Latest news with #JamesMunday
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Father whose £13,000 Range Rover was stolen from Essex finds it 5,000 miles away in Tanzania
A father-of-three whose Range Rover was stolen from his driveway was 'gob-smacked' to see a tracker on the car two months later placing it 5,000 miles away in Tanzania. James Munday, 44, said he had expected never to see the £13,000 2014 Range Rover Vogue again after thieves used an electronic 'key' to open it outside his house in South Woodham Ferrers, near Chelmsford, Essex last November. 'I'd been working on my boat late at night', said James, who operates boats in the River Crouch near his home. 'I parked up as I always do and went to bed. When I got up, the car wasn't there, but we could see really grainy images of the lights flashing on our CCTV camera. 'I had bought a few Apple Air Tags and put them in some of the family cars and pieces of luggage and when I looked at the tag for that car, it was disabled just at the time of the theft, around 6am. 'I later found out that was a security feature of the tag after women were having them placed in their bags at nightclubs, allowing someone to follow them home. Now you get a message on your phone telling you there's a tag in the near vicinity and you can disable it remotely. I reported it to the police but there wasn't much they could do, so I filed an insurance claim and eventually got the money. ' It wasn't until two months later in February that James idly checked the tag on his computer and to his astonishment, saw that it had somehow reactivated. 'I was absolutely gob-smacked, just staring at the screen in disbelief,' he told MailOnline in an exclusive interview. 'I could see that in the intervening couple of months, the car had gone through the Suez Canal, down the Red Sea and into the Indian Ocean, crossing the Equator and ending up at the docks in [Tanzanian capital] Dar-Es-Salam. 'I called my wife Claire and said 'you remember when you climbed Mount Kilimanjaro? Well, my car's pretty much ended up there!' Ever since February, James has kept a close eye on the car, and remarkably, the AirTag is still working. 'It's moved a bit, but I think it's now somewhere near a car dealership. As I've been paid by the insurers, it's not really my car any more anyway, but I'm still amazed that anyone went to all that trouble for a car that wasn't worth that much in the first place.' A tracker on the car two months later placing it 5,000 miles away in Tanzania After a few months, James posted a screenshot of his car's journey on a Facebook group called the Dull Men's Club – and was inundated with replies and interest. 'There were all kinds of people commenting and a few approaches from the media,' he said. 'I'd been a member for a few years, but had never posted on there before. Usually it's people trying to outdo themselves with the dullness of their posts, but I thought they would be interested in mine. 'Then after a few hours, the post disappeared, so maybe it wasn't dull enough for the club!' One aspect of the theft which does still rankle with him though, is a hat he left on the back seat, which has sentimental value. 'I bought it as part of a matching pair with my dad,' he said. 'It was a 1922 Bailey flat cap, and I'd like to be reunited with it, and I can't imagine anyone wearing one in Tanzania, so I'd like that back if possible!'
