{"id":136541,"date":"2021-03-02T15:08:41","date_gmt":"2021-03-03T01:08:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=136541"},"modified":"2021-03-03T09:10:47","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T19:10:47","slug":"astronomy-student-old-faithful-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2021\/03\/02\/astronomy-student-old-faithful-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Astronomy student\u2019s fiery ‘Old Faithful’ discovery earns national award"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Payne
Anna Payne<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unraveling an explosive mystery 570 million light-years away from Earth is an accomplishment belonging to the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Institute for Astronomy<\/a> graduate student Anna Payne<\/strong>. Her discovery of a blackhole at the center of an alluring active galaxy has earned her American Astronomical Society\u2019s (AAS<\/abbr>) Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Student Award.<\/p>\n

\"A
A giant star being slowly devoured as it orbits the galaxy\u2019s central black hole. (Image credit: NASA<\/abbr>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Payne\u2019s detection appears to reclassify what astronomers originally thought were supernova that fueled periodic flares every 114 days at the core of what\u2019s been dubbed the “Old Faithful” galaxy. ESO<\/abbr> 253-3 is the galaxy\u2019s scientific name, but a nickname after Yellowstone National Park\u2019s famous geyser stuck because of its regular eruptive outbursts.<\/p>\n