Could one of the biggest puzzles in astrophysics be solved by reworking Albert Einstein’s theory of gravity? A new study co-authored by NASA scientists says not yet.
The stunning observation of the Cartwheel galaxy by JWST has revealed the exceptional ability that the latest space observatory has. The birthplace of new stars, the hot gas, and the activity of the supermassive black hole are all shining in this incredible photograph. But there’s more. Now you can sit back, relax, and fly towards that galaxy like a starship captain thanks to a video reconstruction that takes you from here to there.
It is located 500 million light-years away and you’ll start by passing a lot of nearby stars and the odd galaxy until the cartwheel galaxy and some near and far galaxies come into view and get closer and closer. The released image itself was incredible but seeing in the video how a little speck of darkness becomes a galaxy 145,000 light-years across is absolutely mind-blowing.
The Cartwheel is a galaxy merger. It underwent a bullseye-style collision with a smaller companion within the last one billion years, causing the spiral arms that would be expected for such a galaxy to disappear into two expanding circles. And the “spokes” are the galaxy slowly trying to reform its normal spiral shape. This is a process that will last for millions of years so we can continue to enjoy the incredible object for a long time yet.
One hypothesis for the nature of dark matter is that some of it could be self-interacting, meaning the individual particles interact slightly with one another.
Unlike the plethora of high-res cosmic photography we’ve been blessed with this year, this breathtaking snap doesn’t come from the James Webb telescope but instead, it comes from two astrophotographers who met each other on Reddit.
Stargazers Andrew McCarthy and Connor Matherne first connected on Reddit and then Instagram several years ago after becoming mutual fans of each other’s work.
McCarthy is renowned in his field for his incredibly detailed photographs, taking tens of thousands of photos and stitching them together in a ‘mosaic’ fashion to create incredibly detailed and precise images of his subjects.
If you’ve ever wondered what happens when something gets sucked into a black hole, now is your opportunity to find out.
This unique look at the disruption of a star explains why astronomers haven’t seen large amounts of high-energy X-rays from this and other similar tidal disruption events.
An international group of scientists finally proved that slowly rotating Kerr black holes are stable, a report from Quanta Magazine reveals. In 1963, mathematician Roy Kerr…
Unstable black holes would require a rewrite of Einstein’s gravitational theory.
An international group of scientists finally proved that slowly rotating Kerr black holes are stable, a report from Quanta Magazine
In 1963, mathematician Roy Kerr found a solution to Einstein’s equations that accurately described the spacetime around what is now known as a rotating black hole.
Continue reading “Black Holes Finally Proven Mathematically Stable” »
The JWST provides an intriguing look at the early universe, but it’s not yet rewriting fundamental theories of the cosmos.
NASA has dropped a remix of what a black hole sounds like — and it’s exactly what you’d expect. The hole in question sits 200 million light-years away in the Perseus galaxy cluster — an 11 million-light-year-wide set of galaxies packed with hot gas. In the clip, you can hear rumbling and groaning which feels fit for an episode of Stranger Things, but it’s actually pressure waves rippling through the hot gas.
Our model of the Universe, dominated by dark matter and dark energy, explains almost everything we see. Almost. Here’s what remains.
