Featured Posts
Forbes articles by Brian Koberlein
11 Dec 2019, 17:40 UTC
A new study finds that Population II stars have two distinct groups, with different origins.
The Stars In Our Galaxy Are More Varied Than We Thought
11 Dec 2019, 17:40 UTC
A new study finds that Population II stars have two distinct groups, with different origins.
Starts With a Bang!
11 Dec 2019, 15:01 UTC
It’s difficult to appreciate how revolutionary of a transformation it is to consider the Universe from Einstein’s, rather than Newton’s, point of view. According to Newtonian mechanics and Newtonian gravity, the Universe is a perfectly deterministic system. If you were to give a scientist who understood the masses, positions, and momenta of each and every particle in the Universe, they could determine for you where any particle would be and what it would be doing at any point in the future. In theory, Einstein’s equations are deterministic as well, so you can imagine something similar would occur: if you could only know the mass, position, and momentum of each particle in the Universe, you could compute anything as far into the future as you were willing to look. But whereas you can write down the equations that would govern how these particles would behave in a Newtonian Universe, we can’t practically achieve even that step in a Universe governed by General Relativity. Here’s why.
This Is Why Scientists Will Never Exactly Solve General Relativity
11 Dec 2019, 15:01 UTC
It’s difficult to appreciate how revolutionary of a transformation it is to consider the Universe from Einstein’s, rather than Newton’s, point of view. According to Newtonian mechanics and Newtonian gravity, the Universe is a perfectly deterministic system. If you were to give a scientist who understood the masses, positions, and momenta of each and every particle in the Universe, they could determine for you where any particle would be and what it would be doing at any point in the future. In theory, Einstein’s equations are deterministic as well, so you can imagine something similar would occur: if you could only know the mass, position, and momentum of each particle in the Universe, you could compute anything as far into the future as you were willing to look. But whereas you can write down the equations that would govern how these particles would behave in a Newtonian Universe, we can’t practically achieve even that step in a Universe governed by General Relativity. Here’s why.
Parabolic Arc
11 Dec 2019, 10:23 UTC
TUCSON, Ariz. (University of Arizona PR) — The University of Arizona is spearheading work that would begin efforts to construct a space-based infrared telescope that could provide the capabilities NASA needs to search for asteroids and comets that pose impact hazards to Earth, called near-Earth objects, or NEOs.
University of Arizona Looks Toward Work on NASA’s Potential Asteroid-Hunting Space Telescope
11 Dec 2019, 10:23 UTC
TUCSON, Ariz. (University of Arizona PR) — The University of Arizona is spearheading work that would begin efforts to construct a space-based infrared telescope that could provide the capabilities NASA needs to search for asteroids and comets that pose impact hazards to Earth, called near-Earth objects, or NEOs.
Air & Space Magazine
10 Dec 2019, 18:30 UTC
The world’s largest single-dish radio telescope—the Five Hundred-Meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) in southern China—is about to start operation after more than three years of testing and commissioning. While the trials have focused on detecting neutron stars, one of the goals during the telescope’s operational lifetime will be to search for signals generated by intelligent extraterrestrials. Since Chinese officials claim that FAST is already three times as sensitive as the Arecibo observatory in Puerto Rico, the second-largest single-dish telescope in the world, we surely expect new discoveries.
Giant Chinese Telescope Joins the Search for Alien Radio Signals
10 Dec 2019, 18:30 UTC
The world’s largest single-dish radio telescope—the Five Hundred-Meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) in southern China—is about to start operation after more than three years of testing and commissioning. While the trials have focused on detecting neutron stars, one of the goals during the telescope’s operational lifetime will be to search for signals generated by intelligent extraterrestrials. Since Chinese officials claim that FAST is already three times as sensitive as the Arecibo observatory in Puerto Rico, the second-largest single-dish telescope in the world, we surely expect new discoveries.
Bad Astronomy
10 Dec 2019, 14:00 UTC
We've known for some time now that at the heart of every big galaxy lies a supermassive black hole. These monsters earn their moniker: They range from millions to many billions of times the mass of the Sun. These beasts form along with their host galaxy, growing huge pretty rapidly from gas in the young galaxy.
A galaxy with *three* supermassive black hole hearts
10 Dec 2019, 14:00 UTC
We've known for some time now that at the heart of every big galaxy lies a supermassive black hole. These monsters earn their moniker: They range from millions to many billions of times the mass of the Sun. These beasts form along with their host galaxy, growing huge pretty rapidly from gas in the young galaxy.
Nanowerk Space Exploration News
10 Dec 2019, 09:26 UTC
Scientists from Moscow Institute for Physics and Technology, Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IKI), and Pulkovo Observatory discovered a unique neutron star, the magnetic field of which is apparent only when the star is seen under a certain angle relative to the observer.
