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☆ Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is the oldest vortex in the solar system
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-22 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Jupiter’s iconic Great Red Spot is a massive storm that has swirled within the atmosphere of the largest planet in the solar system for years. The Great Red Spot is a massive vortex within Jupiter’s atmosphere that is about 10,159 miles (16,350 kilometers) wide, which is similar to Earth’s diameter, according to NASA. Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty ImagesWhile the first two scenarios resulted in cyclones, they differed in shape and other characteristics witnessed in the Great Red Spot. But the researchers believe that the persistent atmospheric storm cell, which resulted from intense wind instability, produced the Great Red Spot. Previous research, published in March 2018, has shown that the Great Red Spot is growing taller as it shrinks in size overall.

Persons: Giovanni Domenico Cassini, Ann Ronan, Cassini, ”, Agustín Sánchez, Lavega, “, updrafts, Donato Creti, Vincenzo Pinto, Michael Wong, ” Wong Organizations: CNN, Research, NASA, University of, Visitors, Vatican Museum, University of California Locations: Italian, Basque, Bilbao, Spain, AFP, Berkeley

☆ Piping Up at the Gates of Dawn
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-22 | by ( Dennis Overbye | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Since the James Webb Space Telescope began operating two years ago, astronomers have been using it to leapfrog one another millions of years into the past, back toward the moment they call cosmic dawn, when the first stars and galaxies were formed. Last month, an international team doing research as the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey, or JADES, said it had identified the earliest, most distant galaxy yet found — a banana-shaped blob of color measuring 1,600 light-years across. It was already shining with intense starlight when the universe was in its relative infancy, at only 290 million years old, the astronomers said. The new galaxy, known as JADES-GS-z14-0, is one of a string of Webb discoveries, including early galaxies and black holes, that challenge conventional models of how the first stars and galaxies formed. “This discovery proves that luminous galaxies were already in place 300 million years after the Big Bang and are more common than what was expected,” the researchers wrote in a paper posted to an online physics archive.

Persons: James Webb, Webb Organizations: James Webb Space Telescope

☆ June full strawberry moon could appear big and colorful after the summer solstice
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-21 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Despite its name, June’s full moon will not look like a strawberry. But the bright orb could still turn heads Friday night with an appearance that is bigger and more colorful than the average moon. Since a full moon is opposite the sun, this strawberry moon will shine lower in the sky than usual, according to NASA. Native American tribes across North America gave the strawberry moon its name to mark the in-season ripeness of strawberries, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. For optimal viewing, Dyches recommends looking when the moon is rising or setting to see the effects of the moon illusion.

Persons: ”, Preston Dyches, Dyches, don’t, it’s, ” Dyches, “, Vega, Buck Organizations: CNN, Northern, NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, North America Locations: Pasadena , California, North, Alaska, Denmark, Northern

☆ Astronomers watch a supermassive black hole awaken in real time
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Astronomers are witnessing a never-before-seen spectacle in the cosmos: the awakening of a supermassive black hole at the center of a distant galaxy. In late 2019, a team of astronomers took notice of an otherwise unremarkable galaxy named SDSS1335+0728, 300 million light-years away in the Virgo constellation. “If so, this would be the first time that we see the activation of a massive black hole in real time.”Sleeping celestial giantsSupermassive black holes are classified as having masses more than 100,000 times that of our sun. “In the case of SDSS1335+0728, we were able to observe the awakening of the massive black hole, (which) suddenly started to feast on gas available in its surroundings, becoming very bright.”Previous research has pointed to inactive galaxies that appeared to become active after several years, which is usually triggered by black hole activity, but the process of a black hole awakening has never been directly observed before, until now, Hernández García said. The same scenario may play out with Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, but astronomers aren’t sure how likely it is to occur, Ricci said.

