Latest news with #SwinburneUniversityofTechnology
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Will the Milky Way crash into the Andromeda galaxy? Maybe not.
For more than a century, astronomers have watched the Andromeda galaxy, a massive swirl of neighboring stars, speed toward the Milky Way. And in recent years, measurements using the Hubble Space Telescope seemed to confirm a long-held prophecy: In about four or five billion years' time, the two galaxies will clash, ultimately merging into a colossal and unrecognizable new galaxy. A fresh survey of both galaxies and—crucially—several of the other weighty galaxies in the same corner of the cosmos has now cast doubt on that calamitous outcome. The new forecast looked billions of years into the future and found that the odds of an Andromeda and Milky Way merger is about fifty-fifty. 'A coin flip is the more accurate description,' says Till Sawala, an astrophysicist at the University of Helsinki and a co-author of the new study. A messy galactic apocalypse is no longer a guarantee. As noted in the team's new study, published today in the journal Nature Astronomy, 'proclamations of the impending demise of our galaxy seem greatly exaggerated.' Earth won't be around in five billion years' time; it'll likely be scorched and swallowed up by our expanding, dying Sun. But if the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies successfully swerve around one another, that's good news for future worlds. A merger on this scale often sees the supermassive black holes at their hearts of each galaxy unify and expand into a fearsome, hyper-energetic astrophysical monster. That prevents nearby gas cooling down and gathering up to form new stars—and without new stars, you won't get new planets. The possibility of a galactic near-miss is 'somehow comforting,' says Alister Graham, a galaxy researcher at the Swinburne University of Technology in Australia and who wasn't involved with the new research. It's nice to think the Milky Way 'still has a long, planet-forming future ahead of it.' Astronomers witness galaxy mergers happening throughout all of space and time. Two similarly massive galaxies uniting is referred to as a major merger, whereas if a larger galaxy ingests a smaller one, it's known as a minor merger. Although some stars get torn apart by the extreme gravitational interactions of the two galaxies churning about—and some, including their planets, will be scattered like confetti in all directions—but the spaces between individual stars are so vast that most of them don't collide. And although the smaller galaxies can vanish into the maws of the larger ones, the result is often constructive. 'Minor mergers deliver both stars and gas—the raw material for future star formation—into the host galaxy. The stellar winds from newly formed stars enrich the interstellar medium with dust and metals, further fueling the star formation cycle,' says Graham. Even the Milky Way shows evidence of having been assembled via multiple galactic smash-ups. 'Up to 50 percent of the mass in galaxies today come from previous galaxies cannibalized,' says Christopher Conselice, an extragalactic astronomer at the University of Manchester in England and who wasn't involved with the new research. Though astronomers have known that Andromeda is careening toward the Milky Way since the turn of the 20th Century, they weren't sure how direct, or glancing, the clash would be. But in 2012, a landmark study using Hubble came to a definitive conclusion: Based on the motions of their stars, and the galaxies' hefty masses, both would be gravitationally drawn into one another for a head-on collision in four to five billion years. (Later studies have come up with slightly earlier or later timelines for when the merger would happen, but never cast doubt on its inevitability.) And about two billion years after the tempestuous major merger, the two ink-like star spirals would settle down and coalescence. 'It would be an elliptical blob,' says Sawala. Since 2012, this outcome became gospel among the scientific community, and a textbook fact. 'Should the Milky Way and Andromeda be all that matter—sorry about the pun—then they would be heading straight at each other,' says Graham. But the possibility of a future smash-up depends on the behavior of everything else in our Local Group, too: the panoply of at least 100 galaxies hanging about in this part of the universe. Other big galaxies in our neck of the woods might push or pull on the two voyagers over time. Sawala's team decided to simulate the evolution of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies ten billion years into the future. But while doing so, they also accounted for other major players in the Local Group: specifically, the spiral-shaped (and third-largest) Triangulum galaxy and the Large Magellanic Cloud (or LMC), an irregular galaxy that orbits the Milky Way. The team used data from both Hubble and the European Space Agency's stargazing Gaia space observatory to more precisely determine the motions of these galaxies, as well as their masses—comprised of both ordinary matter and the invisible, but more prevalent, dark matter. Although the Triangulum Galaxy was already known to be quite massive, the LMC was thought to be a bit of a lightweight. But the new data suggest that it's surprisingly massive—equivalent to 10 to 20 percent of the mass of the Milky Way. 