DOCSLIB.ORG

Interstellar Medium in Nearby Elliptical Radio Galaxies

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Interstellar Medium in Nearby Elliptical Radio Galaxies Universidad de Granada Departamento de Física, Teórica y del Cosmos Interstellar Medium in Nearby Elliptical Radio Galaxies Breezy Ocaña Flaquer Instituto de Radio Astronomía Milimétrica - IRAM Tesis Doctoral Editor: Editorial de la Universidad de Granada Autor: Breezy Ocaña Flaquer D.L.: GR 3095-2010 ISBN: 978-84-693-3311-2 Departamento de Física Teórica y del Cosmos Universidad de Granada Instituto de Radio Astronomía Milimétrica - IRAM Interstellar Medium in Nearby Elliptical Radio Galaxies Memoria presentada por: Breezy Ocaña Flaquer para optar al grado de Doctora por la Universidad de Granada Dirigida por: Stephane Leon Tanne (ALMA/ESO) Granada, 17 de Febrero de 2010 Como director de la tesis titulada Interstellar Medium in Nearby Elliptical Radio Galaxies, presentada por D. Breezy Ocaña Flaquer, Dr. Stephane Leon Tanne, Doctor en Ciencias Físicas. D: Que la presente memoria, titulada Interstellar Medium in Nearby Elliptical Radio Galaxies ha sido realizada por D. Breezy Ocaña Flaquer bajo su direcciíon en el Instituto de Radio Astronomía Milimétrica. Esta memoria constituye la tesis que D. Breezy Ocaña Flaquer presenta para optar al grado de Doctora por la Universidad de Granada. Granada, a 17 de Febrero de 2010 Fdo: Stephane Leon Tanne Breezy Ocaña Flaquer, autora de la tesis Interstellar Medium in Nearby Elliptical Radio Galaxies, autoriza a que un ejemplar de la misma quede ubicada en la Biblioteca de la Escuela Superior de Física de Granada. Fdo.: Breezy Ocaña Flaquer Granada, a 17 de Febrero de 2010 Esta tesis está dedicada a todos los que quieren cumplir un sueño, y a todos los niños dominicanos, y del mundo, que lo ven como imposible. Querer es poder! También está dedicada a todos los vivos que forma parte de mi y a todos los que hoy no forman parte del mundo tal como lo entendemos pero que han estado y han influenciado en mi vida. "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Mahatma Gandhi Contents List of Figures vii List of Tables xiii Resumen xix 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Galaxies . 1 1.1.1 Elliptical Galaxies . 1 1.2 Radio Galaxies . 2 1.3 Interstellar Medium in Radio Galaxies . 3 1.3.1 Molecular Gas . 4 1.3.2 Dust . 7 1.3.3 Classification of Radio Galaxies . 8 1.4 TANGO . 11 1.5 The goals of this work . 12 2 TANGO Sample 15 2.1 The Low and Medium redshift TANGO Sample . 15 2.1.1 Low z Sample . 15 2.1.2 Medium z Sample . 17 2.2 Catalog Presentation . 18 2.2.1 3CR Catalog . 19 2.2.2 New General Catalog -NGC . 19 2.2.3 Second Bologna Survey - B2 . 21 2.2.4 Ohio State University Radio Survey Catalog - OQ . 21 2.2.5 Uppsala General Catalog of Galaxies - UGC . 21 2.3 Optical Properties . 21 3 Instrumentation 23 3.1 Introduction . 23 3.2 mm/submm Instrumentation: Institute of Milimetric Radio As- tronomy - IRAM. 23 3.2.1 IRAM - 30 meter Telescope . 24 i ii CONTENTS 3.2.2 Techniques and Instrumentation . 24 3.2.3 IRAM -Plateau de Bure . 26 3.3 cm Instrumentation: Effelsberg . 26 3.4 IR Instrumentation: IRAS and Spitzer . 27 3.4.1 IRAS . 27 3.4.2 SPITZER . 27 3.4.3 IRAC . 28 3.4.4 MIPS . 29 4 Observations and Data Reduction 31 4.1 Introduction . 31 4.2 TANGO LzS observation . 31 4.3 Calibration . 34 4.4 Data reduction with IRAM 30m Telescope . 