For the other Astronuts out there

Would have liked more info on its effects, but suppose they're still researching that. Here's the original paper-
www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27891-4

 

A new type of star, apparently-
"Astronomers have discovered a new type of 'freak star' covered in helium-burning ashes, which they say were likely formed by a rare stellar merger event.
When hunting for 'hot stars' with the Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona, the German team of experts came across two stars with the same unusual properties.
Called PG1654+322 and PG1528+025, the stars are within our galaxy but they're somewhere between 10,000 and 25,000 light years away from Earth.
While normal star surfaces are composed of hydrogen and helium, these newly-found stars are covered in great quantities of carbon and oxygen – the by-product of helium nuclear fusion.
The experts report 'astonishingly high abundances' of both carbon and oxygen – each accounting for around 20 per cent of surface composition for both stars.
Stars that are covered in this much carbon and oxygen usually have finished nuclear fusion reactions that take place at their core.
However, temperatures and diameters of the two newly-discovered stars indicate that helium nuclei continue to fuse inside them – an unprecedented finding.
It's thought that this new type of star was formed by the merger of two white dwarfs – the hot, dense remnants of long-dead stars."
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10510467/Astronomers-Germany-discovered-strange-new-type-star.html

 

"For the first time, astronomers may have spotted the afterglow from an epic cosmic event known as a 'kilonova'.
Kilonovas are immense explosions caused by neutron stars colliding into each other, sending an intense jet of of high-energy particles through space.
They produce a luminous flash of radioactive light that produces large quantities of important elements like silver, gold, platinum and uranium.
Researchers think they've detected an 'afterglow' from a 2017 kilonova event, in the form of X-rays captured by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.
The new study has been led by experts at Northwestern’s Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) in Evanston, Illinois.
'We have entered uncharted territory here in studying the aftermath of a neutron star merger,' said Northwestern's Aprajita Hajela, who led the study.
'We are looking at something new and extraordinary for the very first time. This gives us an opportunity to study and understand new physical processes, which have not before been observed.'
Neutron stars – the collapsed cores of giant stars – have a very small radius (typically 18.6 miles, or 30 km) and very high density, composed predominantly of closely packed neutrons. They're among the densest objects in the universe.
When two neutron stars orbit each other closely, they gradually spiral inward due to gravitational radiation, almost like two coins spiralling closer and closer together as the reach the centre of a charity coin spinner.
When the two neutron stars meet, their merger leads to the formation of either a more massive neutron star, or a black hole, depending on mass.
A kilonova is essentially the blast that occurs from the merger event, which is 1,000 times brighter than a classical nova."
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10577733/Astronomers-spotted-afterglow-kilonova-explosion.html

 

Not really astronomy, but didn't know where else to put it. The fact they're referring to them as 'blobs' is a bit worrying.
"Researchers have uncovered new details about the two mysterious blob-like structures, present roughly on opposite sides of the planet. Officially known as Large Low-Shear-Velocity Provinces (LLSVPs), these blobs are massive, each the size of a continent and 100 times taller than Mount Everest. Until now, scientists have known very little about these blobs, about why they exist, and why they have odd shapes of varying heights.
Now, researchers have analysed the structures and were able to determine the maximum heights that the blobs reach, along with how the volume and density of the blobs, as well as the viscosity in the surrounding mantle, may influence their height."
www.express.co.uk/news/science/1579410/science-news-baffled-mystery-bizarre-blobs-deep-inside-earth

 

Three women who changed the way we see the Universe

Henrietta Swan Leavitt, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin and Vera Rubin changed the way we view the Universe. So why don't we hear more about them?


Three women who changed the way we see the Universe - BBC Ideas

 

Pick up a few locals for the zoo...

 

This one was discussed this morning on the Finnish news. Sorry if it has been shown before. It seems net posting was "alive" a week ago.



A supersharp image of a bright star — released by NASA — shows that the optics seem to be working perfectly on the James Webb Space Telescope.

Now scientists say that its 18 separate mirror segments have been precisely aligned so that they can act as one giant mirror that's about 21 feet across.

The James Webb Space Telescope is working as well as astronomers dreamed it would

 

Lovely picture.

 

Astronaut Mark Vande Hei and 2 Cosmonsuts return to Earth after spending 355 days in space.
U.S. astronaut, two Russian cosmonauts return home from ISS

 

Would have liked to have been a fly on the wall this past month...

 

Breaking news!
"Scientists just outside Chicago have found that the mass of a sub-atomic particle is not what it should be.
The measurement is the first conclusive experimental result that is at odds with one of the most important and successful theories of modern physics.
The team has found that the particle, known as a W boson, is more massive than the theories predicted.
The result has been described as "shocking" by Prof David Toback, who is the project co-spokesperson.
The discovery could lead to the development of a new, more complete theory of how the Universe works.
"If the results are verified by other experiments, the world is going to look different." he told BBC News. "There has to be a paradigm shift. The hope is that maybe this result is going to be the one that breaks the dam.
"The famous astronomer Carl Sagan said 'extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence'. We believe we have that."
www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-60993523?fbclid=IwAR1paVHoZRJcF3Mn6INpZQL7iKzPO1JI4661ELyFA5rwbyO0HZku_jl8SYo

 

Wow…time to re-measure everything…

 

Just remeber when they landed on the moon 1969 and practically the "eagle" has been described as having as much computer function as today´s kitchen fridge...