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News and Reviews in
Autumn MIST
Astronomy & Geophysics Geomagnetic interactions
April 2013 • Vol. 54 • Issue 2
Astrobiology goes underground
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Gas giants
and icy moons
background is transparent
Advancing
Astronomy and
Geophysics
25
Astronomy from Oxford
%
of
f
25% off for members of The Royal Astronomical Society
Visit www.oup.com/uk/sale/webras30 or quote WEBRAS30
The Ballet of the Planets
A Mathematician’s Musings on the Elegance of Planetary Motion
Donald Benson
The Ballet of the Planets unravels the beautiful mystery of planetary motion. The book shows
how our understanding of planetary motion evolved from ancient Greece to the time of
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Newton. It illustrates the interaction between theory and observation, the scientific method,
a process still central to the science of today.
June 2012 | 240 pages
Hardback | 978-0-19-989100-9 | £22.50 £16.87
Nicolas-Louis De La Caille, Higher Speculations
Astronomer and Geodesist Grand Theories and Failed Revolutions
in Physics and Cosmology
Ian Stewart Glass
Helge Kragh
This is the first comprehensive biography
of one of the greatest and most careful A historical account of highly ambitious
observational astronomers of all time. attempts to understand all of nature in
He mapped the southern sky and named terms of fundamental physics. Presenting
many of the constellations. In addition, he old and new ‘theories of everything’ in their
contributed to geodesy, navigation, and historical contexts, the book discusses the nature and limits of
celestial mechanics. scientific explanation in connection with concrete case studies.
December 2012 | 200 pages
January 2011 | 416 pages
Hardback | 978-0-19-966840-3 | £35.00 £26.25
Hardback | 978-0-19-959988-2 | £35.00 £26.25
Revolutions that Made Cosmology
the Earth
Steven Weinberg
Tim Lenton and Andrew Watson
This is a uniquely comprehensive and
The Earth that sustains us today was born
detailed treatment of the theoretical and
out of a few remarkable revolutions, started
observational foundations of modern
by biological innovations and marked
cosmology, by a Nobel Laureate in Physics.
by global environmental consequences.
It gives up-to-date and self contained
Humanity’s planet-reshaping activities may
accounts of the theories and observations
be the latest example. By understanding the past revolutions, we
that have made the past few decades a golden age of cosmology.
can help steer current global change toward a sustainable outcome.
January 2011 | 440 pages
February 2008 | 616 pages
Hardback | 978-0-19-958704-9 | £29.95 £22.46
Hardback | 978-0-19-852682-7 | £49.50 £37.12
For more information Your best research starts here
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Royal Astronomical Journals.indd 1 04/03/2013 12:21
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Contents
News and Views
NEWS AND REVIEWS IN
4 Editorial: Cosmic coincidence • UK funds E-ELT
ASTRONOMY & GEOPHYSICS • Surprise from the skies • WISE eyes on Orion
Nebula • National Astronomy Week 2014 •
Astronomy & Geophysics publishes news reviews
and comment on topics of interest to astronomers Tracking planetary nebula from Greece • Who
and geophysicists. Topical material is preferred.
Publication will be as fast as is compatible with names exoplanets? • Geophysical picture prize •
referees’ and authors’ responses. Contact the Editor
or see http://www.ras.org.uk for further information. Cosmic rays from supernova remnants •
Editor: Sue Bowler Intelligent civilizations scarce • White dwarf
School of Physics and Astronomy,
University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK planets may harbour life • Library news.
8
Tel: +44 (0)113 343 6672. Fax: +44 (0)113 343 3900
Email: s.bowler@leeds.ac.uk Mission update: Curiosity, JUICE, Kepler, Euclid.
Management Board
Starbirth in spectacular infrared, p5
Chair: Ian Crawford Birkbeck College, Univ. of London
Features
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Pamela Mortimer RAS
Robert Massey RAS
Mike Cruise RAS
10 Debris discs, Vesta and the solar cycle
Editorial Advisors
Andrew Ball Noordwijk Sue Bowler reports on the January and February
Tom Boles Coddenham
Allan Chapman Oxford University RAS meetings.
Roger Davies Oxford University
Mike Edmunds University of Wales, Cardiff
Jane Greaves University of St Andrews 11 Profile: Harvey Butcher
Mike Hapgood Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
Richard Holme University of Liverpool Ragbir Bhathal interviews the well-travelled
Ian Howarth University College London
David Hughes Sheffield astronomer known for designing instrumentation
Katherine Joy University of Manchester
Margaret Penston IoA, Cambridge including LOFAR, as well as for multidisciplinary
Claire Parnell University of St Andrews
Roberto Trotta Imperial College London science innovation and public outreach.
Althea Wilkinson University of Manchester
14 Future exploration of the outer solar
The Council of the RAS
Burlington House, Piccadilly, system
London W1J 0BQ
Tel: (0)20 7734 4582 or 3307 Leigh Fletcher reports on an RAS meeting that
Fax: (0)20 7494 0166 Van Allen Probes discover third radiation belt, p8
Email: info@ras.org.uk demonstrated a host of innovative ideas to explore
Web: http://www.ras.org.uk
the giant planets.
Opening Hours
(Monday to Friday)
Offices: 9.30–17.00
Library: 10.00–17.00
21 Autumn MIST 2012
Staff Contacts
Robert Fear and Emma Woodfield report from the
Executive Secretary
Pamela Mortimer pm@ras.org.uk
meeting on magnetospheres of planets and comets;
RAS Communications Officer
Robert Massey rm@ras.org.uk
ionospheres, thermospheres and mesospheres; the
solar wind, and how these regions connect.
25 Boulby International Subsurface
Produced for the RAS by Oxford University Press,
Astrobiology Laboratory
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1865 353895. Email: astrog@oup.com
Charles S Cockell, Samuel Payler, Sean Paling and
This journal is available online at: Dave McLuckie outline plans for the first
http://www.astrogeo.oxfordjournals.org
underground astrobiology facility. Astrobiology goes underground, p25
Subscriptions: http://oxfordjournals.org/our_
journals/astrogeo/access_purchase/price_list.html
28 Big Bang: the etymology of a name
Design and production:
Paul Johnson http://www.higgs-boson.com Fred Hoyle famously coined the term “big bang”
Printed by C.O.S. Printers Pte Ltd, Singapore in 1949, but it took a long time to catch on. Helge
ISSN 1366-8781 (print), ISSN 1468-4004 (online) Kragh shows how the story of the name is also the
©2013 RAS and individual contributors. All rights
reserved. Authorization to photocopy items for
story of how modern cosmology emerged.
internal or personal use, or the internal or personal
use of specific clients, is granted by the RAS for
libraries and other users registered with the
31 The role of magnetic interactions in
Copyright Clearance Center Transactional Reporting
Service, provided that the base fee of $15 per copy natural systems
is paid directly to CCC (http://www.copyright.com).
