List of All Articles with Tag 'c'

Many of us will never get our heads around the fact that scientists can actually look back in time. The power of telescopes enables us to study phenomena that occurred billions of years ago, and even gaze upon the dawn of creation itself. Now, astrophysicists have solved a great mystery at the heart of our universe's birth, when everything was shrouded in a dense fog. In four separate papers published in (or accepted into) The Astrophysical Journal, scientists at MIT, Japan’s Nagoya University, ETH Zurich and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands have shared some stunning insights into the period known as the Epoch of Reionisation. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Relatively little is known about this era, during which the thick fog engulfing the universe gradually cleared, allowing stars and galaxies to shine. However, fresh observations made using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) are beginning to pull back the curtain on it all. Now, scientists have finally figured out why one billion years after the Big Bang, that dense fog finally dispersed. First things first, what exactly is the Epoch of Reionisation? During the first billion years after the Big Bang, space was filled with a soupy mist of ionised gas which was impenetrable to light. As the gas began to cool, protons and electrons began to combine to form mostly neutral hydrogen atoms and some helium. These clumps of neutral hydrogen are then believed to have started forming stars, grouped into galaxies. This process reionised the gas but, because space had expanded by this point, the newly ionised hydrogen was diffuse enough to allow light to stream through, as Science Alert notes. A few million years later, the universe had become the transparent expanse with which we’re now familiar. To explain, here’s a look at what those four new papers reveal about why space became so much clearer. Paper 1 In the first study, researchers at the University of Groningen revealed that they had discovered crucial evidence of star formation during the Epoch of Reionisation. They found a specific wavelength of hydrogen, called hydrogen alpha, which is formed when a star is born and blasts out huge amounts of ionising ultraviolet radiation. Until now, no one was sure what produced all the ultraviolet light that emerged during the Epoch of Reionisation. But, thanks to their detection of hydrogen alpha, the Groningen team of astronomers that star formation had a “significant role in the process of reionisation”. Paper 2 Another paper, spearheaded by Japanese astrophysicist Daichi Kashino, added galaxies into the mix. According to Kashino and his international team, reionisation happened in “bubbles” around the plethora of newly-formed galaxies. They used JWST data to pinpoint these pockets and measure them precisely, identifying that they had a 2 million light-year radius around the tiny galaxies. Over the next hundred million years, the bubbles grew larger and larger, eventually merging and causing the entire universe to become transparent, according to an article published by NASA. Paper 3 A third group of researchers, led by ETH Zurich astrophysicist Jorryt Matthee, analysed the characteristics of these bubbles and found that the early galaxies they contained were hot, low in metals and dust and very active. He said they were “more chaotic” than those in the nearby universe, adding: "Webb shows they were actively forming stars and must have been shooting off many supernovae. They had quite an adventurous youth!” Paper 4 A fourth paper, led by MIT cosmologist Anna-Christina Eilers, focused its attention on the quasar galaxy at the centre of the JWST observations. This quasar is, according to NASA, an “extremely luminous active supermassive black hole that acts like an enormous flashlight”. Eilers and her team used data from the telescope to confirm that the black hole is the most massive currently known in the early universe, weighing 10 billion times the mass of the Sun. “We still can’t explain how quasars were able to grow so large so early in the history of the universe,” she said. “That’s another puzzle to solve!” Conclusion Well done if you’ve survived to the end – this is all pretty heavy-going. But the key point here is that before the JWST no one knew for sure what caused reionisation. Now, thanks to the mighty golden-eyed telescope, one of the great mysteries behind the birth of creation has finally been solved. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The European Union will join an international effort to assess whether large-scale interventions such as deflecting the sun’s

International Business Machines Corp. will buy software company Apptio for $4.6 billion, marking the seventh acquisition this year

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 26, 2023--

Excessive heat warnings and heat advisories stretch from southern Arizona to the Florida Panhandle, covering most of Texas

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 26, 2023--

LOUISVILLE, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 26, 2023--

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 26, 2023--

Wolfspeed said on Monday that a group led by Apollo Global Management would make a debt investment of

Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene posted a lengthy tweet bragging about her health and exercise regimen after claiming that her TV in her DC residence appears to be spying on her. On Sunday morning, Ms Greene wrote: “Last night in my DC residence, the television turned on by itself and the screen showed someone’s laptop trying to connect to the TV.” “Just for the record: I’m very happy. I’m also very healthy and eat well and exercise a lot. I don’t smoke and never have. I don’t take any medications. I am not vaccinated. So I’m not concerned about blood clots, heart conditions, strokes, or anything else. Nor do I have anything to hide,” Ms Greene added, possibly in a reference to the novel 1984, where residents are spied on by the state via their TVs. “I just love my country and the people and know how much they’ve been screwed over by the corrupt people in our government and I’m not willing to be quiet about it, or willing to go along with it,” she concluded, before adding a link to a CBS News story about Smart TVs possibly spying on their users, according to the FBI. The agency issued a warning in late 2019 saying that Smart TVs could be hacked and access could be gained to a home’s computer network. The FBI noted that while Smart TVs are connected to the Internet, they’re often much less secure than computers and smartphones. This means that cybercriminals may use the TVs to access home routers, TechCrunch noted at the time. “Beyond the risk that your TV manufacturer and app developers may be listening and watching you, that television can also be a gateway for hackers to come into your home,” the FBI warning said at the time. Ms Greene was quickly mocked by Twitter users for seemingly suggesting that the government was spying on her via her TV. “Yeah every time someone tries to access my WiFi I know that means they’re coming to kill me,” historian Kevin Kruse tweeted. “Was the deep state trying to watch your tv shows?” Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo tweeted. “Am I the only one who doesn’t know what the tv screen looks like when it shows ‘someone’s laptop trying to connect to the TV.’ I wanted to be prepared for when I have my first psychotic break.” “It happens all the time in apt buildings. Someone chooses the wrong tv. You say deny and move on,” Greg Gadren responded. “Do people not know about smart tvs? I’ve accidentally tried to connect to other people’s tv in my apartment complex. It doesn’t mean I’m trying to spy, nor does it mean anything weird is happening,” one account holder said. “You should IMPEACH THE TV,” one Twitter user said. “What is apple play for $200.” “Have you considered an exorcism?” another account holder said. “Are they in the room with us right now?” California Democrat Eric Swalwell joked. “I feel like a neighbor accidentally trying to Airplay to your TV isn’t an assassination attempt?” Hayden Clarkin said. “I am laughing so f****** hard. A neighbor trying to screen share something accidentally clicked ‘Samsung-8237’ instead of ‘Samsung-1490’ and this delusional nut job is issuing a final will and testament,” Caleb Hearon said. Read More Speaker McCarthy supports expunging Trump's impeachments over Ukraine and Jan. 6 Arizona election denier Kari Lake ‘couch-surfing like a bum’ at Mar-a-Lago, ex-Trump lawyer says Lauren Boebert reveals she’s officially a grandmother as she avoids question about Marjorie Taylor Greene spat Trump allies in Congress seek to expunge impeachments Lauren Boebert reveals she’s officially a grandmother at age 36 Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Lauren Boebert a ‘little b****’ on House floor

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 26, 2023--

Longtime fans of the ‘Disney Villainous’ board game might consider this a collectible.