Latest news with #cosmos
Washington Post
10 hours ago
- Science
- Washington Post
Why are we abandoning our research on Mars?
Louis Friedman is co-founder and former executive director of the Planetary Society. The three big questions about life — What is life? How did life originate? Is there extraterrestrial life? (Are we alone?) — are the raison d'être of space exploration. Life is why we explore. Yet despite exploring for all of human history, we have found only one example of life (that of Earth) and don't know how it came to be. The mystery of how chemistry begot biology — that is, how the molecules of the universe came together to create life — is still undetermined. We do not even know whether life is an inevitable result of the chemical and physical processes of our universe or a random mathematical accident of nature — rarely repeated, if at all.
UAE Moments
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- UAE Moments
♌ Leo Daily Horoscope for July 22, 2025
Your glow-up moment is near – but don't skip the prep phase. Leo, today's energy nudges you to slow down before you roar forward. While you're usually the star of the show, the cosmos are encouraging some behind-the-scenes magic right now. Reflect, realign, and fine-tune your goals before your next big move. Career: You're eager to take the lead on a new project, but jumping in too fast could backfire. Take a moment to evaluate your team's strengths and weaknesses before charging ahead. A little delegation can go a long way. Love: Romantic sparks may fly in unexpected places today—yes, even during your coffee run. If you're in a relationship, it's a good time to check in emotionally and reignite some passion with a thoughtful gesture. Body: You're running on high energy, but don't forget hydration and rest. If you've been neglecting your physical needs, your body might start throwing shade in the form of tension headaches or fatigue. Mental Health: Your inner critic may be louder than usual—tell them to take several seats. Confidence doesn't mean perfection, Leo. Embrace growth over guilt.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Your Local Airport Might Be Attracting Alien Attention
Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: The SETI Institute's goal is to lead a science-based mission to find evidence of intelligent life beyond our own planet. A new study shows what aliens within 200 light-years might see if they trained their own powerful radio telescopes on our planet. It turns out the aviation radar—both civilian and military—would create a repeatable Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) pattern due to the distribution of radar equipment across the Earth's surface. Professional outfits like the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute scan the skies with radio telescopes for any sign of extraterrestrial life. They're especially tuned in to potential presence of technosignatures—electromagnetic radiation emitted by an advanced society's technology. While that effort has produced some exciting close calls, humanity most likely has yet to find any sign of alien life. Of course, there's another way to look at this problem. If an alien civilization in our galactic neighbor also had their own SETI-esque programs—similarly probing the skies in search for an answer to that ever-elusive 'Are we alone?' question—could they hear us? Well, as it turns out, the answer is an emphatic 'yes'—not, however, because we're purposefully shooting some kind of high-powered radio beam into the cosmos that's acting like a galactic flare gun. No, aliens could hear us just from our everyday airport and military radar systems. In a new study—the preliminary results of which were revealed at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting 2025 in Durham, U.K.—lead researcher Ramiro Caisse Saide from the University of Manchester concluded that an alien civilization within 200 light-years of Earth could likely spot our planet's radar signals using an advanced radio telescope similar to the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia. The study concluded that worldwide airport radar alone outputs a radio signal of roughly 2×10¹⁵ watts, while military radar outputs distinctive directional radio beams up to 1×10¹⁴ watts. At first, 200 light-years may not seem like a lot—after all, the Milky Way stretches some 100,000 light-years across. But even a distance this short (at cosmic scales, at least) includes some 120,000 stars, which very likely host plenty of candidates capable of sustaining life. 'This would look clearly artificial to anyone watching from interstellar distances with powerful radio telescopes,' Caisse Saide said in a press statement. 'In fact, these military signals can appear up to a hundred times stronger from certain points in space, depending on where an observer is located.' The authors looked at this 'hidden electromagnetic leakage' from the perspective of six stellar systems: Barnard star (6 light-years away), HD 48948 (55 light-years away), HD 40307 (42 light-years away), HD 216520 (64 light-years away), LHS 475 (40 light-years away), and AU Microscopii (32 light-years away). To help others understand what the 'leakage' might look like, the researchers published a video showing the mean distribution of Earth's Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) over a 24-hour period as it would appear on AU Microscopii. A distinct pattern emerges based on the distribution of radio equipment across the planet. So, if some alien civilization took a keen interest in a particular rocky planet located in the Origin-Cygnus arm of the galaxy, this clearly artificial EIRP signature might just raise an eyebrow (or whatever aliens would do to show confusion). 'Our findings suggest that radar signals—produced unintentionally by any planet with advanced technology and complex aviation system—could act as a universal sign of intelligent life,' Caisse Saide said in a press statement. 'In this way, our work supports both the scientific quest to answer the question 'Are we alone?' and practical efforts to manage the influence of technology on our world and beyond.' You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life? Solve the daily Crossword
Wall Street Journal
2 days ago
- Science
- Wall Street Journal
Violent Collision of Two Black Holes Rippled Across the Universe
Astrophysicists have discovered the largest known merger of two black holes to form a larger single hole about 225 times the mass of the sun. The violent collision between the spinning objects, one about 100 times the mass of the sun and the other about 140 times that amount, produced a gravitational wave that rippled across the universe.
CTV News
5 days ago
- Science
- CTV News
‘Where do we come from?': U of M researchers help detect record-breaking black hole collision
CTV's Harrison Shin has more on the black hole discovery made by two University of Manitoba researchers. Two University of Manitoba researchers are exploring the cosmos with one philosophical question in mind. Dr. Samar Safi-Harb and postdoctoral fellow Nathan Steinle are part of a team using the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), a facility capable of detecting gravitational waves. 'Not everything in the universe can be seen with light, and gravitational waves are a new way of looking at the universe. These are ripples in the fabric of space-time,' Safi-Harb said. LIGO recently detected a collision between two black holes — an event that stands out for its scale. 'It's the most massive black hole merger detected by LIGO. And by 'most massive,' I mean each of these black holes is more than 100 times the mass of the sun,' she said. Until now, black holes of this size had not been directly observed. LIGO's detection provides the first direct evidence of their existence, according to Safi-Harb. Steinle said the discovery raises fundamental questions. 'It's so important because we're not sure if there's an upper limit on the mass. Can it keep getting bigger and bigger until we all grow old?' he said. He added that the finding is just the beginning. 'It really gives you great hope. Once future detectors are built — and they'll have at least 10 times better sensitivity — we'll be able to do a lot more,' he said. For Safi-Harb, the discovery brings scientists one step closer to understanding the universe. 'Finding these extreme events — whether through light, gravitational waves or other cosmic messengers — really brings us a bit closer to understanding our cosmic origins,' she said.
