The Leonard E. Parker Center for Gravitation, Cosmology and Astrophysics

Sign up to hear our own Prof. Dawn Erb talk about how to properly care for and feed your galaxy!

Join galaxy expert and University of Wisconsin Milwaukee astrophysicist Dr. Dawn Erb for our upcoming virtual show, "The Care and Feeding of Galaxies." Learn how galaxies interact with their environments as part of a dynamic ecosystem in outer space✨Sign up here➡️ https://bit.ly/32FEgny

It was great to see everyone's faces again at the CGCA spring semester kick-off!

Just in time for Halloween, there is a very spooky radio source near our galactic center! According to CGCA professor David Kaplan, who is part of the team studying this object, "It doesn’t seem to be consistent with any kind of star that we understand...it’s an interesting object that has confounded any attempt we have to explain it."

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2293298-something-strange-is-sending-radio-waves-from-the-centre-of-the-galaxy/

Something strange is sending radio waves from the centre of the galaxy A source of radio waves, nicknamed "Andy's object", coming from the direction of the centre of the galaxy has left astronomers puzzled

Graduate student Lulu Agazie's paper was just accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal! This paper discusses the possible discovery of two neutron stars in a close orbit. If confirmed, it will be the 16th double neutron star system discovered!

https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021arXiv210210214A/abstract

PhD candidate Casey McGrath’s paper was recently accepted for publication in MNRAS! It discusses the effects of gravitational wavefront curvature on induced pulsar timing residuals:

https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article-abstract/505/3/4531/6278205

Fresnel models for gravitational wave effects on pulsar timing ABSTRACT. Merging supermassive black hole binaries produce low-frequency gravitational waves, which pulsar timing experiments are searching for. Much of the cur

CGCA professor David Kaplan, along with Australian astronomers, have published a study of stars that emit radio waves. Emissions from these "radio stars" reveals information about their magnetic properties -- which can otherwise be difficult to measure -- and can affect their ability to host life-supporting planets.

https://spaceaustralia.com/feature/radio-stars-emerge-askaps-survey-southern-skies

Radio Stars Emerge in ASKAP’s Survey of the Southern Skies | Spaceaustralia Using one of the most powerful radio telescopes in the world, Australian scientists have surveyed and analysed the southern skies in search of elusive stars that emit radio waves.

Another exciting event from the UWM Planetarium is coming up tomorrow!

Dr. Joel Cuello of The University of Arizona will share the latest in his research on growing and farming food in space. Dr. Cuello is a globally recognized expert in sustainable biological and agricultural systems, including resilient innovations addressing food security, vertical farming, and more!

The signup link below includes the option to submit a question to Dr. Cuello.

Sign up: https://forms.gle/taJUdKCZFThA4Q1y9

NASA’s Perseverance rover is scheduled to land on Mars on February 18, 2021! Explore what we know about the habitability of the Red Planet and what this historic event means for our next great space adventure with the UWM Planetarium!

Register: https://uwm.universitytickets.com/?cid=195

CGCA Professor David Kaplan, together with colleagues from the University of Sydney, have used the twinkling of 5 galaxies seen with the ASKAP telescope to uncover a long strand of cold gas in the Milky Way that may hold the key to missing matter!

https://theconversation.com/5-twinkling-galaxies-help-us-uncover-the-mystery-of-the-milky-ways-missing-matter-153650

https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2021/02/08/student-astronomer-finds-galactic-missing-matter-askap-radio-astronomy.html

5 twinkling galaxies help us uncover the mystery of the Milky Way's missing matter Thanks to the discovery of five twinkling galaxies in a rare alignment, astronomers have been able to calculate — for the first time — the properties and geometry of an invisible gas cloud in space.

Another CGCA spring welcome meeting is in the books!