X-ray Echoes of a Shredded Star Provide Close-up of 'Killer' Black Hole

ESA - XMM-Newton Mission patch / NASA - Swift Mission patch.

June 22, 2016

Some 3.9 billion years ago in the heart of a distant galaxy, the intense tidal pull of a monster black hole shredded a star that passed too close. When X-rays produced in this event first reached Earth on March 28, 2011, they were detected by NASA's Swift satellite, which notified astronomers around the world. Within days, scientists concluded that the outburst, now known as Swift J1644+57, represented both the tidal disruption of a star and the sudden flare-up of a previously inactive black hole.

X-ray Echoes Map a Black Hole's Disk

Video above: NASA Goddard astronomer Erin Kara discusses the discovery of X-ray echoes from Swift J1644+57, a black hole that shattered a passing star. X-rays produced by flares near this million-solar-mass black hole bounced off the nascent accretion disk and revealed its structure. Video Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Now astronomers using archival observations from Swift, the European Space Agency's (ESA) XMM-Newton observatory and the Japan-led Suzaku satellite have identified the reflections of X-ray flares erupting during the event. Led by Erin Kara, a postdoctoral researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), the team has used these light echoes, or reverberations, to map the flow of gas near a newly awakened black hole for the first time.

"While we don't yet understand what causes X-ray flares near the black hole, we know that when one occurs we can detect its echo a couple of minutes later, once the light  has reached and illuminated parts of the flow," Kara explained. "This technique, called X-ray reverberation mapping, has been previously used to explore stable disks around black holes, but this is the first time we've applied it to a newly formed disk produced by a tidal disruption."

Image above: In this artist's rendering, a thick accretion disk has formed around a supermassive black hole following the tidal disruption of a star that wandered too close. Stellar debris has fallen toward the black hole and collected into a thick chaotic disk of hot gas. Flashes of X-ray light near the center of the disk result in light echoes that allow astronomers to map the structure of the funnel-like flow, revealing for the first time strong gravity effects around a normally quiescent black hole. Image Credits: NASA/Swift/Aurore Simonnet, Sonoma State University.

Stellar debris falling toward a black hole collects into a rotating structure called an accretion disk. There the gas is compressed and heated to millions of degrees before it eventually spills over the black hole's event horizon, the point beyond which nothing can escape and astronomers cannot observe. The Swift J1644+57 accretion disk was thicker, more turbulent and more chaotic than stable disks, which have had time to settle down into an orderly routine. The researchers present the findings in a paper published online in the journal Nature on Wed., June 22.

One surprise from the study is that high-energy X-rays arise from the inner part of the disk. Astronomers had thought most of this emission originated from a narrow jet of particles accelerated to near the speed of light. In blazars, the most luminous galaxy class powered by supermassive black holes, jets produce most of the highest-energy emission.

"We do see a jet from Swift J1644, but the X-rays are coming from a compact region near the black hole at the base of a steep funnel of inflowing gas we're looking down into," said co-author Lixin Dai, a postdoctoral researcher at UMCP. "The gas producing the echoes is itself flowing outward along the surface of the funnel at speeds up to half the speed of light."

X-rays originating near the black hole excite iron ions in the whirling gas, causing them to fluoresce with a distinctive high-energy glow called iron K-line emission. As an X-ray flare brightens and fades, the gas follows in turn after a brief delay depending on its distance from the source.  

"Direct light from the flare has different properties than its echo, and we can detect reverberations by monitoring how the brightness changes across different X-ray energies," said co-author Jon Miller, a professor of astronomy at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Swift J1644+57 is one of only three tidal disruptions that have produced high-energy X-rays, and to date it remains the only event caught at the peak of this emission. These star shredding episodes briefly activate black holes astronomers wouldn't otherwise know about. For every black hole now actively accreting gas and producing light, astronomers think nine others are dormant and dark. These quiescent black holes were active when the universe was younger, and they played an important role in how galaxies evolved. Tidal disruptions therefore offer a glimpse of the silent majority of supersized black holes.

