Astronomers discover most powerful cosmic explosions since the Big Bang
Astronomers have discovered the most powerful cosmic explosions since the Big Bang, naming them "extreme nuclear transients."
These incredibly energetic explosions occur when stars with masses at least three times greater than that of the sun are torn apart by supermassive black holes. While such events have been witnessed before, astronomers say some of the ones recently discovered are powerful enough to be classified as a new phenomenon: extreme nuclear transients (ENTs).
"We've observed stars getting ripped apart as tidal disruption events for over a decade, but these ENTs are different beasts, reaching brightnesses nearly ten times more than what we typically see," said Jason Hinkle, a researcher at the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy (IfA) who led a study on these events, in a statement. "When I saw these smooth, long-lived flares from the centers of distant galaxies, I knew we were looking at something unusual."
Hinkle discovered the existence of these ENTs while combing through data gathered on long-lasting flares originating from galactic centers. Two flares caught Hinkle's eye, recorded by the European Space Agency's Gaia spacecraft in 2016 and 2018, respectively.
A third event discovered in 2020 by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) appeared similar to the two phenomena discovered by Gaia, which gave researchers clues that these belonged to a new class of extreme cosmic explosions. That's because these events appeared to release far more energy than other known star explosions, or supernovas, and seemed to last much longer.
These explosions also differed from tidal disruption events (TDEs), which are massive releases of energy that occur when extreme gravitational forces around black holes rip stars apart, flinging much of their mass outward into space. But TDEs typically last only a matter of hours; the events studied by Hinkle and other researchers appeared to last much longer. "Not only are ENTs far brighter than normal tidal disruption events, but they remain luminous for years, far surpassing the energy output of even the brightest known supernova explosions," Hinkle said in the statement.
One of these ENTs, which astronomers have named Gaia18cdj, released over 25 times more energy than the most powerful supernova ever discovered, more than the amount of energy that would be released by 100 suns throughout their entire lifetime.
RELATED STORIES:
— The most powerful explosions in the universe could reveal where gold comes from
— 'Shocking' nova explosion of dead star was 100 times brighter than the sun
— Astronomers discover black hole ripping a star apart inside a galactic collision. 'It is a peculiar event'
Aside from being the most powerful known explosions in the universe, ENTs can help astronomers learn more about monster black holes in faraway galaxies. That's because the incredible brightness of these events means they can be seen across vast distances, according to IfA's Benjamin Shappee, who co-authored the study.
"By observing these prolonged flares, we gain insights into black hole growth when the universe was half its current age and galaxies were busy places — forming stars and feeding their supermassive black holes 10 times more vigorously than they do today," Shappee said in the statement.
A study on this discovery was published June 4 in the journal Science Advances.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Researchers May Have Finally Cracked One Of The Universe's Oldest Mysteries
The early universe is perhaps one of the biggest mysteries of our time, and while we've come close to unraveling some of those earliest mysteries thanks to advancing tech like the James Webb Space Telescope and other observatories, scientists have still found themselves scratching their heads about how our universe formed and which molecules helped fuel the first star formations. Many believe that after the Big Bang occurred nearly 13.8 billion years ago, the universe was full of extremely dense material and very high temperatures. However, as the universe cooled -- in a matter of seconds, most theories suggest -- the first elements began to form from those materials. However, researchers believe they may have recreated the first molecules of our universe, which could help us solve one of the oldest mysteries of the cosmos -- whether or not the formation of early molecules slowed as the universe cooled down. Read more: This Is How Most Life On Earth Will End Solving Age-Old Mysteries With New Data For years, scientists have theorized that as the temperatures in the universe cooled, the rate at which the molecules form -- thus driving reactions that lead to star formation -- slowed. However, based on the information that they have uncovered by testing how certain molecules react to each other, the new research suggests that the reactions don't actually slow at all as the temperatures become lower. If proven, this could completely change the fundamentals of how scientists view the early formation of the universe, as well as our understanding of star and planet formation and how the universe has expanded since the Big Bang. The researchers found that the rate at which the reactions between the first molecules that likely formed in the early