Latest news with #EuropeanSpaceAgency
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Sound of Earth's Flipping Magnetic Field Is an Unforgettable Horror
Earth's magnetic field dramatically flipped roughly 41,000 years ago. We can now experience this epic upheaval, thanks to a clever interpretation of information collected by the European Space Agency's Swarm satellite mission. Combining the satellite data with evidence of magnetic field line movements on Earth, geoscientists mapped the Laschamps event and represented it using natural noises like the creaking of wood and the crashing of colliding rocks. The resulting compilation – unveiled in 2024 by the Technical University of Denmark and the German Research Center for Geosciences – is unlike anything you've ever heard. Generated by the swirling liquid metals in our planet's core, Earth's magnetic field reaches tens to hundreds of thousands of kilometers into space, protecting us all by deflecting atmosphere-stripping solar particles. As the iron and nickel inside our planet shift, so does Earth's magnetic field, meaning the North (and South) Poles are also constantly on the move. Recently, the position of the magnetic North Pole was officially changed, as it continues its shift away from Canada and towards Siberia. In its current orientation, the magnetic field lines form closed loops that are directed south to north above the planet's surface, and then north to south deep within it. Yet every so often the field randomly flips its polarity. Were this to happen again today, our north-pointing compasses would point to the South Pole. The last such cataclysmic event occurred about 41,000 years ago, leaving a signature in the Laschamps lava flows in France. As the field weakened to only 5 percent of its current strength the reversal process allowed a surpluss of cosmic rays to pass into Earth's atmosphere. Ice and marine sediment preserve isotopic signatures of this higher-than-normal solar bombardment, with levels of beryllium-10 isotopes doubling during the Laschamps event, according to a study published last year. These altered atoms are formed when cosmic rays react with our atmosphere, ionizing the air and frying the ozone layer. With global climate change being a potential consequence, it's speculated the extinction of Australia's megafauna as well as changes in human cave use may have been associated with this event. "Understanding these extreme events is important for their occurrence in the future, space climate predictions, and assessing the effects on the environment and on the Earth system," German Research Center for Geosciences geophysics Sanja Panovska explained at the time. It took 250 years for the Laschamps reversal to take place and it stayed in the unusual orientation for about 440 years. At most, Earth's magnetic field may have remained at 25 percent of its current strength as the north polarity drifted to the south. Recent magnetic field anomalies like the weakening over the Atlantic ocean have led to questions about an impending reversal today, but recent research suggests these anomalies are not necessarily connected to flipping events. The South Atlantic anomaly is, however, exposing satellites in the area to higher levels of radiation. Since 2013, ESA's Swarm constellation has been measuring magnetic signals from Earth's core, mantle, crust, oceans, ionosphere, and magnetosphere so we can better understand our planet's geomagnetic field and predict its fluctuations. An earlier version of this article was published in October 2024. World-First Study Reveals How Lightning Sparks Gamma-Ray Flashes The Universe Is 'Suspiciously' Like a Computer Simulation, Physicist Says Seismic Waves From Intense Storms Can Ripple Through Earth's Core
Time of India
a day 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
Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- Science
- Free Malaysia Today
Webb telescope captures deep view of ancient galaxies
The James Webb space telescope is offering scientists a glimpse into the distant past. (ESA/Webb pic) PARIS : The James Webb space telescope's deepest view of a single target depicts spinning arcs of light that are galaxies from the universe's distant past, the European Space Agency said Tuesday. The new image took the world's most powerful telescope more than 120 hours to capture, making it the longest Webb has ever focused on a single target. It is also 'Webb's deepest gaze on a single target to date', the European Space Agency (ESA) said in a statement, making the image one of the deepest ever captured of the cosmos. At the bright centre of the image is a massive cluster of galaxies called Abell S1063, which is 4.5 billion light years from Earth. But it is not the true target. Such huge celestial objects can bend the light of things behind them, creating a kind of magnifying glass called a gravitational lens. Therefore the 'warped arcs' spinning around the Abell S1063 are what really interest scientists, the ESA said in a statement. Because looking into distant space also means looking back in time, scientists hope to learn how the first galaxies formed during a period known as the Cosmic Dawn, when the universe was only a few million years old. The image includes nine separate shots of different near-infrared wavelengths of light, the ESA said. Since coming online in 2022, the Webb telescope has ushered in a new era of scientific breakthroughs. It has also revealed that galaxies in the early universe are far bigger than scientists expected, leading some to suspect there might be something wrong with our understanding of the cosmos.
Malay Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Malay Mail
Webb telescope stares deeper into space than ever, revealing warped light from galaxies born near the dawn of time
PARIS, May 28 — The James Webb space telescope's deepest view of a single target yet depicts spinning arcs of light that are galaxies from the universe's distant past, the European Space Agency said Tuesday. The new image took the world's most powerful telescope more than 120 hours to capture, making it the longest Webb has ever focused on a single target. It is also 'Webb's deepest gaze on a single target to date', the European Space Agency (ESA) said in a statement, making the image one of the deepest ever captured of the cosmos. At the bright centre of the image is a massive cluster of galaxies called Abell S1063, which is 4.5 billion light years from Earth. But it is not the true target. Such huge celestial objects can bend the light of things behind them, creating a kind of magnifying glass called a gravitational lens. Therefore the 'warped arcs' spinning around the Abell S1063 are what really interest scientists, the ESA said in a statement. Because looking into distant space also means looking back in time, scientists hope to learn how the first galaxies formed during a period known as the Cosmic Dawn, when the universe was only a few million years old. The image includes nine separate shots of different near-infrared wavelengths of light, the ESA said. Since coming online in 2022, the Webb telescope has ushered in a new era of scientific breakthroughs. It has also revealed that galaxies in the early universe are far bigger than scientists expected, leading some to suspect there might be something wrong with our understanding of the cosmos. — AFP
BBC News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Dark skies inspired ex-astronaut Tim Peake's space wonder
Former UK astronaut Tim Peake has been describing how his childhood growing up in West Sussex inspired him to travel into space. Peake was the first British astronaut to set foot on the International Space Station and the first to conduct a spacewalk during his six-month mission in 2015 and former Army helicopter pilot stepped down permanently from his role as a European astronaut in 2023, taking up a full-time ambassadorial position for science and space. He told BBC Radio Sussex: "I went to the cadets at Chichester High School and carried on with that adventurous streak which ultimately led me to the army and to space." Speaking about growing up in West Sussex, Peake said: "I had such a very safe, very secure childhood."Living in Westbourne it has quite dark skies and I remember thinking 'I wonder what's out there?'."Mr Peake said he was inspired by his school physics teacher Mike said: "He was amazing. My teachers made their lessons so exciting and as relevant as they could. "That ingrained a passion for science which has never left me." Peake joined the European Space Agency in 2009 after an 18-year career in the was announced in 2024 as part of a team that will launch the first all-British crewed mission into said: "I love the way space has the ability to inspire people."When you get the chance to talk to school kids about how your dreams can become a reality it is always an amazing experience."Everyone looks up at the stars and has that moment of awe and wonder." In his new theatre tour Peake will "share the remarkable stories of some of his fellow astronauts and explore the spectacular evolution of space travel".He said: "Being able to tour the country where I can share just a small taste of what I experienced as an astronaut, reliving my own journey and sharing stories from those groundbreaking moments in space exploration, is absolutely fantastic."I hope the stories I share will give people a special insight into the magic of space and continue to inspire generations of future space explorers."Astronauts: The Quest To Explore Space is coming to Guildford, Eastbourne, Tunbridge Wells and Worthing in September and October.
