Latest news with #618
Time of India
3 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
Black Holes explained: Unraveling the facts of space's cosmic mystery
Black holes are mysterious cosmic objects with gravity which are so strong that even light cannot escape. They form when massive stars collapse under their own gravity creating a dense point called a singularity, surrounded by an event horizon which is the point of no return. The concept of black holes was introduced in 1916 but physicists at the time doubted that such objects could truly exist. Though invisible, black holes can be detected by their effects on nearby matter such as pulling in stars or emitting X-rays. They range in size from stellar to supermassive black holes and are found at galaxy centers. Studying black holes helps in understanding gravity, space and time which offer clues about the fundamental laws that govern the universe. The black hole carries various facts and secrets which we are going to discover here. 5 incredible facts about Black Hole The closest Black Hole- Gaia BH1 Gaia BH1 is currently the nearest confirmed black hole to Earth which is located about 1,500 light-years away in the constellation named Ophiuchus. Unlike many black holes detected by their bright X-ray emissions from consuming nearby matter, Gaia BH1 is part of a binary system with a sun-like star but it doesn't actively pull in material, which makes it quiet and harder to spot. It was discovered using data from the European Space Agency's Gaia satellite which precisely measures star positions and motions. Scientists confirmed Gaia BH1's existence by detecting the shift in its companion star's motion caused by the black hole's gravitational pull. This discovery is important because it suggests many more quiet black holes that might be hiding nearby but are undetectable by traditional X-ray methods and offers new opportunities to study black holes in different environments. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Bolsas nos olhos? (Tente isso hoje à noite) Revista Saúde & Beleza Saiba Mais Undo The biggest known black hole - TON 618 TON 618 is the biggest known black hole which carries about 66 billion times the sun's mass. TON 618 is a supermassive black hole found within a distant quasar which is located billions of light-years from Earth. It's one of the most massive black holes ever discovered with a mass about 66 billion times that of our Sun. TON 618 was detected by observing the intense light emitted from the quasar which is a highly energetic region around the black hole where gas and dust fall in and heat up, producing powerful radiation. The quasar's brightness allowed scientists to estimate the black hole's mass through measurements of the gas motion near its event horizon. Studying TON 618 helps in understanding how such enormous black holes form and grow over cosmic time and sheds light on the early universe's conditions as quasars like TON 618 were more common billions of years ago. The Milky Way's central black hole - Sagittarius A* Sagittarius A* is a supermassive black hole situated about 26,000 light-years from Earth which is present right at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. It has a mass of approximately 4 million times that of the Sun. Despite its huge mass, Sagittarius A* is relatively quiet compared to the active black holes found in other galaxies which mean it doesn't currently consume large amounts of matter. Scientists have studied Sagittarius A* by tracking the orbits of stars moving around it, which helped confirm its presence and estimate its mass. This black hole plays a crucial role in the dynamics and evolution of our galaxy's core. Sagittarius A* is a key target for future imaging efforts to better understand these mysterious cosmic giants. Black holes are found in abundance across our galaxy Scientists believe that the Milky Way galaxy contains millions of black holes. These black holes form from the remains of massive stars that have ended their life cycles in supernova explosions. While only a few dozen black holes have been directly observed, many more are thought to exist but remain hidden because they don't emit light or X-rays. Most of these black holes are stellar black holes which are much smaller than supermassive ones like Sagittarius A* at the galaxy's center. They quietly roam space, sometimes in binary systems with other stars, occasionally pulling in material that can reveal their presence. Ongoing research and new methods like tracking the movements of stars or detecting gravitational waves are helping astronomers to uncover more of these hidden black holes, which play an important role in the galaxy's evolution. Black holes' cores can be nearly as cold as 'absolute zero' Black holes are often thought of as incredibly hot because of the energy and radiation around them, but at their very center, the temperature can be extremely low, approaching absolute zero (–273.15°C or –459.67°F). Absolute zero is the coldest possible temperature, where atomic motion nearly coldness arises because the singularity is a point of infinite density and gravity where the laws of physics as we know them break down. The intense gravitational pull traps everything but no heat or light escapes from within the event horizon. Interestingly, while the core is nearly frozen in temperature, the area just outside the event horizon can emit a faint glow called