universe remain constant no matter what the temperature becomes. To test this hypothesis, the researchers had to recreate those first molecules, and then put them into an environment that would truly determine if their reactions slowed as the temperatures became lower. So, that's exactly what they did. Recreating The First Molecules In The Universe Scientists believe that the helium hydride ion (HeH+), which is thought to be the oldest molecule in the universe, was the first step in a chain reaction that led to the formation of molecular hydrogen (H2), which also happens to be the most common molecule found in our universe. Scientists theorize that these two molecules were essential to the formation of the first stars, and that for the gas cloud of a protostar to collapse to the point of nuclear fusion beginning, the heat inside of the protostar must dissipate. Thus, if the theories about the reactions slowing was true, it meant that formation could eventually slow as the star's fundamental compounds cooled. So, the researchers took the molecules and put them into conditions similar to what they might have experienced in the early universe. By taking the molecules and combining them together within a controlled environment -- which they could lower the temperature of -- they found that the reactions between the molecules didn't slow at all. Instead, they continued as they always had, allowing the researchers to actually study the collision rate based on how it varies between changes in the collision energy. There's still more work to do to prove the data fully here, but it does paint an interesting picture of what early formations within the universe might have looked like, as well as how they might have been driven. And, if we dive deeper into it, it could perhaps unlock more data about how the universe will continue to expand and form new stars and planets. Enjoyed this article? Sign up to BGR's free newsletter for the latest in tech and entertainment, plus tips and advice you'll actually use. Read the original article on BGR. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Gene that differs between humans and Neanderthals could shed light on the species' disappearance, mouse study suggests
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A protein that helps synthesize DNA is different in modern humans than it is in Neanderthals and Denisovans — our closest extinct relatives — and new experiments in mice genetically modified to express the modern human version hint that this may have made us behave differently. That discovery, in turn, could shed light on why Neanderthals and Denisovans vanished, researchers propose in a new study. But the significance of the findings for humans is still unclear. "It's too early to translate these findings directly to humans, as the neural circuits of mice are vastly different," study lead author, Xiangchun Ju, a postdoctoral researcher at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in Japan, said in a statement. However, this work hints that the variant seen in modern humans "might have given us some evolutionary advantage in particular tasks relative to ancestral humans," such as competing for scarce resources. Key protein Previous research found that modern humans diverged from their closest evolutionary relatives, Neanderthals and Denisovans, about 600,000 years ago. It's not clear why modern humans survived while our closest relatives died off. To search for potential genetic clues to solve this mystery, the researchers analyzed the enzyme ADSL (adenylosuccinate lyase). This protein helps synthesize purine, one of the fundamental building blocks of DNA and other vital molecules. Related: A braided stream, not a family tree: How new evidence upends our understanding of how humans evolved "There are a small number of enzymes that were affected by evolutionary changes in the ancestors of modern humans. ADSL is one of them," study co-author Svante Pääbo, Nobel laureate, leader of the human evolutionary genomics unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in Japan, and director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, said in a statement. ADSL is made up of a chain of 484 amino acids. The version of this enzyme found in virtually all modern humans differs from that seen in both Neanderthals and Denisovans by just one amino acid — the 429th amino acid in ADSL is valine in modern humans but alanine in our extinct relatives. The scientists noted the ADSL mutation is seen in modern humans and not our closest extinct relatives, and so likely appeared after we separated from the lineage that led to Neanderthals and Denisovans. This led the researchers to investigate the possible behavioral effects of this mutation. Previous research on lab-grown cells found that the ADSL variant seen in modern humans resulted in a more unstable version of the enzyme that broke down more quickly compared to the one in Neanderthals and Denisovans. Behavior changes The new study, published Aug. 4 in the journal PNAS, similarly found that, in mice, the modern variant leads to higher levels of the chemicals that ADSL normally acts on to synthesize purine in several organs, especially the brain. This finding supported the idea that the modern human version of ADSL is less active than the variant seen in Neanderthals