There is a massive black hole with millions of times more mass than our sun is plunging towards Earth and will one day annihilate life as we know it.
This particular black hole is coming towards us at 110 kilometres per second and is at the center of the Great Andromeda Galaxy – the Milky Way’s closest and much larger neighbor.
At the center of the most known galaxies, there exist a supermassive black hole which stars spin around and helps keep everything in formation.
But such is the powerful gravitational pull of the Milky Way and Andromeda that they are being drawn toward each other and will one day crash. Fraser Cain, publisher of space website Universe Today, wrote for Phys.org:
“There’s a black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. And not just any black hole, it’s a supermassive black hole with more than 4.1 million times the mass of the Sun. It’s right over there, in the direction of the Sagittarius constellation. Located just 26,000 light-years away. And as we speak, it’s in the process of tearing apart entire stars and star systems, occasionally consuming them, adding to its mass like a voracious shark.”
Due to the size of Andromeda however, there is only going to be one winner when it smashes into the Milky Way. But, as Andromeda is 2.5 million light years away, it will take over four billion years to reach us, so we are safe for now.
Mr Cain said: “Panic will happen when the Milky Way collides with Andromeda in about 4 billion years.
“Suddenly, you’ll have two whole clouds of stars interacting in all kinds of ways, like an unstable blended family.
“Stars that would have been safe will careen past other stars and be deflected down into the maw of either of the two supermassive black holes on hand. Andromeda’s black hole could be 100 million times the mass of the Sun, so it’s a bigger target for stars with a death wish.”
We know there’s water on the Moon, but questions remain about how it got there, where it’s stored, and how it moves around. In a new study, scientists from China have identified tiny glass beads in the lunar soil as potential places where water could hide.
And we’re talking about a lot of water too, perhaps as much as 270 trillion kilograms (297.6 billion tons) of the stuff.
The new findings are based on samples brought back from China’s Chang’e 5 rover mission. The spacecraft spent a couple of weeks collecting material from the lunar surface in December 2020, and we’ve already seen exciting new discoveries from subsequent analysis.
Impact glass beads under analysis. (He et al, Nature Geoscience, 2023)
Microscopic glass beads typically form as bits of space rock smack into another object’s surface, vaporizing minerals which can cool into vitreous particles barely a few tens or hundreds of micrometers across. Past studies on beads found in Apollo lunar samples helped overturn prior assumptions on the dryness of the Moon.
Current research suggests a good proportion of the Moon’s water is produced with a little help from the Sun’s winds, as hydrogen ions from these showers of solar particles bond with oxygen already stored in lunar soil.
The reservoir of water potentially represented by these beads could potentially play an important part in the lunar water cycle, according to the researchers behind this latest study. As some water gets lost to space, it can be replenished by the stores held in the amorphous impact glass.
“The impact glass beads preserve hydration signatures and display water abundance profiles consistent with the inward diffusion of solar wind-derived water,” the researchers write in their recently published paper.
How the lunar water cycle might work. (He et al., Nature Geoscience, 2023)
Each glass bead is capable of holding up to 2,000 micrograms (0.002 grams) of water for every gram of the particle’s mass. Based on a hydration signatures analysis, the scientists think the beads can accumulate water in the span of just a few years.
“This short diffusion time indicates that the solar wind-derived water can be rapidly accumulated and stored in lunar impact glass beads,” write the researchers.
This is all very useful to know when it comes to supporting Moon missions and bases. Being able to tap into this vast reservoir of water could make living on the lunar surface for extended periods of time much more comfortable.
What’s more, the scientists say that other “airless bodies” like the Moon could be storing water in their surface layers in the same way. Expect more discoveries along these lines as the samples from Chang’e 5 continue to get analyzed.
“These findings indicate that the impact glasses on the surface of the Moon and other airless bodies in the Solar System are capable of storing solar wind-derived water and releasing it into space,” says geophysicist and study co-author Hu Sen from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
A new research has revealed a possible connection between human brain and cosmos on a quantum scale.
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Introduction: Connection between human brain and cosmos
The human brain, with its intricate networks of neurons, has long been a subject of fascination and mystery. Concurrently, the cosmos, with its vastness and complexity, has intrigued scientists and philosophers for centuries.
Recent research has begun to explore the possible connection between human brain and cosmos might be connected on a quantum scale. This article will delve into the research paper titled “Quantum transport in fractal networks” and discuss its implications for our understanding of the connection between human brain and cosmos.
