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Newswise — It’s been a 12 months of adaptation for everybody. The pandemic has upended lots of the methods we operate as a company, from the simple communication gleaned from casual workplace chats to how our crews may implement a configuration change moving many of the Very Large Array’s 230-ton antennas (many, many worker security protocols). There have been unanticipated occasions that needed to be addressed on the fly: ALMA Observatory needed to shut down its 66-antenna array in March. There have been the very a lot anticipated celebrations — the Very Giant Array turned 40 on October 10! Celebration of this superb milestone (the VLA is without doubt one of the most efficient ground-based telescopes ever) was reconfigured by our STEAM Training crew from an in-person celebration into an all-day (eight-hour) digital tour.
But, science nonetheless prevailed! The VLA and the Very Lengthy Baseline Array stored observing, whereas ALMA’s treasure trove of archival information remained out there to anybody, and will nonetheless be utilized for science. (ALMA, by the way in which, is getting ready a plan to restart operations in March of 2021).
This transition has had constructive outcomes: we discovered new avenues of broadcasting science and astronomy that attain extra folks — we are actually making Contact! Our Training and Public Outreach workers proceed to search out completely different and higher methods to speak with our viewers and to facilitate discussions about science and know-how.
To acknowledge this wonky 12 months, we created a recap of a number of the scientific outcomes that have been fashionable with the general public. To do that, we collaborated with Phil Plait (aka the Bad Astronomer), for the second 12 months in a row, to develop a sequence of astronomy movies to focus on six thrilling astronomical breakthroughs. Phil earned his Ph.D on the College of Virginia, proper down the road from NRAO’s Charlottesville headquarters, and has been writing about science and astronomy for greater than twenty years. EPO gave him a problem: to jot down super-condensed variations of six science outcomes, and he fortunately took it on!
Every single day by January 1, a video will likely be launched on our social media platforms with further commentary and enjoyable info. Take a look at our astronomy highlights of 2020 and tell us what you suppose. Get pleasure from!
Here are the highlights, with hyperlinks to the brand new movies and the unique press releases saying these discoveries.
Measuring the Wind Velocity of a Brown Dwarf a Quadrillion Miles Away
Nomadic Black Holes Wander Galaxies
A Triple Star System with Misaligned Protoplanetary Disks
Saturn-Sized Exoplanet Found by the Gravitational “Wobble” within the Small, Cool Star It Orbits
ALMA Exhibits Volcanic Influence on the Environment of Jupiter’s moon Io
Supergiant Environment of Antares Revealed by Radio Telescopes
The Nationwide Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the Nationwide Science Basis, operated below cooperative settlement by Related Universities, Inc.
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