Persons: ”, Paula Sánchez Sáez, Neil Gehrels Swift, Chandra, Sánchez Sáez, Lorena Hernández García, Claudio Ricci, “, Hernández García, Ricci Organizations: CNN —, Palomar, Astrophysics, European Southern Observatory, Survey, Micron, Sky Survey, Sloan, European Southern, Southern Astrophysical Research, Keck, Millennium Institute of Astrophysics, University of Valparaíso, Diego Portales University Locations: California, Germany, European, Chile, Hawaii, —

☆ Scientists finally think they know why giraffe necks are so long
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In the 19th century, Charles Darwin and Jean Baptiste Lamarck suggested that giraffes evolved long necks to help them snatch leaves on trees. A later theory usurped Darwin and Lamarck's, suggesting that male giraffes evolved long necks to fight and compete for female mates. "I realized that the important question was, 'Do males have proportionally longer necks compared to the rest of their body?'" Cavener said this may be the first study to suggest that females, not males, are the reason for giraffes' long necks. That's important not only for understanding giraffe evolution but how male and female giraffes behave differently, which could help with conservation efforts.

Persons: —, Charles Darwin, Jean Baptiste Lamarck, Darwin, Lamarck, Douglas Cavener, wasn't, Cavener, Art Wolfe, Zoe Raw, Raw Organizations: Service, Business, Biology, Penn State, International Union for Conservation Locations: Tanzania, Kenya, East Africa, Darwin, bushmeat

☆ Webb telescope pinpoints asteroid collision in nearby planetary system
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“The James Webb Telescope: Are We Alone?” on The Whole Story With Anderson Cooper offers an inside look at the most powerful telescope ever built. The Beta Pictoris system, located just 63 light-years from Earth, has long intrigued astronomers because of its proximity and age. “So I was super excited to reobserve this system in 2023 using the James Webb Space Telescope,” Chen said. The dust was then pushed out of the planetary system by radiation from the central star, which is slightly hotter than our sun. But the powerful Webb telescope was unable to detect any dust.

Persons: James Webb, Anderson Cooper, Pictoris, Christine Chen, ”, “, ” Chen, Beta, Chen, Webb, JWST, Cicero Lu, Johns Hopkins, Spitzer, Kadin Worthen, “ We’re Organizations: CNN, Beta, Johns Hopkins University, American Astronomical Society, Spitzer, Telescope, Johns, Johns Hopkins Locations: Baltimore, Madison , Wisconsin

☆ Dyson spheres: Could alien megastructures exist in the Milky Way? Scientists found 7 places to look
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Now, a new study that looked at 5 million stars in the Milky Way galaxy suggests that seven candidates could potentially be hosting Dyson spheres — a finding that’s attracting scrutiny and alternate theories. If Dyson spheres really exist, what could they be used for? “Freeman Dyson said that we should dismantle Jupiter — the whole planet (for the raw materials).”That supercolossal scale probably means that Dyson spheres, if they exist at all, are very rare. “However, contamination by circumstellar debris disks, which mimic Dyson Sphere infrared signatures, remains a concern,” he added in an email. However, he added, the radiation fingerprint of the seven Dyson sphere candidates might be explained by natural phenomena as well.

Persons: Freeman Dyson, ”, Dyson, Olaf Stapledon’s, George Dyson, ’, Freeman J, couldn’t, Matías Suazo, Suazo, “, Webb, that’s, Gabriella Contardo, NASA’s James Webb, ” Suazo, “ Freeman Dyson, Jason Wright, James Webb, —, Leslie Surginer, ” George Dyson, Tomotsugu Goto, Zaza Osmanov, ” Osmanov, George Organizations: CNN, Institute of, “, ‘, AP, Dyson, SETI Institute, Fermi, Accelerator Laboratory, Fermilab, Royal Astronomical Society, Uppsala University, NASA, Survey, JPL, ESA, European Space Agency, Micron, Sky Survey, University of Massachusetts, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, International School, Studies, Telescope, Penn State University, James Webb Space Telescope, William Press, Computer Science, University of Texas, Tsing Hua, SETI, of Physics, Free University of Tbilisi Locations: British, Princeton , New Jersey, Sweden, Trieste, Italy, Austin, Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, Georgia