Image above: Images from Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical (white, purple) and X-Ray telescopes (yellow and red) were combined in this composite of Swift J1644+57, an X-ray outburst astronomers classify as a tidal disruption event. The event is seen only in the X-ray image, which is a 3.4-hour exposure taken on March 28, 2011. The outburst was triggered when a passing star came too close to a supermassive black hole. The star was torn apart, and much of the gas fell toward the black hole. To date, this is the only tidal disruption event emitting high-energy X-rays that astronomers have caught at peak luminosity. Image Credits: NASA/Swift/Stefan Immler.

"If we only look at active black holes, we might be getting a strongly biased sample," said team member Chris Reynolds, a professor of astronomy at UMCP. "It could be that these black holes all fit within some narrow range of spins and masses. So it’s important to study the entire population to make sure we’re not biased."

The researchers estimate the mass of the Swift J1644+57 black hole at about a million times that of the sun but did not measure its spin. With future improvements in understanding and modeling accretion flows, the team thinks it may be possible to do so.    

ESA's XMM-Newton satellite was launched in December 1999 from Kourou, French Guiana. NASA funded elements of the XMM-Newton instrument package and provides the NASA Guest Observer Facility at Goddard, which supports use of the observatory by U.S. astronomers. Suzaku operated from July 2005 to August 2015 and was developed at the Japanese Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, which is part of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, in collaboration with NASA and other Japanese and U.S. institutions.

NASA's Swift satellite was launched in November 2004 and is managed by Goddard. It is operated in collaboration with Penn State University in University Park, the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and Orbital Sciences Corp. in Dulles, Virginia, with international collaborators in the U.K., Italy, Germany and Japan.

Related links:

Swift J1644+57: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/swift/bursts/devoured-star.html

Paper published online in the journal Nature on Wed., June 22: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature18007.html

ESA's XMM-Newton satellite: http://sci.esa.int/xmm-newton/

NASA's Swift satellite: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/swift/main

JAXA & NASA Suzaku satellite: https://www.nasa.gov/suzaku

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html

Images (mentioned), Video (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Ashley Morrow/Goddard Space Flight Center/Francis Reddy.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

SolarImpulse - Day 3: Will the sun help us reach Europe?

SolarImpulse - Around The World patch.

June 22, 2016

After darkness always comes light. The sun has risen for the third time during this flight, after 47 hours since taking off from New York City. The second night in Si2 has been a real challenge for Bertrand Piccard - a cocktail of tired sentiments and turbulence over the Azores.

Although this night has been tough for the pilot and the mission engineers at the Mission Control Center, the moment of truth is still to come. Will the Si2 batteries begin to charge again with the sun to get ready for the last night over the Atlantic Ocean?

A Committee for Clean Technology has been announced over the Atlantic Ocean

To continue our exploits, advocating for clean technology, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg have decided to establish the International Committee of Clean Technology (ICCT). The goal of this Committee is to continue the legacy Solar Impulse started, promoting concrete energy efficient solutions in order to solve many of the challenges facing society today.

The round-the-world solar flights for Solar Impulse are almost coming to a close. We have already circumnavigated more than three quarters of the globe in a solar-powered airplane, but this is not where it ends. This is only the beginning. Until now, this airplane has been a messenger for clean technology and once it has flown around the world, we are ready to move forward with something a little different.

“Until recently, protecting the environment was expensive and threatened our society’s comfort, mobility and growth. Today, thanks to modern clean technologies, the energy consumption of the world, and therefore the C02 emissions, could be divided by two, while creating jobs and enhancing profits. The International Committee of Clean Technologies will work in this direction,” commended Bertrand Piccard at the controls of the Solar Impulse airplane while flying over the Atlantic Ocean.

Image above: During the flight, the pilot has a certain number of “pilot tasks” to perform. The Mission Control Center keeps track of them thanks to a large 24h altitude profile on a glass window.

Many of you may remember the #futureisclean initiative launched by Solar Impulse a few months ago. The Committee, which will take the form of a non-governmental organization, intends to build on this initiative, bringing together many different independent actors in a common voice for the future. Already 400 global organisations have joined together, with patrons such as H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, Richard Branson and Kofi Annan, who have already dedicated their work to the environment and clean technology. These champions of clean technology will advise governments on how to use new clean technologies with independent and credible guidance.