Special requests should be addressed to the Editor. In the Bullerwell Lecture 2011, Adrian Muxworthy
Disclaimer The contents and views expressed in discusses how magnetism affects our ability to
A&G are the responsibility of the Editor. They do not
represent the views or policies of the RAS or Oxford recover information about the ancient geomagnetic
University Press, except where specifically identified
as such. While great care is taken to provide accurate field, plate tectonics and palaeogeography, and
and helpful information and advice in the journal, the
RAS, its Council and the Editor accept no responsibility how some bacteria use interactions for navigation.
for errors or omissions in this or other issues.
A&G (ISSN 1366-8781) is published bimonthly.
A&G is distributed by Mercury Media Processing,
Obituaries Cover: An artist’s impression of the Jupiter
36 Wallace Leslie William Sargent • C Andrew
1634 E. Elizabeth Ave, Linden, NJ 07036, USA.
Periodicals postage paid at Rahway, NJ and at Icy Moons Explorer spacecraft (JUICE), with
additional entry points. US Postmaster: send address
changes to A&G, c/o Mercury Media Processing, Murray • Archibald Edmiston Roy. Jupiter and its icy moon Ganymede. This recently
1634 E. Elizabeth Ave, Linden, NJ 07036, USA.
approved mission has strong UK involvement and
Society News will reach the Jupiter system in 2033. Find out
why exploration of these distant bodies holds so
37 Library offers journals • Register for NAM2013 • many challenges and possibilities in the review on
Patrick Moore Medal • Legacies • New Fellows. pages 2.14–2.20. (ESA)
A&G • April 2013 • Vol. 54 2.3
News
Editorial UK confirms funding for E-ELT
Cosmic The UK government has
coincidence announced investment of £88m
in the European Extremely Large
Sue Telescope, putting UK scientists in
Bowler, leading roles in the development of
instruments and technologies for
Editor the 39 m telescope and in a position
Scientists to make the most of the scientific
involved in discoveries expected to come out
of the new project.
outreach
“Not only will this new telescope
often considerably increase knowledge of
wonder the universe, its construction will
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aloud what it would take to drive growth and innovation for UK
make their subject front- industry. This is why space is one of
our eight great technologies,” said
page news. The response to David Willetts, Minister for Univer-
the unexpected meteor and sities and Science, announcing the
fireball over Chelyabinsk in funding. “To top it off, the advances
Russia in February suggests in technology that will result from
this hugely challenging project will The E-ELT will be the largest optical and infrared telescope ever built. (ESO)
that surprise, a very loud
be a real asset to the UK and have
noise and structural damage knock-on effects for other sectors research programmes budget. This RAL Space, together with leading
does the trick, although and areas of research.” total includes £35m which will be international institutes.
they are not likely to make it STFC Chief Executive Officer Prof. awarded by STFC within the UK UK industry has already won £9m
through the planning stage John Womersley said: “E-ELT is one to instrument production, via UK worth of contracts, and that figure
of the highest priorities for STFC and research institutions and industry. is predicted to increase as much as
of a funding application. the UK astronomy community. It not The UK has already played a ten-fold before 2023 when construc-
Joking aside, much of the only has the potential for enormous major part in the E-ELT project, tion is expected to be completed. The
public interest came from benefit to UK industry but will also leading the development of the sci- advanced manufacturing challenges
the realization – surprising be the world’s pre-eminent astro- ence case, developing instrument presented by the project are providing
to some – that impacts nomical observatory for many years designs, optical technologies and UK companies with the opportunity
to come.” telescope systems, and developing to apply for contracts. A UK tech-
really can happen and we The estimated cost of the E-ELT manufacturing processes. The UK nology development centre based in
can’t predict them all. That is €1.1bn (at 2012 prices), paid for instrument programme will be deliv- North Wales is delivering prototypes
belief will be substantially by members of the European South- ered in close collaborations between for the primary mirror system, which
reinforced by the very ern Observatory. The £88m will Durham University, the University could lead to the potential €100m
be on top of the £18m annual UK of Oxford, the University of Cam- order for UK industry to manufac-
many film clips of the event
subscription to ESO and will come bridge, the STFC’s UK Astronomy ture the production segments.
available on the internet. It from within the BIS science and Technology Centre in Edinburgh and http://www.eelt.org.uk
also helped that many people
working in the field were
involved in publicizing the The Chelyabinsk
meteor. (Nikita
expected close encounter Plekhanov)
with an asteroid that day, and
so were ready to comment
as the news came in. It is
sobering to realize that
neither of these bodies were
big enough to be detected
by existing routine searches
for potentially hazardous
A surprise from the skies
bodies. Perhaps this cosmic
On 15 February, as observers seismic and infrasound records of its Academics in California have
coincidence will remind were preparing to track asteroid passage and disintegration were used proposed deflecting or destroying
people outside astronomy 2012DA14 on its close approach to to estimate its mass after the event. incoming bodies using solar pow-
that we don’t really know Earth, a smaller object burst into The coincidence of the two events ered lasers. “All the components of
what’s out there in space – a bright fireball in the skies above raised public awareness of the impact this system pretty much exist today,”
Russia, sending out a shock wave threat. The private B612 Foundation, said Prof. Gary B Hughes, from Cali-
even the small stuff in our that smashed windows. Hundreds hoping to launch a space telescope to fornia Polytechnic State University,
backyard. I’m pleased that of people were reported hurt, locate potentially hazardous bodies, San Luis Obispo. “Scaling up would
the universe can still spring mostly by flying glass. estimated that their Sentinel satellite be the challenge.” It is claimed that
surprises –that’s one of the It is thought that a meteor about would find 50% of bodies this size a system 10 km across (100 times
20 m across with a mass of perhaps in space. And Deep Space Industries the size of the International Space
reasons I enjoy science – but
11 000 tonnes disintegrated in the pointed out that their technology – Station) could obliterate an asteroid
very aware that they could be atmosphere in the region of Chely- small spacecraft to detect and even- 500 m across in a year.
