Latest news with #AstronomyAndAstrophysics
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists just recreated the universe's first ever molecules — and the results challenge our understanding of the early cosmos
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. For the first time, researchers have recreated the universe's first ever molecules by mimicking the conditions of the early universe. The findings shake up our understanding of the origin of stars in the early universe and "calls for a reassessment of the helium chemistry in the early universe," the researchers wrote in the new study, published July 24 in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. The first stars in the universe Just after the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago, the universe was subject to extremely high temperatures. A few seconds later, though, temperatures decreased enough for hydrogen and helium to form as the first ever elements. Hundreds of thousands of years after those elements formed, temperatures became cool enough for their atoms to combine with electrons in a variety of different configurations, forging molecules. According to the researchers, a helium hydride ion — or HeH+ — became the first ever molecule. The ion is needed to form molecular hydrogen, now the most abundant molecule in the universe. Both helium hydride ions and molecular hydrogen were critical to the development of the first stars hundreds of millions of years later, the researchers said. For a protostar to begin fusion — the process that enables stars to create their own energy — atoms and molecules within it must collide with each other and release heat. This process is largely ineffective at temperatures under 18,000 degrees Fahrenheit (10,000 degrees Celsius). Related: Universe's First Molecule Detected in Space for the First Time Ever However, helium hydride ions are particularly good at continuing the process, even under cool temperatures, and are considered to be a potentially integral factor of star formation in the early universe. The amount of helium hydride ions in the universe may therefore have had significant bearing on the speed and efficacy of early star formation, the researchers said in a statement. Far more important than previously assumed In the new study, the researchers recreated early helium hydride reactions by storing the ions at minus 449 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 267 degrees Celsius) for up to 60 seconds to cool them down before forcing them to collide with heavy hydrogen. Researchers studied how the collisions — similar to those that kickstart fusion in a star — changed depending on the temperature of the particles. They found that reaction rates between these particles do not slow down at lower temperatures, which contradicts older assumptions. RELATED STORIES —2 stars covered in unusual elements have a puzzling origin story —'Immortal' stars at the Milky Way's center may have found an endless energy source, study suggests —The Milky Way's 'thick disk' is 2 billion years older than scientists thought "Previous theories predicted a significant decrease in the reaction probability at low temperatures, but we were unable to verify this in either the experiment or new theoretical calculations," study co-author Holger Kreckel, who studies nuclear physics at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Germany, said in the statement. This new finding of how helium hydride ions function challenges how physicists think stars formed in the early universe. Reactions between the ions and other atoms "appear to have been far more important for chemistry in the early universe than previously assumed," Kreckel said. Periodic table of elements quiz: How many elements can you name in 10 minutes? Solve the daily Crossword
Fox News
29-06-2025
- Science
- Fox News
Rare Jupiter-sized planet discovered 3,200 light-years away using Einstein's space-time warping method
Astronomers used a method once theorized by Albert Einstein to find a mysterious and rare planet on the edge of our galaxy. The planet, AT2021uey b, is a Jupiter-sized gas giant located about 3,200 light-years from Earth in the galactic bulge. It takes AT2021uey b 4,170 days to orbit its dwarf star, according to a study published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. According to Live Scence, AT2021uey b's shadow was first spotted in 2021 in data taken by the European Space Agency's Gaia telescope. It took the astronomers multiple check-ins to confirm the details of the planet. The astronomers discovered the planet using microlensing, a method used only three times previously, according to the study. Microlensing, which is based on Einstein's theory of relativity, relies on massive objects moving through the galaxy to warp the fabric of the universe, called space-time. Dr. Marius Maskoliunas, astronomer at Vilnius University and co-author of the study, discussed in a statement posted in just how much work goes into using this method. "This kind of work requires a lot of expertise, patience and, frankly, a bit of luck. You have to wait for a long time for the source star and the lensing object to align and then check an enormous amount of data," Maskoliunas said in the statement. "Ninety percent of observed stars pulsate for various other reasons, and only a minority of cases show the microlensing effect." According to the study, microlensing occurs when a massive celestial body briefly positions itself directly in front of an even more distant star. As the planet settles in front of the star during its journey, the light