While monitoring NGC 6334 I, a well-studied proto-cluster, a team led by Todd Hunter (NRAO) discovered a millimeter continuum outburst from a massive protostar with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Unlike its proto-cluster companions, this source was so deeply embedded that prior to the outburst, it was too obscured to be observed at infrared wavelengths.

Combining the fluxes obtained from SOFIA mid- and far-infrared data with ALMA millimeter data, protostellar radiative transfer models were used to determine that the protostar had an outburst luminosity 16 times higher than its pre-outburst value. Such an increase may result from a large uptick in the accretion rate -- an accretion burst -- possibly created by a massive clump from the disk falling onto the forming star.

Read more here. Also watch Todd Hunter's presentation for the SOFIA/ALMA Summer series here.

The Cat's Paw Nebula (NGC 6334), imaged here by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope using the IRAC instrument, is a star-forming region inside the Milky Way Galaxy. The dark filament running through the middle of the nebula is a particularly dense region of gas and dust. The inset shows the region of the high-mass protostar with pre- and post-outburst luminosity. Credit: Cat’s Paw Nebula: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Left inset: De Buizer et al. 2000; Right inset: Hunter et al. 2021

The SOFIA blog has launched! This is our new home for the latest SOFIA news and science stories. Our first blog posts include the mapping of ionized carbon in the Fireworks galaxy (NGC 6946), and results from the FEEDBACK Legacy program on the expansion speed of nebula RCW 120.

Starting with Cycle 9, a revised funding distribution plan is now in place. In particular, there is now a minimum grant award threshold value of $40,000 for Priority 1 and 2 projects. Guest Observers of such proposals will be contacted shortly by the SOFIA Science Center Contracts & Grants Manager about their revised awards.

Cycle 8 concluded on July 1st, wrapping up with a FORCAST series which included several lunar water observations. Observations resumed on July 6th, inaugurating the start of Cycle 9. With a planned end date of September 30, 2022, this cycle will be longer than any previous SOFIA cycle. The first of the three Southern Deployments planned in Cycle 9 during July-September 2021, carrying GREAT and HAWC+ instruments, will be conducted from Tahiti, French Polynesia. Considering the cycle timeline, the Cycle 10 Call for Proposals is anticipated to be issued at the end of October 2021, with a deadline in January 2022.

This Summer, the SOFIA Science Center and the North American ALMA Science Center are carrying out their first joint Summer seminar series, exploring synergies between radio/millimeter and infrared observations, spanning a large range of astrophysical topics.

Four exciting events were already held, with recordings available here. Two more talks are scheduled in July, each Thursday at 3:30 pm EDT/12:30 pm PDT, until July 22, 2021. A Q&A/discussion session will follow each 40-45 min talk.

This online workshop organized and hosted by DSI (Deutsche SOFIA Institut) is the first of two, intended for all those interested about the short-term and mid-term future of Infrared and Submm astronomy. This first workshop aims to identify the main scientific interests in this field, in preparation for a second workshop that will focus specifically on supporting instrumental solutions that can be contributed from the European side. The program is now available, and registration is open until July 20.

More details are available at the workshop homepage.

The far infrared contains critical information about galactic ecosystem; The circle of life of stars and planets. What is the initiation of interstellar chemistry -- via light hydrides? What is the role of feedback (from young and old stars) on the interstellar medium (ISM)? What is the role of magnetic fields in the evolution of the ISM and star formation?

SOFIA provides a flexible, and our currently only, general access to the far infrared (30-300 µm) and its tracers of atomic and molecular lines and FIR polarization. This conference will allow in-person discussions of the results and future opportunities in studying galactic ecosystems using FIR methods, from SOFIA and other platforms. A goal will be to explore synergy with other observatories, including JWST and ALMA, and with theory.

Supernovae send copious amount of energy into the interstellar medium and are an important driver of its chemical evolution. IC 443, at a distance of 1.5 kpc, is one of the best studied supernova remnants interacting with a molecular cloud. It is thus an excellent target to investigate the physics and chemistry of shock models.

SOFIA observed a variety of molecular lines that trace shocks. The data, all publicly available in the IRSA SOFIA Archive, can allow an in-depth study of the shocks that interact with the molecular cloud.

Tele-Talks are scientific presentations given via phone, with slides distributed ahead of time. The talks are held approximately twice a month on Wednesdays at 9:00 am Pacific, noon Eastern. For information on how to participate, check the SOFIA Tele-Talk webpage.