36 4.4.1 ASTRO . 36 4.4.2 CLASS . 38 4.4.3 Interferometer: IRAM PdBI . 39 4.5 Continuum data . 39 4.5.1 SPITZER . 40 4.6 Molecular lines observed . 42 4.6.1 Carbon monoxide - 12CO . 42 4.6.2 Hydrogen cyanide - HCN . 43 4.6.3 Formyl cation - HCO+ . .................. 43 4.7 Summary and Conclusions . 44 5 Molecular Gas 45 5.1 Computation of the molecular gas mass . 45 5.2 Results on molecular gas mass . 46 5.3 Faranoff and Riley . 49 5.4 CO line ratios . 51 5.4.1 Beam/source coupling . 55 5.5 Molecular gas disk . 55 5.6 Continuum Data . 57 5.7 Discussion: Origin of the molecular gas . 59 5.8 Summary and Conclusions . 62 6 Dust 63 6.1 Introduction . 63 6.2 Dust properties from IRAS . 64 6.2.1 Star Formation . 64 6.2.2 Dust Mass and Dust Temperature . 64 6.3 Dust properties from SPITZER data . 67 6.3.1 IRAC . 69 6.3.2 MIPS . 69 iii 6.4 Multi Dust Component Fitting . 70 6.5 Conclusion . 71 7 Neutral Hydrogen - HI 73 7.1 Introduction . 73 7.2 TANGO Data . 74 7.2.1 Effelsberg Observations . 74 7.2.2 Neutral Hydrogen Mass . 77 7.3 Discussion and future work . 77 8 From Thermal to Synchrotron emission 81 8.1 Introduction . 81 8.2 µm Data ............................... 81 8.3 mm Data . 82 8.4 cm Data . 82 8.5 Synchrotron . 82 8.5.1 How to calculate the Synchrotron age of the galaxies? . 83 8.6 Discussion . 85 9 CO vs. FIR Luminosities 87 9.1 LCO .................................. 87 9.2 LFIR .................................. 87 9.3 Relationship between LCO and LFIR ................ 89 9.4 MH2 vs. LB .............................. 90 9.5 SFE vs LB . .............................. 90 10 Comparison with other samples 95 10.1 Introduction . 95 10.2 Samples . 95 10.3 Molecular gas . 96 10.3.1 Molecular gas disk . 97 10.4 Dust . 98 10.5 CO-FIR Luminosity . 98 10.6 Conclusion . 102 11 3CR 31 103 11.1 Observation and data reduction . 104 11.1.1 Observation . 104 11.1.2 Data reduction . 104 11.1.3 Continuum . 105 11.2 Molecular gas mass . 105 11.3 Molecular gas disk . 105 11.3.1 Interferometric Data . 106 11.4 Dust . 107 iv CONTENTS 11.4.1 Multi Dust Components . 108 11.5 Luminosity . 109 11.5.1 CO Luminosity . 109 11.5.2 FIR Luminosity . 109 11.5.3 Is there Star Formation in 3CR 31? . 109 11.6 How old is the synchrotron emission in 3CR 31? . 110 11.6.1 Collecting the Data . 110 11.6.2 Using SynAge ........................ 114 11.6.3 CASE 2 . 115 11.6.4 For the future work of this galaxy . 117 11.7 Conclusion . 119 12 A Control Sample: HCN observations and results 125 12.1 Introduction . 125 12.1.1 Control Sample: The AMIGA galaxies . 125 12.1.2 Interstellar Medium . 125 12.1.3 HCN(1-0) survey in the AMIGA Project . 126 12.1.4 The Goals . 127 12.2 Observation and Data Reduction . 127 12.3 Results . 128 12.3.1 HCN-FIR relationship in isolated galaxies . 129 12.4 Conclusions . 131 13 Summary and Conclusions 135 14 The Future of TANGO 139 15 Conclusiones 141 A Individual Galaxies 147 A.1 3CR 31 . 148 A.2 3CR 40 . 152 A.2.1 HI data . 153 A.3 3CR66B . 156 A.4 3CR 83.1 . 160 A.5 3CR 88 . 163 A.6 3CR 98 . 167 A.7 3C 129 . ..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Messier Objects
