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.
Recent News
Young Stars in the Milky Way’s Backyard Challenge Our Understanding of How They Form
Astronomers have made groundbreaking discoveries about young star formation in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), along with observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The study, published in The Astrophysical Journal, gives new insight into the early stages of massive star formation outside our galaxy.
Astronomers Catch Unprecedented Features at Brink of Active Black Hole
International teams of astronomers monitoring a supermassive black hole in the heart of a distant galaxy have detected features never seen before using data from NASA missions and other facilities including the National Science Foundation (NSF) National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). The features include the launch of a plasma jet moving at nearly one-third the speed of light and unusual, rapid X-ray fluctuations likely arising from near the very edge of the black hole.
NRAO Director Tony Beasley Honored as Lifetime AAAS Fellow
Tony Beasley, Director of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and AUI Vice President for Radio Astronomy Operations, was today elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the Science family of journals. Among 564 scientists, engineers, and innovators elected to the 2021 class of AAAS Fellows, Beasley is one of just 11 astronomers recognized this year for their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements.
Beasley is recognized for his distinguished contributions to the advancement of science through leadership in the construction of several major national or international facilities, particularly for radio astronomy.
“AUI would like to congratulate all those scientists recognized as AAAS fellows and we are proud to see Dr. Beasley included among them. Over the past two decades, Tony has played a major role in creating global scientific access to leading-edge radioastronomy facilities, including the Very Long Baseline Array and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, which are used to support the missions of NRAO, AUI, and the National Science Foundation,” said Adam Cohen, President and CEO of AUI. “More recently, he has generated strong support for the next generation Very Large Array, or ngVLA, that will be the world-leading centimeter radio telescope for decades to come and has led projects that elevate the power of radar at the Green Bank Observatory for use in planetary science and defense applications.”
After receiving his Doctorate in Astrophysics from the University of Sydney, Beasley joined NRAO as a Postdoctoral Fellow in 1991. He was appointed Deputy Assistant Director in 1997 and then Assistant Director from 1998 to 2000. He left NRAO to become Project Manager for the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA). In 2004, he returned to NRAO as an Assistant Director, this time as Project Manager for the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile. In 2008, Beasley became the Chief Operating Officer and Project Manager of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). He was appointed NRAO Director in February 2012.
“It is an honor to be elected to AAAS fellowship alongside so many outstanding professionals who have dedicated their careers to the progression and elevation of science and engineering,” said Beasley. “The work of AAAS fellows supports positive change in the sciences, and I look forward to seeing what we will continue to do together in the coming years.”
AAAS Fellowship
Members can be considered for the rank of Fellow if nominated by the steering groups of the association’s 24 sections representing each scientific discipline, by three Fellows who are current AAAS Members (so long as two of the three sponsors are not affiliated with the nominee’s institution), or by the CEO of AAAS. Fellows must have been continuous members of AAAS for four years by the end of the calendar year in which they are elected. The AAAS Fellow honor comes with an expectation that recipients maintain the highest standards of professional ethics and scientific integrity.
Each steering group reviews the nominations of individuals within its respective section and a final list is forwarded to the AAAS Council, which votes on the aggregate list. The Council is the policymaking body of the association, chaired by the AAAS president, and consisting of members of the board of directors, the retiring section chairs, delegates from each electorate and each regional division, and two delegates from the National Association of Academies of Science.
“AAAS is proud to bestow the honor of AAAS Fellow to some of today’s brightest minds who are integral to forging our path into the future,” said Dr. Sudip Parikh, AAAS chief executive officer and executive publisher of the Science family of journals. “We celebrate these distinguished individuals for their invaluable contributions to the scientific enterprise.”
About AAAS
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science, as well as Science Translational Medicine; Science Signaling; a digital, open-access journal, Science Advances; Science Immunology; and Science Robotics. AAAS was founded in 1848 and includes more than 250 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. The nonprofit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to “advance science and serve society” through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education, public engagement, and more. For additional information about AAAS, visit www.aaas.org.
Media contacts:
Amy C. Oliver
Public Information & News Manager, NRAO
+1 434 242 9584
[email protected]
Tal Woliner
Chief Communications Officer, AAAS
[email protected]
+1 202 326 6440
This news article was originally published on the NRAO website on Jan. 26, 2022.
Recent News
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.
Young Stars in the Milky Way’s Backyard Challenge Our Understanding of How They Form
Astronomers have made groundbreaking discoveries about young star formation in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), along with observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The study, published in The Astrophysical Journal, gives new insight into the early stages of massive star formation outside our galaxy.
Astronomers Catch Unprecedented Features at Brink of Active Black Hole
International teams of astronomers monitoring a supermassive black hole in the heart of a distant galaxy have detected features never seen before using data from NASA missions and other facilities including the National Science Foundation (NSF) National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). The features include the launch of a plasma jet moving at nearly one-third the speed of light and unusual, rapid X-ray fluctuations likely arising from near the very edge of the black hole.