Science Megathread

[emailking]

Along those lines, there was an article in Scientific American a few months back about the "voids" in the universe (the dark spots in the above map) where there is almost nothing at all (except dark energy, which is mostly constant) for truly vast distances. They are understudied but may be extremely important to understanding the evolution of the universe.

Do you think you could find it?

How Analyzing Cosmic Nothing Might Explain Everything
Huge empty areas of the universe called voids could help solve the greatest mysteries in the cosmos

Computational astrophysicist Alice Pisani put on a virtual-reality headset and stared out into the void—or rather a void, one of many large, empty spaces that pepper the cosmos. “It was absolutely amazing,” Pisani recalls. At first, hovering in the air in front of her was a jumble of shining dots, each representing a galaxy. When Pisani walked into the jumble, she found herself inside a large swath of nothing with a shell of galaxies surrounding it. The image wasn't just a guess at what a cosmic void might look like; it was Pisani's own data made manifest. “I was completely surprised,” she says. “It was just so cool.”

The visualization, made in 2022, was a special project by Bonny Yue Wang, then a computer science undergraduate at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City. Pisani teaches a course there in cosmology—the structure and evolution of the universe. Wang had been aiming to use Pisani's data on voids, which can stretch from tens to hundreds of millions of light-years across, to create an augmented-reality view of these surprising features of the cosmos.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-analyzing-cosmic-nothing-might-explain-everything/

[Torrain]

Some very promising trials for personalised vaccines against melanoma in those with a high risk or history of early-stage cancer.

[Frodo]

Study reveals when the first warm-blooded dinosaurs roamed Earth

Were dinosaurs warm-blooded like birds and mammals or cold-blooded like reptiles? It’s one of paleontology’s oldest questions, and gleaning the answer matters because it illuminates how the prehistoric creatures may have lived and behaved.

Challenging the prevailing idea that they were all slow, lumbering lizards that basked in the sun to regulate their body temperature, research over the past three decades has revealed that some dinosaurs were likely birdlike, with feathers and perhaps the ability to generate their own body heat.

However, it’s hard to find evidence that unquestionably shows what dinosaur metabolisms were like. Clues from dinosaur eggshells and bones have suggested that some dinosaurs were warm-blooded and others were not.

A new study published in the journal Current Biology on Wednesday suggested that three main dinosaur groups adapted differently to changes in temperature, with the ability to regulate body temperature evolving in the early Jurassic Period about 180 million years ago.

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Along those lines, there was an article in Scientific American a few months back about the "voids" in the universe (the dark spots in the above map) where there is almost nothing at all (except dark energy, which is mostly constant) for truly vast distances. They are understudied but may be extremely important to understanding the evolution of the universe.

Do you think you could find it?

How Analyzing Cosmic Nothing Might Explain Everything
Huge empty areas of the universe called voids could help solve the greatest mysteries in the cosmos

Computational astrophysicist Alice Pisani put on a virtual-reality headset and stared out into the void—or rather a void, one of many large, empty spaces that pepper the cosmos. “It was absolutely amazing,” Pisani recalls. At first, hovering in the air in front of her was a jumble of shining dots, each representing a galaxy. When Pisani walked into the jumble, she found herself inside a large swath of nothing with a shell of galaxies surrounding it. The image wasn't just a guess at what a cosmic void might look like; it was Pisani's own data made manifest. “I was completely surprised,” she says. “It was just so cool.”

The visualization, made in 2022, was a special project by Bonny Yue Wang, then a computer science undergraduate at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City. Pisani teaches a course there in cosmology—the structure and evolution of the universe. Wang had been aiming to use Pisani's data on voids, which can stretch from tens to hundreds of millions of light-years across, to create an augmented-reality view of these surprising features of the cosmos.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-analyzing-cosmic-nothing-might-explain-everything/

Thanks!

[Frodo]

The Xuntian space telescope hasn't even been launched into orbit yet, and already the Chinese are claiming bragging rights over it:

Chinese astronomers say their new space telescope will outdo Hubble

Most unfortunate:

China’s giant Xuntian space telescope faces further delay until late 2026

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

King Ramses and Queen Hebrew female created the human race, blks are the direct descendants of the Pharaoh and Whites are the direct descendants of Queen Hebrews and Arabs/Mongoloids are the descendants of Pharaohs and Hebrew Queens, it was in Dunes 2 how many Arabs were there in that movie a whole race of People

We are from the sands of Egypt before the Roman and Greek Empire

[Frodo]

Euclid is swiftly coming into its own alongside the James Webb space telescope:

Euclid space telescope captures dazzling new images of the cosmos: "Never seen anything like it"


Messier 78, a vibrant star nursery enveloped in interstellar dust, ESA

A mind-boggling number of shining galaxies, a purple and orange star nursery and a spiral galaxy similar to our Milky Way: new images were revealed from Europe's Euclid space telescope on Thursday.

It is the second set of images released by the European Space Agency since Euclid launched last year on the first-ever mission to investigate the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy.