    Messier Objects From the Stocker Astroscience Center at Florida International University Miami Florida The Messier Project Main contributors: • Daniel Puentes • Steven Revesz • Bobby Martinez Charles Messier • Gabriel Salazar • Riya Gandhi • Dr. James Webb – Director, Stocker Astroscience center • All images reduced and combined using MIRA image processing software. (Mirametrics) What are Messier Objects? • Messier objects are a list of astronomical sources compiled by Charles Messier, an 18th and early 19th century astronomer. He created a list of distracting objects to avoid while comet hunting. This list now contains over 110 objects, many of which are the most famous astronomical bodies known. The list contains planetary nebula, star clusters, and other galaxies. - Bobby Martinez The Telescope The telescope used to take these images is an Astronomical Consultants and Equipment (ACE) 24- inch (0.61-meter) Ritchey-Chretien reflecting telescope. It has a focal ratio of F6.2 and is supported on a structure independent of the building that houses it. It is equipped with a Finger Lakes 1kx1k CCD camera cooled to -30o C at the Cassegrain focus. It is equipped with dual filter wheels, the first containing UBVRI scientific filters and the second RGBL color filters. Messier 1 Found 6,500 light years away in the constellation of Taurus, the Crab Nebula (known as M1) is a supernova remnant. The original supernova that formed the crab nebula was observed by Chinese, Japanese and Arab astronomers in 1054 AD as an incredibly bright “Guest star” which was visible for over twenty-two months. The supernova that produced the Crab Nebula is thought to have been an evolved star roughly ten times more massive than the Sun.
    [Show full text]
  • And Ecclesiastical Cosmology
    GSJ: VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3, MARCH 2018 101 GSJ: Volume 6, Issue 3, March 2018, Online: ISSN 2320-9186 www.globalscientificjournal.com DEMOLITION HUBBLE'S LAW, BIG BANG THE BASIS OF "MODERN" AND ECCLESIASTICAL COSMOLOGY Author: Weitter Duckss (Slavko Sedic) Zadar Croatia Pусскй Croatian „If two objects are represented by ball bearings and space-time by the stretching of a rubber sheet, the Doppler effect is caused by the rolling of ball bearings over the rubber sheet in order to achieve a particular motion. A cosmological red shift occurs when ball bearings get stuck on the sheet, which is stretched.“ Wikipedia OK, let's check that on our local group of galaxies (the table from my article „Where did the blue spectral shift inside the universe come from?“) galaxies, local groups Redshift km/s Blueshift km/s Sextans B (4.44 ± 0.23 Mly) 300 ± 0 Sextans A 324 ± 2 NGC 3109 403 ± 1 Tucana Dwarf 130 ± ? Leo I 285 ± 2 NGC 6822 -57 ± 2 Andromeda Galaxy -301 ± 1 Leo II (about 690,000 ly) 79 ± 1 Phoenix Dwarf 60 ± 30 SagDIG -79 ± 1 Aquarius Dwarf -141 ± 2 Wolf–Lundmark–Melotte -122 ± 2 Pisces Dwarf -287 ± 0 Antlia Dwarf 362 ± 0 Leo A 0.000067 (z) Pegasus Dwarf Spheroidal -354 ± 3 IC 10 -348 ± 1 NGC 185 -202 ± 3 Canes Venatici I ~ 31 GSJ© 2018 www.globalscientificjournal.com GSJ: VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3, MARCH 2018 102 Andromeda III -351 ± 9 Andromeda II -188 ± 3 Triangulum Galaxy -179 ± 3 Messier 110 -241 ± 3 NGC 147 (2.53 ± 0.11 Mly) -193 ± 3 Small Magellanic Cloud 0.000527 Large Magellanic Cloud - - M32 -200 ± 6 NGC 205 -241 ± 3 IC 1613 -234 ± 1 Carina Dwarf 230 ± 60 Sextans Dwarf 224 ± 2 Ursa Minor Dwarf (200 ± 30 kly) -247 ± 1 Draco Dwarf -292 ± 21 Cassiopeia Dwarf -307 ± 2 Ursa Major II Dwarf - 116 Leo IV 130 Leo V ( 585 kly) 173 Leo T -60 Bootes II -120 Pegasus Dwarf -183 ± 0 Sculptor Dwarf 110 ± 1 Etc.
