Posted on Sep 21, 2022 in Astrobiology, Astronomy, Astrophysics, Cosmology, Cosmos, Exoplanets, Extraterrestrial Life, James Webb Space Telescope, Science, Science News, Space News, Technology, Universe
Today’s stories include Earth’s algae and moss could survive under the light of another star to Ancient stars of the Milky Way’s center confirmed, and much more.
Big Bang Should Have Made Cracks in Spacetime, writes Paul Sutter for Ars Technica. “Perhaps the greatest power cosmic strings possess is their capacity to confound physicists. According to our best understanding of the early Universe, our cosmos should be riddled with cosmic strings. And yet not a single search has found any evidence for them. Figuring out where the cosmic strings are hiding, or why they shouldn’t exist after all, will help push our understanding of cosmology and fundamental physics to new heights.”
Earth’s algae and moss could survive under the light of another star–Experiments on Earth mimicking the rays from a red dwarf star show that cyanobacteria, algae and moss can grow under these light conditions, backing the idea that some exoplanets could host life, reports New Scientist.
A protogalaxy in the Milky Way may be our galaxy’s original nucleus –A population of stars at the galactic center is the oldest known in the galaxy, a study finds, reports Science News. “People have long speculated that such a vast population [of old stars] should exist in the center of our Milky Way, and Gaia now shows that there they are,” says astronomer Hans-Walter Rix of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany.
Frank Drake’s Courageous Questions Live On –Drake’s curiosity and ambition turned the search for extraterrestrial intelligence into the scientific venture it is today, reports Scientific American.
Earth’s perilous journey through the Milky Way’s spiral may shape the planet’s geology, reports By Robert Lea for Space.com. “Every 200 million years, high-energy comets may pelt our planet as it passes through our galaxy’s spiral arms.”
Astronomers deduce the origins of a fast radio burst based on 2,000 burst observations–We may be a step closer to knowing where the mysterious space phenomena come from, reports Interesting Engineering.
Saturn’s Enceladus shown to have all six of the essential elements for life–Reanalysis of icy rock grains from a ring of Saturn – fed by ice plumes from its moon Enceladus – has revealed the presence of phosphorus, the only key essential element for life that hadn’t already been spotted, Reports New Scientist.
Have Astronomers Detected a Cosmic String from the Dawn of the Universe? asks The Daily Galaxy. “The center of our Galaxy has been intensely studied for many years, but it still harbors surprises for scientists. A snake-like structure lurking near our galaxy’s supermassive black hole is one of the more intriguing discoveries. “Part of the thrill of science is stumbling across a mystery that is not easy to solve,” said Jun-Hui Zhao of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics,. “While we don’t have the answer yet, the path to finding it is fascinating.”
Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw confront the black hole information paradox –The particle physicists explain the latest thinking on what happens to the stuff that falls into black holes – and what it reveals about the deepest structure of the universe, reports New Scientist.
Einstein’s Greatest Theory Just Passed Its Most Rigorous Test Yet–The MICROSCOPE mission tested the weak equivalence principle with free-falling objects in a satellite, reports Scientific American.
Closest black hole to Earth is just 1500 light years away –A black hole with a mass about 10 times that of the sun is thought to be the closest to Earth discovered so far. It is orbited by a star that could host planets, from which the black hole would be visible in the sky, reports New Scientist.
Can the James Webb Space Telescope really see the past? asks Brandon Specktor for LiveScience. “Scientists want to use Webb to see the beginning of the universe. How is that possible? How is this possible? How can a machine look “back in time”? It’s not magic; it’s just the nature of light.”
Curated by The Daily Galaxy Editorial Staff
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