The Independent
08-04-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Astronomers spot two stars the size of Earth headed toward a violent explosion
Astronomers have discovered a pair of white dwarf stars locked in a tight orbital dance, hurtling towards a spectacular and violent end. Located a mere 160 light-years from Earth within our Milky Way galaxy, these stellar remnants are destined for not one, but four explosive detonations. White dwarfs represent the final stage of evolution for stars up to eight times the mass of our sun. After exhausting their hydrogen fuel, these stars collapse under their own gravity, shedding their outer layers in a dramatic "red giant" phase. What remains is an incredibly dense core, roughly the size of Earth – a white dwarf. The two white dwarfs in this binary system are gravitationally bound, spiraling ever closer. This proximity sets the stage for a cataclysmic event. As they draw nearer, the immense gravitational forces will trigger a series of explosions, culminating in a final, powerful detonation. This discovery offers a glimpse into the dramatic and explosive fates awaiting some of the universe's most fascinating objects. "White dwarfs are the stellar remnants of the vast majority of stars, and from time to time we find systems where two white dwarfs closely orbit each other," said James Munday, a PhD researcher at the University of Warwick in England and lead author of the study published in the journal Nature Astronomy. The researchers used data from four ground-based telescopes to study this binary system. One of the white dwarfs has a mass about 83 per cent that of our sun and the other about 72 per cent. No other known white dwarf binary has a larger combined mass, Munday said. "They are both about as big as the Earth. One has a diameter about 20 per cent larger and the other about 50 per cent larger. That gives you an idea of how dense they are. It's the sun compressed onto the size of Earth. Their masses when they were regular stars were probably around three to four times the mass of the sun," said University of Warwick astrophysicist and study co-author Ingrid Pelisoli. A few hundred binary systems composed of two white dwarf stars are known. These two orbit closest to each other of any of them. They are about 25 times closer to each other than our solar system 's innermost planet Mercury is to the sun, completing an orbit every roughly 14 hours. With the gap between them very gradually narrowing as the binary system loses energy, the fact that they are so massive and so close ensures their demise over a large timescale. When they get closer to each other, the heavier of the two white dwarfs, because of its greater gravitational strength, will begin to draw material from the lighter one's outer layer and increase in mass past the threshold beyond which a white dwarf experiences a thermonuclear explosion. This will set the stage for a complex explosion called a type 1a supernova, in this instance involving a quadruple detonation. "White dwarfs are made up of layers, much like an onion. Their inner layer is a core of carbon and oxygen, surrounded by a helium layer and finally by a hydrogen layer," Pelisoli said. "The less-massive star will transfer mass to the massive one when they start interacting. This will lead the helium layer (of the heavier one) to become too massive, triggering an explosion. This then triggers a second explosion in the carbon-oxygen core. The shock wave from these explosions in turn triggers a third explosion in the remaining helium layer of the companion, which triggers a fourth explosion in its carbon-oxygen core," Pelisoli added. This quadruple detonation is expected to take about four seconds, start to finish. But it will not come anytime soon. The researchers calculate that it will occur approximately 22.6 billion years from now. The universe is about 13.8 billion years old. When the explosion occurs, it would appear from the perspective of Earth about 10 times brighter than the moon in the night sky - if Earth, now about 4.5 billion years old, still exists. This is the first time a binary system apparently headed for such a fate has been identified. If the two white dwarfs were far enough apart that the heavier one would not siphon material from the lighter one, they could survive in perpetual peace. "In a wider orbit, they could indeed live stably without any catastrophic future, but here we know that the explosion will light up our side of the galaxy," Munday said.
BBC News
08-04-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Space: Experts spot dwarf stars heading for a massive explosion
Astronomers have spotted two huge white dwarf stars which they say are destined to explode together in a is because of how close together the stars are, and it's the first time something like this has been seen and identifiedWhen it happens, from Earth it would appear about 10 times brighter than the moon in the night sky. But it's not something we need to worry about, as researchers calculate that it will take place approximately 22.6 billion years from now. The two stars are part of our Milky Way galaxy and are about 160 light-years from Earth. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year - 5.9 trillion miles, or 9.5 trillion km. This means that although the stars are relatively close in space terms, they're still very very far away! In fact experts aren't even sure if Earth, which is currently about 4.5 billion years old, would definitely still exist then. What is a dwarf star? White dwarfs are among the most compact objects in the sky. They are stars with up to eight times the mass of our sun. Mass is a measure of how much matter there is in an objectBecause their mass will become so big, gravity will cause them to collapse and blow off their outer layers in a "red giant" stage, eventually leaving behind a compact core roughly the same size around as the Earth. Why will the stars explode? One of the reasons is because of how big these particular dwarf stars are. Researchers used data from four telescopes to study them, and found that one of the white dwarfs has a mass about 83% that of our sun and the other about 72%. James Munday, a PhD researcher at the University of Warwick is the lead author of the study published in the journal Nature said that no other known white dwarf has a larger combined mass."They are both about as big as the Earth," he explained. "Their masses when they were regular stars were probably around three to four times the mass of the sun." So they were pretty big! The other reason is because of how close the two huge dwarf stars are to each other. They are about 25 times closer to each other than our solar system's innermost planet Mercury is to the sun, completing an orbit every roughly 14 added: "From time to time we find systems where two white dwarfs closely orbit each other. "In a wider orbit, they could indeed live stably without any catastrophic future, but here we know that the explosion will light up our side of the galaxy." What will happen to these two dwarf stars? Another researcher on the team Pelisoli explained: "White dwarfs are made up of layers, much like an onion. Their inner layer is a core of carbon and oxygen, surrounded by a helium layer and finally by a hydrogen layer."When they get closer to each other, the heavier of the two white dwarfs will begin to draw material from the lighter one's outer layer and increase in mass because of its greater gravitational will cause a chain of events which will cause 4 different explosions. These explosions are expected to take about four seconds, start to finish. That will be a big bang!