Quantum Transport in Fractal Networks: The Research
The research paper “Quantum transport in fractal networks” explores the connection between human brain and cosmos through fractal networks. Fractals are self-replicating patterns that can be found in various scales, both in nature and the universe. This study investigates the quantum transport properties of fractals, specifically focusing on how electrons and energy move through these networks.
The authors demonstrate that quantum transport in fractal networks exhibits unique behavior, which could have significant implications for our understanding of the connection between human brain and cosmos.
Implications for Understanding the Brain-Cosmos Connection
The findings of the research paper provide valuable insights into the possible connection between the brain and the cosmos on a quantum scale. The unique behavior exhibited by quantum transport in fractal networks could potentially explain some of the brain’s complex functions and its connection to the universe. For example, the fractal nature of both the brain’s neural networks and the cosmic structure might indicate that they are governed by similar principles. Understanding these connections could lead to a better understanding of the fundamental mechanisms that underlie consciousness, cognition, and perception.
Potential Applications and Future Directions
The research on quantum transport in fractal networks has several potential applications and opens up new avenues for future studies. For instance, this understanding could have implications for developing novel technologies that harness the power of quantum mechanics, such as quantum computing or quantum communication.
Short Summary
The article titled “Scientists Discover Possible Human Brain-Cosmos Connection on Quantum Scale” explores the intriguing connection between human brain and cosmos. The research suggests that the human brain may have intricate quantum interactions with the universe, potentially influencing our perception of reality.
The study, conducted by a team of scientists, delves into the realm of quantum mechanics and consciousness. It discusses how certain quantum phenomena, such as entanglement and superposition, could be harnessed by the brain to facilitate cognitive processes and perception.
The researchers propose that the brain’s neurons, which communicate through electrical impulses, may also exhibit quantum behavior. This hypothesis raises the possibility that the brain’s quantum interactions extend beyond the classical neural processes, influencing our subjective experiences and understanding of the world.
The article emphasizes the speculative nature of these findings, highlighting that further research and evidence are needed to validate the brain-cosmos quantum connection. The study serves as a stepping stone in exploring the mysterious relationship between consciousness and the fundamental fabric of the universe.
Overall, the article presents an intriguing perspective on the potential quantum-scale connections between the human brain and the cosmos, sparking curiosity and encouraging further exploration in the field of quantum neuroscience.
Additionally, the study of fractal networks could lead to advancements in our understanding of complex systems, such as the human brain or the cosmos, and how they function at their most fundamental level.
Conclusion: Expanding Our Understanding of the Universe
The research article “Quantum transport in fractal networks” presents a fascinating exploration of the potential connection between the brain and the cosmos on a quantum scale. It highlights the unique properties of quantum transport in fractal networks and their possible implications for understanding the brain-cosmos connection. By further investigating these connections, we can expand our understanding of the universe and the nature of reality itself, potentially paving the way for new groundbreaking technologies and insights into the mysteries of the brain and the cosmos.
Let’s see what the weather is on Titan today…. Will there be methane precipitation, or will it be clouded by ethane? NASA ‘s James Webb Telescope continues to amaze astronomers.
It is so powerful that it can see not only Saturn’s moon Titan, but also its clouds and one of its seas. It may surprise you that we use words like seas, rains, clouds, and even rivers and lakes, when we talk about the moon Titan.
It is the only place in the Solar System, along with Earth, that has them. But they are not made of water, but of hydrocarbons: methane, ethane, etc. It is a toxic atmosphere for humans.
A group of astronomers headed by the Dutch professor Imke de Pater decided a few days ago to launch an experiment: Observe the moon Titan with the James Webb telescope, and only one day later with the Keck ground -based telescope in Hawaii. The James Webb is so powerful, it can capture clouds, and even a Titan sea.
Although it must be said that the Keck spotting scope can also do it.
Here are the two photos, taken 30 hours apart: The images are quite similar. You can see a couple of clouds that have moved slightly, and even a methane sea at the north pole.
But what makes the difference is that NASA ‘s James Webb is also an infrared telescope , and it can capture data that no other telescope can. Here we can see, on the left, the infrared image from James Webb’s NIRCam camera , and on the right the standard image, where two clouds can be seen, and the Kraken Sea: What the James Webb contributes, which no other telescope can achieve, is that it shows data on the lower atmosphere and the height of the clouds, among others.
Combining all the data, astronomers have obtained the most detailed information about the moon Titan since the Cassini probe visited it in 2017.
They cannot be surpassed until the Dragonfly probe visits Titan in 2032. Meanwhile, the James Webb telescope will continue to fascinate us with its incredible images that are revolutionizing astronomy.
NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured a mysterious green flash on Jupiter’s north pole, offering new insights into the gas giant’s atmospheric dynamics.
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The Enigma of the Green Flash on Jupiter
NASA’s Juno spacecraft, a marvel of modern space exploration, has recently captured an incredible image of a green flash on Jupiter, a phenomenon that has sparked the curiosity of scientists worldwide. This green flash, a lightning bolt, was observed in a swirling vortex near Jupiter’s north pole, a sight that is becoming increasingly common on the gas giant compared to Earth, where lightning primarily occurs near the equator.
Watch it as a video instead of reading:
The green flash on Jupiter was captured during Juno’s 31st close flyby of the planet on December 30, 2020. At the time, Juno was approximately 19,900 miles (32,000 kilometers) above Jupiter’s cloud tops, approaching the planet at a latitude of about 78 degrees. The image was processed by citizen scientist Kevin Gill from raw data gathered by Juno’s JunoCam instrument.
Unlike Earth, where lightning bolts originate from water clouds and mostly occur near the equator, the green flash on Jupiter emerges from the clouds made up of an ammonia-water solution, and they mostly occur near the poles of the planet. This difference in the formation of lightning is one of the many mysteries that the Juno mission aims to unravel.
The Juno Mission and the Green Flash on Jupiter
Launched on August 5, 2011, Juno’s primary goal is to understand the origin and evolution of Jupiter. The spacecraft is designed to peer beneath the dense cloud cover to investigate the planet’s structure, atmosphere, and magnetic fields. The mission seeks to find clues about the fundamental processes and conditions that governed our solar system’s formation by investigating Jupiter’s composition, gravity field, magnetic field, and polar magnetosphere.
Juno has been looping around Jupiter on a highly elliptical path since July 2016, making detailed observations of the gas giant during close passes over its poles. By now, Juno has zoomed around Jupiter 50 times and is set to make another one — its closest-ever flyby to Jupiter’s volcanic moon Lo, first in December 2023 and then again in January 2024.
The Science Behind the Green Flash on Jupiter
A recent study suggests that the process of lightning formation on Jupiter is quite similar to that on Earth, albeit with about 10,000 times more energy. Storm clouds are turbulent, chaotic places, with updrafts that force water droplets upward and downdrafts simultaneously fling hail and small ice particles downward. As those storm-tossed bits of water and ice brush against each other, the collisions strip electrons away from the water droplets. That turns the storm cloud into a giant battery, with a positive charge at the top and a negative charge at the bottom.
The green flash on Jupiter, however, springs from an ammonia-water slushie, whereas lightning on Earth is pure water. This difference in the formation of lightning is one of the many mysteries that the Juno mission aims to unravel.
The Future of the Juno Mission
In the coming months, Juno’s orbits will repeatedly take it close to Jupiter as the spacecraft passes over the giant planet’s night side, which will provide even more opportunities for Juno’s suite of science instruments to catch the green flash on Jupiter in the act. The scientists associated with the spacecraft say they will be unearthing more fascinating discoveries in the coming months as the mission gets much closer to Jupiter’s surface.
Juno’s orbit around Jupiter is shifting closer over time, allowing scientists more opportunities to keep a close eye on the planet. The spacecraft is expected togo between some of Jupiter’s rings as well which will help learn more about their origin and composition.
Jupiter and Beyond
The green flash on Jupiter is not just a spectacle but a key to understanding the planet’s atmospheric dynamics. It also offers insights into the atmospheric conditions of other gas giants in our solar system. Lightning has been observed on other gas planets of the solar system – Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Scientists have some evidence of lightning in the clouds of the planet Venus, however, it is still an issue of debate.
The green flash on Jupiter is a testament to the planet’s vibrant and dynamic weather system. The gas giant’s largest and most famous storm, the 10,000-mile-wide Great Red Spot, seems to be all wind and no lightning. Scientists who study alien weather still aren’t sure exactly why that’s the case, but it’s one of the mysteries Juno may eventually help solve.
The Green Flash on Jupiter – A Cosmic Wonder
The green flash on Jupiter is a cosmic wonder that continues to intrigue scientists. As Juno continues its mission, we can expect more revelations about Jupiter’s atmospheric phenomena. The green flash on Jupiter is not just a lightning bolt; it’s a beacon of discovery, shedding light on the mysteries of the largest planet in our solar system. As Juno continues its journey, we eagerly anticipate more glimpses of the green flash on Jupiter, each one bringing us closer to understanding the enigmatic gas giant.
