সোমবার, ৩ ডিসেম্বর, ২০১২

Dayton aims to overhaul Minnesota's tax system (Star Tribune)

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Frequent Web Hosting Myths Which Can Be False False False | My ...

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রবিবার, ২ ডিসেম্বর, ২০১২

Out Standing in Your Field - Anthropology News

We are told, during methods seminars in graduate school, that some level of marginality is beneficial for the anthropologist in the field.? Too much ?insider status? impedes our ability to learn social processes naturally, because we already know them. This poses a challenge for the growing numbers of us who do our dissertation fieldwork domestically, sometimes right in our own backyards.? While there is a hefty literature on conducting ethnographic fieldwork, information on becoming the ?other? in your own society is scarce.

For the past four years, I have been interviewing and working with direct market farmers in Iowa. ?In particular, I have been interested in how producers learn their craft and adjust to new markets, especially with the recent growth in farmers markets, CSA, and the ?local food movement.?? I grew up on a farm in Missouri and have lived in Iowa for most of the past 15 years.? How, then, was I to feel like an ?outsider? among this group of people who looked an awful lot like me?? As is often the case, my informants provided the answer.

Early in my fieldwork I explained my project to a producer I hoped to interview.? When I said I was in the anthropology department at the University of Iowa, there was a long pause.? ?The University of Iowa?? he eventually repeated back to me, as though to make sure I had not misspoken.? Iowa farmers are quite used to interacting with university personnel.? However, the vast majority of those come from Iowa State, the land grant university.? The University of Iowa, according to most locals, is the liberal arts institution.? You don?t go to Iowa City for agronomy, agricultural economics or animal sciences:? Iowa City is for the writers and philosophers.

I?m certainly not the first scholar, or anthropologist, from our University to think about farming in Iowa (Chibnik 1987; Thu and Durrenberger 1998).? Some have even been warned about admitting their affiliation with any institution, lest farmers think they are ?radical environmentalists? (University of Iowa) or agribusiness job scouts (Iowa State) (Ziegenhorn 1996).? For some producers, my association with the liberal arts school benefited me.? One farmer would not agree to an interview without assurances from mutual friends that I was not associated with extension. For others, my association with the University was clearly indicative of a less ?serious? approach to agriculture.? In either case, most farmers saw my academic affiliation as an oddity.

My point here is twofold:? one, there is room for more ethnographic methods in US agriculture.? Anthropologists have long addressed local knowledge and small-scale agricultural processes in the Global South.? These categories are also relevant in the US and Europe, and as more and more ethnographers engage with them, we collectively broaden and develop the dialogue about food production and land use.? Agricultural Economists and Rural Sociologists, largely from land grant institutions, have historically conducted the bulk of social research about US agriculture.? The surprise expressed by my informants, no strangers to academics in the cornfields, about my methods and institution tells me that anthropologists have more work to do.

Secondly, my concern about not being enough of an outsider among my informants was largely unfounded.? As ethnographers, we automatically ?other? ourselves simply by choosing to study a particular group.? Often during interviews, farmers would pause, mid-sentence, and ask if they were boring me or if I really wanted to know about how they took into account the flood plain when building a new structure on their farm. ?Whether or not we look or talk like our informants, or whether we share a collective upbringing, is less relevant than our interest in their way of life.? It is this desire for the details, often seen as vaguely odd by our informants, that ultimately makes us outsiders.? That being said, students could still benefit from more attention to the growing reality of doing fieldwork near home.? In the interest of a truly holistic discipline, we have to include the familiar as well as the strange.

Our column welcomes all materials of interest to C&A members. Please direct inquiries and ideas to Susanna Donaldson at susanna-donaldson@uiowa.edu or Joan Mencher at joanmencher@gmail.com.

Source: http://www.anthropology-news.org/index.php/2012/12/01/out-standing-in-your-field/

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First rock from the sun turns out to have ice

Frozen material at the planet?s poles likely came from comet or asteroid impacts

Frozen material at the planet?s poles likely came from comet or asteroid impacts

By Tanya Lewis

Web edition: November 30, 2012

Enlarge

Ice spotted

New data from NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft reveal bright spots (shown in yellow) on Mercury that are almost certainly ice.

