Latest news with #RoyalAstronomicalSociety
Business Mayor
22-05-2025
- Science
- Business Mayor
A dozen black holes may be 'wandering' through our galaxy — and they're the rarest type in the universe
The Milky Way has millions of small black holes and one giant supermassive black hole at its center . But does the galaxy have any medium-sized black holes? New research suggests the answer is yes: Perhaps a dozen may inhabit the Milky Way, but they are wandering freely through space and are fiendishly difficult to detect. For decades, researchers have wondered about the prevalence of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs). Certainly, every galaxy is capable of producing an enormous number — roughly a handful every century — of small black holes with masses of up to 100 or so times that of the sun. And it appears that when galaxies like the Milky Way first arrived on the cosmic scene, they already had companion supermassive black holes in their hearts. Our own supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*, has a mass of 4.5 million suns. But what about the IMBHs? Theoretically, they should have masses of 10,000 to 100,000 solar masses. Finding IMBHs — or disproving their existence — has enormous implications for our understanding of black hole growth and evolution. But so far, there have been only faint, sketchy hints of IMBHs residing in dwarf galaxies, and no direct evidence that they live in a galaxy like the Milky Way. In April, a team of researchers at the University of Zurich in Switzerland explored whether our current simulations of the universe could conclusively predict if the Milky Way hosts a population of IMBHs. Their paper has been accepted for publication in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Related: Is our universe trapped inside a black hole? This James Webb Space Telescope discovery might blow your mind Cannibal galaxies Galaxies do not grow up alone. Instead, they develop through the cannibalization of their neighbors, by incorporating their stars — and any black holes — within their volumes. The Milky Way has consumed over a dozen dwarf galaxies , and probably many more, in its long history. Presumably, some of those dwarf galaxies held IMBHs. But the common assumption was that large black holes tend to slink down the centers of their host galaxies, where they go on to merge with the central supermassive black hole. Through their models, the researchers saw a different story unfold. They used a simulation of the evolution of a Milky Way-like galaxy and found that it can contain somewhere between five and 18 'wandering' IMBHs, which are not located near the central core but are left to roam within the disk of the galaxy. The exact number of IMBHs depends on whether they are born near the core of a soon-to-be-consumed dwarf galaxy or in its outskirts. Get the world's most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox. Although the researchers were heartened to find that the Milky Way should host a population of IMBHs, they urged caution in interpreting their results. They could not conclusively state what masses these black holes should have or where they would ultimately reside. So, while the new research strongly hints that IMBHs are out there, we do not yet know where to look.
RNZ News
21-05-2025
- Science
- RNZ News
AI and the "next big thing" in astronomy
AI - Artificial Intelligence - is increasingly a part of our daily lives and the more we use it, the more conversations there are about whether we use it too much - even amongst scientists themselves. Anna Scaife is a Professor of Radio Astronomy from the University of Manchester. Here for a lecture series at the invitation of the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand, Anna's talk is entitled "How Artificial Intelligence is changing the way we do Astronomy - and why that's not necessarily a bad thing." She joins Kathryn from Rakiura, Stewart Island to explain how AI could help astronomers solve one of the biggest scientific questions of all time. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
International Dark Sky Week 2025: See these 10 night sky sights to celebrate
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. April 21 - 28 is International Dark Sky Week, a global celebration of the night sky during which like-minded organizations and people take action to raise awareness of an inevitable aspect of modern-day life: the rising scourge of light pollution. Light pollution is a serious issue for night sky enthusiasts hoping to explore the cosmos from our vantage point on Earth, and is the primary reason why powerful observatories are built in remote locations, such as the Atacama Desert in Chile. Even so, a 2022 study from the Royal Astronomical Society showed that artificial light was polluting the skies over most observatories, while suggesting that immediate action would be needed to safeguard these scientific bastions. But the loss of dark skies is felt far beyond its harmful effects on astronomy. "From the darkness needed for a restful night's sleep to the activities we enjoy beneath the stars, the