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ASTRONOMERS FROM AN Irish university have made an important breakthrough in the understanding of how pulsars work.
The team, from NUI Galway’s Centre for Astronomy, was led by NUIG’s Dr Andy Shearer and has published its findings in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
The work was undertaken over 10 years.
A pulsar is a rapidly rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation. And this radiation can only be seen when the beam of the emission is pointing towards the Earth.
But despite over 40 years of observation and theory, the team says that pulsars “have defied an explanation of how they work”.
Its members explain that although pulsars are about one and a half times the mass of the sun, “they are so small they could fit into Galway Bay”. This means that they represent extreme matter.
Pulsars are formed during a massive explosion at the end of a star’s life known as a Type II supernova. During a supernova, the light from a single star outshines its host galaxy which contains up to a hundred billion stars.
Using its inverse mapping or reverse engineering approach, and comparing optical observations with a detailed model of the structure of the pulsar, the team was able to establish for the first time that most of the light from the pulsar comes from close to the star’s surface.
Dr Shearer explained:
We were trying to understand the observations we had made and each time people compared this way to theories. But then we thought, we can do this slightly differently – we can make an assumption where the observation will then lead to theory.
He said the results “exceeded our expectations” and that the light from the pulsar came from exactly the region they expected it to. Now, he said, “we want to see how the community responds.”
This is contrary to most pulsar models and points to a new way of analysing observational data from pulsars.
Dr Shearer said:
This is the culmination of 10 years’ work. Our success is based upon having some talented post-graduate students and post-doctoral researchers combined with looking at the problem in a different way. The result shows the importance of our approach of combining numerical models run on large supercomputers with detailed observations.
To follow these calculations we will use the SFI funded Galway Astronomical Stokes Polarimeter (GASP) to finally establish the conditions around a pulsar and solve a forty year old problem – how do pulsars work?
And in another development, NUI Galway astronomers, working with colleagues in Italy, the UK and US, have discovered an X-ray bright tail coming from a pulsar.
The discovery was made after they combined optical observations taken with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope and NASA’s Chandra X-Ray observatory. The pulsar, known as PSR J0357, is about half a million years old and is located 1,600 light years from Earth with a tail of over four light years across.
These findings have been recently published in The Astrophysical Journal.
The work at NUI Galway involved observations of the Crab pulsar, which is a result of a supernova explosion that occurred in April 1054.
One of the few reports of this supernova from Europe came from Irish monks, and it was recorded in the Irish Annals.
The Crab Nebula was named by Count William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, in 1850 when he observed it from Birr.
And in a further twist, if you look at this pulsar in a certain way, it looks like a map of Ireland.
The next stage is to look at the remaining optical pulsars and gamma ray pulsars and see whether the same approach could be be used to explain where the gamma rays come from in pulsars.
“Once we’ve done that, if we’ve eliminated all but one of the theories then effectively we can say we understand the way in which pulsars work,” said Dr Shearer.
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Said it yesterday that it wouldn’t be long before she issued an apology. I wonder is she truly sorry or is she just apologising because of the backlash? My money is firmly on the latter.
@Rachel O’ Meara: probably but sure you can’t be expected to have an opinion these days without someone telling you it’s wrong and ruining your career
@David Daly: She’s a celebrity and was happy to make her fortune and fame from her positive contributions to society, she can be equally accepting of her ruin and infamy for harmful, toxic actions.
@David Daly: There’s having an opinion and then there’s what she said, not so much of an opinion but the ramblings of a deranged and sick mind. She single handedly united people of all political sides, cultures and beliefs in repulsion of what she said. That takes some doing but she managed it. I have yet to see one person defend her remarks.
@Rachel O’ Meara: yeah nobody is saying she is right. It’s just her opinion, totally wrong but sure let her on and ignore it. Why do people have to get so offended over it?
@David Daly: she said his sexual desires were his his sexual desires…. Like paedophilia isn’t wrong in every way…. How can that not be offensive????
@David Daly: she said she believed the victims but rationalized Jackson’s actions by talking about his “needs” as if that should evoke sympathy. If you now want to jump on the fact that she’s walking back that weirdness so you can have a moan about “political correctness” then you’re an eejit
@David Daly: so Streisand walks back incredibly weird defenses of Jackson while saying she believes his accusers – and you want to use it to moan about political correctness? Or what is your point? Are you sorry she apologized?
@As the fella says: let me make this clear in case your still struggling. I do not agree with her and what she said was completely wrong and also odd. I’m not Letting it ruin my day however as some people tend to do. A lot of folks get a little bit too excited about what people say and call for their heads. Can they not just let it go instead of having to look for some sort of action to be taken? Yes she’s wrong, yes she’s strange to say that but at the end of the day who is really going to care by next week?
@Rachel O’ Meara: agreed it is more serious than the usual nonsense they spout but at the same time nothing illegal has been said or done. It’s just a has been oul one not being able to use her filter.
@David Daly: she was basically condining or justifying the actions of a peodophile. Her career is based on her public persona and she is rightly being judged on the things she said.