Credit: NASA, Johns Hopkins Univ. Applied Physics Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, Arecibo Observatory

The sun-scorched surface of Mercury may be the last place you?d expect to find ice. But NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft has found the strongest evidence yet of frozen water ? and carbon-rich material ? on the planet closest to the sun.

While Mercury itself couldn?t support life, the findings provide clues about how water and other vital ingredients ended up on Earth, perhaps delivered by comets or asteroids. ?Studying this stuff elsewhere in the solar system is really relevant for the origin of life,? says UCLA planetary scientist David Paige.

He and other scientists describe the findings in three studies published online November 29 in Science.

In the early 1990s, Earth-based radar measurements hinted at the presence of ice when they found mysterious bright spots near Mercury?s poles. The new studies reveal that the spots are indeed water ice. Darker areas may be carbon-rich material blanketing the ice and insulating it from the sun.

?The combination of results has presented a beautiful case for water ice with hydrocarbon infusion,? says Ann Sprague, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona who was not involved in the studies.

New observations of Mercury?s northern polar regions come from MESSENGER?s laser altimeter, which maps the planet?s topography and measures how reflective the surface is. Simulations of Mercury?s surface temperatures match the laser measurements. Inside shadowy, steep-walled craters temperatures are below -173? Celsius, so frozen water can exist, Paige and colleagues report. Bright areas coincide with regions predicted to be cold enough for ice to be stable, while the dark areas coincide with warmer regions thought to harbor ice only beneath the surface.

?It matched perfectly,? Paige says. ?We actually see bright ice every place we expect to see it.? Temperature models also suggest the ice was once much more extensive but has retreated, leaving behind the darker deposits.

Another line of evidence for frozen water comes from MESSENGER?s neutron spectrometer, which detects how much hydrogen (and therefore, presumably, water) is present. Cosmic rays constantly bombard Mercury?s surface, breaking apart atomic nuclei and scattering neutrons. When the neutrons collide with hydrogen atoms, they lose energy and grind to a halt like a cue ball hitting a billiard ball, says planetary scientist David Lawrence of Johns Hopkins University.

The dearth of neutrons detected near Mercury?s north pole suggests a lot of hydrogen lies just below the planet?s surface, almost certainly as pure ice. The mass of ice could be up to a trillion metric tons.

Scientists think the ice and carbon-rich material probably arrived via comets and asteroids, in a constant pummeling that should mix up the top layers of the crust. ?It?s like you?ve got bunch of people with shovels, reworking the surface,? says Paige. The fact that the bright and dark spots have not yet been mixed in suggests the spots formed fairly recently, in geological terms.

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/346765/title/First_rock_from_the_sun_turns_out_to_have_ice

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November 30, 2012 ? Weekly Durango Area Real Estate Statistics ...

November 30, 2012? ? Here are the?real estate?statistics for the past 2 weeks, for Durango Real Estate, sales, great deals, new listings, foreclosures and sold comparable sales. We appologize for the double branding with RE/MAX and Blue Ribbon Properties, just to clarify ? Claudia Williams and Stacy Engle are now with RE/MAX Pinnacle on 111 W. College Ave, Durango. We took this website with us and rebranded. Stay tuned and be patient with us for now.

Here are the bi-weekly statistics, since we didn?t share the stats with you last week.

45?properties sold in Durango, Colorado and area over the last 2?weeks ?? Check it out!

Click Here?for Sold?Listings

?

There are?48 new listings?in the past 2 weeks.?Check it out!

Click Here?for New?Listings

?

Bankowned Listings (REO):

Due to continuing interest we are including REO property, which means ?Real Estate Owned? in bank-lingo, in other words, bankowned properties, or foreclosed properties after the foreclosure process is completed. The bank/lender now owns the property. They are typically sold at a discount, hence the popularity! Please follow this link to our foreclosure page on our website. It shows all active bankowned and foreclosure listings in the area and is continually updated. Bookmark it and visit it often! Or email us, info@blueribbondurango.com to get set up for automatic email notifications on new bankowned listings!

