Gravitational waves: breakthrough discovery after two centuries of expectation | Science Physicists have announced the discovery of gravitational waves, ripples in the fabric of spacetime that were first anticipated by Albert Einstein a century ago. “We have detected gravitational waves. We did it,” said David Reitze, executive director of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (Ligo), at a press conference in Washington. The announcement is the climax of a century of speculation, 50 years of trial and error, and 25 years perfecting a set of instruments so sensitive they could identify a distortion in spacetime a thousandth the diameter of one atomic nucleus across a 4km strip of laserbeam and mirror. The phenomenon detected was the collision of two black holes. At the beginning of the signal, their calculations told them how stars perish: the two objects had begun by circling each other 30 times a second. The observation signals the opening of a new window on to the universe. Thursday’s announcement was the unequivocal first detection ever of gravity waves.
Tonight Tonight’s chart shows Polaris and the Big and Little Dippers for a September evening. You can use the Big Dipper to find Polaris, which is also known as the North Star. Notice that a line from the two outermost stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper points to Polaris. And notice that Polaris marks the tip of the handle of the Little Dipper. The northern sky is a large clock, with Polaris at its center. The Big and Little Dippers: All you need to know EarthSky astronomy kits are perfect for beginners. View larger. | Keith Breazeal’s photo of a meteor streaking past the Big Dipper during the 2015 Perseid meteor shower. The Big Dipper swings full circle – 360 degrees – around Polaris in about 23 hours and 56 minutes. If you’re in the northern U.S., Canada or at a similar latitude, the Big Dipper is circumpolar for you – always above the horizon. A month from now at mid-evening, the Big Dipper will be noticeably lower in the northwest.
theconversation Four stars in the night sky have been formally recognised by their Australian Aboriginal names. The names include three from the Wardaman people of the Northern Territory and one from the Boorong people of western Victoria. The Wardaman star names are Larawag, Wurren and Ginan in the Western constellations Scorpius, Phoenix and Crux (the Southern Cross). The Boorong star name is Unurgunite in Canis Majoris (the Great Dog). They are among 86 new star names drawn from Chinese, Coptic, Hindu, Mayan, Polynesian, South African and Aboriginal Australian cultures. These names represent a step forward by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) – the global network of the world’s roughly 12,000 professional astronomers – in recognising the importance of traditional language and Indigenous starlore. What’s that star called? Many cultures around the world have their own names for the stars scattered across the night sky. The IAU recognised that the lack of official star names was a problem.
Stargazers Lounge 'A new way to study our universe': what gravitational waves mean for future science | Science You wait 100 years for a gravitational wave and then four come along at once. Or so it must seem to those who spent decades designing and building the exquisite instruments needed to sense the minuscule ripples in spacetime that Albert Einstein foresaw in his 1905 theory of general relativity. The first gravitational wave bagged by physicists reached Earth on 14 September 2015 and sent a quiver through the US-based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (Ligo). The second hit three months later, on Boxing Day, followed by a third in January this year. Each of the gravitational waves had been set in motion by violent collisions between black holes more than a billion years ago. “This is a story in two parts,” said Sheila Rowan, director of the Institute for Gravitational Research at the University of Glasgow. Until now, astronomers have mapped the heavens almost exclusively with telescopes that gather light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation.
LIVE REAL TIME SATELLITE AND SPACE SHUTTLE TRACKING Why are astronomers interested in gravitational waves? (Intermediate) - Curious About Astronomy? Ask an Astronomer When you look up at the night sky, you see a very particular view of the Universe. You see electromagnetic radiation, light, at optical wavelengths from objects like stars. If your eyes could see radio waves, which are another wavelength of light, they would see a very different picture of the Universe. The sources of radio light are different than the sources of optical light. For almost the entire history of astronomy, we viewed the Universe through an electromagnetic window. On February 11th, 2016, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) collaboration announced the detection of gravitational waves from a black hole binary.
The Night Sky August 2012 | Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics Highlights of the Month April - Mars at Opposition. Image NASA. Mars, lying above Spica in Virgo, reaches opposition on April 8th when its magnitude will be -1.5 and its angular diameter 15.1 arc seconds. Due to the fact that Mars, and to a lesser extend, the Earth have elliptical orbits, its distance from us at opposition can vary from ~54 to 102 million km. As a result the angular size will vary from ~13 to 25 arc seconds - a major difference. April - it is still worthwhile to view Jupiter. Jupiter imaged by Damian Peach Jupiter is now well past opposition but this is a still a good month to observe this giant of planets. The features seen in the Jovian atmosphere have been changing quite significantly over the last few years - for a while the South Equatorial Belt vanished completely (as seen in Damian's image) but has now returned to its normal wide state. See more of Damian Peach's images: Damian Peaches Website" Features in Jupiter's atmosphere - December 2013. 1st 22:44 23rd 21:01 Mars
Earth's magnetic song recorded for the first time during a solar storm Data from ESA's Cluster mission has provided a recording of the eerie "song" that Earth sings when it is hit by a solar storm. The song comes from waves that are generated in the Earth's magnetic field by the collision of the storm. The storm itself is the eruption of electrically charged particles from the sun's atmosphere. A team led by Lucile Turc, a former ESA research fellow who is now based at the University of Helsinki, Finland, made the discovery after analyzing data from the Cluster Science Archive. The archive provides access to all data obtained during Cluster's ongoing mission over almost two decades. Cluster consists of four spacecraft that orbit Earth in formation, investigating our planet's magnetic environment and its interaction with the solar wind—a constant flow of particles released by the sun into the Solar System. The new analysis shows that, during the collision, the foreshock is driven to release magnetic waves that are much more complex than first thought.
Runic alphabets / Runes / Futhark Little is known about the origins of the Runic alphabet, which is traditionally known as futhark after the first six letters. In Old Norse the word rune means 'letter', 'text' or 'inscription'. The word also means 'mystery' or 'secret' in Old Germanic languages and runes had a important role in ritual and magic. Here are some theories about the origins of runes: The alphabet was probably created independently rather than evolving from another alphabet. The earliest known Runic inscriptions date from the 1st century AD, but the vast majority of Runic inscriptions date from the 11th century. Notable features The direction of writing in early Runic inscriptions is variable. Types of runic inscriptions include: 'Hrolf was here' type inscriptions on cliff walls, large rocks and buildings grave stone inscriptions, often with who carved the runes and who was buried, and also who made sure the stone was raised. There are a number of different Runic alphabets including: Elder Futhark Notes Links