Mark Whittle, Professor

Email: dmw8f@virginia.edu
Phone: (434) 924-4900
Fax: (434) 924-3104
Office: 216 Astronomy Building
Address:
       Department of Astronomy
       University of Virginia
       Charlottesville, VA 22904

Curriculum Vitae: BA & MA in Physics: Oxford University; Ph.D. in Astronomy: Cambridge University; Postdocs:; NATO & Lindemann Fellowships: Steward Observatory, Arizona; Research Fellowship: Jesus College Cambridge; Presently:; Professor: University of Virginia; PDF version of my CV (June 2008)

Research Interests: Active galaxies; Normal galaxy dynamics; Star formation in galaxies; Galaxy Clusters

Public Outreach

Big Bang Acoustics

Listen to the Big Bang !

Follow the links BELOW
All-sky microwave image + human ear CT scan
[WMAP team + Gordon Kindlmann].

This web material continues to develop.
Currently, there are three levels of description:
Overview (1&2); Intermediate (3); and Advanced (4)
The sounds are .wav and most movies are Quicktime (.mov).
Your computer must recognize these to play them.
Note also: small (laptop) computer speakers miss the deep tones.

Please use & download any part. All I ask is that if you use it publicly,
please acknowledge its source, thank you.

1) Brief summary: pdf (40kb) ascii (3.5kb) (2 paragraphs)

2a) Press release: pdf (70kb) ascii (22kb)
A 6 page description of the project in non-technical language.

2b) Short Article: pdf (40kb) ascii (13kb)
Article for "Echoes": Newsletter of the Acoustical Society of America.
Somewhat different emphasis; slightly more technical (3 pages).

2c) Longer article: html (40kb) ascii (38kb)
Article for "Griffith Observer": Primal Scream: Sounds from the Big Bang.
General audience; fuller article, with figures and sounds. (10 pages).

3) Web Site:
A fairly complete account of Big Bang Acoustics, in 16 sections.
Many sounds and movies to play (and download).
>>>> Click here <<<<
Safari best, other browsers may not work as well.
A separate collection of sounds & movies is located here

4) UVa / NRAO colloquium: powerpoint (4.4Mb)
More technical talk to UVa / NRAO astronomy faculty (5/18/04)
Wider range of topics discussed. Sound/movies not included.

5) Audio CD version: (Not yet available) materials

Other Public Outreach

1) A Brief History of Matter
Recounts of the origin of atoms, from inside stars to you and me.
Includes deeper roots in the Big Bang, and further reflections.

Web version, with figures.
postscript, PDF & ascii versions (text only, no figures).
First published as three articles in India's Akashmitra (2003/4)
Prize essay in Griffith Observer Science Writing Contest (2004)

2) Nature's Design
Lecture in UVa's "Designing Matter" Course (04/04)
Aims to provide a "big picture" overview.
Focuses on why Nature is so creative.

Powerpoint (8.7 MB, no movies or sounds)
PDF : Color (1/page) Color (6/page) B/W (6/page)
Themes explored via questions: postscript, PDF & ascii

Courses Recently Taught: Astronomy 121 Intro to the Sky and the Solar System; Astronomy 124 Intro to Stars, Galaxies and the Universe; Astronomy 130 Intro to Astronomical Observations; Astronomy 395 Astronomy Tutorial; Astronomy 498 Senior Thesis; Astronomy 836 Graduate Research Topics; USEM 170 The Sound of Creation; Rodman Seminar Cosmology; Astronomy 553-4 Extragalactic Astronomy
(Extensive Lecture Notes and other resources)
[ tar file of whole site, 100 MB ]

Research My research focuses primarily on Seyfert's and other active galaxies. For this research I use large optical telescopes, as well as the Hubble Space Telescope.

Three images of the Seyfert 2 active galaxy, Markarian 78. Top: NICMOS near IR image showing the smooth starlight distribution. Middle: WFPC [OIII] 5007 emission line image shows diffuse doubly ionized oxygen. Bottom: VLA 3.6cm radio shows synchrotron emission from relativistic particles ejected from the nucleus in a jet. These images are part of our study of jet-gas interactions in active galaxies.

Big Bang Acoustics

AAS Denver press talk on Big Bang Acoustics (June 04). The sound an object makes (whether the Universe or, in this case, a wine glass) tells us about its structure.
(photo: Richard Dreiser, AAS)

Click on image to hear Creation's first 400,000 years. Picture shows evolution of sound spectrum, with fundamental and harmonics dropping to lower pitch. (See 3a & 3b under Big Bang Acoustics).

Recent Talks

All links are to powerpoint files.

Galaxy Physics (5.7 MB) Physics Department, UNSW, 03/03

Black Holes in Galaxy Nuclei (5.9 MB) IUCAA, Pune, India, 10/02

When the Universe was Young (5.0 MB) Popular talk, Sydney, 03/03

Jet-Gas Interactions in Seyfert Galaxies (2.0 MB) Colloquia 01/04

Seyfert Jets: Weak, Slow & Heavy (0.9 MB) BHSIGN conference 03/04

Cosmic Music: Sounds from the Infant Universe (4.6 MB) Charlottesville Classical Guitar Society (02/04)

Primordial Sound, Ancient Music (16.1 MB) Colloquium given to UVa Music Department (1/28/05)

These last two are complete if played over the web,
but if downloaded, they don't contain the sounds or movies.

Alumni 2006 (6/3/06) (7.5 MB) Popular Talk to UVa Alumni

Recent Publications

Jet-Gas Interactions in Markarian 78 -- I : Morphology and Kinematics,

Mark Whittle & Andrew Wilson, 2004, AJ, 127, 606-624.

Postscript (3.6 MB) PDF (1.4 MB)

Jet-Gas Interactions in Markarian 78 -- II : Ionization Mechanisms,

Whittle, M., Rosario, D.J., Silverman, J.D, Wilson, A.S & Nelson, C.H., 2004, AJ, submitted.

Postscript (3.6 MB) PDF (1.1 MB)

Jet-Gas Interactions in Markarian 78 -- III : Gas Dynamics and Jet Properties,

Whittle, M., Silverman, J.D, Rosario, D.J., Wilson, A.S & Nelson, C.H. 2004, AJ, to be submitted shortly.

Postscript (3.1 MB) PDF (1.2 MB)

Featureless Continua and Stellar Absorption Lines in Nuclear Spectra of Seyfert Galaxies,

Nelson, C.H. & Whittle, M. 2004, Ap J. submitted.

Postscript (275 kB)

Stellar Absorption Lines in the Spectra of Seyfert Galaxies,

Nelson, C.H. & Whittle, M., 2003, A.S.P. Conf., 297, 891-894.

Postscript (228 kB) and PDF (118 kB)

Jet-Gas Interactions in the Seyfert Galaxy Markarian 78,

Whittle, M., Wilson, A.S, Nelson, C.H., Rosario, D.J., & Silverman, J.D. 2002, Rev. Mex. de Astro. Astrofis., 13, 230--235.

PDF (436 kB)

Seyfert Galaxies,

Mark Whittle 2001, Invited Review for Encyclopedia of Astronomy & Astrophysics, IoP & Macmillan Press.

Postscript (15.5 MB) PDF (3.3 MB)

An H-a Survey of 8 Abell Clusters: the Dependence of Tidally Induced Star Formation on Cluster Density,

Moss, C.M. & Whittle, M. 2000, MNRAS, 317, 667-686.

PDF (486 kB)

More Complete Bibliography: ADS.

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