☆ A mysterious hole on Mars could be a jackpot of scientific discoveries, from extraterrestrial life to where astronauts could live
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Ellyn Lapointe | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But there is a possibility that residual underground lava tubes may still exist. HUM Images/Getty ImagesIf these lava tubes are anything like Earth's, they could be the perfect place for astronauts to hunker down during their stay on Mars. It's unclear if lava tubes on Mars would also be this warm — it's not a stretch to imagine, just a challenge to confirm. But to be clear, just because there could be life in these pits, doesn't mean Mars definitely hosts extraterrestrials. "This is a good place to look, but we don't know if there's life on Mars at all," Johnson said.

Persons: —, Brandon Johnson, Johnson, George Rose, Ross Beyer, Beyer, there's, it's Organizations: Service, University of Arizona, Business, NASA, JPL, Scientists, Purdue University, Olympus, SETI Institute, Goddard, Arizona State University, Reconnaissance Locations: Arizona, Tharsis, Hawaii

☆ A working-class immigrant neighborhood in Queens banned cars along a major road. The new park is a 'superhighway of kids and families and neighbors.'
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-09 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Just a few years ago, that same road — 34th Avenue — was a traffic-clogged artery. The 34th Avenue Open Street is 26 traffic-restricted blocks with a handful of entirely car-free plazas outside schools. Thousands of students use the 34th Avenue Open Street to get to and from school every day. Siff and others hope 34th Avenue will become a public park that prioritizes people on foot. Do you live on or near an open street in New York City or a traffic-restricted street elsewhere?

Persons: —, Nuala O'Doherty, Naranjo, Kathy Hochul, O'Doherty, ", Eliza Relman, Braulio Tellez, Tellez, Jim Burke, Burke, they're, " O'Doherty, Shekar Krishnan, Krishnan, they've, Dawn Siff Organizations: Service, Manhattan, Business, Initiative, New York Gov, Immigrant, Central Queens, Elmhurst Hospital Center, City Department of Transportation, City College, Coalition, City, Department of Transportation, Alliance, Park, Citi Field Locations: Jackson Heights , Queens, York, Manhattan, Jackson, Central, Elmhurst, New York City, Bronx, Siff, Mexico City, Paris

☆ Boeing Starliner, SpaceX Starship missions hit key spaceflight goals
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-08 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Chris O'Meara/APAfter lifting off Wednesday, Starliner and its first human crew set a course for the International Space Station. “We’re just happy as can be to be up in space,” Williams said. “One could be a warning sign — you’re in our backyard, you better behave yourself. The dinosaur-discovering family returns to the site in July 2023 for the excavation, including (clockwise from upper left) Sam Fisher, Emalynn Fisher, Danielle Fisher, Liam Fisher, Kaiden Madsen and Jessin Fisher. They find wonder in planets beyond our solar system and discoveries from the ancient world.

Persons: Chris O'Meara, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, We’re, ” Williams, —, ”, Philip Riris, ” Dino, Sam Fisher, Emalynn Fisher, Danielle Fisher, Liam Fisher, Kaiden Madsen, Jessin Fisher, Jessin, Liam, Genyornis newtoni, Jacob C, newtoni, George Frandsen, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, SpaceX, eventual, Boeing, Atlas, Cape Canaveral Space Force, International Space, NASA, Bournemouth University, Denver Museum of Nature, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, — Engineers, NASA’s Hubble, CNN Space, Science Locations: Florida, Starliner, Venezuela, Colombia, England, Australia, Williams , Arizona

☆ Curating an immersive art exhibition helped heal singer-songwriter Jewel’s heart
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-08 | by ( Jewel | For Cnn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Walking through “The Portal” — the immersive art experience that I have created at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas — is like stepping into a mandala. Jared Sorrells/Crystal Bridges Museum of American ArtI also began to carve marble, mold clay and draw around the same time I began writing songs. Crystal Bridges Museum of American ArtHere, there is also a sculpture I made titled “CHILL,” made of lucite and filled with a variety of medications. Jewel - Dedication Meditation (Official Visualizer from "THE PORTAL: an art experience by Jewel")The journal is for each visitor to keep. Crystal Bridges Museum of American ArtTraditional art mediums like oil painting and sculpture are often viewed today with preconceived notions and judgments.

