New Research Shows Quasars Can Be Buried in Their Host Galaxies

An illustration of an AGN. Credit: ESA / V. Beckmann (NASA-GSFC).
An illustration of an AGN. Credit: ESA / V. Beckmann (NASA-GSFC).

New research led by Carolina Andonie at Durham University has demonstrated that many quasars at z = 1 – 3 may be very heavily obscured by dust and gas associated with starbursts within their host galaxies. This challenges the commonly-accepted viewpoint that quasars are primarily obscured by the optically-thick rings of dust commonly associated with the central AGN structure and thus forces a re-evaluation of understanding the relation of quasars to their host galaxies.

More information is available in the press release from Durham University. The publication based on this research has been accepted to MNRAS and is currently available on arXiv.

 

Release of Science Verification Data for W51 in Band 1

The Science Verification Band 1 data for the star forming region W51 acquired in Cycle 9 are now available. These data include several spectral lines, including CS, SiO, CH3OH, and SO2, as well as continuum emission.

Additional information about the observations as well as download links can be accessed from this overview page within the Science Portal. Note that the UK ARC Node is available to help anyone with understanding the calibration and imaging of these data.

 

Release of Solar Full Polarization ALMA Test Data

ALMA has also released data from tests of the telescope’s capabilities for solar full-polarization observations. These observations were performed in Band 3 (100 GHz) in October 2022, and the target of these observations was an active region with the NOAA number 13119 containing one larger following spot with several smaller proceeding spots.

More information is available from the overview page within the Science Portal. The staff at the UK ARC Node are available to assist any users with understanding how to calibrate and image these data.

 

UK Millimetre/Submillimetre Astronomy Community Consultation

The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) UK Millimetre/Submillimetre Astronomy Roadmap Working Group is conducting a survey to get more information about how the UK research community is using the UK’s millimetre and submillimetre observing facilities and what researchers will need in the future to extend this research. The results from this survey will be used to guide the development of a UK Millimetre/Submillimetre Astronomy Roadmap.

The survey can be accessed from this link. Completion of the survey should take only 10 minutes. The survey will close on 30 November 2023.

 

Social Media Poll

The UK ARC Node is looking for additional ways to communicate with the professional astronomical community. We have therefore launched a poll asking about people’s use of social media to get information related to professional astronomy.

The poll is accessible through this link. We will collect responses until 30 November.