Science

A Riddle for Our Time

In a newly published study, a team of astronomers call attention to a neglected riddle of the expansion of the universe: although cosmic acceleration might have started at any time, curiously it has happened in our own time. One of the most remarkable successes of astrophysics in the last century was its discovery that the age of the universe as measured by its oldest stars was about the same as the age estimated in an entirely different way, from the recession of galaxies. Refinements to the measurements and the models to resolve this contradiction were underway until 1998 when cosmic acceleration was discovered. It proved, in a single sweep, that the universe was actually much older than had been thought, and in particular was older than the oldest stars.

SciTech Daily

Science

Astronomers witness a star collapsing into a black hole for the first time

Our models for how stellar black holes form are just that, models. They're based on the complicated mathematics of what happens when a massive star collapses at the end of its lifecycle. But scientists haven't actually witnessed the process of black hole formation directly before. That is, until now. Using data from the Hubble Space Telescope, a team of astronomers from Ohio State University in Columbus believe they have been observing a red supergiant star, N6946-BH1, at the end of its lifecycle. In fact, in their latest observation, the star appears to have poofed out of existence. Where recently there was a bright star, now there only remains a darkness with a faint afterglow, reports New

MNN - Mother Nature Network

Science

Huge Dark Spots Appear Just Outside Our Galaxy

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have detected two massive "holes" in the otherwise glimmering sheet of stars just outside the Milky Way. The holes themselves are invisible, but can be detected by the effect their gravity has on visible matter within its range. These spots could point science in the direction of a better understanding of dark matter. Dark matter, which sounds sinister and kind of awesome, is actually both sinister and awesome. Over a quarter of the entire universe is believed to be made up of dark matter, an as-of-yet unidentified type of matter which cannot currently be directly observed. Study co-author Dr. Vasily Belokurov told Business Insider if dark matter can

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