a lot nastier than this one. abinsk, Russia, leaving a 6 m crater tually mine asteroids passing close http://bit.ly/ZdfiS0
s.bowler@leeds.ac.uk in lake ice. Initial estimates of the to Earth – would be able to assess http://deepspaceindustries.com/learn-more
size of the body were smaller; the hazardous bodies in situ. http://bit.ly/YZ7a5r
2.4 A&G • April 2013 • Vol. 54
News
News in Brief
Prize for SKA author
The inaugural Institute of Physics
Journalism Prize, designed to
inspire the next generation of
physicists, has been won by Anil
Ananthaswamy for his article
“Hip hip array”, which focuses
on the Square Kilometre Array,
an international project to design
and build the largest radio
telescope ever conceived. The
prize is sponsored by the IoP
and the Science and Technology
Facilities Council. Terry O’Connor,
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head of communications at
STFC, said: “With the SKA project
office located in the UK at Jodrell
Bank, and UK researchers and
government heavily involved at
every stage, we’re delighted that
the winning article highlighted
this fascinating and ambitious
project.”
http://www.iop.org
UN lists space weather
The United Nations has added
space weather – the changing
influence of the Sun on Earth
and nearby space – to the
list of key challenges to the
planet considered by their
Committee on the Peaceful
WISE eyes on the Orion Nebula
Uses of Outer Space. COPUOS
is a forum for the development
of international cooperation
The Orion Nebula (Messier 42) in infrared from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer satellite. Hot stars on problems that affect all
appear blue, while cooler objects such as dust, appear green and red. The clump of young stars at the centre of the countries of the world. The topic
cloud are heating the hottest, white, dust. This view is 100 light-years across, spanning about six times the width of will be discussed alongside
the full Moon on the sky. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/WISE Team) the risks from orbital debris
http://1.usa.gov/12z9sP0 and impacts from near-Earth
objects when COPUOS meets.
This year the committee heard
about the widespread effects of
Target Jupiter: National Astronomy Week 2014 solar activity reaching Earth, on
satellite communications, air
In 2014 the National Astronomy greens. “This is the chance for Brit- ● Would you also like a presentation transport, technologies using
Week (NAW) will focus on Jupiter ain’s amateur astronomers to invite tailored for children (10–14)? global positioning systems,
and the organizing committee is their neighbours to see what it’s all People can email via the website such as directional drilling, and
seeking direction on what support- about,” says Massey. with their comments about this or the effects of induced currents
ing materials would be most useful In order to help everyone interested the week in general, which would on power transmission and
to those planning public activities. make the most of the opportunity, help with the planning. corrosion control in fuel pipelines.
Next year, Jupiter will be at its high- the NAW committee intend to pre- “We hope for some breathtaking http://bit.ly/12uMngj
est in UK skies for many years and to pare (free) PowerPoint presenta- results,” says NAW coordinator
celebrate the event UK astronomers tions of pictures and outline talks Dr Sandra Voss. “Many observers Mars came to Morocco
will be holding another National for departments and societies who should get their best view ever. And The Austrian Space Forum
Astronomy Week, on 1–8 March lack an in-house Jupiter expert. They we could see the best images ever (OeWF) staged a series of
(lasting eight days in order to include could also be adapted for talks in taken, because the UK has some experiments involving 23 nations
two weekends). “We expect to see schools, or to the general public who of the best astronomical photog- in a Mars analogue site in the
the best photos ever of the planet come along to an event where suit- raphers in the world. Cameras and Northern Sahara in February
taken from the UK in 2014,” says able facilities exist. So the commit- image-processing software are much this year, with an emphasis on
NAW chair Dr Robert Massey. “And tee would welcome comments about improved compared with 2002, the field tests for the OeWF’s two
it will be a great opportunity for eve- whether people would actually use last time when Jupiter was as high.” analogue Mars spacesuits,
ryone to get a splendid view of the these presentations if they were avail- The NAW website has plenty of Aouda.X and Aouda.S. The
giant planet.” able. What the committee would like information on Jupiter and what simulations also involved a
Both amateur and professional to know is: can be seen on the planet, as well as realistic time delay of ten minutes
astronomers across the UK will be ● Would you be likely to use such details of other objects visible dur- each way, to reflect the actual
opening up their telescopes to the a presentation aimed at the general ing NAW 2014. Full details of “open difficultiesin communication
public for the event. While some are public? telescope” evenings will be posted on between Mars and Earth.
in large observatories, many will be ● How long would you like it to be – the site nearer the time. http://bit.ly/WKrcPv
in back gardens or even on village 20, 40 or 60 minutes (or other)? http://www.astronomyweek.org.uk
A&G • April 2013 • Vol. 54 2.5
News
News in Brief Planetary nebula evolution from Peloponnese
The first research to come from
Win a trip to La Palma a new Greek telescope continues
An RAS Fellow, Peter Sinclair, the national tradition of astronomy
is organizing a fundraising that stretches back more than
drive for charity and is offering 2500 years. Panos Boumis of the
a prize that may be of interest National Observatory of Athens
to Fellows: a guided tour of and John Meaburn of the Univer-
the Instituto de Astrofisica de sity of Manchester have used the
Canarias in La Laguna Tenerife new 2.3 m Aristarchos telescope,
and the Roque de los Muchachos at Helmos Observatory in the
Observatory, including visits Peloponnese Mountains, Greece,
to the 4.2 m William Herschel to examine an enigmatic stellar
Telescope and 10.4 m Gran system that appears to be a binary
Telescopio Canarias. The prize star inside a planetary nebula.
will be auctioned on 8 May in
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Planetary nebula KjPn8 was discov- (Left): The enclosure of the new
support of the Flavasum Trust ered on Palomar Observatory Sky 2.3m Aristarchos telescope, sited
and the Robert Levy Foundation, Survey plates in the 1950s. In the at Helmos Observatory in Greece.
which work against knife crime 1990s, Mexican astronomers discov- (P Boumis, National Observatory of
among young people. ered giant lobes around the system, Athens)
http://www.theflavasumtrust.org/auction one quarter of a degree across, but it (Above): An image of the giant
was not until 2000 that the Hubble lobes of the planetary nebula
Bullerwell Lecture 2013 Space Telescope revealed the central KjPn 8 in the light of the emission
The British Geophysical star. Boumis and Meaburn set out to lines of hydrogen and singly
Association’s Bullerwell Lecture study the expansion of this system, ionized nitrogen, obtained with the
will be held at the European installing a narrowband imaging narrowband camera on Aristarchos.
