23.06.10- Swift Spies Black Holes Feeding on Galaxy Mergers.

 
   NASA’s orbiting Swift telescope is in the news again, this time providing a key link between energetic nuclei and active galaxy mergers. The findings come after a survey conducted since 2004 by Swifts’ Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) of active galactic nuclei. A small percentage of these (less than 1 %) are extremely active, emitting 10 [...]

Astro-Challenge of the Week: Can you Spot the Brightest Quasar?

The luminous jet of 3C 273 in X-rays.
   This week, we here at Astroguyz are going to show you how to go after that most elusive of beasts; a quasar. Even seasoned amateurs do not always realize that some of the brighter denizens of this elusive class of beasts are bag-able with a telescope of moderate-sized [...]

10.04.10- Radio Astronomers Refine Celestial Grid.

 The VLBA family of radio telescopes!
   Getting a good fix on positions both on the Earth and in the sky is tougher than it may sound. Tectonic plates move. The Moon raises tides under our feet. The whole planet orbits our Sun, which is itself flying about the galaxy and getting jostled by other stars, [...]

18.03.10: ALMA in Action.

 
  
    A unique trio of antennae has been successfully installed in the high Chilean desert. ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, is a series of 12-meter diameter antennae that will scan the sky between the infrared and radio wavelengths. This area of the spectrum is strongly absorbed by atmospheric water vapor, hence the high and dry [...]

21.01.10-Joint U.S.-Mexico Telescope to Survey the Infrared Sky.

Construction has begun on a telescope that will scan a little understood part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Last summer, optical engineers at the University of Arizona in Tucson began the casting process for the 6.5 meter mirror that will ultimately be part of the San Pedro Martir Telescope  in the Mexican observatory complex of the same [...]