August 7, 2008 - NewScientist
Astronomers have detected signs of a clockwork-like dimming of the bright star Eta Carinae months earlier than expected, although they can't yet explain why. They suspect the dimming is caused by a hidden stellar companion that disrupts Eta Carinae whenever it comes near.
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The next event is set to occur at the beginning of January 2009, but astronomers report they have already caught the first glimpse of new activity using the Gemini Observatory in Chile.
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Thursday, August 7, 2008
The Colliding Spiral Galaxies of Arp 271
July 21, 2008 - APoD
Explanation: What will become of these galaxies? Spiral galaxies NGC 5426 and NGC 5427 are passing dangerously close to each other, but each is likely to survive this collision. Most frequently when galaxies collide, a large galaxy eats a much smaller galaxy. In this case, however, the two galaxies are quite similar, each being a sprawling spiral with expansive arms and a compact core. As the galaxies advance over the next tens of millions of years, their component stars are unlikely to collide, although new stars will form in the bunching of gas caused by gravitational tides. Close inspection of the above image taken by the 8-meter Gemini-South Telescope in Chile shows a bridge of material momentarily connecting the two giants. Known collectively as Arp 271, the interacting pair spans about 130,000 light years and lies about 90 million light-years away toward the constellation of Virgo. Quite possibly, our Milky Way Galaxy will undergo a similar collision with the neighboring Andromeda Galaxy in about five billion years.
eGZeLENS — The extensive Galaxy Zoo LENsing Survey
July 12, 2008 - Aprajita's Blog
... Some of you may have had some interaction with me on the GalaxyZoo Forum on the topic of Gravitational Lenses. My name is Aprajita Verma and I am a researcher at the University of Oxford. I primarily work on galaxies at high redshift trying to understand their nature as we see them, how they began their lives and postulating about their fate.
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As an initial attempt, we applied for observing time for IFS observations with the 8m Gemini Telescope in Chile (see www.gemini.edu). This is one of the world’s largest telescope with a twin telescope (hence the name Gemini) in the northern hemisphere on Mauna Kea, Hawaii.
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... Some of you may have had some interaction with me on the GalaxyZoo Forum on the topic of Gravitational Lenses. My name is Aprajita Verma and I am a researcher at the University of Oxford. I primarily work on galaxies at high redshift trying to understand their nature as we see them, how they began their lives and postulating about their fate.
...
As an initial attempt, we applied for observing time for IFS observations with the 8m Gemini Telescope in Chile (see www.gemini.edu). This is one of the world’s largest telescope with a twin telescope (hence the name Gemini) in the northern hemisphere on Mauna Kea, Hawaii.
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