space science – Page 2

Astronomers Pinpoint Oldest Known Black Hole: Time-Traveling with Telescopes

January 18, 2024January 18, 2024 Pooja Kashyap

Recently, astronomers have detected a super-old black hole, which is devouring its galaxy. It is dated back to the earliest black hole ever. It’s like the ultimate space buffet for the oldest black hole. Researchers at the University of Cambridge, unleashed the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to spot this ancient black hole. The gravity well is chilling out 400 million years post-Big Bang, that is, over 13 billion years back.

Galactic Breakthrough: Abell 2108 Reveals Its Second Radio Relic

December 20, 2023December 20, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

Indian and Taiwanese astronomers recently upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) to snoop around the galaxy cluster Abell 2108. And guess what? They stumbled upon a second, way bigger radio relic that’s like, totally different from the first one they knew about in the same cluster.

M87 Black Hole Unveils Magnetic Brilliance in Spiraling Light

December 7, 2023December 7, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

In 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) unveiled the first-ever images of M87. It was a mind-blowing moment for astronomy. M87 is a supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy Messier 87. The EHT dropped the first snapshots of M87. It was like getting an up-close look at a supermassive black hole for the first time ever!

Meteorites Unveiled as Earth’s Nitrogen Messengers

December 4, 2023December 4, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

Tiny meteorites from the icy outer reaches of the Solar System might be the reason nitrogen ended up near Earth. Yes, we are talking about the early days of our solar system. A team of scientists from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa along with Kyoto University and others from around the globe recently published their discovery in Nature Astronomy.

Be Stars’ Dancing in Triple Systems

November 21, 2023November 21, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

Jonathan Dodd and Professor René Oudmaijer’s recent research at the University of Leeds challenges the assumption that massive Be stars are mainly found in double star systems. The study, however, suggests evidence supporting the idea that these stars might be part of triple star systems. Thus, introducing a new perspective in stellar science.

Earth’s Electrons: Unexpected Contributors to Lunar Water Formation

September 18, 2023September 18, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

Our planet, Earth, is not merely a rock in space but an interesting entity with various forces acting within and outside of it. For instance, magnetosphere. Earth’s core consists of molten iron. This liquid iron creates electric currents. Which, consequently, generate a magnetic field that surrounds Earth. This magnetic field extends far out into space, creating the magnetosphere. It acts as a formidable defence against the solar wind.

Black holes in the Hyades Star Cluster

September 11, 2023September 11, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

In an international collaboration between astronomers from University of Padua (Italy), the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB) and the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC), there are indications that multiple black holes might exist within the Hyades cluster.

New Exoplanets Discovered in GJ 367: A Cosmic Surprise

July 28, 2023July 28, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

In an effort to explore the mysterious GJ 367 planetary system, an international team of astronomers embarked on a dynamic quest. Armed with the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS), they set out to unravel the secrets hidden in the vastness of space.

Robots making Autonomous Decisions on Extraterrestrial Missions: Learning to Learn

July 13, 2023July 13, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

Rovers on Mars are constantly monitored and maneuvered by humans on Earth. However, robots on missions to Saturn or Jupiter’s moons can’t get timely commands from Earth. What if these machines could make decisions on the fly? Instead of waiting for an “order”, how about these bots making autonomous choice? Thinking on these lines of thought, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign came up with a cool way for these robots to decide where and how to collect terrain samples on their own.

Europa’s Slow Interior Evolution: Insights into the Jovian Moon’s Dynamic History

June 19, 2023June 19, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

The surface area of Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, is slightly smaller than Earth’s Moon. Yet it has garnered a lot of attention from scientists as a potential site for extra-terrestrial life. Here are some of the reasons, why it is considered as potential for hosting life: Surface and Ice Shell: The surface of Jovian moon is covered by a layer of ice that is believed to be several kilometers thick. When it comes to the entire solar system, its icy crust is one of the smoothest. This implies that…

Interview: Dr. Ore Gottlieb, an Astrophysicist at Northwestern University, Illinois

June 14, 2023June 14, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

Dr. Ore Gottlieb is a theoretical high energy astrophysicist. Currently, he is occupying Rothschild/CIERA Postdoctoral Fellowship position in Astrophysics at Northwestern University. His recent work on “Dying stars’ cocoons could be new source of gravitational waves” caught our attention and so we tried to touch base with him for an interview. We got lucky, as he agreed to spend some time with us.

Dying Stars’ Cocoons Disturb the Fabric of Space-time: Gravitational Waves

June 6, 2023June 6, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of spacetime caused by the acceleration of massive objects. The main source of detecting gravitational waves are the mergers of binary systems consisting of black holes and neutron stars. Till now, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the Virgo detector have successfully identified gravitational waves.

Cosmic Evolution of Amino Acids: Origin of Homochirality

June 1, 2023June 1, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

Researchers at Japan have discovered some new information about why all amino acids found on Earth are in a specific shape called “left-handed” or “L-form.” The team studied amino acids found in a meteorite called the Murchison meteorite. They also used computer simulations based on physics to understand how this shape came about.

Magnetic Bubble Beyond our Solar System: Radiation Belt around an Ultracool Dwarf

May 16, 2023May 16, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

Radiation belts are zones of charged particles, primarily electrons and protons, trapped by a planet’s magnetic field. They are typically found around planets with a significant magnetic field, such as Earth or Jupiter. These belts produce various radiations, including radio emissions, which can be detected and studied by radio telescopes.

A Star Swallowing Jupiter-sized Planet: Planetary Engulfment

May 5, 2023May 5, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

When a star runs out of fuel, it eventually reaches the end of its life cycle and begin to expand. It swells to hundred or even a thousand times its original size. The process is called as a “red giant” phase. The progression enables the star’s outer layers to become less dense. Consequently, the star starts to swell outwards. In some cases, the star may expand so much that it engulfs any nearby planets.