Skip to main content

Posts

The Solar Gravitational Lens Could Map White Dwarfs and Black Holes

It feels like every few months we get to report on another academic paper coming out singing the praises of the Solar Gravitational SGL (SGL). Partly, this is due to Dr. Slava Turyshev’s astounding productivity in terms of pumping out academic articles, but partly because such a ground-breaking mission has lots of positive aspects, but also challenges that need to be addressed. A new paper, available in pre-print on arXiv from Dr. Turyshev, stresses an often overlooked feature of the SGL - how useful it can be at imaging things other than far away exoplanets. from Universe Today https://ift.tt/oT3YjiU via IFTTT
Post a Comment
Read more
Recent posts

Happy Asteroid Day! Prize-Winning Plan Focuses on Space Infrastructure

A proposal to create a new network for monitoring cosmic threats to off-world infrastructure has won this year's Schweickart Prize, which recognizes bright ideas for planetary defense. from Universe Today https://ift.tt/s0n8uHQ via IFTTT
Post a Comment
Read more

A Quasar at Cosmic Dawn Flickers into View

Astronomers have detected a flickering quasar called J0439+1634 as it appeared only 850 million years after the Big Bang. That discovery raises fresh questions about black hole formation and activity in the early Universe. The flickering light of this distant cosmic lighthouse showed that black hole at the heart of the quasr has a flat, pancake-shaped accretion disk. That shape is more familiar in modern-day quasars, which leads astronomers to wonder how these objects formed so quickly in the infant cosmos? from Universe Today https://ift.tt/4hqInrS via IFTTT
Post a Comment
Read more

Another Early Universe Surprise from the JWST: A Mature Galaxy Cluster

The JWST found a galaxy cluster from 10 billion years ago that's far more developed than it should be, according to cosmological models. The cluster is also the most distant strong gravitational lens that we know of. Detailed observations across the spectrum show that the cluster is still undergoing mergers. from Universe Today https://ift.tt/6vQsPUA via IFTTT
Post a Comment
Read more

Are Asteroid-Mass Black Holes Hiding in the Cosmic Gamma-Ray Glow?

There are multiple ways to form black holes. The one most commonly taught in high school physics classes is that they are created from the collapse of a dying star. But there are another class of black holes, known as Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) that could have been created immediately after the Big Bang by matter collapsing in on it. Or that’s the theory at least. Though long theorized, we’ve never actually seen one of them, though scientists have suggested that they might account for the missing mass of the universe, which we otherwise describe as “dark matter”. But a new paper, available in pre-print on arXiv from researchers at Oakland University in Michigan and Rice University in Texas, calls that theory into question, at least for a certain type of PBH. from Universe Today https://ift.tt/T9V7rf0 via IFTTT
Post a Comment
Read more

Making Sense Of Mars’ Tiny Moon Of Phobos

Understanding the Martian moon of Phobos’ origin hinges on decoding its interior. Japan’s Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) Phobos mission due for launch in late 2026 should help. from Universe Today https://ift.tt/G4QJRVi via IFTTT
Post a Comment
Read more

Using Plants, Astronauts Could Create Their Own Medicine

A new pharmaceutical production method could allow astronauts on long space missions to "grow" fresh medicines on demand using plants. The work could also bring low-cost pharmaceutical production to resource-limited areas on Earth. from Universe Today https://ift.tt/6ERhq2O via IFTTT
Post a Comment
Read more