Tag Archives: universe

The Sun-Fueled Black Hole: Potential to Shine as the Brightest Object in the Universe

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Researchers have identified a quasar with a black hole at its center that may be the most luminous object in the universe. This quasar is growing at an incredible rate, capable of consuming an amount equivalent to the sun in a single day.

The record-breaking quasar shines 500 trillion times brighter than the sun. Scientists reported in the journal Nature Astronomy that the black hole fueling this quasar is more than 17 billion times more massive than the sun.

Despite appearing as mere dots in images, scientists believe quasars to be formidable entities.

The disk of luminous gas and other material orbiting a quasar’s black hole is akin to a cosmic hurricane.

“This quasar is the most violent place in the universe as we know it,” said lead author Christian Wolff of the Australian National University.

The object, known as J0529-4351, was initially discovered by the European Southern Observatory in 1980 and misclassified as a star. It was not confirmed to be a quasar until last year, after telescope observations in Australia and the Atacama Desert in Chile.

“What’s interesting about this quasar is that it’s hiding in plain sight and was previously misclassified as a star,” said Priyamvada Natarajan of Yale University.

Further analysis revealed that the quasar consumes the equivalent of 370 suns a year, or one sun a day, and the black hole at its center has a mass between 17 billion and 19 billion times that of the sun. More observations are needed to understand its growth rate.

Quasars are located 12 billion light years away and have existed since the beginning of the universe. One light year is 5.8 trillion miles.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

CERN’s New 91km-Long Particle Accelerator May Soon Unveil the End of the Universe

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Officials at CERN, the world’s leading particle physics research institute, have announced plans to build the world’s largest particle accelerator. The machine is designed to smash molecules at near the speed of light, marking a significant step forward.

The proposed super collider, called the Future Circular Collider (FCC), will be a massive 91 km in length, three times the size of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). This new machine will allow scientists to collide particles with greater precision and energy than ever before, potentially unraveling some of the universe’s biggest mysteries. These include the existence of more matter than antimatter, the nature of dark matter and energy, the presence of hidden extra dimensions, and the existence of the universe as a whole.

This step forward is significant because scientists hope the FCC will deepen their understanding of particle physics, aiming to explain why particles have specific masses and forces, and to uncover the nature of dark matter and dark energy, which account for 95% of the mass-energy of the universe. If approved, construction is expected to start by the mid-2030s, with the first stage operating around 2045, followed by a second phase extending research into the 2070s, establishing the FCC as a multigenerational scientific research effort.

Is bigger always better?

The importance of building larger particle accelerators lies in the fact that they can achieve higher collision energies. The goal is to put in enough energy to create new particles, such as the Higgs boson. The FCC aims to eventually reach seven times the collision energy of the LHC, offering a new and more complete understanding of physics.

The FCC will be capable of creating millions of Higgs particles, providing scientists with the opportunity to study them in great detail to understand how they interact with other particles. The Higgs boson is a carrier particle of the Higgs field that permeates space and gives mass to other particles, challenging previously held concepts about matter and mass.

CERN’s proposed super collider would be 91 km long and would be the largest particle collider ever built. The hope is that its increased precision and higher collision energies will eventually allow physicists to understand the nature of the Higgs boson, and perhaps even reality itself. – Image credit: CERN

god particle

In addition to providing deeper insight into the Higgs boson, the FCC will also aim to uncover the mechanisms by which the Higgs boson interacts and its significance in the universe. It is thought to have played a crucial role in the very beginning of the universe, nanoseconds after the big bang, by giving mass to matter as the universe grew and cooled. The influence of the Higgs boson is also relevant in understanding how the universe will end, as it affects the stability of the universe itself.

The FCC is expected to contribute to our understanding of whether the universe is in a stable or unstable state, providing the key to answering fundamental questions about the universe’s fate.

the beginning and end of the universe

The FCC will play a crucial role in answering questions about the beginning and the end of the universe, with the expertise of notable scientists like Marcus Chown, professor Andy Parker, and Matthew McCullough. The expectation is that this new accelerator will contribute to an in-depth understanding of the fundamental physics that govern the universe and our place within it.