Reuters
07-04-2025
- Science
- Reuters
Astronomers spot two white dwarfs doomed to die in a quadruple detonation
WASHINGTON, April 7 (Reuters) - Astronomers have spotted two hefty white dwarf stars - highly compact stellar embers - orbiting close together that appear destined to die in an extraordinarily violent quadruple detonation. The two stars, gravitationally bound to each other in what is called a binary system, are located in our Milky Way galaxy about 160 light-years from Earth - relatively close in cosmic terms. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km). here. White dwarfs are among the most compact celestial objects. Stars with up to eight times the mass of our sun appear destined to end up this way. They eventually burn up all the hydrogen they use as fuel. Gravity then causes them to collapse and blow off their outer layers in a "red giant" stage, eventually leaving behind a compact core roughly the diameter of Earth - the white dwarf. "White dwarfs are the stellar remnants of the vast majority of stars, and from time to time we find systems where two white dwarfs closely orbit each other," said James Munday, a PhD researcher at the University of Warwick in England and lead author of the study published in the journal Nature Astronomy, opens new tab. The researchers used data from four ground-based telescopes to study this binary system. One of the white dwarfs has a mass about 83% that of our sun and the other about 72%. No other known white dwarf binary has a larger combined mass, Munday said. "They are both about as big as the Earth. One has a diameter about 20% larger and the other about 50% larger. That gives you an idea of how dense they are. It's the sun compressed onto the size of Earth. Their masses when they were regular stars were probably around three to four times the mass of the sun," said University of Warwick astrophysicist and study co-author Ingrid Pelisoli. A few hundred binary systems composed of two white dwarf stars are known. These two orbit closest to each other of any of them. They are about 25 times closer to each other than our solar system's innermost planet Mercury is to the sun, completing an orbit every roughly 14 hours. With the gap between them very gradually narrowing as the binary system loses energy, the fact that they are so massive and so close ensures their demise over a large timescale. When they get closer to each other, the heavier of the two white dwarfs, because of its greater gravitational strength, will begin to draw material from the lighter one's outer layer and increase in mass past the threshold beyond which a white dwarf experiences a thermonuclear explosion. This will set the stage for a complex explosion called a type 1a supernova, in this instance involving a quadruple detonation. "White dwarfs are made up of layers, much like an onion. Their inner layer is a core of carbon and oxygen, surrounded by a helium layer and finally by a hydrogen layer," Pelisoli said. "The less-massive star will transfer mass to the massive one when they start interacting. This will lead the helium layer (of the heavier one) to become too massive, triggering an explosion. This then triggers a second explosion in the carbon-oxygen core. The shock wave from these explosions in turn triggers a third explosion in the remaining helium layer of the companion, which triggers a fourth explosion in its carbon-oxygen core," Pelisoli added. This quadruple detonation is expected to take about four seconds, start to finish. But it will not come anytime soon. The researchers calculate that it will occur approximately 22.6 billion years from now. The universe is about 13.8 billion years old. When the explosion occurs, it would appear from the perspective of Earth about 10 times brighter than the moon in the night sky - if Earth, now about 4.5 billion years old, still exists. This is the first time a binary system apparently headed for such a fate has been identified. If the two white dwarfs were far enough apart that the heavier one would not siphon material from the lighter one, they could survive in perpetual peace. "In a wider orbit, they could indeed live stably without any catastrophic future, but here we know that the explosion will light up our side of the galaxy," Munday said.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Astronomers spot two white dwarfs doomed to die in a quadruple detonation
