Last month , associate Prof . Rafael S . de Souza from Shanghai Astronomical Observatory ( SHAO ) , as the 2nd author , published an important review article on the statistical and computational challenges in astrophysics .On the “ Annual Review of Statistics and Its Application ” ( ARSIA ) , one of the top review journals in Statistics in the world .The article entitled “ Twenty-First-Century Statistical and Computational Challenges in Astrophysics ” was written with Professor Eric D . Feigelson of Pennsylvania State University , Emille E . O . Ishida of Universite Clermont Auvergne .

Active Galactic Nuclei ( AGN ) is a very special class of extragalactic objects .Quasars are extremely bright AGNs . Quasars can be divided into radio quiet and radio loud quasars according to the ratio of radio intensity relative to optical intensity of quasars .How the black hole at the center of the active galaxy affects its host galaxy , and whether radio quiet and radio loud quasars can be unified , is still a hot issue to be solved in this field .Press contact : ZUO Wenwen ， Shanghai Astronomical Observatory , wenwenzuo @ shao . ac . cn.

Stars are known to form in so-called “ molecular clouds ” .Collections of cold gas and dust in the space between stars .These stellar nurseries can contain a number of dense clumps of gas and dust called “ prestellar cores " .Research has suggested that these cores are expected to exhibit concentrated structures within them - the “ seeds ” of new stars right at the cusp of being born .The Orion Constellation is also known as the Ka Hei-Hei O N ā Keiki ( “ the cat ’ s cradle ” ) in Hawaiian . Credit : ASIAA/Wei-Hao Wang/ALMA ( ESO/NAOJ/NRAO ) / Tie Lie/Sahu et al .

Jets are ubiquitously in association with different celestial objects .The longest jet can reach a range 10 billion times longer than its initial radius , and the maximum jet velocity can reach up to 99.99% of the speed of light .The process of how jet launching , acceleration and collimation is one of the main unsolved problems in astrophysics .Science Contact : CHEN Liang , Shanghai Astronomical Observatory , Chinese Academy of Sciences , chenliang @ shao . ac . cn News Contact : ZUO Wenwen , Shanghai Astronomical Observatory , Chinese Academy of Sciences , wenwenzuo @ shao . ac . cn .

The Milky Way ( MW ) , the Galaxy that we reside in , contains many mysteries .Astronomical observations have provided strong evidence that the Galaxy is dominated by dark matter , while the normal matter , the baryons , only accounts for a small fraction of about 6% of the total gravitating matter .A key step toward solving this mystery is the precise measurement of the total mass of the Milky Way .News Contact : ZUO Wenwen , Shanghai Astronomical Observatory , Chinese Academy of Sciences , wenwenzuo @ shao . ac . cn , 021-34775125.

A pair of gigantic gamma-ray bubbles centered on the core of the Milky Way galaxy were discovered by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope 10 years ago. The question of how they were formed still remains as a mystery. Recently, researchers at Shanghai Astronomical Observatory presented a new model, explaining for the first time the origins of both the Fermi bubbles and the Galactic center biconical X-ray structure discovered in 2003 simultaneously.presented a new model, explaining for the first time the origins of both the Fermi bubbles and the Galactic center biconical X-ray structure discovered in 2003 simultaneously.

Using radio telescopes from five continents , astronomers prove the existence of a narrow stream of material ( jet ) emerging from the only gravitational wave event involving two neutron stars observed so far .This finding has been published in the scientific journal Science by an international team of astronomers , including researchers from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory ( SHAO ) .Link to paper : G . Ghirlanda , et al . 2019 , Science http : / / science . sciencemag . org/cgi/doi / 10.1126 / science . aau8815.

Supposing a distant active black hole is vomiting towards you , what will you see ?Recently , a research group led by Prof . WANG Zhongxiang from Shanghai Astronomical Observatory discovered a month-long Quasi-Periodic Oscillation ( QPO ) from such a black hole .Since our viewing angle to the jet ’ s emission undergoes periodic changes , the observed brightness will be quasi-periodically modulated .

A research team led by Dr. KONG Dali from Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO), Chinese Academy of Sciences found that multiple possibilities of zonal winds structure could exist using the Juno spacecraft’s measurements. They also present some weaknesses in the earlier influential paper published on Nature. This work has been published on one of the top 4 famous periodicals, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.