achievement in the field of astrophysics?
Answers
Answer:
Jason Kalirai, of the Space Telescope Science Institute, was honored for his work in stellar and galactic astrophysics. Among other achievements, he devised new methods to measure the age of the Milky Way galaxy using white dwarf stars and described the fraction of mass that stars lose over their lives.
Answer:
From gravitational waves to the discovery of 'Earth 2.0': The top 5 astrophysics achievements of 2016, revealed
Explanation:
1. Gravitational Waves-The spectacular announcement that ripples in the very fabric of spacetime itself had been found (and from surprisingly massive black holes colliding) sent similarly massive ripples through the scientific community.
The discovery was made using the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and represents a fundamentally new sense with which to see the universe.
2. SpaceX lands (and crashes) a rocket
The year started so well for SpaceX with the incredible achievement of sending a satellite into orbit, which is no mean feat itself at such low cost, before then landing that launch rocket on a barge in the ocean.
A seemingly unstoppable sequence of launches and landings made it appear that a new era of vastly cheaper access to space through rockets that could be refueled and reused was at hand.
3. Closest star may harbour Earth-like world
Proxima Centauri is our Sun's nearest neighbour at just over four light years away, and it appears that its solar system may contain an Earth-like world.
Until this year, astronomers weren't even sure that any planets orbited the star, let alone ones that might harbour the best extrasolar candidate for life that spacecraft could visit within our lifetime.
4. Breakthrough Listen listening and Starshot star-ted
With a potential Earth twin identified in Proxima b, now the challenge is to reach it within a human lifetime.
With the breakthrough initiative starshot, which has been funded by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner and endorsed by none other than Stephen Hawking, lightweight nanosails can be propelled by light beams to reach speeds up to millions of kilometres an hour.
5. Philae reunited with Rosetta
In 2014 the Philae lander became the first space probe to land on a comet, and even though its crash landing dictated that its science transmission would be a one-off, its recent rediscovery by Rosetta has allowed it to continue to contribute to analysis of comet 67P.
Philae's crash location, as well as the orientation of the doomed probe, has allowed astronomers to accurately interpret data taken by Rosetta regarding the composition of the comet.