Posted on Aug 15, 2022 in Astrobiology, Astronomy, Astrophysics, Cosmology, Dark Matter, Exoplanets, Extraterrestrial Life, Science, Space News, Universe
Today’s stories include Extraterrestrial Life –Is Earth the ‘Standard Model’ for the Universe? to The Radio-Wave Mystery That Changed Astronomy to NASA’s UFO Study Isn’t Really Looking for Space Aliens, and much more.
Is dark matter real? Astronomy’s multi-decade mystery –The key problem with the dark matter hypothesis is that nobody knows what form dark matter might take, reports Don Lincoln for Big Think. “Despite recent advances in astrophysics and astronomy, scientists still don’t understand exactly how galaxies can exist. The most common explanation for this observational conundrum is a so-far undiscovered form of matter: dark matter. Still, dark matter has yet to be directly observed by scientists.”
Extraterrestrial Life –Is Earth the ‘Standard Model’ for the Universe? asks The Daily Galaxy. “By the end of this century, says astrophysicist Martin Rees, we should be able to ask whether or not we live in a multiverse, and how much variety of the laws of physics its constituent ‘universes’ display. The answer to this question, says Rees, “will determine how we should interpret the ‘biofriendly’ universe in which we live (sharing it with any aliens with whom we might one day make contact).”
Underwater snow gives clues about Europa’s habitability, reports the University of Texas at Austin–“The underwater snow is much purer than other kinds of ice, which means Europa’s ice shell could be much less salty than previously thought. That’s important for mission scientists preparing NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft, which will use radar to peek beneath the ice shell to see if Europa’s ocean could be hospitable to life.”
The Radio Wave Mystery That Changed Astronomy, reports NPR Short Wave program.. “Pulsar is an abbreviation for pulsating radio star. I’m Jocelyn Bell Burnell. I discovered the first pulsar in 1967 and the second one and the third and fourth in 1968. Today on the show, Dr. Jocelyn Bell Burnell’s story – how her astronomical discovery revolutionized an entire field of science.
NASA’s UFO Study Isn’t Really Looking for Space Aliens –A new investigation of unidentified aerial phenomena could have bigger impacts on atmospheric science than on astrobiology, reports Sarah Scoles for Scientific American.
Has a Superintellect Tweaked Our Universes’ Physics? asks Mind Matters. “Philosopher Steve Meyer talks about the significance of Francis Crick’s sequence hypothesis that showed that DNA is a language of life. What sort of speaker can utter a language that produces living beings? Is it a fluctuation of a multiverse or an intelligence that underlies nature?”
The Seven most terrifying things in space–From megacomets to rogue black holes, these formidable phenomena make the universe a truly dangerous place, reports Jamie Carter for Live Science.
Do 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.”
How our ancestors survived the doomsday asteroid, reports BBC Future –“How did a band of small, insignificant mammals scuffling in the shadows survive the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs?”
Massive Black Holes Existed Before the First Stars of the Universe, reports The Daily Galaxy. “Supermassive black holes formed very, very quickly in the early Universe over very, very short periods of time and then suddenly, they stop.”
Physicists work out how many moons Earth could have -Simulations suggest that Earth could theoretically host two more moons the size of the one we’ve got now, or several smaller moons, reports New Scientist.
Hubble Space Telescope Spies a Scintillating Globular Cluster, reports ScTechDaily. “This mage, which was captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys, showcases the globular cluster NGC 6540 in the constellation Sagittarius
We were wrong: all stars don’t have planets, after all–Unless you have a critical mass of heavy elements when your star first forms, planets, including rocky ones, are practically impossible, reports Big Think.
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?
Clues to Alien Life to A Galaxy 100 x Size of Milky Way
Cracks in Einstein’s Theory of Gravity to Colossal Shock Wave Bigger than the Milky Way
Monster Comet Arriving from the Oort Cloud to Black Hole Apocalypse
Enigmas of Stephen Hawking’s Blackboard to Why the Universe and Life Exist
Einstein’s Critics to NASA Theologians Prepare for Alien Contact
Mind-Bending New Multiverse Theory to Dark-Matter Asteroids of the Milky Way
Mysterious Expanding Regions of Dark Matter to Are Black Holes Holograms
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