ISS talks

Seminar ISS about: Remnants from the past, building blocks for the future: the near-Earth asteroids

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Dr. Marcel Popescu, IAAR-Bucharest
Dr. Marcel Popescu, IAAR-Bucharest

Guest: Dr. Marcel Popescu, Astronomical Institute of the Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania

When: 11 April 2024, 11:00

Where: ISS, Auditorium

Abstract: Asteroids are the remnants of the planetesimal population that once formed the planets. Consequently, they offer significant opportunities for studying the origins of our Solar System, allowing us to trace the pristine conditions of planetary formation untamed by the influence of major planets and their atmospheres.

The near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) represent a class of asteroids with orbits close to our planet. These small bodies of the Solar System are defined as having perihelion distances q < 1.3 astronomical units (au). Because of their proximity to the Earth, they provide valuable information on the delivery of water and organic-rich material to the early Earth, and the subsequent emergence of life (Marty et al. 2016). From a practical point of view, the study of NEAs is a key point for space exploration. For instance, recent missions such as NASA’s OSIRIS-REx and JAXA’s Hayabusa2 have successfully returned samples collected from two primitive asteroids (Bennu and Ryugu). The ESA’s Hera mission, scheduled for launch in October of this year, will investigate the binary asteroid (65803) Didymos, which was the target of the first large-scale collision experiment involving the controlled impact with NASA’s DART spacecraft. Furthermore, the NEAs are regarded as ideal targets for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) and are anticipated to become a significant source of materials for space activities in the near future (Sanchez & McInnes 2013).

In this talk I will provide an overview of studies concerning the near-Earth objects. I will outline various approaches for discovering asteroids, as well as methods for characterizing them using ground-based telescopes. Finally, I will discuss the exploration of NEAs through space missions.

Contact person: Dr. Gina Isar <gina.isar[at]spacescience[dot]ro

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Seminar on “History of the Romanian space magnetometers”

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Organizer: ISS, The Space Plasma and Magnetometry Laboratory – 1040

Speakers: Dr. Mircea Ciobanu (ISS) and Dr. Marin Sâmpăleanu (University of Calgary, Canada)

When: 14 June 2017, at 11:00

Where: Institute of Space Science – ISS (Auditorium)

Abstract:

The space magnetometers designed and released at the Platform of Physics in Magurele, Romania, has become the most required instruments for measuring the Earth’s magnetic field in frame of the INTERCOSMOS Program, in period 1978-1990. The essential elements that have made possible this success would be presented.

The seminar is open to the public and it can be followed live on the ISS Facebook and YouTube channel.

Contact person: Cătălin Negrea <negreacatalin [at] spacescience [dot] ro>

Seminar on “High-Energy Cosmic Ray Acceleration in Relativistic Jets”

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Artistic impression of a super-massive black hole with relativistic jets. Credit: ESA/NASA/AVO/Padovani

Guest: Dr. Athina Meli, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Gent, Belgium

When: Wednesday, March 22nd, 2017, from 11h00

Where: Institute of Space Science (Auditorium)

Abstract:

The Fermi acceleration mechanism at shocks is invoked to explain non-thermal cosmic-rays in Supernova Remnants, Active Galactic Nuclei Jets and Gamma ray Bursts. The importance of achieving the highest observed cosmic-ray energies by such a mechanism in extragalactic astrophysical environments is a recurring theme. Moreover, relativistic shocks, either single or multiple, have been inferred by observations to be forming within a high-speed plasma jet in extragalactic, relativistic sources. The acceleration of cosmic-rays via the Fermi acceleration mechanism in these shocks is believed to be responsible for the observed cosmic-ray power-law distributions and consequently for the radiation of gamma-rays and neutrinos. In this talk, I will focus on the relativistic cosmic-ray shock acceleration mechanism by giving an overview, will present Monte Carlo test-particle simulation studies for relativistic single and multiple shocks, and will briefly discuss the secondary production and extragalactic propagation of the accelerated high-energy cosmic-rays, giving some insights of their relevance to a multi-messenger physics approach.

Contact person: Ioana Duțan <idutan [at] spacescience [dot] ro>

 

“ISS Talks” with Prof. Henric Krawczynski from Washington University in Saint Louis and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences

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IMG_9117
Image credit: Washington University in Saint Louis

Prof. Henric Krawczynski from Washington University in Saint Louis and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences will hold the „X-Ray Spectropolarimetric Observations of Black Holes and Neutron Stars with X-Calibur” seminar on 18 June at 11 a.m. in the Studio Room, Tower Building.

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Seminar on the effects of dust on the photometric parameters of disks and bulges in spiral galaxies

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Spiral galaxy NGC 1232. Image credit: ESO
Spiral galaxy NGC 1232. Image credit: ESO

Dr. Bogdan Adrian Pastrav (the Astronomical Institute of Romanian Academy – AIRA, the Institute of Space Science – ISS) will hold the „The effects of dust on the photometric parameters of disks and bulges in spiral galaxies” seminar on Wednesday, 6 May 2015, starting 11 a.m., in the Studio Room (Tower building, second floor).

The seminar will focus on the results of a study made to quantify the effects of dust on the derived photometric parameters of disks (old and young stellar disks) and bulges: disk scale-lengths, axis-ratios, central surface-brightness, bulge effective radii, and Sersic indices.

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Care este raza Schwarzschild a unei particule cuantice? ISS Talks cu Prof. Dr. Roberto Casadio de la Universitatea din Bologna

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Casadio_RobertoPe 2 septembrie 2013, începând cu ora 11:00, Institutul de Științe Spațiale (ISS) organizează un colocviu ce îl are ca invitat pe Prof. Dr. Roberto Casadio de la Universitatea din Bologna. Prezentarea va aborda tema razei Schwarzschild a unei particule cuantice, fiind susținută în limba engleză. Colocviul are loc în Sala Studio din clădirea IFA, etajul 2.

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“ISS Talks” cu Prof. Dr. Ken-Ichi Nishikawa de la Universitatea din Alabama/The National Space Science and Technology Center, USA

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KenKamikochiLuni, 29 iulie 2013, începând cu ora 11:00 Institutul de Științe Spațiale (ISS) organizează un colocviu ce îl are ca invitat pe Prof. Dr. Ken-Ichi Nishikawa de la Universitatea din Alabama/ NSSTC, S.U.A. Colocviul are loc în Sala Studio din clădirea IFA, etajul 2.

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