Envisioning a Black James Bond: The Birth of 50 Cent in Bullets and Games

Posted on August 15, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The rapper 50 Cent (born Curtis Jackson) became a household name in 2005. British classrooms were filled with teenagers sporting Jackson’s G-Unit attire, while his catchy tracks dominated the airwaves. His remarkable journey—from surviving being shot nine times to becoming one of the world’s biggest hip-hop stars—is the stuff of legends.

That year, 50 Cent sold over a million copies of his sophomore studio album, *The Massacre*, in just one week. To capitalize on this superstar’s success, his label Interscope Records devised a dual strategy: a Hollywood biopic (*Get Rich or Die Tryin’*) and a licensed video game, *50 Cent: Bulletproof*, both set for release by November 2005. “It feels like an action movie,” he remarked.

The game, developed by a British company previously known for the *Fight Club* tie-in, aimed to create a thrilling escape through the 128-bit era. Unfortunately, the project only lasted 11 months. “I remember arriving at the office at 7am and not leaving until around 11pm,” recalls game artist Hanlandawa. “We all lived on a KFC diet. 50 Cent became my obsession. I even read a doctor’s report of his shooting.”

Game designer Haydn Dalton added, “It’s amusing because this game revolves around guys from the hood, yet here I am—a white guy from northwest England—writing the in-game dialogue.”

Take a photo first and ask questions later… Photo: THQ

As of November 20th, this year, 50 Cent finds himself embroiled in a shadowy underworld filled with dangerous terrorists, vicious biker gangs, and mobsters. He navigates the cityscape—shooting first and asking questions later—tracking down the individuals who shot him and aiding his G-Unit crew (including Tony Yayo, Young Buck, and Lloyd Banks).

Similar to the *A-Team*, each G-Unit member provides unique skills (Yayo as the explosives expert, Banks as the lock-pick). The script, penned by *Sopranos* writer Terrence Winter, features cinematic cutscenes where 50 Cent interacts with the corrupt Detective McVicar, adding to the game’s intensity.

He voices a corrupt cop, spurred on by Madcap Eminem, who constantly demands cash to fund his children’s expensive karate lessons. Accompanying the troubled McVicar is Dr. Dre, providing the voice for a hardened arms dealer, who cryptically remarks “it’s serious shit” every time 50 Cent purchases a rocket launcher. The game is further enhanced by a soundtrack filled with licensed 50 Cent tracks, pushing players to immerse themselves in the action while songs like *Wanksta* play in the background.

“We were fortunate because 50 Cent felt like more than just a rapper—he felt like a superhero,” explains game director David Broadhurst. “The goal was to make him the Black James Bond.” However, Broadhurst acknowledges that the UK development team missed out on some of the glamour and sheen of the project. “Vivendi kept us somewhat distanced from both 50 Cent and G-Unit. All audio was sent to us. I remember how invested 50 was in vitamin water, which meant I had to include drinks in the game as purchasable items.”

50 Cent concept art: Bulletproof. Photo: Vivendi Universal Games

Randhawa recalls unique requests too, such as G-Unit member Tony Yayo, who constantly sought revisions to perfect his character’s appearance. “I knew I did a good job on Yayo,” laughs Randhawa. “The executive producer even remarked that other G-Unit members thought I completely captured Yayo’s distinct look!”

According to Dalton, the initial vision for *50 Cent: Bulletproof* leaned toward an open-world format similar to *Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas*. Early iterations allowed 50 to navigate the subway system to traverse New York City, but tight deadlines necessitated a more straightforward experience. Dalton elaborated, “One of our concepts was to have 50 managing street-level employees, raising drug funds for him.”

Unlike other rap-themed games such as the *Def Jam Fighting* series, which often portrayed rappers as adversaries, *Bulletproof* presented 50 Cent in a hero’s role. “It was refreshing to see a project where rappers were depicted as complete heroes instead of anti-heroes,” commented Sha Money XL, a former executive producer at G-Unit Records.

“If I filmed a G-Unit in 2005, we were ready to roll.” Photo: Vivendi Universal Games

Sha Money XL led the soundtrack for *50 Cent: Bulletproof*, acknowledging that the game’s title could easily be perceived as inciting violence by some of 50 Cent’s adversaries. “Perhaps some wanted to test whether 50 Cent was genuinely bulletproof. But if they were filming G-Unit in 2005, we were prepared to shoot.”

This polarizing aspect likely explains the mixed critical reception of *50 Cent: Bulletproof*. The game garnered a mere 52% score on Metacritic, with reviewers pointing to its cumbersome aiming system. Broadhurst believes there was an underlying bias against productions led by black heroes.

“It was evident that many reviewers didn’t fully engage with *Bulletproof*,” Broadhurst remarked. “Maybe they had issues with the black hero who was associated with licensed games or had ties to the drug trade. I’m still surprised that when people picked it up, they found it surprisingly enjoyable.”

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/eVQz3CbTeBg?wmode=opaque&feature=oembed" title="50 Cent: Bulletproof Game Trailer" height="480" width="640" allowfullscreen="

Plans for a direct sequel to *Bulletproof*, focused on urban conflict and G-Unit’s survival in America amidst a Civil War backdrop, were scrapped. However, *50 Cent: Bulletproof* paved the way for the 2009 sequel, *50 Cent: Blood on the Sand*, which has since gained a reputation as an underrated title.

These two titles featuring 50 Cent did not spark a wave of hip-hop video games. Dalton reflects, “50 Cent was truly the last global mainstream rap superstar. Despite our game generating significant revenue, the genre hasn’t produced a clear successor in terms of rap games.”

A complicated licensing agreement makes a remaster of 50 Cent unlikely. However, for those looking to relive 2005, securing an original copy on eBay is a must.

Dalton concludes, “Yes, our game was sprung together quickly, but I have no regrets. If you check Reddit, you’ll find a nostalgic community reminiscing about what we created. I doubt a Drake game would ever reach the same popularity, especially if it lacked the grit of earlier titles.”

Source: www.theguardian.com

Discovered the Largest Black Hole in the Universe to Date

Posted on August 13, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Astronomers have been monitoring the largest black holes observed in space thus far.

Through a combination of two distinct measurement techniques, researchers have recently identified that these colossal black holes possess nearly 10,000 times the mass of the ultra-massive black holes at the center of our galaxy.

This colossal black hole is situated five billion light-years from Earth, at the core of the Cosmic Horseshoe, one of the largest known galaxies. This massive galaxy seems to gather all the galaxies in its vicinity, meaning both it and its black hole have reached their ultimate sizes.

The black hole itself weighs an astonishing 36 billion times the mass of our sun.

The discovery is particularly remarkable given that these black holes are inactive, lacking the typical surrounding luminous dusty disc.

Instead, a recent study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society utilized a combination of two established methods to ascertain the size of this mega black hole.

“The ‘golden’ method generally depends on the kinematics of stars, meaning we measure how the stars move within the galaxy,” noted Carlos Mello in an interview with BBC Science Focus. He is a PhD student at a federal university in Brazil that led the research.

The speed of stars situated at the center of a galaxy correlates closely with the mass of its supermassive black hole. Scientists report that these stars are moving at astonishing velocities, around 400 kilometers (249 miles) per second, indicating an extraordinarily large black hole.

“However, this technique is most efficient for nearby galaxies where telescopes can better resolve the area surrounding the black hole,” Mello explained.

Given that the Cosmic Horseshoe is five billion light-years away, astronomers also employed a second method that utilizes the gravitational lensing effect of galaxies.

The Cosmic Horseshoe is known for the nearly perfect ring of light formed by a gravitational lens that bends light from a background galaxy – Credit: NASA/ESA

Gravitational lenses occur when light from a distant galaxy passes by a massive “lens” object, in this case, the black hole within the Cosmic Horseshoe. The gravity from this “lens” distorts the incoming light much like a magnifying glass, amplifying the light from the background galaxy while altering its appearance.

Astronomers can utilize this distortion to gauge the mass of the lensing object.

“The Cosmic Horseshoe is exceptional because it enables us to leverage both of these powerful methods simultaneously. This gives me greater confidence in the measurements of the black hole and its mass,” Mello remarked.

Both the galaxy and its black hole have achieved immense scales by merging with neighboring galaxies. This is the typical growth process for galaxies over time; ultimately, no surrounding galaxies can merge without reaching significant mass increases.

The Cosmic Horseshoe has reached this advanced stage, existing within a bubble of relatively few bright galaxies nearby.

“This discovery provides a unique insight into the culmination of galaxy and black hole formation,” Mello stated. “By examining this system, we can enhance our understanding of how other galaxies and their ultra-massive black holes evolve over cosmic time.”

About Our Experts

Carlos Mello is a doctoral student at a Federal University in Brazil.

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Astrophysicists Suggest Interstellar Missions to Explore Black Holes

Posted on August 12, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

In a new paper published in the journal Iscience, astrophysicists at the University of Fudan have explored the potential for sending nanocrafts from Earth to black holes located 20-25 light years away. This mission aims to investigate the properties of strong gravitational fields and the fundamental aspects of physics.

Black holes represent the strongest gravitational fields known in the universe and serve as ideal laboratories for testing Einstein’s general theory of relativity under extreme conditions. Professor Bambi discusses the speculative nature and challenges of launching small spacecraft to the nearest black hole, yet emphasizes that it remains a plausible endeavor. Image credit: Cosimo Bambi, doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.113142.

“While we lack the necessary technology today, it may be feasible in 20 or 30 years,” stated Professor Cosimo Bambi, an astrophysicist and black hole specialist at the University of Fudan.

“Two significant challenges lie ahead: identifying a nearby black hole and developing a probe that can survive the journey.”

Currently, the closest recognized black hole to Earth is Gaia BH1, which was discovered in September 2022 and is located 1,560 light-years away.

However, it is anticipated that many undiscovered black holes may exist closer to Earth.

Simple estimations suggest that, despite significant uncertainties, the closest black hole could potentially be within only 20-25 light years.

“Our understanding of stellar evolution implies that black holes might be hidden just 20 to 25 light years from Earth, but detecting them is not straightforward,” noted Professor Bambi.

“Since black holes do not emit or reflect light, they are nearly invisible to telescopes.”

“Scientists typically rely on observing nearby stars and their interactions with light to identify and study these elusive objects.”

“New methods have been developed for detecting black holes, and I believe it is reasonable to expect the discovery of something nearby within the next decade.”

Once a target is located, the subsequent challenge will be reaching it.

Traditional spacecraft powered by chemical fuels lack the efficiency needed for such long journeys.

Professor Bambi suggests nanocraft as a promising solution—tiny probes consisting of microchips and light sails.

Lasers from Earth would propel the sails using photons, accelerating the craft to one-third the speed of light.

“At that speed, a craft could arrive at a black hole 20 to 25 light years away within about 70 years,” he explained.

“The data collected would then take roughly another 20 years to return to Earth, leading to a total mission duration of approximately 80-100 years.”

“When the craft nears a black hole, researchers could conduct experiments to answer some of the most pivotal questions in physics.”

“Does a black hole truly possess an event horizon? Can light escape the gravitational pull beyond that point?”

“Do the laws of physics alter in proximity to black holes?”

“Is Einstein’s general theory of relativity upheld in the universe’s most extreme conditions?”

“The laser system alone could cost 1 trillion euros, and currently, we lack the technology to fabricate nanocrafts,” Professor Bambi stated.

“Nevertheless, in 30 years, those costs might decrease, and technological advancements could align with these ambitious concepts.”

“While it may sound quite outlandish and resembles science fiction, past disbeliefs—like the detection of weak gravitational waves or imaging black hole shadows—have been proven wrong over time.”

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Cosimo Bambi. Interstellar missions to test astrophysical black holes. Iscience. Published online on August 7th, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.isci.2025.113142

Source: www.sci.news

Mysterious Viscous Stars Might Be Imitating Black Holes

Posted on August 9, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Could the gravitational wave signal be from a black hole or something more peculiar?

Titoonz / Alamy

Exotic viscous stars might emulate signals from black holes, mirroring the ripples in spacetime.

Since 2015, scientists have been uncovering the universe’s secrets by monitoring both light waves and gravitational waves, the ripples in the cosmos. Jaime Redondo-Yuste from the Neals Bohr Institute in Denmark and his team found that they can reflect gravitational waves, similar to light waves, but only from unusually viscous celestial objects.

The researchers began exploring the possibility of creating a gravitational wave mirror. While earlier studies hinted at its feasibility, developing equations that adhere to physical laws proved challenging. They eventually understood that reflectors don’t need to be flat.

“We can have a spherical mirror, and we need stars,” explains Redondo-Yuste. However, these stars must possess an extraordinarily high viscosity akin to molasses. Their calculations indicated that such stars could indeed reflect gravitational waves, as they are too rigid to be disturbed by passing waves.

Daniel Kennefick from the University of Arkansas highlights that this behavior is rare since most materials are transparent to gravitational waves, just as glass is to light. “Even when we are very near sources of powerful gravitational waves, they pass through us without any noticeable effect,” he remarks.

In addition to their strangeness, stars capable of deflecting gravitational waves must be compact and on the brink of collapsing into black holes. Redondo-Yuste notes that black holes themselves are very viscous. Therefore, when gravitational wave signals reach Earth, other highly viscous objects could be misidentified as black holes, with subtle differences in their signals. For instance, collisions between viscous stars and black holes would yield slightly distinct gravitational wave signatures due to tidal influences.

Researchers have previously detected celestial bodies believed to have heightened viscosity, such as extremely hot neutron stars formed from the merger of others. However, it’s still uncertain whether these stars possess sufficient viscosity to align with the team’s mathematical model, according to Paolopani from the University of Sapienza in Rome, Italy.

He suggests that forthcoming gravitational wave detectors will enhance our understanding of the viscosity of known objects and assist in discovering new ones. “This serves as a prelude to what we should be searching for,” Kennefick says.

To date, observational data hasn’t provided strong evidence for classifying what scientists identify as a black hole as an exotic star. All three researchers agree that the likelihood of observing these viscous stars has been minimal thus far.

“However, it’s our responsibility to continue these investigations,” insists Redondo-Yuste. “Only in this way can we compile a complete catalog of the entities populating our universe.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Scientists Suggest a Black Hole 300 Million Times the Sun’s Size Could Be a Gateway to the Universe’s Dawn.

Posted on August 9, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Spectroscopy enables astronomers to detect traces of matter in stars, galaxies, and other cosmic entities. Black holes consume dust and encounter various phenomena around them; as material spirals into a black hole, it compresses and heats up. Stephen Finkelstein, a co-author and professor of astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin, noted that all of this can be observed through spectroscopy.

“We’re searching for these signatures of extremely fast gas,” Finkelstein explained. “We’re discussing speeds of 1,000, 2,000, and at times even 3,000 kilometers per second. There’s nothing else in the universe that moves this quickly, so we can confirm it must be the gas surrounding a black hole.”

