Wednesday 15 March 2017

Dark matter less influential in galaxies in early universe

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New observations indicate that massive, star-forming galaxies during the peak epoch of galaxy formation, 10 billion years ago, were dominated by baryonic or 'normal' matter. This is in stark contrast to present-day galaxies, where the effects of mysterious dark matter seem to be much greater. This surprising result was obtained using ESO's Very Large Telescope and suggests that dark matter was less influential in the early universe than it is today.
via Science Daily
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Scientists identify a black hole choking on stardust

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Scientists using the All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASASSN) have identified a black hole, choking on stardust. Data suggest black holes swallow stellar debris in bursts.
via Science Daily
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Ron Drever, Physicist Who Helped Confirm Einstein Theory, Dies at 85

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Dr. Drever, a Scotsman long associated with Caltech, played a key role in the detection of gravitational waves — space-time ripples predicted by Einstein.
via New York Times

The Cone Nebula from Hubble

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Stars are forming in the gigantic dust pillar called the Cone Nebula. Cones, pillars, and majestic flowing shapes abound in stellar nurseries where natal clouds of gas and dust are buffeted by energetic winds from newborn stars. The Cone Nebula, a well-known example, lies within the bright galactic star-forming region NGC 2264. The Cone was captured in unprecedented detail in this close-up composite of several observations from the Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. While the Cone Nebula, about 2,500 light-years away in Monoceros, is around 7 light-years long, the region pictured here surrounding the cone's blunted head is a mere 2.5 light-years across. In our neck of the galaxy that distance is just over half way from our Sun to its nearest stellar neighbors in the Alpha Centauri star system. The massive star NGC 2264 IRS, seen by Hubble's infrared camera in 1997, is the likely source of the wind sculpting the Cone Nebula and lies off the top of the image. The Cone Nebula's reddish veil is produced by glowing hydrogen gas.

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