Latest news with #AstronomyMagazine
NDTV
17-07-2025
- Science
- NDTV
How The Largest Black Hole Merger In History Challenges Its Physics
Astronomers have detected the largest black hole merger ever, and it has challenged their understanding of such formations. The event, designated GW231123, was initially detected on November 23, 2023, by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) Collaboration. Two enormous black holes, around 100 and 140 times the mass of the Sun, collided in this cosmic collision to create a new black hole - 225 times more massive than the Sun, per the Astronomy Magazine. Since supernova physics usually disturbs progenitor stars in the 60-130 solar mass "mass gap," black holes in that range are not likely to develop via regular stellar collapse. And GW231123 stands out among those 300 black hole mergers for reasons other than simply being the greatest massive collision. "This is the largest and most massive black hole binary ever detected through gravitational waves, and it poses a real challenge to our understanding of black hole formation," LIGO Scientific Collaboration member Professor Mark Hannam of Cardiff University asserted. The distance of GW231123 from Earth is unknown; it may be as far away as 12 billion light-years, according to Professor Hannam. The speed at which the two black holes are orbiting one another is another unexpected aspect of GW231113. The results showed that the two merging black holes were spinning close to the maximum allowed by general relativity, in accordance with Einstein's theory. It is, thus, quite challenging to extract exact features and to model waveforms with such high angular momentum. The black holes are probably spinning as rapidly as is practically feasible, according to Dr Charlie Hoy of Portsmouth University. "GW231123 poses a serious threat to our knowledge of how black holes emerge," Dr Hoy said. According to Professor Zoltan Haiman of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria, who was not involved in the project, the black holes in GW231123 were therefore thought to be leftovers of one or even several generations of previous mergers. GW231123 was discovered by a group of astronomers when the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detected faint ripples in space-time caused by two black holes colliding. Scientists refer to these disturbances as gravitational waves. The event was detected during the fourth observing run of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) network, which consists of Japan's KAGRA, the Virgo detector in Italy, and the LIGO observatories in the United States, CNN reported. GW190521, which was only 60 per cent as large as GW231123, held the previous record for the largest black hole merger ever recorded. In the future, scientists may discover even more gigantic mergers.
Economic Times
25-06-2025
- Science
- Economic Times
Forget the Solstice: The real shortest day of your life might be coming this summer
We're used to hearing about the longest and shortest days of the year. But this summer could see a new record set. Scientists think that the Earth may be spinning faster than it ever has before, which could make one of these summer days the shortest ever. Earth is poised to break its own record for the shortest day soon. According to astrophysicist Graham Jones, who writes for a website that tracks time and time zones, our planet may complete the fastest spin on its axis ever recorded on July 9, 22, or August 5, surpassing the record set last year, as per a report by GIZMODO. Researchers are confused by an unexplained shift deep inside the READ: Zohran Mamdani once vowed to arrest Netanyahu if he arrived in NYC — now he's running for Mayor The website claims that, among other things, when the Moon's orbit moves Earth considerably north or south of the equator, Earth rotates more quickly. Scientists use incredibly accurate atomic clocks to measure the length of a day (LOD) in milliseconds longer or shorter than 24 hours, or 86,400 seconds, so the difference in speed is negligible. The shortest recorded LOD has been produced annually since 2020. It was -1.05. In 2020, it was 1.05 ms less than 86,400 s. The current record was set last July 5th, when it came in at -1.66 ms. Because the Moon will be near its furthest point from the equator on July 9, 22, or August 5, scientists predict that these dates will have the shortest day of the year. Whether the record will be broken again by 2025's shortest LOD is still up in the air. Leonid Zotov, an Earth rotation specialist at the Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics, told "Nobody expected this." "This acceleration's cause is not explained," he majority of scientists think it's an internal phenomenon. This enormous acceleration cannot be explained by ocean and atmospheric alterations include the Moon actually slowing down Earth's rotation for billions of years. One day on Earth lasted between three and six hours some 4.5 billion years ago. One of the factors at work is the Moon's tidal forces, which cause the oceans to swell up at specific times and the Earth to lose constantly absorbs a portion of the rotational energy from the Earth, which causes it to accelerate and expand its own orbit around the planet. This causes the Moon to move away from us by about 1.49 inches (3.78 centimeters) each day, the Earth's rotation and the Moon's orbital period will synchronize, allowing only half of our planet to always see the Moon (i.e., Earth will be tidally locked). According to Astronomy Magazine, this will occur in about 50 billion years, but it is unlikely to occur because Earth will most likely become uninhabitable long before will the shorter day affect my daily life?Not really, it's only a millisecond, too small to notice. Why is the Earth suddenly spinning faster? Scientists aren't certain, but they believe it's due to changes deep within the planet.
