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Astronomers Uncover Strange Explosion from the Supermassive Black Hole in NGC 3783

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Utilizing ESA’s XMM-Newton along with the X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM)—a collaborative endeavor led by JAXA, ESA, and NASA—astronomers detected an ultrafast outflow from the supermassive black hole in NGC 3783, moving at 19% the speed of light (57,000 km/s).

An artist’s conception of NGC 3783’s wind-blown supermassive black hole. Image credit: ESA/ATG Europe.

NGC 3783 is a luminous barred spiral galaxy located about 135 million light-years away in the Centaurus constellation.

This galaxy was initially discovered by British astronomer John Herschel on April 21, 1835.

Also referred to as ESO 378-14, LEDA 36101, or 2XMM J113901.7-374418, it is a prominent member of the NGC 3783 group, which contains 47 galaxies.

NGC 3783 hosts a rapidly rotating supermassive black hole with a mass of 2.8 million solar masses.

“We have never witnessed a black hole producing winds at such speeds before,” stated Dr. Li Gu, an astronomer at the Netherlands Space Research Organization (SRON).

“Swift bursts of X-ray light from a black hole immediately provoke superfast winds, and for the first time, we observe how these winds develop within just a day.”

During 10 days of observations, mainly using the XRISM space telescope, astronomers monitored the emergence and acceleration of a burst from NGC 3783’s supermassive black hole.

While such explosions are typically attributed to intense radiation, in this instance, the likely cause is a sudden shift in the magnetic field, akin to solar flares caused by the Sun’s outbursts.

It is known that supermassive black holes emit X-rays, but this marks the first occasion where astronomers have distinctly observed rapid ejections during these X-ray bursts.

This finding emerged from the longest continuous observation conducted by XRISM to date.

Over these 10 days, scientists noted fluctuations in the brightness of the X-rays, particularly within the soft X-ray band.

Such fluctuations, including explosions lasting three days, are not uncommon for supermassive black holes.

What sets this explosion apart is the simultaneous expulsion of gas from the black hole’s accretion disk—a swirling disc of matter in orbit around the black hole.

This gas was expelled at astonishing speeds, hitting 57,000 km/s, or 19% of the speed of light.

Researchers identified the origin of this gas as a region approximately 50 times larger than the black hole itself.

Within this chaotic region, gravitational and magnetic forces are in extreme interaction.

The emission is believed to be the result of a phenomenon known as magnetic reconnection, which occurs when the magnetic field rapidly reorganizes and releases vast amounts of energy.

“This is an unparalleled opportunity to explore the mechanisms behind ultrafast ejections,” Dr. Gu remarked.

“The data indicate that magnetic forces, resembling those involved in coronal mass ejections from the Sun, are responsible for the acceleration of the outflow.”

“A coronal mass ejection occurs when a hefty plume of hot solar plasma is hurled into space.”

“In contrast, supermassive black holes can produce similar events, but these eruptions are 10 billion times more potent and far smaller than solar phenomena we’ve observed.”

Scientists propose that the black hole activity observed may mirror its solar counterpart, driven by an abrupt burst of magnetic energy.

This challenges the widely-held theory that black holes expel matter predominantly through intense radiation or extreme heat.

These findings provide fresh insights into how black holes not only consume matter but can also expel it back into space under specific conditions.

This feedback process plays a critical role in galaxy evolution, affecting nearby stars and gas and potentially contributing to the structure of the universe as we know it.

“This discovery highlights the effective collaboration that underpins all ESA missions,” noted XMM-Newton project scientist and ESA astronomer Dr. Eric Courkers.

“By focusing on an active supermassive black hole, the two telescopes unveiled something unprecedented: rapid, ultrafast flare-induced winds similar to those generated by the Sun.”

“Interestingly, this suggests that solar physics and high-energy physics may operate in surprisingly similar fashions throughout the universe.”

The team’s paper was published in the December 9, 2025 issue of the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

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Gu Lee Yi et al. 2025. Investigating NGC 3783 with XRISM. III. Emergence of ultra-high-speed outflow during soft flares. A&A 704, A146; doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202557189

Source: www.sci.news

Frustrating Autocorrect: Why is My iPhone Acting Strange?

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Rest assured, you’re not experiencing madness.

Your iPhone’s AutoCorrect has been unusually erratic, unexpectedly altering words like: “Come” to “Cola” and “Winter” to “W Inter”. If you’ve encountered this, you’re not on your own.

Many online comments reveal that others share your frustrations. Hundreds of internet users express concern, fearing this issue might persist indefinitely.

Following the release of its latest operating system, iOS 26, in September, conspiracy theories began to emerge. A video showing a user’s iPhone keyboard changing “thumb” to “thjmb” has gained over 9 million views.

“Autocorrect manifests in various forms,” states Jan Pedersen, a statistician known for his pioneering work on autocorrect at Microsoft. “It’s somewhat challenging to identify the technology behind user predictions, as it operates beneath the surface.”

An early pioneer of autocorrect suggested that those seeking explanations may remain in the dark concerning this recent change, primarily due to Apple’s approach.

Kenneth Church, a computational linguist who developed foundational autocorrect techniques in the 1990s, remarked, “Apple’s operations have consistently been shrouded in secrecy. The company excels at maintaining confidentiality over most others.”

For several years, the internet has been buzzing about autocorrect issues, long before the launch of iOS 26. Notably, there is at least one significant distinction between today’s autocorrect and its earlier versions: the incorporation of artificial intelligence, or what Apple refers to as such. The introduction of iOS 17 brought “on-device machine learning language models” designed to adapt based on user input. However, this can encompass a variety of interpretations.

In response to inquiries from The Guardian, Apple stated that it has continually updated AutoCorrect using the latest technological advancements, asserting that the keyboard complications showcased in the video aren’t linked to autocorrect.

Autocorrect has evolved from earlier spell-checking technology, which originated in the 1970s. This initial spell-checking featured a primitive command in Unix that identified all misspelled words within a text file. It simply compared each word against a dictionary and alerted users to any discrepancies.

“One of my initial tasks at Bell Labs was to obtain the rights to the British dictionary,” Church recalls. He utilized these dictionaries during his early research into autocorrect and speech synthesis programs.

The task of autocorrecting words—such as suggesting “them” instead of “they” in real time—is far more complex. It involves mathematical calculations, wherein the computer statistically evaluates whether “graph” is more likely to refer to a giraffe (just a couple of letters apart) or a homophone like “graph.”

In more complex scenarios, autocorrect must discern if the actual words used align with the context. For instance, figuring out whether your teenage son excels at “math” rather than “meth.”