“The International Committee of Clean Technologies is a fantastic opportunity to bring together a group of experts, with diverse experiences and backgrounds, to speak in one voice and leverage the efforts needed to bring change and influence global decision makers in the areas of clean technologies and renewable energy,” added André Borschberg.

We hope you join us in taking this step forward with clean technology to make the future clean: http://www.futureisclean.org/

Follow the fligth live on Internet: http://www.solarimpulse.com/leg-15-from-New_York-to-Seville

For more information about SolarImpulse, visit: http://www.solarimpulse.com/

Images , Text, Credits: SolarImpulse.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

PSLV-C34 / Cartosat-2 series satellite launched into orbit

ISRO - Indian Space Research Organisation logo.


June 22, 2016

PSLV-C34 / Cartosat-2 series satellite launch

India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its thirty sixth flight (PSLV-C34), launches the 727.5 kg Cartosat-2 series satellite for earth observation and 19 co-passenger satellites together weighing about 560 kg at lift–off into a 505 km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO).

PSLV-C34/Cartosat- 2 Launch

PSLV-C34 was launched from the Second Launch Pad (SLP) of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota on June 22, 2016 at 09:26 hrs (IST). This is the fourteenth flight of PSLV in ‘XL’ configuration (with the use of solid strap-on motors).

Cartosat-2 series satellite

The co-passenger satellites are from USA, Canada, Germany and Indonesia as well as two satellites (SATHYABAMASAT and SWAYAM) from Indian University/Academic Institute. The total weight of all the 20 satellites carried onboard PSLV-C34 is about 1288 kg.

Related links:

SATHYABAMASAT satellite: http://www.isro.gov.in/Spacecraft/sathyabamasat

SWAYAM satellite: http://www.isro.gov.in/Spacecraft/swayam

For more information about Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), visit: http://www.isro.gov.in/

Images, Video, Text, Credits: ISRO/Günter Space Page.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Weekly Recap From the Expedition Lead Scientist June 21, 2016

ISS - International Space Station patch.

June 21, 2016

(Highlights: Week of June 6, 2016) - Crew members on the International Space Station investigated the building blocks of the solar system this week while preparing groundbreaking recordings of a spacecraft re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Tim Peake installed the Exposed Experiment Handrail Attachment Mechanism (ExHAM) to the Japanese Experiment Module Airlock (JEMAL) Slide Table to prepare for retrieval of several samples that have been exposed to the space environment for more than a year on the JEM Kibo’s Exposed Facility (EF), including a study into interstellar dust called the Quest for the Compositional identification and Chemical evolutional understanding of the Interstellar Dust (ExHAM-Interstellar Carbonaceous Solids) investigation.

Image above: The Reentry Breakup Recorder with Wireless Sensors (REBR-W) was installed in the Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft attached to the station. When the capsule re-enters Earth's atmosphere June 22, the device inside the vehicle will record data about when and how the craft breaks apart. Image Credits: NASA.

Grains of dust formed in the stellar ejecta of dying stars fills the space between stars in a galaxy affected by various astrophysical events. Scientists have been unable to identify the precise nature of the carbon-containing compounds included in interstellar dust, which makes for an incomplete picture of the cycling of matter in galaxies. The Ex-HAM Interstellar Carbonaceous Solids investigation takes dust-like particles that have been created in the laboratory and exposes them to space, providing new information about the chemical and physical processes that may link the laboratory dust and the cosmic dust grains.

This JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) investigation will provide new information about the changes that take place in carbonaceous compounds while exposed to the harsh environment of space. The space station is the better laboratory for this investigation because scientists cannot simultaneously replicate the microgravity, radiation, and bombardment by high energy photons and cosmic rays on interstellar dust while on Earth.

ExHAM enables more experiments in the exposed environment of space by attaching to the exterior of JAXA's Kibo module. It is a cube that can carry up to 20 samples. ExHAM is equipped with grapple fixtures where the JEM Remote Manipulator System Small Fine Arm can attach it to one of Kibo's handrails.