Click here for distress listings, short sales, foreclosures & bankowned Homes in the Durango & Surrounding Areas

?

For a great market overview and to keep tabs on the value of your house consider getting a free email subscription to? the Market Snapshot ? Free and Instant Home Valuations! A cool map based comparable report that shows new listings and sales comparables to your house, for sellers or buyers. Sign up by clicking here. Or go to Durangohousevalues.com. You?ll love it!

If you?d like to see any listings or other statistics on Durango Real Estate that we are not covering please don?t hesitate to send an email or post a comment. Maybe you?d like to be alerted to new listings in a specific price range or type. Let us know, we?re here to help.

Sign up to receive automatic emails of new listings by sending me a quick email and letting me know what you?d like to see, claudia@blueribbondurango.com. Have a great weekend! Feel free to call or email me if you?d like to talk about real estate or go to look at properties ?

?

Claudia Williams Realtor/Ecobroker/Exchangor

RE/MAX Pinnacle

111 W. College Ave

Durango, CO 81301

970 259 2255 (office)

970 749 3555 (cell)

970 247 8360 (fax),

?

?

Check out the Market Snapshot to monitor the value of your Durango Colorado home and get current local market conditions

?

?-

Disclaimer ? these links and information are based on the Durango local multi listing service. While all information is deemed accurate there are no guarantees. Does not include for sale by owners or foreclosure properties that are not listed on the MLS

Source: http://blueribbondurango.com/2012/11/november-30-2012-weekly-durango-area-real-estate-statistics-sold-listings/

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শনিবার, ১ ডিসেম্বর, ২০১২

Tennis referee murder case dismissed in California

Lois Goodman, center, a tennis umpire accused of fatally bludgeoning her 80 year old husband addresses the media with her attorneys, Robert Sheahen, left, and Alison Triessl, right, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012 in Van Nuys, Calif. The arrest of an aging tennis referee in her husband's death was a shocker last summer. On Friday, the case took another surprise twist when prosecutors dropped the murder case against Lois Goodman. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Mel Melcon) NO FORNS; NO SALES; MAGS OUT; ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER OUT; LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS OUT; VENTURA COUNTY STAR OUT; INLAND VALLEY DAILY BULLETIN OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT, TV OUT

Lois Goodman, center, a tennis umpire accused of fatally bludgeoning her 80 year old husband addresses the media with her attorneys, Robert Sheahen, left, and Alison Triessl, right, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012 in Van Nuys, Calif. The arrest of an aging tennis referee in her husband's death was a shocker last summer. On Friday, the case took another surprise twist when prosecutors dropped the murder case against Lois Goodman. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Mel Melcon) NO FORNS; NO SALES; MAGS OUT; ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER OUT; LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS OUT; VENTURA COUNTY STAR OUT; INLAND VALLEY DAILY BULLETIN OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT, TV OUT

FILE - In this photo taken in 2008, tennis referee Lois Goodman is shown while officiating a CIF tennis tournament. Citing insufficient evidence, Los Angeles prosecutors on Friday, Nov. 30, 2012, have dropped the murder case against Goodman. A judge dismissed the case Friday without prejudice, meaning it could be brought back. The 70-year-old Goodman was accused of bludgeoning her 80-year-old husband Alan to death with a coffee cup in April.(AP Photo/Los Angeles Daily News, David Crane) NO SALES; MAGS OUT; HILLS OUT, LOS ANGELES TIMES OUT; VENTURA COUNTY STAR OUT, ANTELOPE VALLEY PRESS OUT

(AP) ? The arrest of a tennis referee before a match at the U.S. Open in connection with her husband's death was a shocker last summer. On Friday, the case took another surprise twist when prosecutors dropped the murder case against Lois Goodman.

The case was dismissed by Superior Court Judge Jessica Silvers after prosecutors said they received additional information and were unable to proceed because of insufficient evidence.

"I feel I'm being treated fairly now. It was just a terrible accident," Goodman, 70, said outside court.

Goodman has refereed matches between some of the greatest tennis players in the world. She was arrested by Los Angeles police in New York in August as she arrived to be a line judge at the U.S. Open and made her first court appearance wearing her uniform.

District attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons declined to elaborate on the new information that led to the dismissal.

However, defense attorney Alison Triessl said she believed private polygraph tests conducted by a former FBI polygraph examiner were pivotal in proving that Goodman did not kill her husband

The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled. But Triessl believes it's over.

"We're elated," Triessl said. "This has been a living hell for her. Justice has been served. She did not do this."

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said in a statement that the case remains open and detectives were continuing the investigation.

Goodman had been accused of bludgeoning her 80-year-old husband to death with a coffee cup. She said she was innocent, and her lawyers suggested Alan Goodman died in an accidental fall.

They said he fell down stairs then managed to get himself upstairs to the bedroom and was found dead in bed. Blood was spattered throughout the house, police said.

Defense private investigator Scott Ross told The Associated Press that famed pathologist Dr. Michael Baden examined the coroner's evidence in the case and found that Alan Goodman died of a heart attack, not from any injuries.

"His heart was four times the normal size," Ross said.

The couple had been married 50 years and had three grown daughters. They lived in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles their entire lives.

Alan Goodman died in April. Authorities initially believed he fell down the stairs while his wife was away, but they later said it was a homicide after a mortuary reported suspicious injuries on his head.

Authorities then alleged he had been clobbered on the head with a mug, and they began to treat Lois Goodman as a suspect.

Defense lawyers said there was little forensic evidence in the case because of the delay in the investigation. They recently disclosed Lois Goodman had passed polygraph tests supporting her claim of innocence.

A criminal law expert said such a serious charge is "very very rarely" dismissed this quickly.

"It sounds like they have little doubt that she was not responsible for the crime or they would not have acted this quickly," said law professor James A. Cohen, director of the trial advocacy program at Fordham University School of Law in New York.

He said Baden's analysis of the case may have played a significant role.

"When you have a well-respected medical examiner saying there is no foul play, that has to be considered," he said.

Goodman pleaded not guilty after her arrest. After a brief stay in jail, she was released on electronic monitoring and subsequently came to court for pretrial hearings with friends and family present to support her.

"I definitely want to get back to refereeing," Goodman said after the dismissal. "But first I want to call my close friends that supported me and thank them again and again."

U.S. Tennis Association spokesman Chris Widmaier said Goodman's bi-annual certification as a referee expires at the end of December and she can apply for renewal.

If re-certified, she will have the right to apply for an official's position at the 2013 U.S. Open, he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-11-30-Tennis%20Referee%20Arrested/id-50ad7d8f10284308b98da994bdfafd65

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Even brown dwarfs may grow rocky planets

Even brown dwarfs may grow rocky planets [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 30-Nov-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Douglas Pierce-Price
dpiercep@eso.org
49-893-200-6759
ESO

ALMA sizes up grains of cosmic dust around failed star

Rocky planets are thought to form through the random collision and sticking together of what are initially microscopic particles in the disc of material around a star. These tiny grains, known as cosmic dust, are similar to very fine soot or sand. However, in the outer regions around a brown dwarf -- a star-like object, but one too small to shine brightly like a star -- astronomers expected that grains could not grow because the discs were too sparse, and particles would be moving too fast to stick together after colliding. Also, prevailing theories say that any grains that manage to form should move quickly towards the central brown dwarf, disappearing from the outer parts of the disc where they could be detected.

"We were completely surprised to find millimetre-sized grains in this thin little disc," said Luca Ricci of the California Institute of Technology, USA, who led a team of astronomers based in the United States, Europe and Chile. "Solid grains of that size shouldn't be able to form in the cold outer regions of a disc around a brown dwarf, but it appears that they do. We can't be sure if a whole rocky planet could develop there, or already has, but we're seeing the first steps, so we're going to have to change our assumptions about conditions required for solids to grow," he said.

ALMA's increased resolution compared to previous telescopes also allowed the team to pinpoint carbon monoxide gas around the brown dwarf -- the first time that cold molecular gas has been detected in such a disc. This discovery, and that of the millimetre-size grains, suggest that the disc is much more similar to the ones around young stars than previously expected.