"The never-before-seen images demonstrate Euclid's ability to unravel the secrets of the cosmos and enable scientists to hunt for rogue planets, use lensed galaxies to study mysterious matter, and explore the evolution of the universe," the European Space Agency said in a statement.

Scientific data from Euclid was also published for the first time in the six-year mission, which aims to use its wide view to chart two billion galaxies across a third of the sky.

[Frodo]

NASA is trying to buy more time for Hubble, a venerable space telescope which was first launched into orbit in April 1990, and is showing its age:

The storied Hubble telescope has gone into ‘safe mode.’ Here’s NASA’s plan to keep it alive


NASA's Hubble Space Telescope eyes the universe in May 2009 after one of the space shuttle missions to service the space observatory. - NASA
© Provided by CNN

[Frodo]

This isn't a scientific article per se written from a third party perspective by a scientific journalist, but is instead written by a researcher reporting their findings in their own words from a published article:

New model suggests partner anti-universe could explain accelerated expansion without the need for dark energy
-by Naman Kumar


A depiction of a universe-antiuniverse pair. Credit: Wikipedia, CC

[Frodo]

Just to remind everyone that the International Space Station is worth all the investment put into it -this is but one example:

Space station research advances NASA's plans to explore the moon, Mars


source: The Moscow Times

I wish NASA would arrange a special traveling exhibition across the country from west to east (before reaching its final destination and permanent home at the Air and Space Museum at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.) showcasing all the innovations and scientific research conducted on the International Space Station since it became crewed in 2000.  

[Frodo]

Einstein Telescope could launch a new era in astronomy

It's still just a plan, but a new telescope could soon be measuring gravitational waves. Gravitational waves are something like the sound waves of the universe. They are created, for example, when black holes or neutron stars collide.

The future gravitational wave detector, the Einstein Telescope, will use the latest laser technology to better understand these waves and, thus, our universe. One possible location for the construction of this telescope is the border triangle of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Professor Stahl is a member of the German Einstein Telescope community and is currently working on the next generation of gravitational wave detectors. Measuring devices of this third generation should be ten times more sensitive than those currently in use. The planned gravitational wave observatory has been named "Einstein Telescope" after the founder of the general theory of relativity.

"We want to use it to examine an area that is a thousand times larger than what is possible today in the universe for gravitational waves. And we should then find considerably more sources for which the current instruments are not sensitive enough," explains the astrophysicist. This also applies to heavier objects that emit gravitational waves at lower frequencies.

The Einstein Telescope will consist of three nested detectors. Each of these detectors will have two laser interferometers with 10 km long arms. In order to shield as much interference as possible, the observatory shall be built 250 m underground.

However, the scientists are already thinking much further ahead. "The Einstein Telescope will work together with a new, innovative generation of observatories in the electromagnetic spectrum ranging from radio to gamma rays. We call this multi-messenger astronomy," says Professor Stahl, describing the vision.

"In addition to the 'ears' for the gravitational waves, we will also have 'eyes' that detect very different signals. Together, these will provide a live transmission of cosmic events that no one has ever seen before."

[emailking]

This isn't a scientific article per se written from a third party perspective by a scientific journalist, but is instead written by a researcher reporting their findings in their own words from a published article:

New model suggests partner anti-universe could explain accelerated expansion without the need for dark energy
-by Naman Kumar


A depiction of a universe-antiuniverse pair. Credit: Wikipedia, CC

That reminds me of the recent Veritassium video, that the mere existence of black holes hints at the possible existence of parallel universes.

Also, I hope the Einstein telescope happens.

[Frodo]

Giant Magellan Telescope enclosure ready for construction


Rendering of the Giant Magellan Telescope enclosure at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. Credit: IDOM / Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation

The Giant Magellan Telescope and IDOM has announced that the telescope's enclosure, set to be one of the world's largest astronomical facilities, passed its final design review and is now ready for construction in Chile. The review marks a major milestone for the telescope, which is now 40% under construction and on track to be operational by the early 2030s.

"A team of 10 international subject matter experts validated two years of design work by IDOM and the Giant Magellan Telescope. The final design of the enclosure is unique and an important feat of technical management, design, and engineering. We are very grateful for the committee's professional assessment as we proceed towards construction," said Bruce Bigelow, the Site Infrastructure, Enclosure, and Facilities Manager for the Giant Magellan Telescope.

"We're also incredibly excited to be moving towards the procurement stage, where we will begin soliciting proposals to begin construction."

Once completed, the 65-meter-tall enclosure will be one of the largest mechanized buildings ever constructed and will represent a true feat of modern engineering and precision manufacturing.

At over 5,000 metric tons, the enclosure will be able to complete a full rotation in four minutes and be equipped with 46-meter-tall shutter doors that reveal the 25.4-meter telescope for unobstructed scientific observations.

The smart building is cleverly designed to control the telescope's operating environment by protecting seven of the world's largest mirrors as they track celestial objects across the sky more than a billion light years away.