Image above: The Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility is seen to the left of the JAXA Kibo module. Image Credits: NASA.

Crew members spent part of the week preparing for the June 14 departure of the Cygnus resupply ship, including activating a device that will provide insight into just how the ship breaks apart as it falls toward Earth.

NASA astronaut Jeff Williams installed and activated the Reentry Breakup Recorder with Wireless Sensors (REBR-W) into the Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft attached to the station. When the capsule re-enters Earth's atmosphere June 22, the device inside the vehicle will record data about when and how the craft breaks apart. This information can be used for reentry hazard prediction studies, reducing risks and improving planning for spacecraft that eventually will deorbit.

If a spacecraft's mission ends because of an accident, a broken part, low propellant, or failing components, NASA and the Department of Defense require that it re-enter over unpopulated areas -- such as the open ocean -- to prevent injury to people or damage to property. This sometimes means de-orbiting a spacecraft before it fails completely to ensure control over where it comes down. Data from the REBR-W device will provide new insight that could eliminate the need for deorbiting a spacecraft before it naturally falls to Earth. This would extend mission life and reduce cost and complexity while minimizing risk. The investigation may also lead to new ways for scientists to perform hypersonic flight testing, test new thermal protection materials, and study the uppermost layers of the atmosphere.

Image above: NASA astronaut Jeff Williams conducts Earth observations from the cupola on the International Space Station. Image Credits: NASA.

NASA astronaut Tim Kopra gathered up the hard drives containing valuable data for the Plasma Kristall-4 investigation to send back to Earth in the coming weeks. This ESA study is the latest in a series of investigations of complex plasma containing micro-particles. These particles can become highly charged and interact with each other to form plasma crystals.

Gravity plays an important role for the structure of plasma crystals. In microgravity, large three-dimensional plasma crystals can be grown. As a fundamental state of matter in our universe, studying plasma is critical for space exploration. PK-4 investigates transport properties, thermodynamics, kinetics and statistical physics of the plasma structures. The investigation will provide a better understanding of the space environment, the phenomenon of plasma, and could provide answers to Earth plasmas such as lightning.

Progress made on other investigations and facilities this week included Auxin Transport, EPO Peake, ISS Ham, MagVector, MSL Batch 2b, PBRE, AMO2-Express, Manufacturing Device, NanoRack Cubesat Deployer, Radi-N2, BEAM, and SAMS.

Human research investigations conducted this week included At Home in Space, Biochemical Profile, Cardio Ox, Microbiome, Repository, Cognition, Immuno-2/EDOS-2, Fine Motor Skills, Marrow, Dose Tracker, Habitability, Multi-Omics, Vascular Echo, Skin-B, and Space Headaches.

Related links:

International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Space Station Research and Technology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/index.html

Exposed Experiment Handrail Attachment Mechanism (ExHAM): http://iss.jaxa.jp/en/kiboexp/ef/exham/

Quest for the Compositional identification and Chemical evolutional understanding of the Interstellar Dust (ExHAM-Interstellar Carbonaceous Solids) investigation: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/2052.html

Reentry Breakup Recorder with Wireless Sensors (REBR-W): http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/940.html

Auxin Transport: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/1991.html

ISS Ham: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/346.html

MagVector: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/1176.html

Radi-N2: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/898.html

BEAM: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/1804.html

Habitability: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/1772.html

Multi-Omics: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/1949.html

Vascular Echo: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/1921.html

Space Headaches: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/181.html

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA): http://global.jaxa.jp/

European Space Agency (ESA): http://www.esa.int/ESA

Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Kristine Rainey/Yuri Guinart-Ramirez, Lead Increment Scientist Expeditions 47 & 48.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Astronomers Find the First 'Wind Nebula' Around a Magnetar

NASA - Swift Mission patch / ESA - XMM-Newton Mission patch.

June 21, 2016

Astronomers have discovered a vast cloud of high-energy particles called a wind nebula around a rare ultra-magnetic neutron star, or magnetar, for the first time. The find offers a unique window into the properties, environment and outburst history of magnetars, which are the strongest magnets in the universe.

