An artist’s impression of the cosmic web (Volker Springel/Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics/et al) Topics: Astronomy, Astrophysics, Cosmology, Dark Matter, Einstein, Research Q: Why does science seem to always change its mind? A: Because, the enterprise of science is about discovery, and a lot of discoveries happen when you have better instrumentation, apply The ScientificContinue reading “Dark or Lumpy…”
Category Archives: Cosmology
Esse Quam Videri…
Credit: Menno Schaefer/Adobe Starlings flock in a so-called murmuration, a collective behavior of interest in biological physics — one of many subfields that did not always “belong” in physics. Topics: Applied Physics, Cosmology, Einstein, History, Physics, Research, Science “To be rather than to seem.” Translated from the Latin Esse Quam Videri, which also happens toContinue reading “Esse Quam Videri…”
Imaging Infinity…
A new image from the Event Horizon Telescope has revealed powerful magnetic fields spiraling from the edge of a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A*. Topics: Astrophysics, Black Holes, Cosmology, Einstein, General Relativity Physicists have been confident since the 1980s that there is a supermassive black hole at theContinue reading “Imaging Infinity…”
Science, or Spectacle…
Avi Loeb, a Harvard University astrophysicist, displays a small vial of material recovered from the floor of the Pacific Ocean. The material, Loeb says, includes fragments of a meteorite that he claims came from another star system—and perhaps even from an alien spacecraft. Credit: Anibal Martel/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Topics: Astronomy, Astrophysics, Civilization, Cosmology,Continue reading “Science, or Spectacle…”
Rate of Expansion…
A University of Minnesota Twin Cities-led team used a first-of-its-kind technique to measure the expansion rate of the Universe, providing insight that could help more accurately determine the Universe’s age and help physicists and astronomers better understand the cosmos. Credit: NASA, ESA, and S. Rodney (JHU) and the FrontierSN team; T. Treu (UCLA), P. KellyContinue reading “Rate of Expansion…”
Where No One Has Gone Before…
Images of six candidate massive galaxies, seen 500-800 million years after the Big Bang. One of the sources (bottom left) could contain as many stars as our present-day Milky Way but is 30 times more compact. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, I. Labbe (Swinburne University of Technology); Image processing: G. Brammer (Niels Bohr Institute’s Cosmic Dawn Center atContinue reading “Where No One Has Gone Before…”
Ripples, Waves, and Genesis…
Numerical simulation of the neutron stars merging to form a black hole, with their accretion disks interacting to produce electromagnetic waves. Credit: L. Rezolla (AEI) & M. Koppitz (AEI & Zuse-Institut Berlin) Topics: Black Holes, Cosmology, General Relativity, Gravity, Research Scientists have advanced in discovering how to use ripples in space-time known as gravitational wavesContinue reading “Ripples, Waves, and Genesis…”
Modified Gravity…
Rotation curve of the typical spiral galaxy M 33 (yellow and blue points with error bars) and the predicted one from the distribution of the visible matter (white line). The discrepancy between the two curves is accounted for by adding a dark matter halo surrounding the galaxy. Credit: Wikipedia Topics: Astronomy, Astrophysics, Cosmology, Dark MatterContinue reading “Modified Gravity…”
Heart of Darkness…
Topics: Astrophysics, Black Holes, Cosmology, Einstein, General Relativity In a triumph of observation and data processing, astronomers at the Event Horizon Telescope have captured the first-ever picture of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. The black hole is named Sagittarius A* (pronounced “A-star”), and the reveal of its image received anContinue reading “Heart of Darkness…”
Shadow of Infinity…
Topics: Black Holes, Cosmology, Einstein, General Relativity When galaxies collide, the central supermassive black holes that they contain begin to orbit each other. This supermassive black hole binary attracts gas, which flows through the system to form two disk-shaped structures, one around each of the supermassive black holes. The gas in these “minidisks” heats asContinue reading “Shadow of Infinity…”
Physics and Nano 