Mark Thompson, Author at Universe Today

November 19, 2023November 19, 2023 by Mark Thompson

A New Technique Has Dramatically Improved ALMA’s Resolution

Image showing two of the receivers of the ALMA array in the Atacama Desert. — Two of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) 12-metre antennas (Credit : Iztok Bon?ina/ESO)

To those familiar with optical telescopes, the idea of doing something to achieve higher resolution with their telescope may seem alien, if not, then practically impossible. A telescopes resolution is determined by among other things, its aperture – diameter of the thing that collects light (or electromagnetic radiation) and of course you can’t easily change that. Enter the team at ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array who have become the first to use the Band 10 receiver and extreme separation of the receivers to boosting its resolution so they can see detail equivalent of detecting a 10 meter long bus on the Moon!

November 16, 2023November 16, 2023 by Mark Thompson

An Asteroid Will Occult Betelgeuse on December 12th

Image of Betelgeuse and graphic showing its location — Image of Betelgeuse (Credit NASA/ESA)

I cannot for the life of me remember when it was or what it was but a fair few years ago I remember positioning a telescope to observe an asteroid as it silently and perhaps slightly eerily drifted between us and the Moon. I say eerily as this asteroid had the ability to cause widespread damage had it hit but of course we knew it posed no threat. I remember at the time thinking it was mind blowing that even today, we still use mathematics with roots (pardon the pun) centuries old to calculate the position of objects in our Solar System. We get to see evidence of this again on 12th December when something rare happens!

November 15, 2023November 15, 2023 by Mark Thompson

Need to Map an Iceberg in a Hundredth of a Second? Ask a Computer

Image of an iceberg on the Arctic Ocean — An Iceberg in the Arctic Ocean

Satellites really are quite a wonder. They can help forecast the weather, track climate change and help you navigate around the world. There are even satellites that can not only track icebergs but can map the Antarctic in the merest blink of an eye. In fact, faster than that since a typical blink takes about 0.2 seconds but the Sentinel-1 satellites can map icebergs in just 0.01 seconds, that’s 20 times for every blink of an eye!

November 14, 2023November 14, 2023 by Mark Thompson

When Stars Consume Their Partners, We Could Detect a Blast of Neutrinos

Three thousand light-years away, the Cat's Eye Nebula, a dying star throws off shells of glowing gas. This image from the Hubble Space Telescope reveals the nebula to be one of the most complex planetary nebulae known.The features seen in the Cat's Eye are so complex that astronomers suspect the central object may actually be a binary star system. — The Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC6543) is thought to be caused by a binary star system. Credit - NASA/HST

You might be familiar with the bizarre ritual of the female praying mantis which, I’m told, bites off the head and eats other body parts of the poor male they just mated with. It seems consuming partners is not unheard of. It’s even seen in the lives of stars where binary stars orbit one another closely and one star ultimately consumes the other. If the victim is a neutron star a burst of neutrinos can be generated and a new study reveals they might just be detectable on Earth.

November 13, 2023November 13, 2023 by Mark Thompson

Starship Could Be Ready to Launch on Friday

SpaceX Starship's Superheavy Booster, serial no. B7, being tested on the orbital launch pad at Starbase, Boca Chica, Texas in February 2023. — SpaceX Starship's Superheavy Booster at Starbase, Boca Chica, Texas (Credit : Mobilus In Mobili)

Space exploration should never be run of the mill nor something that finds itself on the back pages of the newspaper. Captain James T. Kirk was right that space really is the final frontier and making it more accessible is one of the driving forces behind SpaceX. Their mission to seek out new life and new civilisations, wait that’s wrong – that’s Starfleet. The SpaceX mission ‘to revolutionise space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets is at the forefront of the development of the enormous Starship which may make another launch attempt as soon as this Friday 17th November.

