An international team of astronomers observed the second one of the two supermassive black holes circling each other in an active galaxy OJ 287.
In the latest issue of the journal Nature, an international team including astronomers from University of Turku reveal the origin of a thermonuclear supernova explosion. Strong emission lines of helium and the first detection of such a supernova in radio waves show that the exploding white dwarf star had a helium-rich companion.
When neutron stars collide, they produce a violent explosion. Data from the only well observed collision show that the explosion was perfectly spherical, completely contrary to expectations. How this is possible remains a mystery, but the discovery may provide a new key to fundamental physics and to measuring the age of the Universe. The discovery was made by an international collaboration led by astrophysicists from the University of Copenhagen and including researchers from the University of Turku. The research has just been published in the journal Nature.
The department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Turku is a partner in the international Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) project, which will play a key role in shepherding in a new era of gravitational wave science. The GOTO observatory is made up of two identical telescope arrays on opposite sides of the planet that will track down sources of gravitational waves resulting from violent cosmic events that create ripples in the fabric of space-time itself.
Researchers from Aalto University, the University of Turku and the Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO were part of the international research group in taking a revolutionary picture.
Researchers from the University of Turku are developing a new hackmanite-based dosimeter and passive detectors for the International Space Station, intended to be used to measure the radiation dose uptake of materials during space flights. The year-long research project is funded by the European Space Agency, ESA.
Using the telescopes of the MAGIC collaboration, scientists have detected very-high-energy gamma rays from the nova eruption of the RS Ophiuchi recurrent nova on the Milky Way. The measured radiation is up to one hundred billion times more energetic than visible light. This is the first time such intense gamma rays have been observed from a nova. The observations provide new insights into the role of nova eruptions as sources of the mysterious cosmic rays.
Foresail-1 is the first satellite from the Finnish Centre of Excellence in Research of Sustainable Space. The Centre of Excellence is studying space conditions with the aim of developing more sustainable small satellites that do not turn into space debris.
We know that in the centres of the majority of galaxies lies a supermassive black hole. New observations of certain galaxies reveal that these black holes may be consuming stars at a higher rate than previously known. The energy produced by the destruction of the star can be revealed in the infrared, as heat from cosmic dust warmed by the explosion.
Stellar-mass black holes that are part of binary systems sometimes show variable polarization of optical emission. The degree, angle and variability pattern of polarization is characteristic of the physical processes occurring in the vicinity of a black hole. By studying black holes astronomers learn how matter and energy behave under extreme conditions.