Sunday, October 6, 2013

Space turbulence in wartime - BBC

Day of space science, passing in the walls of IKI, “Gazety.Ru” learned about the new flagship of the Russian space achievements – Telescope “Radioastron” – and found out why at the conference on astronomy, astronomers talking about politics, property, and Saudi Arabia.

the anniversary of the launch of the first satellite in space is annually held at the Institute of Space Research Space Science Day was announced the latest results of space experiment “Radioastron».

Annual Conference, which is traditionally accompanied by an open house, this time by the absence of orations and the general depressed mood of the guests and participants.

It was noticeable even at the time of filling the conference room guests. Instead of the usual stories about the latest scientific studies and trips to conferences from all over came the “complete collapse”, “property” and “divide and bend».

– There is an option in Saudi Arabia – said in a small group of scientists someone.
– It will not. We price of oil is higher – replied opponent.

Opening the meeting, the director of SRI Academician Lev Zeleny sad joke:

– Today, space science, unfortunately, like a parade in November 1941. There will be a concert / buffet, given the state of war in which we are today.

has taken an important step towards obtaining images supermassive black holes

to black holes so far without Russia

Astronomers held remote observations of the core of a quasar with unprecedented resolution – at 2 million times better than the human eye. These observations … ?

highlight of the program was the latest results of the first and largest in the last decade, the Russian space mission, “Radioastron”, designed to provide answers to the many mysteries of cosmology.

Admittedly, domestic and foreign scholars, “Radioastron” – a major success and the flagship of the Russian space science, it is constantly mentioned in the reports, scientists and high-ranking members of the government, without providing additional funding.

presented the results of the mission Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Head of Laboratory Astro Space Center of Lebedev Physical Institute, Yuri Kovalev.
According to him, one of the main events of the past year was the connection as a ground radio interferometer arm on an ongoing basis of the second radio telescope – Green Bank U.S..

« Radioastron

«More’ll see that on the” Hubble “looks like a point»

most successful major research project in 2011, Russia became a space radio telescope “Radioastron”. The current status of the mission in the … ?

«Today Puschinskaya and American stations cover 85% of the orbit of the telescope, we went out to the best of our capabilities,” – he said. However, Kovalev said, today, this observatory is disabled on the background of problems with the adoption of the U.S. budget.

«All Observatory Green Bank c Friday evening goes on an unpaid leave of absence, other than tracking station” Radioastron “, – he said.

One of the main objectives of the telescope was to determine the surface brightness of the nuclei of active galaxies. According to theoretical predictions, the brightness of the cores of quasars should not exceed 10 12 Kelvin. If so, then the radiation in the jets, emission of quasars should be born by the synchrotron radiation. Seeing some of the active cores showed excess of this theoretical threshold: brightness reaches 10 13 Kelvin.

According to Kovalev, there is no clear explanation for this, and now scientists are considering several possible causes of this excess. All of them, in his words, “difficult».

Another surprise, which was presented with the observation “Radioastron” associated with never previously observed characteristics of the interstellar medium. Open this phenomenon allowed the observation of pulsars – neutron stars with magnetic fields. According to him, watching the response from the pulsar Vela, scientists immediately noticed a strange needle-like structure of the interference pattern.

«Feedback from this pulsar have turned out as needles, individual spikes. All threw up his hands: it is fundamentally contrary to the nature of the interstellar medium, adopted earlier, “- said Kovalev.

Scientists believe that the reason for this may be specific turbulent clots, which, like the lens is focused on the image of pulsars as the light from these distant objects is in the direction of the Earth.

Team “Radioastron” for the last few months was able to build the image of several quasars and see the bottom of the jet jets escaping from their nuclei.