In the grand theater of space exploration, the green flash on Jupiter is a spectacle that reminds us of the wonders that lie beyond our world. As we continue to explore the cosmos, who knows what other marvels we will uncover? For now, we watch and learn, captivated by the green flash on Jupiter, a symbol of the mysteries that the universe holds.
A black hole that is ejecting hot material into space at almost the speed of light has been seen by astronomers.
The distance between a black hole and its partner star is 10,000 light-years. The MAXI J1820 + 070 system is created when these two cosmic objects come together. The hot material was observed by NASA’s Chandra x-ray telescope exiting the black hole at almost the speed of light.
The Chandra Space Telescope of NASA captured video of a black hole ejecting hot material into space at nearly the speed of light.
According to the researchers, the black hole in the MAXI J1820 + 070 system has a mass around eight times that of the sun, indicating that it is a stellar-sized black hole formed by the collapse of a massive star. Supermassive black holes, on the other hand, have millions or billions of times the mass of the sun.
The companion star orbiting the black hole has almost the same mass as the sun. The immense gravity of the black hole drags the companion star’s material toward the black hole’s X-ray-producing disc.
The immense gravity of the black hole drags the companion star’s material toward the black hole’s X-ray-producing disc.
While some of the heated gas in the disc will reach the “event horizon” and fall into the black hole, some will be ejected in a number of brief beams of jets from the black hole. These jets are released along magnetic field lines from beyond the event horizon and aim in opposite directions.
Chandra’s four observations in November 2018 and February, May, and June 2019 offered a new picture of the black hole’s activities. It was discovered in The Astrophysical Journal Letters by Mathilde Espinasse of the University of Paris in a study.
The video below from NASA shows what the telescope discovered.
The images show a massive optical and infrared view of the Milky Way galaxy captured by Hawaii’s PanSTARRS optical telescope, with MAXI J1820 + 070 indicated by a cross on the plane of the galaxy. The video inset illustrates Chandra’s four observations, with “day 0” matching to the first observation on November 13, 2018, about four months after the jet was launched.
The bright X-ray source in the image’s center is MAXI J1820 + 070, and X-ray sources can be observed moving north and south in jets away from the black hole.
MAXI J1820 + 070 is an X-ray point source, yet its brightness makes it appear larger than a point source. The southern jet is too faint to be identified in May and June 2019 measurements.
As a result, how fast are the material jets departing the black hole? From Earth’s perspective, the northern jet appears to be traveling at 60% the speed of light, while the southern jet appears to be traveling at 1600% the speed of light, which sounds preposterous. After all, nothing can move faster than the speed of light.
This is an example of superluminal motion, which occurs when an object approaches us at almost the speed of light and in a direction parallel to our line of sight. This means that the item approaches us nearly as quickly as the light it emits, giving the impression that the jet is flying faster than the speed of light.
The MAXI J1820 + 070’s south jet is heading in our direction while the north jet is facing away, indicating that the south is travelling more quickly than the north. Only two previous instances of such fast X-ray ejections from stellar-mass black holes, according to Chandra, have been documented.
Although the Moon does have an atmosphere, it is very thin and mostly made of hydrogen, neon, and argon. This is not a gaseous combination capable of supporting oxygen-dependent animals such as humans.
On the Moon, there is an abundance of oxygen. It is just not in a gaseous state. Rather than that, it is trapped inside regolith — the lunar surface’s covering of rock and fine dust. Would oxygen extracted from regolith be sufficient to sustain human life on the Moon?
Oxygen is present in a wide variety of minerals found in the earth around us. Additionally, the Moon is composed mostly of the same materials found on Earth (although with a slightly greater amount of material that came from meteors).
The Moon’s surface is dominated by minerals such as silica, aluminum, iron, and magnesium oxides. All of these minerals include oxygen, but in an inaccessible form to our lungs.
These minerals occur in a variety of forms on the Moon, including hard rock, dust, gravel, and stones that blanket the surface. This substance is the consequence of countless millennia of meteorites colliding with the lunar surface.
The regolith of the Moon is composed of around 45 percent oxygen. However, that oxygen is inextricably linked to the minerals listed above. To dismantle such tenacious relationships, we must invest energy.
If you are acquainted with electrolysis, you may be familiar with this. This procedure is often used in manufacturing on Earth, for example, to manufacture aluminum. To separate the aluminum from the oxygen, an electrical current is conducted through a liquid form of aluminum oxide (usually termed alumina) through electrodes.