Scientists have pinpointed a potential distant black hole candidate, which stands as the oldest candidate confirmed via spectroscopy, he added.

Researchers also find galaxies containing new black holes to be intriguing discoveries. According to Taylor, these galaxies belong to a class known as “Little Red Dots.”

While not much information is available about Little Red Dots, they were first detected by the James Webb Space Telescope. Some have been found relatively close by, but Finkelstein indicated that they are likely more prevalent in the early universe.

Investigating the Capers-Lrd-Z9 Galaxy may offer insights into the rarity of red dots and what defines their unique coloration, researchers noted. It could also shed light on the growth of these ancient black holes during the universe’s formative stages.

In subsequent studies, researchers aim to locate more black holes in the distant cosmos.

“We’re just going to examine a very limited section of the sky using the James Webb Space Telescope,” Finkelstein stated. “If we discover one thing, there ought to be more.”

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Astronomers Uncover the Largest Black Holes Yet

Posted on August 8, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Astronomers have discovered and quantified the largest black hole ever found. This colossal black hole approaches the theoretical maximum size allowable in the universe and is approximately 10,000 times the mass of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole located at the center of the Milky Way.

This Hubble image features a horseshoe-shaped gravity lens (from center to right). Behind it is a blue galaxy, distorted into a horseshoe-shaped ring by the space-time distortion caused by the massive orange galaxies in the foreground. Image credits: NASA/ESA/Hubble.

The newly identified ultramassive black hole resides in the Space Horseshoe Gravity Lens System, which is among the largest known strong gravitational lenses.

This lens system, referred to as SDSS J1148+1930 and CSWA 1, lies 5 billion light years away in the Leo constellation.

“Typically, mass measurements of black holes in such distant systems can only be done when they are active,” remarks PhD Carlos Melo from Universidade Federativa do Rio Grande do Sul.

“However, these estimates based on accretion are often fraught with significant uncertainty.”

“Our method integrates strong gravitational lenses with stellar dynamics to yield more direct and reliable measurements, even in these distant systems.”

“The black holes we discovered rank among the top 10 largest black holes known, possibly even the largest,” adds Professor Thomas Collett from the University of Portsmouth.

“Most existing mass measurements for black holes are indirect and come with high uncertainties, so I can’t definitively say which one is the largest. But our new method provides much greater confidence in the mass of this black hole.”

The research team employed a synergy of gravitational lenses and stellar motions to locate the space horseshoe-shaped black holes.

This technique is considered the gold standard for black hole mass measurement, but galaxies are often too small in the sky to resolve areas containing these supermassive black holes, limiting effectiveness in distant contexts.

“The inclusion of a gravitational lens allowed us to explore further into the cosmos,” noted Professor Collett.

“We observed the influence of a black hole in two specific ways: it alters the path light takes as it navigates through the black hole, and stars in the galaxy’s core are observed moving incredibly fast (almost 400 km/s).”

“By correlating these two measurements, we can confidently establish the black hole’s authenticity.”

“This discovery pertains to a ‘dormant’ black hole, which does not actively consume material at the time of observation,” Melo explained.

“The detection relied solely on its immense gravitational pull and its effects on surrounding matter.”

“What’s particularly thrilling is that this method enables us to identify and gauge the masses of these elusive supermassive black holes across the universe, even when they lie completely dormant.”

An intriguing aspect of the Cosmic Horseshoe system is that its host galaxy is classified as a fossil group.

Fossil groups represent the final phase of the universe’s most colossal gravitationally-bound structures, formed from the collapse of a single, large galaxy devoid of bright companions.

“It is plausible that the supermassive black holes originally found in the companion galaxy contributed to the formation of the supermassive black holes we have identified,” Professor Collett noted.

“Thus, we can observe both the conclusion of galaxy formation and the cessation of black hole growth.”

The team’s paper was published today in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

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Carlos R Melo-Carneiro et al. 2025. We are pleased to announce the discovery of a 36 billion solar-mass black hole at the core of the Cosmic Horseshoe Gravity Lens. MNRAS 541(4): 2853-2871; doi: 10.1093/mnras/staf1036

Source: www.sci.news

We Uncovered the Largest Black Hole Ever Found

Posted on August 8, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Scientists have discovered an extraordinarily massive black hole billions of light years away

Igorzh/Shutterstock

A colossal black hole, located in a galaxy five billion light years away, boasts a mass over 10,000 times greater than the ultra-massive black hole found at the center of the Milky Way, and about 360 times greater than that of our Sun.

“This is likely the largest black hole in the universe,” states Thomas Collett from the University of Portsmouth, UK. “It’s equivalent to the mass of an entire small galaxy condensed into one singularity.”

This supermassive black hole is situated approximately five billion light years away, residing in one of the most well-known galaxies, referred to as the Space Horseshoe. Space Horseshoes serve as the largest known galaxy lenses, capable of bending light from objects situated behind them due to their immense gravitational forces. Previous research indicated that such enormous black holes might exist in the center of this galaxy, though pinpointing their exact mass has proven challenging for scientists.

To accurately determine the mass of the black hole, Collett and his team analyzed the orbital velocity of a nearby star, which directly correlates to the black hole’s mass. Additionally, they assessed how much light is distorted by the gravitational influence of the black hole, a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing. “Combining these two measurements allowed us to yield a highly confident estimation,” says Collett.

The mass of this black hole is remarkably large, aligning with Collett’s team’s prior investigations. Their research focuses on mapping the distribution of dark matter in the Galaxy, utilizing data gathered from observed light. They found that a successful model was only achievable with the inclusion of a supermassive black hole at the center of the universe’s horseshoe.

“The only time I started to get a good model was when I began considering black holes with incredibly high masses,” remarks Collett.

The horseshoe galaxy is theorized to be a ‘fossil group’ galaxy. This type of stellar system has absorbed all of its neighboring galaxies, a behavior that helps clarify the phenomenon of its black hole’s formidable size.

Yet, one enigmatic aspect persists. The black hole appears to have ceased growing and is currently dormant. “For it to expand, it must have been connected to the entire universe at some stage. It’s curious that it’s inactive at this moment,” Collett adds. “A process must have contributed to the black hole’s growth before it eventually plateaued.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Exploring Black Holes with Interstellar Nanocrafts: A Guide

Posted on August 7, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Conceptual image of a spacecraft navigating near a black hole

Liuzishan/Getty Images

An interstellar spacecraft designed to explore a black hole could transmit data back to Earth in roughly 100 years.

Cosimo Bambi from the University of Hudang in Shanghai has devised a framework for such missions utilizing technologies projected to be available within the next 20 to 30 years.

By approaching a black hole, we can validate Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity and uncover the behavior of fundamental physical constants in extreme gravitational fields.

The nearest well-known black hole is approximately 1500 light years away. However, within our Milky Way galaxy, there is estimated to be one black hole for every 100 ordinary stars. This suggests a significant likelihood of locating a black hole within 20 to 25 light years, says Bambi.

Identifying a black hole poses challenges, as these entities do not emit light; astronomers must infer their existence by observing their gravitational influence on surrounding stars.

Reaching a black hole within 25 light years of our solar system will require advanced technological developments, but according to Bambi, “it’s achievable.” Within a century, spacecraft could be minuscule, featuring sails that cover 10 square meters and propelled by light. Such crafts could theoretically accelerate to about one-third the speed of light through pulses from high-powered lasers.

“Currently, light sails and nanocrafts appear to be the most viable options for interstellar travel since they can achieve speeds approaching that of light,” Bambi states. However, he estimates that the power required for an effective laser system could reach approximately 1 trillion euros today.

To validate predictions concerning general relativity, it may be necessary to dispatch two miniature spacecraft or release a secondary probe as the primary nanocraft nears a black hole. The secondary craft would venture closer to the black hole, while the primary craft remains at a safe distance, gathering data and relaying it back to Earth.

Gerlan Lewis from the University of Sydney acknowledges that while the challenges are significant, the proposal is far from impossible.

However, the extensive time frame for the proposed mission introduces a possibility that nanocrafts could become outdated by the time they reach their destination. Lewis remarks, “Considering 100 years of technological advancement, can we truly predict what kind of propulsion system might exist then?”

“A mission to black holes would likely resemble this proposal, akin to how we might imagine the advancements of the 20th century, 500 years in the past,” he adds.

Lewis points out that Bambi’s plans do not address how to decelerate the nanocrafts upon arrival at the black hole. Bambi suggests that the simplest approach is to not slow the vehicle at all, but rather deploy a probe to transmit data back to the main craft for Earth delivery.

“In such scenarios, the probes won’t stop around the black hole; they will merely pass by. Some may be drawn into the black hole, which should provide sufficient data to analyze the black hole’s gravitational field,” he explains.

Sam Baron at the University of Melbourne describes Bambi’s framework as one of the most “speculative” research papers he has encountered, but notes that a century ago, the construction of the Large Hadron Collider would have seemed like science fiction.

“I believe utilizing small-scale technologies is likely the way forward,” he observes. “The question remains whether we can indeed engineer something that meets all the criteria outlined in this paper.”

Bambi emphasizes that human beings cannot personally venture to black holes due to the extreme accelerative forces—around 10,000 g—that nanocraft would need to endure. “Unless we discover a wormhole in the fabric of space-time to provide a shortcut,” he notes.

“We really need a nearby wormhole like in the movie Interstellar” to facilitate human missions,” he concludes. “Unfortunately, my assessment is that wormholes are purely theoretical at this point.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Observations Indicate OJ 287 Galaxy May Host an Ultra-Massive Black Hole Binary at Its Core

Posted on August 1, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Utilizes data from 10m space-based wireless telescopes, including Radioastron. Astronomers have formed a network of 27 ground observation stations focused on OJ 287, a galaxy approximately 5 billion light-years distant from the Cancer constellations.

This image of OJ 287 reveals the sharply curved ribbon-like structure of the plasma jet emitted from its center. Image credits: Efthalia Traianou / Heidelberg University / IWR.

“Among the different types of active galactic nuclei, BL Lacertae (BL LAC) objects are notable for their rapid, large-amplitude variability and significant polarization across multiple wavelengths due to relativistic jets aligned closely with our line of sight.”

“A standout example of this subclass is OJ 287, characterized by a redshift of z = 0.306.”

Optical observations of OJ 287 have yielded an extensive light curve extending back to the 1880s, covering nearly 150 years.

This comprehensive dataset has uncovered periodic brightness variations, featuring marked 60-year cycles and notable high-brightness flares with recurrent double peaks occurring approximately every 12 years.

These periodic changes can be attributed to the presence of a binary supermassive black hole system, where secondary supermassive black holes follow eccentric precession paths around the more massive primary.

“The level of detail in the new images allows us to see the structure of the OJ 287 Galaxy like never before,” stated Dr. Traianou.

“The images penetrate deep into the galaxy’s center, revealing the jet’s sharply curved ribbon-like structure.”

“This also provides new insights into the composition and dynamics of plasma jets.”

“Certain regions exceed temperatures of 10 trillion Kelvin, indicating the release of extreme energy and movement near the black hole.”

Astronomers have also monitored the development, dispersion, and interactions of new shock waves along the jet, linking them to energies in the range of trillions of electron volts from rare gamma-ray observations made in 2017.

Using Radioastron and 27 terrestrial observatories, they captured images of OJ 287 across the radio spectrum.

The imaging relies on measurement techniques that utilize overlapping waves related to the properties of light waves.

“Interference measurement images bolster the hypothesis that a binary supermassive black hole resides within OJ 287,” the researchers commented.

“This also offers critical insights on how these black holes influence the shape and direction of the emitted plasma jet.”

“These unique characteristics position the galaxy as an ideal candidate for further studies on black hole mergers and associated gravitational waves.”

Survey results will be published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

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E. Traianou et al. 2025. Reveal ribbon-like jets on OJ 287 via Radioastron. A&A 700, A16; doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202554929

Source: www.sci.news

Intermediate-Mass Black Hole Devours Stars in NGC 6099

Posted on July 27, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Researchers have identified a newly found intermediate mass black hole designated NGC 6099 HLX-1, situated in a dense star cluster at the edge of the elliptical galaxy NGC 6099, nearly 40,000 light-years from the galaxy’s core.

X-ray and infrared imagery of NGC 6099 HLX-1. Image credits: NASA/CXC/Inst. Astronomy, Taiwan / YC Chang / ESA / STSCI / HST / J. Depasquale.

NGC 6099 is roughly 450 million light-years distant from the constellation Hercules.

Astronomers first detected an unusual X-ray source in a photo of the galaxy captured by NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory in 2009.

This source has since been studied further with ESA’s XMM-Newton Space Observatory.

“X-ray sources exhibiting such high luminosity are uncommon outside a galaxy’s nucleus and can be significant indicators for locating elusive central black holes,” states Dr. Yi-chi Chang, an astronomer at the National Tsing Hua University.

“These objects bridge a critical gap in the understanding of black holes, linking stellar mass black holes and supermassive black holes.”

The X-ray emissions from NGC 6099 HLX-1 reach a temperature of 3 million degrees, which aligns with events of tidal disruption.

Utilizing the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers discovered signs of a small cluster of stars encircling the black hole.

This cluster feasts on matter as the stars are densely grouped, just a few months away (approximately 500 billion miles).

The intriguing intermediate mass black hole peaked in brightness in 2012, after which its luminosity steadily decreased until 2023.

However, the optical and X-ray observations across this timeframe do not align, complicating interpretation.

The black hole may have disrupted captured stars, creating a plasma disk that exhibits variability, or it might have birthed a disk that flickers as gas spirals inward.

“If an intermediate mass black hole is consuming a star, how long does it take to digest the gas?” questions Dr. Roberto Soria, an astronomer from the National Institute of Astrophysics in Italy.

“In 2009, HLX-1 was relatively bright. By 2012, it was approximately 100 times brighter, but then its brightness declined again.”

. “Now, we need to observe and see if it enters multiple cycles and identify any peaks in activity.

The researchers stress the importance of examining central mass black holes to reveal the origins of larger supermassive black holes.

Two alternative theories are suggested. One posits that large galaxies grow by merging with other substantial galaxies, positioning intermediate mass black holes as components that help formulate even larger black holes. Intermediate mass black holes in galactic centers also expand during these collisions.

Hubble’s observations indicated a correlation: the larger the galaxy, the larger the black holes residing within. One fresh insight from this discovery suggests that galaxies may host intermediate mass black holes, existing within the halos of galaxies without necessarily spiraling toward the center.

Another theory suggests that gas clouds in primordial dark matter halos might collapse directly into supermassive black holes without first forming stars.

Observations indicating Webb’s distant black holes often appear disproportionately large compared to their host galaxies lend support to this hypothesis.

However, since smaller sizes are elusive, there may exist an observational bias toward detecting very large black holes in the early universe.

