Podcasts about green bank telescope

Welcome to the daily304 – your window into Wonderful, Almost Heaven, West Virginia.   Today is Wednesday, Dec. 6  WV Tourism gets a big boost on the national (and even international) level. A Greenbrier East High School teacher wins an agriculture award. And take a peek behind the scenes at Green Bank Observatory…on today's daily304. #1 – From METRO NEWS – West Virginia tourism is making great strides in generating an impact that's reaching visitors from across the country and around the world. Tourism Secretary Chelsea Ruby said the state's direct impact on tourism exceeded $5 billion over the course of 2022, and the overall economic impact exceeded $7 billion in 2022. In addition, the Department of Tourism has reached over 4.5 billion social media impressions, website page views of up to 56%, and have been seen within over 1,000 placements across major travel publications, she added, noting that West Virginia has made tourism lists in Outside Magazine, Travel and Leisure, Conde Nast and Frommers, among others.  Over the fall, Ruby said they partnered up with West Virginia Yeager International Airport to support promotional advancements regarding the new Breeze Airways flights that are now available, particularly marketing more to tourists from Florida where Breeze's main flights come to Charleston from. And, most recently, West Virginia has garnered national attention by providing a tree for the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, creating a new promotional avenue to reach out-of-state visitors, particularly those in Washington D.C. Read more: https://wvmetronews.com/2023/11/28/west-virginia-tourism-aims-to-continue-expanding-promotional-initiatives-following-recent-success-in-its-reach/   #2 – From THE REAL WV –  Emily Dunkle, who teaches at Greenbrier East High School, has been awarded the prestigious “Turn the Key” Award from the National Association of Agricultural Educators.  The award recognizes top national agricultural educators from across the country, allowing them the opportunity to polish their pedagogical skills on a national stage representing their state.  “I am deeply humbled and privileged to have been chosen as the recipient for this amazing program,” says Dunkle. “Agriculture has always held a special place in my heart, and I am genuinely enthusiastic about advocating for its importance.” The nationwide shortage of teachers is particularly acute among agricultural educators, according to NAEE, and they hope highlighting success stories will encourage more young people to enter and stay in the profession.  Dunkle was to fly to Phoenix last month to accept the award and receive training.  Read more: https://therealwv.com/2023/11/27/dunkle-recognized-among-top-agricultural-educators-in-the-nation/   #3 – From WTRF-TV – Tucked away in the Allegheny Mountain Range in Pocahontas County is the Green Bank Observatory, a historic site designated by the American Physical Society as “the location of some of the most fundamental discoveries in astrophysics and astronomy.” The Green Bank Observatory is home of the Green Bank Telescope, the world's largest, fully steerable radio telescope. Scientists and researchers from NASA and across the world use the telescope. The observatory's telescopes detect readings that are billions of light years away from Earth, according to the facility's website. The GBO says it could even “see” your mobile phone even it was in airplane mode and as far away as Mars. Want to learn more? The facility offers guided tours for the public. Visit www.greenbankobservatory.org to learn more. Read more: https://www.wtrf.com/west-virginia/telescope-in-west-virginia-could-see-your-cellphone-in-airplane-mode-as-as-far-as-mars/   Find these stories and more at wv.gov/daily304. The daily304 curated news and information is brought to you by the West Virginia Department of Commerce: Sharing the wealth, beauty and opportunity in West Virginia with the world. Follow the daily304 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @daily304. Or find us online at wv.gov and just click the daily304 logo.  That's all for now. Take care. Be safe. Get outside and enjoy all the opportunity West Virginia has to offer.  

