On 23rd May the third year physics students in the School of Mathematics and Physics went on a week long field trip to La Palma in the Canary islands. The purpose was to visit Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory which houses one of the largest collection of professional telescopes in the world:

• MAGIC (telescope) – 2 x 17 m gamma-ray imaging Cherenkov telescopes
• Gran Telescopio Canarias – 10.4m reflecting telescope
• William Herschel Telescope – 4.2m reflecting telescope
• Telescopio Nazionale Galileo – 3.58m reflecting telescope
• Nordic Optical Telescope – 2.56m reflecting telescope
• Isaac Newton Telescope – 2.5m reflecting telescope
• Liverpool Telescope – 2.0m robotic telescope
• Mercator Telescope – 1.2m reflecting telescope
• Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope – 1.0m solar telescope
• Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope – 1.0m reflecting telescope
• Dutch Open Telescope – 0.45m reflecting solar telescope
• Carlsberg Meridian Telescope – 0.18m refracting telescope
• SuperWASP – 5 wide angle cameras with 0.11m diameter lenses

Physics students in their third year take a module in the second semester titled “Physics of the Universe”. This introduces them to some of the key physics at all scales in the universe, from planets all the way to cosmological scales. The final assignment for this module was based on the trip where students had to use the same software used by professional astronomers at La Palma to plan their observations.

During the trip students got to visit the 10.4m GTC (Gran Telescopio Canarias) and the 2.5m Isaac Newton Telescope.

GTC (Below)

Isaac Newton Telescope (Below)

The Magic Telescopes (Below)

During their time on the island and at one of the best locations in the world for astronomical seeing students also got the chance to make their own observations up the mountain (Below).

There was also some free time during the week to enjoy the spectacular scenery on the island.

A new children’s book recently published Sharon Cohen titled “Halo Moon” follows 12 year old Halo Moon who is a keen stargazer. As with films many authors often seek the guidance of scientific advisors to make sure that elements of the story are factually and scientifically correct. Dr Phil Sutton offered advice on how Halo Moon might use the skywatcher telescope she had in the story and what sort of objects she might be able to observe during the summer. Some of the objects Halo was able to see with her telescope was M13 (below), a globular cluster of stars and Jupiter’s four largest moons.

During the story the characters observe a meteor as it falls to Earth and Dr Sutton also advised how this might be seen, heard and maybe even felt. A short synopsis is given below:

“Bravery, friendship and the magic of an unknowable universe combine in this extraordinary adventure from the heart. Great for fans of Frank Cottrell Boyce and David Almond.

In Ethiopia, Ageze has unearthed an ancient device that can make predictions. It tells him: there is a date, there is a place, there is a moment when it will happen. A disaster that will change everything.

Halo Moon loves stars, and the night sky is full of them in her remote Yorkshire village. It’s a place where nothing interesting ever happens, let alone a catastrophe.

So when a stranger appears at the end of a near-impossible journey and tells her lives are at risk, she can barely believe it. But if she doesn’t help Ageze, everything and everyone she knows might disappear for ever …

As Halo says: there’s a hundred ways to start this story, a hundred ways to tell it. Each one is impossible. Each one, unbelievable. But it did all happen and I promise it’s all true.”

More information about the book can be found here.

 

A new paper has been accepted for publication in MNRAS (Monthly Notices of the Astronomical Society) by Dr Phil Sutton titled “Mean Motion Resonances With Nearby Moons: An Unlikely Origin For The Gaps Observed In The Ring Around The Exoplanet J1407b”.

J1407b is a large exoplanet (more than 20 times the mass of Jupiter) orbiting its star over 400 lightyears away from Earth. Like many exoplanets before, it was discovered by the transit method which detects a dip in a star’s brightness as a planet passes in front it. However, the star J1407 showed a prolonged and irregular dip in brightness that was attributed to a ring orbiting the planet 200 times larger than Saturn’s ring system. Modelling of this transit showed it was not uniform and instead had gaps. In Saturn’s rings gaps are caused by nearby moons outside the rings or smaller moons inside the rings that gravitationally clear a gap.

Figure 1 | A gap between the B and A ring, which can be seen from Earth, is caused by an orbital resonance with the nearby moon Mimas. Ring particles orbit twice for every orbit of the moon causing a resonance effect (2:1).