Until recently, cutting-edge technology relied on N-grams. This system was sufficiently effective that most users took it for granted. If I suspected that a unique name might not be recognized, I would replace any expletives with bland alternatives (a tactic that could be frustrating), or introduce randomness. This led to amusing text changes, like altering “I delivered the baby in a taxi” to “I devoured the baby in a taxi.”

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In simple terms, an N-gram serves as a rudimentary version of contemporary LLMs like ChatGPT. They statistically anticipate what you’re inclined to say based on your previous words and common sentence completions. Various engineering approaches affect the data utilized by N-gram autocorrect, according to Church.

Yet, they are no longer at the forefront of technology. We have entered the AI era.

Apple’s innovative Transformer Language Model signifies a more advanced technology than conventional autocorrect, as Pedersen explained. Transformers represent significant progress behind models such as ChatGPT and Gemini, making these models more adept at handling human inquiries.

The implications for the new autocorrect remain ambiguous. Pedersen notes that whatever Apple incorporates will likely be significantly smaller than widely-recognized AI models, making it feasible for mobile devices.

However, grasping what is malfunctioning with the new autocorrect may prove more challenging than with prior models due to the inherent difficulties of interpreting AI.

“A vast domain of explainability and interpretability exists, and people desire clarity regarding how mechanisms operate,” Church stated. “Old methods can still yield insights into actual operations. The latest innovations appear somewhat magical—they outperform older systems, yet when they don’t function correctly, the results can be dire.”

Source: www.theguardian.com

Strange Discovery: Venus Features a Lava Tube

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SEI 267222984

We are gaining knowledge about Venus, a high-pressure planet

JSC/NASA

There is compelling evidence that vast underground tunnels have been formed from lava on Venus. These formations are unusually wide and distinct from those found on other celestial bodies.

It is generally accepted that underground tunnels, carved through lava, exist as lava tubes on Earth, the Moon, and Mars. Smaller, low-gravity planets tend to develop more porous tubes as their rocky walls are less susceptible to collapse due to weaker gravity. For instance, the Moon has such large tubes that scientists have proposed utilizing them as habitats for astronauts, shielding them from intense solar winds.

Researchers have observed indications of these lava tubes on Venus, evident from surface holes that may have been formed by the underground features or by other geological activities associated with its active fault lines.

Recently, Barbara de Tofoli from the University of Padova in Italy along with her colleagues uncovered direct evidence of these lava tubes on Venus. Remarkably, despite Venus’s similarities to Earth regarding its mass and gravity, its lava tubes appear to be surprisingly wide, with a volume comparable to those found on the Moon.

“While Earth has a small number of lava tubes, Mars has a slightly larger count, and the Moon has even more. Venus disrupts this trend by featuring incredibly large tubes, indicating its potential significance,” she stated at the Europlanet Science Congress in Helsinki, Finland, earlier this month.

De Tofoli and her team used radar and mapping data from previous missions to examine the alignment of these pits near large volcanoes. They identified four distinct sites where alternative geological explanations, such as structural activities, were implausible. The pits were also found to align with the steepest sections of volcanic slopes, consistent with the movement of lava. Their depth-to-width ratio corresponded with known lava tubes.

The unexpectedly large size of these tubes, especially their width, implies that the extreme conditions on Venus, characterized by high temperatures and pressure, can influence the movement of molten rock beneath the surface. “Due to the extremely high pressure, the floor of these tubes is not eroded as intensely as it typically is on other planets; instead, it remains largely flat throughout the tube.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Strange Encounters: Exploring Chuck Tingle’s Erotic Universe with Sexy Dinosaurs, Fiery Tigers, and a Dashing Boat

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In one of the regular segments of John Mulaney’s Netflix show, every week features live interactions with the comedian and his guests as they take calls on the week’s theme. This time, the topic is dinosaurs, and one caller—a surprisingly enthusiastic young boy and noted paleontologist—introduces himself as Chuck, among others. He discusses his book, Dinosaur erotica. “I think that’s my most recognized and award-winning book,” he elaborates. “It was nominated for the Hugo Prize.”

Actor Ayo Edebiri, one of Mulaney’s guests, inquires whether he won. “I didn’t win, but I went on to write a book called Pound after my Hugo Prize loss.”

Edebiri and fellow guest Conan O’Brien react with a mix of delight and confusion, but the call wraps up before Mulaney can delve into the comedic possibilities of their discussion.

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Mulaney’s fans, often a quirky and socially active group, rushed to the comments, expressing that he missed a golden opportunity. The eccentricity isn’t just a relic of the internet’s past; it’s exemplified by the Elite class figure, Chuck Tingle. He initially went viral thanks to his uniquely self-published erotica, complete with endearingly bizarre Photoshop covers and titles that seem as if they were slapped together by an alluring Velociraptor. Tingle’s work even earned a Hugo Award nomination from the far-right Cultural War fringes.


He has consistently shared cover after cover on Twitter, producing increasingly elaborate titles that incorporate creatures of myth. From the absurd (Open wide for a handsome Sabertooth dentist who is also a ghost) to philosophical musings (I became gay by existential horror that I could actually be a character in a Chuck Tingle book), topical references (I have released this handsome cargo ship from the Suez Canal and now he is stuck on my ass), and recursive metatextual adventures (being slapped on the backside in his book “Spanked by My Own Ass”), Tingle’s work is truly multi-layered (with at least six such layered concepts).

If these titles sound outrageous, take a trip through your favorite ebook store to remind yourself that romance and erotica can be surprisingly utilitarian in their own right.

Check out my new novel POUNDED IN THE BUTT BY MY BOOK POUNDED IN THE BUTT BY MY BOOK POUNDED IN THE BUTT BY MY BOOK POUNDED IN THE BUTT BY MY BOOK POUNDED IN THE BUTT BY MY BOOK POUNDED IN THE BUTT BY MY OWN BUTT, available now https://t.co/pbpufzgbgo pic.twitter.com/jpbe1mnvad

— Chuck Tingle (@ChuckTingle) February 22, 2019


To date, Tingle has released “Tingle’s Gone Legate,” novellas, and three mainstream horror novels throughout the years.

He has also begun appearing in person at fan events and conventions. Similar to the enigmatic author Elena Ferrante, whose audience largely enjoys indie horror video games, Tingle maintains his anonymity. However, unlike Ferrante, he flamboyantly showcases himself with a pink pillowcase and a bag over his head, obscuring his features while exuberantly declaring his mantra, “love is real.” Sporting a colorful ensemble of a big blazer, sequined shorts, band tees, and sometimes light-up sneakers, he energetically dashes through theaters and bookstores.


Online, Tingle engages with his audience and celebrates his work with an innocent earnestness, using a unique mix of whimsical language that falls between highbrow and fandom lingo. He refers to readers, fans, and curious onlookers as “Bakaroo.” Life experiences, stories, beliefs, and careers are his “trot.” Tingle notes that his Orbit Bakarus never truly die but are merely visiting and riding a “lonely train” of existence. He expresses thoughts on the “existential dread of choking” and the notion that love is real—whether in eroticism or existentialism, his stories affirm this principle.