and Denisovans. In experiments where mice learned they could get a drink of water following specific lights or sounds, female mice genetically modified to possess a version of ADSL similar to the kind seen in modern humans were better at getting water than their littermates without this variant were. This might suggest the human-like variant made female mice better at learning to connect the dots between the water and the lights or sounds, or more motivated to seek out the water in some way. The changes in behavior and ADSL levels seen in female mice with the modern-human variant of the enzyme was not seen in male mice. "It's unclear why only female mice seemed to gain a competitive advantage," study co-author Izumi Fukunaga, a researcher at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, said in a statement. "Behavior is complex." Statistical tests analyzing Neanderthal; Denisovan; and modern African, European and East Asian DNA found that mutations in the ASDL gene appeared in modern human genomes at higher rates than random variations over time would suggest, making it likely that these mutations provided some evolutionary advantage. Perhaps running counter to the new findings, prior work found that genetic disorders leading to ADSL deficiency in modern humans can lead to intellectual disability, speech and language impairment, and other problems. This suggests that during evolution, modern humans had to balance the potential benefits of reducing ADSL activity with the problems that could occur from ADSL deficiency, study co-author Shin-Yu Lee, also of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, said in a statement. Implications unclear Not everyone thinks the study has direct implications for why modern humans thrived or for why Neanderthals or Denisovans disappeared. These results in mice "don't say too much about human evolution at this stage," Mark Collard, a paleoanthropologist at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia who did not take part in this research, told Live Science. RELATED STORIES —What was the first human species? —2.6 million-year-old stone tools reveal ancient human relatives were 'forward planning' 600,000 years earlier than thought —'It makes no sense to say there was only one origin of Homo sapiens': How the evolutionary record of Asia is complicating what we know about our species However, the strategy of using mice to study the behavioral effects of genetic differences between modern humans and our closest extinct relatives "seems very promising as a way of investigating the evolution of our brain and behavior," Collard said. "I expect we'll see a cascade of studies like this one in the next few years." Future research can investigate the specific mechanisms by which changes in ADSL activity influence behavior. Scientists can also explore how changes in ADSL activity are associated with other behaviors and how multiple genetic changes might work in concert, the study authors wrote. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
See a razor-thin crescent moon join Jupiter and Venus in the predawn sky on Aug. 20
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Look to the east in the hours preceding sunrise on Aug. 20 to see a thin crescent moon rendezvous with Venus and Jupiter to form a celestial triangle in the predawn sky. TOP TELESCOPE PICK Want to see the planets of the solar system for yourself? The Celestron NexStar 8SE is ideal for beginners wanting quality, reliable and quick views of celestial objects. For a more in-depth look at our Celestron NexStar 8SE review. The 9%-lit waning crescent moon can be found roughly 15 degrees above the eastern horizon an hour and a half before sunrise on Aug. 20, embedded in the twinkling stars of the constellation Gemini. Venus will be visible as a bright 'morning star' shining approximately 5 degrees to the lower right of the lunar disk, while Jupiter will sit less than 10 degrees to the upper right of the moon, forming the highest point of the cosmic triangle. Remember, the width of your fist held at arm's length accounts for roughly 10 degrees of night sky. The bright stars Castor and Pollux will be positioned to the left of the moon in the early morning hours of Aug. 19. Mercury, meanwhile, will be visible close to the horizon, but will swiftly become lost in the glare of the sun, which rises at 6:11 a.m. ET (1011 GMT) for viewers in New York. Viewing the cosmic trio with a 6-inch telescope will reveal the dark oval of the Grimaldi Basin impact site scarring the lunar surface, along with cloud bands on the surface of Jupiter, and the moon-like phases of Venus, under good atmospheric conditions. The coming nights will see the wafer-thin lunar crescent sweep past Venus to join Mercury and the Beehive open star cluster in the constellation Cancer, the crab, ahead of its new moon phase on Aug. 23. Stargazers looking for new equipment with which to explore the night sky should check out our roundups of the best telescopes and binoculars available in 2025. Photographers should also read up on our roundups of the best lenses and cameras for astrophotography. Editor's Note: If you capture a picture of the crescent moon with Jupiter and Venus and want to share it with readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, name and location to spacephotos@
