Astrophysics at Keele: the formation and evolution of galaxies, stars and planets
Lead Research Organisation:
Keele University
Department Name: Faculty of Natural Sciences
Abstract
In understanding our place in the universe we need to know how many planets there are, how planetary systems form and evolve, and how many of them are like our Solar System, possibly harbouring life. The best way of studying planets is to find the ones that pass in front of ("transit") their star. By looking for the tiny dips in a star's light caused by a transiting planet, Keele's WASP-South survey has found more transiting planets than anyone else in the Southern hemisphere, and is using them to answer questions about how planetary systems form.
Planets form around young stars, and star and planet formation are intimately connected. Keele will process the data from a very large survey of young stars and clusters of stars, using spectra obtained by ESO's Very Large Telescope, to combine with the unprecedented astrometry soon to be obtained by ESA's Gaia mission. The combination will provide the biggest survey yet of how stars and stellar clusters form and evolve.
The two Magellanic Clouds are the two galaxies closest to our own, so close that they interact with our galaxy, providing an excellent opportunity to study how galaxies affect each other, with collisions and mergers thought to be important factors in explaining galaxies today. Keele's role in the new-generation radio survey of the Magellanic Clouds provided by the GASKAP project will provide the most detailed yet picture of the dynamics and interactions of our Milky way with these two satellite galaxies.
At the cores of galaxies, supermassive black holes can grow by sucking in material from their surroundings. It is now realised that powerful winds generated by the swirling around a black hole can both regulate the growth of the black hole and affect the future evolution of the whole galaxy. A Keele-led program using the latest X-ray satellites studies the X-ray emission generated by the extreme gravity of the black hole to study the black-hole winds and their affect on their environment.
Planets form around young stars, and star and planet formation are intimately connected. Keele will process the data from a very large survey of young stars and clusters of stars, using spectra obtained by ESO's Very Large Telescope, to combine with the unprecedented astrometry soon to be obtained by ESA's Gaia mission. The combination will provide the biggest survey yet of how stars and stellar clusters form and evolve.
The two Magellanic Clouds are the two galaxies closest to our own, so close that they interact with our galaxy, providing an excellent opportunity to study how galaxies affect each other, with collisions and mergers thought to be important factors in explaining galaxies today. Keele's role in the new-generation radio survey of the Magellanic Clouds provided by the GASKAP project will provide the most detailed yet picture of the dynamics and interactions of our Milky way with these two satellite galaxies.
At the cores of galaxies, supermassive black holes can grow by sucking in material from their surroundings. It is now realised that powerful winds generated by the swirling around a black hole can both regulate the growth of the black hole and affect the future evolution of the whole galaxy. A Keele-led program using the latest X-ray satellites studies the X-ray emission generated by the extreme gravity of the black hole to study the black-hole winds and their affect on their environment.
Planned Impact
The astrophysics group has a vigorous outreach programme, which benefits from the networks provided by Keele's Widening Participation Division and Science Learning Centre West Midlands and provides benefit to the general public, school children (particularly in the 11-18 age range) and their teachers. We actively enthuse school children, their teachers and the public about STFC science by: taking a planetarium into schools; operating the well-equipped Keele observatory, encouraging both public access and visits from schools; providing adult education classes focused on our research topics; and organising well-attended teacher-training workshops.
In the next grant period we are planning major enhancements to our planetarium activities. We will upgrade its projector system, transforming it into an "exoplanetarium"; develop new planetarium resources based on our exoplanetary and stellar research , which will be widely and freely disseminated to a worldwide open-source planetarium software community; train a chort of undergraduate "Science Mentors" and astrophysics postgraduates to deliver outreach; and take the exoplanetarium into about 30 schools per year, interacting with more than 5000 pupils and their teachers. Our aims are to inspire more children (and their teachers), from an area with a traditionally low HE participation rate, to think about University and science at University level, hence promoting their economic well-being, and showcasing our STFC-funded research.
Book, magazine and newspaper publishers, blog writers and science news websites have all benefited from several press releases and interviews by members of the Keele astrophysics group in recent years. These media events are the result of major discoveries in the areas of star formation, massive stars and exoplanets. Keele will continue to announce major discoveries throughout the forthcoming grant period.
We are developing links with local industry. A Stoke-based SME, who manufacture parts for NASA and ESA astrophysics missions, will be sponsoring an undergraduate Astrophysics prize at Keele and providing careers advice; we in turn will benefit them by assisting them with their public relations and website.
In the next grant period we are planning major enhancements to our planetarium activities. We will upgrade its projector system, transforming it into an "exoplanetarium"; develop new planetarium resources based on our exoplanetary and stellar research , which will be widely and freely disseminated to a worldwide open-source planetarium software community; train a chort of undergraduate "Science Mentors" and astrophysics postgraduates to deliver outreach; and take the exoplanetarium into about 30 schools per year, interacting with more than 5000 pupils and their teachers. Our aims are to inspire more children (and their teachers), from an area with a traditionally low HE participation rate, to think about University and science at University level, hence promoting their economic well-being, and showcasing our STFC-funded research.