Finally released after being stuck in Amazon’s publishing platform for days—please enjoy! I FREED THIS HANDSOME CARGO SHIP FROM THE SUEZ CANAL AND NOW HE’S STUCK IN MY BUTT. https://t.co/yiD92W7oo3 pic.twitter.com/5MebQU2ACs

— Chuck Tingle (@ChuckTingle) March 27, 2021


Tingle has openly discussed his sexuality and sexual experiences in relation to neurodivergence. His storytelling often reflects his experiences being queer, depicting characters who navigate the challenges of revealing their true selves to family and friends in small-town America. His recent horror novels are set in a shared universe, intertwining narratives like Camp Damascus and Bury Your Gays, exploring themes of capitalism, chaos, and radical acceptance as monstrous forces. He emphasizes that authenticity in love and experience is paramount.

This approach is unabashedly direct. To borrow a line from The Great Garth Marengi, I know of writers who employ subtext—yet they all seem rather unwell.

The physical mask Tingle described serves to allow his true self to shine through, as it means less effort concealing his autism. He has maintained a colorful career persona, hinting at the possibility of a performance artist or character he has created since he was young. Rumors abound that he is, in fact, a well-known sturdy actor (and one of the most likable Hollywood Chrises) named Chris Pine.

However, most ardent Bakarus recognize that Chuck leads his own trot.


Source: www.theguardian.com

Did Hideo Kojima Craft Another Strange and Marvelous World?

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A As a teen in South Australia during the late 1980s, I developed a fascination with Australian New Wave Cinema, partly due to the Mad Max trilogy. One day in class, my high school English teacher rolled in a TV trolley and presented us with a screening of Nicholas Roeg’s classic. We were spellbound. Fast forward 40 years, and I’m now immersed in Death Stranding 2, Hideo Kojima’s expansive apocalyptic saga. Occasionally, it feels like I’m reliving that classroom experience. The game unfolds in a devastated Australia, where cities have vanished, and the landscapes are as stunning and prophetic as those in Roeg’s films.

After 45 hours of gameplay, I’ve made minimal progress in the storyline. Instead, I’ve explored the wilderness and delivered packages to remote outposts. Set in a world ravaged by catastrophic events, the game showcases a supernatural explosion that transforms the landscape. As you traverse the expansive ochre desert towards the coast, you witness sunsets behind shimmering mountain ranges, and tides reflecting the sky. Unlike typical open-world games, where environments remain static save for day/night cycles, Australia in Death Stranding 2 feels magical and ever-changing. Earthquakes might send boulders tumbling down mountains or trigger a massive dust storm, while snowy avalanches can engulf you. Along your journey, you can construct roads, power generators, and jump pads, all of which other players can discover and utilize. Each visit to a location feels novel.

Kojima cites George Miller as his inspiration, and the influence of the Mad Max films — with their chaotic, desolate energy — permeates the game. It examines the interplay between technology and isolation, portraying feudal tribes and scarce resources amidst an adrenaline-fueled atmosphere. Yes, he’s influenced by Roeg as well; while there are hints of mythic resonance from Walkabout, the game may lack the profound undertones of colonial guilt. On the remote fringes of the game map, a rocky outcrop evokes memories of Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock.




The hallucinatory strangeness of the sun attacked… a picnic at Hanging Rock.

I’ve spent countless hours driving along the highways of this game, picking up parcels and delivering them to remote locations. Why? Sitting in front of the screen until 2am, I felt compelled to ensure that a shelter received its fluffy pajamas. The magic lies in creating a timeless Australian landscape that is subject to moments of extreme change — echoing the transcendental techniques employed by Weir. This world is both enchanting and menacing, which is utterly captivating.

A few years back, Weir expressed this about Picnic at Hanging Rock: “What I aimed to achieve was an oppressive atmosphere of unresolved tension. To evoke claustrophobia within both place and relationships. We labored intensely to construct a hallucinatory, mesmerizing rhythm that made you lose track of reality.”

In essence, that’s my experience with Death Stranding 2. It’s a game filled with hallucinations and engaging rhythms. You drive and drive, eventually returning to the same locale hours later—only now there’s a road or a marker left by another player who perished during the night. This creative interpretation of Australian landscape captures what Grand Theft Auto has aspired to achieve in American cities. It’s about interpreting and distilling a sense of place from an outsider’s lens. So, when I finally unlocked a new area for exploration, the sense of wonder mirrored my first viewing of Walkabout on a rainy afternoon in Manchester. I’m certain it will take me months to uncover it all.

What to Play




A philosophical comedy… a Quantum Witch. Photo: Nikki J.

A few months ago, I interviewed the creator of Quantum Witch, a unique pixel art adventure about a shepherdess who lost her flock and was caught in a metaphysical conflict between clashing gods. Nikki Jay, raised in a religious cult, escaped to forge her own path, and her experiences deeply inspire the game.

Developed with minimal assistance from Paul Rose, the inventor of the iconic Teletext Gaming Gin digitizer for Channel 4, it blends point-and-click mechanics with a postmodern deconstruction of the genre, punctuated with eccentric undertones. If you enjoy irreverent humor, you’ve come to the right place, or you’re simply looking for something delightful and quirky.

Available at: PC
Estimated playtime: Five hours or more

What to Read




Bad news? …Mindseye. Photo: IO Interactive

  • In more troubling news for game industry employees—Mind-Annoyed Developers have begun to Make a Rocket Boy. Following a disastrous launch, the studio has seen significant layoffs. Games plagued by bugs and AI glitches have received negative reviews from both players and critics, with IGN reporting that up to 100 staff members have been let go. What a disaster.

  • Eurogamer features an amazing interview with voice actor Ashley Burch, discussing whether video games can positively impact mental health. Burch shares her own experiences with obsessive-compulsive disorder and how Harvest Moon 64 aided her coping mechanisms.

  • We love in-depth explorations of classic video games, and Gamespot has produced an amazing piece about how a designer crafted the best level in Deus Ex—the Aeon Storm, a legendary role-playing adventure from Dallas Studios, filled with intriguing details about the alternative rendition of Hong Kong.

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Question Block




A peculiar narrative, a short play… The Rest of Edith Finch. Photo: Annapurna Interactive

This comes from Adam:

“I’ve been enjoying Be Brave, Barb, from the developers behind the fun Daddish series. I appreciate its straightforward, bite-sized gameplay, reminiscent of my experiences with the Game Boy Kirby titles.” What’s your favorite snack-sized game?