Figure 2 | Daphnis, one of Saturn’s many moons, carves out a gap from within the A ring.

In the paper computer simulations we carried out to investigate if nearby moons could create a gap at the locations predicted by the transit. Similar to how Mimas creates the Cassini Division. It was discovered that it was not possible to form gaps in the ring due to moons orbiting outside the ring. In order to create the expected gaps in the ring a moon would need to be too close to outer edge of the ring system, which would cause significant distortion of the ring.

Figure 3 | The radial and angular position of ring particles taken at a time of a) 10 orbital periods and b) 50 orbital periods for ring particles located at 0.4AU (Astronomical Units). The moon is located at the 3:1 MMR (Mean Motion Resonance) with ring particles at 0.4AU. In this scenario we find that the moon is far enough away that there is no significant distortion or scattering of the ring edge with a moon mass 0.3 Earth masses. No obvious perturbation of particles located at 0.4AU is observed during the same time period with only one gap formed at the 2:1 MMR (0.523 AU).

Figure 4 | The eccentricity and radial position of ring particles is shown at a time of 50 orbital periods of particles located at . This is the same time and model as in Fig 2b. The nearby moon is placed at a 3:1 MMR with ring particles at . There is only evidence of the 2:1 MMR located at in this plot. The eccentricity shows where ring particles are being perturbed by the moon with the location of resonances more clearly identified.

Further details on other models using different locations of the moon can be found here.

Lincolnshire-born former NASA astronaut, Michael Foale CBE, returns home to share his extraordinary tales from outer space.

An article on the event along with comments by Dr Phil Sutton, an astrophysicist at the University of Lincoln, is available on The Echo website. Below is further details about the event:

Pint of Science, in collaboration with the University of Lincoln and the International Space School Trust, are proud to launch the upcoming, “An evening with astronaut Michael Foale”. This unmissable event marks the homecoming of Lincolnshire-born astronaut, Michael Foale, so he can share tales and personal videos from his time in space. Join us in welcoming him home at the Isaac Newton Building, Brayford Campus, University of Lincoln, on Thursday, 17^th January, to hear our local hero tell exciting tales from his time in outer space, including a nail-biting account of what happened when the Russian Mir space station he was aboard collided with an unmanned supply vessel.

As the most experienced British-born astronaut, Michael accrued 373 days in space – flying on six space shuttle missions, a Soyuz, and commanding the International Space Station. In 1995, he became the first Briton to perform a spacewalk – saving the Hubble telescope in the process. So astounding was Michael’s time as an astronaut, he was inducted into the NASA Astronaut Hall of Fame Class of 2017 at the Kennedy Space Center. Now that he’s been brought back to Earth, Michael returns home to regale the local crowds with remarkable tales from his space shuttle missions, life at the International Space Station, and what it’s like to actually walk in space. Don’t miss out on this dazzling opportunity to find out what life is really like when you’re out of this world.

This event is suitable for all ages, though we recommend ages 7+. The venue is fully accessible and has step-free access. There will be an interval during the event where drinks will be available.

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Tickets for “An evening with astronaut Michael Foale” are now on sale and can be purchased online at www.pintofscience.co.uk.

Ticket prices: Adults £18, Concession £12 [children, students (with valid student ID), 60+, & those with a registered disability].

Date: Thursday, 17^th January

Time: Doors open at 7:00PM, show starts at 7:30PM.

Venue: Isaac Newton Lecture Theatre, Isaac Newton Building, Brayford campus, Lincoln, LN6 7TS

About Pint of Science

Pint of Science is a non-profit organisation run by volunteers which aims to make science accessible to the public. The main event is an annual festival which takes place simultaneously in pubs across the world over 3 days in May (20-22^nd May, 2019). Whilst every science evening during the festival is unique, each includes at least two experts presenting their research. It is co-ordinated by a small central Pint of Science team who work alongside volunteers predominantly based in local universities. A full line-up and tickets will be released for the main event on 9^th April, 2019. More information is available at www.pintofscience.co.uk.

About International Space School Trust

International Space School Trust (ISSET) works in partnership with some of the world’s leading space organisations to deliver unique learning opportunities for students of all ages. They utilise space and space exploration to inspire and motivate people of all ages to believe that they can become what they want to be. More information is available at www.isset.org.