In truth, there’s considerable diversity in the methods by which black holes are generated in our dynamic universe.

Ultra-massive black holes collapsing within dark matter may evolve distinctly from those within dwarf galaxies, where accretion could be the primary growth mechanism.

“If fortune favors you, you might spot a wandering black hole suddenly brightening in X-rays due to a tidal disruption event,” Dr. Soria remarked.

“Conducting statistical studies will elucidate the frequency of these intermediate mass black holes, how often they consume stars, and the mechanisms by which galaxies have expanded through the amalgamation of smaller galaxies.”

Survey findings were published in the Astrophysical Journal.

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Yi-chi Chang et al. 2025. Multi-wavelength studies of high-light X-ray sources near NGC6099: A powerful IMBH candidate. APJ 983, 109; doi:10.3847/1538-4357/adbbee

Source: www.sci.news

Celebrating Queer Black Joy: TikTok Creators Quiz Pop Stars and Politicians on LGBTQ+ Culture

Posted on July 26, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

ANania Williams is Genress, known to some for their comedic TikTok videos and to others as the host of Gader, a viral show focusing on queer culture, history, and current events. Their interview with New York City mayoral candidate Zoran Mamdani gained significant attention, and Williams has also made an impact through performance art, including open icons like Chapel Lawn and Bob the Drug Queen, and various roles in musical theatre such as Laura in Kinky Boots and Dominique in Lucky Stiff.

For years, Williams has crafted a creative universe all their own. At just 25, this gender non-conforming Black artist employs their/her pronouns and has cultivated a strong social media presence with over 2.8 million followers. They are carving a niche for themselves outside the traditional binary. In their upcoming project, Williams will star in the new musical Saturday Church at the New York Theatre Workshop, debuting on August 27th. The production explores the sanctuary for LGBTQ+ youth. “It’s a musical that captures a unique atmosphere,” Williams remarked. “It embodies a strange, black joy and conveys a beautiful message.”

Williams embraces another role in their burgeoning theatre career as a trans woman. “The more I embraced my transition, the more positive I felt,” they shared. “It was empowering to inhabit spaces where I could truly be myself.” Their talent and charisma make their ascent seem almost predestined. As they juggle various projects, navigating their extensive future and the complexities of being an online presence remains an ongoing challenge.

Growing Up

Growing up in Davenport, Iowa, a town of about 100,000 in the industrial Midwest, posed its own challenges for Williams. They faced bullying at school for “having a girl’s name,” and their family life was marked by turbulence, including abuse and neglect. However, life in the Midwest also planted the seeds for their artistic aspirations. As a child, they sang in the church choir and later joined the show choir, inspired by their sister.

Williams pursued a Musical Theatre Program at Emerson College in Boston. This period became pivotal, allowing them to reflect on their identity and desires. Still, the world of musical theatre presented its own binaries and constraints. As someone who identifies outside traditional gender norms and as a Black individual, Williams felt restricted. “I thought, ‘It feels forbidden to exist beyond the gender binary,’ and simultaneously to be Black,” Williams recalled.

Even as Williams sought to carve their path, they encountered resistance from professors. “They kept questioning why I gravitated toward ‘girl’s songs.’ I tried to explain, but it fell flat,” Williams shared.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Williams returned to their hometown and, like many, awaited a return to normalcy. The quarantine period prompted significant reflection and helped them fully acknowledge their gender identity. “I had to confront some truths, like, ‘Yes, I’m different. Yes, I might be gender non-conforming.’ It spiraled from there,” they recounted.

Around the same time, they began creating content on TikTok, quickly gaining recognition for their humorous rants during late-night walks. Much of their content served as spontaneous commentary on topics including religion and personal relationships. In 2022, they began discussing their gender identity more openly, sharing videos about their makeup and drag routines.

Reflecting on that time evokes mixed emotions for Williams. On one hand, they cherish the growth they experienced alongside a loyal audience. “My audience has been with me through my evolution,” they expressed. “They watched me put on makeup for the first time or try on my first wig. Those supporters motivate me to continue, even as I sometimes wish to revert to the earlier version of myself.”

The Rise of Gader

The nature of their content has continually evolved. In 2024, Williams became the host of Gader, a show created by Amelia Montooth on the company’s mutual media platform. The show quizzes various guests on queer culture to determine if they exhibit “straight, homophobic” tendencies, with questions about “lipstick lesbians” that assess guest knowledge of gay icons. In many instances, Williams learns alongside participants in real time. “I didn’t even know who Sue Bird was, and I was being schooled by the lesbians on the street.”

The show creates a comedic environment intended to educate audiences. “We weave fascinating histories and cultures into accessible questions and snippets, ensuring a relaxed atmosphere for learning,” Williams explained. “We provide facts and context, urging viewers to care about these narratives.”

Initially, early versions of the show featured Williams interacting with strangers on the street, but it has since hosted many public figures and celebrities, including Vivienne Jenna Wilson, the daughter of singer Lucy Dux, Rene Rapp, and billionaire Elon Musk. A highlight was having progressive NYC mayoral candidate Mamdani as one of their guests, who generated buzz as one of the first politicians to appear on the show. Mamdani surprised attendees by succeeding in a challenge at a popular lesbian bar in Manhattan.

“He was so open and engaging throughout,” Williams noted. “We educated the younger audience about who he is, and he spoke about his vision,” they added. “It feels rewarding to contribute to the contemporary discourse in this way, knowing we’re making an impact.”

Williams’ journey hasn’t been without challenges, facing harsh criticism as they have become more vocal about their transition. “People are trying to categorize aspects like fashion, makeup, and hair, as if I must adhere to certain stereotypes,” Williams said, referring to online trolls. “While I hope society is becoming more accustomed to the presence of trans individuals, I feel there’s still a narrow, stereotypical vision of what trans identities should look like.”

Yet, Williams has managed to maintain genuine connections, alongside the trials of their journey. They are supported by family and childhood friends, a partner, and acquaintances from TikTok. Outside content creation, they indulge in hobbies like baking and gaming, steering clear of the pressures to monetize their life. “I was working on a birthday cake for a friend later that night,” Williams laughed. “I can recall the color but not the flavor—either red velvet or strawberry!”

Source: www.theguardian.com

Astrophysicists Identify Gravitational Waves from the Largest Black Hole Mergers Recorded to Date

Posted on July 16, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The twin detectors of the NSF’s Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) have made a groundbreaking discovery by detecting the highest composite mass recorded to date and the merger of two black holes. This event, identified as GW231123 and discovered on November 23, 2023, produced a final black hole with a mass over 225 times that of the Sun.

GW231123 An infographic detailing the merger of black holes. Image credits: Simona J. Miller/Caltech.

LIGO made history in 2015 with the first direct detection of gravitational waves, the ripples in spacetime.

In that instance, the waves were generated by the merger of black holes, culminating in a black hole with a mass 62 times that of our Sun.

The signal was simultaneously detected by LIGO’s twin detectors located in Livingston, Louisiana, and Hanford, Washington.

Since then, the LIGO team has collaborated with partners from Italy’s Virgo detectors and Japan’s KAGRA to create the LVK collaboration.

These detectors have collectively observed over 200 black hole mergers during their fourth observational run since starting in 2015.

Previously, the largest black hole merger recorded was in 2021 during the event GW190521, which had a total mass of 140 times that of the Sun.

During the GW231123 event, a black hole with a mass of 225 was formed by merging two black holes, one approximately 100 times and the other 140 times the mass of the Sun.

This discovery places it in a rare category known as intermediate mass black holes, which are heavier than those resulting from star collapses but significantly lighter than the supermassive black holes found at the centers of galaxies.

In addition to their substantial mass, these merged black holes exhibited rapid rotation.

“This is the largest black hole binary we’ve observed in gravitational waves and poses a significant challenge to our understanding of black hole formation,” stated Dr. Mark Hannam, an astrophysicist at Cardiff University and a member of the LVK collaboration.

“The existence of such a large black hole defies standard stellar evolution models.”

“One potential explanation is that the two black holes in this binary could have formed from the merger of smaller black holes.”

“This observation highlights how gravitational waves uniquely uncover the fundamental and exotic properties of black holes throughout the universe,” remarked Dr. Dave Reitze, executive director of LIGO at Caltech.

Researchers announced this week the discovery of GW231123, which will be discussed at the 24th International Conference on General Relativity and Gravity (GR24) and the 16th Edoardo Amaldi Meeting on Gravitational Waves, held jointly at the Gr-Amaldi Meeting in Glasgow, Scotland.

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LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration. GW231123: The largest black hole binary detected by gravitational waves. Gr-Amaldi 2025

Source: www.sci.news

LIGO Uncovers the Most Massive Black Hole Collision Ever Recorded

Posted on July 14, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Illustration of black hole merger

Shutterstock / Jurik Peter

New records for black holes have transformed our understanding of the universe’s most extreme entities.

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) began its groundbreaking detection of gravitational waves—ripples in the fabric of spacetime—ten years ago, unveiling nearly 100 black hole collisions. On November 23, 2023, Rigo announced receiving a signal described as “an extraordinary interpretation that defies explanation.” According to Sophie Binnie from the California Institute of Technology, her team ultimately concluded that it corresponded to the largest black hole merger ever recorded.

One of the merging black holes was approximately 100 times the mass of the sun, while the other neared 140 solar masses. Previous records featured black holes that were almost half as massive, primarily due to earlier mergers. Team member Mark Hannam from Cardiff University, UK, emphasized that these black holes were not only immense but also spinning at such high speeds that they challenged mathematical models of the universe regarding their formation.

According to Hannam, the masses of these black holes exceed those typically formed from the collapse of aging stars, suggesting they likely resulted from earlier mergers between smaller black holes. “It’s possible that multiple mergers have occurred,” he notes.

“A decade ago, we were astonished to find black holes around 30 solar masses. Now, we observe black holes over 100 solar masses,” adds Davide Gerosa from the University of Bicocca in Milan, Italy. He mentions that gravitational wave signals from these large, quickly rotating black holes are shorter and consequently more challenging to detect. Binnie presented her findings at the Edoardo Amaldi Conference on Gravitational Waves in Glasgow, England, on July 14.

Both Hannam and Binnie emphasize that future observations of similarly remarkable mergers are essential to further decipher these new signals, including unraveling the origins of black holes. As upgrades progress, LIGO is expected to detect more cosmic record-breakers. Yet, in May, the Trump administration proposed halving resources at the facility, which, in Hannam’s opinion, could render capturing new signals exceedingly difficult.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Bright Seifert Galaxy’s Ultra-Massive Black Hole Exhibits Signs of “Overeating”

Posted on June 18, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

In a new research paper published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, astronomers from the University of Leicester explain for the first time how the “excessive diet” of fresh material in black holes has led to emissions reaching nearly a third of the speed of light.

This image illustrates Seyfert Galaxy PG1211+143. Image credits: Centre Donna Astromyk destrasbourg/Sinbad/SDSS.

The intense outflow of ionized gases has raised significant concerns at the ESA’s XMM-Newton X-ray observatory since its initial detection by University of Leicester astronomers in 2001, now recognized as a distinctive trait of the luminous active galactic nuclei (AGNs).

Professor Ken Pound and Dr. Kim Page from Leicester remarked:

“The black hole’s size increases with its mass, with a solar mass black hole having a radius of about 3 km.”

“Stellar mass black holes are prevalent across galaxies, often forming from the dramatic collapse of massive stars; however, ultra-massive black holes can be found in the nuclei of almost all galaxies except the smallest external ones.”

In 2014, astronomers undertook a five-week investigation of an ultra-massive black hole in the distant Seyfert Galaxy PG1211+143, located approximately 1.2 billion light-years from the constellation Coma Berenices.

Utilizing ESA’s XMM-Newton Observatory, they observed counter-inflows, accumulating at least 10 Earth masses near the black hole.

In their latest study, they detected a powerful new outflow traveling at 0.27 times the speed of light, initiated shortly thereafter. The gravitational energy released as material is drawn into the black hole is heated to millions of degrees, producing an overwhelming radiant pressure.

“Establishing a direct causal relationship between significant, temporary inflows and the resulting outflows offers an exciting perspective for observing the growth of supermassive black holes through continuous monitoring of the hot relativistic winds linked with new material accretion,” stated Professor Pound.

“PG1211+143 has been the focus of University of Leicester X-ray astronomers using ESA’s XMM-Newton Observatory since its launch in December 1999.”

“Initial findings surprisingly revealed a counterflow of rapid movements, reaching 15% of the speed of light (0.15c), affecting stellar formation (and consequently the growth) of the host galaxy.”

“Subsequent observations have shown that such winds are a common characteristic of bright AGNs.”

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Ken Pounds & Kim Page. 2025. Observations of the Eddington-style outflow from the bright Seyfert Galaxy PG1211+143. mnras 540(3): 2530-2534; doi: 10.1093/mnras/staf637

Source: www.sci.news

Nature Unveils the “Black Box” of Science by Releasing Peer Review Files

Posted on June 17, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Nature of science journals aims to highlight the complexities of academic publishing.

In an editorial released on Monday, the journal revealed it will include a peer review file with the papers it plans to publish. This will grant reviewers insight into the behind-the-scenes process where authors respond to revisions.

Publishing peer review files has been an option in Nature since 2020, but as of Monday, it has become a standard practice.

“Our goal is to demystify what many refer to as the ‘black box’ of science and clarify how research papers are developed. This aims to enhance transparency and foster trust in the scientific process. We believe that publishing peer reviewer reports enriches scientific communication and contextualizes how results and conclusions are reached.”

Opening the peer review process is becoming increasingly common among scientific journals, but Nature stands out as one of the largest and most influential in adopting this practice.

Peer review occurs once scientific research is submitted to a reputable journal, where field experts evaluate the work for issues such as flawed inferences, poor research practices, and data errors. These external experts provide feedback to journal editors and authors, known as the Judge Report.

“Peer review enhances the quality of the paper,” the editorial states. “The dialogue between authors and reviewers should be regarded as a significant component of the scientific record, crucial to research andits dissemination.”

Nature’s updated process automatically publishes judge reports and author responses. Journal practices evolve particularly when public trust in science wanes; a Pew Research Center poll indicates that trust in scientists fell approximately 10 percentage points from 2019 to 2024, with only 45% of Americans considering scientists to be effective communicators.

Michael Eisen, a former editor of the scientific journal Elife and a proponent of reforming the scientific publishing process, believes Nature’s decision marks a significant step towards greater transparency in the field.

“It’s valuable for the public to witness the process,” Eisen stated. “Much of the criticism stems from misunderstanding, which often arises from a lack of transparency surrounding scientific processes.”

Eisen suggests this move could help skeptics recognize the rigorous scrutiny applied to critical topics.

“For instance, if people observe the thorough examination vaccine-related studies undergo, it can help them better understand and assess the context of scientific findings,” Eisen noted.

At the same time, this transparency may help to mitigate the sensationalism often associated with striking findings.