Image above: This X-ray image shows extended emission around a source known as Swift J1834.9-0846, a rare ultra-magnetic neutron star called a magnetar. The glow arises from a cloud of fast-moving particles produced by the neutron star and corralled around it. Color indicates X-ray energies, with 2,000-3,000 electron volts (eV) in red, 3,000-4,500 eV in green, and 5,000 to 10,000 eV in blue. The image combines observations by the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton spacecraft taken on March 16 and Oct. 16, 2014. Image Credits: ESA/XMM-Newton/Younes et al. 2016.

A neutron star is the crushed core of a massive star that ran out of fuel, collapsed under its own weight, and exploded as a supernova. Each one compresses the equivalent mass of half a million Earths into a ball just 12 miles (20 kilometers) across, or about the length of New York's Manhattan Island. Neutron stars are most commonly found as pulsars, which produce radio, visible light, X-rays and gamma rays at various locations in their surrounding magnetic fields. When a pulsar spins these regions in our direction, astronomers detect pulses of emission, hence the name.

Image above: This illustration compares the size of a neutron star to Manhattan Island in New York, which is about 13 miles long. A neutron star is the crushed core left behind when a massive star explodes as a supernova and is the densest object astronomers can directly observe. Image Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Typical pulsar magnetic fields can be 100 billion to 10 trillion times stronger than Earth's. Magnetar fields reach strengths a thousand times stronger still, and scientists don't know the details of how they are created. Of about 2,600 neutron stars known, to date only 29 are classified as magnetars.

The newfound nebula surrounds a magnetar known as Swift J1834.9-0846 -- J1834.9 for short -- which was discovered by NASA's Swift satellite on Aug. 7, 2011, during a brief X-ray outburst. Astronomers suspect the object is associated with the W41 supernova remnant, located about 13,000 light-years away in the constellation Scutum toward the central part of our galaxy.

Swift satellite. Image Credit: NASA

"Right now, we don't know how J1834.9 developed and continues to maintain a wind nebula, which until now was a structure only seen around young pulsars," said lead researcher George Younes, a postdoctoral researcher at George Washington University in Washington. "If the process here is similar, then about 10 percent of the magnetar's rotational energy loss is powering the nebula’s glow, which would be the highest efficiency ever measured in such a system."

A month after the Swift discovery, a team led by Younes took another look at J1834.9 using the European Space Agency's (ESA) XMM-Newton X-ray observatory, which revealed an unusual lopsided glow about 15 light-years across centered on the magnetar. New XMM-Newton observations in March and October 2014, coupled with archival data from XMM-Newton and Swift, confirm this extended glow as the first wind nebula ever identified around a magnetar. A paper describing the analysis will be published by The Astrophysical Journal.

XMM-Newton X-ray observatory. Image Credit: ESA

"For me the most interesting question is, why is this the only magnetar with a nebula? Once we know the answer, we might be able to understand what makes a magnetar and what makes an ordinary pulsar," said co-author Chryssa Kouveliotou, a professor in the Department of Physics at George Washington University’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences.

The most famous wind nebula, powered by a pulsar less than a thousand years old, lies at the heart of the Crab Nebula supernova remnant in the constellation Taurus. Young pulsars like this one rotate rapidly, often dozens of times a second. The pulsar's fast rotation and strong magnetic field work together to accelerate electrons and other particles to very high energies. This creates an outflow astronomers call a pulsar wind that serves as the source of particles making up in a wind nebula. 

Image above: The best-known wind nebula is the Crab Nebula, located about 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. At the center is a rapidly spinning neutron star that accelerates charged particles like electrons to nearly the speed of light. As they whirl around magnetic field lines, the particles emit a bluish glow. This image is a composite of Hubble observations taken in late 1999 and early 2000. The Crab Nebula spans about 11 light-years. Image Credits: NASA, ESA, J. Hester and A. Loll (Arizona State University).