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Astronomers have spotted two hefty white dwarf stars - highly compact stellar embers - orbiting close together that appear destined to die in an extraordinarily violent quadruple detonation. The two stars, gravitationally bound to each other in what is called a binary system, are located in our Milky Way galaxy about 160 light-years from Earth - relatively close in cosmic terms. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km). White dwarfs are among the most compact celestial objects. Stars with up to eight times the mass of our sun appear destined to end up this way. They eventually burn up all the hydrogen they use as fuel. Gravity then causes them to collapse and blow off their outer layers in a "red giant" stage, eventually leaving behind a compact core roughly the diameter of Earth - the white dwarf. "White dwarfs are the stellar remnants of the vast majority of stars, and from time to time we find systems where two white dwarfs closely orbit each other," said James Munday, a PhD researcher at the University of Warwick in England and lead author of the study published in the journal Nature Astronomy. The researchers used data from four ground-based telescopes to study this binary system. One of the white dwarfs has a mass about 83% that of our sun and the other about 72%. No other known white dwarf binary has a larger combined mass, Munday said. "They are both about as big as the Earth. One has a diameter about 20% larger and the other about 50% larger. That gives you an idea of how dense they are. It's the sun compressed onto the size of Earth. Their masses when they were regular stars were probably around three to four times the mass of the sun," said University of Warwick astrophysicist and study co-author Ingrid Pelisoli. A few hundred binary systems composed of two white dwarf stars are known. These two orbit closest to each other of any of them. They are about 25 times closer to each other than our solar system's innermost planet Mercury is to the sun, completing an orbit every roughly 14 hours. With the gap between them very gradually narrowing as the binary system loses energy, the fact that they are so massive and so close ensures their demise over a large timescale. When they get closer to each other, the heavier of the two white dwarfs, because of its greater gravitational strength, will begin to draw material from the lighter one's outer layer and increase in mass past the threshold beyond which a white dwarf experiences a thermonuclear explosion. This will set the stage for a complex explosion called a type 1a supernova, in this instance involving a quadruple detonation. "White dwarfs are made up of layers, much like an onion. Their inner layer is a core of carbon and oxygen, surrounded by a helium layer and finally by a hydrogen layer," Pelisoli said. "The less-massive star will transfer mass to the massive one when they start interacting. This will lead the helium layer (of the heavier one) to become too massive, triggering an explosion. This then triggers a second explosion in the carbon-oxygen core. The shock wave from these explosions in turn triggers a third explosion in the remaining helium layer of the companion, which triggers a fourth explosion in its carbon-oxygen core," Pelisoli added. This quadruple detonation is expected to take about four seconds, start to finish. But it will not come anytime soon. The researchers calculate that it will occur approximately 22.6 billion years from now. The universe is about 13.8 billion years old. When the explosion occurs, it would appear from the perspective of Earth about 10 times brighter than the moon in the night sky - if Earth, now about 4.5 billion years old, still exists. This is the first time a binary system apparently headed for such a fate has been identified. If the two white dwarfs were far enough apart that the heavier one would not siphon material from the lighter one, they could survive in perpetual peace. "In a wider orbit, they could indeed live stably without any catastrophic future, but here we know that the explosion will light up our side of the galaxy," Munday said.