Gizmodo
24-06-2025
- Science
- Gizmodo
Why the Shortest Day of Your Life Could Happen This Summer
Earth might be about to spin out its fastest day on record. And no one knows why. On July 9, 22, or August 5, our planet might complete the fastest spin on its axis ever recorded, breaking last year's record, according to Graham Jones, an astrophysicist writing for website dedicated to tracking time and time zones. According to the website, Earth spins faster when the Moon's orbit takes it significantly north or south relative to the equator (among other factors). The difference in speed is infinitesimal; scientists employ extremely precise atomic clocks to measure the length of a day (LOD) in milliseconds longer or shorter than 24 hours—or 86,400 seconds. Since 2020, every year has produced the shortest recorded LOD. In 2020 it was 1.05 ms less than 86,400 s, or -1.05. Last year, July 5th came in at -1.66 ms, which is the current record-holder. This year, researchers expect the shortest day of the year to take place either on July 9, 22, or August 5, given that the Moon will be close to its farthest point from the equator on those dates. It remains to be seen whether 2025's shortest LOD will break the record once again. 'Nobody expected this,' Leonid Zotov, an expert on Earth rotation from the Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics, told 'The cause of this acceleration is not explained,' he added. 'Most scientists believe it is something inside the Earth. Ocean and atmospheric models don't explain this huge acceleration.' In terms of longer-term changes, the Moon has actually been slowing down Earth's rotational speed for billions of years. Some 4.5 billion years ago, a single day on Earth was somewhere between three and six hours long. Tidal forces caused by the Moon are one of the factors at play, making the oceans swell up at certain points and the Earth to lose momentum. In short, the Moon continuously absorbs some of Earth's rotational energy, which in turn expands and speeds up its own orbit around our planet. Because of this, the Moon moves around 1.49 inches (3.78 centimeters) farther away from us every year. Currently, it takes the Moon around 27 days to orbit the Earth. Someday, the speed of the Moon's orbital period and Earth's rotation will synchronize, meaning the Moon will only be visible from half of our planet at all times (i.e. Earth will be tidally locked). But no need to worry just yet. According to Astronomy Magazine, researchers predict this will happen around 50 billion years from now. That means it likely won't ever happen, since Earth will probably become uninhabitable long before that—and given the way things are going these days, we might wipe ourselves out long before that even becomes an issue.
NDTV
20-05-2025
- Science
- NDTV
Voyager Station: All You Need To Know About The Upcoming First-Ever Space Hotel
Space travel might be mostly limited to astronauts now, but the status quo is soon to change. Imagine this: You open your hotel door only to witness cosmic vistas stretching endlessly and planets glimmering in the distance. Constellations light up the sky and everywhere your eyes wander, there is a breathtaking swirl of galaxies. Space-lover or not, you wouldn't be able to get over the feeling of standing at the edge of infinity. Sounds too good to be true? Well, not anymore. Billionaires Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson are on a mission to create the world's first outer space luxury hotel, Voyager Station. With plans to blur the boundary between our atmosphere and outer space, common people can spend their time soaking in the beauty of the galaxies. The initiative launched by the Sacramento start-up Orbital Assembly Corporation (AOC) has announced that the hotel will be open to visitors from 2027, as per a report by the Astronomy Magazine. Voyager Station, a first-of-its-kind orbital accommodation, is designed as a giant rotating wheel. Restaurant, Bar, Gym, And More In Space Reports have revealed that the hotel would accommodate about 280 guests and 112 crew members. But hold up! There's no need to compromise on your expectations regarding the facilities. Voyager Station will be equipped with several amenities, including a restaurant, a bar, a gym, a concert hall and even a cinema complex. Can you believe it? One of the most exciting features of Voyager's Station will be its ability to generate artificial gravity. How, you might wonder? Well, by its rotating architecture, which will simulate gravity using centrifugal force. German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun takes the credit for inspiring the world-class design. The station will have a Moon-like gravity initially, which is about one-sixth of the Earth's. Future versions, however, might have stronger gravity, like on Mars or even close to Earth's. After setting off from Earth, guests will arrive at a zero-gravity docking hub. After that, elevator shafts will transport them to a chain of 'habitation modules' positioned around the circular station's circumference. The pricing of the interstellar hotel is yet to be announced.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Moon to make closest jump over Jupiter for the year in night sky
A celestial leap is set to take place over two nights as the moon and Jupiter will appear to dance near to each other in the night sky. The crescent moon will appear "wafer thin" through the night of April 29 as it draws near to the large planet and will make its closest visual approach to Jupiter for the year as it passes over the planet the night of April 30, according to Both celestial bodies will linger in the constellation Taurus Wednesday night, according to Astronomy Magazine. Both outlets suggest that the moon may be illuminated by Earthshine, where the sunlight reflected off of the Earth reaches the moon. The celestial interlude was preceded last week by a more whimsical astral phenomenon as the moon, Venus and Saturn put a smile on the night sky. For between 30 to 40 minutes before sunrise on Friday, April 25, the slender waning crescent moon appeared to left of a bright planet Venus and a much fainter Saturn to create a happy face, according to astronomy news outlet EarthSky. Earthlings were unable to see the other major planetary phenomenon of the previous week as the closest new supermoon of the year occurred on Sunday, April 27. The moon was nearly 17,000 miles closer to Earth than average − according to EarthSky − but it was not visible on Earth. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jupiter and moon to make closest pass of year in night sky
