High-energy transient signals are most often determined to be gamma-ray burst events, but the recently-launched Einstein Probe has expanded astronomers’ ability to quickly respond to similar signals occurring at X-ray wavelengths. Now, a multi-wavelength study of EP240408a concludes that while many of the signal’s characteristics might lead to the conclusion that it is a gamma-ray burst, the non-detection at radio wavelengths precludes that possibility.
Recent News
Students Contribute to New Understanding of ‘Twinkling’ Pulsars
The flexible observing setup of the Green Bank Observatory’s 20-meter telescope enabled frequent, long-duration observations of eight pulsars, spanning two and a half years for a student-driven study carried out by students in the Pulsar Science Collaboratory program.
Double the Disks, Double the Discovery: New Insights into Planet Formation in DF Tau
Tucked away in a star-forming region in the Taurus constellation, a pair of circling stars are displaying some unexpected differences in the circumstellar disks of dust and gas that surround them. A new study led by researchers at Lowell Observatory, combining data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and Keck Observatory, has unveiled intriguing findings about planet formation in this binary star system, known as DF Tau, along with other systems in this region.
2024 Jansky Fellows Awarded
Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF
As a part of its central mission to nurture and inspire the next generation of radio astronomers, the National Science Foundation’s National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) has selected two outstanding early career professionals for its 2024 Jansky Fellowship.
The Jansky Fellowship encourages early career astronomy and engineering professionals to pursue their personal research interests through the lens of radio astronomy, and with the support of NRAO’s observatories and research and engineering resources. Appointed for two years, with the opportunity to renew for a third year, Jansky Fellows develop broad skill sets and establish themselves as innovative, independent research scientists and engineers, and top leaders in the field by deepening their understanding of radio astronomy while collaborating with NRAO scientific staff and their colleagues in the global astrophysics community.
Adam Dong
Adam Dong earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering in 2015 and a bachelor of science degree in physics in 2017, both from the University of Auckland. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in astronomy at the University of British Columbia. Adam’s expertise is in characterizing pulsars and Fast Radio Bursts. Using the immense field of view and the large collection area of the Canadian Hydrogen Mapping Experiment (CHIME) telescope, he has led the effort to conduct the largest survey of single pulses from pulsars to date. Adam is also interested in the effects of satellite constellations on current and future-generation radio telescopes. As a Jansky Fellow at Green Bank Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia, Adam will integrate data from CHIME, the CHIME outriggers, the Green Bank Telescope, and other observatories to explore the new landscape of large fields of view in conjunction with high astrometric precision.
Kyle Massingill
Kyle Massingill earned his undergraduate degree in physics at the University of Arizona, where he worked on the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in astrophysics at Arizona State University, where he has focused on millimeter-wave filter-bank design, simulation, and testing. Kyle has integrated his filter-banks into novel weather sensors that are being tested on high-altitude balloons. Kyle has also worked on multiple extragalactic astronomy analysis projects, focusing on using ALMA data to survey high redshift galaxies. He is currently researching quasars to explore how feedback could be regulating galaxy evolution. As a Jansky fellow, at NRAO in Socorro, New Mexico, Kyle will use his interdisciplinary experience to contribute to calibration strategies for ngVLA and further his scientific research into quasars.
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under a cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.
This news article was originally published on the NRAO website on April 30, 2024.
Recent News
NSF VLA Contributes Crucial Puzzle Piece to ‘Peculiar’ High Energy Transient
High-energy transient signals are most often determined to be gamma-ray burst events, but the recently-launched Einstein Probe has expanded astronomers’ ability to quickly respond to similar signals occurring at X-ray wavelengths. Now, a multi-wavelength study of EP240408a concludes that while many of the signal’s characteristics might lead to the conclusion that it is a gamma-ray burst, the non-detection at radio wavelengths precludes that possibility.
Students Contribute to New Understanding of ‘Twinkling’ Pulsars
The flexible observing setup of the Green Bank Observatory’s 20-meter telescope enabled frequent, long-duration observations of eight pulsars, spanning two and a half years for a student-driven study carried out by students in the Pulsar Science Collaboratory program.
Double the Disks, Double the Discovery: New Insights into Planet Formation in DF Tau
Tucked away in a star-forming region in the Taurus constellation, a pair of circling stars are displaying some unexpected differences in the circumstellar disks of dust and gas that surround them. A new study led by researchers at Lowell Observatory, combining data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and Keck Observatory, has unveiled intriguing findings about planet formation in this binary star system, known as DF Tau, along with other systems in this region.