Astronomy and Planetary Sciences at the Open University (APSOU)

我们在开放大学(APSOU)的天文学和行星科学研究项目涵盖了宇宙进化的广度，从大爆炸到地球生命的起源，以及火星上生命存在的可能性。我们通过观察、实验室实验、模拟和建模来进行这项研究。我们使用专门设计的实验室和仪器，以及望远镜和宇宙飞船上的仪器来进行观测和测量。我们小组的总部设在俄亥俄州立大学物理科学系，这是物理和环境科学研究中心的一部分。那么，我们想要找出什么？我们有20个不同的项目，一些专注于太阳系，另一些专注于恒星和星系。关于太阳系是如何形成的，我们已经知道了很多。太阳和行星大约在4.57亿年前由尘埃和气体云形成。云团坍塌成一个旋转的圆盘，尘埃和气体螺旋向内。圆盘的核心变热，形成了太阳，而剩下的尘埃和气体形成了行星。我们的太阳系研究试图了解它是如何进化的，最终导致生命的出现。我们将详细研究太阳系历史的某些方面--产生彗星的原始尘埃是什么？当时存在哪些类型的有机化合物？它们是如何被来自太阳和其他恒星的碰撞和辐射改变的？冰层是如何改变的？我们想了解小行星：它们的形状、自转速度和物理结构是什么，它们是如何演化的？月球是如何形成的，它的矿物中有多少水被锁住了？距离太阳如此之近对水星及其表面有何影响？所有这些问题将帮助我们理解行星形成的气体和尘埃云，它们包含了生命的基石。地球以外的其他行星上还会有生命吗？火星呢？它现在又干又冷，但它的地壳曾经被河流和冰川切割，古代的水产生了可以被绕火星运行的卫星识别的矿物质。我们在地球上确实有来自火星的岩石--小行星撞击火星表面而从地球上撕裂出来的大块岩石。我们可以分析组成矿物，并了解产生它们的水。我们可以寻找过去改变岩石的生物活动的迹象，从而探索火星上的宜居历史。我们的天文学研究超越了太阳系，观察导致恒星随着年龄变化的过程。直到最近人们才认识到，如此多的恒星是双星系统，在双星系统中，两颗或更多的恒星密切相关，并相互影响对方的运动。这样的系统会影响恒星的质量和能量损失的方式，以及它们如何被转移到星际介质中。我们将研究“二元性”如何影响大质量恒星(&gt；20倍于太阳的质量)和低质量恒星(&lt；太阳的质量)的行为，以及恒星数量如何随着年龄的增长而变化。研究这些效应是至关重要的，因为恒星的环境会影响它周围的任何行星。在其他恒星(系外行星)周围已经发现了数百颗行星，我们正在努力描述这些行星的各种性质，特别是当它们位于靠近其中心恒星的位置时。除了恒星和系外行星外，我们的天文学研究还扩展到从本星系到早期宇宙的星系。我们可以利用星系扭曲空间和时间的方式来了解它们周围的暗物质，以及将它们分开的暗能量。我们还能做什么？我们建造用于太空任务的仪器，努力使它们更小、更轻，并探索如何在地球上将它们用于医疗或安全目的。我们的研究最重要的好处之一是，它有助于培养和激励学生：下一代科学家和工程师。我们也喜欢告诉尽可能多的人我们的工作，以及我们从工作中学到了什么关于我们的起源

Our research programme, Astronomy and Planetary Sciences at the Open University (APSOU), covers the breadth of cosmic evolution, from the Big Bang to the origin of life on Earth and the possibility of life on Mars. We do this research by observation, laboratory experiments, simulations and modelling. We use purpose-designed laboratories and instruments, and instruments on telescopes and spacecraft to make our observations and measurements. Our group is based in the Department of Physical Sciences at the OU, part of the Research Centre for Physical and Environmental Sciences.So what are we trying to find out? We have 20 separate projects, some focused on the Solar System, others on stars and galaxies. We already know a lot about how the Solar System came about. The Sun and planets formed from a cloud of dust and gas about 4570 million years ago. The cloud collapsed to a spinning disk and dust and gas spiralled inwards. The core of the disk became hot, forming the Sun, while the leftover dust and gas formed the planets. Our Solar System research seeks to understand how it then evolved, eventually allowing life to arise. We will study certain aspects of Solar System history in detail - what was the original dust made from that produced comets? What types of organic compounds were present? How have they been changed by collisions and radiation from the Sun and other stars? How has the ice been altered? We want to know about asteroids: what are their shapes, spin rates, and physical structures, how do they evolve? How did the Moon form, and how much water is locked up in its minerals? How does being so close to the Sun affect Mercury and its surface? All these questions will help us understand the cloud of gas and dust within which the planets formed, and which contained the building blocks of life. Could life have got going on any other planets beside Earth? What about Mars? It is now dry and cold, but its crust was once cut by rivers and glaciers, and ancient water produced minerals identifiable by satellites that orbit Mars. We do have rocks from Mars on Earth - chunks broken from the planet by asteroids hitting Mars' surface. We can analyse the constituent minerals and learn about the water that produced them. We can look for signatures of past biological activity that has altered the rocks, and so explore the history of habitability on Mars.Our Astronomy research goes beyond the Solar System, to look at processes that cause stars to change as they age. Only recently has it been recognised that so many stars are binary systems, where two or more stars are in close association and affect each others' motion. Such systems affect the way mass and energy is lost from a star, and how they are transferred into the interstellar medium. We will study how 'binarity' affects the behaviour of massive stars (>20 times the mass of the Sun) and low mass stars (< the mass of the Sun), and how star populations change as they age. Studying these effects is vital, because the environment of a star influences any planets that surround it. Many hundreds of planets have been discovered around other stars (exoplanets) and we are working to describe the range of properties of these planets, especially when they are located close to their central star. As well as stars and exoplanets, our astronomy research extends to galaxies from the local to the early Universe. We can use the way that galaxies warp space and time to learn about the dark matter that surrounds them, and the dark energy that drives them apart.What else do we do? We build instruments for space missions, striving to make them smaller and lighter, and explore how they can be used on Earth for medical or security purposes. One of the most important benefits of our research is that it helps to train and inspire students: the next generation of scientists and engineers. We also enjoy telling as many people as possible about our work, and what we have learned from it about our origin