After my initial experience with the eerie short horror title Thin, I’m now obsessed with curious mini horror games, adding titles like Mouse Washing, Murder Case, and PT to my list. I’m also fond of classic PlayStation minigames like BISHIBASI Special and Point Blank. From the rest of the team, Keza is into WarioWare, The Lonely Mountain, and Pokémon Trading Card Game (“yes, still,” she says). Tom Regan enjoys Edith Finch’s Remains, Florence, and Inside; Christian Dongran mentions short-burst games like Loop Hero, Tetris Effect, and Sifu, while also noting, “Guardian Quick Cryptic is my favorite ten minutes of the week.” Sarah Maria Griffin loves Short Hike, and of course, the delightful Untitled Goose Game is a perfect little gem.

If you have questions or feedback regarding the newsletter, don’t hesitate to reply or email us at butingbuttons@theguardian.com.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Strange vertical orbits of an exoplanet observed around a binary brown dwarf system

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Impression of the artist in the unusual orbit around the brown dwarf of ExoPlanet 2M1510 (AB)B

ESO/L. Calsada

It was first revealed that a pair of rare stars have equally rare companions, exoplanets that rush into orbit vertically.

Astronomers may think they know what the normal thing is about stars and planets, but they say, “But the universe is very diverse.” Amaury Triaud At the University of Birmingham, UK. He and his colleagues unexpectedly discovered evidence of rare constructs while analyzing data collected by a very large Chilean telescope.

The two stars are brown d stars. This means that they are small and very dim because they cannot maintain fusion and are often referred to as failed stars or subseber ral objects. They follow orbit and continue to cover each other when viewed from Earth. Researchers have previously observed only one brown d-star binary.

Triaud and his colleagues carefully analyzed the new binary system to determine the mass of the stars and their movements, and unexpectedly strange signals were found in the data. Ultimately, the only physical scenario that can explain it is that of a planet-sized object orbiting two stars, following an ellipse perpendicular to the star’s orbit.

Triaud says that vertical orbit is not entirely unheard of, but he and his colleagues never expected to see it in this context. “Brown dwarfs are rare. Brown dwarf pairs are rare. Covering a pair of brown dwarfs is even more unusual and faint, making it difficult to measure,” he says. “That was a surprise. In a system that is ideal and not rare in itself, there is this configuration.”

Twenty years ago, such a structure was considered science fiction, but now it has become a scientific fact. Katherine Brandel At Oxford University. “This is a truly beautiful outcome,” she says. Details of the impending orbit of the two stars make a strong claim that this “harmonograph of the sky” is authentic. By studying how they eat each other, we can identify more details about this unique trio’s moves going forward, Blundell says.

Researchers would like to learn more about the exoplanet named 2M1510(AB)B, but can be compared to a fictional tattoo. Star Warsa desert world orbiting two suns. However, the two suns on the 2M1510(AB)B dimming and get exposed to the surface with something similar to the double dose of moonlight.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Strange events occurring in close proximity to a neighboring galaxy

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The little Magellan Clouds (SMCs), a dwarf galaxy that is orbiting near our own Milky Way, appear to satisfy a rather dramatic ending.

That is the conclusion of a new study published in Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series astronomers have tracked over 7,000 large stars in SMC. Each one is more than eight times the size of our sun.

These star heavyweights burn a short life that lives bright and fast, providing clues about their own movements as well as their turbulent gas clouds.

And what researchers found was impressive. This former codbone universe’s neighbor is torn apart quite badly by the gravity of the large Magellan Cloud (LMC).

The milky stripes of this star-filled sky are two d-star galaxies visible only from the southern hemisphere – here is a small Magellan cloud photographed above the Delusional Observatory of Eso in Chile. -ESO/j. Corosimo

“SMCs are interacting galaxies that are coupled to the LMC by gravity.” Satoya Nakano the first author of the study said BBC Science Focus. “The stars on the side of the SMC near the LMC experience stronger gravity and are moving towards the LMC, but the stars experience even weaker pulls.”

This gravitational tug of war slowly pulls the SMC apart with possible nudges from our own Milky Way approaching about 200,000 light years away.

So why is this important?

For one, the team discovered that the SMC was not rotating the way astronomers had assumed. Spiral galaxies like our own usually rotate with stars and gas processing around the central axis. But not all galaxies are – and SMC may be one of them.

“The question of when rotational motion appears in galaxies is a very interesting topic among researchers,” Nakano said.

“SMC was considered a rotating galaxy, but this study shows that it is not actually rotating. It suggests that if even a nearby galaxy like SMC is misinterpreted, it requires much more attention when assessing galaxy rotations further away.”

The colours of the arrows represent the direction of the movement of the giant stars in the SMC. Compared to the LMC at the bottom left of the image, most red arrows show movement towards the LMC, while most light blue arrows show movement away from the LMC, suggesting that they are being pulled apart. – Satoya Nakano

And SMC is very close by space standards. Just 200,000 light years away, it is more than ten times closer to Andromeda, the nearest largest galaxy.

The lack of rotation not only changes our understanding of SMC’s structure, but also allows us to discard estimates of mass.

“The SMC is not rotating, so historical estimates of its mass may be incorrect.” Professor Tahara the author of another study said BBC Science Focus.

“The estimates of mass were born from previously estimated rotational motions. However, if these are not reliable, the estimates need to be revised. Without this, we cannot predict the future existence of SMC.”

Nakano and Tahara hope that detailed simulation observations to model the fate of the galaxy open the door. But for now, the future appears to be far from bright.

About our experts

Satoya Nakano is a doctoral candidate from the Faculty of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Japan.

Tahara Sword He is an associate professor at Nagoya University Graduate School of Science, Japan. His research is Publications of the Japanese Astronomical Association, Astrophysical Journal and Astronomy and Astrophysics.

read more:

  • How do you know that the Milky Way is a spiral galaxy?
  • How many galaxies are there in the universe?
  • How Alien Galaxies Will Quickly Collide Ours

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Strange X-ray Emissions from a Remote White Dwarf Destroy a Devastated Exoplanet

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Astronomers may have ultimately solved the problem of what is causing the highly energy x-rays of WD 2226-210, a white dwarf star located in the heart of the Helix Nebula.

The impression of this artist shows an ex faction (left) that has come too close to the white dwarf (right) and torn apart by the power of the tide from the stars. Image credits: NASA/CXC/SAO/M. Weiss.

Helix Nebula It is a so-called planetary nebulae, a late stage of the star that discharges the outer layer of gas and leaves behind what is known as the white dwarf.

In the past decades, the Einstein X-ray Observatory and the Rosatt Telescope have detected highly energy x-rays from the white d star of the Helix Nebula, WD 2226-210.

White dwarfs like the WD 2226-210, just 650 light years away, usually do not emit powerful X-rays.

