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Category: space – Page 63

New optical tech boosts gravitational-wave detection capabilities

In a paper published earlier this month in Physical Review Letters, a team of physicists led by Jonathan Richardson of the University of California, Riverside, showcases how new optical technology can extend the detection range of gravitational-wave observatories such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO, and pave the way for future observatories.

Since 2015, observatories like LIGO have opened a new window on the universe. Plans for future upgrades to the 4-kilometer LIGO detectors and the construction of a next-generation 40-kilometer observatory, Cosmic Explorer, aim to push the gravitational-wave detection horizon to the earliest times in the history of the universe, before the first stars formed. However, realizing these plans hinges on achieving laser power levels exceeding 1 megawatt, far beyond LIGO’s capabilities today.

The research paper reports a breakthrough that will enable gravitational-wave detectors to reach extreme laser powers. It presents a new low-noise, high-resolution approach that can correct the limiting distortions of LIGO’s main 40-kilogram mirrors which arise with increasing laser power due to heating.

‘Cosmic Highway’ Discovered: How Alpha Centauri’s Debris May Link Our Solar System to Faraway Stars

A groundbreaking study reveals that Alpha Centauri’s particles are already making their way into our solar system, traveling across the cosmic highway that connects star systems. These particles, ejected from the nearest stellar neighbor to Earth, could be carrying valuable insights about distant worlds and the forces that shape our galaxy.

Quantum Machine Could Predict The Ultimate Fate of The Universe

Our entire reality could – in theory – be built on a bed of sand, teetering on the brink of collapse. If so, a new device developed by a collaboration of physicists in Europe might give us some idea of how it all ends.

Using a process known as quantum annealing, the researchers have provided a proof-of-concept method to study the dynamics of a terrifying kind of reality-decay that would pull at the threads of physics, causing them to unravel.

Were such an event to occur somewhere in the cosmos, the quantum laws that lend structure to matter would be rewritten at the speed of light, spelling an end to all reality as we know it.

The Universe in Motion: Upcoming Astronomical Events

On this episode of Cultivate Curiosity, our host Jacie takes us on a journey through a few spectacular upcoming astronomical events. From February’s dazzling planetary alignments and bright Venusian glow to March and April’s upcoming eclipses and meteor showers, we explore the science behind these celestial events and how to best view them. Whether you’re an avid stargazer or just looking up with curiosity, this episode will inspire you to keep your eyes on the sky!

Witnessing the birth of planets: Webb provides unprecedented window

An international team of researchers, including those from the University of Michigan, have used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to witness the birth of planets around the young star system PDS 70.

PDS 70, located 370 light years away, is about 5 million years old and is one of the most extensively studied young stellar systems. It is the only known protoplanetary disk system where multiple planets have been detected within the disk from which they are forming.

This system allows scientists to observe planet formation and evolution in their early stages. In PDS 70, a disk of gas and dust surrounds the star with a big gap in the middle where two planets, PDS 70 b and PDS 70 c, form. This gap acts as a planetary construction zone, where the new worlds gather material to grow.