'And that will have an effect on how the Milky Way moves through space,' says Sawala. The team simulated the motions of these four heavyweight galaxies thousands of times. While the Triangulum galaxy's gravitational influence conspired to bring the Milky Way and Andromeda together, the LMC had a repellent effect. And when all four danced together, the odds of an eventual major merger was just one-in-two. 'There are going to be uncertainties in how and when the Milky Way and Andromeda would merge,' says Conselice. Dark matter may act as a binding force. But dark energy, a mysterious force that seems to push everything the universe apart, will also play a role—and recent data suggests it's strength can change over time. That makes forecasting a far-flung galactic merger somewhat tricky. But it's safe to say that it's no longer a certainty that these two galaxies will collide. Some astronomers have suggested that if they do, the new galaxy could be named Milkomeda. That moniker doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. Don't worry, Sawala says: 'We will have billions of years to think of a better name.' Either way, galactic pandemonium will shape the Milky Way's future. Even though the LMC is pushing Andromeda and our own galaxy apart, the team's simulations also show with that, within the next two billion years, the LMC will spiral into us and be gobbled up by a merciless Milky Way. 'It's basically 100 percent that this will happen,' says Sawala. 'There's no escaping that.'
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Science
- Sydney Morning Herald
Rare aurora bewitches NSW sky gazers, and could stage encore tonight
The horizon blazed with shades of fuchsia and shell-pink light on Sunday as a geomagnetic storm lashed Earth and lit up the first night of winter with the aurora australis. The phenomenon is rarely visible far from the poles, but the dancing light bewitched sky gazers as far north as Byron Bay as photographers snapped the pink glow off Sydney's beaches and across NSW from Cooma to Tamworth. 'We were cheering, everybody was 'Oh my god-ing',' said aurora enthusiast David Findlay, who's chased auroras across Tasmania and Antarctica. He watched the sky last night with about 300 spectators from Gerroa in the Illawarra. Auroras are normally faint in NSW and show up better in photos, but on Sunday the geomagnetic storm was severe enough to spark vivid flashes visible to the naked eye that burned brightly for about 15 minutes, Findlay said. 'Interspersed with these brilliant magenta colours were these very, very bright beams of orange,' he said. 'This is actually the first time I've seen intense orange ... it was the orange aurora!' There's another chance to catch the spectral spectacular on Monday night as the solar storm rages on. 'The activity may continue into tonight, so aurora watchers should be prepared,' said a co-director of Swinburne University of Technology's Space Technology and Industry Institute, Dr Rebecca Allen. 'Auroras are caused when our sun ejects energetic particles as 'storms'. These particles collide with our magnetic field and smash into the atmosphere near the poles,' Allen said, which is why the phenomenon is normally seen close to the Arctic and Antarctic.
The Age
5 days ago
- Science
- The Age
Rare aurora bewitches NSW sky gazers, and could stage encore tonight
The horizon blazed with shades of fuchsia and shell-pink light on Sunday as a geomagnetic storm lashed Earth and lit up the first night of winter with the aurora australis. The phenomenon is rarely visible far from the poles, but the dancing light bewitched sky gazers as far north as Byron Bay as photographers snapped the pink glow off Sydney's beaches and across NSW from Cooma to Tamworth. 'We were cheering, everybody was 'Oh my god-ing',' said aurora enthusiast David Findlay, who's chased auroras across Tasmania and Antarctica. He watched the sky last night with about 300 spectators from Gerroa in the Illawarra. Auroras are normally faint in NSW and show up better in photos, but on Sunday the geomagnetic storm was severe enough to spark vivid flashes visible to the naked eye that burned brightly for about 15 minutes, Findlay said. 'Interspersed with these brilliant magenta colours were these very, very bright beams of orange,' he said. 'This is actually the first time I've seen intense orange ... it was the orange aurora!' There's another chance to catch the spectral spectacular on Monday night as the solar storm rages on. 'The activity may continue into tonight, so aurora watchers should be prepared,' said a co-director of Swinburne University of Technology's Space Technology and Industry Institute, Dr Rebecca Allen. 'Auroras are caused when our sun ejects energetic particles as 'storms'. These particles collide with our magnetic field and smash into the atmosphere near the poles,' Allen said, which is why the phenomenon is normally seen close to the Arctic and Antarctic.