About our experts

Marcus Chown is an award-winning author, broadcaster, and former radio astronomer. He is the author of Breakthrough: The Spectacle of Scientific Discovery His Story from the Higgs Boson to the Black Hole (Faber & Faber, 2021). Professor Andy Parker is a British physicist and professor of high-energy physics at the University of Cambridge. He is a member and chair of the CERN Science Policy Committee and the Scientific Advisory Committee on Future Circular Colliders, among other notable positions. Matthew McCullough is a theoretical physicist and researcher at CERN, focused on areas of interest including collisional physics, cosmology, astroparticle physics, and quantum field theory, involved in FCC feasibility studies.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

10 of the Biggest Stars in the Universe

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The stars that exist in our universe are definitely huge. In fact, our closest star, the Sun, has a diameter of an astonishing 1.4 million km (865,000 miles), which is large enough to fit 1.3 million Earths within it.

However, within the grand scale of the universe, this is a fairly average size. Although many stars are small, scientists have discovered many cosmic giants that are hundreds of times larger. But what is the largest star in the universe?

Introducing the 10 biggest stars ever known to humanity.

10.HV888

HV 888 is circled in the center of the image. Photo courtesy of ESO/Digitalized Sky Survey 2

HV 888 looks a lot like Clifford the dog, except it is located 163,000 light-years away, and is red and very large.

With a solar radius of 1,374 (our Sun has a solar radius of 1), this scarlet supergiant’s color actually indicates that it is nearing the end of its life. Scientists don’t know exactly when the star will go supernova. It could be today, or the star could continue to burn for millions of more years.

Until then, HV 888 will shine incredibly brightly, about 300,000 to more than 500,000 times brighter than the Sun. In other words, anyone living on one of this star’s possible exoplanets would likely need some pretty bright sunglasses.

9. Ah, Scorpio

Star AH Scorpio. Photo courtesy of ESO/Digitalized Sky Survey 2

AH Scorpii is a red supergiant star found in the constellation Scorpius, hence its name. Although she is 1,411 times larger than the Sun, the star is probably much cooler, with a surface temperature between 3,176.85°C (5750.33°F) and 3,408.85°C (6167.93°F). For comparison, our sun is hot at 5,226.85°C (9380.33°F).In other words, AH Scorpio is still very very hot.

8.CM Velorum

Star CM Verorum. Photo courtesy of ESO/Digitalized Sky Survey 2

CM Bellorum, located in the constellation Vela, is a red star 1,416 times larger than the Sun. However, despite its size, this star is invisible to the naked eye without a telescope. This is partly due to its distance from Earth, which is calculated to be approximately 15,000 light-years away.

7.HD12463

Star HD 12463. Photo credit: ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2

Not much is known about the star, known as HD 12463, but it is estimated to be 1,420 times larger than the Sun. It is located about 163,000 light-years from us in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy derived from the Milky Way.

6. VY Canis Major

Star VY Canis Major. Photo courtesy of ESO/Digitalized Sky Survey 2

VY Canis Majoris is an oxygen-rich supergiant star 1,420 times larger than the Sun. It is so large that even traveling at the speed of light, it would take him 6 hours to circumnavigate its surface (try this with the Sun and it would take only 14.5 seconds).

Even if you have the time, I don’t recommend it. The temperature of this star is 3,730°C (6,740°F). It’s also incredibly bright, about 300,000 to 500,000 times brighter than the Sun.

5.HD 269551

Star HD 269551 in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Photo courtesy of ESO/Digitalized Sky Survey 2

HD 269551 may not have the catchiest name in the universe, but it’s still a memorable star for its massive size. Its size has been measured to be 1,439 times that of the Sun.

Like many of the large stars on this list, HD 269551 is highly unstable and nearing the end of its life, and will explode as a supernova within the next few million years (a very short time in the grand scale of the universe) It is expected that

4.RSGC1-F01

Spitzer telescope image of the RSGC1 star cluster, home to RSGC1 F01 and many other massive stars. Photo by NASA/Spitzer Telescope

RSGC1 F01 is located in a star cluster in the Milky Way galaxy in the constellation Scuta. Its size is estimated to be 1,436 to 1,530 times that of the Sun.

