ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jedidah Isler - Astrophysicist
Jedidah Isler studies blazars — supermassive hyperactive black holes that emit powerful jet streams. They are the universe’s most efficient particle accelerators, transferring energy throughout galaxies.

Why you should listen

Jedidah Isler has been staring at the stars since she was 11 or 12. But because neither her undergraduate college or the university where she got her first master’s degree offered astronomy majors, she threw herself wholeheartedly into physics. It wasn’t until she entered a doctoral program that she was able to dedicate her time to the studying the night sky. In 2014, she became the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D in Astrophysics from Yale.

Isler studies blazars — supermassive hyperactive black holes at the center of galaxies, some of which emit powerful streams of particles. Sometimes these are oriented toward Earth, offering us a unique perspective on the physics of the universe. Isler is a Chancellor’s Faculty Fellow in Physics at Syracuse University. She participates in the Future Faculty Leader program at Harvard's Center for Astrophysics and was named a 2015 TED Fellow.

Isler is also interested in breaking down barriers that prevent many students — especially women of color — from becoming scienists. She works to make STEM accessible to new communities. 

More profile about the speaker
Jedidah Isler | Speaker | TED.com
TED2015

Jedidah Isler: How I fell in love with quasars, blazars and our incredible universe

Jedidah Isler: Como me Apaixonei pelos Quasares, Blazars e o nosso Incrível Universo

