Honolulu Star Bulletin - August 21, 2007
Astronomers used the Gemini North observatory on Mauna Kea and space telescopes to discover a rare "isolated neutron star" spraying X-rays in the solar system's cosmic neighborhood, according to an article prepared for the Astrophysical Journal.
Puzzled by some aspects of the astronomers' discovery, and inspired by a movie reference, authors Robert Rutledge, Derek Fox and Andrew Shevchuk named their neutron star "Calvera" after a marauding cinema bandit. Seven other isolated neutron stars had previously been discovered and were named the "Magnificent Seven" after the 1960 movie, in which a character called Calvera was the main bad guy.
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Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Rare dead star found near Earth
BBC News - August 20, 2007
Astronomers have spotted a space oddity in Earth's neighbourhood - a dead star with some unusual characteristics.
The object, known as a neutron star, was studied using space telescopes and ground-based observatories.
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The researchers followed up with the 8.1m Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii and a short observation by Nasa's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Astronomers have spotted a space oddity in Earth's neighbourhood - a dead star with some unusual characteristics.
The object, known as a neutron star, was studied using space telescopes and ground-based observatories.
...
The researchers followed up with the 8.1m Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii and a short observation by Nasa's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Possible Closest Neutron Star To Earth Found
Science Daily - August 20, 2007
Using NASA's Swift satellite, McGill University and Penn State University astronomers have identified an object that is likely one of the closest neutron stars to Earth -- and possibly the closest.
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The team next targeted Calvera with the 8.1-meter Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii. These observations, along with a short observation by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, showed that the object is not associated with any optical counterpart down to a very faint magnitude. Chandra's sharper X-ray vision sees the object as point-like, consistent with the neutron-star interpretation.
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Using NASA's Swift satellite, McGill University and Penn State University astronomers have identified an object that is likely one of the closest neutron stars to Earth -- and possibly the closest.
...
The team next targeted Calvera with the 8.1-meter Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii. These observations, along with a short observation by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, showed that the object is not associated with any optical counterpart down to a very faint magnitude. Chandra's sharper X-ray vision sees the object as point-like, consistent with the neutron-star interpretation.
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The Coolest Dwarf
Sky & Telescope - August 10, 2007
The infrared deep-sky survey now being carried out by the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope is only 5% done, but already astronomers looking at its data have found the coolest solitary brown dwarf ever seen.
The object, named ULAS J0034–00, is located in Cetus. A followup analysis by the Gemini Observatory of steam and methane features in its infrared spectrum pegs its temperature at just 600 to 700 kelvins (330° to 430°C, or 620° to 800°F). This puts it at the very bottom of spectral class T — or perhaps in the still-cooler proposed spectral class Y, for which no other object has yet been found. ...
The infrared deep-sky survey now being carried out by the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope is only 5% done, but already astronomers looking at its data have found the coolest solitary brown dwarf ever seen.
The object, named ULAS J0034–00, is located in Cetus. A followup analysis by the Gemini Observatory of steam and methane features in its infrared spectrum pegs its temperature at just 600 to 700 kelvins (330° to 430°C, or 620° to 800°F). This puts it at the very bottom of spectral class T — or perhaps in the still-cooler proposed spectral class Y, for which no other object has yet been found. ...
Monday, August 13, 2007
The Hole Picture - Mauna Kea astronomers observe fast-moving black holes, quasars
Hawaii Tribune Herald - 2007 August 7
Astronomers using Mauna Kea's telescopes have shed new light, figuratively speaking, on black holes and quasars.
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An international team used Gemini's telescopes on Mauna Kea and in Chile to discover, to their surprise, that black holes of a billion solar masses - the mass of 1 billion suns, compressed into a point - can form shortly after the birth of the universe.
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Astronomers using Mauna Kea's telescopes have shed new light, figuratively speaking, on black holes and quasars.
...
An international team used Gemini's telescopes on Mauna Kea and in Chile to discover, to their surprise, that black holes of a billion solar masses - the mass of 1 billion suns, compressed into a point - can form shortly after the birth of the universe.
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