SS 433:
A Journey with the
Scientific Method
What is the Scientific Method?
Is there only one type of scientific method?
How many steps does it have?
What are those steps?
Compare and Contrast the following slides
How many steps are there?
How is the scientific method organized?
Is there one correct approach?
How do the methods differ?
How are the methods alike?
Which method is the best/most accurate/most useful?
Why?
SS433: A Case Study
Poor First Impressions
SS 433 is the black dot around the center of the image
Uninteresting using optical instruments
1000x to faint to be seen with the naked eye
Astronomers did not have reason to think SS 433 was special
Interesting Chemistry
SS 433 has a very unusual spectrum, it was much wider than other stars
In a universe with untold number of stars, not many things are unique
But SS 433 was
Was discovered twice separately, by two different groups of Astronomers
A Radio Source
SS 433 was also producing Radio Waves
Like the Spectrum discovery, this was discovered by a separate group of Astronomers
Unusual symmetry was noticed
“Corkscrew” like structure emitting from the left and right of SS 433
X-Ray Excitement
A fourth group of Astronomers noticed an exciting X-Ray pattern
Similar to the Radio waves, X-Rays appear to “Corkscrew” East and West from the source
X-Ray pattern seemed to change over time
Why did the Astronomers not talk?
Each of the four groups of Astronomers did not know what the other ones had found out about SS 433
In 1978, three separate groups of Astronomers look at SS 433 and compared data
They noticed that SS 433 had unique Spectral lines, Radio Waves, and X-Rays!
Astronomers finally took note and started researching SS 433
Scientific Method
Where are we now on the Scientific Method?
What is the next step?
Are there options for our next step?
Or
A Little Bit on Spectrum
Elements (such as Hydrogen) appear on a Spectrum at known wavelengths
Hydrogen as it appears in stars has a wavelength of around 6500
Since Hydrogen is so common, it is expected when looking at a star
SS 433 and Hydrogen
SS 433 had the expected Hydrogen Peak, but it also had peaks before and after
Astronomers didn’t know what this was
Could these be new elements?
How does this relate to the unusual Radio waves and X-rays?
Scientific Method
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Doppler Effect
The Doppler Effect is when a sound wave is produced by a moving object
The wave sounds different depending on if the object is coming or going
But, the Doppler Effect is not just about sound
It effects light as well
Red Shift/Blue Shift
Light changes frequency just like sound if the object or observer is moving
For stars and galaxies, we can tell if they are moving and how fast by their Red Shift or Blue Shift
Doppler Effect and SS 433
The unusual Spectral lines were due to SS 433’s signal moving and the Doppler Effect
The lines are really far away from each other
SS 433 must be moving 40,000 km/sec, or 10% the speed of light!
Far to fast for an object like a star to move, it would escape it’s galaxy at that speed
Scientific Method
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Moving Hydrogen
Not only was SS 433’s signal moving, but it was moving over itself
SS 433 was actually giving off three separate Spectra lines
One that did not move in the center, and two outside ones that criss crossed each other
Something was stationary, and something was moving 40,000 km/s
Working Together
SS 433 was very unique, so the Astronomers wanted as much data as possible
Four separate Observatories watched SS 433, putting their own work on hold
Scientific Method
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Jet Fueled
Since the Hydrogen lines moved so fast, it was Hypothesized by theorists from England and Israel that they were caused by jets of gas in opposite directions
SS 433 would rotate and these jets would point towards and away from Earth, causing the Doppler Effect
Periodic
SS 433 varied in brightness on a 160-day interval
The center spectral line moved on a 13-day interval
Radio waves varied on a 6.6-day interval
X-Rays flared on a 13-day interval
Conclusion?
Since the Jets of gas moved AND the center source moved AND the entire system varied in brightness, there must be more than one object
The X-rays varied along with the center Spectra line, so they may be connected
SS 433 lives inside a Supernova Remnant (W50), an exploded star
When stars explode and die, they can create Black Holes
Perhaps SS 433 is a black hole with a orbiting star, that shoots Jets of gas at incredible speeds
Conclusion?
The Jets are at right angles to the Black Hole, and wobble like a top compared to the orbit of the star
This wobble accounts for the odd nature of the intervals
https://www.nrao.edu/pr/2004/ss433/ss433.movie.gif for a .gif of the jets in action!
Scientific Method
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Still learning
SS 433 is still teaching Astronomers today about the varied nature of the Universe
SS 433 is a small version of a Quasar, an extra-galactic black hole that is itself creating a new Galaxy
Since SS 433 is in our Galaxy, it allows us to more easily study the creation of a Galaxy
Hence, SS 433 is called a Microquasar
HAWC
SS 433 also produces Gamma-Rays, the most powerful of the EM Spectrum
In 2018 the High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory (HAWC) imaged SS 433’s jets in Gamma-Rays
SS 433 produces Gamma-Rays at 25 TeV, 10x more powerful than any other Microquasar!
The Scientific Method Continues...
Where are we now on the Scientific Method?
What is the next step?
Are there options for our next step?
Or