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Science
Friday > Archives
> 1998
> January
> January 9, 1998:
Hour Two: Astronomy Update:
The meeting of the American Astronomical Society is underway this week...news on black holes, gamma ray bursters, cosmic rays, and more!
| The American Astronomical Society's annual winter meeting is in full swing in Washington, DC. Scientists have announced a surprising degree of agreement on two topics that have been a matter of debate for many years - the age of the universe, and its eventual end. The theories? The universe is 15 billion years old - and may continue expanding forever. On this hour of Science Friday, we'll take you inside the meeting for a chat with some of the scientists making news at this gathering of scientific stars. | 
Star Clusters form as Antennae Galaxies Collide in the Constellation Corvus
(Click for larger version)
(Brad Whitmore (ST ScI) and NASA) |
| Scientists using the COBE satellite have announced that they have detected a faint background glow of infrared radiation throughout the entire universe. The glow, caused by heat given off by cosmic dust warmed by the light all the stars that have ever existed, helps scientists put a total limit on the amount of energy in the universe.
Their findings lead the group to conclude that there may be many hidden stars, unseen because they are obscured by dust, or are too far away to be seen by visible light telescopes. |
Visible light and background radiation observed by COBE
(click for larger version).
(photo: Michael Hauser (STSci), the COBE/DIRBE Science Team, NASA) |
| Hubble-watchers at the University of Alabama have obtained pictures mapping the dust that may be obscuring some of those distant stars. They find that the dust is patchy, clumped, and concentrated along the spiral arms of the galaxies.
Their findings may help astronomers to balance the amount of energy emitted by stars with the amount observed by other methods. |
Dust in Spiral Galaxies.
(click for larger version)
(photo: William Keel and Raymond White
(Univ. of Alabama) and NASA) |
| Hubble Detects Auroras
In other news from the Hubble, researchers have reported at the AAS meeting that they have new, better observations of auroras on Jupiter and Saturn. These glowing clouds, caused by charged particles in the upper atmosphere, are similar to the Northern and Southern Lights seen near Earth's poles. However, while auroras on Earth and Saturn are caused by charged particles thrown off by the sun, those on Jupiter seem to be ejected from volcanoes on Io, one of Jupiter's moons. | 
Hubble Space Telescope UV image showing auroras at Saturn's poles.
(larger version)
(J.T.Trager (JPL) and NASA) |
UV light from superheated gas trapped
around suspected black hole.
(larger view)
(Philippe Crane (European Southern Observatory) and NASA)
Guests:
Lynn Cominsky
Deputy Press Officer, American Astronomical Society
Professor, Physics and Astronomy
Sonoma State University
Rohnert Park, CA
Eli Dwek
Astrophysicist, Member of the COBE Science Working Group
Infrared Astrophysics Branch
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD
Books/Articles Discussed:
Related Links:
Black Holes
-- frequently
asked questions, from Berkeley
-- Black
Hole equations from U. Arizona
Gamma Ray Bursts:
-- An introduction
from NASA
-- The
TGRS monitoring project
Pictures from the Hubble
A Huge List of Astronomy Sites
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