Astronomy and Planetary Sciences at the Open University (APSOU)

我们的研究方案-开放大学天文学和行星科学-涵盖了从宇宙大爆炸到地球生命起源和火星生命可能性的宇宙演化的广度。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，以及望远镜和航天器上的仪器来进行观察和测量。我们的研究小组设在物理与环境科学研究中心的物理科学系，那么我们想知道什么呢？我们有20个独立的项目，一些集中在太阳系，其他的恒星和星系。我们已经知道了很多关于太阳系是如何形成的。大约45.7亿年前，太阳和行星由尘埃和气体云形成。云坍缩成一个旋转的圆盘，尘埃和气体螺旋向内。圆盘的核心变热，形成了太阳，而剩余的尘埃和气体形成了行星。我们的太阳系研究旨在了解它是如何进化的，最终允许生命出现。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？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？冰是怎么变的？我们想了解小行星：它们的形状、旋转速率和物理结构是什么，它们是如何进化的？月球是如何形成的，有多少水被锁在它的矿物质中？水星离太阳如此之近，会对水星及其表面产生什么影响？所有这些问题都将帮助我们了解行星形成的气体和尘埃云，其中包含生命的基石。除了地球以外，其他行星上是否也有生命存在？那火星呢它现在是干燥和寒冷的，但它的地壳曾经被河流和冰川切割过，古代的水产生了火星轨道卫星可以识别的矿物质。地球上确实有来自火星的岩石--小行星撞击火星表面时从地球上破碎的岩石块。我们可以分析组成矿物质并了解产生它们的水。我们可以寻找改变岩石的过去生物活动的特征，从而探索火星上可居住的历史。我们的天文学研究超越了太阳系，研究导致恒星随着年龄的变化而变化的过程。直到最近人们才认识到，许多恒星都是双星系统，其中两颗或更多的恒星密切相关，并相互影响对方的运动。这样的系统影响着质量和能量从星星中损失的方式，以及它们如何转移到星际介质中。我们将研究“双星”如何影响大质量恒星（>20倍太阳质量）和低质量恒星（<太阳质量）的行为，以及星星种群如何随着年龄的增长而变化。研究这些影响是至关重要的，因为星星的环境会影响它周围的任何行星。已经发现了数百颗围绕其他恒星（系外行星）的行星，我们正在努力描述这些行星的性质范围，特别是当它们靠近中心星星时。除了恒星和系外行星，我们的天文学研究还延伸到从本地到早期宇宙的星系。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，以及驱使它们分开的暗能量。我们还能做什么？我们为太空任务制造仪器，努力使它们更小，更轻，并探索如何将它们用于地球上的医疗或安全目的。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：下一代的科学家和工程师。我们也喜欢告诉尽可能多的人关于我们的工作，以及我们从它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