
In the show this time, we talk to Professor James Dunlop about the ALMA observations of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, Dr. Minnie Mao tells us about Spiral DRAGNs (Double Radio Sources Associated with Galactic Nuclei in spiral galaxies) in this month's JodBite, and your astronomy questions are answered by Dr. Joe Zuntz in Ask an Astronomer.
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JodBite with Dr. Minnie Mao
Dr. Minnie Mao is a Marie Curie fellow at JBCA who previously worked at JIVE in the Netherlands. Dr. Mao is currently studying spiral galaxies that host DRAGNs (Double Radio Sources Associated with Galactic Nuclei), the existence of which defy many current galaxy formation theories. She discusses her research, talks to us about training the latest group of summer students, and describes her hunt for hedgehogs around the grounds of JBO.
Interview with Professor James Dunlop
Professor James Dunlop from the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh talks with Monique Henson about his observations of high-redshift galaxies in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field with ALMA. The observations are some of the longest observations ever performed with ALMA and have detected the brightest infrared galaxies in the field, yet Professor Dunlop has plans to observe the field even longer to detect the galaxies with more typical infrared brightnesses.
Ask an Astronomer
Joe Zuntz answers your astronomical questions:
- Christoph Krahenbuhl asks: "Are the Gaia measurements affected by gravitational waves and how can that be compensated for accurately?"
- Paul Wagstaff asks: "Why is inflation necessary to explain isotropy? To my, untutored mind, a point universe similar in all respects should remain so regardless of the speed of expansion."
- Matthew Wilday asks: "We all know about time dilation understand the principal and even get the equation but my question is this: if we managed to build a space craft capable of going to 98% of the speed of light, what would the pilot see if we pointed him at a stat 100 light years away? We know the light would take 100 years, but the pilot would get there in (in his reference frame) less than 100 years, so would he see space shrink?
Odds and Ends
Many scientists at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics work on data from the Planck spacecraft, which was a European Space Agency mission to measure the Cosmic Microwave Background. People from the Jodcast have been working with colleagues from multiple other UK universities to put together a video about Planck for the Royal Society Summer Exhibition. The video, available here will form part of our stand at the Exhibition.
Carbon Enhanced Metal-Poor (CEMP) stars are leftover fossils of the early universe, the remnant of an earlier population of stars which had not yet been contaminated by heavier elements and metals formed in supernova explosions. A team from the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics have recently explored the possibility that very different planets could form around CEMP stars and that these planets could host to life. Because the CEMP stars are carbon-rich, the planets which surround such stars would be formed mostly of carbon, taking the form of carbides, graphite, or even diamonds. The team mainly focused their research on the formation potential of such planets and on their possible features. They also suggest that dedicated observation plans could be used to detect such planets around known CEMP stars.
Early this month, scientists at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) announced yet another discovery. The two detectors caught a signal from the merger of two black holes on Boxing Day 2016. Unlike the first detection by LIGO, one of these black holes was spinning, which suggests that it may have sucked up mass from a neighbouring star at some point in its history. Members of the public can help the LIGO team in their search for more events by taking part in the Einstein@Home project, which uses volunteers' computers from across the world to analyse data from LIGO, or this Zooniverse project. Don't have a computer? If you have an Android smart phone you can still get involved by using either the BOINC or HTC Power to Give Android apps.
Also, listener Daniel Chu Owen from the Traveling Telescope Company has taken an excerpt of last Month's interview with Toa Waaka, and cut it against some fantastic footage filmed from the International Space Station. It is well worth a look.
Finally, if you fancy joining the ranks of Sir Bernard Lovell, or Professor Michael Brown (a.k.a. Pluto Killer), by building your own radio telescope this summer, why not take a look at this project?
Show Credits
JodBite: | Dr. Minnie Mao and Alex Clarke |
Interview: | Monique Henson and Professor James Dunlop |
Ask An Astronomer: | Dr. Joe Zuntz and Saarah Nakhuda |
Presenters: | Monique Henson, Andy May, Charlie Walker |
Editors: | Damien Trinh, James Bamber, George Bendo, Charlie Walker |
Segment Voice: | Tess Jaffe |
Website: | George Bendo and Stuart Lowe |
Producer: | George Bendo |
Cover art: | ALMA at night CREDIT: Enrico Sacchetti/ESO |