Persons: “, Danny Goldberg, —, Philip Thomas, I’m, Rod Bigelow, Alejo Benedetti, Crystal, ”, Melesio Casas, Jared Sorrells, I, I’ve, it’s, James Webb, Kase, Jewel ., Jewel Organizations: CNN, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Atlantic Records, Crystal Bridges Museum of American, ”, Bridges Museum of American, James Webb Space Telescope, Bridges Museum of, Nova Sky Locations: Bentonville , Arkansas, Crystal, San Diego , California

☆ The Hubble Space Telescope makes a big change to keep observing the universe
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The Hubble Space Telescope will transition to a new way of operating that aims to prevent the space observatory from experiencing lapses in its ability to observe the universe, according to NASA officials. The storied telescope, which has captured breathtaking images of the cosmos for 34 years, has traditionally operated using six gyroscopes. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope eyes the universe in May 2009 after one of the space shuttle missions to service the space observatory. Hubble is expected to operate into the mid-2030s, with its cosmic observations providing a complement to the work of the James Webb Space Telescope and future observatories that haven’t launched yet, Clampin said. “We do not see Hubble as being on its last legs,” Crouse said, “and we think it’s a very capable observatory.”

Persons: Mark Clampin, Hubble, Clampin, Patrick Crouse, Crouse, ” Clampin, James Webb, “, ” Crouse Organizations: CNN, Hubble, NASA, Astrophysics, NASA's Hubble, Goddard Space Flight, James Webb Space Telescope Locations: Greenbelt , Maryland

☆ A mysterious Jupiter-sized planet that shouldn't exist is as puffy as a marshmallow and astronomers finally think they know why
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Ellyn Lapointe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

WASP 107b: The exoplanet that shouldn't existAn artist's impression of WASP 107b passing in front of its host star. But models suggested that WASP 107b's core would be too small to have formed a gas giant. Scientific models didn't align with observationsHubble images of WASP 107b didn't solve the mystery of its large size and low density. Venom82Why it took astronomers years to understand WASP 107b's mysterious origins stems from what many astronomers face: a lack of information due to technological limits. But WASP 107b's surface temperature was cold enough that it should have had more methane than what JWST observed.

Persons: —, they've, it's, David Sing, NASA's, Luis Welbanks, Sagan, James Webb, Welbanks —, Sing, Welbanks, Ralf Crawford, we're, Scott Gaudi, Gaudi, Olmsted, Russo Organizations: Service, Business, ESA, Hubble, NASA, Kornmesser, Bloomberg, Johns Hopkins University, WASP, NASA's Goddard Space Flight, ESO, Arizona State University, Telescope, Sing, WASP 107b's, CSA, JHU, Ohio State University

☆ ‘Devil comet’ will make its closest pass of Earth in 71 years
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-01 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —An unusual horned comet notable for a series of outbursts, nicknamed the “devil comet,” will make its closest approach of Earth on Sunday around 3 a.m. Given that the comet won’t pass by Earth again for decades, collective observations by astronomers could provide key insights into its true nature and behavior. Officially known as Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, the celestial object made its closest pass of the sun on April 21, coming within 74.4 million miles (119.7 million kilometers) of our star. The comet will make its closest pass of Earth on Sunday, but it will be more than 143 million miles (230 million kilometers) away from our planet and won’t pose a risk. An overlapping series of events likely has contributed to Pons-Brooks’ distinctive look, but it could also be due to our perspective of the comet, Kareta said.

