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 Gemini Views Deep Into Our Galactic Core (October 16, 2000, Victoria, B.C.) -- Highlights of the first scientific observations from the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii, of which Canada is a partner, have just been released. They show evidence, for the first time, that a fast-moving star, previously identified as an infra-red source, is plowing through a gas and dust cloud near the black hole at the Galactic center. An international team of scientists has used the 8-m Gemini North telescope to produce a dramatic view of the core of the Milky Way Galaxy, about 24,000 light year distant. This ultrasharp image is the result of a technology called 'adaptive optics' that corrects the blurring in starlight caused by turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere. "This first scientific data from Gemini shows the power of the advanced technologies used in the Gemini telescopes" said Canadian Project Manager Dr. Dennis Crabtree of the NRC. "NRC's Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics near Victoria, British Columbia, is building the next generation adaptive optics instrument for the Gemini North telescope that will enable the telescope to produce even better images. " (Details on adaptive optics, including an animation, can be found at: http://gemini.hia.nrc.ca/brochure/adaptive2.html. "It was quite a thrill to be one of the first astronomers to use the Gemini telescope, and record these amazing images of the Galactic center " said NRC astronomer Dr.Tim Davidge who is a member of the scientific team. "There has been a long-standing interest among astronomers about this particular region of the Galaxy, and the super massive black hole that lurks at the very center, and these data promise to provide much needed information for unlocking the mysteries of the Galactic Core." Dr. Harvey Richer from the University of British Columbia, the Canadian Gemini Scientist, commented that "one of the stars in the image appears to have generated a supersonic shock wave and is also located near the large black hole at the centre of the galaxy. This discovery should allow astronomers to estimate the velocity of the star. This could be a probe of the physics close to a black hole that is a million times the mass of the Sun." More information is available in the Gemini press release. For high resolution images, see: http://www.gemini.edu/galactic.html NRC Involvement in Astrophysical Science.NRC has the mandate to operate and administer astronomical observatories established by the Government of Canada. NRC exercises this mandate through its Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics [HIA], which provides astronomical facilities, research and infrastructure to university scientists and their students. HIA has fostered many international partnerships and is renowned worldwide for its development of leading-edge instruments and software. For more information on Canada's involvement with Gemini, please contact:
Dr. Tim Davidge, Canadian Gemini Astronomer,
Dr. Dennis Crabtree, Canadian Gemini Manager,
Dr. Harvey Richer, Canadian Gemini Scientist, |
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