Collaborate Disseminate
Astronomers have discovered the closest pair of supermassive black holes yet known – and that record has two meanings. Not only are they the closest pair to Earth, but they’re the closest to each other as well, barreling towards each other for an event… Continue reading Closest pair of supermassive black holes headed for monster merger
Dark matter is a core component of the universe, but how did we end up with exactly the amount needed to hold the universe together? Physicists have proposed a new mechanism where dark matter particles in the early universe converted regular matter int… Continue reading How the universe’s expansion may have stopped dark matter taking over
There are many mysteries surrounding black holes, and now a team of astronomers has proposed a novel solution to one of them – why are so many observed black holes more massive than expected? A new model suggests that their growth may be “cosmologicall… Continue reading New model suggests black holes gain mass as the universe expands
Astronomers have discovered a big hole in space. New 3D visualizations of the Perseus and Taurus star-forming clouds have revealed a large cavity between them, possibly created in ancient supernova explosions.Continue ReadingCategory: Space, ScienceTag… Continue reading Astronomers discover where a cosmic cataclysm blew a huge hole in space
A new type of gravitational wave detector running in Western Australia has recorded two rare events that might be signals of dark matter or primordial black holes. These high-frequency gravitational waves are beyond the range of most detectors and have… Continue reading Never-before-detected gravitational waves hint at dark matter
Some of the greatest mysteries in cosmology revolve around antimatter, and it’s hard to study because it’s rare and hard to produce in the lab. Now a team of physicists has outlined a relatively simple new way to create antimatter, by firing two lasers… Continue reading Laser pincers generate antimatter by recreating neutron star conditions
It’s tricky business detecting gravitational waves – these ripples in the very fabric of spacetime are often drowned out by background vibrations from earthquakes, traffic and other human activity. Now a pair of astrophysicists has proposed a new locat… Continue reading Putting a gravitational wave detector on the Moon could find new physics
By studying the logs of computer malfunctions caused by high-energy particles striking their circuitry, ESA scientists have used “housekeeping” data from the Rosetta and Mars Express deep-space probes to shed new light on cosmic rays in the solar syste… Continue reading ESA uses spacecraft “housekeeping” data to measure cosmic rays
Supermassive black holes are thought to grow slowly, as they pull in matter from around them over billions of years. But if that’s the case, how did they appear so early in the universe’s lifetime? Now, researchers have proposed a new origin story for … Continue reading Collapsing dark matter halos could seed supermassive black holes
Astronomers say they’ve closed the case on the mysterious and unprecedented dimming of the supergiant star Betelgeuse in 2019 and 2020. A new study says that the event was caused by a combination of a big dust cloud and a drop in temperature.Continue R… Continue reading Astronomers conclude Betelgeuse isn’t dying, it’s just dusty