With the debut of a public alert stream, the Rubin Observatory demonstrates the ability to report transient signals—from supernovae, variable stars, active galactic nuclei and asteroids—in near real time.
Category: space
New LVK catalog adds 128 gravitational-wave candidates, more than doubling detections
When the densest objects in the universe collide and merge, the violence sets off ripples, in the form of gravitational waves, that reverberate across space and time, over hundreds of millions and even billions of years. By the time they pass through Earth, such cosmic ripples are barely discernible.
And yet, scientists are able to detect them, thanks to a global network of gravitational-wave observatories: the U.S.-based National Science Foundation Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (NSF LIGO), the Virgo interferometer in Italy, and the Kamioka Gravitational Wave Detector (KAGRA) in Japan. Together, the observatories “listen” for faint wobbles in the gravitational field that could have come from far-off astrophysical smash-ups.
Now the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) Collaboration is publishing its latest compilation of gravitational-wave detections, presented in a forthcoming special issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters. From the findings, it appears that the universe is echoing all over with a kaleidoscope of cosmic collisions.
What’s Really Happening on Venus? Scientists Reveal Surprising Patterns
Venus’ surface has long been hidden beneath thick clouds and sparse data, but new research is beginning to illuminate what conditions may actually be like on the ground.
What Geminga’s 100 TeV cutoff may mean for cosmic-ray acceleration in the Milky Way
For the first time, the Tibet ASγ Experiment has successfully measured magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence on scales below one parsec (approximately 3.3 light-years) within the gamma-ray halo surrounding the Geminga pulsar wind nebula (PWN). This observation extends to the highest energies, above 100 tera-electron volts (TeV), providing new insights into the behavior of cosmic rays and magnetic fields within the Milky Way.
The findings are published in Science Advances. The study was conducted by the Tibet ASγ Experiment, including the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the National Astronomical Observatories of CAS.
SRIC4 Newsletter #04 — What is Quality of Life?
What truly defines “Quality of Life” (QoL), and why we have titled the SRI IV World Congress on it?QoL is a broad concept, including all of the aspects of the life of us, human inhabitants of the third planet of this Solar System. Traditionally, we define QoL through the essentials—food, shelter, health, and education. These are the pillars of economic and cultural development, and they are non-negotiable. Yet, at Space Renaissance, we believe QoL aims higher. It is the freedom to pursue our highest ideals, to have a beautiful life, to explore spirituality, and to seek a global reduction in suffering. Interestingly, the perception of QoL varies wildly across our globe today. The Western post-industrial societies are often clouded by a lack of confidence and a fading hope for what lies ahead. The Eastern emerging societies, fueled by rapid industrial growth, look toward the horizon with immense anticipation. If we could measure QoL through the lens of hope, these emerging societies might actually outrank the West. Why? Because the belief that one is part of a “great project”—one that glorifies human intelligence and potential—is the ultimate antidote to social suffering.
Whether we progress or regress, fall into crisis or rise in a renaissance, it all depends on the mass-psychological mood of the people. When survival is secured, and economic growth creates opportunities for all, social fear dissolves. And as John Lennon famously sang, when fear fades, we finally “give peace a chance.”
We align ourselves with this progressive spirit, like a modern Promethean manifesto. However, we must be realistic: this hope has an expiration date. Without the launch of civil space development by 2030, the “closed world” will inevitably reach its limits. Eastern hopes will be dashed, and Western lifestyles will suffer a sharp decline.
Microbes harvest metals from meteorites aboard space station
If humankind is to explore deep space, one small passenger should not be left behind: microbes. In fact, it would be impossible to leave them behind, since they live on and in our bodies, surfaces and food. Learning how they react to space conditions is critical, but they could also be invaluable fellows in our endeavor to explore space.
Microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi can harvest crucial minerals from rocks and could provide a sustainable alternative to transporting much-needed resources from Earth.
Researchers from Cornell and the University of Edinburgh collaborated to study how those microbes extract platinum group elements from a meteorite in microgravity, with an experiment conducted aboard the International Space Station. They found that “biomining” fungi are particularly adept at extracting the valuable metal palladium, while removing the fungus resulted in a negative effect on nonbiological leaching in microgravity.
Neutrons Illuminate the Magnetic Dance of Chiral Phonons
Neutron scattering has provided a new and broader view of the twirling collective atomic vibrations in a magnetic crystal.
Phonons—quantized conveyors of sound and heat in solids—are usually visualized as collective vibrations in which atoms simply bounce back and forth, almost as if they were weights on springs. However, atoms can sometimes form “chiral phonons” that twirl and swivel clockwise or counterclockwise, in a way that resembles a coordinated dance [1]. When these circular, chiral motions entrain ionic charge, they generate a magnetic moment, which suggests that there might be a way to control sound and heat using magnetic fields. Until recently, this magnetic dance was primarily observed using optical techniques, granting access to only one corner of the “stage”—the point in the phonon’s momentum space where the momentum is nearly zero. Song Bao of Nanjing University in China and his collaborators have now broadened the view of momentum space by using inelastic neutron spectroscopy.
NASA’s MAVEN detects first evidence of lightning-like activity on Mars
While sifting through the extensive data collected by NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft over the last decade, scientists discovered a familiar type of electromagnetic signal commonly caused by lightning. This rare find represents the first direct indication of lightning activity on Mars. The team recently published their findings in Science Advances, where they describe the event and why it’s so difficult to detect lightning-like activity on Mars.
Whistler waves are low-frequency radio wave signals generated by lightning, which create an impulse that propagates through a planet’s magnetosphere, following along the magnetic field lines. The whistler waves disperse due to the slower velocity of the lower frequencies through the plasma of the ionosphere and magnetosphere. These waves are typical on Earth, but have also been observed on Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune. All of these planets all possess strong magnetic fields and corresponding magnetospheres, facilitating the movement of whistler waves.
Mars, on the other hand, does not have a global, Earth-like magnetic field. This is because the internal activity that causes these magnetic fields ceased on Mars billions of years ago. This may contribute to the fact that lightning-like discharges in the Martian atmosphere have not yet been observed. But lightning-like activity on Mars is not impossible.