Persons: Pons, Brooks, Gianluca Masi, Dave Schleicher, ”, Teddy Kareta, Jean, Louis Pons, William Robert Brooks, ” Schleicher, Kareta, Schleicher, “, it’s, 12P, Theodore Kareta, ” Kareta Organizations: CNN, Northern, Southern, Millennium, “, Telescope, Lowell Observatory, Lowell, Pons, ”, Lowell Discovery Telescope Locations: Italy's Tuscany, Arizona, Pons

☆ Why we need to know what time it is on the moon
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-01 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —It’s easy to take the moon for granted as a silvery orb in the night sky, providing a soft light on most evenings. The new system of measurement that NASA and its international partners need to agree on will have to account for the fact that seconds tick by faster on the moon. But it will be crucial for astronauts living in lunar habitats and scooting around in moon buggies who need to know exactly what time it is. We are familyA digital reconstruction of a Bronze Age woman's face is on display at Scotland's Perth Museum and Art Gallery. And now, researchers know what creates their unusual fur pattern: a mutation affecting a gene called KIT, which controls hair color.

Persons: CNN —, Albert Einstein’s, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, Joe Skipper, Chris Rynn, Julius Caesar, Gaul, Ari Kankainen, NASA’s Lucy, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, NASA, Boeing, Veteran NASA, Perth Museum, Art, Culture, Kinross, CNN Space, Science Locations: North America, Europe, Southern Hemisphere, Culture Perth, Scotland, Indre, France, Finnish, Petäjävesi, Italy

☆ I retired at 48 and decided to travel for six months with my husband. Two decades later, we are still traveling.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-01 | by ( Louisa Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewNot long after my 48th birthday, in August 1999, my husband Barry invited me out for a margarita at Compadre's, a Mexican restaurant near our home in Palo Alto. During our drink, he suggested we rent our house and travel for six months. Renting our Palo Alto home wasn't that simple; this was before the era of Airbnb and digital nomads. Our home was still rented when we returned to Palo Alto after ending our period abroad. Happily, we can write in Eureka, Guanajuato, in our camper van, or wherever in the world we happen to be.

Persons: —, Barry, margarita, we're, San Luis Potosí, we'll, We've, we've Organizations: Service, Business, Palo, UNESCO, Heritage, Palo Alto, Primera Plus, France's Hautes Alpes Locations: Compadre's, Mexican, Palo Alto, Silicon Valley, Mexico, Guanajuato, California, Eureka, Northern California, Oregon, Guanajuato's centro, San, British, Scotland, Catalonia, France's Hautes, Brittany, Czech Republic, Ireland, Colombia, Portland, Denver, Cuenca, Ecuador, we're

☆ Planet parade: What’s really going on with June’s planetary alignment
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The order in which the planets will align on Sunday is Jupiter, Mercury, Uranus, Mars, Neptune and Saturn, and they will be accompanied by a crescent moon. The alignment will be visible to sky-watchers everywhere, but the ideal date to see the planets with the closest alignment might differ depending on where you are in the world. Planetary alignments: What to knowIt’s important to note that this alignment is not happening in space, but just in the sky as seen from our planet. This kind of planetary alignment is in fact not rare at all. “Jupiter will be the easiest to spot, because it’ll be the brightest thing in the sky after the moon,” Pattle said.

Persons: You’ll, ”, James O’Donoghue, there’s, O’Donoghue, “ It’s, Kate Pattle, “ There’s, they’re, ” Pattle, “, we’ll, Pattle, it’ll Organizations: CNN, University of Reading, Mercury, University College London Locations: United Kingdom, Europe, North America

☆ LLMs, GPUs, and hallucinations — what you need to know about AI
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Aaron Mok | Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Here's a list of the people, companies, and terms you need to know to talk about AI, in alphabetical order. GPU: A computer chip, short for graphic processing unit, that companies use to train and deploy their AI models. Nvidia's GPUs are used by Microsoft and Meta to run their AI models. Multimodal: The ability for AI models to process text, images, and audio to generate an output. As a profession, prompt engineers are experts in fine tuning AI models on the backend to improve outputs.