night plays a crucial role in protecting healthy wildlife ecosystems, advancing science and exploration, preserving cultural knowledge, and much more," reads a post on the International Dark Sky website. Astronomers measure the apparent brightness of a night sky object by its magnitude. The lower this value is, the brighter an associated object is in the night sky. Under good night sky viewing conditions the human eye is capable of picking out objects with a magnitude of around +6, which allows us to view over 9,000 stars without the need for telescopes or binoculars. However, under artificial city lights that limit drops to a magnitude of +3, which renders many deep sky objects and stars lost to sight. To celebrate International Dark Sky Week 2025, we've put together a list of 10 night sky objects visible over the coming days that showcase the majesty of the post-sunset realm. The majority of viewing targets are easily accessible to newcomers using nothing but the naked eye and a dark sky, although some may benefit from the use of a stargazing smartphone app such as Stellarium, or Starry night. However, some of the latter selections in our list would benefit from being viewed through a pair of binoculars, or a telescope, to bring out their true beauty. While the most impressive sights will be found under clear, unspoiled dark skies, many of the viewing targets can be observed in urban areas. Regardless of where you are, be sure to let your eyes adjust to the dark for at least 20 minutes to get the most out of your skywatching experience, and to use a red light when extra illumination is needed to save your night vision! The seven bright stars that form the Big Dipper - also known as the Plough - are among the most famous stellar formations in the Northern Hemisphere. In reality, the stars of the Big Dipper are separated from one another by near unimaginable tracts of space, but from the seemingly unchanging perspective of Earth they come together to create a distinctive bowl and handle shape. The Big Dipper is what is known as an asterism - the term given to a recognizable formation of stars that belongs to an even larger grouping of stellar bodies called a constellation. The Big Dipper's constellation Ursa major - the Great Bear - happens to be a circumpolar constellation, which means that it's always above the horizon in the northern hemisphere, particularly during spring, when it is particularly high overhead. If you're having difficulty spotting this bright asterism then why not turn to a stargazing app, many of which have free functionality and the best of which can be found in our handy guide! The next object on our tour is the magnitude +2 star Polaris, which can be located with the help of the bright stars Merak and Dubhe, which form the outer edge of the Big Dipper's 'bowl'. Simply trace an imaginary line from the base of the bowl (Merak) out through Dubhe, and the next bright star that the line intersects will be Polaris! Polaris is also known as the North Star, owing to the fact that it just so happens to be positioned extremely close to the north celestial pole, which is essentially an extension of Earth's geographic north pole, and around which the entire sky seems to rotate. As such, Polaris held a special significance to our ancestors, who used it to determine their latitude on Earth during long sea voyages. However, the celestial north pole is slowly wandering away from Polaris as a result of a wobble in the rotation of Earth's axis. According to NASA a new North Star will be crowned in around 12,000 years in the bright star Vega. Betelgeuse - or Alpha Orionis if you want to be fancy - is one of the largest stars visible in the Northern Hemisphere. According to NASA, the red supergiant is estimated to shine brighter than up to 14,000 suns. Despite being a mere 10 million years old, Betelgeuse is already nearing the end of its mighty existence, having already expended most of its hydrogen reserves needed to fuel the fusion reaction that prevents the gigantic stellar body from collapsing in on itself. At any point in the next 100,0000 years Betelgeuse could run out of the last of its hydrogen, and end in a cataclysmic supernova explosion that would be visible on Earth, even during the day. To find Betelgeuse in the April night sky, you need only look to the western sky soon after sunset, and locate the three bright stars Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka that line up horizontally to form an asterism known as Orion's belt. Then, trace a line up from Mintaka and slightly to the right, to find Betelgeuse. Space agencies and private companies alike have their sights set on exploring the secrets of the Red Planet, with a view to one day putting human boots on its barren surface. During April, Mars is located relatively close to the bright stars Castor and Pollox, which can be found 40 degrees upwards from Betelgeuse in the direction of your local zenith, which is the patch of space directly above your head. The width of your fist from your thumb to the outside of your hand equals around 10 degrees in the sky. With that