As a byproduct, oxygen is created in this situation. On the Moon, the primary product would be oxygen, but aluminum (or other metal) would be a potentially valuable byproduct.
It’s a rather basic operation, but there is a catch: it consumes a lot of energy. To be sustainable, it would need to be powered by solar energy or other Moon-based energy sources.
Earlier this year, Belgian firm Space Applications Services announced the construction of three experimental reactors to enhance the electrolysis process for producing oxygen. They want to launch the device to the Moon in 2025 as part of the European Space Agency’s in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) program.
Having said that, how much oxygen may the Moon supply if we succeed? As it turns out, quite a bit.
We can make some estimations if we disregard oxygen trapped in the Moon’s subsurface hard rock material and focus only on the regolith that is readily accessible on the surface.
Lunar regolith includes an average of 1.4 tonnes of minerals, including around 630 kilos of oxygen per cubic metre (35 sq ft). According to NASA, people need around 800 grams of oxygen every day to exist. Thus, 630 kg of oxygen would sustain a human for around two years (or just over).
Assume now that the average depth of regolith on the Moon is around 10 meters and that we can extract all of the oxygen from it. That indicates that the top ten meters of the Moon’s surface would contain enough oxygen to sustain the Earth’s eight billion people for around 100,000 years.
This would also rely on our ability to collect and use oxygen properly. Regardless, this figurine is rather incredible!
Having said that, we on Earth really have it pretty well. And we should do everything possible to conserve the blue world — particularly its soil — which sustains all terrestrial life without our intervention.
If you had to identify Saturn out of a crowd, you’d most likely know it by its famous rings.
They are our solar system’s largest and brightest rings. Extending over 280,000 kilometres from the planet and wide enough to fit six Earths in a row. Saturn won’t look like this for long now. Because its rings are vanishing.
That’s correct, Saturn’s rings are disappearing! And fast. Much quicker, in fact, than researchers had anticipated. Saturn is now receiving 10,000 kg of ring rain each second. Fast enough to fill an Olympic-sized pool in under 30 minutes.
This rain is made up of the shattered fragments of Saturn’s rings. Saturn’s rings are largely made up of ice and rock fragments. Which are constantly bombarded: some by UV light from the Sun, while others by small meteoroids.
When the frozen particles collide, they evaporate, generating charged water molecules that interact with Saturn’s magnetic field before falling into Saturn and burning up in the atmosphere.
Ring rain has been known since the 1980s, when NASA’s Voyager spacecraft discovered enigmatic, dark bands that turned out to be ring rain locked in Saturn’s magnetic fields. Researchers anticipated that the rings will completely drain in 300 million years.
However, findings from NASA’s previous Cassini satellite paint a bleaker picture. Cassini managed to gain a clearer look at the amount of ring dust showering on Saturn’s equator before its death plunge into Saturn in 2017.
And noticed that it was pouring harder than expected. Scientists concluded that the rings had only 100 million years left to live based on these improved measurements. It’s difficult to envision Saturn without rings right now.
However, throughout most of its existence, the planet was as naked as Earth. While Saturn formed around 4.5 BILLION years ago, research shows that the rings are just 100-200 million years old at most. That makes them younger than certain dinosaurs.
So, when you think about it, we’re really lucky to have been around to witness those spectacular rings. Now our attempts to examine those rings led us to additional findings.
Famous physicist Prof. Brian Cox has recently made an entry in one of astronomy’s most inquisitive and vital questions: Given the high possibility of intelligent alien life randomly prevailing in the ceaselessly massive universe, why, still, haven’t we discovered any sort of indication of it? What could be the reason?
This question is very old and it was Italian physicist Enrico Fermi, who put forward this question in the 1950s, in what’s now known as the Fermi paradox. He debated there’s inconsistency between the high possibility of alien life existing and the total absence of hard indication that intelligent life has ever developed outside of Earth.
So he famously asked:
“Where is everybody?”
So, Professor Cox considers that he might finally have the answer. But you will probably not like it.
According to the article published on Sunday Times, Professor Brian Cox said:
“One solution to the Fermi paradox is that it is not possible to run a world that has the power to destroy itself and that needs global collaborative solutions to prevent that.”
Yup, basically there’s a strong possibility aliens wipe themselves out via political chaos before they ever become advanced enough to start an interstellar exploration.
He went on to warn:
“It may be that the growth of science and engineering inevitably outstrips the development of political expertise, leading to disaster. We could be approaching that position.”
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