“It may help dispel the notion that once a paper is published, it is infallible and that all questions have been resolved,” Eisen added.

He also mentioned that Nature could publish reviewer comments on manuscripts that were ultimately rejected.

“The truly transformative step would be to disclose reviews for all submitted papers,” Eisen remarked. “While it’s insightful to understand the questions raised in reviews of accepted papers, it is equally important to see why certain papers were rejected by the journal.”

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Milky Way Black Holes Could Be Rotating at Their Limit

Posted on June 17, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Image of Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy

EHT

SEI 255742397 — Image of Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy

EHT

At the core of our Galaxy lies an extraordinary rotating entity: a black hole that appears to be spinning near its maximum velocity.

Michael Jansen from Radboud University in the Netherlands and his team investigated black holes in the center of the Milky Way, specifically Sagittarius A*, utilizing data gathered by a collective network known as the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). To tackle the intricacies of the data, they opted for artificial intelligence methods.

Initially, they simulated approximately one million black holes using established mathematical models, a computational endeavor that necessitated millions of hours on supercomputers. These simulations served as training data for a type of AI known as neural networks, enabling them to assess the properties of black holes based on empirical observations. Subsequently, they fed the AI with data on Sagittarius A* collected by the EHT throughout 2017.

The AI determined that Sagittarius A* is rotating at 80-90% of its theoretical maximum speed. It also indicated to the researchers that none of the currently available magnetic field models adequately describe the characteristics of this black hole, highlighting the need for additional mathematical modeling. Janssen notes that earlier studies had merely narrowed down the potential characteristics of Sagittarius A*, such as its rotation speed and surrounding magnetic fields, while this new methodology has refined those estimates.

Dimitrios Psaltis from Georgia Tech in Atlanta remarked that some of the findings were unexpectedly counterintuitive. Previous analyses had not clarified whether black hole spins could be accurately discerned from EHT data.

While earlier research suggested that Sagittarius A* might be spinning at significant speeds,
Mizuno Yuishi from Zhejiang University in Shanghai, China, noted that there is still room for enhancement in the computational models applied in this new analysis. “Our theoretical model is still not perfect,” he acknowledged.

However, both Mizuno and Psaltis agree that integrating AI into the study of exotic cosmic entities like black holes is increasingly essential. “We possess a wealth of data and numerous models, and we require a contemporary approach to merge the two,” Psaltis states. “This is precisely where machine learning proves to be transformative.”

Yet, this integration presents unique challenges, as AI work necessitates verification to mitigate potential inaccuracies and errors in subsequent analysis.

Janssen and his team have conducted numerous verification checks, including testing the AI with specially designed simulation data. They are also evaluating data from subsequent EHT operations and will be analyzing new findings from observatory results, he explains.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

New Study Reveals How Astrophysicists Can Utilize Black Holes as Superco-leaders of Particles

Posted on June 5, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

A recent study conducted by physicists at the University of Oxford, Johns Hopkins, and the Institute of Astrophysics in Paris reveals a natural process involving a gravitational particle charger that utilizes free-falling particles from infinity, matter collisions from the most stable circular orbit of rotating black holes, and a gravitational particle charger that repeatedly cycles mass energy—excluding heavy particles. In essence, this describes the Super Collider.

The artist’s concept depicts an ultra-high massive black hole in the heart of the Milky Way galaxy known as Sagittarius A*. Image credits: NASA/ESA/CSA/RALF CRAWFORD, STSCI.

Particle corridors accelerate protons and other subatomic particles towards one another at nearly the speed of light, revealing the fundamental properties of matter.

A subtle energy flash occurs upon collision, with fragments potentially unveiling previously unknown particles that may serve as candidates for dark matter—a crucial, yet elusive, component of the universe that remains undetected by scientists.

Facilities like the Large Hadron Collider also contribute to advancements in areas such as the internet, cancer therapy, and high-performance computing.

“One of the great aspirations for a particle collider like the Large Hadron Collider is to produce dark matter particles, though we have yet to find any evidence,” commented Professor Joseph Silk, an astrophysicist from Johns Hopkins University and Oxford University.

“This is why there’s ongoing dialogue about the necessity of constructing a much more powerful version for the next generation of Super Collider.”

“However, we’ve been waiting for 40 years to invest $30 billion in building this Super Collider, allowing nature to give us a glimpse into the future with supermassive black holes.”

A black hole can rotate around its axis like a planet but possesses significantly greater strength due to its intense gravitational field.

Increasingly, scientists are discovering that massive black holes rapidly spinning at the center of galaxies release enormous explosions of plasma, potentially due to jets transporting energy from the spin and surrounding accretion disks.

These phenomena can yield similar results to those produced by engineered Super Colliders.

“If ultra-high energy black holes can generate these particles through high-energy proton collisions, we could receive signals on Earth. Some high-energy particles pass through the detectors rapidly,” Professor Silk explained.

“This indicates a new particle collider effect within one of the universe’s most mysterious entities, achieving energies unattainable by any accelerator on Earth.”

“We may observe something with a unique signature believed to indicate the presence of dark matter. While this is somewhat speculative, it remains a possibility.”

New research indicates that gas falling into a black hole can harness energy from its spin, resulting in more violent behavior than previously thought.

Near rapidly spinning black holes, these particles can collide in a coordinated manner.

While not identical, this process resembles the collisions created using strong magnetic fields, where particles are accelerated in a circular high-energy particle corridor.

“Some particles from these collisions are swallowed by the black hole and vanish forever,” stated Professor Silk.

“However, due to their energy and momentum, some particles emerge, achieving unprecedented high energies.”

“We have recognized the immense energy of these particle beams, rivaling what can be produced in a Super Collider.”

“Determining the limits of this energy is challenging, but these phenomena are certainly aligned with the energy levels of the latest Super Colliders we plan to construct, providing complementary results.”

To detect such high-energy particles, scientists can utilize observatories that are already monitoring supernovae, massive black hole eruptions, and other cosmic occurrences.

These include detectors like the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the Kilometer Cube Neutrino Telescope in Antarctica.

The difference between a Super Collider and a black hole is their vast distances from one another. Nevertheless, these particles still reach us.

The team’s paper was published this week in the journal Physical Review Letters.

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Andrew Mamalie and Joseph Silk. 2025. Black Hole Super Collider. Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 221401; doi:10.1103/physrevlett.134.221401

Source: www.sci.news

Discovery of a Massive Wandering Black Hole Located 600 Million Light-Years Away

Posted on May 10, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The discovery of this superwalled black hole was made possible by the newly identified tidal disruption event, AT2024TVD.

Tidal Disruption Event AT2024TVD. Image credits: NASA/CXC/University of California, Berkeley/Yao et al. /ESA /STSCI /HST /J. DEPASQUALE.

“A tidal disruption event (TDE) occurs when stars are either stretched or ‘spaghettified’ by the immense gravitational forces of black holes,” explained UC Berkeley researcher Dr. Yuhanyao.

“The remnants of the torn-apart stars are pulled into a circular orbit around the black hole.”

“This process creates high-temperature shocks and emissions that can be detected in ultraviolet and visible light.”

The AT2024TVD event enabled astronomers to utilize the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to identify elusive wandering supermassive black holes, supported by observations from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Interestingly, these 1 million rogue black holes are often found to be supermassive and actively consuming surrounding material.

Among the roughly 100 TDEs recorded by the Light Sky Survey, this marks the first instance of an offset TDE being identified.

In fact, at the center of the host galaxy lie ultra-massive black holes differing in mass by 100 million solar masses.

Hubble’s optical precision indicates that the TDE is located just 2,600 light-years from the larger black holes at the galaxy’s core.

This distance is comparable to just one minute of the span between our Sun and the central ultra-massive black hole of the Milky Way.

The larger black hole expels energy as it accumulates material, classifying it as an active galactic nucleus.

Interestingly, the two supermassive black holes exist within the same galaxy but are not gravitationally linked like a binary pair.

Smaller black holes can potentially spiral toward the center of the galaxy, eventually merging with their larger counterparts.

However, at this point, they are too distant to be bound by gravity.

“AT2024TVD is the first offset TDE captured through optical observations, opening up new possibilities for studying this elusive population of black holes in future surveys,” Dr. Yao remarked.

“Currently, theorists have not focused extensively on offset TDEs.

“I believe this discovery will drive scientists to search for more instances of this type of event.”

The black holes responsible for AT2024TVD are traversing the bulges of gigantic galaxies.

Black holes periodically consume stars every tens of thousands of years, lying dormant until their next “meal” arrives.

How did the black hole become displaced from the center? Previous studies suggest that three-body interactions can eject lower-mass black holes from a galaxy’s core.

This theory may apply here, given its proximity to the central black hole.

“If a black hole undergoes a three-body interaction with two other black holes in the galaxy’s core, it can remain bound to the galaxy and orbit the central region,” explained Dr. Yao.

Another possibility is that these black holes are remnants from a smaller galaxy that merged with the host galaxy over a billion years ago.

In such a case, the black hole could eventually merge with the central active black hole in the distant future. As of now, astronomers remain uncertain about its trajectory.

“There is already substantial evidence that the galaxy will increase its TDE rate, but the presence of a second black hole associated with AT2024TVD suggests a past merger has occurred.”

The team’s survey results will be published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

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Yuhan Yao et al. 2025. A massive black hole located 0.8 kpc from the host nucleus. apjl in press; Arxiv: 2502.17661

Source: www.sci.news

Webb unearths proof of functioning supermassive black holes in Messier 83

Posted on April 21, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Space Telescope Sciences Scientists According to a team of astronomers led by science scientists at the Sciences, highly ionized neon gas detected in the center of the Spiral Galaxy Messier 83 by a mid-inphrase instrument (MIRI) mounted on the NASA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope.

This web image shows the Messier 83. Image credits: NASA/ESA/CSA/Webb/A. Adamo, Stockholm University/Feast JWST Team.

Messier 83 is a spiral galaxy, a magnificently designed rod 15 million light years away from the southern constellations of Hydra.

Also known as the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, M83, NGC 5236, Leda 48082, and UGCA 366, the galaxy is about twice as small as the Milky Way.

Messier 83 was like that I discovered it By French astronomer Nicholas Louis des Lacaille on February 17, 1752.

Its apparent size is 7.5, and is one of the brightest spiral galaxies in the night sky. It is the easiest way to observe using binoculars in May.

This is a prominent member of the galaxy group known as the Centaurus A/M83 group, counting the Dusty NGC 5128 (Centaurus A) and the irregular Galaxy NGC 5253.

Messier 83 has been a mystery for a long time. Large spiral galaxies often host active galactic nuclei (AGN), but astronomers have struggled to see what Messier 83 has been the case for decades.

Previous observations suggested that if a super-large black hole exists there, it must be dormant or hidden behind thick dust. However, new Webb observations reveal signs that suggest that this is not the case.

“The discovery of highly ionized neon emissions in the nucleus of the M83 was unexpected,” said Dr. Svea Hernandez, an astronomer with an ESA aura at the Institute of Space Telescope Science.

“These signatures require a lot of energy to be produced, rather than what a normal star can produce.”

“This strongly suggests the existence of a previously elusive AGN.”

“Before Webb we didn’t have the tools to detect such faintly ionized gas signatures at the nucleus of the M83.”

“Now, with incredible mid-red sensitivity, we can finally explore these hidden depths of the galaxy and uncover what we once couldn’t be seen.”

Webb’s mid-infrared observation allowed astronomers to peer into the dust and detect signs of highly ionized gases in small masses near the galactic nucleus.

The energy required to create these signatures is significantly higher than what supernovae and other great processes can offer, making AGN the most likely explanation.

However, alternative scenarios such as extreme shock waves in interstellar media are still under investigation.

“Webb is revolutionizing understanding of galaxies,” says Dr. Linda Smith, an astronomer at The Space Telescope Science Institute.

“For years, astronomers have been searching for the M83 black hole without success. Now we have compelling clues that could finally exist.”

“This finding shows how Webb is making unexpected breakthroughs.”

“Astronomers thought they had ruled out AGN on the M83, but now there is fresh evidence that they will challenge past assumptions and open new paths for exploration.”

Survey results It will be displayed in Astrophysical Journal.

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Svea Hernandez et al. 2025. JWST/MIRI detection [Ne v] and [Ne vi] M83: Evidence of a long-required active galactic nucleus? APJ 983, 154; doi:10.3847/1538-4357/adba5d

Source: www.sci.news

Do black holes come in pairs?

Posted on April 21, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

When you like giant objects Neutron Star and Black Hole Merge or when Supernova If it explodes in a far distance of space, it creates a final product smaller than an object that collides or erupts. The mass they lose is converted to energy according to Einstein’s famous equation E = MC2 Moves in the form of distortions in space. Scientists call these distortions Gravity wavesand they can indirectly detect them by studying how waves interfere with the observation of other distant objects, or directly interfere in facilities such as Laser interferometer gravitational wave astronomy Or ligo.

Scientists working on the Ligo project have discovered that most of the gravitational waves they detect come from the fusion of two black holes. However, these scientists don’t know how these pairs of black holes converge. So far, they have two broad theories about how this happens. The first is when a large star transforms into a black hole, drifting in close proximity due to the complexity of pushing and pulling other nearby objects. These duos are called It was formed dynamically Binary pair. The second is that two giant stars begin their lives in binary pairs before transitioning to a pair of black holes. These duos are called It is formed primitively Binary pair. Scientists cannot use LIGO data to distinguish between these two types of black holes. Can only be detected if integrated. Therefore, there are other ways to know how they merged.

A team of astrophysicists at Cardiff University used a series of computer simulations to test tests that the theory of black hole mergers is likely to reflect the real world. They use the astrophysical collision modeling code PETAR to group or cluster Stars, including black holes pioneers, have evolved over millions of years, and which scenarios have led to the merger of black holes.

The team created 35 model star clusters that vary by size, with a total mass of 1,000,000 times the total mass of the sun’s mass of all constituent stars, how close the stars are, and the percentage of the non-helium-helium-like elements of helium called hydrogen or helium. Metallic. They determined the size of a particular star within these clusters using statistical distributions ranging from 0.08 to 150 times the mass of the sun. Next, we divide the specific variations of cluster size, star density, and metallicity into two model versions. One had no primitive binary pairs, and the other had more than 20 times the sun’s binary companions.

Researchers looked for general trends in how the simulation progressed. They discovered four million years later that the first black hole formed from the largest star was a pair of binary black holes and black holes stars. Simulations using primitively formed pairs showed that binary black holes formed faster around the same time as the first black holes appeared. In simulations without primitively formed pairs, binary pairs still appeared through dynamic processes, but only after millions of years it was at the very heart of a star cluster. In both simulations, the clusters discharged many of the binary black holes on a sufficiently long timescale and quickly integrated.