Remarkably, if RSGC1-F02 were placed at the center of our solar system, the star’s surface (known as the photosphere) would reach Jupiter’s orbit.

3.WOH 5170

WOH S170 shot with DSS2. Photo courtesy of Eso/Digitalized Sky Survey 2

WOH S170, located in the constellation Leo, is a red star 1,461 times larger than the Sun. Wow, sure.

2.WOH G64

This image shows WOH G64 (circled) in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way. Photo courtesy of NASA

WOH G64 is a very large star, 1,540 times the size of the Sun.That’s also very likely very Dusty: Encased in a thick layer of tiny particles about 1 light-year in diameter.

WHO G64 is also a very cool star (literally), with a temperature of 3,100°C (or 5,600°F). Compare this to the surface temperature of the sun. The sun’s surface temperature is a fairly warm 5,226.85°C (9380.33°F).

1. UY spine

Photo courtesy of Eso/Digitalized Sky Survey 2

UY Scuti is the largest star ever observed in the universe. The red supergiant star is 1,708 times the width of the Sun and has a radius of 1.2 billion km (738 million miles). This star is located approximately 9,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Scutum, near the center of the Milky Way.

Despite its massive size, UY Scutum’s temperature is actually 40 percent colder than the Sun’s 3092°C (1700°F). This is because the star has already used up most of its hydrogen fuel, which produces heat and light. This lower temperature means the star emits a reddish glow.

UY Scuti is also a surprisingly young star, probably only 10 to 20 million years old. It may sound like an exaggeration, but the age of our sun is estimated to be 4.6 billion years. But UY Scuti burns through its fuel so quickly that the star is likely at the end of its life and may only have a few million years left.

It is not clear what happens to UY Scuti at the end of its life cycle. It’s possible that the star could explode in a polar nova (triggering a shock wave that triggers the formation of new stars), but one theory suggests UY Scuti would collapse to form a hotter star.

Star Estimation size (radius)
HV888 956 million km (595 million miles)
Oh, Scorpio 983 million km (611 million miles)
CM Velorum 987 million km (613 million miles)
HD12463 987 million km (613 million miles)
VY Canis Major 987 million km (613 million miles)
HD 269551 1.01 billion kilometers (622 million miles)
RSGC1-F01 1.01 billion km (627 million miles)
WOH S170 1,019 million km (633 million miles)
WOH G64 1,072 million km (666 million miles)
UY spine 1.19 billion km (739 million miles)

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Interview with Jim Peebles: Renowned cosmologist discusses the search for deeper theories of the universe

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Jim Peebles is widely known as the architect of modern cosmology and its nice-guy chief executive.give half a share of 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics, the committee said he “took up the universe” and helped create the framework known as the Standard Model of Cosmology, which is now considered “the basis of modern understanding of the history of the universe.” Others described him as an “extraordinary physicist” and “extraordinarily thoughtful, polite and kind.”

Now the Albert Einstein Professor Emeritus of Science at Princeton University, Peebles' career began there in the 1960s, focusing on Einstein's theory of general relativity, in which gravity occurs as a result of distortions of mass in spacetime. . He later characterized the cosmic microwave background (CMB), an “echo” of the Big Bang, a discovery that made cosmology an experimental science. He also showed that halos of dark matter around galaxies create a mass distribution consistent with astronomers' observations, and that the description of our universe requires reinstatement of Einstein's much-derided cosmological constant. I convinced the field that there was. Initially incorporated into the equations of general relativity as an unwieldy trick, it is now thought of as dark energy, the repulsive force driving the accelerating expansion of the universe.

Despite the success of the standard cosmological model, Peebles has always sought to undermine it. In recent years, he has focused his musings on observing astronomical anomalies – strange galaxies and other interesting phenomena – that may expose flaws in our thinking.

he says new scientist On his vision for cosmology and why it's important to deviate from the mainstream…

Source: www.newscientist.com

Possible Widespread Presence of Diamond Rain in the Universe

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Diamond rain could fall on many exoplanets

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The sky of an icy planet in space may be full of diamonds. Compacted carbon compounds may turn into diamonds at less extreme temperatures than researchers thought would be necessary, which could make diamond rain a common phenomenon inside giant ice cubes. there is.

