Astronomers Have Imaged The Magnetic Field At The Edge Of A Black Hole For The First Time
Two years ago, the first-ever image of a black hole was released. Now, that image has had some serious upgrades, with the first-ever image of the swirling magnetic field around galaxy M87’s supermassive black hole. The image shows M87 in polarized light revealing the curved swoops that show the magnetic field. Being able to see this in such detail brings us closer to finding out how the massive jets spewed out by black holes and shot across the cosmos are formed.
Adorable New Species Of Peacock Spider Named After “Finding Nemo”
An adorable new species of dancing peacock spider has been discovered in Australia and named after fellow orange-and-white-striped critter Nemo, the clownfish Disney star. The size of a grain of rice, Maratus nemo as it has been called, was spotted by citizen scientists in southern Australia and then identified by Melbourne's resident “spider man”, who knew it was new to science. The males perform a little “dance” when trying to impress a mate.
Vesuvius Killed The People Of Pompeii In Just 17 Minutes, New Study Suggests
The ancient city of Pompeii was decimated in 79 CE when the volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted, killing thousands. Now, a new study suggests it took just 17 minutes for the scorching hot ash, gas, and volcanic glass released to wipe out the doomed inhabitants. Incredibly, models show that Pompeii, 10 kilometers away, may have had more survivors if the pyroclastic flow from the mountain had lasted just a few minutes less.
Latest CERN Experiment Hints At Brand New Physics
New results announced from one of the major experiments at the Large Hadron Collider appear to violate the accepted theory of the standard model of particle physics. They concern two types of decay of leptons. Different “flavors” of leptons should decay with the same probability, according to the standard model, but not so, the new measurements hint. If confirmed, it would require a new physical process, such as the existence of new fundamental particles or interactions
"Zombie Genes" Cause Some Brain Cells To Become More Active After We Die
Death isn’t the end of the road for our brains, as new research reveals that certain genes become activated as soon as we check out of our mortal husk, causing some of our brain cells to increase their rate of growth. These “zombie genes” actually become activated in the 24 hours after we die. This previously unseen flurry of post-mortem activity could have major implications for all future research into neurological disorders.
