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The universe’s structure spans a vast network 500 times the size of the moon.


According to ESA, “This first piece of the map already contains around 100 million sources: stars in our Milky Way and galaxies beyond. Some 14 million of these galaxies could be used to study the hidden influence of dark matter and dark energy on the Universe.”

Also, “This is just 1% of the map, and yet it is full of a variety of sources that will help scientists discover new ways to describe the Universe,” Valeria Pettorino, Euclid Project Scientist at ESA, added.

Euclid began its operation in February, and the mosaic is a result of 260 observations recorded between the last week of March and the second week of April 2024.

The Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey (RACS) is the first large-area survey to be conducted with the full 36-antenna Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope. RACS will provide a shallow model of the ASKAP sky that will aid the calibration of future deep ASKAP surveys. RACS will cover the whole sky visible from the ASKAP site in Western Australia and will cover the full ASKAP band of 700‑1800 MHz. The RACS images are generally deeper than the existing NRAO VLA Sky Survey and Sydney University Molonglo Sky Survey radio surveys and have better spatial resolution. All RACS survey products will be public, including radio images (with $\sim$15 arcsec resolution) and catalogues of about three million source components with spectral index and polarisation information. In this paper, we present a description of the RACS survey and the first data release of 903 images covering the sky south of declination $+41^\circ$ made over a 288-MHz band centred at 887.5 MHz.

All our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike – and yet it is the most precious thing we have. – Albert Einstein (1879−1955)

Astronomers have observed light bending around a black hole, a phenomenon predicted by Einstein’s theory of general relativity. By studying X-rays from a black hole in the Zwicky 1 galaxy, scientists detected unexpected “light echoes” coming from behind the black hole, proving that the black hole’s gravity was curving space-time and allowing light to bend around it.

Although this effect was predicted over a century ago, it’s the first time astronomers have witnessed it. The researchers now aim to investigate how black hole coronas produce intense X-ray flares and continue studying space-time distortion.

A spinning white dwarf drags space-time around it 100 million times more powerfully than Earth.

Astronomers have recently provided compelling evidence of a star dragging space-time, showcasing one of Einstein’s lesser-known predictions. This phenomenon, known as “frame-dragging,” describes how a spinning object distorts the very fabric of space-time around it. While this effect is nearly imperceptible in everyday life, even on a planetary scale, certain cosmic conditions make it much more noticeable. A study published in Science details these observations using a radio telescope to study a rare pair of compact stars.

Frame-Dragging and Einstein’s Predictions Einstein’s theory of general relativity is fundamental to our understanding of gravity. It suggests that massive objects bend space-time, affecting the motion of nearby objects. Additionally, when these massive bodies spin, they twist space-time around them. Detecting frame-dragging on Earth is extremely challenging, requiring highly sensitive instruments like the Gravity Probe B, a satellite that measures minute changes in angular velocity. But in the cosmos, certain celestial objects can serve as natural laboratories to observe this effect with greater clarity.

NASA has temporarily halted operations of its quantum computer after it produced unexpected results. The computer, which is still under development, is designed to simulate complex systems such as those found in space. However, during a recent test, the computer-generated results that were inconsistent with known physical laws.

NASA scientists are currently investigating the cause of the anomaly. They are also working to develop safeguards to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

The shutdown of the quantum computer is a setback for NASA’s efforts to develop new technologies for space exploration. However, it is also an opportunity to learn more about the potential of quantum computing.

When we listen to a song or musical performance, out-of-tune singers or instruments are generally perceived as unpleasant for listeners. While it is well-established that mistuning can reduce the enjoyment of music, the processes influencing how humans perceive mistuning have not yet been fully delineated.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota recently carried out a study aimed at better understanding factors influencing the extent to which individuals can perceive mistuning in natural music. Their findings, published in Communications Psychology, highlight acoustic elements that influence the perception of dissonance when hearing out-of-tune singing voices or instruments.

“An out-of-tune singer or instrument can ruin the enjoyment of music,” Sara M. K. Madsen and Andrew J. Oxenham wrote in their paper. “However, there is disagreement on how we perceive mistuning in natural music settings. To address this question, we presented listeners with in-tune and out-of-tune passages of two-part music and manipulated the two primary candidate acoustic cues: beats (fluctuations caused by interactions between nearby frequency components) and inharmonicity (non-integer harmonic frequency relationships) across seven experiments.”