Meet the UK ARC Node
New Research Shows Quasars Can Be Buried in Their Host Galaxies
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.
Registration for the 2024 European ALMA School is now open
The European ALMA Regional Centre network is organising an ALMA School for ALMA users that will be hosted by the UK ARC Node on 10-14 June 2024 in Manchester. This school is designed to provide training on a broad range of aspects related to ALMA, including interferometry, data calibration and imaging, the ALMA archive, analysis techniques, ALMA science, and future ALMA developments.
Registration for the meeting is now open at this link. Note that the meeting is in-person only and will be limited to approximately 80 - 90 participants. Registration will remain open until 31 December 2023, but people are advised to register early to avoid being placed on a waiting list.
For more details, please visit the meeting website. The full meeting details are currently being finalised, and the meeting website will be updated regularly with more information and announcements, including upcoming information on:
- A detailed agenda for the meeting.
- Warnings when the registration numbers begin to approach the meeting limit on participants.
- Discounted block-booking hotel accommodation near the venue.
- Detailed information on the venue and the city of Manchester.
UK ALMA 2024 Hybrid Workshop
19-21 February 2023
Alan Turing Building, The University of Manchester
Manchester, United Kingdom
This workshop will provide an introduction to ALMA and instructions on how to work with data from the observatory and will include sessions on preparing proposals, downloading data from the ALMA archive, calibrating and imaging ALMA data, and using advanced ALMA-related tools.
This workshop will be conducted in a hybrid format with participants having the option of either attending the workshop in person at the University of Manchester or joining online. More details will be provided later. While the workshop is aimed primarily at novice ALMA users, particularly from the United Kingdom, other users with higher levels of experience or from other locations are also welcome to attend.
To sign up, click on this link. Registration will close on 15 December 2023. For more information about the workshop, see the workshop's webpage.
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.
Showcasing ALMA Results from the UK Community
The UK ARC Node would like to showcase the excellent research being conducted by UK-based astronomers using ALMA. Each month, we would like to highlight one or two recent journal articles or press releases as lead items in this newsletter.
We are now opening submissions for inclusion in next November’s and December’s newsletters. If you are a UK based astronomer who has led or contributed significantly to a recently published article which uses ALMA data and would like to publicise your work in the UK ALMA Newsletter, please contact us via our email with the subject "Science Highlight". In your submission, please include a brief summary of your science results and links to the published article/press release.