Geosciences Union annual camera on the Aristarchos telescope, Detailed measurements of the lobes
assembly in Vienna on Tuesday the largest aperture instrument in have allowed the determination of
9 April. The 2012 Bullerwell southeastern Europe. their expansion velocity, distance
Lecturer Derek Keir (University The velocity and increasing size and ages. The results indicate their
of Southampton) will discuss of the expanding material indicated origin in a remarkable eruptive
“Magmatism and deformation that the lobes around KjPn8 were binary system. (P Boumis/J
during continental breakup”. thrown out in three phases 3200, Meaburn)
Derek will repeat his lecture at 7200 and 50 000 years ago. The
the BGA Postgraduate Research inner lobe of material is expanding that the core of KjPn8 is therefore a ing clues to the history of such an
in Progress meeting to be held at 334 km per second, suggesting it binary system, where every so often intriguing system: “Greece is one of
in Cambridge in September. originates in an intermediate lumi- ILOT events lead to the ejection of the global birthplaces of astronomy,
Nominations for the 2013 nosity optical transient (ILOT) event. material at high speed. They have so it is fitting that research into the
Bullerwell Lectureship are ILOTs are caused by the transfer of published their results in Monthly wider universe continues in the 21st
now open, with a deadline of 31 material from a massive star to its less Notices of the Royal Astronomical century. With the new telescope we
August 2013. The lectureship, massive companion, in turn creating Society. expect to contribute to that global
named after William Bullerwell, jets that flow in different directions. Boumis is delighted to see the first effort for many years to come.”
first chief geophysicist of Boumis and Meaburn believe results from the new telescope giv- http://bit.ly/16amYrd
the (predecessor to the)
British Geological Survey, is a
prestigious appointment for
an outstanding early-career
Who names exoplanets? Geophysical
geophysicist. The nomination
form is on the BGA website.
A space start-up company is
offering the opportunity to sub-
“This is a first step in democratizing
planet naming,” said Uwingu CEO
picture prize
http://www.geophysics.org.uk mit names for exoplanets – for Dr Alan Stern. “It’s a new way for the Do you have a spectacular geo-
a small fee – with the intention people of Earth, of every age, of every physical image? If so, the British
Digital pathology of using much of the proceeds to nation, of every walk of life to per- Geophysical Association would
Analytical algorithms developed fund grants for space exploration, sonally connect to space discoveries.” like to see it!
for astronomy have proved research and education. Mean- It costs $4.99 to suggest a name If you enter the BGA Image Competi-
valuable for the evaluation of while, the International Astronom- (although discounts are available for tion you could win £200 and a year’s
tissue biomarkers in oncology. ical Union, through Commission 53 bulk buys). Nominations then go into membership of one of the BGA par-
Astronomers, faced with large Extrasolar, remains against the a database from which “astronomers ent societies, the Royal Astronomi-
volumes of data, have developed idea of popular names for exoplan- and others can select” names for exo- cal Society or the Geological Society
robust and sophisticated ets, and is consulting its members planets, according to Uwingu. of London. The BGA is looking for
automated analysis, methods during 2013. The public interest in undeniable, dramatic fieldwork photos, spectacu-
that transfer effectively to By convention, the IAU agrees on with fictitious planets such as Tatoo- lar images of numerical simulations,
mapping protein expression nomenclature for solar system plan- ine from Star Wars cited to describe stimulating laboratory photos, or
in breast cancer samples, and ets, planetary features, dwarf and planetary discoveries. But the idea any clearly geophysical images.
has the potential to make new minor planets and comets. The IAU of naming exoplanets may falter Full details are given on the BGA
avenues of research feasible. represents professional astronomers under the sheer numbers likely to be website. The competition closes at
Results of the collaboration and their work has focused on clear found, as the IAU website suggests: midnight on 31 August 2013, images
between astronomers and identification for scientific purposes. “If planets are found to occur very must be in JPEG format and entrants
cancer researchers at the Uwingu, a commercial concern set frequently in the universe, a system must agree to the BGA using their
University of Cambridge has up by a group of leading names in of individual names for planets might image for promotion, free of charge.
been published in Nature by Ali astronomy and planetary sciences, be found equally impracticable as it Please submit images by email (only)
et al. wants to involve the public in naming is for stars.” to glxjc@bristol.ac.uk, with “BGA
http://www.nature.com exoplanets in order to boost the con- http:///www.iau.org image competition” as the subject.
nection that people feel with space. http://www.uwingu.com http://www.geophysics.org.uk
2.6 A&G • April 2013 • Vol. 54
News
Cosmic rays from supernova remnants Library News
How and where do cosmic rays The W44 supernova remnant in the RAS Librarian Jenny Higham
reach such high energies? NASA’s molecular cloud that formed its brings news of new books and
Fermi satellite has identified parent star. Fermi’s LAT detects GeV how to find them in the Society’s
supernova remnants as their gamma rays (pink) produced when Library at Burlington House.
