Earth-based Telescopes – Page 12 – Our Awesome Universe

Space Stories: Eruptions on Mars, World’s Largest Radio-Astronomy Observatory, and Saudi Space Hotels

Posted on December 6, 2022December 13, 2022 by onespaceman2000

^{Image (Credit): Image of the planet Mars. (NASA)}

Here are some recent stories of interest.

—University of Arizona: “Giant Mantle Plume Reveals Mars is More Active Than Previously Thought“

In a study published in Nature Astronomy, scientists from the University of Arizona challenge current views of Martian geodynamic evolution with a report on the discovery of an active mantle plume pushing the surface upward and causing earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The finding suggests that the planet’s deceptively quiet surface may hide a more tumultuous interior than previously thought…Mantle plumes are large blobs of warm and buoyant rock that rise from deep inside a planet and push through its intermediate layer – the mantle – to reach the base of its crust, causing earthquakes, faulting and volcanic eruptions. The island chain of Hawaii, for example, formed as the Pacific plate slowly drifted over a mantle plume.

—Nature.com: “‘Great Scientific Step Forward’: Construction of World’s Largest Radio Observatory is Finally Under Way“

After 30 years of planning and negotiations, construction begins this week on the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), the world’s largest radio-astronomy observatory. The giant instrument — to be built across sprawling sites in Australia and Africa — will collect the radio signals emitted by celestial objects and will hopefully shed light on some of the most enigmatic problems in astronomy, such as the nature of dark matter and how galaxies form.

—UAE in Space: “Saudi Arabia in Talks over Plans for Next-Generation Space Stations“

Saudi Arabia is in talks with other nations over plans for the next generation of space stations, which could one day serve as floating hotels among the stars. Mohammed bin Saud Al Tamimi, governor of the Communications, Space and Technology Commission, said he sees space commodities as a “huge opportunity”. He was speaking remotely on the first day of the Abu Dhabi Space Debate, a major conference that addressed the new geopolitics of space and emerging trends. Mr Al Tamimi said that the Kingdom would be announcing its national space strategy early next year.

You Too Can Help Find Galaxies

Posted on December 5, 2022December 27, 2022 by onespaceman2000

^{Image (Credit): Big Bang expansion. (NASA/WMAP Science Team]}

About 10,000 amateur scientists in 85 countries have already assisted with galaxy-mapping, but more help is needed in locating these distant galaxies billions of light-years away.

It is all part of the Dark Energy Explorers project using data from the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, a 10 meter telescope located at the McDonald Observatory in West Texas. Volunteers will assist with the Hobby-Eberly Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX), which is designed to:

….find over one million galaxies that are 9 billion to 11 billion light-years away, yielding the largest map of the universe ever produced. The map will allow HETDEX astronomers to measure how fast the universe was expanding at different times in its history. Changes in the expansion rate will reveal the role of dark energy at different epochs. Various explanations for dark energy predict different changes in the expansion rate, so by providing exact measurements of the expansion, the HETDEX map will eliminate some of the competing ideas.

The Explorers website can walk you through all of the necessary details to help identify signals from distant galaxies. Approximately 247,000 galaxies have already been identified, but that is just a fraction of what scientist believe is out there in the patch of sky being observed.

Ultimately, the plan is to build a 3D map of the cosmos concentrated on galaxies in the early universe. This should assist scientists with their understanding of dark energy.

This is your chance to be an astronomer. Time to have fun and pitch in.

More Satellite Pollution Impacting Ground Telescopes

Posted on November 15, 2022January 1, 2023 by onespaceman2000

^{Image (Credit): AST SpaceMobile’s BlueWalker 3 test satellite, which is 693 square feet in size. (AST SpaceMobile)}

It is called Bluewalker 3, and it may change the night sky for years to come. Launched in September 2022 aboard a SpaceX rocket, the Bluewalker3 prototype communications satellite from AST SpaceMobile spread its 693 square feet antenna array in low-Earth orbit. It has now become as bright as the brightest stars in the evening sky. And more of these satellites will soon be launched – 168 of them.

Needless to say, astronomers on the ground are perturbed. As noted in Science, astronomer Meredith Rawls of the University of Washington, Seattle, stated, “It’ll show up as a superbright streak in images and potentially saturate camera detectors at observatories.”

That is not to say it will be the brightest man-made object in the night sky. The International Space Station wins that battle being about 40 times brighter than the Bluewalker3, but there is only one ISS versus the 168 Bluewalker satellites being planned.

But wait, there’s more. The Bluewalker satellites direct-to-mobile cell service will also impact radio astronomers.

All of this has astronomers up in arms, leading to complaints against the use of such satellites. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is monitoring the matter.

As reported by NBC News, the FCC is also placing new restrictions on satellites at the end of their mission life, but this will not help with all of the new satellites going up today that will be crowding the night sky for many years to come.

If this continues, we may need that planned lunar base as a telescope collection point, at least until the objects orbiting the Moon become a problem.

Iranian Astronomy Collaboration, Anyone?

Posted on October 23, 2022 by onespaceman2000

^{Image (Credit): The Iranian National Observatory at night. (Shia News Association)}

The Iranian National Observatory (INO) is now operational, with its first images now available (see sample below). After 20 years and $25 million, Iranian astronomers now have their own view of the heavens. Fine tuning of the telescope is underway, but it should soon be ready for its initial focus on the evolution of galaxies and stars as well as the study of exoplanets.

Sadly, this positive scientific news is overshadowed by international sanctions, riots in Iran, and the nation’s involvement in the sale of drones to Russia now being used to bomb Ukrainian cities.

Even with all of these problems, INO Project Director Habib Khosroshahi, an astronomer at the Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences in Tehran, recently stated in Tehran Times, “The door is open from our side…” for collaboration with other science teams around the world.

It would be great if collaborative science could continue in this time of strife, as demonstrated by work on the International Space Stations, but it will be very difficult.

^{Image (Credit): First images of the INO showing to interacting galaxies. (INO)}

Arecibo Observatory Gone Forever

Posted on October 14, 2022 by onespaceman2000

^{Image (Credit): Matthew McConaughey and Jodie Foster at the Arecibo Observatory in the movie Contact. (Warner Bros.)}

If you were hoping that the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico would have a second life, it may be time to say goodbye. Efforts to rebuild the radio telescope since it collapsed in 2020 have ended. Nature reports that the US National Science Foundation (NSF) has given up on the idea of rebuilding the telescope and instead plans to establish an educational center at the site.

You may have memories from the 1997 film Contact where Matthew McConaughey and Jodie Foster enjoyed some private time at the Observatory. Her character Dr. Ellie Arroway was working at the Observatory as part of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence works (SETI) program. In fact, the SETI connection is true. You can see a SETI tribute to the telescope here.

Of course, scientists will remember almost 60 years of work with the radio telescope. While it was initially built for military purposes, it was soon transformed into a scientific site and served as the largest radio telescope on the planet for some time. As far as scientific accomplishments, here are a few of them from the NSF:

1967: Arecibo discovered that the rotation rate of Mercury is 59 days, not the previously estimated 88 days.
1981: Arecibo produced the first radar maps of the surface of Venus.
1992: Arecibo discovered the first ever exoplanet: In subsequent observations, an entire planetary system was found around the pulsar PSR 1257+12.
2008: Astronomers use Arecibo to detect for the first time, methanimine and hydrogen cyanide molecules — two organic molecules that are key ingredients in forming amino acids — in a galaxy 250 million light-years away.

So many new telescopes have come online in the past 60 years that some will say we will be fine with an educational center. This is true, but it is also worth remembering each of the telescopes along the way that helped us to understand this awesome universe of ours.