Discover the top space news from the week of September 30th to October 6th and stay up to date on everything that matters most in the world of astronomy!
The last week has been full of discoveries, along with others yet to be confirmed, about mysterious stars, black holes and other strange structures in the universe.
In case you missed any of this news, we’ve separated the most important ones in our traditional weekly recap.
The mirror ball to see the eclipse
Disco mirror balls can be accustomed to seeing the solar eclipse, without the need for protective glasses. Of course you will not be looking at the Sun, but rather at the reflections created on the walls by the various mirrors of the globe. The proposal was put forward by a new scientific study, whose authors carried out tests at a university observatory.
According to them, every observatory with educational purposes should have one to show how optics work. Sunlight must enter through a window, for example, and reach the globe so that the mirrors cast reflections into the room. In the event of a solar eclipse, the reflection will be that of a white sphere that is gradually covered by a shadow.
SpaceX’s plan to go to Mars this decade
Elon Musk He has already acknowledged that his dream of landing on Mars by 2024 won’t be realized, but that doesn’t mean he plans to wait too long to try. During the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) on Thursday (5), the businessman predicted that Starship could go to the Red Planet within four years.
However, this will depend on Starship’s next flight test, which is expected to take place soon. Furthermore, Musk revealed that next year the Super Heavy propellant will be able to return to the launch site, remaining briefly in the air to be “grabbed” by the launch tower structures.
The reunion of the star who passed away in 2009
The star N6946-BH1, which disappeared in 2009 after a period of intense brightness, has finally been found by the James Webb telescope. To the surprise of scientists, the object is not a single star, but rather a system of three of them.
Shortly before it disappeared, N6946-BH1 shone as brightly as a million suns, so scientists thought they were about to witness an incredible supernova explosion. To everyone’s disappointment, the object simply disappeared, leading astronomers to believe that the star had become a black hole. Now, even though they know there is a multiple system there, no one has yet discovered what happened to the objects after 2009.
3D printed houses on the Moon
A NASA plan usage 3D printing to build houses on the Moon, aiming for human permanence there from the next decades onwards. The homes would be used by both professional astronauts and civilians by 2040, if the space agency’s plans for the Artemis program come to fruition.
To do this, a 3D printer will be taken to the Moon, where it will build living structures using regolith and lunar rocks. These resources will be transformed into a material called Lavacrete, patented by construction technology company ICON. The company is a partner of NASA In this project.
The rotating supermassive black hole
Astrophysicists already imagined this could happen, but now it’s official: a the supermassive hole is rotating at high speed, with precession movements similar to that of the Earth. In other words, its axis is slightly misaligned with the accretion disk.
For this discovery, scientists used data from several telescopes from recent years and, with this, discovered a recurring 11-year cycle in the precession motion of the jet base. In other words, in addition to rotating, its axis oscillates from side to side, as if it were a spinning top losing speed.
The supernova that sent the rare isotope of iron to Earth
A rare isotope of iron has been found on Earth, produced exclusively during a certain type of stellar explosion, with an age corresponding to two different supernovae: one 3 million years ago and the other 7 million years ago. Now, astronomers have managed to determine the how close to Earth did these supernovae occur.
According to the results, the first supernova occurred at a distance between 163 and 212 light years from our planet, while the other exploded 359 light years from us. These distances are very close, but not close enough to pose a threat to life on Earth. On the other hand, they were close enough to send us some of the “gift” Fe-60 isotope.
The possible detection of cosmic strings
Two distant galaxies are so similar that they could only be explained by a gravitational lensing event, i.e. there is only one galaxy. The lensing should be caused by a huge foreground galaxy, which duplicates the image of the more distant one. However, there are no foreground galaxies, and a team of scientists believes that gravitational lensing may have them formed by cosmic strings.
Cosmic strings are topological defects in the universe during a phase transition in the first moments after the Big Bang, much like the cracks that form in ice when water freezes. Cosmic strings have never been detected before, so the new study could be a groundbreaking discovery, but more evidence will need to be presented before it is considered true.
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Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