Ricci and his colleagues made their finding using the partially completed ALMA telescope in the high-altitude Chilean desert. ALMA is a growing collection of high precision, dish-shaped antennas that work together as one large telescope to observe the Universe with groundbreaking detail and sensitivity. ALMA "sees" the Universe in millimetre-wavelength light, which is invisible to human eyes. Construction of ALMA is scheduled to finish in 2013, but astronomers began observing with a partial array of ALMA dishes in 2011.

The astronomers pointed ALMA at the young brown dwarf ISO-Oph 102, also known as Rho-Oph 102, in the Rho Ophiuchi star-forming region in the constellation of Ophiuchus (The Serpent Bearer). With about 60 times the mass of Jupiter but only 0.06 times that of the Sun, the brown dwarf has too little mass to ignite the thermonuclear reactions by which ordinary stars shine. However, it emits heat released by its slow gravitational contraction and shines with a reddish colour, albeit much less brightly than a star.

ALMA collected light with wavelengths around a millimetre, emitted by disc material warmed by the brown dwarf. The grains in the disc do not emit much radiation at wavelengths longer than their own size, so a characteristic drop-off in the brightness can be measured at longer wavelengths. ALMA is an ideal instrument for measuring this drop-off and thus for sizing up the grains. The astronomers compared the brightness of the disc at wavelengths of 0.89 mm and 3.2 mm. The drop-off in brightness from 0.89 mm to 3.2 mm was not as steep as expected, showing that at least some of the grains are a millimetre or more in size.

"ALMA is a powerful new tool for solving mysteries of planetary system formation," commented Leonardo Testi from ESO, a member of the research team. "Trying this with previous generation telescopes would have needed almost a month of observing -- impossibly long in practice. But, using just a quarter of ALMA's final complement of antennas, we were able to do it in less than one hour!" he said.

In the near future, the completed ALMA telescope will be powerful enough to make detailed images of the discs around Rho-Oph 102 and other objects. Ricci explained, "We will soon be able to not only detect the presence of small particles in discs, but to map how they are spread across the circumstellar disc and how they interact with the gas that we've also detected in the disc. This will help us better understand how planets come to be."

###

More information

This research is presented in a paper in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Ricci and Testi worked with Antonella Natta of the INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico de Arcetri, Aleks Scholz of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, and Itziar de Gregorio-Monsalvo of the Joint ALMA Observatory.

ALMA, an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of Europe, North America and East Asia in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA construction and operations are led on behalf of Europe by ESO, on behalf of North America by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), and on behalf of East Asia by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the unified leadership and management of the construction, commissioning and operation of ALMA.

The year 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It is supported by 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and two survey telescopes. VISTA works in the infrared and is the world's largest survey telescope and the VLT Survey Telescope is the largest telescope designed to exclusively survey the skies in visible light. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. ESO is currently planning the 39-metre European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".

Links

Contacts

Luca Ricci
California Institute of Technology
Tel: +1 626 395 2460
Email: lricci@astro.caltech.edu

Leonardo Testi
ESO
Garching, Germany
Tel: +49 89 3200 6541
Email: ltesti@eso.org

Douglas Pierce-Price
ESO Public Information Officer
Garching bei Mnchen, Germany
Tel: +49 89 3200 6759
Email: dpiercep@eso.org

John Stoke
National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)
Charlottesville, VA, USA
Tel: +1 434 244 6816
Email: jstoke@nrao.edu


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Even brown dwarfs may grow rocky planets [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 30-Nov-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Douglas Pierce-Price
dpiercep@eso.org
49-893-200-6759
ESO

ALMA sizes up grains of cosmic dust around failed star

Rocky planets are thought to form through the random collision and sticking together of what are initially microscopic particles in the disc of material around a star. These tiny grains, known as cosmic dust, are similar to very fine soot or sand. However, in the outer regions around a brown dwarf -- a star-like object, but one too small to shine brightly like a star -- astronomers expected that grains could not grow because the discs were too sparse, and particles would be moving too fast to stick together after colliding. Also, prevailing theories say that any grains that manage to form should move quickly towards the central brown dwarf, disappearing from the outer parts of the disc where they could be detected.