source, through an acceleration gas is bombarded by cosmic rays, Recent acquisitions to the RAS
mechanism involving repeated primarily protons. Radio observations Library, given with their library
passages through shocks. (yellow) from the Karl G Jansky Very classifications, include:
Cosmic rays are mainly protons, with Large Array, and infrared (red) data ● Bratton M
some electrons and atomic nuclei, from the Spitzer Space Telescope 2011 The Complete
moving at close to light speed. Their reveal filamentary structures in the Guide to the
origins have been obscure because remnant’s shell. Blue shows X-ray Herschel Objects:
cosmic rays do not travel in straight emission mapped by ROSAT. (NASA/ Sir William
lines in space. But the gamma rays DOE/Fermi LAT Collab., NRAO/AUI, Herschel’s Star
Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/astrogeo/article/54/2/ASTROG/303175 by guest on 02 September 2020
produced when they interact with JPL-Caltech, ROSAT) Clusters, Nebulae,
matter do travel directly from their and Galaxies
sources, which can thus be identified. from the gas clouds because cosmic- of gamma rays with a characteristic (Cambridge
The Fermi results concern two ray protons and electrons give rise to energy spectrum – the fingerprint of University Press,
supernova remnants, IC 443 and gamma rays with similar energies. cosmic rays. The acceleration mech- Cambridge)
W44, that are expanding into cold, Analysis of four years of data has anism involves a charged particle QB 64 BRA
dense interstellar gas clouds. These revealed that the gamma-ray emis- repeatedly crossing the explosion’s ● Buchwald J Z and Feingold M
clouds emit gamma rays when struck sion from both remnants involves leading shock wave. Each round trip 2013 Newton and the Origin of
by high-speed particles. Scientists a neutral pion, produced when cos- through the shock boosts the parti- Civilization (Princeton University
had not known which atomic par- mic-ray protons smash into normal cle’s speed by about 1%. Press, Princeton)
ticles are responsible for emissions protons. It quickly decays into a pair http://1.usa.gov/Z0LI03 QB 36 Newton
● Clancey W J
2012 Working on
Exoplanet study says intelligent civilizations scarce Mars: Voyages
of Scientific
As the numbers of exoplanets, stars in the Milky Way galaxy have years away, so only signals intention- Discovery with the
confirmed and candidate, rise, planetary civilizations advanced ally aimed in our direction would Mars Exploration
the question of how many of them enough to transmit beacons that we have been detected. In future, more Rovers (MIT Press,
might host life becomes more could detect. sensitive radio telescopes such as the Cambridge,
pressing – and leads to specula- The 86 stars were chosen from Square Kilometre Array should be Mass.) QB 642
tion about the number of civiliza- among the Kepler mission’s candi- able to detect much weaker radia- CLA
tions that might exist. A systematic dates that show evidence of multiple tion, perhaps even unintentional ● Dekker E 2012 Illustrating
search among stars with planets planets and the potential for some leakage radiation from civilizations the Phaenomena: Celestial
for radio signals that could signify of those planets to have liquid water like our own. Cartography in Antiquity and the
intelligent civilizations suggests on their surfaces. The team used the The team plans more observations Middle Ages (Oxford University
that very few exist. Green Bank Telescope to collect five with the Green Bank Telescope, Press, Oxford) QB 65 DEK
Scientists at the University of Cali- minutes of radio emissions from each focusing on multi-planet systems in ● Munns D P D 2013 A Single Sky:
fornia, Berkeley, used the Green of the stars, in the frequency range which two of the planets occasion- How an International Community
Bank Telescope in West Virginia to 1.1–1.9 GHz that on Earth falls ally align relative to Earth, allowing Forged the Science
look for intelligent radio signals from between the mobile phone and televi- them to take advantage of puta- of Radio Astronomy
planets around 86 of the stars iden- sion bands. They then searched the tive communications between the (MIT Press,
tified by the Kepler mission as hav- data for high-intensity signals with planets. Andrew Siemion and Dan Cambridge,
ing confirmed or candidate planets. a narrow bandwidth (5 Hz) that are Werthimer and colleagues’ findings Mass.) QB 475
While discovering no telltale signs of only produced artificially – presum- are published in The Astrophysical MUN
life, the statistics of the sample indi- ably by intelligent life. Most of the Journal. You can find
cate that fewer than one in a million stars were more than 1000 light- http://arxiv.org/abs/1302.0845 more recently
catalogued
titles, both newly
Planets around white dwarfs could harbour life published and
historic, by visiting the Library’s
White dwarf stars could have plan- be easy to find through the transit formed around a star are likely to be online catalogue and clicking
ets and those planets could be method. This also allows analysis destroyed when the star swelled to on the “What’s new” section. Do
like Earth, with oxygen and water of the atmospheres of the planets, become a red giant, before shrink- also check out the new books
in their atmospheres and possi- through spectroscopy of the light ing to a white dwarf, so white dwarf shelf in the Library.
bly even life – and they could be from their stars passing through the planets would be captured later, or The Library has a limited
easy identified in only a few hours atmospheres at the start and finish of outer planets that migrated inwards budget for new acquisitions and
observation time with the James the transit. Loeb and Dan Maoz of – or possibly planets that formed so presentation copies from
Webb Space Telescope, according Tel Aviv University used a synthetic late in the life of the star. And while Fellows (in particular of their
to astrophysicists modeling exo- spectrum of a habitable planet in an white dwarfs slowly cool and fade own publications) are gratefully
planet detection. orbit in the habitable zone of a white over time, they can retain heat long received. Such gifts will be
Avi Loeb, Director of the Institute dwarf to examine what the James enough to warm a nearby world recorded for posterity and will be
for Theory and Computation at the Webb Space Telescope would see and for billions of years. But a habit- given a bookplate displaying the
Harvard-Smithsonian Institute for found that just a few hours observing able planet would circle the white donor’s name. Please contact the
Astrophysics (CfA), argues that the time would be enough to detect oxy- dwarf once every 10 hours at a dis- Librarian Jenny Higham if you
small size of white dwarfs – typically gen and water and indicate a habit- tance of about a million miles. Loeb have a title you wish to present.
the size of Earth – and the close orbits able or even life-bearing planet. and Maoz publish this research in jhigham@ras.org.uk
of planets in their habitable zones The planet may not be very homely, Monthly Notices of the RAS. http://bit.ly/XTprTo
mean that Earth-sized planets would however. Any original planets http://hvrd.me/YBAOhU
A&G • April 2013 • Vol. 54 2.7
News • Mission Update
Space Shorts
Dragon returns to ISS
The second flight to the
International Space Station by the
company SpaceX succeeded with
only a minor hitch in the condition
Mission update
Hubble discovers flashing protostar
of the Dragon spacecraft, which
was detected and remedied after
its separation from the Falcon 9
rocket. Dragon carried supplies
for the ISS, including materials
for science investigations. After
three weeks, Dragon will return
a payload including research
results, education experiments
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and space station hardware.
The launch on 1 March 2013 was
the fifth consecutive successful
launch for the Falcon 9 rocket.
http://spacex.com
Next Mars mission
NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and
Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN)
spacecraft is undergoing tests
before final preparations
for launch in November
2013. MAVEN will address
mechanisms for the loss of the
martian atmosphere over time,
with a view to understanding
what atmospheric evolution
means for the martian climate.
Testing includes vibrational and
other simulations to ensure the
spacecraft and instruments Short-lived but regular bursts of light from a dusty protostar are thought to represent material pulled into a pair
can survive launch, as well of protostars from the debris disc around them. This sequence of images from the Wide Field Camera 3 on the
as environmental testing that NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows a pulse of light from the protostellar object LRLL 54361. Most if not
simulates extremes of all of this light results from scattering off circumstellar dust in the protostellar envelope. There appears to be a
temperature and pressure in disc, edge-on, at the centre, with three separate structures interpreted as outflow cavities. The periodicity of the
space. flashes – 25.3 days – led James Muzerolle of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore to suggest that
http://1.usa.gov/XKOeIe a binary pair may be responsible. When material in a circumstellar disc is dumped onto a pair of forming stars,
it unleashes a blast of radiation each time the stars orbit close to each other. The Hubble observations show an
Smallest space ’scope optical illusion known as a light echo. It looks like gas is erupting from the protostar, but these pulses are actually
The smallest space telescope flashes of light propagating through the surrounding dust and gas and reflecting towards the observer: there is
in the world, the BRIte Target no substantial physical motion within the cloud over these timescales. (NASA, ESA and J Muzerolle [STScI])
Explorer (BRITE), a pair of http://bit.ly/13EoMt7
nanosatellites each just 20 cm
across with a mass of less
than 7 kg, are now in orbit.