Final statistical analysis of 35 model star clusters showed that, unless there are large binary stars when formed in star clusters, the majority of black hole mergers come from primitive binary pairs. They also found no clear relationships between how large and dense the star cluster was and the number of dynamic mergers it generated. Dynamic mergers are relatively rare, but we saw how frequently metals in star clusters occurred. They also reported that a small portion of the merged black hole pairs are part of a larger group of three or four black holes!

The team admitted that they rely on a model of binary star evolution, where their outcomes remain uncertain. However, their conclusions argued that many astrophysicists challenged the core assumption that the most detected black holes merged from large, dense clusters of stars. By showing that primitive binaries are the dominant source of mergers, and knowing that most stars form in small clusters, they argued that most ligo detections are likely to come from small star clusters in the distance of the universe.

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Source: sciworthy.com

New optical devices that imitate black and white gravity holes created recently

Posted on April 19, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

In general theory of relativity, the white holes in gravity are virtual regions of space that cannot be entered from the outside. It is the opposite of a black hole where light and information cannot escape. Researchers from the University of Southampton, Nanyan University of Technology, and Texas A&M University have created optical devices that show intriguing similarities to these objects. The device will either fully absorb the wavelength (optical black hole) or completely reject (optical hole) light, depending on the polarization.

Between the double prism devices with thin film, they appear as a dark light absorbing surface – mimicking a black hole of gravity. Image credit: Nina Vaidia, University of Southampton.

The newly developed device acts as an optical black hole or an optical hole hole and is based on a principle known as coherent complete absorption.

Relying on polarization, this optical device is able to absorb or reject light almost completely, similar to the behavior of gravity black or white holes in space.

This device works by forming a rising wave from an incident light wave. This wave interacts with the ultra-thin absorber, leading to complete absorption or transmission based on the polarization of the light.

Simply put, it behaves like an object of the universe that swallows or repels light.

“Sphere phenomena, especially black holes, have captivated human imagination and exploratory plots for generations,” said Professor Nina Vaidia of the University of Southampton.

“Analog is a way of accessing physics, especially in distant objects such as black holes, as aspects of mathematical frameworks and physical principles are repeated in a surprising way in some systems.

“We present the concept of optical black and white holes that deterministically absorb almost all of the light in one polarization, while rejecting orthogonal polarization.”

“It relies on an experimental demonstration of the complete absorption of broadband coherent in compact devices enabled by spatial coherence and interference, while polarization sensitivity is acquired from the geometric phase of the interfering beam.”

The team’s proof-of-concept experiments show that the optical device manipulates electromagnetic waves in a way that reflects the behavior of gravitational black and white holes.

The simulation shows no reflection from the black hole analog device and the formation of standing waves due to incident interference and reflected light in the white hole.

The results can illuminate fascinating insights and possibilities for manipulating the interaction of light and matter, enabling a wide range of practical applications.

“Our optical devices can be employed as analogues to study and explore the physics of these far-flung astronomical phenomena. Or, in fact, they can provide a practical framework for several potential applications for tailoring electromagnetic waves and enhancing lighting interactions such as detection, energy conversion, multispectral camouflage, and stealth technology.

Team’s work Published in the journal Advanced Photonics.

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Eric Plum et al. 2025. Optical analogue of black and white gravity holes. Advanced Photonics 7 (2): 025001; doi: 10.1117/1.ap.7.2.025001

Source: www.sci.news

Exploring Dark Themes: How Black Mirror Pushes Boundaries in Gaming Magazines of the 1990s

Posted on April 14, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

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UT for all episodes of Black Mirror’s seventh season is a play thing that stands out from me, and I’m suspicious of anyone else who played video games in the 1990s. It tells the story of Cameron Walker, a socially troublesome freelance game journalist. Cameron Walker steals the code to a new virtual pet sim named Thronglets from a developer intended to interview. When he returns home from the game, he discovers that the cute, intelligent little creature he cares for on-screen has darker ambitions than simply playing for his entertainment.

The episodes are interesting to me. But more importantly, too, did Charlie Brooker. He began his career writing satirical features and ferocious reviews of PC Zone Magazine, one of the perpetually fighting PC Mags of the era (I shared the office with other PC Gamers). In Plaything, it is the PC zone written by Cameron Walker, with several scenes taking place in the office. The program depicts it as a reasonably adult office space with an organized computer workstation and huge windows. I don’t think the production design team has gained this vision from Brooker.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/sJ7tXCvTfWE?wmode=opaque&feature=oembed" title="Black Mirror: Thronglets | Official Launch Trailer | Netflix" height="480" width="854" allowfullscreen="

“The zone had a much less corporate workplace feel than the episode showed, and it had the feel of a youth club and nightclub for children in the basement,” says Paul Presley, who worked in the PC Zone at the time. “It was just a handful of messy, messy desks stuck in the windowless basement office around Oxford Street (later Tottenham Court Road) and were killed because of floor-to-ceiling windows! on CD.”

For journalistic thoroughness, I also contacted Richie Shoemaker, a graduate of another PC Zone, for his recollections. “There were windows along one side, but they were below street level and are smudged with London stains,” he says. “Silles was breaking dusty magazines, broken joysticks, empty game boxes. It was a permanent night in the best parts of eight years.”

Children in the Underground… Mid-1990s PC Zone Magazine Office Photo: Richie Shoemaker

This episode was more accurate in the game itself. The first scene in the office shows Cam playing Doom when the editor appears. He shows the front cover of the latest issue of the magazine with system shocks on the cover. Then ask Cameron if he has finished his review of Bruflog’s classic adventure game Magic Carpet. “[Plaything] It’s a good thing on the timeline,” says Shoemaker. “Of course, playing Doom in the office was the norm. When I joined the team’s earthquake, it was a death-death at lunch and work. Magic Carpet reviews. did It was featured in the question after System Shock (which was actually Charlie’s first cover review), but it went from 93% to 96%, written by Launch Editor Paul Lakin, who continued to work in foreign offices. ” He also believes that the old editor of the episode’s Grizzled might have been inspired by then-associated editor Chris Anderson. Shoemaker believes that “he was a rather vampire character who seemed to be present in Tobacco and Ultima’s online diet.”

What appeals to me is the origin of inspiration for the Thronglets Virtual Pet game. Most reviewers refer to Tamagotchi, the keychain pet toy that stormed the world in the late 90s. Brooker himself refers to it in an interview. But the much more likely candidate was the 1996 title creature, with players caring for cute creatures for generations. It looked like a cute pet game, but it was actually a very sophisticated experiment in artificial life, created by cyberlife technology that clearly sounds sci-fi. Players had to try to establish breeding groups of creatures known as Norns, but their control was limited as they were encoded in advanced neural networks and functioned internal body systems that regulate behavior and physical abilities. Cyberlife has created a great deal of the complexity and experimental nature of the game. The box comes with a warning sticker that says “digital DNA is surrounded by” and the blurb in the back warned players that it would unleash the world’s first artificial life science experiment.

Cuteer than it looks… a creature. Photo: CyberLife Technologies

Creature creator Steve Grand has similarities with Play Things (and Vander Snatch) coder Colin Rittman. He was a programmer who was tired of traditional games and wanted to try something very new. He went on to write books about creatures and their development, creation, that is, life and how to make them, and later became an internationally famous robotist and developed the famous robot orangutan. Certainly the most black mirror career trajectory ever. In 2011 he began working on a mental follow-up to a creature named Grandroids. Thronglets was to develop a race for intelligent AI aliens. Grand launched Kickstarter in 2016. Fantasy. Everything is very interesting.

This is one of the things I like about Black Mirrors, and it’s actually the use of technology and video games in traditional dramas. This is an inexplicable world filled with quirky people that no one outside the industry has ever heard of, but it has a huge impact on the toys they make. Personally, I wanted to see more PC zones, as imagined in the program, but I understand that ominous flocks are the real focus. Maybe one day there will be a Silicon Valley-style drama series about the 1990s gaming industry. It was hell. For now, it’s interesting to see both Brooker and me living in a world that is used as a venue for dystopian fiction.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Astronomers report powerful winds of materials from central black hole in NGC 4945

Posted on April 12, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Astronomers using the Muse Instrument with ESO’s extremely large telescope (VLT) detected ultra-large black hole-driven winds with the Burred Spiral Galaxy NGC 4945.

This image shows NGC 4945, a spiral galaxy that exceeds 12 million light-years in the constellation of Centaurus. The super-large black hole-driven wind of the NGC 4945 is shown in red in the inset. Image credits: ESO/Marconcini et al.

NGC 4945 It is more than 12 million light years away from Earth, the constellation of Centaurus.

Otherwise known as the Caldwell 83. That’s what this galaxy was like I discovered it by James Dunlop, the Sottsch astronomer in 1826.

NGC 4945 hosts one of the closest active, ultra-large black holes to Earth.

“At the heart of almost every galaxy, they are very large black holes,” the ESO astronomer explained in a statement.

“Some people are not particularly hungry, as they are in the heart of our own Milky Way.”

“However, the super-large black hole in NGC 4945 is greedy and consumes a huge amount of problems.”

Astronomers have studied the ultra-high Massive black holes of the NGC 4945 using the Muse Instrument, an ESO’s extremely large telescope (VLT).

“Contrary to the all-consuming reputation typical of black holes, this messy eater is blowing away the powerful winds of ingredients,” they said.

“This cone-shaped wind is shown in red in the inset and is covered in a wider image taken with La Silla’s MPG/ESO telescope.”

“In fact, this wind moves so fast that it completely escapes the galaxy, giving in to space in intergalactic space.”

“This is part of a new study measuring how the wind moves in several nearby galaxies,” they added.

“Muse’s observations show that these incredibly fast winds show strange behavior. They actually speed up far from the central black hole, and accelerate even further on their journey to the outskirts of the galaxy.”

“This process suggests that black holes control the fate of the host galaxy by ejecting potential star-forming material from the galaxy and attenuating the star’s fertility.”

“It also shows that more powerful black holes can hamper their own growth by removing the gas and dust they feed, bringing the entire system closer to a kind of galactic equilibrium.”

“Now, these new results bring us one step closer to understanding the mechanisms of wind acceleration that are responsible for galaxy evolution and the history of the universe.”

Survey results It will be displayed in the journal Natural Astronomy.

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C. Marconcini et al. Evidence of rapid acceleration of AGN-driven winds at the Kiloparsec scale. Nut Athlonreleased on March 31, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41550-025-02518-6

Source: www.sci.news

Exploring the Potential for a Black Hole’s Singularity to Herald a Fresh Start: Research

Posted on March 12, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

According to a new study by a physicist at the University of Sheffield and a certified officer at the University of Madrid, black holes can migrate into white holes, eject matter, and even return to space.

Steffen Gielen & Lucía Menéndez-Pidal Research Quantum dynamics of planar black holes require the unification of conjugation of natural time coordinates. Image credit: Sci.News.

According to Einstein's general theory of relativity, anyone trapped within a black hole falls towards the center and is destroyed by immeasurable gravity.

Known as a singularity, the center is a point where the problem of the giant star, thought to have collapsed to form a black hole, is crushed by an infinitely small point.

This singularity breaks down understanding of physics and time.

New research, a fundamental theory that uses the laws of quantum mechanics to explain the nature of the universe at the level of atoms and even smaller particles, proposes a fundamentally different theoretical perspective that may represent a new beginning, rather than a singularity that means an end.

“It is said that black holes often suck everything including time, but new papers theorize that white holes act inversely, bringing energy and time back into space,” said Dr. Stephen Gillen of the University of Sheffield and Dr. Lucia Menendez Pidal of Madrid's compliant university.

In their work, the authors use a simplified theoretical model of black holes known as planar black holes.

Unlike typical spherical black holes, the boundaries of planar black holes are flat, two-dimensional surfaces.

Researchers' research suggests that the same mechanism may also apply to typical black holes.

“It has long been a question of whether quantum mechanics can change the understanding of black holes and provide insight into their essence,” Dr. Gielen said.

“In quantum mechanics, it's the time when we understand that systems can't end because they change and evolve permanently.”

The scientists' findings use the laws of quantum mechanics to show how the singularities of black holes can be replaced by a large area of quantum fluctuation that does not end space and time – a region of small temporary changes in spatial energy. Instead, space and time move into a new phase called the Whitehall. So the white holes may start to take time.

“It is generally thought to be related to observers, but in our research it comes from the mysterious dark energy that permeates the entire universe,” Dr. Gielen said.

“We propose that time is all over the universe and is measured by dark energy responsible for its current expansion.”

“This is an important new idea that will allow you to understand what happens within a black hole.”

In this study, physicists use dark energy almost as a reference point, and as a complementary idea that allows energy and time to be measured from one another.

In appetite, the theory that what we perceive as a singularity is actually beginning suggests the existence of something even more enigmatic on the other side of the white hole.

“Hypossibly, an observer (a hypothetical entity) can pass through a black hole, through what we consider singularity, and appear on the other side of the white hole. It's a very abstract concept of an observer, but in theory it can happen,” Dr. Gielen said.

Team's paper It was published in the journal this week Physical Review Letter.

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Steffen Gielen & Lucía Menéndez-Pidal. 2025. Black hole singularity resolution in monopolar gravity from uniformity. Phys. Pastor Rett 134, 101501; doi: 10.1103/physrevlett.134.101501

Source: www.sci.news

Astronomers Detect Compelling Evidence of Supermassive Black Holes in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Posted on March 7, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The mass of the ultra-large black hole in the heart of the large Magellan cloud, a small milky satellite galaxy, is approximately 600,000 solar mass.

Impressions of the Hyper Belt Lattist artist ejected from the large Magellan cloud (shown on the right). If the binary star system gets too close to an ultra-large number of black holes, intense gravity will tear the pair apart. One star is captured in tight orbits around a black hole, while the other is thrown outward at extreme speeds – often exceeding thousands of kilometers per second, making it a high-speed star. The inset diagram illustrates this process. The orbital path of the original binary is displayed as an interwoven line, one star is captured by a black hole (near the center of the inset), and the other is ejected into space (bottom right). Image credit: CFA/Melissa Weiss.

“Our Milky Way galaxy halo includes a few stars running faster than local escape speeds in orbit that carry them into intergalactic space,” said Dr. Jesse Han, Ph.D. of the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Colleagues.

“One mechanism for generating such ultrafast stars is the Hills mechanism. When a close binary star wanders near an ultrahigh Massive black hole, one star can be captured, while the other is ejected at a rate that reaches more than a second.”

In their new study, astronomers followed the path with ultrafine accuracy of 21 superfast stars in halos outside the Milky Way.

They confidently categorized these stars, finding that seven of them coincided with those born out of the center of the Milky Way.

However, the other nine stars coincided with those born from the centre of the large Magellan cloud, about 160,000 light years away from us.

“Cosmologically speaking, it's amazing to notice another super-large black hole just below the block,” Dr. Han said.

“Black holes are so stealthy that this has been under our noses this time.”