begins to curve around the planet, magnifying the light of the star. According to the study, this temporary magnified light is what astronomers are searching for. Maskoliunas gave an example of how to imagine how microlensing works. "What fascinates me about this method is that it can detect those invisible bodies. Imagine a bird flying past you. You don't see the bird itself and don't know what color it is — only its shadow," Maskoliunas said in the statement. "But from it, you can, with some level of probability, determine whether it was a sparrow or a swan and at what distance from us. It's an incredibly intriguing process." According to Live Science, there have been nearly 6,000 planets discovered since 1992 using two other more common practices known as transmit photometry and radial velocity. These more common practices will detect planets through host stars becoming dimmer due to said planets. They will also detect the wobble of the planets' gravitational pulls that occur.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists discover rare planet at the edge of the Milky Way using space-time phenomenon predicted by Einstein
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Astronomers have used a space-time phenomenon first predicted by Albert Einstein to discover a rare planet hiding at the edge of our galaxy. The exoplanet, dubbed AT2021uey b, is a Jupiter-size gas giant located roughly 3,200 light-years from Earth. Orbiting a small, cool M dwarf star once every 4,170 days, the planet's location is remarkable — it is only the third planet in the entire history of space observation to be discovered so far away from our galaxy's dense center. Yet perhaps more exceptional than the planet's location is the method used to discover it. The effect, known as microlensing, occurs when the light of a host star is magnified by the warping of space-time due to a planet's gravity. The researchers published their findings May 7 in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. "This kind of work requires a lot of expertise, patience, and, frankly, a bit of luck," study co-author Marius Maskoliūnas, an astronomer at Vilnius University in Lithuania, said in a statement. "You have to wait for a long time for the source star and the lensing object to align and then check an enormous amount of data. Ninety percent of observed stars pulsate for various other reasons, and only a minority of cases show the microlensing effect." Nearly 6,000 alien worlds beyond our solar system have been discovered since the first exoplanet was detected in 1992. The two most common detection methods, called transmit photometry and radial velocity, detect planets through the dimming of host stars as they pass in front of them, or from the wobble that the planets' gravitational tugs impart upon them. A rarer method, known as microlensing, is derived from Einstein's theory of general relativity and is produced by massive objects as they warp the fabric of the universe, called space-time. Gravity, Einstein discovered, isn't produced by an unseen force but by space-time curving and distorting in the presence of matter and energy. Related: James Webb telescope discovers its first planet — a Saturn-size 'shepherd' still glowing red hot from its formation This curved space, in turn, determines how energy and matter move through it. Even though light travels in a straight line, light traveling through a curved region of space-time also travels in a curve. This means that when a planet passes in front of its host star, its gravity acts as a lens — magnifying the star's light and causing its brightness to spike. "What fascinates me about this method is that it can detect those invisible bodies," Maskoliūnas said, essentially by measuring the bodies' shadows. "Imagine a bird flying past you. You don't see the bird itself and don't know what color it is — only its shadow. But from it, you can, with some level of probability, determine whether it was a sparrow or a swan and at what distance from us. It's an incredibly intriguing process." RELATED STORIES —James Webb telescope zooms in on bizarre 'Einstein ring' caused by bending of the universe —James Webb telescope uncovers 1st-ever 'Einstein zig-zag' hiding in plain sight — and it could help save cosmology —Stunning 'Einstein engagement ring' from the early universe is one of the oldest ever discovered AT2021uey b's cosmic shadow was first spotted in 2021 in data taken by the European Space Agency's Gaia telescope, revealing its presence by a momentary spike in the brightness of its host star. The astronomers then took detailed follow-up observations using Vilnius's Molėtai Astronomical Observatory, from which they calculated its source as a planet 1.3 times the mass of Jupiter. Its host star burns at about half the temperature of our own, and the gas giant sits four times farther than Earth's distance from the sun. According to the researchers, the planet's discovery so far from the Milky Way's central bulge, in a region that is comparatively sparse in heavier elements needed to form planets, offers a fresh hint of the unlikely places where planets can be found. "When the first planet around a sun-like star was discovered, there was a great surprise that this Jupiter-type planet was so close to its star," Edita Stonkutė, another Vilnius University astronomer and leader of the microlensing project that found the planet, said in the statement. "As data accumulated, we learned that many types of planetary systems are completely unlike ours — the solar system. We've had to rethink planetary formation models more than once."