Book, magazine and newspaper publishers, blog writers and science news websites have all benefited from several press releases and interviews by members of the Keele astrophysics group in recent years. These media events are the result of major discoveries in the areas of star formation, massive stars and exoplanets. Keele will continue to announce major discoveries throughout the forthcoming grant period.
We are developing links with local industry. A Stoke-based SME, who manufacture parts for NASA and ESA astrophysics missions, will be sponsoring an undergraduate Astrophysics prize at Keele and providing careers advice; we in turn will benefit them by assisting them with their public relations and website.
Organisations
Publications
{Jones}, S. And {Hirschi}, R. And {Herwig}, F. And {Paxton}, B. And {Timmes}, F.~X. And {Nomoto}, K.
(2012)
Progenitors of electron-capture supernovae
Hénault-Brunet V
(2012)
The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey VI. Evidence for rotation of the young massive cluster R136
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Evans A
(2012)
Solid-phase C60 in the peculiar binary XX Oph? C60 in XX Oph
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Georgy C
(2012)
Grids of stellar models with rotation II. WR populations and supernovae/GRB progenitors at Z = 0.014
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Tinetti G
(2012)
EChO Exoplanet characterisation observatory
in Experimental Astronomy
Gillon M
(2012)
The TRAPPIST survey of southern transiting planets I. Thirty eclipses of the ultra-short period planet WASP-43 b??????
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Sloan G
(2012)
CARBON-RICH DUST PRODUCTION IN METAL-POOR GALAXIES IN THE LOCAL GROUP
in The Astrophysical Journal
Gullieuszik M
(2012)
The VMC survey III. Mass-loss rates and luminosities of LMC AGB stars??????
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Bachelet E
(2012)
A brown dwarf orbiting an M-dwarf: MOA 2009-BLG-411L
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Ekström S
(2012)
Grids of stellar models with rotation I. Models from 0.8 to 120 M ? at solar metallicity ( Z = 0.014)?
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Southworth J
(2012)
High-precision photometry by telescope defocusing - IV. Confirmation of the huge radius of WASP-17 b High-precision defocused photometry of WASP-17
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
McQuillin R
(2012)
Novae in the SuperWASP data base Novae in the SuperWASP data base
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Geier S
(2012)
MUCHFUSS - Massive Unseen Companions to Hot Faint Underluminous Stars from SDSS
in Astronomische Nachrichten
Boyer M
(2012)
ERRATUM: "SURVEYING THE AGENTS OF GALAXY EVOLUTION IN THE TIDALLY STRIPPED, LOW-METALLICITY SMALL MAGELLANIC CLOUD (SAGE-SMC). II. COOL EVOLVED STARS" (2011, AJ, 142, 103)
in The Astronomical Journal
Brown D
(2012)
Rossiter-McLaughlin effect measurements for WASP-16, WASP-25 and WASP-31? The alignment of WASP-16, WASP-25 and WASP-31
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Anderson D
(2012)
WASP-44b, WASP-45b and WASP-46b: three short-period, transiting extrasolar planets WASP-44b, WASP-45b and WASP-46b
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Shin I
(2012)
MICROLENSING BINARIES DISCOVERED THROUGH HIGH-MAGNIFICATION CHANNEL
in The Astrophysical Journal
Rubele S
(2012)
The VMC survey IV. The LMC star formation history and disk geometry from four VMC tiles???
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Smalley B
(2012)
WASP-78b and WASP-79b: two highly-bloated hot Jupiter-mass exoplanets orbiting F-type stars in Eridanus
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Shin I
(2012)
CHARACTERIZING LOW-MASS BINARIES FROM OBSERVATION OF LONG-TIMESCALE CAUSTIC-CROSSING GRAVITATIONAL MICROLENSING EVENTS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Skibba R
(2012)
THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF DUST AND STELLAR EMISSION OF THE MAGELLANIC CLOUDS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Smolders K
(2012)
The Spitzer spectroscopic survey of S-type stars
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Tkachenko A
(2012)
Spectrum analysis of bright Kepler Doradus candidate stars? Spectrum analysis of bright Kepler? Doradus candidate stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Reeves JB
(2012)
Mid-infrared spectroscopy of biochars and spectral similarities to coal and kerogens: what are the implications?
in Applied spectroscopy
Bozza V
(2012)
OGLE-2008-BLG-510: first automated real-time detection of a weak microlensing anomaly - brown dwarf or stellar binary?? OGLE-2008-BLG-510 - weak microlensing anomaly
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Description | Lots and lots of them |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | We have particpated in dozens and dozens of such activites. Lots. We have about dozens and dozens of such feedbacks. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | Pre-2006,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014 |