Latest news with #UniversityofWarwick
CBS News
4 hours ago
- General
- CBS News
Massive planet discovered orbiting tiny star, leaving scientists stumped
Astronomer breaks down "strongest evidence yet" of life on distant planet Astronomers announced Wednesday they have discovered a massive planet orbiting a tiny star, a bizarre pairing that has stumped scientists. Most of the stars across the Milky Way are small red dwarfs like TOI-6894, which has only 20% the mass of our sun. It had not been thought possible that such puny, weak stars could provide the conditions needed to form and host huge planets. But an international team of astronomers have detected the unmistakable signature of a gas giant planet orbiting the undersized TOI-6894, according to a study in the journal Nature Astronomy. This makes the star the smallest star yet known to host a gas giant. The planet has a slightly larger radius than Saturn, but only half its mass. It orbits its star in a little over three days. Artist's impression of the newly discovered giant planet - TOI-6894 b orbiting around a 0.2 solar mass host star. University of Warwick/Mark Garlick The astronomers discovered the planet when searching through more than 91,000 low-mass red dwarfs observed by NASA's TESS space telescope. Its existence was then confirmed by ground-based telescopes, including Chile's Very Large Telescope. "The fact that this star hosts a giant planet has big implications for the total number of giant planets we estimate exist in our galaxy," study co-author Daniel Bayliss of the UK's Warwick University said in a statement. Another co-author, Vincent Van Eylen, of University College London, said it was an "intriguing discovery." "We don't really understand how a star with so little mass can form such a massive planet!" he said. "This is one of the goals of the search for more exoplanets. By finding planetary systems different from our solar system, we can test our models and better understand how our own solar system formed." Planet is unusually cold The most prominent theory for how planets form is called core accretion. The process begins when a ring of gas and dust — called a protoplanetary disc — which surrounds a newly formed star builds up into a planetary core. This core attracts more gas that forms an atmosphere, eventually snowballing into a gas giant. Under this theory, it is difficult for low-mass stars to host giant planets because there is not enough gas and dust to begin building a core in the first place. A rival theory proposes that these planets instead form when their protoplanetary disc becomes gravitationally unstable and breaks up, with the collapsing gas and dust forming a planet. However neither theory seems to explain the existence of the newly discovered planet, TOI-6894b, the researchers said. The planet also interests scientists because it is strangely cold. Most of the gas giants discovered outside our solar system so far have been what are known as "hot Jupiters," where temperatures soar well over 1,000 degrees Celsius. But the newly discovered planet appears to be under 150C, the researchers said. "Temperatures are low enough that atmospheric observations could even show us ammonia, which would be the first time it is found in an exoplanet atmosphere," said study co-author Amaury Triaud of Birmingham University. The James Webb space telescope is scheduled to turn its powerful gaze toward the planet in the next year, which could help uncover some more mysteries of this strange planet. Recent cosmic discoveries The spotting of the giant planet orbiting the undersized star marks the latest in a string of recent celestial discoveries. Last month, a U.S.-based trio hunting the elusive "Planet Nine" said they instead stumbled on what appears to be a new dwarf planet in the solar system's outer reaches. Named 2017 OF201, the new object is roughly 430 miles across, according to a preprint study, making it three times smaller than Pluto. Also in May, an international team reported that a newly found celestial object — perhaps a star, pair of stars or something else entirely — is emitting X-rays around the same time it's shooting out radio waves. Meanwhile, scientists announced recently that a new planetarium show about the Milky Way helped them unlock one of the solar system's many secrets. Experts at the American Museum of Natural History in New York were fine-tuning a scene about the Oort Cloud that's far beyond Pluto. Scientists have never glimpsed this region, but when museum experts projected their scene onto the planetarium dome, created using simulation data, they saw a spiral shape. Scientists had long thought the Oort Cloud was shaped like a sphere or flattened shell, warped by the push and pull of other planets and the Milky Way itself. The planetarium show hinted that a more complex shape could lie inside. This image provided by the American Museum of Natural History shows a new planetarium show showing a backwards S-shaped spiral in what's known as the Oort Cloud far beyond Pluto. AP contributed to this report.