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Sculptor Galaxy shines in 1,000 spectacular colors
While we still don't know if we are truly the only intelligent life in the universe, we are certainly not alone as far as galaxies. There are an estimated 100 to 200 billion galaxies–dust clouds, stars, gas, and planets all bound together by gravity–swirling around in the universe. Now, an international team of astronomers is getting a better look at one that's not so far away–in space terms–from our home Milky Way galaxy. Using data from the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile, the team created an incredibly detailed image of the Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253). The team observed this 11 million light-years away spiral galaxy in thousands of colors, which features the brilliant stars living within it. The image and its implications are detailed in a study accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. 'Galaxies are incredibly complex systems that we are still struggling to understand,' study co-author and ESO astronomer Enrico Congiu said in a statement. Galaxies themselves can reach hundreds of thousands of light-years across, making them extremely large. Despite their size, how they evolved ultimately depends on what is going on at smaller scales. 'The Sculptor Galaxy is in a sweet spot,' said Congiu. 'It is close enough that we can resolve its internal structure and study its building blocks with incredible detail, but at the same time, big enough that we can still see it as a whole system.' Like Lego bricks, the building blocks of a galaxy–dust, gas, and stars–all emit different colors and astronomers use various imaging filters to study and detect what's inside. Astronomers can detect the wavelengths of light released by the elements hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur and oxygen across the galaxy. The more shades of color included when imaging of a galaxy, the more we can understand its inner workings. Conventional images generally take in a galaxy using a handful of colors, but this new Sculptor map comprises thousands of hues. The researchers observed the Sculptor Galaxy for over 50 hours with the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument on the VLT to create the detailed map. They then stitched together over 100 exposures to cover an area of the galaxy that's about 65,000 light-years wide. 'We can zoom in to study individual regions where stars form at nearly the scale of individual stars, but we can also zoom out to study the galaxy as a whole,' said study co-author Kathryn Kreckel from Heidelberg University, Germany. [ Related: Where do all those colors in space telescope images come from? ] The pink light throughout the image represents the gas excited by the radiation of newborn stars. The cone of whiter light at the center is due to an outflow of gas from the black hole at the galaxy's core. In the first analysis of the data, the team discovered roughly 500 planetary nebulae–regions of gas and dust flung off dying sun-like stars. Study co-author and Heidelberg University doctoral student Fabian Scheuermann put that number of nebulae into context: 'Beyond our galactic neighbourhood, we usually deal with fewer than 100 detections per galaxy.' Due to the different properties within, planetary nebulae can be used as cosmic distance markers to their host galaxies. 'Finding the planetary nebulae allows us to verify the distance to the galaxy — a critical piece of information on which the rest of the studies of the galaxy depend,' study co-author and astronomer at The Ohio State University Adam Leroy added. In future projects with this map, astronomers hope to explore how gas flows, changes its composition, and forms stars all across this large galaxy. 'How such small processes can have such a big impact on a galaxy whose entire size is thousands of times bigger is still a mystery,' said Congiu.
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Sculptor Galaxy shines in 1,000 spectacular colors
While we still don't know if we are truly the only intelligent life in the universe, we are certainly not alone as far as galaxies. There are an estimated 100 to 200 billion galaxies–dust clouds, stars, gas, and planets all bound together by gravity–swirling around in the universe. Now, an international team of astronomers is getting a better look at one that's not so far away–in space terms–from our home Milky Way galaxy. Using data from the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile, the team created an incredibly detailed image of the Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253). The team observed this 11 million light-years away spiral galaxy in thousands of colors, which features the brilliant stars living within it. The image and its implications are detailed in a study accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. 'Galaxies are incredibly complex systems that we are still struggling to understand,' study co-author and ESO astronomer Enrico Congiu said in a statement. Galaxies themselves can reach hundreds of thousands of light-years across, making them extremely large. Despite their size, how they evolved ultimately depends on what is going on at smaller scales. 'The Sculptor Galaxy is in a sweet spot,' said Congiu. 'It is close enough that we can resolve its internal structure and study its building blocks with incredible detail, but at the same time, big enough that we can still see it as a whole system.' Like Lego bricks, the building blocks of a galaxy–dust, gas, and stars–all emit different colors and astronomers use various imaging filters to study and detect what's inside. Astronomers can detect the wavelengths of light released by the elements hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur and oxygen across the galaxy. The more shades of color included when imaging of a galaxy, the more we can understand its inner workings. Conventional images generally take in a galaxy using a handful of colors, but this new Sculptor map comprises thousands of hues. The researchers observed the Sculptor Galaxy for over 50 hours with the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument on the VLT to create the detailed map. They then stitched together over 100 exposures to cover an area of the galaxy that's about 65,000 light-years wide. 'We can zoom in to study individual regions where stars form at nearly the scale of individual stars, but we can also zoom out to study the galaxy as a whole,' said study co-author Kathryn Kreckel from Heidelberg University, Germany. [ Related: Where do all those colors in space telescope images come from? ] The pink light throughout the image represents the gas excited by the radiation of newborn stars. The cone of whiter light at the center is due to an outflow of gas from the black hole at the galaxy's core. In the first analysis of the data, the team discovered roughly 500 planetary nebulae–regions of gas and dust flung off dying sun-like stars. Study co-author and Heidelberg University doctoral student Fabian Scheuermann put that number of nebulae into context: 'Beyond our galactic neighbourhood, we usually deal with fewer than 100 detections per galaxy.' Due to the different properties within, planetary nebulae can be used as cosmic distance markers to their host galaxies. 'Finding the planetary nebulae allows us to verify the distance to the galaxy — a critical piece of information on which the rest of the studies of the galaxy depend,' study co-author and astronomer at The Ohio State University Adam Leroy added. In future projects with this map, astronomers hope to explore how gas flows, changes its composition, and forms stars all across this large galaxy. 'How such small processes can have such a big impact on a galaxy whose entire size is thousands of times bigger is still a mystery,' said Congiu.