“They're the best,” said Dr. Sandino Estrada Dorado, an astronomer at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

“We may finally have found the cause of a mystery that lasted over 40 years.”

Previously, astronomers determined that Neptune-sized planets were in very close orbits around WD 2226-210.

Dr. Estrada Dorado and colleagues conclude that there may have been a planet like Jupiter, even closer to the star.

The besieged planet may have initially managed to hold a considerable distance from the white dwarf, but moved inwards by interacting with the gravity of other planets in the system.

Once it got close enough to the white dwarf, the gravity of the star would have partially or completely tore the planet.

“The mystical signals we've seen can be caused by fragments from the crushed planet falling onto the surface of a white dwarf and being heated to shine with x-rays,” said Dr. Martin Guerrero, an astronomer at the Andalusian Institute of Astronomy.

“If confirmed, this will be the first case of a planet that is considered to be destroyed by the central star of the planet.”

WD 2226-210 is located at the heart of the Helix Nebula. Image credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/UNIV MEXICO/ESTRADA-DORADO et al. /JPL/ESA/STSCI/M. MEIXNER/NRAO/TA RECTOR/ESO/Vista/J. Emerson/K. Arcand.

This study shows that X-ray signals from the white d star remained roughly constant in brightness between 1992, 1999 and 2002.

However, this data suggests that there are subtle and regular changes in the x-ray signal every 2.9 hours, which may provide evidence of planetary ruins very close to the white d star.

The author also considered whether a low-mass star could have been destroyed rather than a planet.

Such stars are roughly the same size as planets like Jupiter, but are much less likely to have been torn apart by larger, white dwarfs.

WD 2226-210 has some similarities between the two other white d stars that are not within the planet's nebula and the X-ray behavior.

It may separate the material from the planet's ally, but it will separate the material in a more sedative way without the planet being destroyed immediately.

Other white dwarfs may have dragged material onto their surfaces from traces of the planet.

These three white d stars can form variables or objects of change in the new class.

“They're the best,” said Dr. Jess Tora, an astronomer at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Team's paper It will be published in Monthly Notices from the Royal Astronomical Society.

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S. Estrada-Dorado et al. 2025. Added to WD 2226-210, the central star of the Helix Nebula. mnrasin press; Arxiv: 2412.07863

This article is a version of a press release provided by NASA.

Source: www.sci.news

The strange TikTok cooking oil trend demonstrates the pitfalls of misinformation spread through social media

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On TikTok, people claim that pouring castor oil on their belly buttons can cure endometriosis, aid in weight loss, improve complexion, and promote healthy hair. However, it’s important to question the scientific basis behind this viral trend. Castor oil is known for its stimulant and laxative effects, which can be beneficial for treating constipation and inducing labor, although there are more commonly used medications for these purposes.

In addition to its medicinal uses, castor oil is also utilized in cosmetics like lip balms and moisturizers due to its moisturizing and antibacterial properties. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research supporting or refuting the health benefits of applying castor oil to the belly button.

This practice may not make sense from a physiological standpoint, as the belly button served as a connection to the placenta during fetal development, providing oxygen and removing waste products. However, this connection is severed at birth, and oil does not enter the body through the belly button.

While massaging castor oil into the skin may offer temporary relief for certain conditions, such as menstrual cramps, it is not proven to be effective for weight loss or pain relief when taken orally or applied topically. Essential oils have shown to be more effective for aromatherapy purposes compared to unscented oils like castor oil.

Overall, while abdominal massage with castor oil may provide some relief for symptoms like constipation, it is not a substitute for proper medical treatment. It’s important to approach health trends with caution and rely on scientifically proven methods for healthcare.

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Understanding the Strange Nature of the First Discovered Brown Dwarf

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Congratulations, you're twins

K. Miller, R. Hart/California Institute of Technology/IPAC

A strange star that has confused researchers for decades now makes sense. It turns out that it is not a single star, but two companion stars.

“Previously, it was thought that this brown dwarf was meaningless. We wondered if we were doing something horribly wrong, or if our models were horribly wrong. I was worried. But no, everything is fine. I just have friends.” timothy blunt at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Maryland.

Now, two research teams have used instruments from the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii and the Very Large Telescope in Chile to solve the mystery of the first brown dwarf.

Brown dwarfs are “failed stars” in that they have too little material and are too hot to sustain nuclear fusion. Instead of shining brightly for thousands of years, they dim in the night sky like planets. The first brown dwarf, called Gliese 229B, was discovered in 1995 and had an inexplicably large mass. Jerry Xuan I worked on one of the studies at the California Institute of Technology.

Gliese 229B is estimated to have about 71 times the mass of Jupiter, and a star born at that size, even if it were as old as the universe, would cool down and become faint enough to see us. That would have never happened, said participant Brandt. One of the research team. This has led some researchers to suggest that Gliese 22B is a very faint pair of stars, but until now there has been no conclusive evidence.

Xuan said this was because two fellow brown dwarfs, Gliese 229Ba and Bb, were unusually close together, and very precise observations were needed to see them both. However, observations by both teams confirmed that they exist separately, orbiting each other every 12 days, and are always about 16 times the distance between Earth and the Moon.

He says that revealing the dual identity of Gliese 229B may be the start of a trend. samuel white book He was part of a research team at the California Institute of Technology. “There are probably a lot of binary systems that have been hiding in front of us all this time,” he says.

Xuan said he has already selected several other brown dwarfs to study more precisely. Brown dwarfs resemble both exoplanets and stars, so understanding how many of them are actually twins could shed light on the formation of these other objects as well. Maybe.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

The World’s Leading AI Expert Predicts a Strange 2050

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Ray Kurzweil is a prominent figure in the field of artificial intelligence, with over 60 years of experience. He has achieved many milestones in AI development, such as inventing the first commercially available large vocabulary speech recognition software. Kurzweil’s expertise in AI was recognized with the National Medal of Technology by President Bill Clinton in 1999 and his induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2002.

In addition to his practical accomplishments, Kurzweil is known for his accurate predictions about future technologies. His book “The Singularity is Near,” published in 2005, explored the rapid advances in computing and AI, predicting the future impact of AI on society. In his follow-up book, “The Singularity is Approaching,” Kurzweil delves into how AI will reshape our lives.

Kurzweil forecasts significant changes ahead, particularly in the realm of artificial general intelligence (AGI). He believes AGI will surpass human abilities in various cognitive tasks, potentially becoming available by 2029. The pace of technological advances in AI is accelerating exponentially, with Kurzweil emphasizing the need to prepare for the evolution of AI.

Another groundbreaking prediction by Kurzweil is the potential end of aging through advancements in healthcare and technology. He envisions a future where aging can be slowed down or prevented entirely, with life expectancy increasing significantly. Kurzweil’s optimistic outlook extends to the integration of AI with human intelligence by 2050, creating a new form of intelligence through the merging of human brains with computers.

