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Archive for the ‘cosmology’ category: Page 83

Dec 7, 2023

Astronomers finally caught radio waves from 40 large galaxies in the nearby universe

Posted by in category: cosmology

Supermassive black holes reside in some of the biggest galaxies in the universe. They tend to be billions of times more massive that our Sun, and not even light itself can escape a black hole once it gets too close.

But it’s not all darkness. Supermassive black holes power some of the most luminous celestial objects in the universe – active galactic nuclei, which shine across the spectrum of light, including radio waves.

The active galactic nucleus in nearby galaxy Messier 87 is a prodigious emitter of radio waves, 27 orders of magnitude more powerful than the most powerful radio transmitters on Earth.

Dec 5, 2023

AzTECC71: The Faint Galaxy That Defies Optical Detection

Posted by in categories: cosmology, evolution

Dr. McKinney noted, “With JWST, we can study for the first time the optical and infrared properties of this heavily dust-obscured, hidden population of galaxies because it’s so sensitive that not only can it stare back into the farthest reaches of the universe, but it can also pierce the thickest of dusty veils.”


Did galaxies produce stars in the early universe? This is what a recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal hopes to unveil as a team of international researchers analyze data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) about a star-forming galaxy called AzTECC71 that existed approximately 900 million years after the Big Bang. What makes this discovery unique is that AzTECC71 is hidden behind a fair amount of dust which initially fooled astronomers to hypothesize that it’s not very big. How astronomers now hypothesize that AzTECC71 was producing a plethora of new stars despite its young age, which challenges previous notions of the formation and evolution of galaxies so soon after the Big Bang.

Color composite image of the galaxy, AzTECC71, which astronomers estimate existed approximately 900 million years after the Big Bang. This image was made using multiple color filters as part of the James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam instrument. (Credit: J. McKinney/M. Franco/C. Casey/University of Texas at Austin)

Continue reading “AzTECC71: The Faint Galaxy That Defies Optical Detection” »

Dec 5, 2023

“Singularities don’t exist,” claims black hole pioneer Roy Kerr

Posted by in category: cosmology

The brilliant mind who discovered the spacetime solution for rotating black holes claims singularities don’t physically exist. Is he right?

Dec 4, 2023

Ancient black hole challenges our understanding of the early Universe

Posted by in categories: cosmology, physics

The Big Bang theory is not threatened, but astrophysicists need to explain why these supermassive black holes exist.

Dec 3, 2023

With a quantum “squeeze,” clocks could keep even more precise time, MIT researchers propose

Posted by in categories: cosmology, quantum physics

More stable clocks could measure quantum phenomena, including the presence of dark matter.

A new MIT study finds that even if all noise from the outside world is eliminated, the stability of clocks, laser beams, and other oscillators would still be vulnerable to quantum mechanical effects.


Clocks, lasers, and other oscillators could be tuned to super-quantum precision, allowing researchers to track infinitesimally small differences in time, according to a new MIT study.

Dec 2, 2023

The Universe in a lab: Testing alternate cosmology using a cloud of atoms

Posted by in categories: cosmology, information science, particle physics, quantum physics, space travel

In the basement of Kirchhoff-Institut für Physik in Germany, researchers have been simulating the Universe as it might have existed shortly after the Big Bang. They have created a tabletop quantum field simulation that involves using magnets and lasers to control a sample of potassium-39 atoms that is held close to absolute zero. They then use equations to translate the results at this small scale to explore possible features of the early Universe.

The work done so far shows that it’s possible to simulate a Universe with a different curvature. In a positively curved universe, if you travel in any direction in a straight line, you will come back to where you started. In a negatively curved universe, space is bent in a saddle shape. The Universe is currently flat or nearly flat, according to Marius Sparn, a PhD student at Kirchhoff-Institut für Physik. But at the beginning of its existence, it might have been more positively or negatively curved.

Dec 2, 2023

What If You Traveled Through a Black Hole?

Posted by in categories: cosmology, physics

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Dark, mysterious and consuming everything around them, black holes will rip apart anything that passes their event horizons. But could there be more? What would happen if you fell into one of those monstrosities? How could you possibly travel through the black hole itself? And if you emerged on the other side, where would you end up?

Continue reading “What If You Traveled Through a Black Hole?” »

Dec 1, 2023

The wonder particle: How axions could solve more than just dark matter

Posted by in categories: cosmology, particle physics

Physicists are coming to realise that hypothetical particles called axions could explain not only dark matter, but dark energy too, and more besides. Now there is fresh impetus to detect them.

By Jonathan O’Callaghan

Dec 1, 2023

What If You Fell Into a Black Hole?

Posted by in category: cosmology

What would the outcome be if you took a leap of faith straight into a black hole? We looked to Einstein and Hawking to ponder the scenario.

Say one day you were exploring space looking for a new planet for humans to inhabit, but came across a black hole and decided – why not check it out? Would you have any chance of survival? How would you get out if at all? Would you find a shortcut to another universe? Watch the video to learn about what would happen if you fell into a black hole.

Continue reading “What If You Fell Into a Black Hole?” »

Dec 1, 2023

‘Triple Star’ Discovery could Revolutionize Understanding of Stellar Evolution

Posted by in categories: cosmology, physics

A ground-breaking new discovery by University of Leeds scientists could transform the way astronomers understand some of the biggest and most common stars in the Universe.

Research by PhD student Jonathan Dodd and Professor René Oudmaijer, from the University’s School of Physics and Astronomy, points to intriguing new evidence that massive Be stars — until now mainly thought to exist in double stars — could in fact be “triples.”

The remarkable discovery could revolutionise our understanding of the objects — a subset of B stars — which are considered an important “test bed” for developing theories on how stars evolve more generally.

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