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A team of engineers testing the design efficiency of reflectors for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s upcoming next generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) has received the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Harold A. Wheeler Applications Prize Paper Award for their research entitled, “An Optimal 18 m Shaped Offset Gregorian Reflector for the ngVLA Radio Telescope.” The award is presented to the authors of the best applications paper published in the IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation during the previous year.

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Radio astronomers usually learn about the universe by passively observing the sky. But sometimes radio astronomy can be a bit more active. Join our host Summer Ash of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory as she talks about how astronomers can use radar to understand our astronomical neighbors in new and interesting ways.

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Six NAC alums have accepted offers from outstanding graduate programs around the country. Each will receive a $5,000 AUI Board of Trustees NAC Bridge Scholarship Award, with AUI and NRAO’s congratulations and best wishes for a smooth start to an exciting new chapter of their lives.

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AUI y el Observatorio Radioastronómico Nacional de Estados Unidos (NRAO, en su sigla en inglés) hoy publicó la lista de adjudicatarios de la beca NAC Bridge Scholarship Award de 2022 del Consejo de Administración de AUI.

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Astronomers using data from the VLA Sky Survey have discovered one of the youngest known neutron stars -- possibly as young as only 14 years. It was revealed when bright radio emission emerged from behind a thick shell of explosion debris.

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Al analizar datos de la campaña VLA Sky Survey, un equipo de astrónomos descubrió una de las estrellas de neutrones más jóvenes que se conocen. Quizás tenga tan solo 14 años. El denso remanente de una explosión de supernova salió a la luz cuando la brillante emisión de radio impulsada por el fuerte campo magnético del púlsar emergió de una espesa capa de escombros dejados por la explosión.


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While using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to observe large star-forming regions in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), scientists discovered a turbulent push-and-pull dynamic in the star-forming region, 30 Doradus. Observations revealed that despite intense stellar feedback, gravity is shaping the molecular cloud, and against scientific odds, is driving the ongoing formation of young, massive stars. The observations were presented today in a press conference at the 240th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in Pasadena, California, and are published in The Astrophysical Journal (ApJ).

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Tras usar el Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) para observar regiones donde se forman estrellas en la Gran Nube de Magallanes, un equipo de investigación descubrió la existencia de un turbulento fenómeno de tira y afloja en la incubadora 30 Doradus. Las observaciones revelaron que, a pesar de una intensa retroalimentación estelar, la gravedad está incidiendo en la forma de la nube molecular y, contra todo pronóstico, fomentando la formación de estrellas jóvenes y masivas. Los resultados de las observaciones se presentaron hoy en una conferencia de prensa durante la asamblea n.o 240 de la Sociedad Astronómica Estadounidense (AAS, en su sigla en inglés), celebrada en Pasadena (California, EE. UU.), y se publicarán la revista The Astrophysical Journal (ApJ).

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Scientists using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA)— an international observatory co-operated by the US National Science Foundation’s National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)—have observed a significant amount of cold, neutral gas in the outer regions of the young galaxy A1689-zD1, as well as outflows of hot gas coming from the galaxy’s center. These results may shed light on a critical stage of galactic evolution for early galaxies, where young galaxies begin the transformation to be increasingly like their later, more structured cousins. The observations were presented today in a press conference at the 240th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in Pasadena, California, and will be published in an upcoming edition of The Astrophysical Journal (ApJ).

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Gracias al Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) –un observatorio internacional coadministrado por Observatorio Radioastronómico Nacional (NRAO, en su sigla en inglés) de la Fundación Nacional de Ciencia de Estados Unidos–, un equipo de investigación observó una cantidad considerable de gas neutro y frío en las zonas periféricas de la joven galaxia A1689-zD1, así como erupciones de gas caliente provenientes de su centro. Este estudio podría arrojar luces sobre una etapa crucial de la evolución de las galaxias en su juventud, cuando recién emprenden los procesos de transformación que las convierten en objetos más estructurados, como sus primas más maduras.

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Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have imaged the debris disk of the nearby star HD 53143 at millimeter wavelengths for the first time, and it looks nothing like they expected. Based on early coronagraphic data, scientists expected ALMA to confirm the debris disk as a face-on ring peppered with clumps of dust. Instead, the observations took a surprise turn, revealing the most complicated and eccentric debris disk observed to date.

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Gracias al Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), un equipo de astrónomos y astrónomas obtuvo la primera imagen de un disco de escombros de la estrella cercana HD 53143 en longitudes de onda milimétricas, y el resultado dista mucho del que se esperaba. Sobre la base de datos coronagráficos, la comunidad científica esperaba que ALMA confirmara que el disco tenía el aspecto de un anillo visto de frente y con aglomeraciones de polvo. En cambio, el estudio reveló el disco más complejo y excéntrico observado a la fecha.

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Seven new scientific results from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the Very Large Array (VLA), and the Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS) will be revealed at multiple press conferences during the 240th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) between June 13-15, 2022 in Pasadena, California.

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A highly active repeating Fast Radio Burst is raising new questions about the nature of such objects, and also raising doubts about their usefulness as cosmic yardsticks.

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The new image of the black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy provides the closest look yet at the region from which radio waves from beyond the Earth were first detected in 1932 -- by Karl Jansky, the father of radio astronomy.

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At simultaneous press conferences around the world, including at a National Science Foundation-sponsored press conference at the US National Press Club in Washington, D.C., astronomers have unveiled the first image of the supermassive black hole at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy. This result provides overwhelming evidence that the object is indeed a black hole and yields valuable clues about the workings of such giants, which are thought to reside at the center of most galaxies. The image was produced by a global research team called the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration, using observations from a worldwide network of radio telescopes.

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Se creía que las galaxias post brotes de formación estelar agotan a gran velocidad y en violentas erupciones de energía todo el polvo y gas necesario para fabricar estrellas. Los nuevos datos obtenidos por el Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) revelaron que, en realidad, estas galaxias no se despojan de todo su combustible, sino que entran en un letargo en el que conservan y comprimen grandes cantidades de gas ultraconcentrado y turbulento. No obstante, al contrario de lo que se esperaría, tampoco lo usan para dar nacimiento a nuevas estrellas.

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Post-starburst galaxies were previously thought to scatter all of their gas and dust—the fuel required for creating new stars—in violent bursts of energy, and with extraordinary speed. Now, new data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) reveals that these galaxies don’t scatter all of their star-forming fuel after all. Instead, after their supposed end, these dormant galaxies hold onto and compress large amounts of highly-concentrated, turbulent gas. But contrary to expectation, they’re not using it to form stars.

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New ground-based radar systems will be vital research tools for planetary defense and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and the Green Bank Observatory are developing new capabilities that will meet those needs.

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Most planets orbit a star, but some planets can escape and “go rogue.” But how do astronomers study planets that wander the cold dark of interstellar space? Join our host, Summer Ash of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, as she talks about how radio astronomers study rogue planets.