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New Straits Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
ESO wraps up three-night KL tour under Maestro Jaap van Zweden
KUALA LUMPUR: The Evergreen Symphony Orchestra (ESO), led by its Artist-in-Residence Jaap van Zweden, concluded its three-night tour in Kuala Lumpur with a final concert at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (DFP) on July 20. The tour, titled "Destiny Symphony – Jaap van Zweden and the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra," featured a VIP performance on July 18 and a charity concert the following day. All three performances were held at DFP, marking ESO's first international tour under Maestro van Zweden since his appointment in early 2025. "This was a meaningful milestone for the orchestra and a testament to the deepening cultural exchange between Taiwan and Malaysia. The concert was a demonstration of the power of unbounded charity and music without borders," ESO said in a statement. Some 300 guests from more than 10 organisations for disadvantaged communities attended the charity concert on July 19, including the National Autism Society Malaysia (Nasom), the National Council for the Blind Malaysia (NCBM), and the Down Syndrome Association of Selangor (PWSDNS). The concerts showcased a range of classical works, with the first half featuring Mendelssohn's "Fingal's Cave" Overture, evoking the sweeping imagery of the ocean. It was followed by Mozart's Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra in C major, with Malaysian flutist Yew-Kia Koh and Taiwanese harpist Menglu Chiu performing as dual soloists. "This collaboration symbolised the beauty of international artistic cooperation," said van Zweden. The second half of the programme featured Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor, widely known as the "Symphony of Fate", and concluded with two encores: Dvořák's Slavonic Dance Op. 46, No. 8, and the beloved Malaysian classic "Getaran Jiwa." The ESO said the Malaysian tour not only promoted Taiwanese musical excellence but also strengthened ties between the peoples of Taiwan and Malaysia. Plans are already in motion for tours next year and beyond. Future tours are expected to include stops in major cities across Asia, Europe, and the United States, further elevating Taiwan's presence on the global classical music stage.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
Birth of planet captured: Astronomers share rare glimpses of newborn planet about 1,300 light-yrs away
For the first time, a team of researchers has captured the birth of a planet around a star beyond our Sun. The observations captured the very beginnings of planet formation , a rare glimpse into the cosmic process that gives rise to Earth-like planets around a star. Observations were made using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope and NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to capture the formation of a new planetary system. Scientists detected the formation of the first specks of planet-building material around a baby star named HOPS-315 , located about 1,300 light-years away. HOPS-315 is considered a 'proto-star', meaning it's in the earliest stage of stellar evolution. These young stars are often surrounded by protoplanetary discs - rotating clouds of gas and dust where planets are born. This image shows jets of silicon monoxide (SiO) blowing away from the baby star HOPS-315. (Pic credit: ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/M. McClure et al.) by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like New Apartments Just Listed – Take a Look Apartments | Search Ads Learn More Undo "For the first time, we have identified the earliest moment when planet formation is initiated around a star other than our Sun," said Melissa McClure, lead author of the study from Leiden University in the Netherlands. The findings were published in the journal Nature . The team found evidence of silicon monoxide (SiO) gas and solid crystalline minerals in the disc surrounding HOPS-315. This suggests that planet-forming materials are beginning to condense from gas into solid particles, an evolutionary phase in the birth of planets. "This process has never been seen before in a protoplanetary disc — or anywhere outside our Solar System," said Edwin Bergin, co-author and professor at the University of Michigan, USA. The discovery unveils a never-before-seen phase in planet formation and opens a new window into studying how planetary systems like our own come into being.
Metro
4 days ago
- Science
- Metro
Astronomers just casually witnessed the birth of a new solar system
Astronomers have witnessed the creation of a solar system for the first time. Data captured by the ALMA telescope in Chile and the James Webb Space Telescope showed planets forming around a star in the first record of its kind. The findings, detailed in a study published on Wednesday, showed how scientists observed a gaseous plate being formed around a star – the first step in the birth of a new solar system. Professor Melissa McCure from the Leiden University in the Netherlands said: 'For the first time, we have identified the earliest moment when planet formation is initiated around a star other than our Sun.' The new solar system is being formed around a baby or 'proto' star named HOPS-315 located some 1300 light-years from Earth. Scientists believe the unique sighting can paint a picture of how our solar system was formed, as well as help us better understand the planetary formation process. Merel van't Hoff, of Purdue University in the USA, who co-authored the study, said the nascent planetary system resembles what our solar system would have looked like when it was beginning to form. She said: 'This system is one of the best that we know to actually probe some of the processes that happened in our Solar System.' A solar system is formed from solid material within meteorites, which condense and then bind themselves together. More Trending The pieces of matter begin to form tiny planets or 'plantesimals' before they form larger full size planets. The first minerals around HOPS-315 were detected by the James Webb Space Telescope, before the ALMA Telescope was used to identify exactly where they originated. ESO astronomer Elizabeth Humphreys, who manages the European ALMA Programme Manager said she was 'really impressed' with the study. She said: 'It suggests that HOPS-315 can be used to understand how our own Solar System formed. This result highlights the combined strength of JWST and ALMA for exploring protoplanetary discs.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: France's new rocket Baguette One to go where no baker has gone before MORE: Felix Baumgartner's chilling last Instagram post moments before he died mid-air MORE: A new world may have been discovered beyond Neptune
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Astronomers witness dawn of new solar system for 1st time