Hawking radiation which is caused by quantum effects near the black hole's the temperature inside black holes helps to explore how gravity and quantum mechanics interact under extreme conditions. How black holes are formed Black holes form when massive stars reach the end of their life cycle. During a star's life, it burns fuel through nuclear fusion, creating outward pressure that balances the inward pull of gravity. When the star runs out of fuel, this balance is lost and gravity causes the star to collapse. For very massive stars that are typically more than 20 times the mass of the Sun, this collapse is so intense that the core compresses into a single point called a singularity which is surrounded by an event horizon, forming a black hole. The outer layers of the star may explode in a supernova, scattering elements into space. In addition to stellar black holes, there are supermassive black holes that form over millions of years, possibly from the merging of smaller black holes or the collapse of massive gas clouds at the centers of galaxies. What happens inside a black hole Inside a black hole lies a region called the singularity where gravity is so intense that it crushes matter into an infinitely small and dense point. The laws of physics like general relativity and quantum mechanics, break down at this singularity which makes it one of the biggest mysteries in science. Surrounding the singularity is the event horizon, the boundary beyond which nothing, not even light can escape. Once something crosses this boundary, it is inevitably pulled toward the singularity. Inside the event horizon, space and time behave in strange ways. Time appears to slow down dramatically relative to an outside observer and the usual rules of cause and effect can become distorted. Because no information can escape from inside the event horizon, scientists cannot observe what truly happens inside a black hole directly. Instead, they use theoretical physics and indirect observations to understand these mysterious objects. Visual nature of black holes Black holes themselves are invisible because their gravity is so strong that not even light can escape which makes them appear completely black against the backdrop of space. However, we can see their presence indirectly. Around a black hole is often a glowing accretion disk which is a swirling ring of gas, dust and other matter that heats up and emits bright radiation as it spirals in. This disk can be incredibly luminous, outshining entire galaxies. Additionally, black holes can bend and distort light around them due to their intense gravity, creating a phenomenon called gravitational lensing. This warping of light can cause strange visual effects, like rings . In 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope captured the first-ever image of a black hole's shadow, showing a dark center surrounded by a bright ring of glowing matter, offering a glimpse into what black holes "look like" from a distance. Also read: Copper-legged blue frog from poison dart family discovered in the Amazon rainforest
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Not A Lot Of Love For 520: Brands Rethink Local Campaigns Amid China Uncertainty
With uncertainty around the Chinese appetite for luxury goods and a possible global recession, brands are cutting back on marketing spent, and 520, or the Chinese Valentine's Day that lands on Tuesday, is the first one to go. Past active participants such as Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga have slashed local campaigns this year, while other luxury players opted for a simple curated list of gifting items, some of which were heart-adorned. More from WWD A New Era at Fashion Island, the Newport Beach Shopping Destination Alibaba Shares Dip Despite E-commerce, AI growth in Q4 Brands, Retailers Navigate Changes at World Retail Congress 'Due to the dominance of e-commerce in China, this year's 520 Festival is poised to take a back seat as major platforms have chosen to launch the 618 shopping festival as early as the first half of May,' said Jacques Roizen, managing director of consulting at Digital Luxury Group. 'Very few brands can afford to not participate in 618, and therefore are losing the historical 520 full price revenue peak, which until recently was an important moment of their commercial calendar,' said Roizen. Last week, Tmall and Douyin, arguably two of the biggest 618 players, officially launched this year's 618 with a simplified playbook focused on direct discounts as opposed to a complicated coupon system. This year's 618 runs for over a month from early May to late June. However, those companies actively participating in the May gifting moment continue to experiment with new narratives with a local-friendly product mix. In late April, Dior began releasing a series of campaigns featuring global ambassador Xin Liu, China ambassadors Henry Liu and Yu Shi, and Chinese actor Ai Mi holding court at Dior's 'customer service,' as they answer hotline calls from customers looking for date night looks. The collection highlights exclusive 520 products that include womenswear, menswear, accessories, leather goods, and jewelry. For Prada, the 520 occasion was reserved for its newly opened restaurant in Shanghai, Mi Shang. The café and restaurant project, which was designed by film director Wong Kar Wai, is serving up a feast with a special tasting menu, and in the confectionery