    [Show full text]
  • ESO Annual Report 2004 ESO Annual Report 2004 Presented to the Council by the Director General Dr
    ESO Annual Report 2004 ESO Annual Report 2004 presented to the Council by the Director General Dr. Catherine Cesarsky View of La Silla from the 3.6-m telescope. ESO is the foremost intergovernmental European Science and Technology organi- sation in the field of ground-based as- trophysics. It is supported by eleven coun- tries: Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Created in 1962, ESO provides state-of- the-art research facilities to European astronomers and astrophysicists. In pur- suit of this task, ESO’s activities cover a wide spectrum including the design and construction of world-class ground-based observational facilities for the member- state scientists, large telescope projects, design of innovative scientific instruments, developing new and advanced techno- logies, furthering European co-operation and carrying out European educational programmes. ESO operates at three sites in the Ataca- ma desert region of Chile. The first site The VLT is a most unusual telescope, is at La Silla, a mountain 600 km north of based on the latest technology. It is not Santiago de Chile, at 2 400 m altitude. just one, but an array of 4 telescopes, It is equipped with several optical tele- each with a main mirror of 8.2-m diame- scopes with mirror diameters of up to ter. With one such telescope, images 3.6-metres. The 3.5-m New Technology of celestial objects as faint as magnitude Telescope (NTT) was the first in the 30 have been obtained in a one-hour ex- world to have a computer-controlled main posure.
    [Show full text]
  • The Messier Catalog
    The Messier Catalog Messier 1 Messier 2 Messier 3 Messier 4 Messier 5 Crab Nebula globular cluster globular cluster globular cluster globular cluster Messier 6 Messier 7 Messier 8 Messier 9 Messier 10 open cluster open cluster Lagoon Nebula globular cluster globular cluster Butterfly Cluster Ptolemy's Cluster Messier 11 Messier 12 Messier 13 Messier 14 Messier 15 Wild Duck Cluster globular cluster Hercules glob luster globular cluster globular cluster Messier 16 Messier 17 Messier 18 Messier 19 Messier 20 Eagle Nebula The Omega, Swan, open cluster globular cluster Trifid Nebula or Horseshoe Nebula Messier 21 Messier 22 Messier 23 Messier 24 Messier 25 open cluster globular cluster open cluster Milky Way Patch open cluster Messier 26 Messier 27 Messier 28 Messier 29 Messier 30 open cluster Dumbbell Nebula globular cluster open cluster globular cluster Messier 31 Messier 32 Messier 33 Messier 34 Messier 35 Andromeda dwarf Andromeda Galaxy Triangulum Galaxy open cluster open cluster elliptical galaxy Messier 36 Messier 37 Messier 38 Messier 39 Messier 40 open cluster open cluster open cluster open cluster double star Winecke 4 Messier 41 Messier 42/43 Messier 44 Messier 45 Messier 46 open cluster Orion Nebula Praesepe Pleiades open cluster Beehive Cluster Suburu Messier 47 Messier 48 Messier 49 Messier 50 Messier 51 open cluster open cluster elliptical galaxy open cluster Whirlpool Galaxy Messier 52 Messier 53 Messier 54 Messier 55 Messier 56 open cluster globular cluster globular cluster globular cluster globular cluster Messier 57 Messier
    [Show full text]
  • Extragalactic Radio Jets
    Annual Reviews www.annualreviews.org/aronline Ann. Rev. Astron.Astrophys. 1984. 22 : 319-58 Copyright© 1984 by AnnualReviews Inc. All rights reserved EXTRAGALACTIC RADIO JETS Alan H. Bridle National Radio AstronomyObservatory, 1 Charlottesville, Virginia 22901 Richard A. Perley National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro, New Mexico 87801 1. INTRODUCTION Powerful extended extragalactic radio sources pose two vexing astro- physical problems [reviewed in (147) and (157)]. First, from what energy reservoir do they draw their large radio luminosities (as muchas 10a8 W between 10 MHzand 100 GHz)?Second, how does the active center in the parent galaxy or QSOsupply as muchas 10~4 J in relativistic particles and fields to radio "lobes" up to several hundredkiloparsecs outside the optical object? Newaperture synthesis arrays (68, 250) and new image-processing algorithms (66, 101, 202, 231) have recently allowed radio imaging subarcsecond resolution with high sensitivity and high dynamicrange; as a result, the complexityof the brighter sources has been revealed clearly for the first time. Manycontain radio jets, i.e. narrow radio features between compact central "cores" and more extended "lobe" emission. This review examinesthe systematic properties of such jets and the dues they give to the by PURDUE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY on 01/16/07. For personal use only. physics of energy transfer in extragalactic sources. Wedo not directly consider the jet production mechanism,which is intimately related to the Annu. Rev. Astro. Astrophys. 1984.22:319-358. Downloaded from arjournals.annualreviews.org first problemnoted above--for reviews, see (207) and (251). 1. i Why "’Jets"? Baade & Minkowski(3) first used the term jet in an extragalactic context, describing the train of optical knots extending ,-~ 20" from the nucleus of M87; the knots resemble a fluid jet breaking into droplets.
    [Show full text]
  • Near Infrared Observations of Quasars with Extended Ionized Envelopes
    A&A manuscript no. ASTRONOMY (will be inserted by hand later) AND Your thesaurus codes are: 11.01.2; 11.06.2; 11.09.2; 11.16.1; 11.17.3; 13.09.1 ASTROPHYSICS Near infrared observations of quasars with extended ionized envelopes ⋆ I. M´arquez1,2, F. Durret2,3, and P. Petitjean2,3 1 Instituto de Astrof´ısica de Andaluc´ıa (C.S.I.C.), Apartado 3004 , E-18080 Granada, Spain 2 Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, CNRS, 98bis Bd Arago, F-75014 Paris, France 3 DAEC, Observatoire de Paris, Universit´eParis VII, CNRS (UA 173), F-92195 Meudon Cedex, France Received, ; accepted, Abstract. We have observed a sample of 15 and 8 1. Introduction quasars with redshifts between 0.11 and 0.87 (mean value 0.38) in the J and K’ bands respectively. Eleven of the Attempts to understand properties of active galactic nu- quasars were previously known to be associated with ex- clei (AGN) and their cosmological evolution has led to the tended emission line regions. After deconvolution of the conclusion that the AGN activity as a whole is most likely image, substraction of the PSF when possible, and identi- to be described as a succession of episodic and time lim- fication of companions with the help of HST archive im- ited events happening in most if not all galaxies (Cavaliere ages when available, extensions are seen for at least eleven & Padovani 1989, Collin-Souffrin 1991). The most plausi- quasars. However, average profiles are different from that ble explanation for the onset of activity is fuelling of the of the PSF in only four objects, for which a good fit is nucleus by gas streaming towards the center of the galaxy obtained with an r1/4 law, suggesting that the underlying as a result of interaction, accretion or merging events.
    [Show full text]
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics Books in Print, and to Choose Among Them Is a Difficult Task
    APPENDIX ONE Degeneracy Degeneracy is a very complex topic but a very important one, especially when discussing the end stages of a star’s life. It is, however, a topic that sends quivers of apprehension down the back of most people. It has to do with quantum mechanics, and that in itself is usually enough for most people to move on, and not learn about it. That said, it is actually quite easy to understand, providing that the information given is basic and not peppered throughout with mathematics. This is the approach I shall take. In most stars, the gas of which they are made up will behave like an ideal gas, that is, one that has a simple relationship among its temperature, pressure, and density. To be specific, the pressure exerted by a gas is directly proportional to its temperature and density. We are all familiar with this. If a gas is compressed, it heats up; likewise, if it expands, it cools down. This also happens inside a star. As the temperature rises, the core regions expand and cool, and so it can be thought of as a safety valve. However, in order for certain reactions to take place inside a star, the core is compressed to very high limits, which allows very high temperatures to be achieved. These high temperatures are necessary in order for, say, helium nuclear reactions to take place. At such high temperatures, the atoms are ionized so that it becomes a soup of atomic nuclei and electrons. Inside stars, especially those whose density is approaching very high values, say, a white dwarf star or the core of a red giant, the electrons that make up the central regions of the star will resist any further compression and themselves set up a powerful pressure.1 This is termed degeneracy, so that in a low-mass red 191 192 Astrophysics is Easy giant star, for instance, the electrons are degenerate, and the core is supported by an electron-degenerate pressure.
    [Show full text]
  • 190 Index of Names
    Index of names Ancora Leonis 389 NGC 3664, Arp 005 Andriscus Centauri 879 IC 3290 Anemodes Ceti 85 NGC 0864 Name CMG Identification Angelica Canum Venaticorum 659 NGC 5377 Accola Leonis 367 NGC 3489 Angulatus Ursae Majoris 247 NGC 2654 Acer Leonis 411 NGC 3832 Angulosus Virginis 450 NGC 4123, Mrk 1466 Acritobrachius Camelopardalis 833 IC 0356, Arp 213 Angusticlavia Ceti 102 NGC 1032 Actenista Apodis 891 IC 4633 Anomalus Piscis 804 NGC 7603, Arp 092, Mrk 0530 Actuosus Arietis 95 NGC 0972 Ansatus Antliae 303 NGC 3084 Aculeatus Canum Venaticorum 460 NGC 4183 Antarctica Mensae 865 IC 2051 Aculeus Piscium 9 NGC 0100 Antenna Australis Corvi 437 NGC 4039, Caldwell 61, Antennae, Arp 244 Acutifolium Canum Venaticorum 650 NGC 5297 Antenna Borealis Corvi 436 NGC 4038, Caldwell 60, Antennae, Arp 244 Adelus Ursae Majoris 668 NGC 5473 Anthemodes Cassiopeiae 34 NGC 0278 Adversus Comae Berenices 484 NGC 4298 Anticampe Centauri 550 NGC 4622 Aeluropus Lyncis 231 NGC 2445, Arp 143 Antirrhopus Virginis 532 NGC 4550 Aeola Canum Venaticorum 469 NGC 4220 Anulifera Carinae 226 NGC 2381 Aequanimus Draconis 705 NGC 5905 Anulus Grahamianus Volantis 955 ESO 034-IG011, AM0644-741, Graham's Ring Aequilibrata Eridani 122 NGC 1172 Aphenges Virginis 654 NGC 5334, IC 4338 Affinis Canum Venaticorum 449 NGC 4111 Apostrophus Fornac 159 NGC 1406 Agiton Aquarii 812 NGC 7721 Aquilops Gruis 911 IC 5267 Aglaea Comae Berenices 489 NGC 4314 Araneosus Camelopardalis 223 NGC 2336 Agrius Virginis 975 MCG -01-30-033, Arp 248, Wild's Triplet Aratrum Leonis 323 NGC 3239, Arp 263 Ahenea
    [Show full text]
  • Our Universe
    Journal of Aircraft and Spacecraft Technology Original Research Paper Our Universe 1Relly Victoria Petrescu, 2Raffaella Aversa, 3Bilal Akash, 4Juan Corchado, 2Antonio Apicella and 1Florian Ion Tiberiu Petrescu 1ARoTMM-IFToMM, Bucharest Polytechnic University, Bucharest, (CE ) Romania 2Advanced Material Lab, Department of Architecture and Industrial Design, Second University of Naples, 81031 Aversa (CE ) Italy 3Dean of School of Graduate Studies and Research, American University of Ras Al Khaimah, UAE 4Union College, USA Article history Abstract: It's hard to know ourselves and our role as humanity, without Received: 03-06-2017 knowing our precise location first. In the universe where we find ourselves Revised: 05-06-2017 (what we know not much about), there are billions of galaxies. A galaxy is Accepted: 15-06-2017 a large cluster of stars (suns), i.e., solar systems; on average an ordinary Corresponding Author: galaxy contains about two billion stars (suns), which may or may not have Florian Ion Tiberiu Petrescu planets around them. A constellation is a group of galaxies that depend on ARoTMM-IFToMM, Bucharest each other. Virgo is a very famous zodiacal constellation. Her name comes Polytechnic University, from Latin, the virgin and her symbol is ♍. The constellation of the Virgin Bucharest, (CE), Romania is located between the Lion to the west and the Libra to the east, being the E-mail: [email protected] second constellation in the sky (after Hydra) in size. The constellation of the Virgin can easily be observed in the sky of the earth due to its sparkling star named Spica. So our universe contains about two billion galaxies and many constellations; a constellation comprises several galaxies and a galaxy has about 2 billion stars.