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Asyraf Wajdi: Three UK universities offer tuition discount for Mara students
LONDON: Three leading universities in the United Kingdom have agreed to offer tuition fee discounts of between 10 and 20 per cent to students sponsored by Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara), said its chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki. He said the discounts, secured through discussions between Mara and the universities' top management, could help reduce the financial burden by more than RM100,000 per student annually. The three institutions are the University of Warwick and the University of Birmingham, both offering a 20 per cent discount, while the University of Edinburgh has agreed to a 10 per cent reduction. "To illustrate, Warwick is offering a discount of up to £6,000 a year. For a typical three-year undergraduate programme, that amounts to £18,000, or around RM110,000 in total, significantly lowering the overall cost," he said during a press conference today. Asyraf Wajdi is currently in the UK for strategic meetings with senior leadership and prominent academics at the University of Cambridge, as well as several other institutions. He said there are currently 1,508 Mara-sponsored students pursuing their studies in the UK. He added that the Cambridge University Trust has also expressed interest in collaborating with Mara through a co-funding arrangement for postgraduate research students at the Master's and PhD levels. "Insya-Allah, if all terms are finalised, Mara could save up to RM5 million through this initiative," he said. He described the partnership as part of Mara's strategic agenda to ensure that Malaysian students are globally competitive in academic and professional fields. Additionally, he said Cambridge University had agreed to send a delegation to Malaysia to engage with Maktab Rendah Sains Mara International General Certificate of Secondary Education (MRSM IGCSE) students. The initiative, he said, aligns with Mara's goal to establish a dedicated academic feeder pathway for MRSM students seeking admission into top global universities. Asyraf Wajdi also said that the collaboration would create opportunities for 9,987 Mara educators across vocational colleges, Mara universities and MRSMs to participate in knowledge exchange programmes. "These educators will be able to undertake joint research and pursue postgraduate studies in strategic fields at Cambridge. "These include renewable energy, artificial intelligence (AI), social sciences, quantum technology, blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), entrepreneurial innovation, and other emerging disciplines that will shape the global economy of the future," he said.
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- Automotive
- New Indian Express
It's India first, Telangana first for me: KTR
HYDERABAD: BRS working president and former minister KT Rama Rao asserted that his commitment to Telangana's development transcends political power. 'India First, Telangana First — this is not just a slogan, it's our policy direction,' Rama Rao declared, reaffirming his dedication to promoting Telangana's interests on global platforms. He was speaking at the inauguration of the Pragmatic Design Solutions Limited Knowledge Centre at the University of Warwick, United Kingdom, on Saturday. Rama Rao highlighted the BRS government's role in transforming Hyderabad into one of India's leading automotive hubs. 'Under the BRS regime, Hyderabad stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Pune and Chennai as a major centre for the automotive industry,' he said, crediting this achievement to the party's progressive industrial policies and visionary planning. The BRS MLA emphasised that Telangana must now aim to become the top destination for automobile manufacturing in India. 'Telangana first state in country to host Formula E' He noted that Telangana was the first state in the country to host the prestigious Formula E Championship, underscoring its commitment to innovation in the mobility sector. Recalling the BRS government's success in attracting global tech giants, he pointed out that companies like Google, Amazon and Facebook established their largest campuses in Hyderabad under its leadership.
Irish Independent
14-05-2025
- Irish Independent
Criminals need just 20 images of one child to produce deep fake, cyber experts say
Parents who share pictures of their children online have been warned that these images could expose them to serious risks and long-term problems, such as identity theft and fraud. Other risks include extortion or exploitation, allowing cyber criminals to create bank accounts and claim benefits in their name. A new research of 2,000 parents with children under 16 in the UK, conducted by Perspectus Global and commissioned by Proton, showed that parents upload an average of 63 photos to social media every month. The majority of these photos – 59pc – include family photos, with one in five parents – 21pc – uploading such pictures multiple times a week, while two in five – 38pc – several times a month. Professor Carsten Maple from the University of Warwick in England and the Alan Turing Institute warned that parents are "unwittingly opening their children up to possible exploitation by criminals who want to use their data for their own purposes". 'It takes just 20 images for sophisticated AI tools to create a realistic profile of someone, or even a 30-second video," he said. 'But it's not just images that can be used, social media posts also reveal sensitive information such as location data and key life moments, that can effectively be used to create an online profile for children long before they're old enough to consent to it. 'Oversharing by parents can lead to numerous problems for the child in the future, including digital records that can be extremely difficult and painful to remove, leading to mental anguish, negative reputations and harm to others," he added. Professor Maple also warned that 'it's not just criminal gangs who can use the data', as Big Tech companies also use images posted on their platforms for their own agendas. It comes as only a few months ago, Instagram changed its user agreement to allow it to use people's images to train its AI. ADVERTISEMENT The professor added that many cloud storage services, such as Google Drive and Photos, use personal information in ways that many parents are unaware of. More than half – 56pc – of respondents said their family photos are uploaded to cloud storage, with an estimated 185 photos of their children on their phone and cloud. When asked what information they think tech companies can access, almost half – 48pc – did not know that data from pictures stored on a cloud can be accessed and used by the companies that hold them. Parents have been advised to think about what they are sharing; ensure their personal moments are held using secure storage; read the small print and set their privacy and security settings; be aware of phishing scams; and be aware of free public wi-fi. They have also been asked to set clear ground rules with their children; use parental controls, filters in search engines, antivirus software; and model healthy online habits.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Woman seriously injured after collision with car
A woman has been seriously injured after a collision with a car outside a Coventry sports centre. West Midlands Ambulance Service said it was called to an area off Kirby Corner Road, which runs through the University of Warwick's campus, at about 14:23 BST. The woman was given trauma care at the scene before being taken to hospital in an ambulance, the service said. The BBC has contacted West Midlands Police for comment. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. West Midlands Ambulance Service West Midlands Police