The Space Flight Laboratory ESA picks JUICE meteorology from the mission.
The instruments will be developed
characterization of the jovian sys-
tem ever obtained, revealing fresh
of the University of Toronto
Institute for Aerospace Studies instruments by scientific teams from 16 European
countries, the US and Japan, through
insights into the habitability of the
‘waterworlds’ orbiting the giant plan-
favours such nanosatellites ESA’s Science Programme Commit- corresponding national funding. Sci- ets in our solar system and beyond.”
because they are relatively tee has approved the selection of ence targets include Jupiter’s atmo- http://bit.ly/109Xmdw
cheap and quick to design, test the suite of 11 instruments for the sphere and magnetosphere, the
and deploy. BRITE is the first
nanosatellite mission intended
Cosmic Visions mission to Jupiter
and its moons Ganymede, Callisto
structure and interactions of the
three icy moons, plus Io, with their Probes find new
for astronomy, and the first-ever
astronomy constellation – more
and Europa. JUICE – the JUpiter
ICy moons Explorer – has a planned
host planet, and the spacecraft will
finish in orbit around Ganymede. radiation belt
than one satellite working launch date of 2022 and should One of the aims is to understand NASA’s pair of space-weather satel-
towards a common objective. arrive at Jupiter in 2033. the thicknesses of the icy crusts on lites, the Van Allen Probes, have dis-
BRITE will take photometric The instruments include cameras Europa and Ganymede that appear covered that Earth can have a third
measurements, collecting data and spectrometers, a laser altimeter to overlie liquid oceans. radiation belt, a new configuration of
useful for identifying brightness and an ice-penetrating radar. The Dr Chris Castelli, acting director higher energy particles further out in
variations arising from starspots, mission will also carry a magnetom- of science, technology and explora- space than the known pair of radia-
transiting planets and oscillations eter, led by researchers at Imperial tion at the UK Space Agency, said: tion belts (figure 1).
within the star itself. The BRITE College London, plasma and particle “JUICE is an excellent example of The discovery came shortly after
constellation will eventually monitors, and radio science hard- the type of big national missions launch of the spacecraft at the end
comprise six satellites. ware. JUICE will not, however, carry that UK scientists continue to win of August last year. In a change
http://universe.utoronto.ca/BRITE thermal infrared detectors, limiting key involvement in. With their help, to mission plans, the Relativistic
what can be learnt about jovian JUICE will make the most detailed Electron Proton Telescope (REPT)
2.8 A&G • April 2013 • Vol. 54
News • Mission Update
Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/astrogeo/article/54/2/ASTROG/303175 by guest on 02 September 2020
1: Sketch of Earth’s radiation belts in yellow, with “slots” between them in green, in the three-belt configuration
seen in September 2012 by the Van Allen Probes. (NASA/Van Allen Probes/Goddard Space Flight Center)
was switched on just three days ration change is a priority in the field in the solar system, but data from the
after launch, so that its data collec-
tion would overlap with the final
of space weather.
http://www.nasa.gov/vanallenprobes
NASA/ESA/ASI’s Cassini spacecraft
suggest that, in some circumstances, Curiosity drills
observations of another mission, such shocks can accelerate particles
first sample
SAMPEX, before its satellite re-
entered Earth’s atmosphere. REPT Kepler spots to relativistic energies, similar to
those thought to generate cosmic Curiosity, NASA’s Mars Science
was able to observe as energy from
the Sun changed the configuration tiny planets rays in supernova remnants.
Cassini has crossed Saturn’s bow
Laboratory rover at work on
Mar, has drilled its first rock
of the radiation belts and led to the The Kepler mission has found an shock many times as it has explored sample and delivered the result-
formation of a third, at an altitude of exoplanetary system in which the the planet, moons and rings, but on ing powdered rock samples to
about 3–3.5 Earth radii. smallest planet is smaller than Mer- one crossing in 2007, the spacecraft the Chemistry and Mineralogy
The two known radiation belts, the cury. Kepler-37b is only just bigger detected an Alfvén Mach number instrument and the Sample
Van Allen Belts, are zones of mag- than the Moon and orbits with a of about 100, compared to the nor- Analysis at Mars instruments.
netically confined energetic charged planet about the size of Venus and mal value of about 12 associated The Curiosity team examined
particles that have a stable structure one twice the size of Earth. While with this shock. The research team four potential drill sites using the
of two belts at different altitudes Kepler’s detections of such systems ascribe this acceleration to the fact Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrom-
encircling the Earth. Bursts of energy are limited to the brightest stars it that the shock vector and Saturn’s eter and the ChemCam laser,
from the Sun are known to change can observe and those that shine magnetic field lines were almost after brushing away surface dust
the configuration of the belts, and steadily, the fact that planets exist parallel; on most occasions that with the Dust Removal Tool
boost the energy of the particles they around those stars means that they Cassini had crossed the bow shock, and taking a close look with the
hold, but these data are the first to are likely to be common around the shock vector had been close to Mars Hand Lens Imager. The
show the formation of a third belt, more distant stars as well. perpendicular to the field. rock chosen for the first drill-
further out than the existing two, Kepler-37’s host star belongs to the The findings confirm that, at ing is known as “John Klein”,
that persisted until another solar same class as the Sun, although it is high Mach numbers like those of within the shallow Yellowknife
event on 1 October restored the more slightly cooler and smaller. All three the shocks surrounding supernova depression in Gale Crater.
usual configuration. planets orbit the star within Mer- remnants, quasi-parallel shocks can The drill on Curiosity excises a
Researchers working on the Van cury’s orbital distance: Kepler-37b become considerably more effective 1.6 cm diameter hole, pulveriz-
Allen Probes data describe thenew orbits every 13 days at less than one- electron accelerators than previously ing the rock rather than preserv-
configuration as involving a “stor- third Mercury’s distance from the thought. This result sheds new light ing a drill core, and collecting
age ring”, with highly relativistic Sun, for example, with an estimated on the complex process of cosmic the fine debris for analysis.
electrons with energies of more than surface temperature of 700 K. Kepler- particle acceleration. The results Curiosity’s goal is to find signs
5 MeV moving outwards at the same 37c and Kepler-37d orbit every 21 were published by Masters et al. in of past climate and life on Mars;
tiem as changes in the second radia- days and 40 days, respectively. Nature Physics. minerals and stable isotope
tion belt. The data have been pub- Kepler finds planets by measur- http://bit.ly/101Ahpv ratios preserved within the rocks
lished in Science by Baker et al. ing the periodic decreases in a star’s will be key lines of evidence.