Im sure if i went on national newspapers condining sick acts such as jacksons my employer would have something to say about it.
Of course she has to clarify/take accountability for what she said.
@David Daly: Hhhmmn seems my third comment was removed, not sure why…wierd.
@Rachel O’ Meara: *weird*
@David Daly: In this case she was totally wrong!! You cannot say what she did and not expect a backlash.
@David Daly: this is so true. The PC police are watching every word. 1984 arrived long ago. George Orwell was right.
@David Daly: bravo. If we ignored such people and got on with life their opinions would just die . The public outcry will only send paedophiles underground.
The worst part was when she justified his alleged actions by saying his “sexual needs were his sexual needs”
@MaeVic: That justification of MJ’s actions were the worst thing that she said in that whole interview. Forget who she was talking about for a moment – she, in her warped mind, attempted to justify why a child sex abuser abuses children.
Babs has been twittered into submission.
Delaney Out!
Remember her disastrous concert in 2007? People were fighting over seats. All over Liveline for days. MCD couldn’t really explain what happened. However one caller who had worked at the venue said traffic delays on the one access road meant huge areas of empty seats at start time so apparently (so this women undestood) loads of people were moved into the expensive front area so Barbara wouldn’t be faced with all the empty seats. (Apparently she’s a bit of a diva, allegedly hotel staff are told not to make eye contact with her). When the rightful ticket holders arrived during the gig chaos ensued. Anyway MCD said they would get a retired Garda Commissioner to do a report.
@Squiddley Diddley: I remember reading it months later. It said seats were rearranged for speakers or lighting towers at the last minute and some seats were supposed to be re-numbered “but for some reason that didn’t happen”. No mention was made of the very plausible allegation on Liveline. I was not that surprised.
Off topic I know, but may interest some Streisand fans.
@Squiddley Diddley: what is the point of that rambling report on an insignificant concert from over 10 years ago.
@roderick: Reminiscing for those Streisand fans who were there(she is the subject of the article, after all). It was quite a story at the time. Plenty others seemed to enjoy the comment. Don’t worry I didn’t fill up the internet.
You maintaining his innocence would sent shivers down the spine more than her words.
Take your blinkers off. Robson idolized his abuser that’s why he copied his pose. You’d understand that if you actually watched the documentary. MJ made out of court settlements with accusers to escape justice. Incidentally, Jimmy Saville wasn’t convicted either. Guess he must have been innocent too.
You’re an ass hat if you belive mj wasn’t a fiddler.
@Nial D: proof please,
“Their truth”
I’d say in 60 years time people will look back at us and say what vindictive spiteful gleefully judgemetnal the people in 2019 were. What animals. You know the same way we judge others .
@Dublin Northsider: They’ll look at people like you and wonder why their focus was on dismissing criticism towards child abuse enablers rather than on the victims of horrendous acts.
Friend of mj says she has some compassion. Internet goes into f ing meltdown and demands she be strung up from the nearest lamppost.
@Dublin Northsider: I’m sure if her words were just ‘”I have some compassion for MJ” the reaction would have been slightly different.
@Dublin Northsider: Yeah, that’s not what happened. People who think what she said was no big deal should never be left alone with children. Creeps.
@SidNolan: I’m fine with what she said.
@Dublin Northsider: “You can say ‘molested,’ but those children, as you heard them say [the grown-up Robson and Safechuk], they were thrilled to be there. They both married and they both have children, so it didn’t kill them.” Creepy attitude to child abuse.
@Squiddley Diddley: did I miss the announcement when courts and juries and stuff were replaced with two part documentaries?
Well you missed the point.
@Squiddley Diddley: not really. You took a single quote out of the context in which it was written and held it up to judge me and me comments to it. I chose not to respond to a paragraph taken out of context and instead made the point that there had been a documentary. You missed the point.
@Dublin Northsider: You said you’re fine with what she said. That’s deeply troubling.
@Dublin Northsider: found the pedo!
Comments taken down again, why no comment on the allegations made by bishop Casey’s niece about him sexually abusing and raping her since the age of 5……
@Michael Byrne: see how long it stays up this time….
@Michael Byrne: It’s everywhere else now.
Interesting that the Redress Board was allegedly used to compensate another victim. From the Mail “This is the first time it has ever become public knowledge that Bishop Casey is among those named to the redress board. The Government is now proposing to seal those documents on alleged child abuse in religious institutions for a period of 75 years.
This controversial move by the State, under the Retention of Records Bill, is due to come before the Dail this week.”
Was a comment by Babs that is typical of those who after illustrious careers and the idolizations that comes with it feel that they can make these remarks about mere ” minions “and not be challenged about them .
Social media has turned into mcarthysim. Have you now or have you ever defended someone who has defended someone about whom a two part documentary was made? What ? I’m horrified. Throw my hands up in the air. The horror. Lol
Damage limitation
“The Streisand Effect”!
She never learns.
Technically she’s right they aren’t dead
Sorry depends on the public outcry after saying it???
Another prime example of a celebrity running their mouth of to protect their own
What’s the big deal …. the world is f#cked anyway ….
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