Simons Foundation

News

May 23, 2023

Finding Order in the Chaos of the Cosmos By Mara Johnson-Groh

August 08, 2022

Watch: Suzanne Staggs and the Signatures of the Primordial Universe

April 11, 2023

Map of Space-Time Distortions Reveals Universe’s Dark Matter Distribution, Proving Einstein Right By Thomas Sumner

March 23, 2023

Artificial Intelligence Discovers Secret Equation for ‘Weighing’ Galaxy Clusters

At first glance, this image is dominated by the vibrant glow of the swirling spiral to the lower left of the frame. However, this galaxy is far from the most interesting spectacle here — behind it sits a galaxy cluster. Galaxies are not randomly distributed in space; they swarm together, gathered up by the unyielding hand of gravity, to form groups and clusters. The Milky Way is a member of the Local Group, which is part of the Virgo Cluster, which in turn is part of the 100 000-galaxy-strong Laniakea Supercluster. The galaxy cluster seen in this image is known as SDSS J0333+0651. Clusters such as this can help astronomers understand the distant — and therefore early — Universe. SDSS J0333+0651 was imaged as part of a study of star formation in far-flung galaxies. Star-forming regions are typically not very large, stretching out for a few hundred light-years at most, so it is difficult for telescopes to resolve them at a distance. Even using its most sensitive and highest-resolution cameras, Hubble cannot resolve very distant star-forming regions, so astronomers use a cosmic trick: they search instead for galaxy clusters, which have a gravitational influence so immense that they warp the spacetime around them. This distortion acts like a lens, magnifying the light of galaxies sitting far behind the cluster and producing elongated arcs like the one seen to the left of centre in this image.

March 20, 2023

Advancing Astronomy With Statistics By Mara Johnson-Groh

March 01, 2023

2023 CCA Predoctoral Program: Call for Applications

February 16, 2023

Simons Foundation Scientists Named as Sloan Research Fellows

January 24, 2023

Colin Hill and Oliver Philcox Among Winners of Buchalter Cosmology Prize

January 19, 2023

Astrophysicist Chiara Mingarelli Awarded the 2023 HEAD Early Career Prize

January 09, 2023

Doomed Pair of Supermassive Black Holes the Closest to Collision Ever Seen By Thomas Sumner

ALMA Scientists Find Pair of Black Holes Dining Together in Nearby Galaxy Merger
While studying a nearby pair of merging galaxies using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA)— and international observatory co-operated by the U.S. National Science Foundation’s National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)— scientists discovered two supermassive black holes growing simultaneously near the center of the newly coalescing galaxy. These super-hungry giants are the closest together that scientists have ever observed in multiple wavelengths. What’s more, the new research reveals that binary black holes and the galaxy mergers that create them may be surprisingly commonplace in the Universe.

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