section, there will be two limited-edition cream puff desserts adorned with heart-shaped motifs, alongside boxed pralines filled with soft raspberry. Moynat, the LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned handbag-maker, is banking on China's pet-obsessed generation by casting celebrity pets — C-pop idol Tan Jianci's pet dogs Dai and Ball ball — in its 520 campaign. The collection, featuring pet collars, leashes, charms, and a monogrammed Hobo shoulder bag, is available in all Moynat boutiques worldwide. At Ferragamo, its signature Hug bag was the star of its 520 campaign. Themed 'Hug Bag, Hug Love,' the campaign featured brand ambassador Gao Yuanyuan and Chinese actor Lin Gengxin as bearers of the statement piece in various shapes and sizes. In the most recent first quarter, handbags have helped drive performance, and the family-owned business is banking on it to become its best-performing category going forward. Balenciaga's 2025 High Summer campaign was recast as this year's 520 campaign, with a new tagline that read 'love is sometimes relaxed and always enjoyable.' The lineup features over 150 products from the collection and includes 520-exclusive3XL sneakers and Le City bags — both styles come in light grey and feature a '520' tag in the style of checked baggage slips. Similarly, Gucci's 520 campaign also embodied the ease of summer vacation. Photographed against the backdrop of Italy's coastline during golden hours, the editorial features global brand ambassador Ni Ni and Chinese model Jin Dachuan dressed in heavily-monogrammed attire with matching handbags. Miu Miu's 520 was drenched in summer glow too. Featuring a set of still life photography highlighting beach-friendly attire, the collection also includes a fringed suede tote in red that's launching first in China. The collection was part of an offline activation under the Miu Miu Select banner. The event was headlined by the Chinese model Ju Xiaowen at Miu Miu's Chengdu Taikoo Li store. Valentino, celebrating self-love, set up an intimate bedroom setting where the Chinese model Hua Yilan gets dressed up for a romantic date. Pieces came from the brand's fall 2025 collection, which included dreamy 'cherrifyfic' pattern and the whimsical 'Le Chat de la Maison' motif, 1980s-inspired slingback pumps, the low-top Upvillage sneaker, and the Viva Superstar bag that took center stage. Launch Gallery: Chinese 520 Valentine's Day Campaigns: Pets, Work-Life Balance And Self-Care Best of WWD Macy's Is Closing 66 Stores in 2025 — Here's the List, Live Updates Inside the Demise of Lord & Taylor COVID-19 Spikes Elevate Retail Concerns
Fashion Network
16-05-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Alibaba misses revenue estimates as it fights for China e-commerce market dominance
Alibaba's rival beat first-quarter revenue estimates on Tuesday and said it was seeing strong user growth despite the prolonged economic weakness weighing on consumer sentiment. Chinese shoppers, grappling with a prolonged property crisis and a cloudy economic outlook, have increasingly become cost-conscious, prompting deep discounts and rock-bottom prices to stimulate spending. That has sparked a price battle among China's largest online e-commerce platforms including Alibaba, PDD Holdings' Pinduoduo and as they jostle for market share. Alibaba's domestic e-commerce business Taobao and Tmall Group produced revenue growth of nearly 9% for the quarter, the group said, attributing this to strong momentum in new consumer growth and a continuing increase in orders. Chinese e-commerce giants have been aggressively expanding into so-called instant retail, focusing on delivery speeds of 30 to 60 minutes, in their battle for market share. Both and Alibaba's platforms have increased incentives to users including coupons to try their expanded instant retail and food delivery offerings. Alibaba E-commerce Business Group Chief Executive Jiang Fan told analysts on a call that Alibaba would be "investing aggressively" in the instant retail business in the short term. "One thing to note about this instant retail market is that it's a huge market," he said. "Today, it could be a market of say 500 to 600 million consumers. Going forward, that can easily become 1 billion consumers." Alibaba's international commerce division (AIDC), which includes cross-border player AliExpress, produced 22% in revenue growth, though that missed forecasts for 26.4% growth. "International business missed but I'm not sure if it was due to AliExpress suffering from tariff impacts," said M Science analyst Vinci Zhang. "I thought it was interesting that they didn't highlight anything related to the U.S... That to me felt a bit deliberate." Alibaba Group CEO Eddie Wu acknowledged "uncertainties in global trade regulations" as a potential headwind, though he added that AIDC remained on track to achieve profitability in the coming fiscal year. Investors are also shifting focus to the "618" festival, one of the biggest annual shopping events in China, which culminates on June 18. Retailers have already started pre-sales. Alibaba's Cloud Intelligence Unit's revenue grew 18% to 30.13 billion yuan. The group has emerged as a leader in China's competitive AI race and the tech giant has consistently released new models throughout the year. It launched Qwen 3 in April, an upgraded version of its flagship AI model that introduces new hybrid reasoning capabilities.
