April 29, 2009 - Astronomy Picture of the Day
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Cosmic blast sets distance mark
BBC - April 28, 2009
The cataclysmic explosion of a giant star early in the history of the Universe is the most distant single object ever detected by telescopes.
The colossal blast was picked up first by Nasa's Swift space observatory which is tuned to see the high-energy gamma-rays emitted from extreme events.
Other telescopes then followed up the signal, confirming the source to be more than 13 billion light-years away.
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Follow-up observations were led by the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope and the Gemini North Telescope, both on Mauna Kea, Hawaii.
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The cataclysmic explosion of a giant star early in the history of the Universe is the most distant single object ever detected by telescopes.
The colossal blast was picked up first by Nasa's Swift space observatory which is tuned to see the high-energy gamma-rays emitted from extreme events.
Other telescopes then followed up the signal, confirming the source to be more than 13 billion light-years away.
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Follow-up observations were led by the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope and the Gemini North Telescope, both on Mauna Kea, Hawaii.
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New Gamma-Ray Burst Smashes Cosmic Distance Record
ScienceDaily - April 28, 2009
NASA's Swift satellite and an international team of astronomers have found a gamma-ray burst from a star that died when the universe was only 630 million years old, or less than five percent of its present age. The event, dubbed GRB 090423, is the most distant cosmic explosion ever seen.
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At the same time, Fox led an effort to obtain infrared images of the afterglow using the Gemini North Telescope on Mauna Kea. The source appeared in longer-wavelength images but was absent in an image taken at the shortest wavelength of 1 micron. This "drop out" corresponded to a distance of about 13 billion light-years.
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NASA's Swift satellite and an international team of astronomers have found a gamma-ray burst from a star that died when the universe was only 630 million years old, or less than five percent of its present age. The event, dubbed GRB 090423, is the most distant cosmic explosion ever seen.
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At the same time, Fox led an effort to obtain infrared images of the afterglow using the Gemini North Telescope on Mauna Kea. The source appeared in longer-wavelength images but was absent in an image taken at the shortest wavelength of 1 micron. This "drop out" corresponded to a distance of about 13 billion light-years.
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GRB Smashes Record for Most Distant Known Object
Universe Today - April 28, 2009
A really, really long time ago in a galaxy far away, a massive star exploded. On April 23, 2009, the Swift satellite detected that explosion. This spectacular gamma ray burst was seen 13 billion light years away, with a redshift of 8.2, the highest ever measured. As we hinted yesterday, this object is now the most distant known object, and the burst occurred when the Universe was only 630 million years old, a mere one-twentieth of its current age. This event, called GRB 090423, can tell us much about the early Universe. “We completely smashed the record with this one,” said Edo Berger, a professor at Harvard University and a member of the team that first measured the burst’s origin. “This demonstrates for the first time that massive stars existed in the early Universe.”
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“This was a pretty amazing event,” Berger told Universe Today. “Swift detected this gamma ray burst on April 23 and we immediately followed it up with the Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii, after it was demonstrated it did not have a visible light counterpart. That was the initial hint that this might be a distant object. We observed it in infrared and we found in the different infrared bands that there was a sharp break at a wavelength of about 1.1 microns.”
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A really, really long time ago in a galaxy far away, a massive star exploded. On April 23, 2009, the Swift satellite detected that explosion. This spectacular gamma ray burst was seen 13 billion light years away, with a redshift of 8.2, the highest ever measured. As we hinted yesterday, this object is now the most distant known object, and the burst occurred when the Universe was only 630 million years old, a mere one-twentieth of its current age. This event, called GRB 090423, can tell us much about the early Universe. “We completely smashed the record with this one,” said Edo Berger, a professor at Harvard University and a member of the team that first measured the burst’s origin. “This demonstrates for the first time that massive stars existed in the early Universe.”
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“This was a pretty amazing event,” Berger told Universe Today. “Swift detected this gamma ray burst on April 23 and we immediately followed it up with the Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii, after it was demonstrated it did not have a visible light counterpart. That was the initial hint that this might be a distant object. We observed it in infrared and we found in the different infrared bands that there was a sharp break at a wavelength of about 1.1 microns.”
