UF astronomer helps capture most comprehensive images of Milky Way
A UF astronomer helped release the most comprehensive images of the Milky Way to date.
Since 2010, an international research team has worked on developing partial images into a more comprehensive image, said Peter Barnes, a UF astronomer who is part of the research team.
The series of images gives information about the star-forming clouds in the Milky Way. There’s more material within these clouds than the team estimated, he said. There was two to three times more matter than they previously thought.
The findings provide insight to the birth of the solar system and defines how to measure star-forming activity, Barnes said.
Getting the images was not easy, he said. It took the team about 1,450 hours of using a special telescope.
The Mopra telescope helped make these image findings possible. It has a sensitive radio receiver attached to a large satellite dish, and it collects faint signals from deep space, unlike most other telescopes.
UF astronomy and physics alumnus Billy Schap said he was excited about the images and what they mean for the field and future research. Schap is currently working on an astronomy research project called CHaMP, or the Galactic Census of High and Medium-mass Protostars.
"We only used to be able to see a dark fuzz that made up the Milky Way," the 23-year-old said. "And now technology allows us to see developed images of it. This shows how far we have come and how advanced the field of astronomy has became."
Barnes said he thinks it’s cool that the images are both aesthetically and scientifically beautiful.
"They tell us about our place in the universe, they tell us about our origins, and the images themselves tell us a lot about scientific information," he said.
- Courtney Grisby
UF professor finds invasive plant in ponds, canals
Crested floating heart rests prettily on pond waters, but a UF professor found the lily-pad-like plant can be harmful to the environment.
It’s a highly invasive species that blocks the surface of ponds and clogs canals, said Lyn Gettys, UF assistant professor of agronomy and aquatic plant specialist at UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center.
She said the pest started as an aquarium decoration, but when people threw the plants away, they crept into canals and waterways.
When it storms the plants can be a nuisance, she said. People will move water in canals so it doesn’t overflow.
But with the plants clogging the canals, it makes it difficult to move the water because the plant clumps together like bananas, which creates dense coverage that blocks light and limits oxygen to fish and other plants.
"It’s bad for us, and it’s bad for critters that live underwater," Gettys said.
The weed is banned in Florida unless people have a permit. It asexually reproduces at a rapid rate.
The plant is very hard to kill once it gets in the waterways, Gettys said.
There are only a few effective herbicides, she said. The best way to get rid of it is through early detection and rapid response.
Gettys will present this technique to state water managers in the future.
- Taylor Maloney