Researchers discovered a large Magellanic Cloud black hole using data from ESA's Gaia Mission.

They also used improved understanding of the orbital of the d-star galaxies around the Milky Way, which was recently obtained by other astronomers.

“We knew these superfast stars had been around for a while, but Gaia provided us with the data we needed to figure out where they actually came from,” says Dr. Kareem El-Badry, an astronomer at Caltech.

“Combining these data with a new theoretical model of how these stars move, we made this incredible discovery.”

“The only explanation we can come up with for these data is the presence of a monster black hole in the next Galaxy,” said Dr. Scott Lucchini, an astronomer at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

a paper Reporting this finding is published in Astrophysical Journal.

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Ji Won Jesse Han et al. 2025. Hyper Belt Lattist tracks ultra-high Massive black holes in the large Magellan clouds. APJin press; Arxiv: 2502.00102

Source: www.sci.news

The environmentally friendly black wood-scented hair conditioner

Posted on February 21, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The conditioner for the black hair on the left comes from the wooden powder on the right

Feng Shui King/Stockholm University

This sustainable wood-based hair conditioner may smell pure white and peat-like, but its creators suggest that the tests may work similarly to commercial products. They claim that it could become a future for hair care.

“We use the power of nature.” Ievgen Pylypchuk At Stockholm University in Sweden. “We combine high-level science with old traditions… [to] Get something really cool: simple, convenient, and very effective. ”

Pylypchuk and his colleagues used lignin, a polymer, a central component of wood and bark, as a starting point for bio-based conditioners. When extracted from wood, lignin naturally interacts with water It also functions as a surfactant, but is an important ingredient in surfactants. It also contains natural antioxidants that help preserve the conditioner, providing UV protection, says Pylypchuk. “In this context, lignin functions as a multifunctional platform,” he says. “It protects against UV rays and keeps you moisturized.”

The researchers combined lab-developed ligning gel with coconut oil and water to create the final product. Team Members Mika ShipponenStockholm University also claims it works much the same as commercial conditioners. When used with moist bleached human hair samples and then washed away, combing hair while 13% moisturizing reduces the “drag” and resists, compared to the commercial products tested. has decreased by 20%.

One potential drawback is that the current formula of conditioners is “pain black” and smells like “cooked wood” that resembles peat, Shipponen says. It does not prevent researchers from pondering its commercialization. They say they test hair, towels and pig skin formulas and wash them off without leaving any dirt. Even the smell is very comfortable, says Pylypchuk. “I personally liked it so much, and most of the people in our lab – maybe because they work with Lignin – they liked it.”

Pylypchuk and Sipponen There is a patent We hope that ligningel and conditioners will become consumer products, offering people a more sustainable alternative to current products that rely on ingredients derived from fossil fuels. They say the next step is to see if it causes irritation to the eyes and skin prior to the trials of living hair.

However, American cosmetics researchers Trefor Evans, Previously, he was at the Textile Research Institute in Princeton, New Jersey, where he questioned how well his products would work compared to his commercial rivals. “I've been doing these experiments for 30 years, and traditional conditioner products reduce the power of the comb by 80%, perhaps 90%,” he says. Shipponen believes that variations in hair testing methods and condition during analysis can explain whether his team was reduced by only 20% of commercial conditioners.

The appearance and unusual smell of wood-based conditioners may drive away consumers, Evans says. “Patent literature is absolutely packed with stuff. “And the reason is that you don't just need effectiveness. What you really need is aesthetics for consumers to buy it.” ”

So, will a black, lush, environmentally friendly conditioner be a hit with consumers? “It sounds a bit like a starter,” Evans says.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Previously underestimated activity of ultra-large black holes discovered in the Milky Way

Posted on February 20, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

According to an analysis of new data from NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, the ejaculation ability that orbits Sagittarius a* emits a constant flow of flares with no period of rest. Some flares are faint flickering for a few seconds, while others are blindly bright eruptions that spit out every day. There is also slight flicker than the surges for several months at a time.

The artist's concept depicts an ultra-high Massive black hole in the heart of the Milky Way galaxy known as Sagittarius a*. Image credits: NASA/ESA/CSA/RALF CRAWFORD, STSCI.

“We expect flares to occur in essentially every super-large black hole, but our black holes are unique,” says Dr. Farhad Yousef Zadeh, an astronomer at Northwestern University. Ta.

“It's always bubbled up with activity and doesn't seem to reach a stable state.”

“We observed Sagittarius A* multiple times throughout 2023 and 2024, and noticed changes in all observations.”

“We saw something different each time, and that's really surprising. It didn't stay the same.”

Dr. Yousefzadeh and his colleagues used it Webb's nircam instrument Observe Sagittarius A* in total of 48 hours, increments of 8-10 hours over a year.

They expected to see the flare, but Sagittarius A* was more active than he had expected.

The accretion disk surrounding the black hole produced 5-6 large flares per day, during which several small subflares were generated.

“Our data showed constantly changing and bubbly brightness,” Dr. Yusef-Zadeh said.

“And boom! A huge explosion of brightness suddenly appeared. Then it settled down again. No patterns were found in this activity. It seems random. The activity profile of the black hole is what we see every time we see it. It was new and exciting.”

“It appears to be caused by two separate processes: short bursts and long flares. If the accretion disk is a river, the short, faint flicker is like a small ripple that fluctuates randomly on the surface of the river. .”

“But longer, brighter flares are like tidal waves caused by more important events.”

“Mild faults in the accretion disk can produce faint flickers. Specifically, turbulent fluctuations within the disk cause plasma (high-temperature charge gas) to be compressed and temporary. It can cause a burst of radiation.”

“This is similar to the way the solar magnetic fields gather together to compress and eject solar flares.”

“Of course, the environment around the black hole is much more energetic and extreme, so the process is more dramatic. But the surface of the sun also bubbles up with activity.”

Astronomers attribute large, bright flares to magnetic reconnection events. This is the process in which two magnetic fields collide and release energy in the form of accelerated particles. These particles, moving at a speed close to the speed of light, emit a burst of bright radiation.

“The magnetic reconnection event is like a static electricity spark, and in some ways it is also an electrical reconnection,” Dr. Yusef-Zadeh said.

The team wants to use Webb to observe Sagittarius A* for a long period of time.

“When you're watching such a weak flare event, you have to compete with the noise,” said Dr. Yousef Zadeh.

“If you can observe 24 hours a day, you can reduce the noise and see features that you didn't see before. That would be great. Also, these flares show periodicity (or repeat yourself) or really You can also check if it is random.”

Survey results It will be published in Astrophysics Journal Letter.

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F. Yusef-Zadeh et al. 2025. Nonstop Variation of SgrA** Uses JWST at wavelengths of 2.1 and 4.8 microns: evidence of clear populations of faint and bright variable emissions. apjlin press; Arxiv: 2501.04096

Source: www.sci.news

Google Calendar removes Black History Month, Pride and other cultural events sparking controversy

Posted on February 12, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Google’s online and mobile calendars no longer feature Black History Month, Women’s History Month, and LGBTQ+ Holidays.

Previously, the world’s largest search engine acknowledged the beginning of Black History Month in February and Pride Month in June, but they will not be included in 2025.

The removal of these holidays was first reported by The Verge last week.

Google spokesperson Madison Cushman Veld shared a statement with The Guardian stating that the listed holidays were not “sustainable” for the model.

“A few years ago, the calendar team started manually adding broader cultural moments in many countries worldwide. It was noted that several other events and countries were missing, making it unsustainable to maintain hundreds of moments globally. So, in mid-2024, we decided to only display public holidays and national compliance from Timeanddate.com worldwide, allowing users to manually add other important moments,” the statement said.

The decision to remove black, LGBTQ+ and women’s holidays is another change by Google following Donald Trump’s second presidency.

Recently, Google announced a rollback of previous commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in employment policy following an order by the US President to end DEI in federal agencies.

Google also revealed that US users will now be referred to as “American Gulf,” following an executive order by Trump to rename Alaska’s mountains to “Mount McKinley”. The company announced the name change for US users will take effect on Monday.

Many users on social media have expressed disappointment and frustration at Google’s latest decision. Users who wish to track events like Pride Month, Black History Month, and Indigenous Month will need to manually add them to their calendar.

Google assured The Guardian that changes to the calendars will not impact future Google Doodles, which typically celebrate these events with digital artwork on the website’s homepage. The company stated, “Google continues to actively celebrate and promote our cultural moments as a company,” and offers a Black History Month Playlist on YouTube Music.

Source: www.theguardian.com

What caused the formation of the Super Massive Black Hole?

Posted on January 30, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Black hole is a spots in the universe that cannot be escaped by light because the gravity is very strong. One of the black holes that confuses astronomers is how large they are. Researchers explain one category of black holes over 100,000 to 10,000,000,000,000,000 times, like the sun. Super Massive Black Hall。 These black holes are very large, so Whole galaxy! It generally exists in the center of the galaxy, including ourselves milky wayOur thing is a modest 4,000,000 sun. Scientists are wondering if the universe, which was formed only in the universe, has grown very much. 13.7 billion years ago Big bang.

Considering that the earth is only growing, it may seem like enough time for a huge heavenly object to grow. 4.5 billion years old. However, when they are formed, black holes can only be enlarged by fusing with others or waiting for things to fall. Astronomer estimates it Many black holes are fused every yearbut Only Super Massive Black Hall will join Rarely. Astronomers who use mathematics models for these events calculate that they can be taken. There were more time than the universe.。

Gas and dust falling in the black hole, Light flashing attachedIt also occurs slowly to explain the growth of the ultra -high MASSIVE black hole. For example, our Galaxy's super huge black hole grows with just one sun. 3,000 years。 However, assuming that the black hole grows at a constant speed, the huge hole has had to increase the mass of the sun more than the value of the sun every year since the Big Bang.

To solve this problem, astronomers theorize how Black Hall was born in the early universe. Super Massive Black Hall requires a good start compared to the conventional black hole cousin. There is a sun from 10S to 100 years。 Thus, astronomers assume that many black holes and many 100,000 solar sun must have been formed early in the universe. They call these early black holes seed。 Roughly speaking, astronomers propose two potential origin, a black hole species. Giant clouds of dust It collapses directly into the black hole Population III star explosion.

Columbia University's astronomers have recently explored how the seeds have grown to grow to today's size, and how they have appeared in a very large black hole. The first step of the astronomer was to find an appropriate formula to calculate the initial quantity of black holes. Researchers have indicated that black hole growth is almost completely exponential. Therefore, this astronomer began with a modified index growth ceremony, like the calculation. Compound interest。 He took this type of derivative and determined how fast the black hole grew. Astronomers have assumed that all super -large black holes formed between the Big Bangs between 100 and 200 million years will be formed.

Astronomers selected 132,539 ultra -large black holes with sufficiently measured mass, and calculated the characteristics of seeds using his new formula. He discovered that 54 % of the seeds could be less than 350 times the mass of the sun, and could occur from the explosion of the individual group III stars. Another 40 % was 350-2,000 times the mass of the sun, and only 2,000 to 30,000 times the mass of the sun was about 6 %. He suggested that the latter two categories could cause small seeds that fuse immediately after being formed. He pointed out that these results did not directly exclude the collapse of the dust in black holes, indicating that there was no need to explain the ultra -large black hole we are looking at today. I mentioned.

Astronomers suggested that these ultra -large black holes have accumulated most of their mass in the first 1.5 billion years of the universe. 。 He explained that the universe was very dense at the time. Later, the galaxies were approaching each other, so a large amount of materials could fall into the black hole. He concludes that the ultra -large black hole is ultimately the relic of the primitive universe, and has been in a very different way than today's organic stars, dust clouds, and galaxies. I did it.

Post view: 38

Source: sciworthy.com

Astronomers: Massive Black Holes Can Create Their Own Meals

Posted on January 29, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

New data from a very large telescope between NASA's CHANDRA X-Ray Observatory and ESO provides evidence that explosions from ultra-large black holes can help you cool the gas and feed yourself.

These images indicate two galaxy clusters of research, Perseus cluster and Centaul scraster. The chandradata represented by blue reveals X -rays from hot gas filaments, and VLT data indicates a red cooler filament. Image Credit: NASA / CXC / SAO / OLIVARES et al. / dss / cfht / sitelle / ESA / STSCI / ESO / VLT / MUSE / N. wolk.

In a new study, Dr. Valeria Olibales and her colleagues of Santiago De Chile University analyzed the deep observations of seven galaxy clusters, which indicate a remarkable poly-phase filament structure: Perseus, M87, Centaur, Abel 2597, Abel 1795, Hydra-A, Hydra, and Hydra PKS 0745-191.

“At the center of the galaxy cluster is the huge galaxy in the universe. This galaxy has a huge black hole with millions to billion times a mass of the sun.” I said.

“The jet from these black holes is driven by the black hole that exhales gas.”

Their results support a model in which the explosion from the black hole causes hot gases and cools down a narrow gas filament.

Gas turbulence also plays an important role in this trigger process.

According to the model, some of these warm gases in these filaments should flow into the center of the galaxy and supply them to black holes, causing explosions.

The explosion cools more gas, supplies black holes, and leads to further explosions.

The model predicts that it is related to the bright gas and warm gas filament at the center of the galaxy cluster.

More specifically, in areas where hot gas is bright, warm gases need to be brightened.

“Our results provide a new understanding of filament filled with these gases. This is important not only for feeding black holes, but also for forming new stars.” The person said.

“This progress has been made possible by innovative technology that separates hot filaments of Chandra X -ray data from other structures, including a large cavity of hot gas created by a black hole jet.”

“The newly discovered relationship of these filaments indicates the remarkable similarity of what is found in the tail of the jellyfish. These are peeled off when moving the surrounding gases and the long tail. It was formed.

“This similarity means that the universe connection between the two objects is revealed and that these objects have a similar process.”

Team paper Published in the journal Natural astronomy.

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V. Olivary et al. Hα-X-ray surface gaze correlation of the cooling flow cluster filament. Nut asron Released online on January 27, 2025. Doi: 10.1038/S41550-02473-8

Source: www.sci.news

Mysterious X-ray oscillations detected in supermassive black hole by XMM-Newton

Posted on January 14, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

In 2018, astronomers discovered that the corona of 1ES 1927+654, an actively accreting black hole with 1.4 million solar masses located in a galaxy some 270 million light-years away, suddenly disappeared and reassembled several months later. I observed that. The short but dramatic outage was the first of its kind in black hole astronomy. Now, astronomers using ESA's XMM-Newton Observatory have captured the same black hole exhibiting even more unprecedented behavior. They detected X-ray flashes from 1ES 1927+654 at a steadily increasing clip. Over a two-year period, the frequency of millihertz vibration flashes increased from every 18 minutes to every 7 minutes. This dramatic speed-up of X-rays has never been observed from a black hole before.