Astronomers have witnessed the birth of a solar system beyond our own for the first time. An international team of researchers has been able to pinpoint the exact moment when planets began to form around a star by using data captured by the ALMA telescope in Chile and the James Webb Space Telescope, according to a study published in Nature on Wednesday. MORE: 100 undiscovered galaxies could be orbiting the Milky Way, according to new research The astronomers observed hot minerals just beginning to solidify – the first specks of planet-forming material, the astronomers said. A gaseous disk surrounding the young star is the first stages of the assembly process to form a new planetary system, according to the paper. "For the first time, we have identified the earliest moment when planet formation is initiated around a star other than our Sun," Melissa McClure, a professor at Leiden University in the Netherlands and lead author of the study, said in a statement released by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Planets and small bodies like those in our solar system likely formed through the mixture of interstellar solids with rocky solids that condense from the hot gases surrounding a young host star, astronomers hypothesize. But the specific process of the solar system's formation remains unclear. In our solar system, the first solid material to condense near Earth's present location orbiting the sun is found trapped within ancient meteorites, according to the ESO. Over time, the newly condensed solids bind together and begin the planet formation process as they gain both size and mass. MORE: Webb telescope discovers stars forming in 'toe beans' of Cat's Paw Nebula Researchers say they found evidence that these hot minerals have begun to condense in the disc surrounding the young star, or protostar, named HOPS-315. "This process has never been seen before in a protoplanetary disc – or anywhere outside our solar system," said Edwin Bergin, an astronomer at the University of Michigan and co-author of the paper, in a statement. The protostar is located in the Orion B molecular cloud, around 1,300 light-years from Earth, according to the paper, and is positioned in a way that allows a direct view of its inner gaseous disk. One light year is approximately 5.9 trillion miles. The view is rare because jets of gas emitted by protostars, known as outflow, often block the view of the disk, the researchers said. MORE: Astronomers spot 'interstellar object' speeding through solar system Astronomers were able to observe solids starting to condense from the cooling gas – known as "time zero" for planet formation – by using infrared and millimeter wavelengths from the ground- and space-based telescopes, the researchers said. The Webb telescope, the most powerful telescope ever launched into space, was used to probe the chemical makeup of the material around the protostar, detecting crystalline silicate materials that are a "telltale sign" of early planet formation, according to the paper. The chemical signals appear to be coming from a small region of the disc around the star that's equivalent to the orbit of the asteroid belt around our own sun, according to the ESO. "This hot mineral is the first feedstock that you have to start growing things in the dark," McClure said. The finding marks the first time a planetary system has been identified at such an early stage. While astronomers have previously seen young discs that contain newborn, massive planets like Jupiter, it was not yet proven that the first solid parts of nascent planets, known as planetesimals, must form further back in time, at earlier stages, McClure said. The discovery opens a window into the past of our own solar system, since the formation of the new system likely mimics the conditions that occurred at the dawn of the planetary system that is home to Earth, astronomers said. "This system is one of the best that we know to actually probe some of the processes that happened in our solar system," said Merel van 't Hoff, an astronomer at Purdue University and co-author of the study, said in a statement released by Nature. Solve the daily Crossword
6 days ago
- Science
Astronomers witness dawn of new solar system for 1st time
Astronomers have witnessed the birth of a solar system beyond our own for the first time. An international team of researchers has been able to pinpoint the exact moment when planets began to form around a star by using data captured by the ALMA telescope in Chile and the James Webb Space Telescope, according to a study published in Nature on Wednesday. The astronomers observed hot minerals just beginning to solidify – the first specks of planet-forming material, the astronomers said. A gaseous disk surrounding the young star is the first stages of the assembly process to form a new planetary system, according to the paper. "For the first time, we have identified the earliest moment when planet formation is initiated around a star other than our Sun," Melissa McClure, a professor at Leiden University in the Netherlands and lead author of the study, said in a statement released by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Planets and small bodies like those in our solar system likely formed through the mixture of interstellar solids with rocky solids that condense from the hot gases surrounding a young host star, astronomers hypothesize. But the specific process of the solar system's formation remains unclear. In our solar system, the first solid material to condense near Earth's present location orbiting the sun is found trapped within ancient meteorites, according to the ESO. Over time, the newly condensed solids bind together and begin the planet formation process as they gain both size and mass. Researchers say they found evidence that these hot minerals have begun to condense in the disc surrounding the young star, or protostar, named HOPS-315. "This process has never been seen before in a protoplanetary disc – or anywhere outside our solar system," said Edwin Bergin, an astronomer at the University of Michigan and co-author of the paper, in a statement. The protostar is located in the Orion B molecular cloud, around 1,300 light-years from Earth, according to the paper, and is positioned in a way that allows a direct view of its inner gaseous disk. One light year is approximately 5.9 trillion miles. The view is rare because jets of gas emitted by protostars, known as outflow, often block the view of the disk, the researchers said. Astronomers were able to observe solids starting to condense from the cooling gas – known as "time zero" for planet formation – by using infrared and millimeter wavelengths from the ground- and space-based telescopes, the researchers said. The Webb telescope, the most powerful telescope ever launched into space, was used to probe the chemical makeup of the material around the protostar, detecting crystalline silicate materials that are a "telltale sign" of early planet formation, according to the paper. The chemical signals appear to be coming from a small region of the disc around the star that's equivalent to the orbit of the asteroid belt around our own sun, according to the ESO. "This hot mineral is the first feedstock that you have to start growing things in the dark," McClure said. The finding marks the first time a planetary system has been identified at such an early stage. While astronomers have previously seen young discs that contain newborn, massive planets like Jupiter, it was not yet proven that the first solid parts of nascent planets, known as planetesimals, must form further back in time, at earlier stages, McClure said. The discovery opens a window into the past of our own solar system, since the formation of the new system likely mimics the conditions that occurred at the dawn of the planetary system that is home to Earth, astronomers said. "This system is one of the best that we know to actually probe some of the processes that happened in our solar system," said Merel van 't Hoff, an astronomer at Purdue University and co-author of the study, said in a statement released by Nature.
