approaches us- ing a variety of media: astrolabes, quadrants, armillary spheres, astronomical clocks, co- pernican orreries and celestial globes, cul- minating with the famous Coronelli globes offered to Louis XIV.
    [Show full text]
  • Wind-Blown Bubbles and Hii Regions Around Massive
    RevMexAA (Serie de Conferencias), 30, 64{71 (2007) WIND-BLOWN BUBBLES AND HII REGIONS AROUND MASSIVE STARS S. J. Arthur1 RESUMEN La evoluci´on de las estrellas muy masivas est´a dominada por su p´erdida de masa, aunque las tasas de p´erdida de masa no se conocen con mucha precisi´on, particularmente una vez que la estrella sale de la secuencia principal. Los estudios de las nebulosas de anillo y de las cascarones de HI que rodean a muchas estrellas Wolf-Rayet (WR) y variables azules luminosas (LBV) proporcionan algo de informaci´on acerca de la historia de la p´erdida de masa en las etapas previas. Durante la secuencia principal y la fase WR los vientos estelares hipers´onicos forman burbujas en el medio circunestelar e interestelar. Estas dos fases est´an separadas por una etapa en donde la estrella pierde masa a una tasa muy alta pero a baja velocidad. Por lo tanto, el ambiente presupernova es determinado por la estrella progenitora misma, aun´ hasta distancias de algunas decenas de parsecs de la estrella. En este art´ıculo, se describen las diferentes etapas en la evoluci´on del medio circunestelar alrededar de una estrella de masa 40 M mediante simulaciones num´ericas. ABSTRACT Mass loss dominates the evolution of very massive stars, although the mass loss rates are not known exactly, particularly once the star has left the main sequence. Studies of the ring nebulae and HI shells that surround many Wolf-Rayet (WR) and luminous blue variable (LBV) stars provide some information on the previous mass-loss history.
    [Show full text]
  • Models for Earth and Maps
    Earth Models and Maps James R. Clynch, Naval Postgraduate School, 2002 I. Earth Models Maps are just a model of the world, or a small part of it. This is true if the model is a globe of the entire world, a paper chart of a harbor or a digital database of streets in San Francisco. A model of the earth is needed to convert measurements made on the curved earth to maps or databases. Each model has advantages and disadvantages. Each is usually in error at some level of accuracy. Some of these error are due to the nature of the model, not the measurements used to make the model. Three are three common models of the earth, the spherical (or globe) model, the ellipsoidal model, and the real earth model. The spherical model is the form encountered in elementary discussions. It is quite good for some approximations. The world is approximately a sphere. The sphere is the shape that minimizes the potential energy of the gravitational attraction of all the little mass elements for each other. The direction of gravity is toward the center of the earth. This is how we define down. It is the direction that a string takes when a weight is at one end - that is a plumb bob. A spirit level will define the horizontal which is perpendicular to up-down. The ellipsoidal model is a better representation of the earth because the earth rotates. This generates other forces on the mass elements and distorts the shape. The minimum energy form is now an ellipse rotated about the polar axis.
    [Show full text]
  • Exploring the Reasons for the Seasons Using Google Earth, 3D Models, and Plots
    International Journal of Digital Earth ISSN: 1753-8947 (Print) 1753-8955 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tjde20 Exploring the reasons for the seasons using Google Earth, 3D models, and plots Declan G. De Paor, Mladen M. Dordevic, Paul Karabinos, Stephen Burgin, Filis Coba & Steven J. Whitmeyer To cite this article: Declan G. De Paor, Mladen M. Dordevic, Paul Karabinos, Stephen Burgin, Filis Coba & Steven J. Whitmeyer (2016): Exploring the reasons for the seasons using Google Earth, 3D models, and plots, International Journal of Digital Earth, DOI: 10.1080/17538947.2016.1239770 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17538947.2016.1239770 © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group Published online: 21 Oct 2016. Submit your article to this journal View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=tjde20 Download by: [141.105.107.244] Date: 21 October 2016, At: 09:31 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DIGITAL EARTH, 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17538947.2016.1239770 Exploring the reasons for the seasons using Google Earth, 3D models, and plots Declan G. De Paora , Mladen M. Dordevicb , Paul Karabinosc , Stephen Burgind , Filis Cobae and Steven J. Whitmeyerb aDepartments of Physics and Ocean, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA; bDepartment of Geology and Environmental Science, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, USA; cDepartment of Geosciences, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, USA; dDepartment of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA; eDepartment of Physics, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY Public understanding of climate and climate change is of broad societal Received 7 May 2016 importance.