November 12, 2023November 12, 2023 by Mark Thompson

Mystery Solved. How We Get Ultra-Compact Dwarf Galaxies

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the dwarf galaxy M60-UDC1. Lying about 50 million light-years away, M60-UCD1 is a tiny galaxy with a diameter of 300 light-years — just 1/500th of the diameter of the Milky Way! Despite its size it is pretty crowded, containing some 140 million stars. The dwarf galaxy may actually be the stripped remnant of a larger galaxy that was torn apart during a close encounter with its neighbour, a massive galaxy called Messier 60. Circumstantial evidence for this comes from the recent discovery of a monster black hole, which is not visible in this image, at the centre of the dwarf. The black hole makes up 15 percent of the mass of the entire galaxy, making it much too big to have formed inside a dwarf galaxy. — Ultra Compact Dwarf Galaxy M60-UCD1 (Credit NASA/ESA and A.Seth)

I have been fascinated by galaxies for most of my adult life. I find it amazing that, just as we can ascertain the lifecycle of a tree by closely studying the trees in a forest, it is possible to study a sample of galaxies and understand galactic evolution. A team of astronomers using the Gemini North Telescope have recently solved a long standing galactic mystery, namely how we get ultra-compact dwarf galaxies (UCDs to use their catchy acronym).

November 12, 2023November 12, 2023 by Mark Thompson

SETI Researchers Just Got a $200 Million Gift to Search for Life

The SETI Institute

Among the many outstanding questions in science, ‘Are We Alone’ must be the one that captivates scientists and public alike. I have very fond memories watching the SETI screensaver on my laptop churn through data while and wondering if the big peaks in the fascinating looking graphs meant something had been found! That was a good few years back now but the search for ET continues. One such organisation spearheading the hunt is the SETI Institute and they have just announced a whacking great alien busting $200 million gift.

November 8, 2023November 8, 2023 by Mark Thompson

Astronomers are Hoping to Detect Gravitational Waves Coming from Supernova 1987A

This Hubble Space Telescope image shows Supernova 1987A within the Large Magellanic Cloud, a neighboring galaxy to our Milky Way. — Hubble Space Telescope image of SN1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud (Credit : NASA)

A supernova explosion is a cataclysmic explosion that marks the violent end of a massive star’s life. During the event, the star releases immense amounts of energy, often outshining the combined light from all the stars in the host galaxy for a very brief period of time. The explosion produces heavy elements and spreads them out among the stars to contribute to the formation of new stars and planets. The closest supernova in recent years occurred in the Large Magellanic Cloud in 1987 (SN1987A) and now, a team of astronomers have searched through mountains of data to see if they can detect gravitational waves from the remnant.

November 6, 2023November 6, 2023 by Mark Thompson

Oops. Astronauts Lost a Tool Bag During a Spacewalk!

NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli (top) and Loral O’Hara (bottom) team up during their first spacewalk for maintenance on the outside of the space station. Credit: NASA TV — NASA Astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli (top) and Loral O'Hara (bottom)

I know for a fact it’s one of the most annoying things that can happen. I’ve done it lots; whether that be out at night with telescope or a bit of DIY but for sure it has to rate as one of the most frustrating things to happen. I am talking of dropping something you are using. Ranking high is dropping tools while you are actually using them.. Dropping a tool is one thing but imagine dropping an entire bag of tools, while in orbit!!!! Oops!

November 4, 2023November 4, 2023 by Mark Thompson

Searching for the Supernova Neutrino Background to the Universe

Hubble Space Telescope image of supernova 1994D in galaxy NGC 4526.

It’s a sobering statement that stars like the Sun, more accurately ALL stars will die eventually, yes even the Sun! Don’t panic though, we still have a good few billion years to go so you will get to the end of this article. The more massive stars die as the dramatic supernovae explosions and when they do, they send a burst of neutrinos across the Universe. Astronomers now think it’s likely there is a background of neutrinos across the cosmos and that one day we will be able to map the historical distribution of supernova explosions, may be even by 2035.