In this artist's concept, material is stripped from a white dwarf (bottom right sphere) orbiting within the innermost accretion disk surrounding the supermassive black hole of 1ES 1927+654. Image credit: NASA/Aurore Simonnet, Sonoma State University.

Black holes are a prediction of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. They are gravitational monsters that trap any matter or energy that crosses their “surface,” a region of spacetime known as the event horizon.

In its final descent into the black hole, a process known as accretion, the doomed material forms a disk around the black hole. The gas in the accretion disk heats up and emits primarily ultraviolet (UV) light.

The ultraviolet light interacts with the cloud of electrically charged gas or plasma that surrounds the black hole and accretion disk. This cloud is known as the corona, and the interaction energizes the ultraviolet light and amplifies it into X-rays, which can be captured by XMM Newton.

XMM-Newton has been observing 1ES 1927+654 since 2011. Back then, everything was very normal.

But things changed in 2018. As the X-ray corona disappeared, the black hole erupted in a massive explosion that seemed to disrupt its surroundings.

The coronavirus gradually returned, and by early 2021, it seemed like normal conditions had returned.

However, in July 2022, XMM Newton began observing its X-ray output fluctuating at a level of about 10% on timescales of 400 to 1,000 seconds.

This type of fluctuation, called quasi-periodic oscillations (QPO), is notoriously difficult to detect in supermassive black holes.

“This was the first sign that something strange was going on,” said Dr. Megan Masterson. Student at MIT.

The oscillations could suggest that a massive object, such as a star, is embedded in the accretion disk and rapidly orbiting the black hole on its way to being swallowed.

As an object approaches a black hole, the time it takes to orbit decreases and the frequency of its oscillations increases.

Calculations revealed that the orbiting object was probably the remains of a star known as a white dwarf, had about 0.1 times the mass of the Sun, and was moving at an astonishing speed.

It was completing one orbit of the central monster, covering a distance of about 100 million km, about every 18 minutes. Then things got even weirder.

Over nearly two years, XMM Newton showed an increase in the strength and frequency of the vibrations, but not as much as the researchers expected.

They assumed that an object's orbital energy is being emitted as gravitational waves, as prescribed by the theory of general relativity.

To test this idea, they calculated when the object crossed the event horizon, disappeared from view, and stopped oscillating. It turns out to be January 4, 2024.

“Never in my career have I been able to predict anything so accurately,” says Dr. Erin Kara of MIT.

In March 2024, XMM Newton observed it again and the oscillations were still present.

The object was currently traveling at about half the speed of light, completing an orbit every seven minutes.

Whatever was inside the accretion disk, it stubbornly refused to be swallowed up by the black hole.

Either something more than gravitational waves is at play, or the entire hypothesis needs to be changed.

Astronomers also considered other possibilities for the origin of the vibrations.

Remembering that the X-ray corona disappeared in 2018, they wondered if this cloud itself was vibrating.

The problem is that there is no established theory to explain such behavior, so there is no clear path to take this idea further, so they go back to the original model and realize there is a way to fix it. I did.

“If the black hole has a white dwarf companion, the gravitational waves produced by the black hole could be detected by LISA, an ESA mission scheduled to launch within the next 10 years in partnership with NASA.” said Masterson.

team's paper will appear in journal nature.

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Megan Masterson others. 2025. Millihertz oscillations near the innermost orbit of a supermassive black hole. naturein press. arXiv: 2501.01581

Source: www.sci.news

The Surprising Truth: Black Holes as Secret Time Machines

Posted on January 12, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

In Einstein’s theory of gravity, mass distorts space-time, creating an effect known as gravitational time dilation. This means that observers with different gravitational potentials measure elapsed time differently. Therefore, when you are close to a black hole, time slows down compared to time that is far away from the black hole.

Observers far away from the black hole say that for objects that fall into it, time stops at the so-called “event horizon” (the edge of the black hole, the point of no return).

Nothing appears to cross the event horizon. However, an observer who falls into a black hole does not experience time stopping at the event horizon. They will see time passing normally, but far away from the black hole they will see time speeding up. The closer you get to the event horizon, the faster time appears to move farther away from the black hole.

https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2025/01/GettyImages-1485451803.mp4

This is the first direct image of a black hole shooting a powerful jet into space, taken in April 2023.

Gravitational time dilation can actually be measured. In 1976, NASA launched an atomic clock into space to measure the passage of time at an altitude of 10,000 km (6,214 miles) compared to the Earth’s surface. The results of this measurement matched exactly what was expected from Einstein’s theory.

At sea level, time moves a billionth of a second slower per year than at the top of Mount Everest.

This article answers the question (asked by Sean Roberts via email): “What happens to time at the event horizon of a black hole?”

If you have any questions, please email us at: questions@sciencefocus.comor send us a message facebook, ×or Instagram Page (remember to include your name and location).

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Binary star system found in close proximity to the central black hole of the Milky Way galaxy

Posted on December 18, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Using data from ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the Keck Telescope, astronomers detected a binary star system in the S star cluster near Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. I discovered it. This is the first time that a binary star has been discovered near a supermassive black hole.

This image shows the location of binary star D9 orbiting Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. Image credit: ESO / Peißker et al. / S. Guizard.

Sagittarius A* is orbited by fast stars and dusty objects collectively known as the S cluster.

Binary star systems (two stars gravitationally bound to each other around a common center of mass) are predicted to exist within the S cluster, but have not been detected so far.

Previous studies have suggested that such stars are unlikely to be stabilized by their interactions with Sagittarius A*.

“Black holes are not as destructive as we think,” says Florian Peisker, an astronomer at the University of Cologne.

“Our findings show that some binaries can temporarily thrive even under disruptive conditions.”

The newly discovered binary star, named D9, is estimated to be just 2.7 million years old.

Due to the strong gravity of the nearby black hole, it will probably merge into a single star within just a million years, a very short time for such a young system.

“This only provides a short window on the cosmic timescale for observing such binary star systems, but we succeeded,” said Dr. Emma Bordier, also from the University of Cologne. Ta.

“The D9 system shows clear signs of gas and dust surrounding the star, suggesting it may be a very young system that must have formed near a supermassive black hole. ” said Dr. Michal Zajacek. Astronomer at Masaryk University and the University of Cologne.

The most mysterious of the S clusters are the G objects, which behave like stars but look like clouds of gas and dust.

It was while observing these mysterious objects that the research team discovered a surprising pattern in D9.

“This result sheds new light on what the mysterious G-objects are,” the authors said.

“They may actually be a combination of binaries that have not yet merged and leftover material from stars that have already merged.”

“Planets often form around young stars, so this discovery allows us to speculate about their existence,” Dr. Pisker said.

“It seems like it’s only a matter of time before planets are detected at the center of the galaxy.”

a paper This discovery was published in today’s magazine nature communications.

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F. Peisker others. 2024. A binary star system in the S star cluster near the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*. Nat Commune 15, 10608; doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-54748-3

Source: www.sci.news

Astronomers Uncover Magnetic Filaments Surrounding the Central Black Hole in Messier 77’s Accretion Disk

Posted on December 12, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Messier 77 is a relatively nearby and well-known bright spiral galaxy with a supermassive black hole at its center.

Messier 77 concept by artist. It is characterized by its powerful black hole and accretion disk, as well as the polarized light of water masers located outside the Milky Way. Image credit: NSF / AUI / NRAO / S. Dagnello.

Messier 77 is a barred spiral galaxy located 62 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus.

Also known as NGC 1068, LEDA 10266, and Cetus A, it has an apparent magnitude of 9.6.

Messier 77 was discovered in 1780 by French astronomer Pierre Méchain, who initially identified it as a nebula. Méchain then relayed this discovery to his colleague, the French astronomer Charles Messier.

Messier believed that the extremely bright objects he saw were clusters of stars, but as technology advanced, their true status as a galaxy was recognized.

At 100,000 light-years in diameter, Messier 77 is one of the largest galaxies in the Messier catalog, and its gravity is enough to twist and distort other galaxies nearby.

It is also one of the closest galaxies to active galactic nuclei (AGNs).

These active galaxies are among the brightest objects in the universe, emitting light in many if not all wavelengths, from gamma rays and X-rays to microwaves and radio waves.

But Messier 77's accretion disk is hidden by a thick cloud of dust and gas, despite being a popular target for astronomers.

Several light-years in diameter, the outer accretion disk is dotted with hundreds of different water maser sources that have been hinting at deeper structures for decades.

Masers are clear beacons of electromagnetic radiation that shine at microwave or radio wavelengths. In radio astronomy, water masers, observed at a frequency of 22 GHz, are particularly useful because they can shine through many of the dusts and gases that block the wavelengths of light.

Bucknell University astronomer Jack Gallimore and his colleagues began observing Messier 77 with two goals in mind: astronomical mapping of the galaxy's radio continuum and measuring the polarization of water masers.

“Messier 77 is a bit of a VIP among active galaxies,” says Dr. CM Violette Impellizzeri, an astronomer at the Leiden Observatory.

“There's an accretion disk right next to the black hole, and it's unusually powerful. And because it's so close, it's been studied in great detail.”

But the study authors looked at Messier 77 in an entirely new way.

Their observations were recently upgraded High sensitivity array (HSA) consists of the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, the Very Long Baseline Array, and NSF's NRAO telescope at the Green Bank Telescope.

By measuring the water maser's polarization and the continuous radio emission from Messier 77, they reveal the compact radio source, now known as NGC 1068*, and the mysterious extended structure of the fainter emission. I created a map to

Mapping the astronomical distribution of galaxies and their water masers reveals that they are spread along structural filaments.

“These new observations reveal that the maser spot filaments are actually arranged like beads on a string,” Dr. Gallimore said.

“We were stunned to see that there was an apparent offset, or displacement angle, between the radio continuum, which describes the structure of the galaxy's core, and the position of the maser itself.”

“The configuration is unstable, so we're probably looking at a magnetically ejected source.”

Measuring the polarization of these water masers with HSA revealed significant evidence of a magnetic field.

“No one has ever seen polarization in water masers outside of our galaxy,” Dr. Gallimore said.

“Similar to the loop structures seen as prominences on the Sun's surface, the polarization patterns of these water masers clearly indicate that there is also a magnetic field at the root of these light-year-scale structures.”

“Looking at the filaments and making sure the polarization vector is perpendicular to the filaments is key to confirming that they are magnetically driven structures. It's exactly what you expected. It’s a thing.”

Previous studies of the region have suggested patterns, usually related to magnetic fields, but such conclusions were until recently beyond the scope of observational techniques.

The discovery reveals evidence for a compact central radio source (the galaxy's supermassive black hole), distinct polarization of water masers indicating structure within Messier 77's magnetic field, and spectacular extended signatures across the radio frequency continuum. It became.

Taken together, these findings indicate that magnetic fields are the underlying driving force for these phenomena.

However, many mysteries remain. For example, within the radio continuum map there is a diffuse, faint protrusion that the team has dubbed the foxtail foxtail, extending northward from the central region.

“When we set out on this, we said to ourselves, 'Let's really push the limits and see if we can get good continuum and polarization data,' and those goals were both It was a success,” Dr. Gallimore said.

“Using the NSF NRAO High Sensitivity Array, we detected the polarization of a water megamaser for the first time. We also created a very surprising continuum map, which we are still trying to understand.”

a paper The results will be explained today. Astrophysics Journal Letter.

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Jack F. Gallimore others. 2024. Discovery of polarized water vapor megamaser emission in molecular accretion disks. APJL 975, L9; doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ad864f

Source: www.sci.news

Astrophysicists study planets, asteroids, and primordial black holes in Earth’s matter

Posted on December 3, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Primordial black holes have been theorized for decades and may even be the eternally elusive dark matter. However, primordial black holes have not yet been observed. These tiny black holes could become trapped in rocky planets or asteroids, consuming their liquid cores from within and leaving hollow structures behind, according to a duo of astrophysicists from the University at Buffalo, Case Western Reserve University, and National Donghua University. It is said that there is. Alternatively, microtunnels could be left in very old rocks on Earth, or in the glass or other solid structures of very old buildings.

An artist's impression of a primordial black hole. Image credit: NASA.

Small primordial black holes are perhaps the most intriguing and intriguing relics of the early universe.

They could act as candidates for dark matter, be sources of primordial gravitational waves, and help solve cosmological problems such as domain walls and the magnetic monopole problem.

However, so far no convincing primordial black hole candidates have been observed.

Professor Dejan Stojković of the University at Buffalo said: “Although the chances of finding these signatures are low, the search does not require many resources and the potential reward of providing the first evidence of a primordial black hole is enormous. It's going to become something.”

“We need to think outside the box because what has been done so far to find primordial black holes has not worked.”

Professor Stojkovic and colleague Dr. De Zhang Dai, of Case Western Reserve University and National Donghua University, are investigating how large hollow asteroids can grow without collapsing, and whether a primordial black hole is The probability of passing was calculated. Earth.

“Because of such long odds, we have focused on hard traces that have existed for thousands, millions, or even billions of years,” Dr. Dai said. .

“If the object has a liquid central core, a trapped primordial black hole could absorb the liquid core, whose density is higher than that of the outer solid layer,” Professor Stojković added.

“In that case, if the object was hit by an asteroid, the primordial black hole could escape from the object, leaving only a hollow shell.”

But would such a shell be strong enough to support itself, or would it simply collapse under its own tension?

Comparing the strength of natural materials such as granite and iron to their surface tension and surface density, the researchers found that such hollow objects could be less than one-tenth the radius of the Earth, making them smaller than normal We calculated that it was more likely to be an asteroid than a planet. .

“If it gets any bigger, it will collapse,” Professor Stojković said.

“These hollow objects could potentially be detected with telescopes. The mass, and therefore the density, can be determined by studying the objects' trajectories.”

“If an object's density is too low for its size, that's a good sign that it's hollow.”

For objects without a liquid core, the primordial black hole could simply pass through, leaving a straight microtunnel behind.

For example, a primordial black hole with mass 10^{twenty two} grams, leaving a tunnel 0.1 microns thick.

Large slabs of metal or other materials could serve as effective black hole detectors by monitoring the sudden appearance of these tunnels, but very old materials from buildings that are hundreds of years old Searching for existing tunnels has a higher probability. From the oldest to rocks that are billions of years old.

Still, even assuming that dark matter is indeed composed of primordial black holes, they calculated that the probability that a primordial black hole would pass through a billion-year-old rock is 0.000001.

“You have to compare costs and benefits. Does it cost a lot of money to do this? No, it doesn't,” Professor Stojković said.

“So, to say the least, it's unlikely that a primordial black hole will pass through you during your lifetime. Even if you did, you probably wouldn't notice.”

“Unlike rocks, human tissue has a small amount of tension, so the primordial black hole won't tear it apart.”

“And while the kinetic energy of a primordial black hole may be huge, it is moving so fast that it cannot release much of that energy during a collision.”

