We present optical, UV and X-ray monitoring of the short orbital period black hole X-ray binary c... more We present optical, UV and X-ray monitoring of the short orbital period black hole X-ray binary candidate Swift J1753.5-0127, focusing on the final stages of its 12−year long outburst that started in 2005. From September 2016 onward, the source started to fade and within three months, the optical flux almost reached the quiescent level. Soon after that, using a new proposed rebrightening classification method we recorded a mini-outburst and a reflare in the optical light curves, peaking in February (V∼17.0) and May (V∼17.9) 2017, respectively. Remarkably, the mini-outburst has a peak flux consistent with the extrapolation of the slow decay before the fading phase preceding it. The following reflare was fainter and shorter. We found from optical colors that the temperature of the outer disk was ∼ 11,000 K when the source started to fade rapidly. According to the disk instability model, this is close to the critical temperature when a cooling wave is expected to form in the disk, shutting down the outburst. The optical color could be a useful tool to predict decay rates in some X-ray transients. We notice that all X-ray binaries that show mini-outbursts following a main outburst are short orbital period systems (< 7 h). In analogy with another class of short period binaries showing similar mini-outbursts, the cataclysmic variables of the RZ LMi type, we suggest mini-outbursts could occur if there is a hot inner disk at the end of the outburst decay.
Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal, Nov 1, 2020
Eddington at Sundy: 100 Years Later celebrated the centenary of the observations of the 1919 sola... more Eddington at Sundy: 100 Years Later celebrated the centenary of the observations of the 1919 solar eclipse, a landmark event that resulted in the first experimental confirmation of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. This celebration was recognized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) as a milestone event for their centenary celebration. More than 50 institutions contributed to nearly 100 initiatives developed in different formats, climaxing in an intense programme experienced by hundreds of people at the Roça Sundy landmark on Príncipe Island at the end of May 2019. Like the 1919 expeditions, three continents were directly involved in these celebrations, showing that international collaboration can result in a sum greater than its parts, leaving a legacy that will prevail for many years to come.
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="" alt="" width="404" height="... more &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="" alt="" width="404" height="400" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The pandemic crisis has reshaped the landscape of formal education worldwide and caused critical challenges for teachers. The most encountered issues can be listed as follows; keeping students motivated to actively engage them in a virtual classroom, ensuring the learning outcomes of the lessons, and adapting their educational practice in a more inclusive and personalised approach to address different types of learners.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In order to address the aforementioned challenges faced by teachers in the school environment, the Erasmus+ project LaSciL brings together schools in Europe, educational research institutions, outreach groups, and Large Scientific infrastructures in Physics. These include robotic telescopes and an astronomical observatory with a group of operators of large scientific infrastructures, education, and outreach specialists, together with school education experts. The aim is to enhance teachers&amp;#8217; digital competence by supporting high-quality science teaching in the classroom from a distance as well as supporting a long-term organisational restructuring of schools.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;LaSciL empowers and supports teachers to become more literate in using high-quality digital educational tools. In this framework, teachers shall be enabled to a) create their own opensource educational resources for their students&amp;#8217; distance learning; b) manage large numbers of students in an online environment by keeping them motivated to participate, c) maintain and enhance their science motivation and d) personalise their teaching practices tailored to the needs of their students. To achieve that, LaSciL demonstrates innovative ways to involve teachers and students in eScience by sharing and exploiting the collective power of highquality digital resources (research facilities, scientific instruments, advanced ICT (Information and Communication Technology) tools, simulation and visualisation applications, and scientific databases). The LaSciL project provides teachers with cutting-edge, curriculum-tailored educational scenarios that can be used, reused, and adapted to their needs, as well as act as a source of inspiration for the design of their own open educational content through active educational methodologies such as Inquiry based learning and Project based learning.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Through careful monitoring and assessment of the teacher training and implementation with students, LaSciL develops a series of best practices and devises a roadmap both for supporting science teachers and proposing a new organisational framework to enable close collaborations between schools and research infrastructures. This connection demonstrates effective ways of involving a broader set of actors in the use of research infrastructures by&lt;br /&gt;developing a framework of actions that will attract young people to science and pool talent to scientific careers.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;LaSciL presents both a short-term and a long-term vision. In the short term, we a) support the development of key teacher ICT competencies and digital readiness; b) produce a series of high-quality digital tools and educational resources ready to be implemented in the classroom and c) facilitate instruction in the pandemic era, maintaining and enhancing students&amp;#8217; science motivation and fascination without compromising the curriculum. In the long term, LaSciL envisions a new organisational framework for the collaboration between schools and research infrastructures.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;LaSciL promotes a culture of cooperation between research infrastructures, by spreading good practices among outreach groups of large-scale research infrastructures, encouraging them to develop their activities in complementary ways and to optimise their use by demonstrating how e-infrastructures, such as robotic telescopes, could support the vision of the science classroom of tomorrow.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Diversity and Inclusion in science are big words. Inclusiveness means paving the... more &lt;p&gt;Diversity and Inclusion in science are big words. Inclusiveness means paving the way to facilitate the participation of all audiences, regardless of their social background, expertise, race and other hundred characteristics. Diversity is embracing our uniqueness. Many research and education projects claim that diversity and inclusion are an integral part of their actions. But are they really? This presentation intends to open the discussion on how to ensure the path towards a career in science is accessible to all, how to start paving the way from ground up. The journey starts in school and success stories of an inclusive and diverse path are not often told. What is your experience?&lt;/p&gt;
We present optical, UV and X-ray monitoring of the short orbital period black hole X-ray binary c... more We present optical, UV and X-ray monitoring of the short orbital period black hole X-ray binary candidate Swift J1753.5-0127, focusing on the final stages of its 12−year long outburst that started in 2005. From September 2016 onward, the source started to fade and within three months, the optical flux almost reached the quiescent level. Soon after that, using a new proposed rebrightening classification method we recorded a mini-outburst and a reflare in the optical light curves, peaking in February (V∼17.0) and May (V∼17.9) 2017, respectively. Remarkably, the mini-outburst has a peak flux consistent with the extrapolation of the slow decay before the fading phase preceding it. The following reflare was fainter and shorter. We found from optical colors that the temperature of the outer disk was ∼ 11,000 K when the source started to fade rapidly. According to the disk instability model, this is close to the critical temperature when a cooling wave is expected to form in the disk, shutting down the outburst. The optical color could be a useful tool to predict decay rates in some X-ray transients. We notice that all X-ray binaries that show mini-outbursts following a main outburst are short orbital period systems (< 7 h). In analogy with another class of short period binaries showing similar mini-outbursts, the cataclysmic variables of the RZ LMi type, we suggest mini-outbursts could occur if there is a hot inner disk at the end of the outburst decay.
Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal, Nov 1, 2020
Eddington at Sundy: 100 Years Later celebrated the centenary of the observations of the 1919 sola... more Eddington at Sundy: 100 Years Later celebrated the centenary of the observations of the 1919 solar eclipse, a landmark event that resulted in the first experimental confirmation of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. This celebration was recognized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) as a milestone event for their centenary celebration. More than 50 institutions contributed to nearly 100 initiatives developed in different formats, climaxing in an intense programme experienced by hundreds of people at the Roça Sundy landmark on Príncipe Island at the end of May 2019. Like the 1919 expeditions, three continents were directly involved in these celebrations, showing that international collaboration can result in a sum greater than its parts, leaving a legacy that will prevail for many years to come.
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="" alt="" width="404" height="... more &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="" alt="" width="404" height="400" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The pandemic crisis has reshaped the landscape of formal education worldwide and caused critical challenges for teachers. The most encountered issues can be listed as follows; keeping students motivated to actively engage them in a virtual classroom, ensuring the learning outcomes of the lessons, and adapting their educational practice in a more inclusive and personalised approach to address different types of learners.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In order to address the aforementioned challenges faced by teachers in the school environment, the Erasmus+ project LaSciL brings together schools in Europe, educational research institutions, outreach groups, and Large Scientific infrastructures in Physics. These include robotic telescopes and an astronomical observatory with a group of operators of large scientific infrastructures, education, and outreach specialists, together with school education experts. The aim is to enhance teachers&amp;#8217; digital competence by supporting high-quality science teaching in the classroom from a distance as well as supporting a long-term organisational restructuring of schools.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;LaSciL empowers and supports teachers to become more literate in using high-quality digital educational tools. In this framework, teachers shall be enabled to a) create their own opensource educational resources for their students&amp;#8217; distance learning; b) manage large numbers of students in an online environment by keeping them motivated to participate, c) maintain and enhance their science motivation and d) personalise their teaching practices tailored to the needs of their students. To achieve that, LaSciL demonstrates innovative ways to involve teachers and students in eScience by sharing and exploiting the collective power of highquality digital resources (research facilities, scientific instruments, advanced ICT (Information and Communication Technology) tools, simulation and visualisation applications, and scientific databases). The LaSciL project provides teachers with cutting-edge, curriculum-tailored educational scenarios that can be used, reused, and adapted to their needs, as well as act as a source of inspiration for the design of their own open educational content through active educational methodologies such as Inquiry based learning and Project based learning.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Through careful monitoring and assessment of the teacher training and implementation with students, LaSciL develops a series of best practices and devises a roadmap both for supporting science teachers and proposing a new organisational framework to enable close collaborations between schools and research infrastructures. This connection demonstrates effective ways of involving a broader set of actors in the use of research infrastructures by&lt;br /&gt;developing a framework of actions that will attract young people to science and pool talent to scientific careers.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;LaSciL presents both a short-term and a long-term vision. In the short term, we a) support the development of key teacher ICT competencies and digital readiness; b) produce a series of high-quality digital tools and educational resources ready to be implemented in the classroom and c) facilitate instruction in the pandemic era, maintaining and enhancing students&amp;#8217; science motivation and fascination without compromising the curriculum. In the long term, LaSciL envisions a new organisational framework for the collaboration between schools and research infrastructures.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;LaSciL promotes a culture of cooperation between research infrastructures, by spreading good practices among outreach groups of large-scale research infrastructures, encouraging them to develop their activities in complementary ways and to optimise their use by demonstrating how e-infrastructures, such as robotic telescopes, could support the vision of the science classroom of tomorrow.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Diversity and Inclusion in science are big words. Inclusiveness means paving the... more &lt;p&gt;Diversity and Inclusion in science are big words. Inclusiveness means paving the way to facilitate the participation of all audiences, regardless of their social background, expertise, race and other hundred characteristics. Diversity is embracing our uniqueness. Many research and education projects claim that diversity and inclusion are an integral part of their actions. But are they really? This presentation intends to open the discussion on how to ensure the path towards a career in science is accessible to all, how to start paving the way from ground up. The journey starts in school and success stories of an inclusive and diverse path are not often told. What is your experience?&lt;/p&gt;
Uploads
Papers by Rosa Doran