The Van Allen Probes study the
effects of solar radiation on the Earth
brightness as the planets cross its
face; estimating the planet’s diam- NASA joins ESA http://1.usa.gov/Z72ixa
through the changes to the radiation
belts, which so far has been found
eter depends on knowing the star’s
size. For Kepler-37, the star’s size Euclid mission to a redshift of approximately 2).
to be very variable. The appearance was found to 3% accuracy through The ESA Euclid mission to study There will be a wide survey covering
of the third radiation belt, its per- asteroseismology, using the Kepler dark matter and dark energy has 15 000 square degrees, and a deep
sistence and subsequent disappear- satellite’s data on periodic brightness taken another step forward with an survey across 40 square degrees.
ance remain intriguing, but it is only variations of the star to determine its agreement for NASA to provide 20 Euclid is optimized to answer one
because these spacecraft are in a posi- modes of vibration. This star is the detectors for the near-infrared cam- of the most important questions in
tion to collect such detailed data that smallest for which such asteroseis- era, which will operate alongside modern cosmology: why is the uni-
the structure and processes involved mological analysis has been carried a visible-wavelength camera. The verse expanding at an accelerating
are becoming clear. out, thanks to Kepler data. instruments, telescope and spacecraft rate, rather than slowing down due
Understanding changes to the radi- http://1.usa.gov/101zMvR will be built and operated in Europe. to the gravitational attraction of all
ation belts and the highly energetic Euclid will use a 1.2 m diameter the matter in it?
particles they hold are important for
satellites and all their associated tech- Particle speeds telescope and the two instruments
to map the 3D distribution of up
The Euclid consortium of close to
1000 scientists from 13 European
nology on the ground. The high levels
of radiation in the belts can damage shock Cassini to 2 billion galaxies and dark mat-
ter associated with them, spread
countries and the US will also be
joined by 40 US scientists nominated
satellite hardware; mapping them Particle acceleration at the bow over more than one-third of the by NASA.
and how their positions and configu- shock of planets is a common process sky and 10 billion light-years (up http://bit.ly/W2ui4d
A&G • April 2013 • Vol. 54 2.9
Meeting report
Debris discs, Vesta and the solar cycle
Meeting report For the RAS Ordinary A & G meeting in January, James Dungey was present to hear the
inaugural James Dungey Lecture by Prof. Peter Cargill. In February the Harold Jeffreys Lecture was given
by Prof. Bill Chapman. Both will be reported in future issues. Here Sue Bowler summarizes the other talks.
Vesta in the light of Dawn
Prof. Chris the surface, which is surprisingly
Russell, varied in colour. A correlation of
University of hydrogen-rich regions with low
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California at Los surface brightness suggests organic
Angeles, USA. compounds darkening the surface.
Dawn is NASA’s All in all, Vesta is big enough to
ninth Discovery show planetary processes from the
craft and arrived at Vesta, the early history of the solar system,
second most massive body in the without the reworking of atmo-
Asteroid Belt, in July 2011 and left sphere, oceans and volcanoes that
in September 2012. Prof. Russell have largely erased evidence of
described Vesta itself as an intact processes operating at this time
survivor of the collisional processes from the geological record on
in the early solar system, a basaltic Earth.
protoplanet marked by impact http://1.usa.gov/YFUro0
structures. Dawn’s spectroscopic
data confirm that Vesta is the The primitive battered surface
source of the HED (Howardite– of giant asteroid and protoplanet
Eucrite–Diogenite) meteorites, on Vesta imaged by NASA’s Dawn
the basis of Fe/Si and Fe/O ratios. spacecraft on 24 July 2011, at
Full
There is also good evidence that a distance of about 5200km. RAS
reports
meetings
this protoplanet has an iron core, (NASA/JPL-Caltech/
are in The
as well as evidence of water at UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA) programme:
Observatory
http://bit.ly/Vcl5C7
http://bit.ly/
The solar cycle in the heliosphere UMdDy9
Fitting the Kuiper Belt
in to the debris disc zoo
Dr Matt Owens, Dr Owens pointed out that the sun- at the moment – the lowest solar
RAS Fowler spot number is a threshold; flux can maximum since the start of the 20th Dr Jane Greaves,
Prize Winner, be emerging from the photosphere century. Dr Owens then considered University of St
University of without the formation of spots, as what happens at the end of a GSM, Andrews, UK.
Reading. appears to have happened in the and concluded that we are living Dr Greaves began
Dr Owens Maunder minimum. The total heli- in interesting times. In the ice core by introducing
described ospheric magnetic field has varied in record of the past 9000 years, there the concept of
collaborative work to model the phase with sunspot number for the have been 24 similar GSMs. Twice extrasolar com-
heliospheric magnetic flux from the past three cycles, and it appears that there was another GSM in the ets, pointing out that the Kuiper
solar cycle at the photosphere, using these solar cycles during the Space following 50 years, and twice there Belt is more visible than the Sun at
sunspot numbers and data from Age are bigger than usual, forming was a Maunder minimum event in submillimetre wavelengths. Belts
distant spacecraft such as Ulysses a grand solar maximum (GSM). We the following 50 years. of millimetre-sized debris around
and other spacecraft in Earth orbit. seem to be close to solar maximum http://bit.ly/Y3Fvy3 other stars absorb starlight and
emit at lower wavelengths, making
these belts of orbiting grit one of
Hunting for relics from the early universe in the CMB the most visible aspects of other
planetary systems. She described
Dr Hiranya steam in water. Expansion could taken from particle physics and the results of the SCUBA2 survey
Peiris, RAS slow or stop in a bubble, while con- Bayesian model selection analysis. SOMS, which is tripling the num-
Fowler Prize tinuing in the surrounding phase. Results were inconclusive from the ber of systems known with debris
Winner For example, perhaps inflation seven-year data, but the idea may be discs in the submillimetre. The
University stopped only locally, but contin- testable with the 10-year data. Herschel Space Observatory has
College London. ued elsewhere in the universe; we http://bit.ly/Xr1qlz also determined the composition of
Dr Peiris could inhabit an eternally inflating some of the debris, finding olivine
described the idea of the cosmic universe. And in that case, if our (an iron magnesium silicate) around
bubble as a test of our understand- bubble were not alone, collisions b Pictoris and watery ice in other
ing of the expansion and overarch- between bubbles would leave marks protoplanetary discs – together the
ing structure of the universe, testing in the CMB, in the form of long recipe for planets. The existence of
ideas with the WMAP seven-year wavelength fluctuations, localized comet belts may also be a factor in
Cosmic Background Radiation in real space and with azimuthal planetary system evolution, pos-
(CMB) data. Essentially, we may symmetry and a causal bound- This all-sky image of the CMB sibly driving many more planetary
inhabit our local universe, as if in ary. Dr Peiris described searching reveals temperature fluctuations impacts in systems with signifi-
one of many bubbles held within for such effects in the CMB data from 13.7bn years ago. (NASA/ cantly more comets.