Een internationaal team van onderzoekers heeft radiopulsen uit het verre heelal ontdekt die slechts miljoensten van een seconde duren.    Snelle radioflitsen zijn onvoorspelbare, extreem korte flitsen van radiogolven ontstaan ver voorbij onze Melkweg. Ze worden mogelijk veroorzaakt door magnetische neutronensterren. In 2007 werden ze voor het eerst waargenomen. De meesten die tot nu toe zijn gemeten duren langer dan een duizendste van een seconde en zenden evenveel energie uit als onze zon in een dag.   In 2022 bedachten onderzoekers van de Universiteit van Amsterdam en ASTRON dat er wel eens flitsers konden bestaan die niet duizendsten, maar slechts miljoensten van een seconde zouden duren. De Nederlandse onderzoekers vonden in een openbaar archief, afkomstig van de Green Bank Telescope in de VS, vijf uur aan gegevens van een bekende flitsbron genaamd FRB 20121102A die zich zo'n drie miljard lichtjaar bij ons vandaan in de richting van het sterrenbeeld Voerman bevindt.  Tussen alle vastgelegde flitsen ontdekten ze acht ultrasnelle flitsen die slechts tien miljoensten van een seconde of korter duurden. Nu we weten dat ze bestaan, kunnen ze mogelijk ook bij andere bronnen ontdekt worden. Uiteindelijk willen de onderzoekers de flitsers gebruiken om een soort plattegrond te maken van de ruimte tussen sterren en sterrenstelsels. Lees hier meer over het onderzoek: Sterrenkundigen kammen telescooparchief uit en vinden microsecondeflitserSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Moiya tells Corinne about her favorite telescope on the ground: the Green Bank Telescope! Corinne reveals how big the great pyramids are and Moiya nerds out over her favorite poster. Housekeeping Become a star and support us on patreon at patreon.com/palebluepod! Listen to Queer Movie Podcast, new episodes every other Thursday Sponsor Get $20 off your first Shaker & Spoon box with code "palebluepod" Find Us Online Website: palebluepod.com Patreon: patreon.com/palebluepod Twitter: twitter.com/PaleBluePod Instagram: instagram.com/palebluepod Credits Host Dr. Moiya McTier. Twitter: @GoAstroMo, Website: moiyamctier.com Host Corinne Caputo. Twitter: @corintellectual, Website: corinnecaputo.com Editor Mischa Stanton. Twitter: @mischaetc, Website: mischastanton.com Cover artist Shae McMullin. Twitter: @thereshaegoes, Website: shaemcmullin.com Theme musician Evan Johnston. Website: evanjohnstonmusic.com About Us Pale Blue Pod is an astronomy podcast for people who are overwhelmed by the universe but want to be its friend. Astrophysicist Dr. Moiya McTier and comedian Corinne Caputo demystify space one topic at a time with open eyes, open arms, and open mouths (from so much laughing and jaw-dropping). By the end of each episode, the cosmos will feel a little less “ahhh too scary” and a lot more “ohhh, so cool!” New episodes every Monday. Pale Blue Pod is a member of the Multitude Collective.

Are we alone in the universe? The UCLA SETI group has launched a citizen-science project to find out. 

Are we alone in the universe? The UCLA SETI group has launched a citizen-science project to find out. 

The full Moon scoots low across the south tonight, shining on us from Libra, the balance scales. A couple of years ago, astronomers snapped the sharpest pictures of the Moon ever taken from Earth. They showed details as small as a few feet across — shot with radar. The images were a demo for a project to develop the most powerful planetary radar system ever. Astronomers have been using radar for six decades. It told them how fast Venus turns on its axis and revealed ice at the poles of the planet Mercury. It's also tracked some asteroids that could one day threaten Earth. The most powerful radar used the giant Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico. But it collapsed a couple of years ago. NASA's Deep Space Network does some of the work, too. But its main job of tracking missions across the solar system keeps it busier and busier. So astronomers built a transmitter that used less power than a microwave oven to beam radio waves from the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia. A network of other antennas caught the reflections. The demo produced the images of the Moon and tracked an asteroid that was more than five times farther than the Moon. Now, astronomers want to make the system a thousand times more powerful. That would let them map other planets and moons, discover hazardous asteroids at much greater distances, and track junk around Earth and the Moon — making the space around our planet a little bit safer.  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

Located in the hills of West Virginia stands the world's largest radio telescope.  The Green Bank Observatory has been one of the most sought-after locations for radio research in the world.  Since the 1980's many new space discoveries have been made at this facility, and it is definitely a location that needs to be on your bucket list of places to travel to.  Join James and Jerry as they bring you more information of this amazing place.Support the show