"We were completely surprised to find millimetre-sized grains in this thin little disc," said Luca Ricci of the California Institute of Technology, USA, who led a team of astronomers based in the United States, Europe and Chile. "Solid grains of that size shouldn't be able to form in the cold outer regions of a disc around a brown dwarf, but it appears that they do. We can't be sure if a whole rocky planet could develop there, or already has, but we're seeing the first steps, so we're going to have to change our assumptions about conditions required for solids to grow," he said.

ALMA's increased resolution compared to previous telescopes also allowed the team to pinpoint carbon monoxide gas around the brown dwarf -- the first time that cold molecular gas has been detected in such a disc. This discovery, and that of the millimetre-size grains, suggest that the disc is much more similar to the ones around young stars than previously expected.

Ricci and his colleagues made their finding using the partially completed ALMA telescope in the high-altitude Chilean desert. ALMA is a growing collection of high precision, dish-shaped antennas that work together as one large telescope to observe the Universe with groundbreaking detail and sensitivity. ALMA "sees" the Universe in millimetre-wavelength light, which is invisible to human eyes. Construction of ALMA is scheduled to finish in 2013, but astronomers began observing with a partial array of ALMA dishes in 2011.

The astronomers pointed ALMA at the young brown dwarf ISO-Oph 102, also known as Rho-Oph 102, in the Rho Ophiuchi star-forming region in the constellation of Ophiuchus (The Serpent Bearer). With about 60 times the mass of Jupiter but only 0.06 times that of the Sun, the brown dwarf has too little mass to ignite the thermonuclear reactions by which ordinary stars shine. However, it emits heat released by its slow gravitational contraction and shines with a reddish colour, albeit much less brightly than a star.

ALMA collected light with wavelengths around a millimetre, emitted by disc material warmed by the brown dwarf. The grains in the disc do not emit much radiation at wavelengths longer than their own size, so a characteristic drop-off in the brightness can be measured at longer wavelengths. ALMA is an ideal instrument for measuring this drop-off and thus for sizing up the grains. The astronomers compared the brightness of the disc at wavelengths of 0.89 mm and 3.2 mm. The drop-off in brightness from 0.89 mm to 3.2 mm was not as steep as expected, showing that at least some of the grains are a millimetre or more in size.

"ALMA is a powerful new tool for solving mysteries of planetary system formation," commented Leonardo Testi from ESO, a member of the research team. "Trying this with previous generation telescopes would have needed almost a month of observing -- impossibly long in practice. But, using just a quarter of ALMA's final complement of antennas, we were able to do it in less than one hour!" he said.

In the near future, the completed ALMA telescope will be powerful enough to make detailed images of the discs around Rho-Oph 102 and other objects. Ricci explained, "We will soon be able to not only detect the presence of small particles in discs, but to map how they are spread across the circumstellar disc and how they interact with the gas that we've also detected in the disc. This will help us better understand how planets come to be."

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More information

This research is presented in a paper in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Ricci and Testi worked with Antonella Natta of the INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico de Arcetri, Aleks Scholz of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, and Itziar de Gregorio-Monsalvo of the Joint ALMA Observatory.

ALMA, an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of Europe, North America and East Asia in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA construction and operations are led on behalf of Europe by ESO, on behalf of North America by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), and on behalf of East Asia by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the unified leadership and management of the construction, commissioning and operation of ALMA.

The year 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It is supported by 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and two survey telescopes. VISTA works in the infrared and is the world's largest survey telescope and the VLT Survey Telescope is the largest telescope designed to exclusively survey the skies in visible light. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. ESO is currently planning the 39-metre European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".

Links

Contacts

Luca Ricci
California Institute of Technology
Tel: +1 626 395 2460
Email: lricci@astro.caltech.edu

Leonardo Testi
ESO
Garching, Germany
Tel: +49 89 3200 6541
Email: ltesti@eso.org

Douglas Pierce-Price
ESO Public Information Officer
Garching bei Mnchen, Germany
Tel: +49 89 3200 6759
Email: dpiercep@eso.org

John Stoke
National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)
Charlottesville, VA, USA
Tel: +1 434 244 6816
Email: jstoke@nrao.edu


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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/e-ebd112912.php

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