As a futurist, author, and inventor, Ray Kurzweil continues to shape the conversation around AI and its impact on society. His visionary insights invite us to consider the possibilities and challenges that lie ahead in the ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Scientists May Have Finally Discovered the Cause of Strange Occurrences at Earth’s Core

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You may be surprised by how little we actually know about the inner workings of the Earth. While we have a good grasp of how the Earth’s surface moves to create mountains and trigger earthquakes, the deeper we delve, the more mysterious it becomes.

One highly debated topic for years has been the movement of the Earth’s inner core. Does it move forward, backward, left, right? The truth is, nobody really knows. However, recent research published in Nature suggests that the core is receding relative to the surface, potentially putting an end to the long-standing debate.

This study confirms a controversial paper from the previous year by researchers at Peking University, as detailed in Nature Chemistry.

The inner core of the Earth is a solid, crystallized sphere of iron, approximately the size of the Moon, situated around 5,000 km beneath us in a liquid metal sea known as the outer core comprised of iron, nickel, and other metals.

“The inner core is a solid entity that floats within the outer core, lacking any anchorage,” explained Professor John Vidal, co-author of the study, a researcher at the University of Southern California (USC), in an interview with BBC Science Focus.

According to a press release from USC, the study presents “unequivocal evidence” that the movement of the inner core slowed around 2010 and is now lagging behind the surface movement. This new motion pattern makes the core appear to move backward compared to the surface, akin to how a slowing car seems to move in reverse to a steady-speed driver.

If the findings are accurate, this marks the initial detection of a slowdown in 40 years and supports the notion that the core’s velocity fluctuates in a 70-year cycle.

The research team utilized seismometers in Canada and Alaska to analyze repeated earthquakes, focusing on 121 events in the South Sandwich Islands between 1991 and 2023, along with data from past nuclear tests conducted by the Soviets.

By examining matching seismic waveforms from various time periods, the team sought to determine if the inner core rotates independently from the rest of the Earth. Discrepancies in wave patterns indicated changes in the core’s rotation, with some signals aligning pre and post-shift, implying a realignment of the core.

Bidart, one of the researchers, expressed initial confusion upon seeing seismic records suggesting a change but became convinced upon discovering more consistent observations. The slowdown in the inner core’s movement, unseen for decades, aligns with their latest findings, offering a plausible resolution to the ongoing debate.

Despite uncertainties regarding surface impacts, Bidale acknowledged a slight potential change in the length of a day, barely perceptible amid the Earth’s bustling activity of oceanic and atmospheric movements.

Future research aims to gather additional waveform data from diverse global locations and pathways. Vidar highlighted a wait-and-see approach, anticipating unusual core movements around 2001 and further exploration to elucidate these occurrences.

About our experts

John Vidale Dr. Schneider currently chairs the Department of Geosciences at the University of Southern California. His research covers earthquakes, Earth structure, volcanoes, and seismic hazards. At USC since 2017, Dr. Schneider previously directed the Southern California Earthquake Center and contributed to earthquake-related committees and working groups.

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Strange crystal structure reveals incredibly complex maze

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Can you find your way out of the red center of the maze? Scroll down for the answer

University of Bristol

An algorithm designed to find the most efficient path from atom to atom in a strange kind of crystal turns out to create incredibly complex mazes. In addition to building mazes, the technique could also be useful for speeding up certain industrial chemical reactions.

The crystals in question are called quasicrystals because their atoms are arranged in a repeating fashion like normal crystals, but they exhibit more complex and unpredictable symmetries. Although such crystals have been synthesized in laboratories and were produced during the first nuclear weapon detonation in 1945, only one natural source has been found so far: a meteorite found in Russia in 1985.

“Quasicrystals have all the symmetries that normal crystals don’t have. [normal] The crystals are very interesting.” Felix Flicker Professor at the University of Bristol in the UK. “It’s a very beautiful area of mathematics, but you can appreciate that beauty directly without knowing the details.”

Fricker and his colleagues developed an algorithm to quickly generate paths that contact every atom in a quasicrystal exactly once. Diagrams of these paths form beautiful maze-like structures.

Creating such a pathway is known in computer science as an NP-complete problem, a problem that becomes exponentially more complicated as the number of atoms increases. These problems can quickly become virtually impossible to compute at large scales, but the researchers have found that in some quasicrystals the problem is unexpectedly simple.

“This was quite surprising, since this problem in general is known to be essentially unsolvable and, since these quasicrystals do not have translational symmetry, it did not seem to offer any obvious simplifications,” Fricker says.

The solution to the maze is marked in red

University of Bristol

Developing such a pathway, Fricker says, could be put to practical use in a laboratory technique called scanning tunneling microscopy, in which an extremely sharp tip is maneuvered over a material to sense individual atoms one by one, building up an atomic-level picture. Creating complex images, such as one of the quasicrystal itself, can take up to a month, but Fricker says that time could be cut in half if a more efficient pathway could be found to capture each atom.

Fricker also believes the technique could be used to create crystalline catalysts for industrial chemical processes that are more efficient than current methods, making certain compounds faster or less costly to produce. But Fricker thinks other uses may also become apparent over time. “I hope the most interesting uses will be ones that we haven’t even thought of.”

Physical Review X
DOI: In press

Source: www.newscientist.com

Signs of a Deepfake: Dirty chins, strange hands, and odd numbers

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This is a crucial election year for the world, with misinformation swirling on social media as countries including the UK, US and France go to the polls.

There are major concerns about whether deepfakes – images and audio of key politicians created using artificial intelligence to mislead voters – could influence election outcomes.

While it has not been a major talking point in the UK elections so far, examples are steadily emerging around the world, including in the US, where a presidential election is looming.

Notable visual elements include:

Discomfort around the mouth and jaw

In deepfake videos, the area around the mouth can be the biggest clue: There may be fewer wrinkles on the skin, less detail around the mouth, and a blurry or smudged chin. Poor syncing between a person’s voice and mouth is another telltale sign.

The deepfake video, posted on June 17, shows Nigel Farage simulating the destruction of Rishi Sunak’s house in Minecraft. Deepfake satire trend A video showing politicians playing online games.

A few days later, Another Simulation Video Keir Starmer was seen playing Minecraft and setting up traps in “Nigel’s Pub”.

Dr Mhairi Aitken, an ethics researcher at the Alan Turing Institute, the UK’s national AI lab, says the first feature of Minecraft deepfakes is, of course, the “absurdity of the situation”, but another sign of AI-generated media and manipulation is the imperfect synchronization of voice and mouth.

“This is particularly clear in the section where Farage is speaking,” Aitken said.

