| Telephone:
+34 922 425400
Fax: +34 922 425401 Web: http://www.ing.iac.es/ |
 |
Apartado de
Correos, 321
38700 Santa Cruz de La Palma Canary Islands; SPAIN |
| Telephone:
+34 922 425400
Fax: +34 922 425401 Web: http://www.ing.iac.es/ |
|
Apartado de
Correos, 321
38700 Santa Cruz de La Palma Canary Islands; SPAIN |
|
The Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes is an establishment of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council of the United Kingdom and the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek of the Netherlands. |
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| Press Release ING
1/2001
Date: Friday 4 May 2001 Embargo: For immediate release Other available formats: PDF | Text THE ISAAC NEWTON GROUP OF TELESCOPES HOSTS AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ACTIVE GALAXIES
Astronomers from all over the world will be meeting on La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain from 7 to 11 May to attend an international conference on the central kiloparsecs of nearby active galaxies. This conference will review recent progress and discuss the future strategies on this very active research field. The title of the conference is: "The central kiloparsec of starbursts and active galactic nuclei: The La Palma connection". A press conference will take place at Hotel Hacienda San Jorge, Los Cancajos on 8 May at 12:00am. Recent advances in high-resolution
observations, theory and modeling have focused our attention on the central
kiloparsec regions of nearby disk galaxies, which often show profound starburst
and highly energetic phenomena, accompanied by intricate gas and dust morphologies
and kinematics. The origin and evolution of the phenomena occurring in the
cores of these galaxies is currently under intense study. New information has
come available from telescopes in space and from the ground. This has
fueled new ways of thinking on how the observed phenomena are linked to
the intense formation of stars and to the evolution of these enigmatic
galaxies.
The 4.2 metre William Herschel Telescope plays a significant role in this
research field. Its instruments facilitate the study of galaxies at
optical and infra-red wavelenghts. The quality of the La Palma skies
allow astronomers to study the centres of these galaxies in the finest
detail. In order to improve the capability of the telescope for these
studies, the Isaac Newton Group is developing an advanced adaptive
optics system, which in the future will allow scientist to study distant
galaxies with a clarity that could otherwise only be achieved by
space observatories.
The conference, which is the first scientific
conference organised by the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes, is
co-sponsored by the Excmo. Cabildo Insular de La Palma (local government)
and the Patronato de Turismo de La Palma (local tourist board).
The Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes
(ING) is an establishment of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research
Council (PPARC) of the United Kingdom and the Nederlandse Organisatie voor
Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO) of the Netherlands. The ING operates the
4.2 metre William Herschel Telescope, the 2.5 metre Isaac Newton Telescope,
and the 1.0 metre Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope. The telescopes are located
in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos on La Palma which
is operated by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC).
PICTURES
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Dr. Johan Knapen
Mr. Javier Méndez
More information on the conference:
http://www.ing.iac.es/conferences/centralkpc/
More information on the Isaac Newton Group
of Telescopes:
http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/
GLOSSARY
Kiloparsec. A parsec is a unit of
distance commonly used by astronomers. It is the distance at which a star
would have an annual parallax of exactly one second of arc; from this distance,
the Earth's orbit would have an apparent radius of one second of arc. One
parsec is equivalent to 3.26 light-years (3.09×1013 km)
or 206,265 astronomical units. A kiloparsec is 1,000 times a parsec.
Starburst galaxy.
A starburst galaxy is one undergoing a brief episode of intense star formation,
usually in its central region. The massive stars in the burst generate
most of the total luminosity of the entire galaxy. Starburst galaxies are
fascinating objects in their own right and are the sites where roughly
25% of all the massive stars in the local universe are being formed. They
offer unique laboratories for the study of the formation and evolution
of massive stars, the effects of massive stars on the interstellar medium
and the physical processes that were important
in building galaxies and chemically enriching the intergalactic medium.
Active galactic nucleus. The central
region of an active galaxy within which exceptionally large amounts of
energy are being generated. An active galactic nucleus (AGN) emits strongly
over a wide range of wavelengths, from x-ray to radio, the most powerful
examples radiating a thousand times as much energy as the galaxies within
which they are embedded. The spectrum of the radiation emitted by an AGN
is markedly different from that of an ordinary galaxy (which shines with
the combined light of its constituent stars and nebulae) and implies that
some mechanism other than stellar radiation is needed to explain its copious
output of energy. Many AGNs appear to be ejecting jets of highly energetic
particles. In some cases one jet is seen, in others two oppositely directed
jets are visible. |
