Latest news with #MaxPlanckInstituteforAstrophysics
UPI
5 days ago
- Science
- UPI
Chilean project aims to be at forefront of theoretical astrophysics
Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Chile's the CiELO project is opening new frontiers in the study of how galaxies form and evolve, positioning the country as a leader in computational astrophysics in Latin America. "This is the first simulation project of its kind developed in Chile and in the region," said Patricia Tissera, director of the Center for Astrophysics and Related Technologies and leader of the project. "Thanks to this initiative, the national scientific community can now pose and address its own questions about the universe with an independent perspective and a local identity," Tissera said. The project, whose acronym stands for Chemo-dynamIcal propertiEs of gaLaxies and the cOsmic, aims to understand how galaxies form and evolve within their natural environment -- the cosmic web -- using their chemical properties as markers of that evolution. It seeks to determine how different environments -- cosmic voids, filaments and walls -- influence the dynamics and composition of galaxies, offering new insights into their formation and transformation over time. "CiELO builds virtual universes inside supercomputers -- true cosmic virtual twins -- that allow us to navigate from the Milky Way to the first galaxies in the universe," Tissera said. "This capability opens possibilities outside astronomy, in fields where simulations and modeling are essential." The project, developed over eight years with universities in Ibero-America and international centers such as the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and Durham University, is supported by the Center for Astrophysics and Related Technologies, which provides access to powerful computing clusters such as Geryon and helps train new researchers. The simulations, also run at the National Laboratory for High Performance Computing at the University of Chile and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, use tools such as GADGET-3 (GAlaxies with Dark matter and Gas intEracT) -- a code for modeling the formation and evolution of galaxies -- and SKIRT (Stellar Kinematics Including Radiative Transfer), software that simulates how light interacts with interstellar dust, to reproduce and analyze galactic evolution in detail. The CiELO project's results are intended to complement and enhance the interpretation of data from telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope, which orbits 930,000 miles abiove Earth; the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, situated in Cerro Pachón in Chile's Coquimbo region; and the future Extremely Large Telescope, under construction on Cerro Armazones in Chile's Antofagasta region. The project's innovative focus on galaxies in low-density environments allows researchers to study processes that have been little explored, with particular attention to chemical elements as indicators of their evolutionary history.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Space telescope spots rare 'Einstein ring' of light around galaxy in our cosmic neighborhood
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Europe's Euclid space telescope has detected a rare halo of bright light around a nearby galaxy, astronomers reported Monday. The halo, known as an Einstein ring, encircles a galaxy 590 million light-years away, considered close by cosmic standards. A light-year is 5.8 trillion miles. Astronomers have known about this galaxy for more than a century and so were surprised when Euclid revealed the bright glowing ring, reported in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. An Einstein ring is light from a much more distant galaxy that bends in such a way as to perfectly encircle a closer object, in this case a well-known galaxy in the constellation Draco. The faraway galaxy creating the ring is more than 4 billion light-years away. Gravity distorted the light from this more distant galaxy, thus the name honoring Albert Einstein. The process is known as gravitational lensing. 'All strong lenses are special, because they're so rare, and they're incredibly useful scientifically. This one is particularly special, because it's so close to Earth and the alignment makes it very beautiful," lead author Conor O'Riordan of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics said in a statement. Euclid rocketed from Florida in 2023. NASA is taking part in its mission to detect dark energy and dark matter in the universe. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press
Voice of America
10-02-2025
- Science
- Voice of America
Space telescope spots rare 'Einstein ring' of light
Europe's Euclid space telescope has detected a rare halo of bright light around a nearby galaxy, astronomers reported Monday. The halo, known as an Einstein ring, encircles a galaxy 590 million light-years away, considered close by cosmic standards. A light-year is 5.8 trillion miles. Astronomers have known about this galaxy for more than a century and so were surprised when Euclid revealed the bright glowing ring, reported in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. An Einstein ring is light from a much more distant galaxy that bends in such a way as to perfectly encircle a closer object, in this case a well-known galaxy in the constellation Draco. The faraway galaxy creating the ring is more than 4 billion light-years away. Gravity distorted the light from this more distant galaxy, thus the name honoring Albert Einstein. The process is known as gravitational lensing. "All strong lenses are special, because they're so rare, and they're incredibly useful scientifically. This one is particularly special, because it's so close to Earth and the alignment makes it very beautiful," lead author Conor O'Riordan of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics said in a statement. Euclid rocketed from Florida in 2023. NASA is taking part in its mission to detect dark energy and dark matter in the universe.
Asharq Al-Awsat
10-02-2025
- Science
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Space Telescope Spots Rare ‘Einstein Ring' of Light around Galaxy in Our Cosmic Neighborhood
Europe's Euclid space telescope has detected a rare halo of bright light around a nearby galaxy, astronomers reported Monday. The halo, known as an Einstein ring, encircles a galaxy 590 million light-years away, considered close by cosmic standards. A light-year is 5.8 trillion miles. Astronomers have known about this galaxy for more than a century and so were surprised when Euclid revealed the bright glowing ring, reported in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. An Einstein ring is light from a much more distant galaxy that bends in such a way as to perfectly encircle a closer object, in this case a well-known galaxy in the constellation Draco. The faraway galaxy creating the ring is more than 4 billion light-years away. Gravity distorted the light from this more distant galaxy, thus the name honoring Albert Einstein. The process is known as gravitational lensing. "All strong lenses are special, because they're so rare, and they're incredibly useful scientifically. This one is particularly special, because it's so close to Earth and the alignment makes it very beautiful," lead author Conor O'Riordan of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics said in a statement. Euclid rocketed from Florida in 2023. NASA is taking part in its mission to detect dark energy and dark matter in the universe.
Associated Press
10-02-2025
- Science
- Associated Press
Space telescope spots rare ‘Einstein ring' of light around galaxy in our cosmic neighborhood
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Europe's Euclid space telescope has detected a rare halo of bright light around a nearby galaxy, astronomers reported Monday. The halo, known as an Einstein ring, encircles a galaxy 590 million light-years away, considered close by cosmic standards. A light-year is 5.8 trillion miles. Astronomers have known about this galaxy for more than a century and so were surprised when Euclid revealed the bright glowing ring, reported in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. An Einstein ring is light from a much more distant galaxy that bends in such a way as to perfectly encircle a closer object, in this case a well-known galaxy in the constellation Draco. The faraway galaxy creating the ring is more than 4 billion light-years away. Gravity distorted the light from this more distant galaxy, thus the name honoring Albert Einstein. The process is known as gravitational lensing. 'All strong lenses are special, because they're so rare, and they're incredibly useful scientifically. This one is particularly special, because it's so close to Earth and the alignment makes it very beautiful,' lead author Conor O'Riordan of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics said in a statement. Euclid rocketed from Florida in 2023. NASA is taking part in its mission to detect dark energy and dark matter in the universe. ___
