A&G Volume 54 Issue 6, Full Issue

& News and Reviews in Astronomy & Geophysics December 2013 • Vol. 54 • Issue 6 DIY aurorae High-performance computing The amateur supernova hunter background is transparent The transient universe Advancing Astronomy and Geophysics Express Letters: Free Online These short research articles address topics of high current interest, and you benefit from: »» Publication in one of the world’s foremost solid Earth physics journals Fast publication High visibility and readership among your peers Impact Factor of 2.853 (Thomson Reuters, 2012) No page charges »» »» »» »» And even more visibility and readership for your work: Any Express Letters submitted throughout 2013 will be freely available online! Publish your most important work as an Express Letter in Geophysical Journal International. www.gji.oxfordjournals.org GJI_FillerAd.indd 1 7/10/13 3:50 PM & NEWS AND REVIEWS IN ASTRONOMY & GEOPHYSICS Astronomy & Geophysics publishes news reviews and comment on topics of interest to astronomers and geophysicists. Topical material is preferred. Publication will be as fast as is compatible with referees’ and authors’ responses. Contact the Editor or see http://www.ras.org.uk for further information. Editor: Sue Bowler School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK Tel: +44 (0)113 343 6672. Fax: +44 (0)113 343 3900 Email: Editorial Advisors Andrew Ball Noordwijk Tom Boles Coddenham Allan Chapman Oxford University Roger Davies Oxford University Mike Edmunds University of Wales, Cardiff Jane Greaves University of St Andrews Mike Hapgood Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Richard Holme University of Liverpool Ian Howarth University College London David Hughes Sheffield Katherine Joy University of Manchester Margaret Penston IoA, Cambridge Claire Parnell University of St Andrews Roberto Trotta Imperial College London Althea Wilkinson University of Manchester The Council of the RAS Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BQ Tel: (0)20 7734 4582 or 3307 Fax: (0)20 7494 0166 Email: Web: http://www.ras.org.uk Opening Hours (Monday to Friday) Offices: 9.30–17.00 Library: 10.00–17.00 Staff Contacts Executive Secretary Pamela Mortimer RAS Communications Officer Robert Massey Produced for the RAS by Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, UK Tel: +44 (0)1865 353895. Email: This journal is available online at: http://www.astrogeo.oxfordjournals.org Subscriptions: http://oxfordjournals.org/our_ journals/astrogeo/access_purchase/price_list.html Design and production: Paul Johnson http://www.higgs-boson.com Printed by C.O.S. Printers Pte Ltd, Singapore ISSN 1366-8781 (print), ISSN 1468-4004 (online) ©2013 RAS and individual contributors. All rights reserved. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by the RAS for libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center Transactional Reporting Service, provided that the base fee of $15 per copy is paid directly to CCC (http://www.copyright.com). Special requests should be addressed to the Editor. Disclaimer The contents and views expressed in A&G are the responsibility of the Editor. They do not represent the views or policies of the RAS or Oxford University Press, except where specifically identified as such. While great care is taken to provide accurate and helpful information and advice in the journal, the RAS, its Council and the Editor accept no responsibility for errors or omissions in this or other issues. A&G (ISSN 1366-8781) is published bimonthly. A&G is distributed by Mercury Media Processing, 1634 E. Elizabeth Ave, Linden, NJ 07036, USA. Periodicals postage paid at Rahway, NJ and at additional entry points. US Postmaster: send address changes to A&G, c/o Mercury Media Processing, 1634 E. Elizabeth Ave, Linden, NJ 07036, USA. News and Views 4 Editorial: Here today… • A step closer to the 6 7 E-ELT • From ashes to flashes • ISON intact • Geophysicists on to a winner • iPTF points to rare supernova progenitor • New publication for radio astronomers • How to build a planetary system. Views: Comet confusions. Mission update: Planck, Curisosity, Cassini. Features 9 Q&A: Tom Boles Amateur astronomer Tom Boles has discovered more supernovae than any other individual: 154. 10 DiRAC Day 2013 M Wilkinson reports from a meeting on the UK’s DiRAC-2 high-performance computing facility. 15 The transient universe P Charles and A Shaw introduce articles on the rapidly growing field of transient astrophysics. 17 Gone in a flash: supernovae in the survey era Transient universe M Sullivan on the scientific heritage of supernovae and the future of discoveries. 22 Finding and understanding X-ray transients 154 and counting for supernova hunter, p9 Transient universe A Shaw and P Charles discuss the key discoveries in the X-ray sky. 27 Supergiant fast X-ray transients Transient universe S Drave reports on a new breed of explosive X-ray transient. 31 Explosive sources of the highest energy radiation Transient universe A Hill reports on the variety of transient systems detected by kFermi. 36 The future for radio astronomy High-performance computing in the UK, p10 Transient universe R P Breton and T Hassall on a new generation of radio telescopes. 40 Probing GRB progenitors Transient universe T Staley and A Scaife describe radio follow-up of transients with AMI-LA. 43 DIY Northern Lights C Bryers, M Kosch, A Senior, T Yeoman and M Rietveld produce brighter artificial aurorae. 45 Electron matching above the aurora C Forsyth, A N Fazakerley, A P Walsh and C J Owen address the auroral acceleration region. Obituaries 48 Raynor L Duncombe. Index 49 Index to A&G volume 54. Society News 51 Stand for Council • RAS History • New Fellows. A&G • December 2013 • Vol. 54  Salt flats in Titan’s lake district? p8 Management Board Chair: Ian Crawford Birkbeck College, Univ. of London Pamela Mortimer RAS Robert Massey RAS Mike Cruise RAS Contents Cover: Supernova 1944D, the bright spot below and to the left of galaxy NGC4526, is a visible transient object in the sky. Now the discovery and study of transients at other wavelengths has opened up a new realm of astrophysics. For more about the transient universe, see the collection of papers on pages 6.15–6.42 of this issue. (High-Z Supernova Search Team, HST NASA) 6.3 News Editorial Here today… Sue Bowler, Editor 6.4 The President of Chile Sebastián Piñera has visited the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in the Chilean Atacama desert to formally present documents transferring the site of the European Extremely Large Telescope to ESO. The transfer of land for the telescope and an agreement on light pollution and mining activities for the surrounding area was handed to ESO Director General Tim de Zeeuw in a ceremony that highlighted the commitment of the Chilean government to astronomy at ESO. “Today (...truncated)