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Niel Brandt
William Nielsen Brandt (born June 10, 1970; also known as Niel Brandt) is the Verne M. Willaman Professor of Astronomy & Astrophysics and a professor of physics at the Pennsylvania State University. He is best known for his work on active galaxies, cosmological X-ray surveys, starburst galaxies, normal galaxies, and X-ray binaries. Education Brandt was born in Durham, North Carolina, but mostly grew up in Janesville, Wisconsin. He attended Milton High School in Milton, Wisconsin, and Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire. His undergraduate studies were done at the California Institute of Technology (B.S. 1992), where he lived in Blacker Hovse (sharing a room with Ian Agol) and was awarded the George Green Prize for Creative Scholarship. His graduate studies were done at the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge with Andrew Fabian. Career From 1996 to 1997 Brandt held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian where he worked with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Durham, North Carolina
Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County. With a population of 283,506 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 Census, Durham is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, 4th-most populous city in North Carolina, and the List of United States cities by population, 74th-most populous city in the United States. The city is located in the east-central part of the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region along the Eno River. Durham is the core of the four-county Research Triangle#Office of Management and Budget Definition, Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Area, which has a population of 649,903 as of 2020 U.S. Census. The Office of Management and Budget also includes Durham as a part of the Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh-Durham-Cary Combined Statistical Area, com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Active Galactic Nuclei
An active galactic nucleus (AGN) is a compact region at the center of a galaxy that has a much-higher-than-normal luminosity over at least some portion of the electromagnetic spectrum with characteristics indicating that the luminosity is not produced by stars. Such excess non-stellar emission has been observed in the radio, microwave, infrared, optical, ultra-violet, X-ray and gamma ray wavebands. A galaxy hosting an AGN is called an "active galaxy". The non-stellar radiation from an AGN is theorized to result from the accretion of matter by a supermassive black hole at the center of its host galaxy. Active galactic nuclei are the most luminous persistent sources of electromagnetic radiation in the universe, and as such can be used as a means of discovering distant objects; their evolution as a function of cosmic time also puts constraints on models of the cosmos. The observed characteristics of an AGN depend on several properties such as the mass of the central black hole, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Astronomical Society
The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the advancement of astronomy and closely related branches of science, while the secondary purpose includes enhancing astronomy education and providing a political voice for its members through lobbying and grassroots activities. Its current mission is to enhance and share humanity's scientific understanding of the universe as a diverse and inclusive astronomical community. History The society was founded in 1899 through the efforts of George Ellery Hale. The constitution of the group was written by Hale, George Comstock, Edward Morley, Simon Newcomb and Edward Charles Pickering. These men, plus four others, were the first Executive Council of the society; Newcomb was the first president. The initial membership was 114. The AAS name of the so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bruno Rossi Prize
The Bruno Rossi Prize is awarded annually by the High Energy Astrophysics division of the American Astronomical Society "for a significant contribution to High Energy Astrophysics, with particular emphasis on recent, original work". Named after astrophysicist Bruno Rossi, the prize is awarded with a certificate and a gift of USD $500, and was first awarded in 1985 to William R. Forman and Christine Jones Forman "for pioneering work in the study of X-ray emission from early type galaxies". It has been awarded 32 times. In 2010, the prize was awarded to William B. Atwood, Peter Michelson and the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope team "for enabling, through the development of the Large Area Telescope, new insights into neutron stars, supernova remnants, cosmic rays, binary systems, active galactic nuclei, and gamma-ray bursts". In 2013, the prize was awarded to Roger W. Romani of Leland Stanford Junior University and Alice Harding of Goddard Space Flight Center for their work in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of knowledge of physics. The society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the prestigious '' Physical Review'' and ''Physical Review Letters'', and organizes more than twenty science meetings each year. APS is a member society of the American Institute of Physics. Since January 2021 the organization has been led by chief executive officer Jonathan Bagger. History The American Physical Society was founded on May 20, 1899, when thirty-six physicists gathered at Columbia University for that purpose. They proclaimed the mission of the new Society to be "to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics", and in one way or another the APS has been at that task ever since. In the early years, virtually the sole activity of the AP ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Newton Lacy Pierce Prize In Astronomy
The Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy is awarded annually by the American Astronomical Society to a young (less than age 36) astronomer for outstanding achievement in observational astronomical research. The prize is named after Newton Lacy Pierce, an American astronomer. Pierce Prize winners SourceAAS * 1974 Edwin M. Kellogg * 1975 Eric Becklin * 1976 James Roger Angel * 1977 Donald N.B. Hall * 1978 James M. Moran, Jr. * 1979 D. Harper * 1980 Jack Baldwin * 1981 Bruce Margon * 1982 Marc Davis * 1983 Alan Dressler * 1984 Marc Aaronson, Jeremy Mould * 1985 Richard G. Kron * 1986 Reinhard Genzel * 1987 Donald E. Winget * 1988 Sallie L. Baliunas * 1989 Harriet Dinerstein * 1990 Kristen Sellgren * 1991 Kenneth G. Libbrecht * 1992 Alexei Filippenko * 1993 Arlin P.S. Crotts * 1994 ''No award'' * 1995 Andrew McWilliam * 1996 Michael Strauss * 1997 Alyssa A. Goodman * 1998 Andrea Ghez * 1999 Dennis F. Zaritsky * 2000 Kirpal Nandra * 2001 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sloan Fellowship