Filmed:
1,513,343 views

Jedidah Isler se apaixonou pelo céu noturno quando era criança. Agora ela é uma astrofísica que estuda buracos negros supermaciços e hiperativos. Numa palestra encantadora, ela nos leva a trilhões de quilômetros da Terra para nos apresentar objetos que podem ter de 1 a 10 bilhões de vezes a massa do Sol - que, às vezes, lançam potentes jatos de partículas em nossa direção.
- Astrophysicist
Jedidah Isler studies blazars — supermassive hyperactive black holes that emit powerful jet streams. They are the universe’s most efficient particle accelerators, transferring energy throughout galaxies. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
My first love was for the night sky.
0
1131
3301
Meu primeiro amor foi o céu noturno.
00:16
Love is complicated.
1
4432
1566
O amor é complicado.
00:17
You're looking at a fly-through of the
Hubble Space Telescope Ultra-Deep Field,
2
5998
4529
Essas imagens são do telescópio espacial
Hubble de campo ultraprofundo,
00:22
one of the most distant images
of our universe ever observed.
3
10527
4112
uma das imagens mais distantes
do universo já observadas.
00:26
Everything you see here is a galaxy,
4
14639
2514
Tudo o que veem aqui é uma galáxia,
00:29
comprised of billions of stars each.
5
17153
3007
cada uma delas composta
por bilhões de estrelas.
00:32
And the farthest galaxy is
a trillion, trillion kilometers away.
6
20160
4741
E a galáxia mais longínqua
está a um trilhão de quilômetros.
00:37
As an astrophysicist, I have
the awesome privilege of studying
7
25881
2924
Como astrofísica,
tenho o incrível privilégio de estudar
00:40
some of the most exotic objects
in our universe.
8
28805
3447
alguns dos objetos mais exóticos
do nosso universo.
00:44
The objects that have captivated me
from first crush throughout my career
9
32252
3812
Os objetos que me cativaram
à primeira vista ao longo da profissão
00:48
are supermassive,
hyperactive black holes.
10
36064
4409
são os buracos negros
supermaciços, hiperativos.
00:53
Weighing one to 10 billion times
the mass of our own sun,
11
41813
4118
Com peso de um a dez bilhões
de vezes a massa do Sol,
00:57
these galactic black holes
are devouring material,
12
45931
2894
esses buracos negros galácticos
devoram matéria
01:00
at a rate of upwards of
1,000 times more
13
48825
3320
a uma velocidade
mais de mil vezes superior
01:04
than your "average"
supermassive black hole.
14
52145
3367
a do buraco negro supermaciço "médio".
01:07
(Laughter)
15
55512
2128
(Risos)
01:09
These two characteristics,
16
57640
1694
Essas duas características,
01:11
with a few others, make them quasars.
17
59334
3214
com algumas outras, fazem deles quasares.
01:14
At the same time, the objects I study
18
62548
2917
Ao mesmo tempo, os objetos que estudo
01:17
are producing some of the most
powerful particle streams
19
65465
2777
produzem alguns dos fluxos
de partículas mais poderosos
01:20
ever observed.
20
68242
1695
já observados.
01:21
These narrow streams, called jets,
21
69937
2840
Estas correntes estreitas, chamadas jatos,
01:24
are moving at 99.99 percent
of the speed of light,
22
72777
4608
movem-se a 99,99 por cento
da velocidade da luz,
01:29
and are pointed directly at the Earth.
23
77385
3983
e apontam diretamente para a Terra.
Esses buracos negros,
com jatos apontados para a Terra,
01:33
These jetted, Earth-pointed, hyperactive
and supermassive black holes
24
81368
5889
buracos negros hiperativos e supermaçicos,
são denominados blazares
ou quasares brilhantes.
01:39
are called blazars, or blazing quasars.
25
87257
4544
Os blazares são especiais
01:43
What makes blazars so special
is that they're some of the universe's
26
91801
3481
porque são um dos aceleradores
de partículas mais eficientes do universo,
01:47
most efficient particle accelerators,
27
95282
2520
01:49
transporting incredible amounts
of energy throughout a galaxy.
28
97802
4918
e transportam quantidades incríveis
de energia através de uma galáxia.
01:54
Here, I'm showing an
artist's conception of a blazar.
29
102720
2749
Aqui mostro uma concepção
artística de um blazar.
01:57
The dinner plate by which
material falls onto the black hole
30
105469
3200
O prato de onde cai o material
no buraco negro
02:00
is called the accretion disc,
31
108669
1587
chama-se disco de acreção,
02:02
shown here in blue.
32
110256
1826
mostrado aqui em azul.
02:04
Some of that material is slingshotted
around the black hole
33
112082
2979
Parte desse material é catapultado
ao redor do buraco negro
02:07
and accelerated to insanely high speeds
34
115061
2024
e acelerado a velocidades altíssimas
02:09
in the jet, shown here in white.
35
117085
2827
no jato que vemos aqui em branco.
02:11
Although the blazar system is rare,
36
119912
2687
Ainda que o sistema blazar seja raro,
02:14
the process by which nature
pulls in material via a disk,
37
122599
3007
o processo pelo qual a natureza
retira matéria por um disco,
02:17
and then flings some of it out via a jet,
is more common.
38
125606
3277
e depois lança parte dele por um jato,
é mais comum.
02:21
We'll eventually zoom out of
the blazar system
39
129647
2444
Finalmente, saímos do sistema blazar
02:24
to show its approximate relationship
to the larger galactic context.
40
132091
5089
para mostrar sua relação aproximada