Another way to tell, Aitken says, is to see if shadows fall in the right places, or if lines and creases in the face move in the way you expect them to.

Ardi Djandzheva, a researcher at the institute, added that the low resolution of the overall video is another telltale sign people should look out for because it “looks like something that was quickly stitched together.” He said people have become accustomed to this amateurish technique due to the prevalence of “rudimentary, low-resolution scam email attempts.”

This lo-fi approach also shows up in prominent areas like the mouth and jawline, he says: “There’s an excessive blurring and smudge of facial features that are the focus of the viewer’s attention, like the mouth.”

Strange elements of the speech

Another deepfake video featured audio edited from Keir Starmer’s 2023 New Year’s speech pitching an investment scheme.

If you listen closely, you’ll notice some odd sentence structure: Starmer repeatedly says “pound” before a figure, for example “pound 35,000 per month”.

Aitken said the voice and mouth were again out of sync and the lower part of the face was blurred, adding that the use of “pounds” before the numbers suggested a text-to-speech tool had probably been used to recreate Starmer’s voice.

“This mirrors typical spoken language patterns, as it is likely a written-to-speech tool was used, which has not been confirmed,” she says. “There are clues in the intonation as well, which maintains a fairly monotonous rhythm and pattern throughout. A good way to check the authenticity of a video is to compare the voice, mannerisms and expressions to a recording of a real person to see if there is consistency.”

Face and body consistency

This deepfake video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky calling on civilians to lay down their arms to Russian forces was circulated in March 2022. The head is disproportionately large compared to the rest of the body, and the skin on the neck and face is a different color.

Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and an expert on deepfake detection, said this is “a classic deepfake.” The immobile body is the telltale sign, he said. “The defining feature of this so-called Puppet Master deepfake is that the body is immobile from the neck down.”

Discontinuities throughout the video clip

The video, which went viral in May 2024, falsely shows U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller telling a reporter that “there are virtually no civilians left in Belgorod,” justifying the Ukrainian military’s attack on the Russian city of Belgorod. The video was tweeted by the Russian embassy in South Africa and has since been removed, according to Russian media. BBC journalist.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Strange Animal Behavior to Watch for During April’s Solar Eclipse

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On April 8th, while most people in the United States will be staring into the sky (preferably wearing appropriate safety glasses), animals will have no idea what’s going on.

That’s natural, right? For animals, the sun constitutes their entire life. Without energy drinks and late-night TV to disrupt their sleep schedules, the sun is an all-in-one alarm clock, sleeping pill, and calendar for animals.

In 2017, a team of researchers studied how different animals responded to a total solar eclipse in the United States.

“Basically, everything we’ve ever heard about animal behavior during a solar eclipse can reasonably be considered anecdotal from a scientific perspective.” Professor Adam Hartstone Rose says the person who led the research. BBC Science Focus.

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Hartstone-Rose and his team observed the behavior of 17 species at Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, South Carolina. This is the first time such a study has been conducted. What did they find? Now, how animals behave during a total solar eclipse varies dramatically, from not at all bothersome to downright weird…

Strange ways animals may react to solar eclipses

Heartstone-Rose said animals responded to celestial events in one of four ways. These include not responding at all, starting nighttime routines, showing anxiety, and exhibiting new behaviors.

“Most animals fall into a category that we call related to circadian rhythms. So basically, animals treat solar eclipses as if they were evening, then night, then morning; “I get into a routine,” he says.

Similar nighttime routines have been widely reported for other eclipses. As the moon passes in front of the sun, expect birds to quiet down and crickets and cicadas to become more active.

The next largest behavioral category was, somewhat sadly, anxiety-related behaviors. For example, evidence gathered by Hartstone-Rose and her research team suggests that if you’re near a giraffe during a solar eclipse, you should stay well away from them.

“During the peak of the eclipse, the giraffes started running around like crazy and in potentially dangerous ways,” Hartstone-Rose explains.

“Giraffes in the wild are very gentle animals. They’re a little bit wild and sensitive. They don’t do crazy things unless they have to, so when I saw giraffes running around…, only when startled by a predator, vehicle, etc.”

Thankfully, any disturbing behavior didn’t last long. “The good news is that all of the animal’s behavior returns to normal very quickly, literally within minutes.”

But what about these so-called “novel” behaviors? This is where things get weird.

The siamang is a type of gibbon that lives in the forests of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Although they look cute, they are known to be very noisy and have large throat pouches.use their heads to help sing.

The research team recorded the calls of the siamang during and for several days before and after the eclipse, and found that it emitted a unique call during the totality. It was something they had never heard before.

“We were able to statistically show that vocalizations during a solar eclipse are much different than at any other time we’ve been able to record vocalizations,” Hartstone-Rose says. “That was pretty remarkable.”

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The prize for the strangest solar eclipse behavior is… giant tortoise?

If anxious runs and strange songs weren’t enough, Riverbanks Zoo’s Galapagos tortoises took their reaction to the solar eclipse to a different level.

“Galapagos tortoises are not charismatic animals,” Hartstone-Rose says. “They’re like weird looking rocks that can live to be well over 100 years old.”

Galapagos giant tortoises began mating from the moment of totality. – Image credit: Getty

According to stereotypes, they are not particularly fast moving and the males Weight is over 227 kg making it the largest turtle species on Earth.

When the sun eclipsed the moon in 2017, Galapagos tortoises started doing something unexpected. They literally started breeding right before our eyes. “

Therefore, a solar eclipse may lift your turtle’s mood. Did anyone know?

How can I participate this time?

After 2017’s surprising discoveries, researchers hope to do even more this year.

Hartstone-Rose and a team of researchers plan to observe animal behavior at the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas. They will observe and compare some of the same species and new species from 2017.

But you don’t have to be a trained researcher to help scientists understand animal behavior during this once-in-a-lifetime event.

“The really exciting research we’re doing is solar eclipse safari project” says Heartstone Rose.

If you want to participate, just choose the animal you want to observe, whether it’s a dog, cat, domestic animal, or natural animal.

You don’t have to go down the path of perfection either. There will be at least a partial solar eclipse across the United States on April 8, and researchers want to know whether the severity of the eclipse affects behavior.

Before you worry that you’ll miss the eclipse itself because you’re too busy checking to see if your dog is scratching its ears, don’t worry. Data collection only takes a few seconds every few minutes, so you still have time to understand everything.

Why study animals during a solar eclipse?

While understanding how different animals behave during a solar eclipse may seem interesting to some, it is ultimately a pointless endeavor. Fair point. Although there is some method to madness.

First, Hartstone-Rose points out that it’s important to understand which animals exhibit anxiety.

