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
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
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
Geier S
(2012)
MUCHFUSS - Massive Unseen Companions to Hot Faint Underluminous Stars from SDSS
in Astronomische Nachrichten
McQuillin R
(2012)
Novae in the SuperWASP data base Novae in the SuperWASP data base
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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
Shin I
(2012)
MICROLENSING BINARIES DISCOVERED THROUGH HIGH-MAGNIFICATION CHANNEL
in The Astrophysical Journal
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
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
Muijres L
(2012)
Mass-loss predictions for evolved very metal-poor massive stars
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Boyer M
(2012)
THE DUST BUDGET OF THE SMALL MAGELLANIC CLOUD: ARE ASYMPTOTIC GIANT BRANCH STARS THE PRIMARY DUST SOURCE AT LOW METALLICITY?
in The Astrophysical Journal
Smith R
(2012)
Dust discs around intermediate-mass and Sun-like stars in the 16 Myr old NGC 1960 open cluster Debris discs in NGC 1960
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
McQuillin R
(2012)
Momentum-driven feedback and the M-s relation in non-isothermal galaxies The M-s relation in non-isothermal galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Rebassa-Mansergas A
(2012)
Post-common envelope binaries from SDSS - XVI. Long orbital period systems and the energy budget of common envelope evolution The longest period SDSS-PCEBs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kraemer S
(2012)
OBSERVATIONS OF OUTFLOWING ULTRAVIOLET ABSORBERS IN NGC 4051 WITH THE COSMIC ORIGINS SPECTROGRAPH
in The Astrophysical Journal
Frischknecht U
(2012)
Non-standard s-process in low metallicity massive rotating stars
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Smith A
(2012)
WASP-36b: A NEW TRANSITING PLANET AROUND A METAL-POOR G-DWARF, AND AN INVESTIGATION INTO ANALYSES BASED ON A SINGLE TRANSIT LIGHT CURVE
in The Astronomical Journal
Jackson R
(2012)
Why do some young cool stars show spot modulation while others do not? Starspots on M dwarfs in NGC 2516
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Goswami N
(2012)
Using the Moon as a high-fidelity analogue environment to study biological and behavioral effects of long-duration space exploration
in Planetary and Space Science
Lakicevic M
(2012)
The remnant of supernova 1987A resolved at 3-mm wavelength
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Patrick A
(2012)
A Suzaku survey of Fe K lines in Seyfert 1 active galactic nuclei Suzaku observations of iron lines
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Balona L
(2012)
Kepler observations of the high-amplitude d Scuti star V2367 Cyg Kepler observations of V2367 Cyg
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Tatum M
(2012)
MODELING THE Fe K LINE PROFILES IN TYPE I ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI WITH A COMPTON-THICK DISK WIND
in The Astrophysical Journal
Allen T
(2012)
SPITZER IMAGING OF THE NEARBY RICH YOUNG CLUSTER, Cep OB3b
in The Astrophysical Journal
Shin I
(2012)
MICROLENSING BINARIES WITH CANDIDATE BROWN DWARF COMPANIONS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Southworth John
(2012)
ASTRONOMY A new class of planet
in NATURE
Bruntt H
(2012)
Accurate fundamental parameters and detailed abundance patterns from spectroscopy of 93 solar-type Kepler targets?† Parameters of solar-type Kepler targets
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
{Boyer}, M.~L. And {Srinivasan}, S. And {van Loon}, J.~T. And {McDonald}, I. And {Meixner}, M. And {Zaritsky}, D. And {Gordon}, K.~D. And {Kemper}, F. And {Babler}, B. And {Block}, M. And {Bracker}, S. And {Engelbracht}, C.~W. And {Hora}, J. And {Indebetouw}, R. And {Meade}, M. And {Misselt}, K. And {Robitaille}, T. And {Sewi{\l}o}, M. And {Shiao}, B. And {Whitney}, B.
(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 \aj
Hellier C
(2012)
Seven transiting hot Jupiters from WASP-South, Euler and TRAPPIST: WASP-47b, WASP-55b, WASP-61b, WASP-62b, WASP-63b, WASP-66b and WASP-67b WASP-South hot Jupiters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Brown D
(2012)
ANALYSIS OF SPIN-ORBIT ALIGNMENT IN THE WASP-32, WASP-38, AND HAT-P-27/WASP-40 SYSTEMS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Lendl M
(2012)
WASP-42 b and WASP-49 b: two new transiting sub-Jupiters
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Southworth J
(2012)
Homogeneous studies of transiting extrasolar planets - V. New results for 38 planets Studies of transiting extrasolar planets - V.
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Younes G
(2012)
Study of LINER sources with broad H a emission Spectral energy distribution and multiwavelength correlations
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Bell C
(2012)
Pre-main-sequence isochrones - I. The Pleiades benchmark The Pleiades benchmark
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 |