Welcome to the Pulsar Search Collaboratory (PSC)

1
Welcome to the Pulsar Search Collaboratory (PSC)
West!

• NRAO
• University Wisconsin Milwaukee
• West Virginia University
• Yerkes Observatory
• University of Chicago

2
Lets introduce ourselves to each other. . .

• (checks lab)

3
Pretests/Post-tests

• The grant needs to have data!
• Mosart Astro test was taken before arriving (If
  not, please take it now!)
• 7 multiple choice questions on pulsars
• Take now
• Take at end of todays session
• There will also be the always needed evaluations

4
Intro to project . . .

• Lets start!

5
Citizen Scientists

• So much of scientific research today relies on
  the analysis of incredible amounts of data.
• Scientists cannot possibly look at it all
• Computers do most, but human element is an
  essential ingredient, as it always will be
• We already see some citizen scientists at work
• Galaxy Zoo
• Einstein at Home
• Other Zoo type things

6

• Educational outreach is important to scientists,
  and NSF is willing to bridge the gap!
• Involving high school, and even middle school
  students is highly desirable
• Can undo stereotypes
• Can ignite the interest in science
• Can make science accessible to underserved
  students (and to under achievers)
• Involving science teachers is also a plus!
• An opportunity is also available at UWM

7
Astronomy!

• It can really grab the interest of kids,
• They like to ask the big questions
• Whats out there?
• How do we know?
• Are there Aliens?
• Here is a way you can involve a student of any
  ability.

8
This opportunity . . .

• National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green
  Bank, West Virginia (NRAO)
• University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (UWM)
• West Virginia University (Morgantown)

NRAO, WVU, Funded by the NSF
ARCC_at_UWM
9
Some of the people involved . .
Sue Ann Heatherly Education Director, NRAO
Rachel Rosen Astronomer, Program Director of PSC
Maura McLaughlin, Astronomer, WVU
Duncan Lorimer Astronomer, WVU
10
From UWM
Xavier Siemens , Physicist, UWM Larry Price,
postdoc, UWM
Jean Creighton, Planetarium Director
Dawn Erb, Astronomer, UWM
David Kaplan, Astronomer, UWM
11
(Sherry and my involvement more pictures?)
12
The group of teachers Sherry and I worked with
summer 2009
13
Students at last Mays Capstone at WVU
14
For this project . .

• Data is collected by Radio telescopes
• The data is screened by a computer to a certain
  point
• Then a human must look at it to see if it is
  worth a follow up
• This is where students come in!

15
(No Transcript)
16
A light wave is a light wave, no matter how
long...
17
Electromagnetic radiation

• A traveling, massless packet of energy --OR an
  oscillating electric and magnetic field
• Also known as radiation, light wave, photon

Travels at the speed of light (by definition).
Remarkably, all radiation travels at this
speed, regardless of whether is carries a lot of
energy or only a little
Animation from Nick Strobels Astronomy Notes
(www.astronomynotes.com)
18
All EM waves follow the equation

• Lets try a problem
• What do the above variables stand for?
• (one or two problems will be added simple,

19
What is the difference between radio waves and
sound waves?

• This is a confusing point to a lot of students
  and non-science people

20
Radio Waves are NOT sound!
21
The spectrum allows us to see the sky
differently!
22
The Visible Sky, Sagittarius Region
23
The Radio Sky
24
Activity Time!

• Detecting Invisible Waves

25

• Lets look at radio telescopes . . .

26
Radio waves can be detected night or day

• They also can travel through dust and gas
• So we can see further into our galaxy with radio
  waves than with light waves.

27

• Optical and Radio can be done from the ground!

28
Radio Telescope
Optical Telescope
Nowadays, there are more similarities between
optical and radio telescopes than ever before.
29
(No Transcript)
30
(No Transcript)
31
(No Transcript)
32

• Itty Bitty telescope
• Radio Jove
• Lets go outside . . . .

33
Radio Astronomy is a relatively young science
34
Pioneer of Radio Astronomy Karl Jansky
1928 Karl Jansky, working for Bell Laboratories
discovers radio waves coming from space.
35
Pioneer of Radio Astronomy Grote Reber
First Surveys of the Radio Sky
Chart recordings from Reber's telescope made in
1943.
36
0
In 1967, Cambridge graduate student Jocelyn Bell
was using a radio array to study interplanetary
scintillation SURPRISE!
37
0
38
How Radio Waves are produced

• Accelerating charged particles emit radio waves.
• One Way high speed electrons and magnetic fields

39
Electrons accelerate around magnetic field lines
40
(No Transcript)
41
(No Transcript)
42
(No Transcript)
43
(No Transcript)
44
(No Transcript)
45
(No Transcript)
46

• What were looking for!
• pulsars spinning, neutron stars

47

• Pulsars signals are used to find gravitational
  waves.
• Pulsars are used to study interstellar space.
• Pulsars are inherently interesting in themselves!

48
A pulsar is the collapsed core of a massive star

• It is like taking the mass of the sun and making
  it into a ball the size of Milwaukee.
• It spins very fast, like an ice skater who has
  brought their arms in.

49
Pulsars are neutron stars
Pressure becomes so high that electrons and
protons combine to form stable neutrons
throughout the object.
Typical size R 10 km
Mass M 1.4 3 Msun
50
0
What kinds of properties might we expect?
51
Angular momentum conservation
gt Collapsing stellar core spins up to periods of
a few milliseconds.
Magnetic fields are amplified up to B 109
1015 G.
(up to 1012 times the average magnetic field of
the Sun)
52
Pulsar Properties

• Extremely dense - 100,000,000,000,000,000 kg m-3

53
Pulsar Properties

• Extremely dense - 100,000,000,000,000,000 kg m-3
• Very rapid rotation - up to 700 Hz

54
Pulsar Properties

• Extremely dense - 100,000,000,000,000,000 kg m-3
• Very rapid rotation - up to 700 Hz
• Ultrahigh magnetic fields - 1,000,000,000,000
  times Earths

55
Pulsar Properties

• Extremely dense - 100,000,000,000,000,000 kg m-3
• Very rapid rotation - up to 700 Hz
• Ultrahigh magnetic fields - 1,000,000,000,000
  times Earths
• High space velocities - up to 1,000 km/s

sprinter - 10 m/s f1 car - 100 m/s normal stars -
10 km/s
56
Why do they pulse?

• Pulsars sweep their beam of radio
  (electromagnetic) waves across the face of the
  earth at a very periodic rate.

rotation axis
beam of radio waves
magnetic field
57
What do the telescopes see?
58
Back to the telescopes
59
Process . . .

• A computer program analyzes the data for possible
  candidates
• A viewer page is produced
• Ratings are made and submitted
• Potential pulsars are followed up with additional
  observations
• This is what we will learn next time!

60

• The basic question
• Is it a Pulsar?
• Or is it Radio Frequency Interference (RFI)?

61
Lets visit the GBT control room . .