In the past, laboratory experiments have confused the conditions under which diamonds form inside ice giants like Uranus and Neptune. There are two types of experiments to investigate this: dynamic compression experiments, in which a carbon compound is subjected to a sudden impact, and static compression experiments, in which it is placed in a chamber and gradually compressed. Previous dynamic compression experiments required much higher temperatures and pressures to form diamonds.

mango frost Using static compression and dynamic heating, researchers at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California sandwiched polystyrene (the same polymer used to make Styrofoam) between two diamonds and applied an X-pulse. We conducted a new series of experiments to compress Ray of light. They observed diamonds begin to form from polystyrene at temperatures of about 2,200 degrees Celsius and pressures of about 19 gigapascals, conditions similar to the shallow interiors of Uranus and Neptune.

These pressures are much lower than those found necessary for diamond formation in previous experiments using dynamic compression. This reaction took longer than the typically performed dynamic compaction experiments. This may explain why no low-pressure diamond formation was detected in such experiments. “It didn't match the established results and wasn't what we expected, but it was a good fit and brought everything together,” Frost says. “It turns out it's all due to different timescales.”

This could mean that diamonds could rain on smaller planets than previously thought. The researchers calculated that of the approximately 5,600 exoplanets identified, more than 1,900 could rain diamonds.

This also means that diamonds may form at shallower depths within our solar system than we think, which could change our understanding of the internal dynamics of giant planets. There is a possibility that it will change. This shallow geological formation could allow diamond rain to pass through layers of ice as it sinks toward the centers of these planets. This, in turn, will affect the icy world's magnetic fields, which are complex and poorly understood.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

The Impact of Plasma Instability on Our Understanding of the Universe

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Scientists have discovered a new instability in plasma, revolutionizing our understanding of cosmic rays. This groundbreaking discovery reveals that cosmic rays generate electromagnetic waves within plasma and influence their paths. This collective behavior of cosmic rays, similar to waves formed by water molecules, challenges previous theories and holds promise for insights into intragalactic cosmic ray transport and its role in galaxy evolution. Credit: SciTechDaily.com

Scientists at the Potsdam Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics (AIP) have discovered a new substance. plasma This instability is expected to revolutionize our understanding of the origin of cosmic rays and their dynamic impact on galaxies.

At the beginning of the last century, Victor Hess discovered a new phenomenon called cosmic rays, for which he was later awarded the Nobel Prize. He conducted high-altitude balloon flights and discovered that the Earth’s atmosphere was not ionized by ground radiation. Instead, he confirmed that the origin of ionization was extraterrestrial. Later, it was discovered that cosmic “rays” are composed of charged particles that travel from space at speeds close to the speed of light. radiation. However, the name “cosmic rays” outlasted these discoveries.

Recent advances in cosmic ray research

In the new study, AIP scientist and lead author of the study, Dr. Mohammad Shalaby, and his collaborators performed numerical simulations to trace the trajectories of many cosmic ray particles, showing that these particles We studied how the plasma interacts with the surrounding plasma, which is made up of electrons and electrons. proton.

Simulation of cosmic rays flowing in the opposite direction to the background plasma and causing plasma instability. The distribution of background particles in response to streaming cosmic rays is shown in phase space spanned by the particle’s position (horizontal axis) and velocity (vertical axis). Color visualizes number density, and holes in phase space represent the highly dynamic nature of instabilities that break up ordered motion into random motion. Credit: Shalaby/AIP

When researchers studied cosmic rays flying from one side of the simulation to the other, they discovered a new phenomenon that excites electromagnetic waves in the background plasma. These waves exert a force on the cosmic rays, causing them to change their meandering paths.

Understanding cosmic rays as a collective phenomenon

Most importantly, this new phenomenon is best understood if we think of cosmic rays as supporting collective electromagnetic waves rather than acting as individual particles. When these waves interact with the background fundamental waves, they are strongly amplified and a transfer of energy occurs.