The Sloan Research Fellowships are awarded annually by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation since 1955 to "provide support and recognition to early-career scientists and scholars". This program is one of the oldest of its kind in the United States. Fellowships were initially awarded in physics, chemistry, and mathematics. Awards were later added in neuroscience (1972), economics (1980), computer science (1993), computational and evolutionary molecular biology (2002), and ocean sciences or earth systems sciences (2012). Winners of these two-year fellowships are awarded $75,000, which may be spent on any expense supporting their research. From 2012 through 2020, the foundation awarded 126 research fellowship each year; in 2021, 128 were awarded, and 118 were awarded in 2022. Eligibility and selection To be eligible, a candidate must hold a Ph.D. or equivalent degree and must be a member of the faculty of a college, university, or other degree-granting institution in the United Sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
In Big Bang cosmology the cosmic microwave background (CMB, CMBR) is electromagnetic radiation that is a remnant from an early stage of the universe, also known as "relic radiation". The CMB is faint cosmic background radiation filling all space. It is an important source of data on the early universe because it is the oldest electromagnetic radiation in the universe, dating to the epoch of recombination when the first atoms were formed. With a traditional optical telescope, the space between stars and galaxies (the background) is completely dark (see: Olbers' paradox). However, a sufficiently sensitive radio telescope shows a faint background brightness, or glow, almost uniform, that is not associated with any star, galaxy, or other object. This glow is strongest in the microwave region of the radio spectrum. The accidental discovery of the CMB in 1965 by American radio astronomers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson was the culmination of work initiated in the 1940s, and earned t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Advanced Telescope For High Energy Astrophysics
Advanced Telescope for High-ENergy Astrophysics (''Athena'') is an X-ray observatory mission selected by European Space Agency (ESA) within its Cosmic Vision program to address the Hot and Energetic Universe scientific theme. ''Athena'' will operate in the energy range of 0.2–12 keV and will offer spectroscopic and imaging capabilities exceeding those of currently operating X-ray astronomy satellites – e.g. the Chandra X-ray Observatory and XMM-Newton – by at least one order of magnitude on several parameter spaces simultaneously. Mission The primary goals of the mission are to map hot gas structures, determine their physical properties, and search for supermassive black holes. History and development The mission has its roots in two concepts from the early 2000s, XEUS of ESA and Constellation-X Observatory (Con-X) of NASA. Around 2008, these two proposals were merged into the joint NASA/ESA/JAXA International X-ray Observatory (IXO) proposal. In 2011, IXO was with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Large Synoptic Survey Telescope
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, previously referred to as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), is an astronomical observatory currently under construction in Chile. Its main task will be carrying out a synoptic astronomical survey, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). The word '' synoptic'' is derived from the Greek words σύν (syn "together") and ὄψις (opsis "view"), and describes observations that give a broad view of a subject at a particular time. The observatory is located on the El Peñón peak of Cerro Pachón, a 2,682-meter-high mountain in Coquimbo Region, in northern Chile, alongside the existing Gemini South and Southern Astrophysical Research Telescopes. The LSST Base Facility is located about away by road, in the town of La Serena. The observatory is named for Vera Rubin, an American astronomer who pioneered discoveries about galaxy rotation rates. The Rubin Observatory will house the Simonyi Survey Telescope, a wide-field reflecting telesco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sloan Digital Sky Survey
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey or SDSS is a major multi-spectral imaging and spectroscopic redshift survey using a dedicated 2.5-m wide-angle optical telescope at Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico, United States. The project began in 2000 and was named after the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which contributed significant funding. A consortium of the University of Washington and Princeton University was established to conduct a redshift survey. The Astrophysical Research Consortium (ARC) was established in 1984 with the additional participation of New Mexico State University and Washington State University to manage activities at Apache Point. In 1991 the Sloan Foundation granted the ARC funding for survey efforts and the construction of equipment to carry out the work.. Background At the time of its design, the SDSS was a pioneering combination of novel instrumentation as well as data reduction and storage techniques that drove major advances in astronomical observations, di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NuSTAR
NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, also named Explorer 93 and SMEX-11) is a NASA space-based X-ray telescope that uses a conical approximation to a Wolter telescope to focus high energy X-rays from astrophysical sources, especially for nuclear spectroscopy, and operates in the range of 3 to 79 keV. NuSTAR is the eleventh mission of NASA's Small Explorer (SMEX-11) satellite program and the first space-based direct-imaging X-ray telescope at energies beyond those of the Chandra X-ray Observatory and XMM-Newton. It was successfully launched on 13 June 2012, having previously been delayed from 21 March 2012 due to software issues with the launch vehicle. The mission's primary scientific goals are to conduct a deep survey for black holes a billion times more massive than the Sun, to investigate how particles are accelerated to very high energy in active galaxies, and to understand how the elements are created in the explosions of massive stars by imaging supernova ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