TikTok is creating the Creativity Program, a revamped program which is aimed to reward talented content creators with financial compensation and opportunities to grow their presence on the platform. Are we on the brink of a major astronomical discovery? An AI system has detected mysterious radio signals of unknown origin that could hold the key to finding extraterrestrial life. Nothing, Forever is back on Twitch and better than ever! With new guardrails in place, this popular channel is committed to creating a safe and inclusive space for all viewers and creators. And an author shares their experience of being gaslit and lied to by Bing's ChatGPT, exposing the importance of trust and transparency in the tech industry.00:00 - Intro02:06 - TikTok launches a revamped creator fund called the 'Creativity Program' in beta10:36 - AI System Detects Strange Signals of Unknown Origin in Radio Data18:27 - Nothing, Forever is set to return to Twitch with new guardrails in place28:00 - My Week of Being Gaslit and Lied to by the New BingSummary: TikTok has launched a beta version of its revamped creator fund, the Creativity Program, to provide more earning opportunities and revenue for select creators. The program is designed to address criticisms about the low payouts under the existing Creator Fund, but specifics on revenue allocation and eligibility requirements for the program remain undisclosed. Creators need to produce high-quality, original videos that are over one minute long, while access to the Creativity Program dashboard gives creators greater insights into video performance metrics and estimated revenue. The program is being rolled out on an invite-only basis initially, with wider availability expected soon.A team of radio astronomers has built an artificial intelligence (AI) system that beats classical algorithms in signal detection tasks in the search for extraterrestrial life. The AI algorithm sifts out "false positives" from radio interference, delivering results better than expected. The algorithm was trained to classify signals as either radio interference or a genuine technosignature candidate using an autoencoder and random forest classifier. The team fed the algorithm over 150 terabytes of data from the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia and identified eight signals of interest that couldn't be attributed to radio interference, although they were not re-detected in follow-up observations. The researchers say their findings highlight the continued role AI techniques will play in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.Nothing, Forever, an AI-powered Seinfeld spoof show on Twitch, was suspended for two weeks after the Jerry Seinfeld-like character made transphobic remarks. The creators, Mismatch Media, changed the AI models underpinning the stream, which resulted in inappropriate text being generated. Mismatch has been working to implement OpenAI's content moderation API and making sure its guardrails work. Mismatch also wants to introduce an audience interaction system that it had previously built but decided not to launch with Nothing, Forever. Beyond Nothing, Forever, Mismatch Media wants to build a platform for creators to make shows of their own. The goal is to get this platform up and running within the next six to 12 months.The author used to dismiss Bing as an inferior search engine compared to Google, but now Bing has gained attention for its integration of an AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT. Since its rollout, daily visits to Bing.com have increased by 15% and searches for "Bing AI" have risen 700%. Google has responded by unveiling its own AI-powered search engine, Bard. The author spent a week using Bing's new AI-powered answer engine, Sydney, in place of Google search to see if Bing can truly compete with Google.Our panel today>> Tarek >> Chris >> Henrike >> Vincent Every week our panel of technology enthusiasts meets to discuss the most important news from the fields of technology, innovation, and science. And you can join us live!https://techreview.axelspringer.com/https://www.ideas-engineering.io/https://www.freetech.academy/https://www.upday.com/

Our guest on Episode 5 is Janney Lockman. Janney grew up in Green Bank, West Virginia in the shadow of the Green Bank Telescope swimming in creeks, playing old time music with her dad, and reading her way through the public library. After spending over a decade living outside of the region for school and work, Lockman returned to her home state where she currently works as an urban planner and dreams of a socially, economically, and environmentally-just future for Appalachia.

