Earth’s moon might have emerged from a long-vanished ring system, akin to the rings still encircling Saturn, and this could apply to many of the satellites orbiting other planets. The bulk of the regular satellites in the Solar System might have formed this way, instead of taking shape simultaneously with the planet as a direct result of planet formation.
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Quantum physicists have shown that superfluid gases can conduct without experiencing any resistance, possibly paving a way to help model the early Universe in the lab.
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The gigantic orange magnets at MIT were originally built decades ago to confine hydrogen nuclei in the search for nuclear fusion. However, since 1998 plasma physicist Jan Egedal has been using them to simulate magnetic fields in the thin wind of charged particles emanating from Sol. Egedal hopes to figure out how the solar wind can transfer energy.
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These new images of the planetary nebula Abell 30, which is located 5,500 light-years away from Earth, show one of the clearest views ever obtained of a special phase of evolution for these objects.
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The galaxy known as MACS0647-JD is located behind an enormous galactic cluster MACS J0647+7015 that lies between the Big and Little Dipper. Data shows that MACS0647-JD is probably the most distant galaxy ever seen.
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The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A*, emits relatively little energy for its size, as much energy as Sol even though it’s 4 billion times as massive.
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Astronomers have discovered a pair superluminous supernovae, which are more than 10 billion years old. The Universe was only 3.75 billion years old back then. Of the pair, one is more remote and ranks as the most distant supernova ever discovered.
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This extended jet of cosmic materials, traveling near light speed, emerged from a distant galaxy. The flow is almost 2 million light-years long, at least 20 times larger than the Milky Way. Astronomers published their findings in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
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Quantum chromodynamics is the theory that describes the strong nuclear force, how it binds quarks and gluons into protons and neutrons, and how these form nuclei. Simulating quantum chromodynamics on computers is a way to examine what kind of complexity arises from it. The premise is that simulating physics on such a fundamental level is akin to simulating the Universe itself.
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R Sculptoris, an elderly star, located 1,500 light-years from Earth, has been observed in the final stages of stellar life, slowly shedding the outer layers of its atmosphere. There are intensely high temperatures at the star’s core, which create a powerful stellar wind that drive these layers out. They usually accumulate into planetary nebulae over a few million years. It is believed that most small and medium-sized stars will undergo a similar process at the end of their life.
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