“If a projectile is moving through a medium faster than the speed of sound, the molecular structure of the medium has no time to react.”

“If you throw a rock through a window, it will probably break. If you shoot a window with a gun, it will probably just leave a hole.”

team's paper Published in a magazine physics of the dark universe.

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De Chan Dai and Dejan Stojković. 2024. We're looking for planets, asteroids, and tiny primordial black holes on Earth. physics of the dark universe 46: 101662;doi: 10.1016/j.dark.2024.101662

Source: www.sci.news

Pro Players Share 7 Tips to Level Up in Call of Duty Black Ops 6 | Call of Duty

Posted on November 14, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

LJust guessing, did you recently purchase Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, wander into the multiplayer mode, and find yourself being brutally beaten by hundreds of teenagers with suggestive usernames? Don’t worry. That’s completely normal. Call of Duty has always been an arcade twitchfest of the online shooting scene, but Black Ops 6 has a whole new feel thanks to its omni-movement system that lets you dive, roll, and sprint in all directions. And all weapons have been completely redesigned. As Olivia Rodrigo said, it’s cruel.

So I asked two talented professional players, Ethan “Fifakill” Pink and Liam “Jukeyz” James, for some tips. Instead of laughing and pointing at me, they agreed.

use the correct gun

If you’re new to CoD, stick with assault rifles or submachine guns [SMGs] – These are suitable for Black Ops 6’s small maps and intense engagement speed. “My favorite assault rifle” [AR] Probably Model L, but very good experts agreed not to use it, so we moved to AMES,” Jukeyz says. “The SMG is either the Jackal, which is fun to use, or the KSV, which is more difficult but way too powerful.”

Fifakill, on the other hand, recommends Kompakt 92. However, if you are a mid-range player, I think the Model L Assault Rifle is a very good option. It takes time to unlock, but it’s worth the effort – Super TTK [time to kill] and very low recoil.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Photo: Activision

Become a gunsmith

The Gunsmith is where you can make modifications to your weapons, which are essential to gaining an advantage in combat. “For the majority of players, it’s best to start by reducing recoil,” Fifakill says. “Focus on attachments that reduce load” horizontal Recoil – If your gun bounces up and down, it’s pretty easy to fix. But left and right makes it more difficult when you’re trying to track enemy players.”
Jukeyz prioritizes aim-down aiming speed (how quickly you can move the gun into the aiming position), but also suggests installing a vertical foregrip to counter recoil. “I also recommend Gunfighter Wildcard,” Fifakir added. “With eight attachments per gun, you get it all: better movement, bigger magazines, less recoil.”

Source: www.theguardian.com

Astronomers Find Fastest-Feeding Black Hole in Early Universe

Posted on November 5, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

The 7.2 million solar mass black hole, named LID-568, appears to be feeding on matter 40 times faster than the Eddington limit and is thought to have existed just 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang.

An artist's impression of the accreting black hole LID-568 in the early universe. Image credit: NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / J. da Silva / M. Zamani.

eddington limit The maximum brightness a black hole can achieve is related to the rate at which a black hole can absorb matter, such that the inward gravitational force is balanced with the outward pressure generated from the heat of the compressed and falling matter. I will.

LID-568 appears to be feeding on matter at a rate 40 times faster than the Eddington limit.

This accreting black hole was detected by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope in a sample of galaxies from the COSMOS Legacy Survey of Chandra.

This galaxy population is very bright in the X-ray part of the spectrum, but invisible in the optical and near-infrared.

Webb's unique infrared sensitivity allows it to detect these weak corresponding emissions.

LID-568 stood out in the sample for its strong X-ray emissions, but its exact location could not be determined using X-ray observations alone.

So instead of using traditional slit spectroscopy, Webb's measurement support scientists suggested that the study authors use an integral field spectrometer. Web's NIRSpec (near infrared spectrometer) equipment.

“Due to its faint nature, detection of LID-568 would be impossible without Webb,” said Dr. Emanuele Farina, an astronomer at the International Gemini Observatory and NSF's NOIRLab.

“The use of an integral field spectrometer was innovative and necessary to obtain the observations.”

“This black hole is having a party,” said Dr. Julia Schallwechter, also of the International Gemini Observatory and NSF's NOIRLab.

“This extreme case shows that a fast-feeding mechanism that exceeds the Eddington limit is one possible explanation for why we see these extremely massive black holes in the early universe.”

These results provide new insights into the formation of supermassive black holes from smaller black hole “seeds.” Until now, theories have lacked observational support.

“The discovery of super-Eddington accretion black holes suggests that, regardless of the black hole's origin as a light or heavy seed, a significant portion of the mass growth can occur during a single episode of rapid feeding. “This suggests something,” said Dr. Hyewon Seo. Also provided by the International Gemini Observatory and NSF's NOIRLab.

“The discovery of LID-568 also shows that black holes can exceed the Eddington limit, giving astronomers the first opportunity to study how this happens,” the astronomers said. .

“The strong outflow observed on LID-568 may act as a release valve for excess energy generated by extreme accretion, preventing the system from becoming too unstable.”

“The team plans a follow-up study with Mr. Webb to further investigate the mechanisms involved.”

Their result Published in today's diary natural astronomy.

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Sue H others. A super-Eddington accretion black hole observed by JWST about 1.5 Gyr after the Big Bang. Nat Astronpublished online on November 4, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41550-024-02402-9

This article is based on a press release provided by NSF's NOIRLab.

Source: www.sci.news

DESI seeks proof of dark energy originating from black holes

Posted on October 29, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

According to the popular inflationary universe theory, at the beginning of the Big Bang, a mysterious energy caused an exponential expansion of the early universe, creating all known matter. That ancient energy shared important characteristics with the dark energy of the current universe. “Where in the later universe will we see gravity as strong as it was at the beginning of the universe?'' The answer lies at the center of a black hole. What happened during inflation could also be reversed, with the matter of a massive star becoming dark energy again during gravitational collapse – like a mini-Big Bang played in reverse. A new study strengthens the evidence for this scenario using recent data. dark energy spectrometer (DESI).

A view of the accretion disk surrounding a supermassive black hole and the jet-like structures flowing out of the disk. The black hole's extreme mass bends space-time so that the backside of the accretion disk can be seen as an image above and below the black hole. Image credit: Science Communication Lab, DESY.

“If a black hole contains dark energy, it could merge with the expanding universe and grow faster,” said Dr. Kevin Croker, an astronomer at Arizona State University.

“We can't know the details of how this is happening, but we can see evidence that it's happening.”

Data from the first year of DESI's planned five-year study shows intriguing evidence that the density of dark energy has increased over time.

This provides a compelling clue to support this idea of what dark energy is. Because that increase in time matches how the amount and mass of black holes has increased over time.

“When I first got involved in this project, I was very skeptical,” said Boston University professor Steve Arlen.

“But I remained open-minded throughout the process, and when I started doing the cosmological calculations, I said, 'This is a really cool mechanism for creating dark energy.'”

To look for evidence of dark energy from black holes, astronomers used tens of millions of distant galaxies measured by DESI.

The instrument looks into the past billions of years and collects data that can be used to determine with great precision how fast the universe is expanding.

Furthermore, these data can be used to infer how the amount of dark energy changes over time.

The researchers compared these data to how many black holes have been created by large star explosions throughout the history of the universe.

“The two phenomena were consistent with each other. When a new black hole was created by the death of a massive star, the amount of dark energy in the universe increased in the right way,” said Dr. Duncan Farrar, a physicist at New York University. said. Hawaii.

“This makes the theory that black holes are the source of dark energy more plausible.”

This study complements a growing literature investigating the possibility of cosmological coupling in black holes.

A 2023 study reported cosmological coupling in a supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy.

This study encouraged other teams to investigate the effects of black holes in different parts of the universe.

“These papers explore the relationship between dark energy and black holes in terms of their growth rate,” said astrophysicist at Healthpeak Properties and former general counsel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. said Dr. Brian Cartwright.

“Our new paper links dark energy to when black holes are born.”

The main difference in the new paper is that most of the black holes involved are younger than those studied previously.

These black holes were born at a time when star formation, which tracks black hole formation, was well underway, not just beginning.

Professor Roger Windhorst from Arizona State University said: “This happened fairly late in the universe and is informed by recent measurements of black hole formation and growth observed by the Hubble and Webb Space Telescopes. ” he said.

“The next question is where are these black holes and how have they been moving around for the past eight billion years? Scientists are now working to suppress this,” Croker said. the doctor said.

Science needs more research and observation tools, and now that DESI is online, this exploration of dark energy is just beginning.

“Whether or not we continue to support the black hole hypothesis, this only brings further depth and clarity to our understanding of dark energy,” Professor Ahlen said.

“I think it's great as an experimental endeavor. You can have preconceptions or not, but we're based on data and observation.”

Regardless of what future observations yield, the research being conducted now represents a major shift in dark energy research.

“Essentially, whether black holes are dark energy is no longer just a theoretical question, coupled with the universe in which they live. This is now an experimental question,” said Gregory of the University of Michigan.・Professor Tarr said.

of study Published in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics.

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Kevin S. Crocker others. 2024. The temporal evolution of DESI dark energy is harvested by cosmologically coupled black holes. JCAP 10:094;Doi: 10.1088/1475-7516/2024/10/094

This article is adapted from the original release by the University of Michigan.

Source: www.sci.news

Astrophysicists discover that black hole-hosting binary star V404 Cygnus is part of a triple system

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

V404 Cygnus, an X-ray binary star that hosts a low-mass black hole, has a wide echelon with a tertiary companion at least 3,500 astronomical units (AU) away from the inner binary, according to MIT astrophysicists. It is said to be part of a triple star.

V404 SIGNI. Image credit: Verge others., doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08120-6.

V404 Cygni is located approximately 7,800 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus.

This system first attracted attention more than 80 years ago, during the 1938 nova explosion.

Another eruption occurred in 1989 and was discovered by the Japanese X-ray satellite Ginga and high-energy instruments aboard the Mir space station.

The 1989 explosion, known as Nova Cygnus 1989, was pivotal in the study of black holes.

Until then, astronomers had known of only a handful of objects that could be black holes, and V404 Cygnus was one of the most likely candidates.

V404 Cygnus is known to host a central stellar-mass black hole in the act of consuming a small star that spirals very close to the black hole every 6.5 days. This is a configuration similar to most binary star systems.

But new research suggests there's a second star orbiting the black hole, albeit much further away.

“Most black holes are thought to be formed by violent explosions of stars, but this discovery helps cast doubt on that,” said Kevin Burge, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Ta.

“This system is very interesting for the evolution of black holes, and also raises the question of whether triples exist.”

Artist's impression of V404 Cygnus: The central black hole (black dot) is consuming a nearby star (orange object on the left), while the second star (white flash at the top) is far away orbiting a distance of Image credit: Jorge Lugo.

Burge and his colleagues estimate that the third companion star orbits the V404 Cygnus black hole every 70,000 years.

The fact that black holes appear to exert a gravitational pull on distant objects raises questions about the origins of black holes themselves.

Black holes are thought to be formed by violent explosions of dying stars. This is a process known as a supernova, in which a star releases a huge amount of energy and light in one final burst before collapsing into an invisible black hole.

But the team's findings suggest that if the newly observed black hole had originated from a typical supernova, the energy released before it collapsed would have kicked loosely bound objects around it. It suggests that it might have been.

So the second outer star shouldn't be hanging around yet.

Instead, the authors believe that the V404 Cygnus black hole formed through a more gentle process of direct collapse, in which the star simply collapsed and formed the black hole without a final, dramatic flash. I think it might be.

Such a benign origin poses little impediment to loosely bound, distant objects.

Because V404 Cygnus contains a very distant star, this suggests that the black holes in this system were born through a more gradual, direct collapse.

And while astronomers have observed more violent supernovae for centuries, this triple system may be the first evidence of a black hole formed from this more gentle process.

In addition to providing clues about the black hole's origin, the outer star also revealed the age of the system.

Astrophysicists observed that the outer star happened to be in the process of becoming a red giant, a stage that occurs at the end of a star's life.

Based on this star's evolution, they determined that the outer star was about 4 billion years old.

Considering that the neighboring stars were born at about the same time, they conclude that the components of the binary star are also 4 billion years old.

“This has never been done before with old black holes,” Dr. Burge says.

“Thanks to this discovery, we now know that V404 Cygnus is part of a triple star. It may have formed by direct collapse, and it formed about 4 billion years ago.”

of findings Published in this week's magazine nature.

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KB barge others. The black hole low-mass X-ray binary V404 Cygnus is part of a wide triple. naturepublished online October 23, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08120-6

Source: www.sci.news

Scientists unravel the composition of the unique toxin found in black widow spider venom

Posted on October 9, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Black widow spider venom contains a cocktail of seven specific latrotoxins, but only one, alpha-latrotoxin, targets vertebrates, including humans. chemist of University of Munster They have now deciphered the structure of alpha-latrotoxin before and after membrane insertion at near atomic resolution.

Cryo-EM structures of α-latrotoxin in two different tetrameric states. Image credit: Klink others., doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-52635-5.

Latrotoxin is the main toxic component of the venom of black widow spiders (genus). latrodectus).

The toxins include five insecticidal toxins known as α-latrotoxin, α-, β-, γ-, δ-, and ε-latroinsect toxins, which are unique to vertebrates, and one toxin that is unique to crustaceans.

“Alpha-latrotoxin interferes with nervous system signal transmission,” said researcher Björn Klinck and colleagues at the University of Münster.

“As soon as alpha-latrotoxin binds to specific receptors at the synapse (contacts between nerve cells or between nerve cells and muscles), calcium ions flow uncontrollably into the presynaptic membrane of the signal-transmitting cell.”

“This triggers the release of neurotransmitters, which causes strong muscle contractions and spasms.”

“Although this process seems simple at first glance, there are very complex mechanisms behind it.”

To better understand the mechanism of calcium influx into the presynaptic membrane, the authors used high-performance cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulations.

They showed that alpha-latrotoxin undergoes significant changes when it binds to the receptor.

Some of the toxic molecules form stalks and penetrate the cell membrane like a syringe.

As a special feature, this stalk forms small pores in the membrane, which act as calcium channels.

MD simulations revealed that calcium ions can enter the cells through a selection gate on the side directly above the pore.

“This toxin mimics the function of calcium channels in the presynaptic membrane in a very complex way,” said Christos Gatsogiannis, a researcher at the University of Münster.

“Therefore, it is different in every way from any toxin known to date.”

“The new discovery opens up a wide range of potential applications.”

“Latrotoxin has considerable biotechnological potential, including the development of improved antidotes, treatments for paralysis, and new biopesticides.”

of study Published in a magazine nature communications.

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Clink BU others. 2024. Structural basis of α-latrotoxin transition to cation-selective pores. Nat Commune 15, 8551; doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-52635-5

Source: www.sci.news