Posted on Jul 26, 2022 in Astrobiology, Astronomy, Astrophysics, Consciousness, Cosmology, Cosmos, Extraterrestrial Life, James Webb Space Telescope, NASA, quantum physics, Science News, Space News, Universe
Today’s stories from our amazing Universe range from Two Weeks In, the Webb Space Telescope Is Reshaping Astronomy to How did Earth avoid a Mars-like fate? to We are Not the First Technological Civilization, and much more.
Could we use quantum communication to talk to aliens? asks Big Think. “Quantum communication offers a surer path to sending an interstellar message, as well as receiving one. But can we do it? We have yet to hear from any civilization outside planet Earth. Maybe there’s nothing out there. But maybe we are not listening in the right way. Quantum communication uses the quantum nature of light to send a message. Whether we can use such a communication method remains to be seen.”
Schrödinger and the conscious universe. The total number of minds in the universe is one, reports iAi. “Most assume that matter is fundamental, and that consciousness arises out of the complexity of matter. But Nobel Prize winning quantum physicist Erwin Schrödinger does not share that assumption. For him, the universe contains a single mind, writes Robert Prentner and Donald D. Hoffman.”
Two Weeks In, the Webb Space Telescope Is Reshaping Astronomy –In the days after the mega-telescope started delivering data, astronomers reported exciting new discoveries about galaxies, stars, exoplanets and even Jupiter, reports Quanta.
The Extraterrestrials Before Us –“We are Not the First Technological Civilization” (Or, are We?) reports The Daily Galaxy. “Are we an aberration, an evolutionary accident, or are we one of millions of evolving beings scattered throughout the distant reaches of the cosmos?
James Webb telescope finds oldest galaxy in the universe –-The James Webb Telescope has hit upon another marvel in the universe — the oldest galaxy that ever existed, reports India Today. “The light from GLASS-z13 took 13.4 billion years to hit the mirrors of James Webb Telescope.”
Could Ultra-Massive Black Holes Threaten Their Host Galaxies? asks The Daily Galaxy. ““We do know that black holes are extraordinary phenomena,” said Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo, professor in the Department of Physics at Université de Montréal about the ultra-massive behemoths lurking at most galaxy centers. “So it’s no surprise that the most extreme specimens defy the rules that we have established up until now.”
JWST finds galaxies may adopt Milky Way-like shape faster than thought –“Astronomers thought that galaxies in the early universe would mostly be shapeless blobs, but an analysis of data from the James Webb Space Telescope suggests around half are disc-shaped like the Milky Way,” reports New Scientist.
Alien hunters should look for city lights from ‘urbanized planets,’ study suggests, reports Leonard David for Space.com. Lights from alien cities are an intriguing potential technosignature. “For example, sharp-eyed aliens scrutinizing Earth’s nightside might be able to deduce our presence via the emissions from city lights here, even though such emissions are relatively concentrated. And advanced civilizations on exoplanets may have built cities over significantly more of their planets’ surfaces.”
Earth’s ‘black hole police’ discover gravitational singularity near Milky Way –The team behind the discovery describe finding the aftermath of a star that vanished without any sign of a powerful explosion as like finding “a needle in a haystack,” reports Sky News.
Will the James Webb Space Telescope Reveal Unknown, Hidden Objects at the Milky Way’s Center? asks The Daily Galaxy. “NASA’s recently launched James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), designed to view the universe in infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye, but is very important for looking at astronomical objects hidden from our view, obscured by vast swaths of interstellar dust at the galactic center in unprecedented detail.
Astronomers have found an especially sneaky black hole – The discovery of VFTS 243, a binary system, sheds light on star death, black hole formation and gravitational waves, reports Idan Ginsburg for The Conversation.
TRAPPIST-1 Star System is the Ultimate James Webb Space Telescope Target, reports The Daily Galaxy. “How frequently is life found elsewhere?” asked the research teams at the University of Cambridge and the University of Liège in Belgium. This simple change of words means that we should also be investigating planetary systems unlike the solar system. It would be disappointing and surprising if Earth were the only template for habitability in the Universe.”
How did Earth avoid a Mars-like fate? Ancient rocks hold clues, reports The University of Rochester. “New paleomagnetic research suggests Earth’s solid inner core formed 550 million years ago and restored our planet’s magnetic field.”
Uranus: 15 amazing facts about the bull’s eye planet–Think you know about the planet Uranus? Think again, reports Interesting Engineering. “The seventh planet from the Sun, Uranus is one of the strangest and least understood planets in the Solar System. Four times bigger than Earth, this planet has both short days and incredibly long years.
Disco-ball satellite will put Einstein’s theory to strictest test yet –A newly launched satellite aims to measure how Earth’s rotation drags the fabric of space-time around itself — an effect of Einstein’s general theory of relativity — ten times more accurately than ever before. The Laser Relativity Satellite 2 (LARES-2) launched from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on 13 July, reports Davide Castelvecchi for Nature. “
Mars rocks photographed today give a glimpse into a fascinating world. The red planet is finally coming into clear view, reports Interesting Engineering. “Thanks to instruments aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover, we finally have images of the Martian landscape to see how an intrepid hiker might see it. And it’s beautiful.”
Russia Says It Will Quit the International Space Station After 2024. “The announcement could lead to the end of two decades of post-Cold War cooperation in space between the United States and Russia, which built the station together and operate it jointly,” reports The New York Times.
50,000-year-old meteorite could revolutionize electronics and fast-charging –The “Diablo Canyon” meteorite is a gift from the past, reports Interesting Engineering.
New Phase of Matter Opens Portal to Extra Time Dimension–Physicists have devised a mind-bending error-correction technique that could dramatically boost the performance of quantum computers, reports Scientific American.
How Earth’s 23.4° tilt makes life beautiful –-Many of humanity’s cultural traditions are based upon the movement of our planet around the Sun. The summer and winter solstices and the spring and autumn equinoxes take on special significance, reports this Big Think audio.
Curated by The Daily Galaxy Editorial Staff
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Recent Galaxy Reports:
Unmistakable Signal of Alien Life to What Happens if China Makes First Contact?
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Enigmas of Stephen Hawking’s Blackboard to Why the Universe and Life Exist
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