"Making a wind nebula requires large particle fluxes, as well as some way to bottle up the outflow so it doesn't just stream into space," said co-author Alice Harding, an astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "We think the expanding shell of the supernova remnant serves as the bottle, confining the outflow for a few thousand years. When the shell has expanded enough, it becomes too weak to hold back the particles, which then leak out and the nebula fades away." This naturally explains why wind nebulae are not found among older pulsars, even those driving strong outflows.

A pulsar taps into its rotational energy to produce light and accelerate its pulsar wind. By contrast, a magnetar outburst is powered by energy stored in the super-strong magnetic field. When the field suddenly reconfigures to a lower-energy state, this energy is suddenly released in an outburst of X-rays and gamma rays. So while magnetars may not produce the steady breeze of a typical pulsar wind, during outbursts they are capable of generating brief gales of accelerated particles.

"The nebula around J1834.9 stores the magnetar's energetic outflows over its whole active history, starting many thousands of years ago," said team member Jonathan Granot, an associate professor in the Department of Natural Sciences at the Open University in Ra'anana, Israel. "It represents a unique opportunity to study the magnetar's historical activity, opening a whole new playground for theorists like me."

ESA's XMM-Newton satellite was launched on Dec. 10, 1999, from Kourou, French Guiana, and continues to make observations. NASA funded elements of the XMM-Newton instrument package and provides the NASA Guest Observer Facility at Goddard, which supports use of the observatory by U.S. astronomers.

Related links:

NASA's Swift satellite: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/swift/main

European Space Agency's (ESA) XMM-Newton X-ray observatory: http://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton

The Astrophysical Journal paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/1604.06472

NASA Guest Observer Facility: http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xmm/xmmgof.html

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html

Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Francis Reddy/Ashley Morrow.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Opinion: A global lab with a global mission

CERN - European Organization for Nuclear Research logo.

June 21, 2016

Our world has been transformed almost beyond recognition since CERN was founded in 1954. Particle physics has evolved to become a field that is increasingly planned and co-ordinated around the world. Collaboration across regions is growing. New players are emerging.

CERN is now a global lab, with a European core. This was recognised by CERN member states with the adoption, in 2010, of the geographical enlargement policy that opens up for greater participation from countries outside of Europe. Since then, we have welcomed Israel as a new member state. Romania and Serbia are entering the final stages of accession to membership, and Cyprus has just joined as an associate member in the pre-stage to membership. Since 2015, Pakistan and Turkey have been part of the wider CERN family as associate members, and several more states are applicants for associate membership.

CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC)

Yet, the changes go much further than our scientific field and the inclusion of new members in our particle-physics family. Global governance is more complex than ever, with overlapping challenges and a greater number of interlocutors. Public opinion is being formed in new ways, driven by technological advances and political change. Global economic changes, with emerging countries gaining influence and clout, shape policy priorities in new ways – also in the scientific field. Support for fundamental science must be constantly nurtured, and partnerships are more necessary than ever.

It is a highly complex and fast-moving global policy space. CERN – and indeed all large labs and research infrastructures – needs to react to and act within this evolving context. The challenge for all of us is to advance in a globally co-ordinated manner, so as to be able to carry out as many exciting and complementary projects as possible, while ensuring long-term support for fundamental science as the competition for resources becomes ever fiercer on all levels.

Global impact

It is against this background that the Director-General of CERN has now, for the first time, established an International Relations (IR) sector. The sector brings together entities within the Organization that are working on different aspects of our international engagement, and it provides a unique opportunity for CERN to strengthen the global dimension of its work.

The IR sector has three overarching objectives. First, to help strengthen CERN’s position as a global centre of excellence in science and research through sustained support from all stakeholders. Second, to contribute to shaping a global policy agenda that supports fundamental research, and includes science perspectives more generally. And third, connecting CERN with people across the world to inspire scientific curiosity and understanding.

Image above: In 1990 the World Wide Web or WWW is created, Tim Barners-Lee introduces the basics of the web (HTTP protocol, the HTML language ...). The address of this website first was: http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html, and you can always visit.

The immediate priorities for the sector include reinforcing dialogue with our member states, setting future directions for geographical enlargement, and strengthening CERN’s voice in global policy debates.