Persons: —, Sam Altman, Altman, OpenAI's, Dario Amodei, Claude, Demis, Hassabis, Jensen Huang, Satya, Mustafa Suleyman, OpenAI, Elon Musk, Sam Bankman, Peter Thiel, Bard, James Webb, empiricists Organizations: Service, Business, OpenAI, Google, Nvidia, Microsoft, Bing, Meta, James Webb Space Telescope Locations: OpenAI, Anthropic

☆ Scientists have discovered a theoretically habitable, Earth-size planet
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Two teams of scientists have discovered a theoretically habitable planet, smaller than Earth but bigger than Venus, orbiting a small star about 40 light-years away. Working on the assumption that the exoplanet doesn’t have an atmosphere, scientists calculated its surface temperature to be around 107 degrees Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius). Once temperate Earth-size planets have been identified, scientists can then analyze them to determine which elements are contained in their atmospheres and, crucially, whether water is present to sustain life. This method involves capturing starlight that shines through an exoplanet’s atmosphere and seeing which wavelengths are absorbed by certain molecules, revealing their presence in the atmosphere. As well as shedding light on the exoplanet itself, Palethorpe said scientists are hoping that this work can help us understand our own planet better.

Persons: “ We’ve, ”, Masayuki Kuzuhara, Akihiko Fukui, “, ” Larissa Palethorpe, —, Palethorpe, James Webb Organizations: CNN, Royal Astronomical Society, Astrobiology, University of Tokyo, University of Edinburgh and University College London, James Webb Space Telescope Locations: Tokyo, ”

☆ NASA's Webb Space Telescope discovered 3 rare galaxies that can help astronomers study the cosmic dark ages
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( Lloyd Lee | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewNASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected three galaxies as they were likely forming during the universe's infancy, the space agency said Thursday. And it's all thanks to the tremendous observing power of the James Webb Telescope. AdvertisementThe James Webb Space Telescope helps astronomers study the very early universe. The Cosmic Dark AgesJames Webb Space Telescope has revealed 45,000 galaxies in this image, hundreds of which have never been seen until now. Astronomers study the Era of Reionization to understand the very early moments in our universe when galaxies and stars first formed and how.

Persons: —, James Webb, Webb, Kasper Heintz, NASA Heintz, Brant Robertson, Ben Johnson, Sandro Tacchella, Marcia Rieke, Daniel Eisenstein, Heintz Organizations: Service, NASA, Business, James Webb Telescope, University of Copenhagen, James Webb Space Telescope, ESA, CSA, UC, UC Santa Cruz, CfA, University of Arizona Locations: Denmark, UC Santa, Cambridge

☆ Scanning the Dark Universe, Euclid Finds Scenes of Cosmic Light
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Katrina Miller | More About Katrina Miller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Ninety percent of the mass in this cluster is dark matter. Gravity makes dark matter clump together, but dark energy counteracts this effect. Studying the density of dark matter across the cosmos will help astronomers learn how dark energy influences the structure of our universe. The telescope’s sensors make it like a net for light, Dr. Cuillandre said. “It’s very rare to find an isolated galaxy,” Dr. Cuillandre said.

Persons: Euclid, Katrina Miller Euclid, ” Jean, Charles Cuillandre, Beta, Cuillandre, ”, Michael Seiffert, “, We’re, Seiffert Organizations: European Space Agency, CEA Paris, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Messier

☆ A 'cosmic glitch' in the universe is forcing astronomers to rethink Einstein's theory of relativity
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Ellyn Lapointe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Einstein's general theory of relativity states that the curvature of space-time causes gravity. But zoom out to enormous scales like clusters of galaxies spanning billions of light years across, and the laws of Einstein's gravity theory appear to change. A 1% adjustment may not sound like a big deal, but it's enough to suggest that Einstein's theory may need a rethink. Now, with this cosmic glitch, there's a new explanation on the table. NASA/CXC/Univ of Missouri/M.Brodwin et al; NASA/STScI; JPL/CalTechThe fact that this cosmic glitch could potentially help astronomers resolve the Hubble tension is a good sign that it may truly exist.

