Newsletter from Onsala Space Observatory |
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Onsala Space Observatory
Astronomy newsletter | December 2024 |
The spectacular comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS), seen here in the Onsala evening sky on 15 October 2024, was also a target for observations with the 20-m telescope. Credit: Chalmers/Mikael Lerner | From the director
Before many of us take a break for the Christmas and New Year holidays, we reflect on a successful year of operations at Onsala. At the same time, we are preparing for the next phase of activity at the Onsala Space Observatory. The SKA and its regional centers continue to grow, while ALMA has begun efforts on the wideband sensitivity upgrade (WSU) as part of the ALMA2030 project. Additionally, initiatives are already underway looking ahead to ALMA2040 ( www.euroalma2040.com). The second Swedish National SKA Science Days in September were a great success, featuring many fascinating presentations (still available online - read more below). Stay tuned for more exciting SKA news in the near future. Furthermore, Onsala's facilities have supported numerous important results from ALMA, LOFAR, and the EVN, many of which were recently published. Some of these highlights can be found in this newsletter. On the organizational front I would like to welcome Wouter Vlemmings in his newly appointed role as Deputy Director of Onsala Space Observatory. I look forward to working with Wouter closely in the coming years.
We at Onsala wish you all the very best for the holidays and the upcoming year, hoping it brings many more exciting results and developments.
John Conway | |
Calls for proposals
Calls for proposals for the 20 m telescope and APEX are issued only once per year. APEX. The next Call for proposals is expected to be issued in January 2025 with a deadline in February 2025. APEX is a 12 m diameter submillimetre telescope in Chile. The receivers to be used on Swedish time are the heterodyne receivers SEPIA (159-211, 272-376 and 578-738 GHz) and nFLASH (200-270 and 385-500 GHz). Possibly, other receivers will also be available. Onsala 20 m telescope. The call for proposals for single-dish observations with the Onsala 20 m telescope in 2025 is now closed (deadline 6 December 2024) but note that proposals for observations on director's discretionary time can be submitted at any time. The telescope is equipped with receivers which provide continuous frequency coverage in the ranges 18-50, 67-87 and 85-116 GHz with 4 GHz IF bandpass, dual polarisations and full mutual sideband rejection (<−13 dB). Director’s discretionary time. Proposals for observations on director's discretionary time with APEX, the Onsala 20 m telescope, and single station observations with the Swedish LOFAR station in Onsala can be submitted at any time. See our web pages for more information. European VLBI Network. The EVN is a network of radio telescopes located primarily in Europe and Asia. Next deadline 1 February 2025. The EVN homepage has more information. |
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Sweden's second National SKA Science DaysSweden's second National SKA Science Days were held on 10-11 September 2024 at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg.
You can now relive all the presentations online. To access the talks, click here and select the paperclip icons.
During the SKA Science Days we showcased SKA activities in Sweden, including participation in SKA Science Data Challenges, industry contributions, and ongoing development towards the Swedish node of the SKA Regional Center Network, known as SWE-SRC (for more, see swesrc.org).
Kelley Hess and Franz Kirsten, on behalf of the SOC/LOC & SWE-SRC |
Science News Do you have recent science highlights related to telescopes operated or supported by Onsala Space Observatory? Let us know and we'll share in future newsletters!
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Polarised sources with LOFAR
Deep polarisation studies are expected to give new insights into cosmic magnetism, Piras et al (2024) have analysed their survey of polarised sources discovered by LOFAR, mapping rotation measures and comparing with known clusters and superclusters.
| Bubbles on star surfaceVlemmings et al (2024) used ALMA to observe convective bubbles move across the surface of AGB star R Doradus, making the first ever movie of convective cells in a star other than the Sun. See also the Chalmers press release. | | |
Faintest FRB host yet
Hewitt et al (2024) use the PRECISE network of EVN telescopes - including the Onsala 25-m - and deep optical imaging to locate a repeating fast radio burst source. Its host is a remarkably low-luminosity dwarf galaxy, the faintest yet for an FRB counterpart. |
Crash site probe in N2H+Supernova remnant W44 seems to be colliding with a molecular cloud and triggering star formation. Cosentino et al (2024) and ALMA find fragmented clouds
in N2H+, putting ideas about supernova feedback to the test. | | |
ALMA concluded Cycle 10 on September 30th, achieving a record-breaking number of observation hours that passed Quality Assessment level 0 (QA0). The 12m array logged an impressive 4253 hours, surpassing the previous record of 3787 hours set in Cycle 5. Similarly, the 7m array recorded 3733 hours, exceeding the Cycle 6 record of 3722 hours, while the TP array reached 2728 hours, outperforming its previous best of 2364 hours from Cycle 9. This accomplishment highlights Cycle 10 as one of the most efficient observing cycles in ALMA’s history. Cycle 11 began successfully on October 1st, with 11 Nordic-led projects accepted for this cycle. These include four projects from Sweden, three each from Denmark and Finland, and one from Norway.
In late November, Science Verification Band 1 data was released, featuring a spectral scan of Orion KL; for details see https://almascience.org/alma-data/science-verification.
Additionally, a JWST-ALMA workshop was held last week on the Johanneberg campus, co-organised by the ARC node, in collaboration with Karl Gordon from the Space Telescope Science Institute. For support using ALMA or the ALMA Science Archive: write to us at
contact@nordic-alma.se or visit nordic-alma.se. Subscribe to our mailing list to receive further ALMA news.
Sabine König & Daniel Tafoya, Chalmers, on behalf of the Nordic ARC node |
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Support at Onsala Space Observatory
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Onsala Space Observatory offers a wide variety of
support to Swedish astronomers. We host the Nordic ALMA node, and offer support in several
other areas.
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Data Reduction: We support the reduction
of all types of radio/(sub-)mm interferometric
and single-dish observations. We welcome
visitors who need reduction support and offer
them the use of our National Facility
Computing Infrastructure (NaFCI) for
reduction of large data sets. Specialised Courses: We will be able to
assist with specialised lectures on for example,
interferometry, radio/(sub-)mm data analysis
and/or the use of National Facility instruments.
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Student projects: We also encourage visits
by students who want to learn how to reduce
and analyse their radio/(sub-)mm observations.
Workshop/School support: Similarly,
we can assist in planning and lecturing at
schools or workshops, when these include
topics related to National Facility activities and
instruments. This includes but is not limited to,
for example, radio/(sub-)mm interferometry
and single dish observing and analysis, ALMA,
APEX, LOFAR, SKA and EVN, plus our small SALSA telescopes for schools, students and the public. Seminars: National facility staff are also
available for scientific and technical seminars
on the aforementioned instruments. Michael Lindqvist, Chalmers
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Tell your colleagues about us! Onsala Space Observatory Astronomy Newsletter informs the astronomical community of current and planned instruments, support opportunities, and scientific highlights. It's published twice per year. Please encourage your colleagues to join us! Signing up is the best way of ensuring the newsletter gets to your inbox and nowhere else. Robert Cumming, editor, robert.cumming@chalmers.se
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