Join the Episode after party on Discord! Link: https://discord.gg/ZzJSrGP Taiwanese Researcher Says Public will Make Alien Disclosure after Spotting UFO-like Cloud Link: https://www.ibtimes.sg/taiwanese-researcher-says-public-will-make-alien-disclosure-after-spotting-ufo-like-cloud-47678 Waring had previously claimed that American singer Lady Gaga is a reptilian alien who has close connections with the Illuminati Scott C Waring is a self-proclaimed alien hunter who is currently operating from Taiwan. Even though many of his UFO discoveries have been dismissed by experts, an unflinching Waring continues his research, and he strongly propagates the idea that aliens are visiting Earth frequently to monitor human activities. Now, after spotting a cloud-like UFO, Waring has claimed that the public will make the alien disclosure. In his recent website post, Waring revealed that the cloud-like UFO was spotted in the skies of Hereford, England. According to Waring, the UFO was apparently using the cloud as a cover as it moved across the skies. "It wouldn't surprise me if they had windows or transparent walls that allow the aliens to look down at the people and activities below. Absolutely amazing catch of a perfect disk over England yesterday. Aliens have been around us for thousands of years, but we are wising up, our technology and our intelligence are increasing and they won't be able to hide from us for long," wrote Waring on his website ET Data Base. Reptilian Aliens on Earth? Conspiracy theorists have often alleged that at least three different species of aliens are living among humans. A few days back, Waring, after analyzing a 2018 interview of Lady Gaga had claimed that the American singer could be a reptilian alien. Waring made the assumptions as Gaga expressed her desire to shapeshift during the interview. The claims made by Waring soon went viral, and his followers outlandishly argued that Lady Gaga is an alien being who maintains a good connection with the Illuminati, the hypothetical shadow government that controls the entire world. Breakthrough Listen Scans Kepler-160 System for Alien Technosignatures Link: http://www.sci-news.com/astronomy/breakthrough-listen-kepler-160-system-alien-technosignatures-08575.html Kepler-160 is approximately 3,141 light-years away toward the constellation of Lyra. The Breakthrough Listen Initiative, the largest ever scientific research program aimed at finding evidence of alien civilizations, has conducted a search for artificial radio emission associated with Kepler-160, a system of four planets that includes the newly-discovered habitable-zone planet Kepler-160e. This Sun-like star is about 12% bigger than our Sun, just 1% more luminous, and is home to at least four massive planets: Kepler-160b, c, d and e. The planets Kepler-160b, c and d are between 1.7 and 3.1 times the size of Earth and have orbital periods less than 50 days. The outermost planet, Kepler-160e (also designated KOI-456.04), has a radius of 1.9 times that of the Earth and an orbital period of 378 days. The alien world, found earlier this year in data from NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, is in the habitable zone of the host star and has an estimated surface temperature of minus 28 degrees Celsius (minus 18 degrees Fahrenheit). “This Earth-like planet candidate, given its ideal location in the habitable zone of its host star and edge-on orientation projected toward Earth, represents an ideal target for technosignature searches,” said Columbia University astronomer Karen Perez and colleagues. “We searched the radio frequency bands 1.1-1.9 GHz (L-band), 1.8-2.8 GHz (S-band), and 3.95-8 GHz (C-band) for narrowband