in mind, all you need to do is stack four fists on top of Betelgeuse, and you will find Castor and Pollux waiting for you side by side. Mars can then be seen as a bright red point of light to the upper left of the two stars. Less than 10 degrees to the upper left of Mars this week is the Beehive cluster, which appears as a fuzzy patch of light to the naked eye under clear dark skies, and something all the more spectacular with the aid of a pair of binoculars, or telescope. According to NASA, the Beehive cluster is home to around 1,000 stars that are loosely bound together by gravitational attraction. The enormous stellar beehive is thought to be 600 - 700 million years old, and was initially mistaken as a nebula by the famed astronomer Galileo Galilei when he observed it in the early 1600s. A pair of good binoculars will reveal tens of stars clustered together in the Beehive, while a telescope could reveal hundreds more of the blue-white stellar bodies. The eastern pre-dawn horizon in late April is a veritable planet bonanza, with Venus, Saturn, Mercury and Neptune all crowding in together into a relatively small patch of sky. The planets are best viewed in the hour preceding dawn, and will require a clear view of the horizon. Venus, the brightest of the planetary quartet, will be visible roughly 10 degrees above the horizon, while Saturn will be visible to the lower right a short distance away. Mercury, the last of the easily visible planets, may also be visible almost directly on the horizon. Neptune will be visible through binoculars or a telescope below Venus and to the left of Saturn, forming a planetary triangle. As always, readers are reminded to exercise extreme caution when using a telescope or binoculars in close proximity to the rising sun. Named for its aesthetic similarity to the iconic piece of headwear, the Sombrero galaxy (M 104) is one of the most iconic and easily recognizable cosmic objects discovered by astronomers to date. The galaxy is tilted almost edge-on to Earth, and features a bright active core and thick, shadowy dust lanes that span some 50,000 light years across. With a magnitude of +8 the vast galaxy sits just outside of the perception range of the human eye. However, it can be spotted under dark skies using a pair of binoculars, which will reveal the vast structure of gas and stars as a small smudge of light. Through a larger telescope it is possible to gain greater levels of detail. Be sure to check out guides for the best binocular and telescope deals to help you find the optics you need to see the Sombrero Galaxy and other deep sky wonders. A good way to locate the Sombrero Galaxy is to pick out the magnitude 2.8 star Kraz near the southern horizon after dark, and then look upwards until you find the similarly bright star Porrima to the right of Spica. M 104 can be found roughly half way between the two. Located 34,000 light-years from Earth, the globular cluster Messier 3 (M3) is known to contain over 500,000 stars. Despite its stelliferous nature, the deep sky object was initially mistaken for a nebula by its discoverer Charles Messier back in 1764, though this wrong would later be put right by William Herschel some 20 years later, when he resolved individual stars within the cluster. As explained by NASA, the best way to find Messier 3 is to return to the Big Dipper asterism, and draw an imaginary line connecting the star at the very end of the handle, Alkaid, and Arcturus. Then, using a starfinding app, find the magnitude 2.84 star Cor Caroli. The globular cluster we seek is located a third of the way towards Cor Caroli. Bode's galaxy is located some 11.6 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major, and is one of the brightest galaxies to be found in the night sky, with an apparent magnitude of +6.9. The cosmic structure was discovered in 1774 by German astronomer Johann Elert Bode, and later imaged by the Hubble telescope to magnificent effect. One way to find Bode's galaxy is to locate Dubhe in the bowl of the Big Dipper, along with the magnitude +3.5 star Muscida. Find the halfway point between the two, and head in the direction of Polaris. This imaginary line will bring you close to our target, along with the dimmer galaxies M82, and NGC 3077. As noted by NASA, it is possible to spot Bode's galaxy as a smudge of light in the spring sky with a pair of binoculars. However, a small telescope will be needed to resolve the galaxy's bright core, which is suspected to play host to a monstrous singularity 15 times the mass of the Milky Way's supermassive black hole. Our final entry is the Andromeda galaxy, a vast spiral galaxy located some 2.5 million light years from Earth, which is destined to collide and merge with the Milky Way some 4.5 billion years from now to form an even larger elliptical galaxy. During spring, the Andromeda galaxy is best viewed in the hours before dawn by looking to the north eastern horizon and finding the prominent star Mirach close to the horizon. The Andromeda galaxy will be located a little under 10 degrees above Mirach, visible as a fuzzy patch of light to the naked eye.