“This insight allows us to think of cosmic rays in this context as behaving more like radiation than individual particles, as Victor Hess originally believed,” said AIP Cosmology and High Energy Astrophysics. says Professor Christoph Pfrommer, head of the section. .

Momentum distribution of protons (dashed lines) and electrons (solid lines). The appearance of a high-energy electron tail in a slowly moving shock is shown. This is the result of interactions with electromagnetic waves caused by newly discovered plasma instabilities (red) that are absent from faster shocks (black). This shows the importance of understanding the physics of the acceleration process, since only high-energy electrons produce observable radio radiation. Credit: Shalaby/AIP

A good analogy for this behavior is that individual water molecules come together to form waves that break on the shore. “This progress was only made possible by taking into account smaller scales, which had been overlooked until now and called into question the use of effective fluid dynamics theory when studying plasma processes,” explains Dr. Mohammad Shalaby. To do.

Meaning and application

This newly discovered plasma instability has many applications, including the first study of how electrons from thermal interstellar plasma are accelerated to high energies in supernova remnants. It also includes an explanation.

“This newly discovered plasma instability represents a major advance in our understanding of acceleration processes and finally explains why these supernova remnants glow in radio waves and gamma rays.” Mohammad Shalaby reports.

Moreover, this breakthrough opens the door to a deeper understanding of the fundamental processes of cosmic ray transport in galaxies. This represents the biggest mystery in understanding the processes that form galaxies during the evolution of the universe.

References:

“Deciphering the physical basis of mesoscale instability” by Mohammad Shalaby, Timon Thomas, Christoph Pfrommer, Reuven Lemmerz, and Virginia Bresci, December 12, 2023, Plasma Physics Journal.
DOI: 10.1017/S0022377823001289

“Mechanism of efficient electron acceleration in parallel non-relativistic shocks” by Mohammad Shalaby, Reuven Lemmerz, Timon Thomas, and Christoph Pfromer, May 4, 2022, Astrophysics > High-energy astrophysical phenomena.
arXiv:2202.05288

“New Cosmic Ray Instabilities” by Mohammad Shalaby, Timon Thomas, and Christoph Pfrommer, February 24, 2021, of astrophysical journal.
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/abd02d

Source: scitechdaily.com

NASA’s Webb and Hubble team up to capture the most vivid image of the universe

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This panchromatic view of galaxy cluster MACS0416 was created by combining infrared observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope with visible-light data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Jose M. Diego (IFCA), Jordan CJ D’Silva (UWA), Anton M. Koekemoer (STScI), Jake Summers (ASU), Rogier Windhorst (ASU), Haojing Yan ( University of Missouri)https://chat.openai.com/c/de5c3def-7d31-49b0-bd44-3d61675a3ae5

The result is a vivid landscape of the galaxy and more than a dozen newly discovered time-changing objects.

When the two flagship observatories come together, they reveal a wealth of new details that are only possible through their combined power. Webb and Hubble collaborated on studying MACS0416, a galaxy cluster about 4.3 billion light-years from Earth. Combining these data yields a prismatic panorama of blue and red. These colors provide clues to the galaxy’s distance. While the images themselves are surprising, researchers are already using these observations to fuel new scientific discoveries, such as identifying gravitationally expanded supernovae and ordinary stars.

This side-by-side comparison of galaxy cluster MACS0416 seen in optical light from the Hubble Space Telescope (left) and infrared light from the James Webb Space Telescope (right) reveals different details. Both images show hundreds of galaxies, but the Webb image shows galaxies that are invisible or only barely visible in the Hubble image. This is because Webb’s infrared vision can detect galaxies that are too far away or covered in dust to be seen by Hubble. (Light from distant galaxies is redshifted due to the expansion of the universe.) Webb’s total exposure time was about 22 hours, while the exposure time of the Hubble image was his 122 hours. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

NASA’s Webb Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope combine to create the most colorful view of the universe. NASA’s james webb space telescope and hubble space telescope They teamed up to study a vast galaxy cluster known as MACS0416. The resulting panchromatic images combine visible and infrared light to assemble one of the most comprehensive views of the universe ever captured. MACS0416, located approximately 4.3 billion light-years from Earth, is a pair of colliding galaxy clusters that will eventually merge to form an even larger cluster. Details revealed by the combination of stretching and contraction forces

This image reveals a wealth of detail only possible by combining the power of both space telescopes. This includes an abundance of galaxies outside the cluster and a scattering of light sources that change over time, possibly due to gravitational lensing (distortion and amplification of light from distant background sources). It is.