“If solar eclipses are upsetting, or if the human response to solar eclipses is upsetting, that’s important information for us to know. For example, giraffes really If it runs around, it may be ethical to move the giraffe indoors during the next solar eclipse.

“At the end of the day, we don’t want them to hurt themselves.”

Even more poignantly, he thinks this could answer some of the big questions about our relationship with animals.

“One of the big questions, and anyone who has a pet dog or cat knows this, is what’s going on inside this animal’s head. Do you know? ? What is my dog thinking at any given moment? People have such questions not only about dogs, but about all their favorite animals.”

Perhaps by understanding how animals respond to one of the most unique and fascinating experiences on earth, we can move one step closer to solving the mystery.

About our experts

adam hartstone rose He is a professor of biological sciences at North Carolina State University. His research typically focuses on anatomical adaptations (e.g. feeding experiments), muscle examination (e.g. masticatory muscles), and analysis of bones and teeth in live animals. In 2017, he led a study on animal behavior during a total solar eclipse at Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens in Columbia, South Carolina.

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Confining Atoms in a Small Tube Creates a Strange “Primary Gas”

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A single atom of krypton trapped in a Buckminsterfullerene cage

University of Nottingham

The krypton atoms become stuck in a “traffic jam” inside the carbon nanotube, unable to pass through each other, allowing scientists to more easily observe how the krypton atoms interact. Researchers hope that this “primary energetic body” can shed light on fundamental physical forces.

Andrey Klobistov and his colleagues at the University of Nottingham, UK, have discovered that the narrow space restricts movement and makes it easier to observe the inside of carbon nanotubes, which are just 1.5 nanometers thick (one-half millionth the width of a human hair). He spent years studying chemical reactions. They have now developed a way to do the same thing with atoms of the rare gas krypton, creating a so-called one-dimensional gas.

The researchers used a buckminsterfullerene molecule, a spherical cage made of 60 carbon atoms, with a krypton atom trapped inside. These molecules are sucked into the carbon nanotube by van der Waals forces, weak attractive forces caused by fluctuations in the electron cloud surrounding the atomic nucleus. Once filled, the tube is heated to 1200 °C and the cage is destroyed. The carbon atoms are absorbed into the nanotube, leaving behind a string of krypton atoms.

A single atom of krypton confined in a Buckminsterfullerene cage inside a nanotube, observed with an electron microscope

University of Nottingham

Klovistov said the result is like a “traffic jam” in which atoms can be observed slowly, rather than flying around at up to 400 meters per second, as they often do in three-dimensional gases. The group used a transmission electron microscope to image atoms, allowing them to accurately measure the distances between them.

“They fundamentally change their behavior,” Klovistov said. “This is a very interesting system. We can track their trajectories, how they move and how they interact. This is a great toy to play with with noble gases. “We can gain a fundamental understanding of the behavior of atoms under extreme confinement.”

Other researchers have already observed that krypton atoms form pairs held together by van der Waals forces. This phenomenon is difficult to observe in unconstrained atoms and can also occur within nanotubes. Klobistov said future experiments will be “full of surprises.”

Future research will investigate how temperature affects primary gas. If you reduce the temperature of a gas in three-dimensional space, it will condense into a liquid and then solidify, but there is no guarantee that the same rules will apply in his one dimension.

“Maybe there's no such thing as a 1D liquid, it's just a 1D solid. It's a bit of a voyage of discovery,” says Klobistov.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Porous iceberg on Saturn’s moon Titan believed to be a strange ‘magical island’

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Infrared image of Saturn’s icy moon Titan

NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology/Stephane Le Mouelik, Virginia Pasek

Saturn’s moon Titan is home to strange “magical islands” that appear and disappear over hours to weeks. These so-called islands are actually porous, sponge-like masses of snow that can slowly fill with liquid before sinking.

Titan’s thick atmosphere is filled with complex organic molecules that can clump together and fall to the moon’s surface like snow. Sintin Yu Researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio thought that snow could be the cause of the magical islands. To test their idea, they took advantage of what we know about these atmospheric compounds and how they are expected to interact with Titan’s oceans.

Titan’s liquid is methane, not water, so any solids on the surface of these oceans would normally be expected to sink quickly. Water molecules tend to stick together and displace other substances, but methane easily sticks to other molecules, so the surface tension of a pool of liquid methane is very low.

“Water molecules just love themselves by excluding certain molecules,” he says. michael marasca from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California was not involved in the study. “But if you put methane on the same surface, it’ll start crawling all over the place.” That means Titan’s methane oceans and lakes should immediately swallow up any solids that are expected to float. It means that.

But that clearly won’t happen on the magical island, which appeared as a temporary bright spot in observations from the Cassini spacecraft. “For us to see magical islands, they cannot float briefly and then immediately sink,” Yu said in the paper. statement. “You have to stay afloat for a while, but not forever.” Researchers have found a solution to this problem. When large amounts of snow accumulate on the coast, they can form sponge-like, porous ice. Once these porous “icebergs” separated from the land, they could float in Titan’s oceans for long enough to rival Cassini’s observations. The researchers calculated that this would work if the sponge-like structure contained enough free space (at least about 25 to 50 percent, depending on the exact composition of the ice).

However, this does not mean that these mysterious islands are definitely porous icebergs. “We’re narrowing down different scenarios for the magical island, but we don’t know the answer yet,” Malasca says. Other possible explanations include nitrogen gas bubbles, waves caused by wind or solid ocean deposits. However, this provides evidence that Titan’s temporary islands may actually be suspended matter from this strange world’s atmosphere.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Strange Alien Planet Indicates Earth’s Survival After Sun’s Demise

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Mark Garlick/Science Photo Library

When I found out the date of the end of the Earth, everything seemed so simple. Five billion years from now, the solar system will have changed dramatically. Instead of the gentle presence we are accustomed to, the sun will become a behemoth, hundreds of times larger than it is today. In the process, it will wipe out the rocky inner planets, including our own.

Or will it be? We recently witnessed the death stages of another star for the first time. And miraculously, it seems some planets will be able to survive this apocalyptic era. Observations like these call into question the story of how the Earth will die, and give us hope that somehow the Earth may outlast the Sun. Even if it doesn’t, all is not lost. The study also provides clues as to where humans might best seek refuge.

How does the sun die?

The sun is powered by nuclear fusion. In nuclear fusion, hydrogen atoms fuse into helium, releasing a huge amount of energy in the process. However, the fate of our star is determined by one fact. This means that the supply of hydrogen is limited. As this energy begins to deplete, in about another 5 billion years, the Sun’s internal structure will change and it will expand to about 200 times its current size. It will change from the current yellow dwarf to a red giant. After another billion years, the star shrinks and expands again, before disappearing and becoming a stellar corpse called a white dwarf.

As it grows…

Source: www.newscientist.com