Persons: —, Albert Einstein's, Robin Wen, Wen, It's, shouldn't, Niayesh Afshordi, there's, Valerio Faraoni, Faraoni, Claire Lamman, DESI Organizations: Service, Business, Waterloo, University of Waterloo, University of British, ESA, Big Bang, NASA, of Missouri, JPL, CalTech, Bishop's University Locations: University of British Columbia

☆ Study proves black holes have a ‘plunging region,’ just as Einstein predicted
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Using telescopes capable of detecting X-rays, a team of astronomers has for the first time observed this area — called the “plunging region” — in a black hole about 10,000 light-years from Earth. The study’s findings could help astronomers better understand the formation and evolution of black holes. One thing that’s missing from the study is an actual image of the black hole, because it is too small and far away. But another team of Oxford researchers is working on something even better than a picture: the first movie of a black hole. “For example, it can be used to measure the rotation rate of the black hole,” said Reynolds, who was not involved in the study.

Persons: CNN — Albert Einstein, “ We’ve, ”, Andrew Mummery, ” It’s, Einstein’s, Mummery, “, We’ve, ” Mummery, Weiss, Christopher Reynolds, Reynolds, Dan Wilkins, Wilkins, ” Wilkins Organizations: CNN, Royal Astronomical Society, Leverhulme, Peierls, University of Oxford, NASA, Space, JPL, Caltech, Oxford, University of Maryland, College, Stanford University in Locations: United Kingdom, Africa, Namibia, Stanford University in California

☆ Giant oddball planet has the density of fluffy cotton candy, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Leah Asmelash | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

An international coalition of astronomers has newly discovered an unusual planet, dubbed WASP-193b, that’s about 50% bigger than Jupiter and somehow still the second lightest planet ever found. Because of how small the mass signal was, it took the team four years to gather data and calculate WASP-193b’s mass, Barkaoui explained. Eventually the team discovered the planet’s mass is a measly 14% that of Jupiter, despite being so much bigger. But a bigger size means a bigger “extended atmosphere,” said study coauthor Julien de Wit, an associate professor of planetary science at MIT. “WASP-193b is an outlier of all planets discovered to date,” he said.

Persons: puffy, Kepler, Jupiters, Khalid Barkaoui, James Webb, ”, Barkaoui, Francisco Pozuelos, Julien de Wit, Wit, Stone, puffy Jupiters, it’s Organizations: CNN, James Webb Space Telescope, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, WASP, Spain’s Institute of Astrophysics, MIT Locations: Andalucia

☆ Astronomers say we may live at the center of a cosmic void 2 billion light-years wide that defies the laws of cosmology
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Jessica Orwig | Ellyn Lapointe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

But the kicker is that this giant void shouldn't exist in the first place. For example, some people have correctly argued that such a void shouldn't exist in the standard model, which is true. Cosmologists have a value, called the Hubble constant, which they use to help describe how fast the universe's expansion is accelerating. The Hubble constant should be the same value wherever you look, whether it's close by or very far away. NASA/JPL-CaltechAstronomers can't agree on what's causing this discrepancy in the Hubble constant, and the contention has become known as the Hubble tension.

Persons: —, we're, Claire Lamman, Indranil, Andrews, Hubble, Brian Keating, Keating, Banik Organizations: Service, Business, Harvard, Smithsonian Center, Astrophysics, Indranil Banik, University of St, Banik, Royal Astronomical Society, KBC, Hubble, NASA, JPL, Caltech, ESA, Palomar, Sky, UC San Diego, Sky Survey

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