Analyzing Pulsars: To Detect Subnanohertz Gravitational Waves

Detecting gravitational waves have always been a challenging task. It is caused due to high energetic events, like colliding black holes or neutron stars. And so, the phenomenon is like ripples on the fabric of space-time. By the time, this effect reaches us (from deep space), the signals become extremely weak. And hence, too faint to detect.   

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Interview: Professor Roberto Maiolino, an Astrophysicist at Cavendish Lab, UK

I am honored to introduce Professor Roberto  Maiolino, an esteemed figure in the field of Experimental Astrophysics. Currently holding the position of Professor at the Department of Physics (Cavendish Laboratory) and the Kavli Institute for Cosmology, University of Cambridge, Dr. Maiolino also serves as an Honorary Professor at University College London and holds the prestigious title of Royal Society Research Professor. With a primary focus on the exploration of galaxy formation and the evolution of supermassive black holes, Professor Maiolino employs a diverse array of observing facilities to unravel the…

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Cosmic Conundrum in the Milky Way: Lightest Black Hole or Heaviest Neutron Star

Exciting news from the cosmos! Astronomers from around the world, including the brains at The University of Manchester and the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Germany, have stumbled upon an unknown object in the Milky Way. The newly discovered object is heavier than the heaviest neutron stars we know. And lighter than the lightest black holes we’ve seen. The team used the MeerKAT Radio Telescope, to spot this mysterious object. This celestial entity is in orbit around a high-speed millisecond pulsar, situated around 40,000 light years away in…

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Astronomers Pinpoint Oldest Known Black Hole: Time-Traveling with Telescopes

Recently, astronomers have detected a super-old black hole, which is devouring its galaxy. It is dated back to the earliest black hole ever. It’s like the ultimate space buffet for the oldest black hole. Researchers at the University of Cambridge, unleashed the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to spot this ancient black hole. The gravity well is chilling out 400 million years post-Big Bang, that is, over 13 billion years back.

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M87 Black Hole Unveils Magnetic Brilliance in Spiraling Light

In 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) unveiled the first-ever images of M87. It was a mind-blowing moment for astronomy. M87 is a supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy Messier 87. The EHT dropped the first snapshots of M87. It was like getting an up-close look at a supermassive black hole for the first time ever!

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Meteorites Unveiled as Earth’s Nitrogen Messengers

Tiny meteorites from the icy outer reaches of the Solar System might be the reason nitrogen ended up near Earth. Yes, we are talking about the early days of our solar system. A team of scientists from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa along with Kyoto University and others from around the globe recently published their discovery in Nature Astronomy.

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Earth’s Electrons: Unexpected Contributors to Lunar Water Formation

Our planet, Earth, is not merely a rock in space but an interesting entity with various forces acting within and outside of it. For instance, magnetosphere. Earth’s core consists of molten iron. This liquid iron creates electric currents. Which, consequently, generate a magnetic field that surrounds Earth. This magnetic field extends far out into space, creating the magnetosphere. It acts as a formidable defence against the solar wind.

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Robots making Autonomous Decisions on Extraterrestrial Missions: Learning to Learn

Rovers on Mars are constantly monitored and maneuvered by humans on Earth. However, robots on missions to Saturn or Jupiter’s moons can’t get timely commands from Earth. What if these machines could make decisions on the fly? Instead of waiting for an “order”, how about these bots making autonomous choice? Thinking on these lines of thought, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign came up with a cool way for these robots to decide where and how to collect terrain samples on their own.

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Europa’s Slow Interior Evolution: Insights into the Jovian Moon’s Dynamic History

The surface area of Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, is slightly smaller than Earth’s Moon. Yet it has garnered a lot of attention from scientists as a potential site for extra-terrestrial life. Here are some of the reasons, why it is considered as potential for hosting life: Surface and Ice Shell: The surface of Jovian moon is covered by a layer of ice that is believed to be several kilometers thick. When it comes to the entire solar system, its icy crust is one of the smoothest. This implies that…

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Book Review: The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov

The Naked Sun is a captivating and enjoyable murder mystery that remains highly readable, even after several decades. It was published in 1957. And it is the second instalment in Asimov’s ‘Robot’ series, succeeding The Caves of Steel, which was released three years prior. Asimov here presents a plethora of thought-provoking concepts, by exploring the boundaries of science, space, technology, psychology, and societal dynamics.

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