How would you describe your research to somebody outside your field?
The job of a researcher is to answer the questions that no one knows the answers to. To do that you obviously have to think of the question first. My specific research is all to do with the connection between galaxies and the supermassive black holes that we find at the centre of every single one. Something that massive we think has a big effect on everything around it, and my job is to work out whether feeding this black hole has a negative impact on the galaxy.
I notice you use data to infer quenching histories. Can anything be done to improve these inferences in the future?
What you’re trying to do is model how many stars a galaxy is forming based on how much light I’m getting from that galaxy, so that’s the inference bit. You observe one thing, but you want to know another thing. We can use different data to improve this inference. Instead of just looking at how much light there is, we look for what’s called emission-specific wavelengths due to elements that are there.
Hydrogen is fuel for star formation, so if there’s lots of it you know you’re forming lots of stars. We can use those kinds of fingerprints that are much more precise to improve our inference, but it also comes with improving computational models and statistical methods. Research that’s going on right now in computer science and maths will eventually improve that kind of inference as well.
Denne historien er fra Issue 113-utgaven av All About Space.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra Issue 113-utgaven av All About Space.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
15 AUTUMN STARGAZING TARGETS
Go on a night-sky treasure hunt as the brighter evenings give way to the cooler months
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE WHY IS VENUS SO DRY?
A new study reckons the answer lies high in the Venusian atmosphere
WHEN BLACK HOLES TURN WHITE
Can bouncing black holes help physicists find the ultimate theory of everything?
THE MOON'S THIN ATMOSPHERE IS MADE BY CONSTANT METEORITE BOMBARDMENT
While the solar wind also contributes to the atmosphere, meteorites are the main culprit
INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL AND HOW TO BECOME A SPACE TOURIST
Having explored much of the Solar System, attention is now turning to the stars beyond
NASA'S PERSEVERANCE ROVER FINDS POSSIBLE SIGNS OF ANCIENT RED PLANET LIFE
Further analysis is needed, but a rock contains potential evidence that life once existed on Mars in the distant past
A NASA TELESCOPE MAY HAVE FOUND ANTIMATTER ANNIHILATING IN POSSIBLY THE BIGGEST EXPLOSION SINCE THE BIG BANG
The massive explosion was captured in 2022
Jameel Janjua "This is how we get to Mach 3”
Jameel Janjua made it to the bitter end in a Canadian government astronaut selection in 2009, but wasn't chosen. He found a different path to space through Virgin Galactic
BOEING NEEDS TO IMPROVE QUALITY CONTROL ON THE SLS MOON ROCKET
The NASA Inspector General's report finds serious quality-control issues affecting the upgraded version and expects cost overruns and delays
DARK ENERGY
THE MOST DOMINANT FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE IS ALSO ITS MOST MYSTERIOUS AND MOST UNANTICIPATED
