middbriefs

Author: Michael Suen and Brian Fung

"Cosmic cannonball" research published

NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory has discovered a star hurtling at very high speeds through space. Gamaliel Painter Bicentennial Professor of Physics Frank Winkler co-authored the research on this phenomenon with Robert Petre of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

From December 1999 to April 2005, astronomers observed the neutron star RX J0822-4300 moving away from the remnant of the Puppis A supernova at a speed of over three million miles per hour. Rocketed outwards by the massive explosion, the so-called "cosmic cannonball" has already traveled 20 light-years and will eventually leave the Milky Way, though not for millions of years.

In the past, similar stars have been observed moving out of the Milky Way at speeds around one million miles per hour. Astronomers have postulated that the speeds of these hypervelocity stars are due to interactions with the supermassive black hole in the Milky Way's center. RX J0822-4300, on the other hand, was ejected by the supernova that created Puppis A. The neutron star's incredible speed challenges complex supernova explosion models.

Winkler and Petre's research was published in the Nov. 20 issue of The Astrophysical Journal.


MiddVOTE encourages students to register

On Nov. 28, Middlebury voting awareness group MiddVOTE held its first annual voting registration event. Encouraging students to vote in the presidential primary elections this upcoming spring and the presidential elections next fall, the group offered free pizza and mail-in forms for those who registered or applied for an absentee ballot.

"Turnout was very high, even higher than expected," said Trevor Lee '09, one of the student organizers. "We're excited about the amount of energy that we saw on Wednesday night." In total, MiddVOTE registered 93 people to vote and filled out an even larger number of applications for absentee ballots.

"We'd definitely like to streamline the process a little more," said Lee. With an ultimate goal of 100 percent student voter participation, MiddVOTE plans to hold another registration night next year before general elections.


Student wages increase beginning in January

The College's Student Employment Office (SEO) announced in a campus-wide e-mail on Dec. 3 that new changes to the Student Wage Scale would take effect beginning on New Year's Day, 2008.

On Jan. 1, students working in Level B ("Skilled") or Level C ("Specialist") positions at the College can expect to see their hourly pay rate increase by $.25. The change will take effect across the board for all students, including those who have worked for more than one year in their positions.

Meanwhile, all Level A ("General") positions will see a rate hike of $.20. The amendments come in the face of a two percent rise this year in the Consumer Price Index, which seeks to calculate average costs of living by taking into account such variables as food, housing and transportation.