Fashion Network
16-05-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Alibaba misses revenue estimates as it fights for China e-commerce market dominance
Alibaba's rival beat first-quarter revenue estimates on Tuesday and said it was seeing strong user growth despite the prolonged economic weakness weighing on consumer sentiment. Chinese shoppers, grappling with a prolonged property crisis and a cloudy economic outlook, have increasingly become cost-conscious, prompting deep discounts and rock-bottom prices to stimulate spending. That has sparked a price battle among China's largest online e-commerce platforms including Alibaba, PDD Holdings' Pinduoduo and as they jostle for market share. Alibaba's domestic e-commerce business Taobao and Tmall Group produced revenue growth of nearly 9% for the quarter, the group said, attributing this to strong momentum in new consumer growth and a continuing increase in orders. Chinese e-commerce giants have been aggressively expanding into so-called instant retail, focusing on delivery speeds of 30 to 60 minutes, in their battle for market share. Both and Alibaba's platforms have increased incentives to users including coupons to try their expanded instant retail and food delivery offerings. Alibaba E-commerce Business Group Chief Executive Jiang Fan told analysts on a call that Alibaba would be "investing aggressively" in the instant retail business in the short term. "One thing to note about this instant retail market is that it's a huge market," he said. "Today, it could be a market of say 500 to 600 million consumers. Going forward, that can easily become 1 billion consumers." Alibaba's international commerce division (AIDC), which includes cross-border player AliExpress, produced 22% in revenue growth, though that missed forecasts for 26.4% growth. "International business missed but I'm not sure if it was due to AliExpress suffering from tariff impacts," said M Science analyst Vinci Zhang. "I thought it was interesting that they didn't highlight anything related to the U.S... That to me felt a bit deliberate." Alibaba Group CEO Eddie Wu acknowledged "uncertainties in global trade regulations" as a potential headwind, though he added that AIDC remained on track to achieve profitability in the coming fiscal year. Investors are also shifting focus to the "618" festival, one of the biggest annual shopping events in China, which culminates on June 18. Retailers have already started pre-sales. Alibaba's Cloud Intelligence Unit's revenue grew 18% to 30.13 billion yuan. The group has emerged as a leader in China's competitive AI race and the tech giant has consistently released new models throughout the year. It launched Qwen 3 in April, an upgraded version of its flagship AI model that introduces new hybrid reasoning capabilities.
Fashion Network
16-05-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Alibaba misses revenue estimates as it fights for China e-commerce market dominance
Alibaba's rival beat first-quarter revenue estimates on Tuesday and said it was seeing strong user growth despite the prolonged economic weakness weighing on consumer sentiment. Chinese shoppers, grappling with a prolonged property crisis and a cloudy economic outlook, have increasingly become cost-conscious, prompting deep discounts and rock-bottom prices to stimulate spending. That has sparked a price battle among China's largest online e-commerce platforms including Alibaba, PDD Holdings' Pinduoduo and as they jostle for market share. Alibaba's domestic e-commerce business Taobao and Tmall Group produced revenue growth of nearly 9% for the quarter, the group said, attributing this to strong momentum in new consumer growth and a continuing increase in orders. Chinese e-commerce giants have been aggressively expanding into so-called instant retail, focusing on delivery speeds of 30 to 60 minutes, in their battle for market share. Both and Alibaba's platforms have increased incentives to users including coupons to try their expanded instant retail and food delivery offerings. Alibaba E-commerce Business Group Chief Executive Jiang Fan told analysts on a call that Alibaba would be "investing aggressively" in the instant retail business in the short term. "One thing to note about this instant retail market is that it's a huge market," he said. "Today, it could be a market of say 500 to 600 million consumers. Going forward, that can easily become 1 billion consumers." Alibaba's international commerce division (AIDC), which includes cross-border player AliExpress, produced 22% in revenue growth, though that missed forecasts for 26.4% growth. "International business missed but I'm not sure if it was due to AliExpress suffering from tariff impacts," said M Science analyst Vinci Zhang. "I thought it was interesting that they didn't highlight anything related to the U.S... That to me felt a bit deliberate." Alibaba Group CEO Eddie Wu acknowledged "uncertainties in global trade regulations" as a potential headwind, though he added that AIDC remained on track to achieve profitability in the coming fiscal year. Investors are also shifting focus to the "618" festival, one of the biggest annual shopping events in China, which culminates on June 18. Retailers have already started pre-sales. Alibaba's Cloud Intelligence Unit's revenue grew 18% to 30.13 billion yuan. The group has emerged as a leader in China's competitive AI race and the tech giant has consistently released new models throughout the year. It launched Qwen 3 in April, an upgraded version of its flagship AI model that introduces new hybrid reasoning capabilities.