The galaxy cluster was the first in a series of unprecedented cosmic views into ultra-deep space from an ambitious joint Hubble program called Frontier Fields, launched in 2014. Hubble pioneered the search for some of the faintest and youngest galaxies ever detected. Webb’s infrared vision greatly enhances this deep observation by going even deeper into the early universe with its infrared vision.

This image of galaxy cluster MACS0416 highlights gravitational lensing background galaxies that existed about 3 billion years after the Big Bang. The galaxy contains an ephemeral object that the scientific team has named Mothra, whose brightness changes over time. Mothra is a star that is magnified at least 4,000 times. The researchers believe that Mothra is magnified not only by the gravity of the galaxy cluster MACS 0416, but also by an object known as a millilens, which weighs about the same as the globular cluster. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Jose M. Diego (IFCA), Jordan CJ D’Silva (UWA), Anton M. Koekemoer (STScI), Jake Summers (ASU), Rogier Windhorst (ASU), Haojing Yan ( University of Missouri)

Roger Windhorst of Arizona State University, principal investigator of the PEARLS program (Extragalactic Field for Reionization and Lensing Science), which carried out the Webb observations, said: “We are looking at objects that are farther away and fainter. “By doing so, we are building on Hubble’s legacy.”Understand image color and scientific goals

To create the images, the shortest wavelengths of light were generally color-coded as blue, the longest wavelengths as red, and the intermediate wavelengths as green. The wide range of wavelengths from 0.4 to 5 microns provides particularly vivid galactic landscapes.

These colors provide clues to the galaxy’s distance. The bluest galaxies, as most commonly detected by Hubble, are relatively nearby and often exhibit intense star formation, while the redder galaxies, as detected by Webb, tend to be more distant. Some galaxies appear very red because they contain large amounts of cosmic dust that tends to absorb bluer-colored starlight.

“Until we combine the Webb data with the Hubble data, we won’t get the full picture,” Windhorst said.Scientific discoveries and the “Christmas Tree Galaxy Cluster”

New Webb observations contribute to this aesthetic view, but they were taken for a specific scientific purpose. The research team combined his three epochs, each conducted a few weeks apart, with his fourth epoch by the CANUCS (Canadian NIRISS Unbiased Cluster Survey) research team. The goal was to search for objects that change in brightness observed over time, known as transients.

They identified 14 such transients across the visual field. Twelve of these transients are located in three galaxies that are highly magnified by gravitational lensing, and may be individual stars or star systems that are temporarily highly magnified. The remaining two transients are in more moderately expanded background galaxies and may be supernovae.

“We call MACS 0416 the Christmas Tree Galaxy Cluster, both because it is so colorful and because of the flashing lights found within it. Transients are seen everywhere. ” said Haojing Yang of the University of Missouri-Columbia, lead author of a paper describing the scientific results.

Among the transients the team identified, one in particular stood out. It is located in a galaxy that existed about 3 billion years after the Big Bang and has been magnified by at least 4,000 times. The research team nicknamed the system “Mothra” for its “monstrous nature” of being extremely bright and highly magnified. It joins another lensed star that researchers previously identified and named “Godzilla.” (Godzilla and Mothra are both giant monsters known as kaiju in Japanese movies.)

Interestingly, Mothra can also be seen in Hubble observations taken nine years ago. This is unusual because zooming in on stars this much requires a very specific alignment between the foreground galaxy cluster and the background stars. The mutual motion of stars and star clusters should eventually dissolve the alignment.

Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Jose M. Diego (IFCA), Jordan CJ D’Silva (UWA), Anton M. Koekemoer (STScI), Jake Summers (ASU), Rogier Windhorst (ASU), Haojing Yan ( University of Missouri)”

Source: scitechdaily.com