Doppler-accelerated and wideband artificially-dispersed technosignatures,” they explained. “We observed Kepler-160 with the Green Bank Telescope for three 5-minute pointings at each frequency band, beginning on June 14, 2020 11:13 UT.” What do residents of Asgardia get? The benefits, privileges and the opportunity to participate in the life of the first Space Nation Link: https://asgardia.space/en/news/asgardian-residence-everything-you-need-to-know-about-it-in-2020 The amount of annual residence fee is 100 euros. Upon payment, a citizen of any state becomes a resident of the Nation of Asgardia and is granted the following basic rights: the right to vote in Asgardia's elections and be elected to Asgardia's bodies; the right to work and start a business in Asgardia. Residents of Asgardia can also take advantage of the benefits that this status gives (for more details, see the section "What opportunities Residency gives"). Each Resident of Asgardia receives an Asgardian ID card, which serves as a multifunctional document with a QR code. In the future, Residents of Asgardia may become Citizens of the first Space Nation. Applications for Citizenship are to be considered in accordance with the procedure in which applicants acquire Resident status. Citizenship is obligatory for full-fledged participation in the life of the Space Nation of Asgardia. The identification of Asgardia's residents will be carried out using mobile biometric identification systems in the representative hubs, which will open in 26 countries. What opportunities does Resident status give? You will be the first to receive the passport of a Citizen of the first Space Nation. Bilateral agreements with other countries that recognize Asgardia as an independent state will make travel with Asgardian documents feasible. Be the first in line for an Asgardian passport! You can make decisions and build a political career in Asgardia A Resident of Asgardia may be elected to the state bodies of Asgardia and influence the future of the Nation. Residents can also take part in the voting. Create relationships within our community There are more than 1200 residents of Asgardia today and more than 1 million people — Asgardians — share its goals. Participate in events Get tailored access to all Asgardian events. Every year we hold conventions, exhibitions, meetings around the world, uniting businessmen and investors, scientists and students, people of art and show business. Start a business Presently, Dr Igor Ashurbeyli, the Head of the Asgardian Nation, is approving a package of documents on Asgardia's franchises in various areas and corresponding draft license agreements. They will be presented to the new government, which will be formed by November 1, 2020. Carry out scientific research Show Stuff Join the episode after party on Discord! Link: https://discord.gg/ZzJSrGP The Dark Horde Podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-dark-horde The Dark Horde, LLC – http://www.thedarkhorde.com Twitter @DarkHorde or https://twitter.com/HordeDark Support the podcast and shop @ http://shopthedarkhorde.com UBR Truth Seekers Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/216706068856746 UFO Buster Radio: https://www.facebook.com/UFOBusterRadio YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCggl8-aPBDo7wXJQ43TiluA To contact Manny: manny@ufobusterradio.com, or on Twitter @ufobusterradio Call the show anytime at (972) 290-1329 and leave us a message with your point of view, UFO sighting, and ghostly experiences or join the discussion on www.ufobusterradio.com Mail can be sent to: UFO Buster Radio Network PO BOX 769905 San Antonio TX 78245 For Skype Users: bosscrawler