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Telescope snaps most distant object
Reuters, UK - April 28, 2009
Astronomers tracking a mysterious blast of energy called a gamma ray burst said on Tuesday they had snapped a photograph of the most distant object in the universe -- a smudge 13 billion light-years away.
Hawaii's Gemini Observatory caught the image earlier this month after a satellite first detected the burst.
"Our infrared observations from Gemini immediately suggested that this was an unusually distant burst, these images were the smoking gun," said Edo Berger of the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
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Scientists spot oldest ever object in universe
CNN - April 29, 2009
(CNN) -- Edo Berger got an alert early last Thursday morning when a satellite detected a 10-second blast of energy known as a gamma ray burst coming from outer space.
Telescopes around the world swiveled to focus on the explosion, soon picking up infrared radiation, which travels more slowly than gamma rays. Berger waited for the visible light which he expected to come next.
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The gamma radiation from GRB 090423, which took 13 billion years to reach earth, was detected by a NASA satellite called Swift. The infrared radiation was detected by the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii.
(CNN) -- Edo Berger got an alert early last Thursday morning when a satellite detected a 10-second blast of energy known as a gamma ray burst coming from outer space.
Telescopes around the world swiveled to focus on the explosion, soon picking up infrared radiation, which travels more slowly than gamma rays. Berger waited for the visible light which he expected to come next.
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The gamma radiation from GRB 090423, which took 13 billion years to reach earth, was detected by a NASA satellite called Swift. The infrared radiation was detected by the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Cosmic distance record smashed
Astronomy.com - April 28, 2009
The Swift satellite has found a gamma-ray burst from a star that died when the universe was 640 million years old, or less than 5 percent of its present age. The event, called GRB 090423, is the most distant cosmic explosion ever seen and gives astronomers an insight into the early universe. The international team, led by United Kingdom and United States astronomers, announced the discovery today.
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Shortly after, Fox led an effort to obtain infrared images of the afterglow using the Gemini North Telescope on Mauna Kea. The source appeared in longer-wavelength images, but was absent in an image taken at the shortest wavelength (1 micron). The drop-out corresponded to a burst distance of about 13 billion light-years.
...
The Swift satellite has found a gamma-ray burst from a star that died when the universe was 640 million years old, or less than 5 percent of its present age. The event, called GRB 090423, is the most distant cosmic explosion ever seen and gives astronomers an insight into the early universe. The international team, led by United Kingdom and United States astronomers, announced the discovery today.
...
Shortly after, Fox led an effort to obtain infrared images of the afterglow using the Gemini North Telescope on Mauna Kea. The source appeared in longer-wavelength images, but was absent in an image taken at the shortest wavelength (1 micron). The drop-out corresponded to a burst distance of about 13 billion light-years.
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Most distant known object in the universe
ScienceNews - April 28, 2009
Astronomers have identified a new record holder for most distant object in the universe — a gamma-ray burst emanating from a region 13.035 billion light-years from Earth.
On April 23, NASA’s Swift satellite discovered the burst — a 10-second flash of highly energetic radiation believed to mark the explosive collapse of a massive star into a black hole. Within three hours of Swift’s detection, astronomers recorded the burst’s infrared afterglow using the U.K. Infra-Red Telescope and the Gemini North Telescope, both on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea. Those observations, reported online (gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/gcn3_archive.html), suggested that the explosion ignited when the 13.7-billion-year-old universe was only about 630 million years old.
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Astronomers have identified a new record holder for most distant object in the universe — a gamma-ray burst emanating from a region 13.035 billion light-years from Earth.
On April 23, NASA’s Swift satellite discovered the burst — a 10-second flash of highly energetic radiation believed to mark the explosive collapse of a massive star into a black hole. Within three hours of Swift’s detection, astronomers recorded the burst’s infrared afterglow using the U.K. Infra-Red Telescope and the Gemini North Telescope, both on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea. Those observations, reported online (gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/gcn3_archive.html), suggested that the explosion ignited when the 13.7-billion-year-old universe was only about 630 million years old.
