Physicists Search for the Dark Force to Terrifying Theory of Universe's Expansion (The Galaxy Report)

Posted on Nov 13, 2021 in Astrobiology, Astronomy, Black Holes, Climate Change, Cosmology, Dark Energy, Dark Matter, Exoplanets, Extraterrestrial Life, Gravitational Waves, Milky Way Galaxy, Physics, Science, Universe

Another amazing week of news from the Cosmos: from Einstein’s forgotten idea that might save cosmology to the physicist who denies that dark matter exists to black holes may be expanding along with our Universe. This week’s Galaxy Report brings you news of space and science that has the capacity to provide clues to the mystery of our existence and adds a much needed cosmic perspective in our current Anthropocene Epoch.

Will a twisted universe save cosmology? –-A forgotten idea of Albert Einstein’s might just be the savior of cosmology, plus the great man’s (vain) quest to undermine quantum weirdness and the question of why the universe looks “just right” for our existence, reports New Scientist.

What Climate Change Looks Like From Space –These satellite images provide solid evidence of long-term, continuing changes wrought by greenhouse emissions of our one and only home, reports The New York Times.

Near-earth asteroid might be a lost fragment of the moon –A near-Earth asteroid named Kamo`oalewa could be a fragment of our moon, according to a new paper published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment by a team of astronomers led by the University of Arizona.

New dark matter theory has a terrifying explanation for the universe’s expansion–A new theory published in the APS physics journal seeks to explain the origin and proliferation of dark matter through the introduction of a simple concept: what if dark matter can turn regular matter into dark matter? asks Neural.

Scientists say mysterious radio waves are coming from the center of the Milky Way –”We’ve never seen anything like it,” reports The Hill. “At first we thought it could be a pulsar — a very dense type of spinning dead star — or else a type of star that emits huge solar flares. But the signals from this new source don’t match what we expect from these types of celestial objects,” Wang said.

If You Can’t Find Dark Matter, Look First for a Dark Force –Physicists are rethinking how to use the Large Hadron Collider to search for dark matter, reports Antonio Boveia and Christopher S. Hill for Nautilus.

Black Holes Could Be Expanding Along With the Universe –The accelerating expansion of the universe could be affecting the size of black holes, according to a team of astrophysicists, reports Gizmodo.

How Scientists Could Tell the World if They Find Alien Life –Sparked by major advances in their field, astrobiologists are grappling with how best to discuss possible breakthrough discoveries with the public, reports Jonathan O’Callaghan for Scientific American.

Scientists decode mysteries of the brain with dark matter and the multiverse –Studying physicists’ brains reveals how they wrap their head around complex ideas that can’t be experienced, reports c/Net. “Quantum particles exist and don’t exist. Space is likely a moldable fabric. Dark matter is invisible, yet it binds the entire universe. And our universe, created from an explosion 13.8 billion years ago, is infinitely expanding into something. Or, maybe nothing. Unless you’re a trained physicist, at least one of those statements probably hurts your brain.”

Black hole found hiding in star cluster outside our galaxy, reports The ESO. Using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT), astronomers have discovered a small black hole outside the Milky Way by looking at how it influences the motion of a star in its close vicinity. This is the first time this detection method has been used to reveal the presence of a black hole outside of our galaxy. The method could be key to unveiling hidden black holes in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies, and to help shed light on how these mysterious objects form and evolve.

There’s a new plan to find extraterrestrial civilizations by the way they live . But if we can see them, can they see us? reports Aeon –“The shift from SETI to techno signature is an intellectual sea change in thinking about what extraterrestrials could be, and about how they might reveal themselves to us.

A New Theory for Systems That Defy Newton’s Third Law –In nonreciprocal systems, where Newton’s third law falls apart, “exceptional points” are helping researchers understand phase transitions and possibly other phenomena, reports Stephen Ornes for Quanta.

A fragment of our moon may be orbiting the sun with Earth –Kamo‘oalewa, an object that orbits the sun along with Earth, is unexpectedly red, leading researchers to suspect it came from the moon, reports New Scientist.

The Physicist Who Denies that Dark Matter Exists –Maybe Newtonian physics doesn’t need dark matter to work, but Mordehai Milgrom instead, reports Nautilus.

Gravitational Waves Will Soon Lift Veil On Black Holes, Says Portuguese Astrophysicist, reports Bruce Dorminey for Forbes.–

Laws of Logic Lead to New Restrictions on the Big Bang –Physicists are translating commonsense principles into strict mathematical constraints on how our universe must have behaved at the beginning of time, reports Charlie Wood for Quanta.

Off-world colony simulation reveals changes in human communication over time with Earth, reports Frontiers –“Future planetary colonists will experience isolation like no other group in human history, which is why scientists on Earth are attempting to see how we communicate in the most extreme situations.”

Sterile neutrinos could explain dark matter – if we can find them, reports New Scientist –There are good reasons to think that neutrinos have a shy cousin that could explain dark matter, but searches have so far come up empty.

Curated by the Daily Galaxy Editorial Staff

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