Join the Episode after party on Discord! Link: https://discord.gg/ZzJSrGP Taiwanese Researcher Says Public will Make Alien Disclosure after Spotting UFO-like Cloud Link: https://www.ibtimes.sg/taiwanese-researcher-says-public-will-make-alien-disclosure-after-spotting-ufo-like-cloud-47678 Waring had previously claimed that American singer Lady Gaga is a reptilian alien who has close connections with the Illuminati Scott C Waring is a self-proclaimed alien hunter who is currently operating from Taiwan. Even though many of his UFO discoveries have been dismissed by experts, an unflinching Waring continues his research, and he strongly propagates the idea that aliens are visiting Earth frequently to monitor human activities. Now, after spotting a cloud-like UFO, Waring has claimed that the public will make the alien disclosure. In his recent website post, Waring revealed that the cloud-like UFO was spotted in the skies of Hereford, England. According to Waring, the UFO was apparently using the cloud as a cover as it moved across the skies. "It wouldn't surprise me if they had windows or transparent walls that allow the aliens to look down at the people and activities below. Absolutely amazing catch of a perfect disk over England yesterday. Aliens have been around us for thousands of years, but we are wising up, our technology and our intelligence are increasing and they won't be able to hide from us for long," wrote Waring on his website ET Data Base. Reptilian Aliens on Earth? Conspiracy theorists have often alleged that at least three different species of aliens are living among humans. A few days back, Waring, after analyzing a 2018 interview of Lady Gaga had claimed that the American singer could be a reptilian alien. Waring made the assumptions as Gaga expressed her desire to shapeshift during the interview. The claims made by Waring soon went viral, and his followers outlandishly argued that Lady Gaga is an alien being who maintains a good connection with the Illuminati, the hypothetical shadow government that controls the entire world. Breakthrough Listen Scans Kepler-160 System for Alien Technosignatures Link: http://www.sci-news.com/astronomy/breakthrough-listen-kepler-160-system-alien-technosignatures-08575.html Kepler-160 is approximately 3,141 light-years away toward the constellation of Lyra. The Breakthrough Listen Initiative, the largest ever scientific research program aimed at finding evidence of alien civilizations, has conducted a search for artificial radio emission associated with Kepler-160, a system of four planets that includes the newly-discovered habitable-zone planet Kepler-160e. This Sun-like star is about 12% bigger than our Sun, just 1% more luminous, and is home to at least four massive planets: Kepler-160b, c, d and e. The planets Kepler-160b, c and d are between 1.7 and 3.1 times the size of Earth and have orbital periods less than 50 days. The outermost planet, Kepler-160e (also designated KOI-456.04), has a radius of 1.9 times that of the Earth and an orbital period of 378 days. The alien world, found earlier this year in data from NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, is in the habitable zone of the host star and has an estimated surface temperature of minus 28 degrees Celsius (minus 18 degrees Fahrenheit). “This Earth-like planet candidate, given its ideal location in the habitable zone of its host star and edge-on orientation projected toward Earth, represents an ideal target for technosignature searches,” said Columbia University astronomer Karen Perez and colleagues. “We searched the radio frequency bands 1.1-1.9 GHz (L-band), 1.8-2.8 GHz (S-band), and 3.95-8 GHz (C-band) for narrowband Doppler-accelerated and wideband artificially-dispersed technosignatures,” they explained. “We observed Kepler-160 with the Green Bank Telescope for three 5-minute pointings at each frequency band, beginning on June 14, 2020 11:13 UT.” What do residents of Asgardia get? The benefits, privileges and the opportunity to participate in the life of the first Space Nation Link: https://asgardia.space/en/news/asgardian-residence-everything-you-need-to-know-about-it-in-2020 The amount of annual residence fee is 100 euros. Upon payment, a citizen of any state becomes a resident of the Nation of Asgardia and is granted the following basic rights: the right to vote in Asgardia's elections and be elected to Asgardia's bodies; the right to work and start a business in Asgardia. Residents of Asgardia can also take advantage of the benefits that this status gives (for more details, see the section "What opportunities Residency gives"). Each Resident of Asgardia receives an Asgardian ID card, which serves as a multifunctional document with a QR code. In the future, Residents of Asgardia may become Citizens of the first Space Nation. Applications for Citizenship are to be considered in accordance with the procedure in which applicants acquire Resident status. Citizenship is obligatory for full-fledged participation in the life of the Space Nation of Asgardia. The identification of Asgardia's residents will be carried out using mobile biometric identification systems in the representative hubs, which will open in 26 countries. What opportunities does Resident status give? You will be the first to receive the passport of a Citizen of the first Space Nation. Bilateral agreements with other countries that recognize Asgardia as an independent state will make travel with Asgardian documents feasible. Be the first in line for an Asgardian passport! You can make decisions and build a political career in Asgardia A Resident of Asgardia may be elected to the state bodies of Asgardia and influence the future of the Nation. Residents can also take part in the voting. Create relationships within our community There are more than 1200 residents of Asgardia today and more than 1 million people — Asgardians — share its goals. Participate in events Get tailored access to all Asgardian events. Every year we hold conventions, exhibitions, meetings around the world, uniting businessmen and investors, scientists and students, people of art and show business. Start a business Presently, Dr Igor Ashurbeyli, the Head of the Asgardian Nation, is approving a package of documents on Asgardia's franchises in various areas and corresponding draft license agreements. They will be presented to the new government, which will be formed by November 1, 2020. Carry out scientific research Show Stuff Join the episode after party on Discord! Link: https://discord.gg/ZzJSrGP The Dark Horde Podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-dark-horde The Dark Horde, LLC – http://www.thedarkhorde.com Twitter @DarkHorde or https://twitter.com/HordeDark Support the podcast and shop @ http://shopthedarkhorde.com UBR Truth Seekers Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/216706068856746 UFO Buster Radio: https://www.facebook.com/UFOBusterRadio YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCggl8-aPBDo7wXJQ43TiluA To contact Manny: manny@ufobusterradio.com, or on Twitter @ufobusterradio Call the show anytime at (972) 290-1329 and leave us a message with your point of view, UFO sighting, and ghostly experiences or join the discussion on www.ufobusterradio.com Mail can be sent to: UFO Buster Radio Network PO BOX 769905 San Antonio TX 78245 For Skype Users: bosscrawler

