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Category: cosmology – Page 4

Self-learning neural network cracks iconic black holes

A team of astronomers led by Michael Janssen (Radboud University, The Netherlands) has trained a neural network with millions of synthetic black hole data sets. Based on the network and data from the Event Horizon Telescope, they now predict, among other things, that the black hole at the center of our Milky Way is spinning at near top speed.

The astronomers have published their results and methodology in three papers in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

In 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration released the first image of a supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy M87. In 2022, they presented an image of the black hole in our Milky Way, Sagittarius A*. However, the data behind the images still contained a wealth of hard-to-crack information. An international team of researchers trained a neural network to extract as much information as possible from the data.

Relativistic jet detected in active galaxy Markarian 110

Astronomers have conducted very long baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations of an active galaxy known as Markarian 110. As a result, they detected a relativistic jet in this galaxy. The finding was reported in a research paper published June 4 on the arXiv pre-print server.

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are small regions at the center of an active galaxy dominated by the light emitted by dust and gas. Narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies are a class of AGNs exhibiting excessive behavior at all wavelengths. They show peculiar characteristics like narrow Balmer lines, strong ionized iron emission lines, and extreme properties in the X-rays.

Markarian 110 (or Mrk 110 for short) is a radio-quiet AGN and an NLS1 at a redshift of 0.035. The galaxy has an apparent magnitude of 15.4 mag and showcases a highly irregular morphology, which suggests a recent interaction or a merging event in this system. It also has a variable core confined to an extremely compact region.

Out of the string theory swampland: New models may resolve problem that conflicts with dark energy

String theory has long been touted as physicists’ best candidate for describing the fundamental nature of the universe, with elementary particles and forces described as vibrations of tiny threads of energy. But in the early 21st century, it was realized that most of the versions of reality described by string theory’s equations cannot match up with observations of our own universe.

In particular, conventional ’s predictions are incompatible with the observation of dark energy, which appears to be causing our universe’s expansion to speed up, and with viable theories of quantum gravity, instead predicting a vast ‘swampland’ of impossible universes.

Now, a new analysis by FQxI physicist Eduardo Guendelman, of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, in Israel, shows that an exotic subset of string models—in which the of strings is generated dynamically—could provide an escape route out of the string theory swampland.

A new observatory is assembling the most complete time-lapse record of the night sky ever

On 23 June 2025, the world will get a look at the first images from one of the most powerful telescopes ever built: the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.

Perched high in the Chilean Andes, the observatory will take hundreds of images of the southern hemisphere sky, every night for 10 years. In doing so, it will create the most complete time-lapse record of our universe ever assembled. This scientific effort is known as the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST).

Rather than focusing on small patches of sky, the Rubin Observatory will scan the entire visible southern sky every few nights. Scientists will use this rolling deep-sky snapshot to track supernovae (exploding stars), asteroids, black holes, and galaxies as they evolve and change in real time. This is astronomy not as a static snapshot, but as a cosmic story unfolding night by night.

Astronomers simulate a star’s final moments as it’s swallowed by a black hole: ‘Breaks like an egg’

The universe is full of spectacular and violent events, but few are more dramatic than a black hole tearing apart a star. Now, thanks to advanced computer simulations, scientists have gotten their closest look yet at what this cosmic catastrophe might actually look — and even sound — like.

A team of astronomers, led by theoretical astrophysicist Elias Most of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), modeled the dramatic final milliseconds before a neutron star, the incredibly dense core left behind by a massive stellar explosion, is devoured by a black hole.

Galactic Empire Psychology

We now know that the Galaxy is full of potentially habitable planets. So why do we see no signs that any civilizations have come before us? Matt O’Dowd, astrophysicist and host of PBS Space Time, explains why Fermi’s paradox really is so surprising, and he offers a new piece of evidence that may point towards the solution.

Astrophysicist Matthew O’Dowd spends his time studying the universe, especially really far-away things like Quasars, super-massive black holes and evolving galaxies. He completed his Ph.D. at NASA´s Space Telescope Science Institute, followed by work at the University of Melbourne and Columbia University. Currently he is a professor at the City University of New York´s Lehman College and an Associate at the American Museum of Natural Historys Hayden Planetarium.

Thumbnail © Nadja Niemiec.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

New idea explains dark energy AND dark matter (maybe)

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Dark energy and dark matter are two placeholders for mysterious forces and substances that expand our universe and make up the majority of its matter, respectively. In a new theory, one physicist says that defects in spacetime explain both of these mysteries at the same time. Let’s take a look.

This video comes with a quiz which you can take here: https://quizwithit.com/start_thequiz/1748971420417x503138930832703500

Correction: I mixed up the gems, sorry. I should have said, defects change the colour of sapphires to red and green, not diamonds.

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