Daily Mirror
23-04-2025
- Science
- Daily Mirror
Exact time to see tonight's 'fireball' meteor shower with dazzling shooting stars
If you're a fan of stargazing then be sure to look up because you won't want to miss this celestial marvel - although do check the weather and set your alarm for the best sights Meteor showers are a common occurrence throughout the year, but few promise to be as mesmerising as this beautiful display that only appears in the month of April. On an average clear enough night at any time of the year and without any light pollution, you might see a shooting star across the sky, but at this precise time of this month, there are more overhead than usual. Known as the Lyrid meteor showe r, it runs from April 16 and lasts until April 25, but there is a peak time to catch it. Also nicknamed 'Lyrid fireballs', there is a chance to see up to an incredible 18 meteors per hour at the peak. "With the Lyrids you'll be looking for a little flurry of short-lived streaks of light – what you might popularly call shooting stars," explained Dr Robert Massey, deputy executive director at the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). The Lyrids have been observed and reported since 687 BC – and no other modern shower has been recorded as far back in time. "We think they're the earliest meteor shower ever seen by humans – more than 2,700 years ago, right back in the 7th century BC," Dr Massey added. What is the Lyrid meteor shower? It's an annual event that takes place each April, falling on the same dates each year, and we're about to hit the best times. The radiant of the meteor shower is located in the constellation Lyra, near its brightest star, Vega, hence it's unusual naming. How can you watch the Lyrid meteor shower? The meteor shower will technically be visible across the UK now, though to see this phenomenon you'll need clear skies. More importantly, you will need to position yourself far away from light pollution. Any artificial light will dilute the stars in the sky. The shower will officially peak just before dawn on April 24 - between about 3-5am - so set your alarms, wrap up and head outside somewhere remote to catch the intergalactic show. Luckily, you won't need a telescope either - it's all visible with the naked eye. What exactly is a meteor shower? A meteor shower is when the Earth passes through the debris stream of a comet - icy, rocky bodies left over from the formation of the solar system. When this happens, the bits of comet debris, most no larger than a grain of sand, create streaks of light in the night sky as they burn up in Earth's atmosphere, creating multiple meteors racing across the sky at, or near, the same time. Interestingly, despite sometimes being called shooting stars, they're not actually stars and can range in size from anything larger than a marble. This size allows them to produce a fireball as the enter the atmosphere, giving them their bright look as mis-titled name of shooting stars. If you're a keen stargazer, then don't miss these other dazzling sky events - Lyrids (Apr 17-26) Eta Aquariids (Apr 19-May 28) Alpha Capricornids (Jul 3-Aug 15) Delta Aquariids (Jul 12-Aug 23) Perseids (Jul 17-Aug 24) Draconids (Oct 6-10) Orionids (Oct 2-Nov 7) Taurids (Oct 20-Dec 10) Leonids (Nov 6-30) Geminids (Dec 4-20) Ursids (Dec 17-26)
Time of India
21-04-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Is the universe gently twirling? Scientists say the universe could be completing one rotation in nearly 500 billion years
The universe is a place of mind-bending mysteries and vast, ancient expanse that is still not fully understood. Our cosmos never ceases to surprise us, be it the Big Bang, black holes, dark matter, or the accelerating expansion of space. There have been decades of research and advanced technologies like the James Webb Space Telescope, which have been constantly researching this, but still, the astronomers have some fundamental questions about the universe's structure and behaviour remaining in their bag. Now, a new study from the University of Hawai'i Institute for Astronomy has probably brought us one step closer to resolving some unknown mysteries about the universe. A Universe that spins? In a study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, astrophysicist István Szapudi and his team suggest that the universe could be slowly rotating, completing one full revolution roughly every 500 billion years . That is very slow and too subtle for current instruments to directly detect, but it could be enough to change the way space behaves on a cosmic scale. The idea comes from a simple observation that everything in the universe spins. Planets, stars, galaxies, and even black holes all rotate. So why not the universe itself? 'To paraphrase the Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus, who famously said, 'Panta Rhei', which means that everything moves, we thought that perhaps Panta Kykloutai – everything turns,' said Szapudi, lead author of the study, as quoted by the University of Hawai'i news release. What is the Hubble Tension? The Hubble tension is a long-standing difference between two different ways of measuring the universe's expansion rate. One method is through using nearby supernovae and galaxies, which gives a higher value than another method that looks at cosmic microwave background radiation from the early universe. These conflicting numbers have confused scientists and led some to suggest that entirely new physics may be needed. But Szapudi's team created a mathematical model that includes a small amount of cosmic rotation, without breaking any known laws of physics. 'Much to our surprise, we found that our model with rotation resolves the paradox without contradicting current astronomical measurements,' Szapudi said. What is practical about the model? What makes this model particularly suitable is that it doesn't require new theories or particles. It fits within standard physics by also offering a novel explanation for a decades-old cosmic puzzle. "It is compatible with other models that assume rotation. Therefore, perhaps, everything really does turn. Or, Panta Kykloutai!' Szapudi added. If this rotating universe theory holds up under further studies, it could be quite a progress in how we understand the cosmos.