Let me share a couple of the initiatives that are under way.

We have already expanded the interaction with member states with the establishment of thematic forums that enable better dialogue, and new forums will be created in the coming months. We have also begun reflecting on how to focus geographical enlargement in a way that fully supports and reinforces our long-term scientific aspirations. It is critical that enlargement is not seen as an end in itself; it is intended to underpin CERN’s scientific objectives through a broader and more diverse support base to strengthen our core scientific work.

Fundamental science

Direct engagement with people across the world is a key aspect of our work. With a newly integrated Education, Communications and Outreach group, we will be able to reach out in a more co-ordinated manner – to stimulate interest in and support for fundamental science, among teachers, students, global science policy makers and the many others around the globe who follow our work. For those of us who work with fundamental science every day, the value and impact seem obvious. But it isn’t always that obvious beyond our own corridors. We need to get better at demonstrating how scientific advances impact on the lives of people across the world, every single day, often in surprising but deeply profound ways.

CERN in 3 minutes

While the IR sector as an institutional construct is new, we are building on a proud, long-standing tradition of inclusive international collaboration in pursuit of a common goal: expanding our collective knowledge. Exploring the frontiers of knowledge has always thrived on ideas, input and initiatives from across the world.

It is truly a privilege to be part of the collective effort that is the CERN IR sector, to take that work forward.

This article was originally published in the CERN courier: http://cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/65036

Note:

CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the world’s largest and most respected centres for scientific research. Its business is fundamental physics, finding out what the Universe is made of and how it works. At CERN, the world’s largest and most complex scientific instruments are used to study the basic constituents of matter — the fundamental particles. By studying what happens when these particles collide, physicists learn about the laws of Nature.

The instruments used at CERN are particle accelerators and detectors. Accelerators boost beams of particles to high energies before they are made to collide with each other or with stationary targets. Detectors observe and record the results of these collisions.

Founded in 1954, the CERN Laboratory sits astride the Franco–Swiss border near Geneva. It was one of Europe’s first joint ventures and now has 21 Member States.

Related article:

CERN - Happy Birthday SPS!
http://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.ch/2016/06/cern-happy-birthday-sps.html

Related links:

CERN’s Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS): http://home.cern/about/accelerators/super-proton-synchrotron

Large Hadron Collider (LHC): http://home.cern/topics/large-hadron-collider

CERN’s accelerator complex: http://home.cern/about/accelerators

For more information about the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), visit: http://home.web.cern.ch/

Images, Video, Text, Credits: CERN/Harriet Kim Jarlett/Written by Charlotte Lindberg Warakaulle.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

SolarImpulse - Day 2: The sun is about to rise to help us continue over the Atlantic Ocean

SolarImpulse - Around The World patch.

June 21, 2016

It certainly is not easy to make a solar plane fly across the Atlantic Ocean without a single drop of fuel. It is a challenge to make sure the mood and flight conditions are favorable for our pilot.

In order to fly Si2, we need to make sure the clouds do not entirely block the sun or that they are low enough so that Si2 can fly above them, ultimately reaching the sun’s rays.

We are about to reach Energy Neutral Morning, the moment when the sun provides Si2 enough energy to fly without relying on the batteries. It's always a great feeling after a dark night in a solar-powered airplane. Now the key moment remains, will Si2 be powered by the sun?

Watch the Live show at 8:00AM UTC, 10:00AM CET and 4:00AM EDT: http://www.solarimpulse.com/leg-15-from-New_York-to-Seville

The Strawberry Moon

"Tonight, as I fly across the Atlantic Ocean in Solar Impulse 2, I will experience a phenomenon that has not occurred in 68 years: the Strawberry Moon. It happens when the summer solstice and the Full Moon coincide. June 20th is the longest day of the year, with 17 hours of sunlight and this year it is followed by a bright full moon to guide me across the Atlantic Ocean in my solar-powered airplane." Say Bertrand Piccard pilot of this flight.

For more information about SolarImpulse Around The World, visit: http://www.solarimpulse.com/

Image, Text, Credit: SolarImpulse.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch