NASA Volunteers Find Fifteen Rare “Active Asteroids”
Henry Hsieh
Some extraordinary asteroids have “activity”—comet-like tails or envelopes of gas and dust. NASA’s Active Asteroids project announced the discovery of activity on fifteen asteroids, challenging conventional wisdom about the solar system.
To find these fifteen rare objects, more than 8000 volunteers combed through 430,000 images from the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Victor M. Blanco telescope in Chile. A paper about the results, now published in the Astronomical Journal, includes nine volunteers among the co-authors.
“For an amateur astronomer like me it’s a dream come true.” said volunteer Virgilio Gonano from Udine, Italy. “Congratulations to all the staff and the friends that also check the images!”
Volunteers from the NASA’s “Active Asteroids” Citizen Science project identified a comet tail coming fromAsteroid 2015 VA108, one of the active asteroids spotted by volunteers from NASA’s “Active Asteroids” Citizen Science project. The object, indicated by the green arrow, orbits entirely within the main asteroid belt (located between Mars and Jupiter), but sports a tail like a comet. Credit: Colin Orion Chandler (University of Washington)
Studying these rare active asteroids teaches scientists about the formation and evolution of the solar system, including the origins of water here on Earth. These objects may also aid future space exploration because the same ices that cause comet-like tails can power rockets or provide breathable air.
“I have been a member of the Active Asteroids team since its first batch of data,” said volunteer Tiffany Shaw-Diaz from Dayton, Ohio. “And to say that this project has become a significant part of my life is an understatement. I look forward to classifying subjects each day, as long as time or health permits, and I am beyond honored to work with such esteemed scientists on a regular basis.”
The Active Asteroids project was founded by Dr. Colin Orion Chandler, a LINCC Frameworks project scientist at the University of Washington and DiRAC Institute. To join the project and help discover the next active asteroid, visit https://www.activeasteroids.net.
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First segments of world’s largest telescope mirror have a shiny new surface
The construction of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) in the Chilean Atacama Desert has reached a new milestone: a team at ESO’s Paranal Observatory have added a reflective, shiny layer, as well as special sensors, to the first segments of the telescope’s primary mirror. This “coating” means the segments are now essentially ready to start observing the skies, once installed at the heart of the world’s largest optical telescope later this decade.
The 39-metre primary mirror of ESO’s ELT, known as M1, will be by far the largest mirror ever made for a telescope. Too large to be made from a single piece of glass, it will consist of 798 glass-ceramic hexagonal segments, each about five centimetres thick and 1.5 metres across. The mirror segments are manufactured in Europe in a multi-step, multinational process. The first 18 made their way across the ocean to Paranal earlier this year, and coating is the next step on their journey — a milestone that three segments have now reached.
Coating an M1 mirror segment is a complex process that takes about two hours. In addition to a reflective layer, which uses 1.7 grams of silver, the coating includes additional layers of nickel chromium and silicon nitride to improve adhesion to the mirror blank and protect the silver from tarnishing. Overall, the coating is around 120 nanometres thick, or about one thousand times thinner than a human hair.
To make sure that all segments can work together as a single mirror, they are equipped with sensors to detect misalignments. Besides adding a coating to the first M1 segments, ESO engineers have also installed these so-called edge sensors, two per side of each segment, and integrated the electronics and mechanical supports needed for them to work. Finally, they have performed inspections and health checks to ensure that the segments are ready to be installed on ESO’s ELT. The entire process takes place inside a ‘clean room’ — where the number of particles in the air is carefully controlled to avoid contamination — in the ELT Technical Facility in Paranal.
The coating and integration procedures will be repeated for all other M1 segments. Meticulously testing and documenting the process for the first three segments was therefore key to ensure the operation can be ramped-up once new segments arrive at Paranal.
Once the telescope is operational, the coating process will be repeated on each segment every 18 months, to ensure the best reflectivity and sensitivity. In practice, this means that two segments will need to be recoated every day for the entire lifetime of the telescope. To facilitate this with minimal disruption to the scientific observations, an extra 133 segments are being manufactured, in addition to the 798 needed for the mirror. The world’s biggest eye on the sky is poised to tackle the most profound astronomical challenges of our time, promising groundbreaking discoveries once it sees first light later this decade.
cosmocnc: A fast, flexible, and accurate galaxy cluster number, count likelihood code for cosmology
Uncovering the Invisible: A Study of Gaia18ajz, a Candidate Black Hole Revealed by Microlensing
Fri 22 Mar 11:30: Modelling supermassive black holes: accretion, spin evolution, jets and winds
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Martin Bourne (IoA)
- Friday 22 March 2024, 11:30-12:30
- Venue: Ryle seminar room + online.
- Series: Galaxies Discussion Group; organiser: Sandro Tacchella.
Thu 02 May 16:00: Experimental Studies of Black Holes: Status & Prospects
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Reinhard Genzel (Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics)
- Thursday 02 May 2024, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Hoyle Lecture Theatre, Institute of Astronomy (and online - details to be sent by e-mail).
- Series: The Kavli Lectures; organiser: Alison Wilson.
Thu 02 May 16:00: Experimental Studies of Black Holes: Status & Prospects
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Reinhard Genzel (Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics)
- Thursday 02 May 2024, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Hoyle Lecture Theatre, Institute of Astronomy (and online - details to be sent by e-mail).
- Series: The Kavli Lectures; organiser: Alison Wilson.
Tue 19 Mar 11:15: Source dynamics and evolution of low-luminosity FRII radio galaxies
I will present new VLA observations that reveal the structure of a new population of low-luminosity FRII radio galaxies discovered in LoTSS. Fanaroff and Riley (1974) identified a luminosity break between their two morphological classes. FRIs are defined to be low-luminosity, centre bright jets and the higher luminosity FRI Is have jets that are edge brightened and terminate in hotspots. Using LoTSS DR1 , Mingo et al (2019) demonstrated an overlap in luminosity between FRI and FRII morphology rather than a clear divide, discovering a sub-sample of FRI Is with luminosities up to 3 magnitudes lower than the typical FR break. A population of low-luminosity FRI Is raises questions about their origins; are they older, fading FRI Is, or hosted by lower mass galaxies? Our new VLA observations of a sample of LoTSS-selected low-luminosity FRI Is allow us to make comparisons between the two FRII luminosity populations on the prevalence of hotspots, as well as morphological and spectral differences.
- Speaker: Dr. Bonny Barkus (University of Hertfordshire)
- Tuesday 19 March 2024, 11:15-12:00
- Venue: Coffee area, Battcock Centre.
- Series: Hills Coffee Talks; organiser: Charles Walker.
Financial Analyst - Research and Grants (Fixed term) (Internal Applicants only)
The Institute of Astronomy (IoA) is seeking a highly organized and proactive individual to join our Department as a Finance Analyst - Research and Grants. As the primary point of contact for research funding matters, you will play a crucial role in providing expert advice and guidance to our staff. Your responsibilities will encompass a wide range of financial activities related to research grants, including collaboration with other departments and the comprehensive management of research grants from application to post-award stages. Full training will be provided.
Key Responsibilities include:
- Take the lead in coordinating costing and budgeting for complex research grant applications.
- Provide clear and accurate advice to staff regarding funder requirements and research grant applications and management.
- Develop effective systems and processes to monitor the funding of research projects.
- Generate financial management reports and perform data analysis to provide regular updates on the status of research funding.
- Identify and share relevant funding opportunities with researchers and academics within the Department.
Working to deadlines, high levels of accuracy and attention to detail is key to providing an efficient service in this friendly and welcoming department, who put excellence and wellbeing at the forefront. We are actively looking for candidates who possess prior experience in a financial role. It would be advantageous if you have also worked in a research grant administration capacity, utilising costing tools, financial systems, and spreadsheets. However, we are also keen to receive applications from candidates who are enthusiastic about expanding their skill set and are eager to learn the various facets of research grants administration. We would be fully supportive of considering applications from candidates with this enthusiasm as we will be able to provide role-specific training to support their development.
This position offers a competitive salary at Grade 5 (£29,605- £33,966), commensurate with the applicant's level of expertise and experience. This role is available to internal applicants only.
This role is based in the Institute's beautiful grounds in West Cambridge, and on confirmation of your appointment, the successful candidate will adopt the department's hybrid working model consisting of work at home and on-site alongside other members of the Professional Services Team.
Informal enquiries are welcomed and can be made by email to David Savidge, Deputy Departmental Administrator via email at: dsavidge@ast.cam.ac.uk. Any questions regarding the application process should be directed to the HR team at the Institute of Astronomy at: HR@ast.cam.ac.uk.
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available until 30th September 2028 in the first instance.
Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.
Closing Date: Friday, 29th March 2024 at 23:59 GMT
Interview Date: Week commencing 8th April 2024
Please ensure that you outline how you match the criteria for the post and why you are applying for this role on the online application form.
Please include details of your referees, including email address and phone number, one of which must be your most recent line manager.
Please quote reference LG36910 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.