Astronomy at the Open University 2020-2023

我们的研究方案，天文学在开放大学，涵盖了宇宙演化的广度，从第一个恒星和星系的形成到行星的诞生，现在在银河系最接近太阳的恒星形成区域。我们通过观察、实验室实验、计算机模拟和数学建模来进行这项研究。我们使用专门设计的实验室和仪器，以及望远镜和航天器上的仪器来进行观察和测量。我们的小组设在米尔顿凯恩斯的物理科学学院。那么我们想知道什么呢？我们有7个独立的项目，涵盖了所有天文尺度上的各种事物，从搜索和了解围绕太阳近邻恒星运行的行星，到利用“引力透镜”效应引起的放大来探测超高红移星系。这些最遥远的可观测物体是在宇宙非常年轻的时候形成的。我们研究了从星系中心吸积黑洞中喷出的高能粒子喷流，并利用我们的观测来推断喷流如何影响其宿主星系和周围环境。我们还研究了单个星系中的喷流在宇宙历史上是如何变化的。同样，我们研究整个宇宙历史中尘埃和恒星的形成。在我们自己的银河系中，我们特别注意质量最大的恒星，它们的质量大约是太阳的100倍。它们非常明亮，而且以天文学标准来看寿命很短--也就是说，它们的寿命只有几十亿年，而不是像太阳和其他“正常”的低质量恒星那样的几十亿年。最大质量的恒星从它们的外层喷射出大量的物质，我们观察到这如何影响银河系的邻近区域。我们使用SuperWASP搜索行星过境明亮恒星时产生的大量数据档案来测量恒星本身的变化。利用公民科学项目https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/ajnorton/superwasp-variable-stars，我们对变星进行了分类，并使用结果来识别罕见类型变星的新例子，例如合并形成“红色新星”的红色恒星。我们正在寻找那些轨道非常靠近其宿主恒星的岩石行星--也就是说，行星的一年只有大约10个地球日或更少。这些行星很有趣，因为来自附近星星的强烈加热导致岩石熔化或变成气体，所以星星最终被来自行星表面的富含金属的气体所笼罩。这给了我们一个独特的机会来测量这些行星岩石表面的成分。在实验室里，我们测量冰-水，但也一氧化碳，二氧化碳，和更复杂的分子，如甲醇。由于星际空间是如此寒冷，这些分子以冰的形式存在于那里，作为所谓的天体物理冰。通过在实验室中重新创造它们，我们可以解释望远镜对它们的观察，并找出宇宙中第一个复杂的有机分子是如何形成的。这使我们能够为下一个伟大的NASA/ESA太空天文台的发射做好准备：詹姆斯韦伯太空望远镜。最后，我们参与规划欧空局ARIEL太空望远镜的要求，该望远镜将测量绕其他恒星运行的行星的组成。

Our research programme, Astronomy at The Open University, covers the breadth of cosmic evolution, from formation of the first stars and galaxies to the birth of planets now in the star-forming regions of the Milky Way Galaxy closest to the Sun. We do this research by observation, laboratory experiments, computer simulations and mathematical 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 School of Physical Sciences at The OU in Milton Keynes.So what are we trying to find out? We have 7 separate projects covering a variety of things on all astronomical size-scales, from searching for and learning about planets orbiting the Sun's near-neighbour stars to using the magnification caused by the "gravitational lensing" effect to detect ultra-high redshift galaxies. These latter, most distant observable objects were formed when the Universe was very young. We study the jets of energetic particles which are ejected from the accreting black holes at the centres of galaxies, and use our observations to deduce how the jets affect their host galaxies and surroundings. We also work out how the jets in an individual galaxy change over the history of the Universe. Similarly, we study the formation of dust and stars throughout the Universe's history. Within our own Galaxy we pay particular attention to the most massive stars, which have masses roughly 100 times that of the Sun. They are extremely luminous and short-lived by astronomical standards - i.e. 10s or 100s of millions of years, rather than billions of years like the Sun and other "normal" lower mass stars. The most massive stars eject a lot of the material from their outer layers, we observe how this affects the neighbouring regions of the Galaxy. We use huge archives of data generated in the SuperWASP search for planets transiting bright stars to measure the variability of stars themselves. Using the citizen science project https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/ajnorton/superwasp-variable-stars we classify variable stars, and use the results to identify new examples of rare types of variable stars, for example red stars on the point of merging to form a "red nova". We are looking for rocky planets which orbit very close to their host stars - i.e. planets whose year is only about 10 Earth-days or less. These are interesting because the intense heating from the nearby star causes the rock to melt or change into gas, so the star ends up shrouded in metal-rich gas originating on the planets' surface. This gives us a unique opportunity to measure the composition of the rocky surfaces of these planets. In the laboratory we take measurements of ices - of water, but also carbon-monoxide, carbon-dioxide, and more complicated molecules like methanol. Because interstellar space is so cold, these molecules exist in ice form there, as so-called astrophysical ices. By re-creating them in the lab we can interpret telescope observations of them and work out how the first complex organic molecules formed in the Universe. This allows us to prepare for the launch of the next great NASA/ESA space observatory: the James Webb Space Telescope. Finally we are involved in planning the requirements for ESA's ARIEL space telescope, which will measure the compositions of planets orbiting other stars.