Astrophysics & Planetary Sciences Colloquium

Results from the Emirates Mars Mission: Up, Down, and All Around

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Abstract: The Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) began its science phase on May 23, 2021, and has been making major contributions to the exploration of Mars' atmosphere on a global scale. From its weather-satellite-like orbit with a period of 55 hours, the Hope Probe uses its infrared, visible, and ultraviolet remote sensing instruments to measure the characteristics of the atmosphere extending from the surface all the way to the edge of space.

Frontiers in Astronomy Education: From Astro 101 to Astronomy Majors

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Abstract: The past 20 years have seen significant advancements in the teaching and learning in college-level Astronomy, with a particular focus on the introductory general education course (hereafter Astro 101).  In recent years collaborators with the Center for Astronomy Education (CAE) have undertaken a theoretical approach to develop a new generation of instructional strategies.  Beyond advancements in the teaching of Astro 101, this work has bridged to the teaching of Astronomy Majors courses.

A Merging of Worlds: Combining the Planetary and Exoplanetary Sciences

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Abstract:  Underpinning planetary science is a deep history of observation and, more recently, robotic exploration within the Solar System, from which models of planetary processes have been constructed. Concurrently, thousands of planets have been discovered outside our Solar System that exhibit enormous diversity, and their large numbers provide a statistical opportunity to place our Solar System within the broader context of planetary structure, atmospheres, architectures, formation, and evolution.

Black hole accretion from the inside out

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Abstract: In the last several years, the combination of resolved event horizon scale images and large-scale computational models has led to new insights into black hole accretion. The main implication is that magnetic fields near the event horizon can become dynamically important, and I'll show that such a scenario provides a natural explanation for the high energy flares from our Galactic center black hole.

Gas flows and metal enrichment in and around simulated galaxies

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Abstract: Galaxies are intimately connected to the environments they live in. The haloes around them contain the gas reservoir from which the galaxies grow, while galactic outflows heat and enrich this circumgalactic medium (CGM). The elemental abundances of present-day stars are, in part, set by these cosmic gas flows. Using zoom-in cosmological simulations of galaxies, I will discuss the physical and observable properties of gas and stars in and around galaxies.

Forming truncated accretion disks

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Abstract: Black hole X-ray binaries and Active Galactic Nuclei transition through a series of accretion states in a well-defined order. During a state transition, the accretion flow changes from a hot geometrically thick accretion flow, emitting a power-law–like hard spectrum to a geometrically thin, cool accretion flow, producing black-body–like soft spectrum.