a different phase, like bubbles of using blind analysis techniques WMAP Science Team) http://star-www.st-and.ac.uk/~jsg5
2.10 A&G • April 2013 • Vol. 54Profile: Harvey Butcher
Profile:
Harvey Butcher
Ragbir Bhathal interviews Harvey Butcher, a well-travelled
astronomer known for his discovery of the Butcher–Oemler effect
and for the design and implementation of advanced astronomical
instrumentation including LOFAR (LOw Frequency ARray radio
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telescope), as well as his contributions to multidisciplinary science
innovation and public outreach.
A
s a young boy it was Scientific American began to look around.” Sandage suggested that However, he soon discovered that the available
magazine that fired Harvey Butcher’s Mount Stromlo would be an interesting place gratings in the 74 inch Coude were not suitable
enthusiasm to become an astronomer. and Butcher agreed, for two scientific reasons. for the work. With advice and help from Bessell
A particular article caught his imagination, “One was the southern sky. I’d never seen the and Rodgers he put together in the Coude one
on high-resolution spectra of cool stars: “This southern sky and the Magellanic Clouds. The of the first high-resolution echelle spectrographs
was in my high school years and I didn’t realize second was that I knew that the Coude spectro- in astronomy (Butcher 1972, 1975a, b). “What
that if you take a spectrum of the Sun or the graph at the Stromlo 74 inch telescope was built I found,” he said, “was, over a very large range
stars, you see many spectral lines, and they tell by Theodore Dunham.” Dunham had built the of ages and over mean abundance levels differ-
you about the physics and the composition of spectrograph for the 100 inch at Mount Wil- ing by a factor of 30, basically there was very
the distant stars. I just thought that was amaz- son, so Butcher reckoned that the later version little or no measurable difference in the relative
ing. I wanted to do that!” He was very keen at Mount Stromlo would be even better. There abundances. I thought that was a problem for
to become a professional astronomer but his was another, non-scientific reason for going the concept of stellar nucleosynthesis being a
father, a physician, was less impressed. “He did to Australia: “I discovered that there were no vigorous, ongoing phenomenon in the galaxy.”
not encourage me to be an astronomer by any lecture courses at Mount Stromlo! I was com- This approach to doing research, of develop-
means,” Butcher recalled. “He was supportive, pletely fed up with sitting in lecture courses and ing new instrumental capabilities to make new
as a father should be, but very sceptical.” Nev- taking exams. The idea of having four years to observations possible, characterized Butcher’s
ertheless, the young Butcher went to the Califor- do nothing but a research project was unbeliev- professional career. On a visit to Mount Stromlo
nia Institute of Technology to study astronomy. ably attractive. When I arrived I found students in 1973, Peter Strittmatter from the University
He found the place daunting. “The competi- were treated almost as staff members for access of Arizona in Tucson offered him a job fol-
tion at Caltech was something that I still look to telescopes and other facilities. In hindsight lowing his thesis defence. Butcher left Mount
back on with ambivalence. Arriving freshmen it was one of the best decisions I ever made.” Stromlo in 1974 to work at the Steward Obser-
were taken off to an orientation camp in the vatory as a Bart Bok Fellow. While in Tucson
mountains, and I remember vividly one of the Nucleosynthesis he became friends with Gus Oemler and Roger
first things that the president of the university Butcher began his PhD under the supervision Lynds at the Kitt Peak National Observatory,
did was, he asked us each to look to his left and of Mike Bessell, a young astronomer who was eventually joining them on the Kitt Peak staff.
then to his right. And then he said, ‘One of you making a name for himself in the study of varia- Lynds had a particular interest in the new pano-
three will flunk out, fail at university, and have ble stars, and Alex Rodgers, who was to become ramic digital detectors and was kind enough
to leave.’ That was a bit of a shock because I director of the observatory in 1986. But he had to involve Butcher in testing and implementing
wasn’t prepared for that kind of competition.” chosen his topic before he even arrived – a study them on the telescope.
While stressful, it was also intellectually of nucleosynthesis in our galaxy. The theory Oemler interested him in trying to observe the
exciting and challenging. Butcher arranged a that stars convert light elements into heavier evolution of galaxies over cosmic time. They
part-time job at the Mount Wilson Observa- ones via nuclear reactions had been worked out decided to try to use the new digital detectors
tory, where he met many famous astronomers by Burbidge, Burbidge, Fowler and Hoyle in to look at rich galaxy clusters, which were ideal
as they came to observe. His role was to help the 1950s. “That was the bible that showed the targets for the relatively small fields of view of
with the development of infrared photometry different elements come from different nuclear these early vidicon and CCD devices. “It is hard
in one of the first surveys of the sky at infrared processes in different stars. And the question to appreciate today that in the 1970s received
wavelengths (the Neugebauer–Leighton Two when I came on the scene was, is the result wisdom was that galaxies formed early and
Micron Sky Survey). He also spent a lot of time the same throughout the whole history of the essentially didn’t evolve visibly over recent
talking to Allan Sandage, who was “very, very galaxy, or is there evidence of secular, relative cosmic time,” said Butcher. But he thought S0
encouraging, very helpful and very critical”. abundance evolution for elements produced by galaxies (which are disc systems without any
Butcher graduated from Caltech in 1969, nuclear reactions under very different condi- current star formation) might just be very old
during the Vietnam War. He was not called tions?” Butcher wanted to measure differential spiral galaxies in which the gas had all been con-
up for war service but had already become chemical abundances in dwarf stars of r- and verted into stars. Oemler felt that might be the
critical of US society. “It didn’t feel to me the s-process elements, which are produced in dif- case, but that probably in clusters their gas gets
kind of society I really wanted to live in. So I ferent stars and over widely different timescales. stripped away by the ambient cluster medium.
A&G • April 2013 • Vol. 54 2.11You can also read