    [Show full text]
  • EVOLUTION of the CRAB NEBULA in a LOW ENERGY SUPERNOVA Haifeng Yang and Roger A
    Draft version August 23, 2018 Preprint typeset using LATEX style emulateapj v. 5/2/11 EVOLUTION OF THE CRAB NEBULA IN A LOW ENERGY SUPERNOVA Haifeng Yang and Roger A. Chevalier Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, P.O. Box 400325, Charlottesville, VA 22904; [email protected], [email protected] Draft version August 23, 2018 ABSTRACT The nature of the supernova leading to the Crab Nebula has long been controversial because of the low energy that is present in the observed nebula. One possibility is that there is significant energy in extended fast material around the Crab but searches for such material have not led to detections. An electron capture supernova model can plausibly account for the low energy and the observed abundances in the Crab. Here, we examine the evolution of the Crab pulsar wind nebula inside a freely expanding supernova and find that the observed properties are most consistent with a low energy event. Both the velocity and radius of the shell material, and the amount of gas swept up by the pulsar wind point to a low explosion energy ( 1050 ergs). We do not favor a model in which circumstellar interaction powers the supernova luminosity∼ near maximum light because the required mass would limit the freely expanding ejecta. Subject headings: ISM: individual objects (Crab Nebula) | supernovae: general | supernovae: indi- vidual (SN 1054) 1. INTRODUCTION energy of 1050 ergs (Chugai & Utrobin 2000). However, SN 1997D had a peak absolute magnitude of 14, con- The identification of the supernova type of SN 1054, − the event leading to the Crab Nebula, has been an en- siderably fainter than SN 1054 at maximum.
    [Show full text]
  • Stsci Newsletter: 1991 Volume 008 Issue 03
    SPACE 'fEIFSCOPE SOENCE ...______._.INSTITUIE Operated for NASA by AURA November 1991 Vol. 8No. 3 HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS ISSUE: HSTSCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS WF/PC OBSERVATIONS OF THE STELLAR O NEW SCIENCE RESULTS ON M87, CRAB PULSAR CUSP IN M87 O COSTAR PROGRESSING WELL The photograph on the left shows one of a set of images of the central regions of the giant ellipti­ O ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT HST DATA cal galaxy M87, obtained in June 1991 withHSI's Wide Field and Planetary Camera {WF/PC). 0 CYCLE 2 PEER REVIEW UNDERWAY Analysis of these images has revealed a stellar cusp in the core of M87, consistent with the pres­ ence of a massive black hole in its nucleus. A combined approach of image deconvolution and modelling has made it possible to investigate the starlight distribution in M87 down to a limiting radius of about 0'.'04 from the nucleus (or about 3 pc from the nucleus if the Virgo cluster is at 16 Mpc). The results show that the central struc­ ture of M87 can be described by three compo­ nents: a power-law starlight profile with an r·114 slope which continues unabated into the center, an unresolved central point source, and optical coun­ terparts of the jet knots identified by VLBI obser­ vations. In both the V- and /-band Planetary Camera images, the stellar cusp is consistent with the black-hole model proposed for M87 by Young et al. in 1978; in this model, there is a central mas­ sive object of about 3 x 109 Me.
    [Show full text]
  • 16Th HEAD Meeting Session Table of Contents
    16th HEAD Meeting Sun Valley, Idaho – August, 2017 Meeting Abstracts Session Table of Contents 99 – Public Talk - Revealing the Hidden, High Energy Sun, 204 – Mid-Career Prize Talk - X-ray Winds from Black Rachel Osten Holes, Jon Miller 100 – Solar/Stellar Compact I 205 – ISM & Galaxies 101 – AGN in Dwarf Galaxies 206 – First Results from NICER: X-ray Astrophysics from 102 – High-Energy and Multiwavelength Polarimetry: the International Space Station Current Status and New Frontiers 300 – Black Holes Across the Mass Spectrum 103 – Missions & Instruments Poster Session 301 – The Future of Spectral-Timing of Compact Objects 104 – First Results from NICER: X-ray Astrophysics from 302 – Synergies with the Millihertz Gravitational Wave the International Space Station Poster Session Universe 105 – Galaxy Clusters and Cosmology Poster Session 303 – Dissertation Prize Talk - Stellar Death by Black 106 – AGN Poster Session Hole: How Tidal Disruption Events Unveil the High 107 – ISM & Galaxies Poster Session Energy Universe, Eric Coughlin 108 – Stellar Compact Poster Session 304 – Missions & Instruments 109 – Black Holes, Neutron Stars and ULX Sources Poster 305 – SNR/GRB/Gravitational Waves Session 306 – Cosmic Ray Feedback: From Supernova Remnants 110 – Supernovae and Particle Acceleration Poster Session to Galaxy Clusters 111 – Electromagnetic & Gravitational Transients Poster 307 – Diagnosing Astrophysics of Collisional Plasmas - A Session Joint HEAD/LAD Session 112 – Physics of Hot Plasmas Poster Session 400 – Solar/Stellar Compact II 113
    [Show full text]