com o contexto galáctico maior.
02:33
Beyond the cosmic accounting
of what goes in to what goes out,
41
141890
4405
Além da contabilidade cósmica
do que entra e do que sai,
02:38
one of the hot topics in
blazar astrophysics right now
42
146295
3047
um dos assuntos quentes da
astrofísica de blazares atualmente
02:41
is where the highest-energy
jet emission comes from.
43
149342
3711
é saber a origem da emissão
do jato de altíssima energia.
02:45
In this image, I'm interested
in where this white blob forms
44
153053
3921
Nesta imagem, me interessa saber
onde se forma esta mancha branca
02:48
and if, as a result, there's any
relationship between the jet
45
156974
3643
e se, como resultado,
há alguma relação entre o jato
02:52
and the accretion disc material.
46
160617
2866
e o matérial do disco de acreção.
02:55
Clear answers to this question
47
163483
1803
Respostas claras para essa questão
02:57
were almost completely
inaccessible until 2008,
48
165286
3115
eram quase inacessíveis até 2008,
03:00
when NASA launched a new telescope
that better detects gamma ray light --
49
168401
4274
quando a NASA lançou um novo telescópio
que detectava melhor a luz de raios gama,
03:04
that is, light with energies
a million times higher
50
172675
2712
quero dizer, luz com energia
um milhão de vezes mais alta
03:07
than your standard x-ray scan.
51
175387
3547
que a do aparelho de raio-X comum.
03:10
I simultaneously compare variations
between the gamma ray light data
52
178934
3890
Comparo simultaneamente variações
entre os dados da luz de raios gama
03:14
and the visible light data from
day to day and year to year,
53
182824
3669
e os dados da luz visível
do dia a dia e de cada ano,
03:18
to better localize these gamma ray blobs.
54
186493
3274
para localizar melhor estas
manchas de raios gama.
03:21
My research shows that in some instances,
55
189767
2686
Minha pesquisa mostra que em alguns casos,
03:24
these blobs form much closer
to the black hole
56
192453
3060
estas manchas se formam muito
mais perto do buraco negro
03:27
than we initially thought.
57
195513
2360
do que pensávamos inicialmente.
03:29
As we more confidently localize
58
197873
1891
Conforme localizamos com mais segurança
03:31
where these gamma ray
blobs are forming,
59
199764
2296
onde se formam
estas manchas de raios gama,
03:34
we can better understand how jets
are being accelerated,
60
202060
3523
entendemos melhor como
os jatos se aceleram,
03:37
and ultimately reveal
the dynamic processes
61
205583
2608
e afinal, revelamos os processos dinâmicos
03:40
by which some of the most fascinating
objects in our universe are formed.
62
208191
4695
pelos quais se formam alguns dos
objetos mais fascinantes do universo.
03:45
This all started as a love story.
63
213892
3609
Tudo começou como uma história de amor.
03:49
And it still is.
64
217501
1913
E assim permanece.
03:51
This love transformed me from
a curious, stargazing young girl
65
219414
4210
Este amor me transformou de jovem curiosa
por observar estrelas
03:55
to a professional astrophysicist,
66
223624
1821
em astrofísica profissional,
03:57
hot on the heels of celestial discovery.
67
225445
3337
sempre no encalço
do descobrimento celestial.
04:00
Who knew that chasing after the universe
68
228782
2420
Quem diria que perseguir o Universo
04:03
would ground me so deeply
to my mission here on Earth.
69
231202
3798
sedimentaria minha missão tão
profundamente aqui na Terra?
04:07
Then again, when do we ever know
where love's first flutter
70
235000
3468
E novamente, como sabemos
aonde nosso primeiro amor
04:10
will truly take us.
71
238468
1474
irá verdadeiramente nos levar?
04:11
Thank you.
72
239942
1229
Obrigada.
04:13
(Applause)
73
241171
3300
(Aplausos)
Translated by Viviane Ferraz Matos
Reviewed by Wanderley Jesus

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jedidah Isler - Astrophysicist
Jedidah Isler studies blazars — supermassive hyperactive black holes that emit powerful jet streams. They are the universe’s most efficient particle accelerators, transferring energy throughout galaxies.

Why you should listen

Jedidah Isler has been staring at the stars since she was 11 or 12. But because neither her undergraduate college or the university where she got her first master’s degree offered astronomy majors, she threw herself wholeheartedly into physics. It wasn’t until she entered a doctoral program that she was able to dedicate her time to the studying the night sky. In 2014, she became the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D in Astrophysics from Yale.

Isler studies blazars — supermassive hyperactive black holes at the center of galaxies, some of which emit powerful streams of particles. Sometimes these are oriented toward Earth, offering us a unique perspective on the physics of the universe. Isler is a Chancellor’s Faculty Fellow in Physics at Syracuse University. She participates in the Future Faculty Leader program at Harvard's Center for Astrophysics and was named a 2015 TED Fellow.

Isler is also interested in breaking down barriers that prevent many students — especially women of color — from becoming scienists. She works to make STEM accessible to new communities. 

More profile about the speaker
Jedidah Isler | Speaker | TED.com