    [Show full text]
  • What a Quasar Eats for Breakfast a Talk by Dr David Floyd University Of
    What a Quasar eats for Breakfast A talk by Dr David Floyd University of Melbourne and Anglo-Australian Observatory astronomer Dr David Floyd and colleagues have probed into a region inaccessible to telescopes until now, and claim to have observed how a black holes eats matter. In other words, using a state-of-the-art technique called gravitational microlensing, scientists have for the first time been able to observe matter falling into super-massive black holes (see Microlensing). According to Dr Floyd it heralds a new era in exploring black holes. So, David says, what is a black hole? It is a region of space having gravitational fields so intense that nothing can escape from it; not even radiation. The idea (or the possibility of such an object) first surfaced in 1784 in a paper by John Michell (1724-1793), who proposed the possibility (the inevitability) of what he called ?Dark Stars” as a consequence of Newton’s Gravity and corpuscular theory of light. Pierre Laplace (1749-1827) picked up the idea for his Guide to Astronomy book, but deleted it again in later editions, because the idea was ridiculed. The General Theory of Relativity by Albert Einstein (1879-1955) predicted the existence of both singularities and the holes in space that contain them, but Einstein too, believed them to be just a mathematical curiosity and not to exist in reality. Using Einstein’s new Field Equations Karl Schwarzschild (1873-1916) calculated the exact mathematical geometry of space-time around a spherical mass (see Schwarzschild). He showed that for any given mass there is a critical size below which space-time closes around and pinches it off from the rest of the universe, an Event Horizon.
    [Show full text]
  • The Astrology of Space
    The Astrology of Space 1 The Astrology of Space The Astrology Of Space By Michael Erlewine 2 The Astrology of Space An ebook from Startypes.com 315 Marion Avenue Big Rapids, Michigan 49307 Fist published 2006 © 2006 Michael Erlewine/StarTypes.com ISBN 978-0-9794970-8-7 All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Graphics designed by Michael Erlewine Some graphic elements © 2007JupiterImages Corp. Some Photos Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech 3 The Astrology of Space This book is dedicated to Charles A. Jayne And also to: Dr. Theodor Landscheidt John D. Kraus 4 The Astrology of Space Table of Contents Table of Contents ..................................................... 5 Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................... 15 Astrophysics for Astrologers .................................. 17 Astrophysics for Astrologers .................................. 22 Interpreting Deep Space Points ............................. 25 Part II: The Radio Sky ............................................ 34 The Earth's Aura .................................................... 38 The Kinds of Celestial Light ................................... 39 The Types of Light ................................................. 41 Radio Frequencies ................................................. 43 Higher Frequencies ...............................................
    [Show full text]
  • Not Yet Imagined: a Study of Hubble Space Telescope Operations
    NOT YET IMAGINED A STUDY OF HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE OPERATIONS CHRISTOPHER GAINOR NOT YET IMAGINED NOT YET IMAGINED A STUDY OF HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE OPERATIONS CHRISTOPHER GAINOR National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Communications NASA History Division Washington, DC 20546 NASA SP-2020-4237 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Gainor, Christopher, author. | United States. NASA History Program Office, publisher. Title: Not Yet Imagined : A study of Hubble Space Telescope Operations / Christopher Gainor. Description: Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Communications, NASA History Division, [2020] | Series: NASA history series ; sp-2020-4237 | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “Dr. Christopher Gainor’s Not Yet Imagined documents the history of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (HST) from launch in 1990 through 2020. This is considered a follow-on book to Robert W. Smith’s The Space Telescope: A Study of NASA, Science, Technology, and Politics, which recorded the development history of HST. Dr. Gainor’s book will be suitable for a general audience, while also being scholarly. Highly visible interactions among the general public, astronomers, engineers, govern- ment officials, and members of Congress about HST’s servicing missions by Space Shuttle crews is a central theme of this history book. Beyond the glare of public attention, the evolution of HST becoming a model of supranational cooperation amongst scientists is a second central theme. Third, the decision-making behind the changes in Hubble’s instrument packages on servicing missions is chronicled, along with HST’s contributions to our knowledge about our solar system, our galaxy, and our universe.
    [Show full text]