Borneo Post
24-05-2025
- Business
- Borneo Post
Fully-funded higher education soon for Sarawakian workers, says Sagah
Sagah added that the free higher education for Sarawakian workers is open to both employees in the public and private sectors. KUCHING (May 24): Sarawakian workers seeking to further their studies will soon be able to apply for a fully-funded higher education, said Dato Sri Roland Sagah Wee Inn. The State Education, Innovation and Talent Development Minister pointed out that while his ministry is currently concentrating on the Sarawak Free Tertiary Education Scheme (FTES) for school students, a similar initiative will soon be extended to Sarawakian working adults. 'We will devise the form (for the Sarawakian workers), but they must first apply for a place in a university (to further their studies),' he said when met after launching the Pesta Sungai Simpok at Kampung Simpok today. Sagah added that the free higher education for Sarawakian workers is open to both employees in the public and private sectors. He also reiterated that the assistance will be provided only to those pursuing full-time studies, not part-time courses. 'We want to give opportunities to those who may already hold a degree or who previously did not have the chance to pursue tertiary education but are now working, so they can further their studies and improve their qualifications. 'My advice is that they must choose courses relevant to their future.' He added that there is no age limit for the fully-funded studies, as long as individuals have the 'K' status in their MyKad to prove that they are Sarawakians. Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, at the state-level 2025 Labour Day celebration on May 18, had announced that the Sarawak government is offering free full-time higher education to Sarawakian adults who wish to resume full-time studies. The courses to enrol are in state-owned higher learning institutions, namely Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, Curtin University Malaysia, University of Technology Sarawak, i-CATS University College, and Centre for Technology Excellence Sarawak. Meanwhile, on the Pesta Sungai Simpok, Sagah, who is Tarat assemblyman, said there are plans to include it as an annual event in Sarawak's tourism calendar. To realise this, he said further infrastructure improvements need to be done at the riverfront to attract more visitors to Kampung Simpok. 'This has been an annual event since 2018, except during the Covid-19 pandemic. 'The event serves as a reminder to the public about the importance of river cleanliness, as the river is the lifeline for the villagers,' he said, while thanking AirAsia for jointly organising this year's event. free higher education lead Roland Sagah workers
Sydney Morning Herald
22-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Boomers may dislike WFH, but they're not the ones in the office
How old are you? I know, that can be a slightly rude question depending on what the situation is and exactly who's asking, but your answer has a surprisingly strong correlation to how you feel about one of the most vexing issues of modern workplaces: the work from home (WFH) debate. Let's start by dividing the population into three main cohorts depending on how long you've been working: early career, mid-career and late career. Early career workers are Gen Z, or those in their teens up to late twenties. They're still pretty fresh to the workforce, so all the tumble-wash of changes we've experienced over the past decade is all they've ever known. If you entered the workforce in the last five years, then it's perfectly natural that most 20-somethings just expect that every job includes some days sitting in an office cubicle, and others inside your house. For mid-career workers, predominantly Millennials in their 30s and early 40s, the sudden shift to WFH was a rude shock after they'd spent a decade or two getting used to commuting five days a week. However, now that it's been successfully integrated into their busy lives that often involves raising young families, it's hard for an employer to take that flexibility away. For late career workers, or Gen X and Baby Boomers in their 50s and 60s, the home and the office were two distinct locations that rarely crossed over. For many older workers, the concept of spending entire days working inside their houses cuts against decades of deeply ingrained habits, reinforced by generations before them. Breaking it down by generations, Gen Z had the highest attendance in the office full-time. Many late career workers hold senior positions of power, and have struggled with managing teams and culture in a hybrid world, leading to some of them becoming the most vocal proponents for returning to the office full-time. Now let's look at the data. Researchers from the Swinburne University of Technology found last year that people's reactions to WFH varied by age. They surveyed 1300 Australian knowledge workers and found that only 17.5 per cent of them went into the office for five full days a week, with the vast majority of people – 72.5 per cent – working a hybrid combination of some days in the office and some at home.