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Astronomers spot the most distant cosmic explosion yet
Scientific American - April 28, 2009
An international team of astronomers last week detected the most distant gamma-ray burst ever recorded, light that was emitted when the universe was less than 5 percent of its present age.
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Infrared afterglow of GRB 090423 (circled) in a false-color image from the Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii: Gemini Observatory/NSF/AURA, D. Fox and A. Cucchiara (Penn State University) and E. Berger (Harvard University)
An international team of astronomers last week detected the most distant gamma-ray burst ever recorded, light that was emitted when the universe was less than 5 percent of its present age.
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Infrared afterglow of GRB 090423 (circled) in a false-color image from the Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii: Gemini Observatory/NSF/AURA, D. Fox and A. Cucchiara (Penn State University) and E. Berger (Harvard University)
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Coolest Brown Dwarf Spotted
April 20, 2009 - Discovery News
The coolest star-like object ever found outside the solar system has been spotted around 40 light-years away from Earth.
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The team used the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope and Gemini-North Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii.
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The coolest star-like object ever found outside the solar system has been spotted around 40 light-years away from Earth.
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The team used the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope and Gemini-North Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii.
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Astronomers Discover Local Star's Cool Companion
April 20, 2009 - Science Daily
An international team, led by astronomers at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK, have discovered one of the coolest sub-stellar bodies ever found outside our own solar system, orbiting the red dwarf star Wolf 940, some 40 light years from Earth. Dr Ben Burningham of the University of Hertfordshire will present this discovery on Monday 20th April at the European Week of Astronomy and Space Science conference.
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Its temperature was then confirmed using data from the Gemini-North telescope on Mauna Kea. The team's findings will soon be published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
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An international team, led by astronomers at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK, have discovered one of the coolest sub-stellar bodies ever found outside our own solar system, orbiting the red dwarf star Wolf 940, some 40 light years from Earth. Dr Ben Burningham of the University of Hertfordshire will present this discovery on Monday 20th April at the European Week of Astronomy and Space Science conference.
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Its temperature was then confirmed using data from the Gemini-North telescope on Mauna Kea. The team's findings will soon be published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
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Wednesday, April 15, 2009
“From Galileo to Gemini” theme of upcoming Mauna Kea lecture
Apr. 13, 2009 - Big Island Video News
Dr. Doug Simons, director of the Frederick C. Gillett Gemini North telescope on Mauna Kea, will present the “From Galileo to Gemini” talk on Thursday, April 16, at the W. M. Keck Observatory’s Hualalai Learning Theater in Waimea, and Saturday, April 18, at Imiloa Astronomy Center’s planetarium in Hilo.
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(with video)
IYA's 24-hour Scope-a-thon
Apr. 2, 2009 - Sky & Telescope
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This unprecedented scope-a-thon kicks with a live feed from the Gemini North observatory in Hawaii on Friday morning, April 3rd, at 9:00 Universal Time (5:00 a.m. EDT). Then every 20 minutes the scene switches to a different facility. You'll be impressed with all the big-name observatories on and off our planet that have signed up to participate, among them Keck Observatory (10:00 UT), Hubble Space Telescope (17:20 UT), and ESO's Very Large Telescope in Chile (April 4th, 2:20 UT).
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This unprecedented scope-a-thon kicks with a live feed from the Gemini North observatory in Hawaii on Friday morning, April 3rd, at 9:00 Universal Time (5:00 a.m. EDT). Then every 20 minutes the scene switches to a different facility. You'll be impressed with all the big-name observatories on and off our planet that have signed up to participate, among them Keck Observatory (10:00 UT), Hubble Space Telescope (17:20 UT), and ESO's Very Large Telescope in Chile (April 4th, 2:20 UT).
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Gallery: The Top 10 Telescopes of All Time
Apr. 10, 2009 - Popular Science
Image 1 of 10 is Gemini Observatory...
Image 1 of 10 is Gemini Observatory...