Astronomers Detect One of The Largest Cosmic Explosions

 

Astronomers have detected one of the largest cosmic explosions. The announcement came from Dr. Phillip Wiseman who led the observations. The observations were conducted by Southampton University. The cause of the explosion is thought to be the result of gas being sucked into a supermassive black hole. Space is a strange and exciting place with new objects to be discovered. The size of the explosion was about 100 times the Solar System. The explosion has been given an official name. Astronomers refer to it as AT2021lwx. The light that comes from the explosion allows astronomers on Earth to detect it. AT2021lwx is still emitting energy. The event could either be the product of a supernova or tidal disruption event. This refers to when a star gets too close to a black hole and gets damaged in the process. Technically, AT2021lwx was detected in 2020 by the Zwicky Transient Facility. However, astronomers needed to collect more data for confirmation. Calculating the brightness required knowing the distance. The distance was determined to be 8 billion light years away. The fact that AT2021lwx is so bright for this long only adds to the mystery. A supernova or tidal disruption event's brightness only lasts a few months. It is unknown when AT202llwx will fade away. Over the next few years astronomers are going to find more cosmic explosions. Examining these occurrences might provide more information on the attributes of black holes.

Dr. Mae Jemison on The Importance of Space Exploration (2014)

 

Dr. Mae Jemison explains the importance of space exploration. The need to explore space can be a benefit to humanity. It can be a unifying force in a divided world. A new space race should not be an extension of world power competition. It should be an activity of collaboration among nations. Dr. Jemison explains humanity has bee connected to space  for most of its history. Ancient civilizations used the stars to make calendars and when to plant crops. The stars helped sailors navigate the seas.  Today satellites are essential for GPS. There exists a possibility in which human beings will colonize other planets and star systems. This will take a significant amount of time, effort, and innovations in technology. Dr. Mae Jemison wants to see humankind have that capability in a century. The 100 Year Starship project seeks to make this happen. Dr. Jemison wants space exploration to be a project in which all can be a part of. Space exploration she believes be enriching for the Earth. 

The First Photograph of a Black Hole

The 2019 has ushered in an amazing discovery. Astrophysicists and astronomers now have photographic evidence of a black hole. The image above shows a black hole from galaxy M87.  To detect this supermassive black hole required a global network of eight radio telescopes. Such unusual structures of space are difficult to detect with cameras. The technique used was to look for the silhouette generated by the black hole's event horizon  and accretion disk. The Event Horizon Telescope had been gathering data since 2017 and from that information produced this image. Prior to this photograph, astrophysicists only had indirect evidence of black holes. Einstein's theory of relativity predicted their existence. Through mathematical reasoning and a different perspective relating to gravity, the black hole was an object of  outer space that could not fully be observed. As technology and telescopes become more advanced,  theoretical physics will become more experimental. Long baseline interferometry  combines the radio waves of various telescopes giving it more power to detect objects in the known  universe. The supermassive black hole of  galaxy M87 is 6.5 billion times the mass of the  Sun and 55 million light years away from Earth. Now that there is an image of an actual black hole, this only adds more questions. The most discussed remains what could be inside a black hole singularity. Astronomy and Astrophysics have reached a new age in exploration and knowledge. As more images of black holes are produced they may actually show possible variety in attributes.   

2017 Total Solar Eclipse

The 2017 solar eclipse was the first to be seen in America since 1918. What is displayed are photographs of this rare occurrence. The cosmos continues to fascinate humankind and captivate the curious . These photographs show the beauty of  outer space and the stars the populate it. 

Carl Sagan 1966 CBS Interview on the Possibilities of Extraterrestrial Life

This is a CBS interview with Carl Sagan produced in 1966. The astronomer became a popular figure with the PBS program Cosmos and his books. Sagan was in many ways ahead of his time, figuring out the nature of Venus' atmosphere and believing extraterrestrial life was a possibility. To date there are several Earth like planets that have been discovered outside the Solar System. Humanity has not been able to reach these planets for direct observation, but it could be teeming with life. There opens  a new opportunity for expansion in biology. Astrobiology will become more important as humanity explores and finds more organisms in space.