Recent Advances Russian scientific satellites and instruments, working in space at the moment

Russian probe plunged into the waters of Mars

the day of the 55th anniversary of the launching of the first artificial Earth satellite “Gazety.Ru” learned of the latest achievements of Russian science … ?

last summer ended so-called scientific program of the early missions, and has now begun a key scientific program. “All the world has no more than 400 radio astronomers working in the field of very long baseline interferometry. More than half of them working with us. It’s very nice, “- said Kovalev.

a result of competition for participation in key scientific program selected seven projects, Russian applicants in the lead in half of these applications.
details about one of the seven programs – “Observations radiotranzientov”, on which in the coming months will be to work “Radioastron” – “the Newspaper” told her the applicant, a graduate astronomy department Physics Department of Moscow State University Kirill Sokolov.

«Bids were about 25, mine was 21th. Radiotranzienty – it is an umbrella concept: everything that flashes in the radio can be called that word. For me the interest is observation of objects such as classical novae, supernovae, microquasars and binary X-ray stars in which under certain conditions may arise radio emission. Despite the fact that all these different objects, we can also estimate their brightness temperature and to understand their mechanisms of radiation “- said Sokolowski.

« Times

«reductions will be. At least two entry »

soon come into force, the law on the reform of the RAS has already caused some difficulties in scientific organizations. Humanitarian institutions reduce costs … ?

According to him, this program differs from others in that it involves pointing the telescope is not in the known objects, and just erupted. “By observing strategy, when there will be information about an interesting object (which may be of the other groups that monitor in the radio, or, for example, gamma rays), we will be able to observe it. However, these events that we can observe with “Radioastron” are rare, “- said Sokolowski.

important addition to the first results of “Radioastron” was the report of George Zastenker, party little experiment “Plasma-F» on the analysis of the solar wind near the Earth’s orbit. According to him, the main surprise was not previously observed rapid changes of cosmic rays from the sun.

«Big changes in the content of helium occur very quickly – in just three seconds, the concentration of helium nuclei riding a three – six percent! Changing such an important parameter as the helium content for a few seconds – a new fact, needs to be examined “- said Zastenker. According to the researchers, the data of radio and tracking the composition of the solar wind has yet to comprehend.

bad news was the announcement by the head of the Lavochkin Victor Hartova made by him in the presence of journalists at the meeting. According to him, the launch of the Russian space observatory “Spectrum-X-Gamma”, which was planned for 2014, was postponed to a later date. Hart said that one of the two scientific instruments on “Spektr-RG” – a wide-angle X-ray telescope eRosita (0.3-10 keV range, field of view 1 °) is a German institution. Recently, the foreign partners in the first orally and then in writing notified that deliver the device in a given time frame, they will not.

Speaking at the conference

cosmonaut Sergei Zhukov, executive director of the cluster space technology and telecommunications Fund “Skolkovo”, talked about research projects that concentrate in it.

After the speech by the general approval, he was asked the question,

whether the decision to select the institutions of the Academy of Sciences and the creation of the cluster collapse of the commemoration of the national space science.

In answering this question, Zhukov gave the example of the beginning of the 1990s, when many employees the space industry have fallen into the organization Rosobshchemash, were able to stay in the industry.

«Forgive me, but the Academy of Sciences of any alternate aerodromes are not built for himself. Therefore, it is in your subsidiaries of the youth will remain, while others leave. Example – Thank Turishev (MSU graduate who works at JPL NASA. – «Times”): he has a family business, he could not come, and in the end I broke up with him as a director for space science cluster.

So guys, which now go to the West, it is better to leave in Skolkovo companies, and then returned to the academy updated to leave for the Russian science “, – said the director of the cluster.

As for the Space Research Institute, its director Leo Green said he risk of failure of financing for their employees against the reorganization of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the near future is not looking. According to him, the money pledged for 2014, will be allocated in full.

«More all in terms of continuation of space exploration I do not care reform, RAS, and reform of the space agency. Multi-sample structures more difficult to manage, it is not clear how this will happen in the future. As for the reform of Russian Academy of Sciences, the creation of this agency, then with or without him, I think we will survive this time. We have gone through the same three-hundred yoke. And I think it will survive, “- said the academician. “However, do not rule out that the Space Research Institute at the same time will be the new director” – he said.

No comments:

Post a Comment