Astronomy Days concludes tonight
"Gas in the Milky Way galaxy caused the light from stars in the galactic center to be hidden from the normal eye, which means viewing the center of the galaxy is impossible without using different frequencies,” Laboratory scientist Robert Coker said at a talk Wednesday at the Bradbury Science Museum.
“The gas does not absorb radio waves, so the Black Hole at the center of the Galaxy is seen to be very bright in the radio part of the spectrum,” he said.
Coker of Predictive Capability (X-2-PC) began his Astronomy Day lecture to a packed auditorium by explaining that astronomers must understand what is occurring on the smallest scale before attempting to understand the universe on a large scale.
The Black Hole, referred to as Sgr A* pronounced Saj Ay Star, is viewed through the Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way galaxy. Sgr A* is one of the brightest radio sources in the sky. There is a cluster of stars near the Black Hole and in the last fifteen years, these stars’ movements have been tracked. “What’s so exciting about studying Sgr A* is that we are very close to having a test of general relativity since one of the stars is close to completing an orbit,” expressed Coker.
Coker said that the Black Hole of the Milky Way galaxy is understood as being unique and different compared to other Black Holes in other galaxies. For example, astronomers have been unable to detect a large Accretion Disk, the area around the Black Hole that contains matter from the nearby stars. One hypothesis Coker presented for why the Black Hole is different and a runt compared to others is because the Black Hole has been “underfed,” meaning that the Black Hole is not consuming the same amount of energy as the others. “In the next decade or so, many questions about the Black Hole will hopefully be answered,” said Coker.
Joe Lohman, an Earthwatch Student from Indianapolis, Ind., said that he found Coker’s lecture to be very interesting and informative. “I’ve really enjoyed the whole Earthwatch program because astronomy is a big interest for me. I want to know how it all works,” said Lohman. Next year, Lohman hopes to study astronomy at the Laboratory.
The Astronomy Days lectures end today when Earthwatch students make their own presentations about their two-week experiences at the Lab. The talk begins at 6:30 p.m., and is free and open to the public.
The museum is part of the Los Alamos’ Community Programs (CPO) Office.
