Distant Planetary System is a Super-sized Solar System

14 March 2013 – A team of astronomers, including Quinn Konopacky of the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, has made the most detailed examination yet of the atmosphere of a Jupiter-like planet beyond our Solar System.

According to Konopacky, “We have been able to observe this planet in unprecedented detail because of the advanced instrumentation we are using on the Keck II telescope, our ground-breaking observing and data-processing techniques, and because of the nature of the planetary system.”

Konopacky is lead author of the paper describing the team’s findings, to be published March 14th in Science Express, and March 22nd in the journal Science.

The team, using a high-resolution imaging spectrograph called OSIRIS, uncovered the chemical fingerprints of specific molecules, revealing a cloudy atmosphere containing carbon monoxide and water vapour. “With this level of detail,” says Travis Barman, a Lowell Observatory astronomer and co-author of the paper, “we can compare the amount of carbon to the amount of oxygen present in the planet’s atmosphere, and this chemical mix provides clues as to how the entire planetary system formed.”

To read or download the complete release (PDF).

Around the Milky Way Galaxy in 11.5 Years

4 October 2012 – An international team of astronomers, including the Dunlap Institute’s Tuan Do, has discovered a star that orbits the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy in record time. Referred to as S0-102, the star circuits our galaxy’s centre in 11.5 years, or less time than Jupiter takes to orbit the Sun. According to Do, “Because of its proximity to the giant black hole, S0-102 gives us an excellent opportunity to test Einstein’s General Relativity.”

Do is part of the UCLA Galactic Center Group, led by Prof. Andrea Ghez. The team’s findings were published in the journal Science on October 5th and are the latest results from the group’s 17-year effort. It was by studying the stars in the Milky Way Galaxy’s core that Ghez and her team previously discovered the supermassive black hole. Known as Sgr A* (Sagittarius A-star), the prodigious object contains the mass of four million stars equal in mass to our Sun. “Having proved that black holes exist,” says Ghez, “our research today aims to understand their nature and how they warp space and time.”

To read or download the complete release (PDF).

A Grand-Design Spiral Galaxy Before Its Time

18 JULY 2012 – A team led by an astronomer at the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, has discovered a spiral galaxy that appears to have formed a billion years before other spirals. The galaxy is 10.5 billion light-years from Earth, putting it at a time when the Universe was only three billion years old and spirals were extremely rare. According to Dunlap Institute postdoctoral fellow and Principal Investigator David Law, “Seeing this galaxy amongst the irregular, young galaxies of that epoch is like seeing a fully-formed adult in a room of grade-school children.”

Law says, “The fact that this galaxy exists is astounding. Current wisdom holds that such grand-design spiral galaxies simply didn’t exist at such an early time in the history of the Universe.” Most galaxies in the three billion year old Universe are clumpy and irregularly-shaped; they haven’t formed the well-defined spiral arms we see in galaxies like the iconic M51 Whirlpool Galaxy.

To read or download the complete release (PDF).

Cheer on the June 5, 2012, Transit of Venus at U of T’s Varsity Centre

9 May 2012 – On June 5th, 2012, the world will be watching as the planet Venus passes in front of the Sun. This phenomenon, called a transit of Venus, has not happened since 2004 and will not happen again until 2117. For virtually every human alive today, June 5th will be the last chance to see this fascinating celestial event. And in Toronto, the place to watch the transit will be the University of Toronto’s Varsity Centre.

A special transit-viewing event at Varsity Centre will provide visitors with every possible way of viewing and learning about this spectacle. The transit begins at 6:04pm and continues to sunset, and the stadium grandstand will afford a perfect view. Visitors can watch using free transit-viewing glasses and through a variety of solar telescopes that will be set up on site—including a 200-year-old instrument from the U of T’s Scientific Instruments Collection. Live video feeds will show the transit from locations around the world.

To read or download the complete release (PDF).

University of Toronto Transit of Venus Symposium, April 28th 2012

April 16, 2012 – On June 5th, 2012, the planet Venus will pass in front of the Sun as seen from Earth in what for many will be a once-in-a-lifetime event: a transit of Venus. The transit will be visible across Canada and in other parts of the world, and is already garnering global attention. In anticipation of the historic event, the University of Toronto is presenting a Transit of Venus symposium on April 28th 2012.

Symposium guests will present talks on a wide variety of transit-related topics of interest to scientific and academic communities, educators, and journalists planning on covering the June 5th spectacle. Topics include: the centuries-long history of transits and the expeditions to observe them; how to view the transit safely; incorporating the transit into school math and science curricula; and the connection between the transit of Venus and the search for planets around distant stars.

To read or download the complete release (PDF).