New light has been shed on a mysterious and long-standing conundrum at the very heart of our galaxy. The new work offers a potential solution to the so-called “Galactic bar paradox,” whereby different observations produce contradictory estimates of the motion of the central regions of the Milky Way. The results are published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Source:…
Tag: Dance
UK Will Take a Crack At Regulating Future Self-Driving Car Systems
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNET: The UK’s Department for Transportation said Tuesday it plans new regulations in preparation for “automated lane-keeping-assist systems.” These kinds of systems could potentially let a car control all necessary functions at lower speeds, even in the city. It’s probably a matter of when this kind of technology is available, and when it does…
Earth’s night sky as Milky Way and Andromeda merge
Billions of years from now, Earth’s night sky will change as the Andromeda galaxy rushes toward a merger with the Milky Way. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/earths-night-sky-milky-way-andromeda-merge…
Microsoft Confirms It’s in Talks To Buy TikTok from ByteDance, Says Trump is On Board
Microsoft has confirmed that it is in talks to purchase TikTok from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, and may make moves before summer is out. From a report: The decision, according to Microsoft, follows a conversation between its CEO and President Trump, who just days ago threatened to use an executive order to ban the app from the United States. In…
For the 1st time, a visible light explosion from a black hole merger
In recent years, black hole mergers in our universe have been detected via ripples in spacetime known as gravitational waves. Now, for the first time, astronomers believe they’ve observed visible light from a black hole merger, in a peculiar 3-black-hole system. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/1st-time-visible-light-explosion-black-hole-merger…
Apple WatchOS 7 Unveiled With Sleep Tracking, Shareable Watch Faces and a Hand Washing Timer
At the WWDC 2020 keynote today, Apple unveiled WatchOS 7, adding sleep tracking features, shareable watch faces, a hand washing timer, and much more. CNET reports: WatchOS 7 adds much-anticipated sleep tracking features, including a Wind Down mode to help you get to bed on time. When you wake up, you’ll see a visualization of your previous night’s sleep, including periods…
Dance of 3 stars confirms Einstein’s ‘most fortunate thought’
Researchers in Europe have now confirmed the universality of free fall – which Einstein called his most fortunate thought – with extremely high precision. To do it, they spent 8 years tracking a triple star system containing a millisecond pulsar. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/pulsar-psr-j03371715-einstein-universality-of-free-fall…
Want to see Saturn’s rings? Read me 1st
The best time of 2020 for seeing Saturn’s glorious rings is nearly upon us. You’ve seen the photos, but maybe you want to see the rings with your own eyes? Here are a few things to think about. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/viewing-saturns-rings-tips-for-beginners…
The Dance of Venus and Earth
Every time Venus passes the Earth, it shows the same face. Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html…
The entire universe may once have been spinning all over the place
A strange asymmetry in the rotation of galaxies we see today hints that the early universe may have spun in a complicated dance Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2244998-the-entire-universe-may-once-have-been-spinning-all-over-the-place/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…