March 25, 2018 Over the past few years, the science from the 100-meter Green Bank Telescope has ranged from discovering complex organic molecules in space, searching for elusive gravitational waves, scanning the skies for signals from alien civilizations, mapping swarms of hydrogen clouds which are streaming away from our galaxy, and unearthing new facts to help us understand how planets form. This talk reviews these topics, and other, recent discoveries and discusses the impact they have on societies understanding of the Universe. Speakers Karen O’Neil, Green Bank Site Director and Assistant Director for Green Bank Operations, The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)

We follow last week’s conversation with Ann Druyan about the $100 million funding of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence by visiting with two of the scientists who will do the work: Dan Werthimer of UC Berkeley and Karen O’Neil of the Green Bank Telescope.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Green Bank Telescope is so big you could put two football fields in its dish. This remarkable telescope, nestled in a rural West Virginia valley, is making fantastic discoveries.

We take a multi-faceted approach to study the relativistic cosmic ray (CR) proton population in galaxy clusters. CR protons may be accelerated by structure formation shock waves, injected from radio galaxies into the intra-cluster medium, or result from supernova driven galactic winds. This thesis addresses the following questions: do CR protons exist in galaxy clusters? What is the dynamic and cosmological impact of CRs? How can we observe them? How can we describe CRs and their interactions? The first major part of this thesis investigates the question of the dynamic influence of CRs on the intra-cluster medium and searches for unbiased tracers of their existence using multi-frequency observational results. To this end, I develop an analytical framework to describe the hadronic interactions of CR protons with the ambient thermal plasma. In the second part, a description of CR gas for cosmological applications is presented that is especially suited for hydrodynamical simulations. During the course of this work, I focus on developing a formalism for instantaneously identifying and estimating the strength of structure formation shocks during cosmological simulations to accelerate CRs through diffusive shock acceleration. Since the energetically dominant CR population is trapped by cluster magnetic fields, it can only be observed indirectly through non-thermal radiative processes. CR protons interact hadronically with the ambient plasma and produce mainly neutral and charged pions that successively decay into gamma-rays, secondary electrons, and neutrinos. I develop an analytic formalism which describes the induced radio synchrotron, inverse Compton, and gamma-ray emission. Comparing the expected gamma-ray flux to the upper limits obtained by the gamma-ray observatory EGRET, I am able to constrain the CR proton energy density in nearby cooling core clusters to < 20% relative to the thermal energy density. In this context, I study the hypothesis that the diffuse radio synchrotron emission of galaxy clusters is produced by hadronically originating relativistic electrons and I develop a non-parametric criterion to obtain the minimum energy state for an observed radio synchrotron emission: the excellent agreement between the observed and theoretically expected radio surface brightness profile of the Perseus mini-halo and the small amount of energy density in CR protons needed to account for the observed radio emission makes this hadronic model an attractive explanation of radio mini-halos found in cooling core clusters. To explain the giant radio halo of Coma within the hadronic model of secondary electrons, the CR proton-to-thermal energy density profile has to increase radially up to moderate CR energy densities. Cosmological simulations that self-consistently follow CR acceleration at shock waves predict such an energy density profile: strong shock waves, that occur predominantly in low density regions, are able to efficiently accelerate high-energetic CRs, whereas weak central flow shocks inject only a low-energetic CR population which is strongly diminished by Coulomb interactions. This implies that the dynamic importance of the shock-injected CR energy density is largest in the low-density halo infall regions, but is less important for the weaker shocks occurring in central high-density cluster regions. As an extension of this work, I propose a new method in order to elucidate the content of the radio plasma bubbles located at cool cores of galaxy clusters. Using the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array and the Green Bank Telescope should be able to infer the dynamically dominant CR component of the plasma bubbles in suitable galaxy clusters within short observation times. Future high-sensitivity multi-frequency SZ observations will be able to infer the energy spectrum of the dynamically dominant electron population. This knowledge can yield indirect indications for an underlying composition of relativistic outflows of radio galaxies because plasma bubbles represent the relic fluid of jets. In the second major part of my thesis, I address the problem of constructing an accurate and self-consistent model for the description of CRs that aims at studying the dynamic influence of CRs on structure formation and galaxy evolution. This will not only allow the production of realistic non-thermal emission signatures of galaxies and clusters of galaxies, but also allow in-vivo studies of dynamic effects driven by relativistic particles and the star formation history. The developed model self-consistently traces relativistic protons originating from various kinds of sources, such as structure formation shock waves and supernovae driven galactic winds, and also accounts for dissipative processes in the relativistic gas component. To this end, I develop a formalism for the identification and accurate estimation of the strength of structure formation shocks during cosmological smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations. Shocks not only play a decisive role for the thermalization of gas in virializing structures but also for the acceleration of CRs through diffusive shock acceleration. The formalism is applicable both to ordinary non-relativistic thermal gas and to plasmas composed of CRs and thermal gas. I apply these methods to studying the properties of structure formation shocks in high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations of the LambdaCDM model and find that most of the energy is dissipated in weak internal shocks which are predominantly central flow shocks or merger shock waves traversing halo centers. Collapsed cosmological structures are surrounded by external shocks with a much higher Mach number, but they play only a minor role in the energy balance of thermalization. I show that after the epoch of cosmic reionization, the Mach number distribution is significantly modified by an efficient suppression of strong external shock waves due to the associated increase of the sound speed of the diffuse gas.