NASA is delaying the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope for another 7 months, from March 2021 to October 31, 2021 due to, among other factors, work stoppages during the coronavirus pandemic. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/james-webb-space-telescope-launch-date-delayed-oct2021…
Tag: early universe
New view of old light adds twist to debate over universe’s age
Observations of the cosmic microwave background by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope in Chile suggest that the universe is 13.8 billion years old. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/new-view-old-light-twist-debate-universes-age…
A monster quasar in the early universe
Astronomers just announced the most massive quasar yet known in the early universe. Its monster central black hole has a mass equivalent to 1.5 billion of our suns. The object has been given a Hawaiian name, Poniua’ena. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/poniuaena-monster-quasar-in-early-universe…
Astronomers discover ‘monster’ quasar from early universe
Astronomers have discovered the most massive quasar known in the early universe, containing a monster black hole with a mass equivalent to 1.5 billion suns. Formally designated as J1007+2115, the newly discovered quasar is one of only two known from the same cosmological period. Quasars are the most energetic objects in the universe, and since their discovery, astronomers have been keen…
New model helps to describe defects and errors in quantum computers
A summer internship in Bilbao, Spain, has led to a paper in the journal Physical Review Letters for Jack Mayo, a Master’s student at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. He has helped to create a universal model that can predict the number distribution of topological defects in non-equilibrium systems. The results can be applied to quantum computing and to studies…
Hubble makes surprising find in the early universe
New results from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope suggest the formation of the first stars and galaxies in the early Universe took place sooner than previously thought. A European team of astronomers have found no evidence of the first generation of stars, known as Population III stars, as far back as when the Universe was just 500 million years old. Source:…
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…
Has mystery of universe’s missing matter been solved?
Cosmologists have only been able to find half the matter that should exist in the universe. With the discovery of a new astronomical phenomenon and new telescopes, these researchers say they’ve just found the rest. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/cosmic-bursts-unveil-universe-missing-matter-mystery…
Study finds that patterns formed by spiral galaxies show that the universe may have a defined structure
An analysis of more than 200,000 spiral galaxies has revealed unexpected links between spin directions of galaxies, and the structure formed by these links might suggest that the early universe could have been spinning, according to a Kansas State University study. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-06-patterns-spiral-galaxies-universe.html…
The Milky Way may have been shrunk down by ancient magnetic fields
Magnetic fields from the early universe may have kept the Milky Way and other galaxies like it from spreading out, which could have helped feed black holes at their centres Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2244840-the-milky-way-may-have-been-shrunk-down-by-ancient-magnetic-fields/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…