Podcaster: Dr. Al Grauer
Title: Travelers in the Night Eps.549 & 550: Weirdest Star & Lunar Telescopes
Organization: Travelers in The Night
Link : Travelers in the Night ; @Nmcanopus
Description: Today’s 2 topics:
- The Kepler Spacecraft found that a catalogue star HD 139139 now nicknamed the “Random Transiter” had 28 apparently random sharp narrow dips in brightness in only 87 days.
- Radio astronomers covet the dark side of the Moon where they could plumb the depths of the Universe.
Bio: Dr. Al Grauer is currently an observing member of the Catalina Sky Survey Team at the University of Arizona. This group has discovered nearly half of the Earth approaching objects known to exist. He received a PhD in Physics in 1971 and has been an observational Astronomer for 43 years. He retired as a University Professor after 39 years of interacting with students. He has conducted research projects using telescopes in Arizona, Chile, Australia, Hawaii, Louisiana, and Georgia with funding from NSF and NASA.
He is noted as Co-discoverer of comet P/2010 TO20 Linear-Grauer, Discoverer of comet C/2009 U5 Grauer and has asteroid 18871 Grauer named for him.
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Transcript:
549 – Weirdest Star
Most stars appear to be steady pinpoints of light in the night sky. A few flare stars can brighten by a hundred times or more in minutes making them no place for a life hosting planet. To stimulate our imagination, the Kepler Spacecraft has found many thousands of stars showing tiny regular dips in light as their families of planets pass between us and their home star. In 2015, we were introduced to the strange behavior of Tabby’s star when Dr. Tabetha S. Boyajian [boy-AA-jee-uhn] of Louisiana State University and her team published a paper describing the irregular dips in the light output of what otherwise would seem to be a garden variety star over the period 2009 to 2013.
Recently the Kepler Spacecraft found that a catalogue star HD 139139 now nicknamed the “Random Transiter” had 28 apparently random sharp narrow dips in brightness in only 87 days. This new candidate for the weirdest star could be actually two stars orbiting each other surrounded by a large number of planets, or maybe a few disintegrating planets, or perhaps a number of dust belching asteroids, or maybe even a third star. Really far out is the idea that the Rapid Transiter’s dips in brightness are produced by an alien civilization which is harnessing the energy of their home star. As William Shakespeare’s character Hamlet said ” There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. “
550 – Lunar Telescopes
With the naked eye, humans discovered that planets are different from stars and the Earth revolves about the Sun. Galileo used the first astronomical telescope to discover the moons of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, and that the Milky Way is made up of virtually countless stars. Using the new 100 inch telescope on Mt. Wilson, California, Hubble and Humason discovered that the great nebula in Andromeda is outside the Milky Way and the Universe is expanding. The 200 inch telescope on Mt. Palomar California allowed astronomers to measure the distance scale of the Universe and to research Quasars and active galactic nuclei.
The Hubble Space Telescope has enabled astronomers to explore our solar system as well as to study the most distant energetic objects in the Universe. Perhaps new discoveries will be made from the lunar surface having 1/6 of Earth’s gravity making it easier to build giant telescopes, no air to degrade images, and on the far side no artificial signals to obscure faint celestial sources. Optical astronomers are working on techniques which would allow them to make giant mirrors from Moon dust.
Radio astronomers covet the dark side of the Moon where they could plumb the depths of the Universe back to the time of the Big Bang as well as be able to detect very faint signals from other advanced technical societies if they exist. The new race to the Moon is on. Players include the USA, China, European Space Agency, India, Israel, and private companies. Yesterday’s science fiction often becomes today’s reality.
For Travelers in the Night this is Dr. Al Grauer.
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
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