China successfully powered up its “artificial sun” nuclear fusion reactor for the first time, state media reported Friday, marking a great advance in the country’s nuclear power research capabilities. Phys.Org reports: The HL-2M Tokamak reactor is China’s largest and most advanced nuclear fusion experimental research device, and scientists hope that the device can potentially unlock a powerful clean energy source. It…
Tag: magnetic field
Galaxy’s brightest gamma-ray binary system may be powered by a magnetar
A team of researchers led by members of the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU) has analyzed previously collected data to infer the true nature of a compact object—found to be a rotating magnetar, a type of neutron star with an extremely strong magnetic field—orbiting within LS 5039, the brightest gamma-ray binary system in the…
Scientists predicted a large sunspot. Now it’s here
Last week, scientists from the National Solar Observatory predicted a large sunspot would emerge before Thanksgiving. Now the sunspot – AR2786 – is in view. Here’s how they did it. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/nso-predicts-large-sunspot-thanksgiving-nov2020…
Hubble sees the brightest kilonova yet
Observations by the Hubble Space Telescope reveal intense infrared radiation from an unusual kilonova probably created by the collision of neutron stars. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/unusual-kilonova-infrared-light-neutron-stars-grb…
Scientists work to shed light on Standard Model of particle physics
As scientists await the highly anticipated initial results of the Muon g-2 experiment at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, collaborating scientists from DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory continue to employ and maintain the unique system that maps the magnetic field in the experiment with unprecedented precision. …
Ripples in the pond of magnetic field reconnection
The majority of the visible matter in the Universe consists of charged particles or plasmas which may develop magnetic field reconnection (MR) at the places where the magnetic field direction exhibits abrupt change. Through the MR the magnetic field energy may effectively be transferred into the kinetic and thermal energies of plasmas, resulting in many explosive plasma phenomena occurring on the…
Detection of a short, intense radio burst in Milky Way
New data from a Canadian-led team of astronomers, including researchers from the McGill Space Institute and McGill University Department of Physics, strongly suggest that magnetars—a type of neutron star believed to have an extremely powerful magnetic field—could be the source of some fast radio bursts (FRBs). Though much research has been done to explain the mysterious phenomenon, their source has thus…
The magnetic fields of a jellyfish galaxy
New work reveals the intricate relationship between so-called jellyfish galaxies, and the magnetic environment through which they move. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/magnetic-fields-jellyfish-galaxy-jo206…
Voyager Spacecraft Detect An Increase In the Density of Space Outside the Solar System
As Voyager 2 moves farther and farther from the Sun, the density of space is increasing. “It’s not the first time this density increase has been detected,” notes SciencAlert. “Voyager 1, which entered interstellar space in 2012, detected a similar density gradient at a separate location.” From the report: Voyager 2’s new data show that not only was Voyager 1’s detection…
Life on earth: Why we may have the moon’s now defunct magnetic field to thank for it
The habitability of a planet depends on many factors. One is the existence of a strong and long-lived magnetic field. These fields are generated thousands of kilometers below the planet’s surface in its liquid core and extend far into space—shielding the atmosphere from harmful solar radiation. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-10-life-earth-moon-defunct-magnetic.html…