Green Bank Telescope (GBT) tagged posts

A ribbon of ammonia — a tracer of star-forming gas — in the Orion Nebula as seen with the GBT (orange). Background image in blue is a WISE telescope infrared image showing the dust in the region. Credit: GBO/AUI/NSF; J.Pineda, MPE; NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/WISE/A.Meisner

A striking new image of the Orion Molecular Cloud (OMC) has been unveiled- a bustling stellar nursery teeming with bright, young stars and dazzling regions of hot, glowing gas. The researchers used the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in

West Virginia to study a 50 light-year long filament of star-forming gas that is wending its way through the northern portion of the OMC known as Orion A.

The GBT rendered this image by detecting the faint radio signals naturally emitted by molecules of ammonia t...

Artist impression of the Milky Way Galaxy. Using the Green Bank Telescope, astronomers measured the relative abundance of light to heavy isotopes of silicon, as found in the molecule silicon monoxide, across the Milky Way. Surprisingly, the astronomer found none of the expected gradient — higher ratio of heavier silicon isotopes — toward the galactic center. This may suggest that the Milky Way is more efficient at mixing its contents than previously assumed. Credit: Alexandra Angelich (NRAO/AUI/NSF)

As galaxies age, some of their basic chemical elements can also show signs of aging. This aging process can be seen as certain atoms “put on a little weight,” meaning they change into heavier isotopes – atoms with additional neutrons in their nuclei...