A groundbreaking study reveals that Alpha Centauri’s particles are already making their way into our solar system, traveling across the cosmic highway that connects star systems. These particles, ejected from the nearest stellar neighbor to Earth, could be carrying valuable insights about distant worlds and the forces that shape our galaxy.
Category: space – Page 88
Quantum Machine Could Predict The Ultimate Fate of The Universe
Our entire reality could – in theory – be built on a bed of sand, teetering on the brink of collapse. If so, a new device developed by a collaboration of physicists in Europe might give us some idea of how it all ends.
Using a process known as quantum annealing, the researchers have provided a proof-of-concept method to study the dynamics of a terrifying kind of reality-decay that would pull at the threads of physics, causing them to unravel.
Were such an event to occur somewhere in the cosmos, the quantum laws that lend structure to matter would be rewritten at the speed of light, spelling an end to all reality as we know it.
The Universe in Motion: Upcoming Astronomical Events
On this episode of Cultivate Curiosity, our host Jacie takes us on a journey through a few spectacular upcoming astronomical events. From February’s dazzling planetary alignments and bright Venusian glow to March and April’s upcoming eclipses and meteor showers, we explore the science behind these celestial events and how to best view them. Whether you’re an avid stargazer or just looking up with curiosity, this episode will inspire you to keep your eyes on the sky!
Witnessing the birth of planets: Webb provides unprecedented window
An international team of researchers, including those from the University of Michigan, have used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to witness the birth of planets around the young star system PDS 70.
PDS 70, located 370 light years away, is about 5 million years old and is one of the most extensively studied young stellar systems. It is the only known protoplanetary disk system where multiple planets have been detected within the disk from which they are forming.
This system allows scientists to observe planet formation and evolution in their early stages. In PDS 70, a disk of gas and dust surrounds the star with a big gap in the middle where two planets, PDS 70 b and PDS 70 c, form. This gap acts as a planetary construction zone, where the new worlds gather material to grow.
Alpha Centauri Particles Already Lurk in Our Solar System, Study Suggests
The appearance of the Interstellar Objects (ISOs) Oumuamua and Comet Borisov in 2017 and 2019, respectively, created a surge of interest.
What were they? Where did they come from? Unfortunately, they didn’t stick around and wouldn’t cooperate with our efforts to study them in detail. Regardless, they showed us something: Milky Way objects are moving around the galaxy.
We don’t know where either ISO came from, but there must be more – far more. How many other objects from our stellar neighbours could be visiting our Solar System?