Recent Comments

    ALMA tagged posts

    Rotating Ring of Complex Organic Molecules discovered around Newborn Star

    June 29, 2016, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    A schematic illustration of the infalling gas around the protostar. A disk structure with a radius of about 50 AU exists around the protostar. The disk in turn is surrounded by an envelope of gas extended over a 200 AU scale. OCS exists in the envelope gas, while methyl formate mainly exists in the boundary area between the envelope gas and the disk structure. (Lower left) Intensity distribution of methyl formate (HCOOCH3) observed with ALMA. A structure elongated along A-B can be seen centered on the position of the protostar. Methyl formate is located within 50 AU from the protostar. (Lower right) Intensity distribution of OCS (carbonyl sulfide) observed with ALMA. A structure elongated along A-B can be seen centered on the position of the protostar position, similar to the case of OCS. However the distribution of OCS (~200 AU) is more extended than that of methyl formate. Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), Oya et al.

    A schematic illustration of the infalling gas around the protostar. A disk structure with a radius of about 50 AU exists around the protostar. The disk in turn is surrounded by an envelope of gas extended over a 200 AU scale. OCS exists in the envelope gas, while methyl formate mainly exists in the boundary area between the envelope gas and the disk structure. (Lower left) Intensity distribution of methyl formate (HCOOCH3) observed with ALMA. A structure elongated along A-B can be seen centered on the position of the protostar. Methyl formate is located within 50 AU from the protostar. (Lower right) Intensity distribution of OCS (carbonyl sulfide) observed with ALMA. A structure elongated along A-B can be seen centered on the position of the protostar position, similar to the case of OCS...

    Read More

    First Evidence of Icy Comets Orbiting a Sun-like Star

    May 19, 2016, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Illustration of the dust ring surrounding HD 181327. Credit: Amanda Smith, University of Cambridge

    Illustration of the dust ring surrounding HD 181327. Credit: Amanda Smith, University of Cambridge

    Astronomers have found evidence of ice and comets orbiting a nearby sun-like star, which could give a glimpse into how our own solar system developed. Using Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), the researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, detected very low levels of CO around the star, in amounts that are consistent with the comets in our own solar system. The results are a first step in establishing the properties of comet clouds around sun-like stars just after the time of their birth.

    Comets are essentially ‘dirty snowballs’ of ice and rock, sometimes with a tail of dust and evaporating ice trailing behind them, and are formed early in the development of stellar systems...

    Read More

    Planet Formation in Earth-like Orbit around a Young Star

    April 1, 2016, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    ALMA image of the planet-forming disk around the young, Sun-like star TW Hydrae. The inset image (upper right) zooms in on the gap nearest to the star, which is at the same distance as the Earth is from the Sun, suggesting an infant version of our home planet could be emerging from the dust and gas. The additional concentric light and dark features represent other planet-forming regions farther out in the disk. Credit: S. Andrews (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA), ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)

    ALMA image of the planet-forming disk around the young, Sun-like star TW Hydrae. The inset image (upper right) zooms in on the gap nearest to the star, which is at the same distance as the Earth is from the Sun, suggesting an infant version of our home planet could be emerging from the dust and gas. The additional concentric light and dark features represent other planet-forming regions farther out in the disk. Credit: S. Andrews (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA), ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)

    New images reveal never-before-seen details in the planet-forming disk around a nearby Sun-like star, including a tantalizing gap at the same distance from the star as the Earth is from the Sun. The disks of dust and gas that surround young stars are the formation sites of planets...

    Read More

    Rotational Rate of one of the most Massive Black Holes in the universe Accurately Measured

    March 11, 2016, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    An illustration of the binary black hole system in OJ287. The predictions of the model are verified by observations. Credit: Gary Poyner, UK

    An illustration of the binary black hole system in OJ287. The predictions of the model are verified by observations. Credit: Gary Poyner, UK

    An international team using several optical telescopes and NASA’s SWIFT X-ray telescope. The rotational rate of this massive black hole is 1/3 of the maximum spin rate allowed in General Relativity. This 18 billion solar mass heavy black hole powers a quasar OJ287 which lies about 3.5 billion light years away from Earth. This quasar lies very close to the apparent path of the Sun’s motion on the celestial sphere as seen from Earth, where most searches for asteroids and comets are conducted. Therefore, its optical photometric measurements already cover more than 100 years...

    Read More