Astronomers are increasingly reliant upon data for making observations. Astronomical data generally consist of either two-dimensional images (or 3-dimensional image cubes containing many images), or one-dimensional spectra. Capturing this is digital form is leading to some remarkable new insights.
Storm warning on Jupiter
Astronomers have assessed readings to measure the winds in Jupiter’s middle atmosphere. By collecting digital data, scientists have succeeded in analyzing the aftermath of a comet collision from the 1990s.
This insight has enabled researchers, operating out of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, to assess these incredibly powerful winds, where speeds of up to 1450 kilometers an hour near Jupiter’s poles have been recorded. Such is the extent of the revelation that it could represent what the researchers call a ‘unique meteorological beast in our Solar System’.
Incredibly, these jets could behave like a giant vortex with a diameter of up to four times that of Earth, and some 900 kilometres in height.
The data is published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, titled “First direct measurement of auroral and equatorial jets in the stratosphere of Jupiter.”
Have we found fast growing stars?
Data captured by the Hubble telescope has shown how torrential outflows from infant stars may not stop them from growing. The NASA led study represents the largest-ever survey of nascent stars to date.
From the collected digital data, scientists have discovered that gas-clearing by a star’s outflow may not be as important in determining its final mass as conventional theories suggest.
The significance of this may mean that conventional theories of star formation are incorrect. This is challenged by new estimates relating to the amount of mass that had been cleared out by the stars’ outbursts
The research appears in The Astrophysical Journal, where it is titled “An HST Survey of Protostellar Outflow Cavities: Does Feedback Clear Envelopes?”
Characterising a ‘space jellyfish’
An unusual star formation has been observed. Here astronomers have observed what has been dubbed a ‘space jellyfish’. This is based on data collected from a radio telescope located in outback Western Australia.
Researchers working at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research observed a cosmic phenomenon with a striking resemblance to a jellyfish. This has arisen by an event billions of years ago when supermassive black holes from multiple galaxies spewed out powerful jets of plasma.
The unusual pattern has been discussed in The Astrophysical Journal, in a research paper headed “Ultra-steep-spectrum Radio “Jellyfish” Uncovered in A2877.”
