Category: Fascinating Objects

Tabby’s star: It’s dust, not aliens!

KIC 8462852, also known as Boyajian’s Star, or Tabby’s Star has been a source of exciting anticipations since last couple of years.

After all, it could have been aliens!

The phenomenon was thought to be a possibility of Dyson’s Sphere, a hypothetical structure built around a star to absorb all it’s energy, like the below image. Given the amount of matter, energy and engineering sophistication required to build such a structure, it is beyond a civilization like ours to fathom building something like this. Therefore, it could have been an advanced civilization which was doing this. Aliens!

image courtesy earthsky.org

 

Now, hold your breath.

However, a new study, co-authored by Tabetha Boyajian, on whose name the star is given the name Tabby’s Star, shows there could be simpler explanations for the mysterious dimming of the star.

Earlier, many of the possible reasons were ruled out by scientists, including possible dimming by a swarm of dust or asteroids.

Now it seems it could only be dust after all.

Data from different sources indicates that there is less dimming in Infrared light compared to dimming seen in Ultraviolet light. This could only mean one thing: The objects surrounding the star are not large objects, still there is some dimming.

The most plausible explanation for this is a huge swarm of dust rotating around the star, obstructing light coming to us.

image courtesy earthsky.org

 

Overall, study is still evolving and it will take more time to conclude something.

Wait for the JWST to uncover the truth. Until then, scientists continue to provide more insights and more concrete scenarios every passing day.

Proof of 11 dimensions .. wait is almost over

We observe 3 dimensions on everyday basis: Height, Width and Depth. Time is considered to be the fourth dimension.

That’s not all. According to M-theory, there are 11 dimensions in space-time. We are not able to observe those extra dimensions, but those extra dimensions play an important role in unifying the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics.

Scientists believe that M-theory, or String theory, is the brightest chance for us to unify these theories.

Last years, the aLIGO detectors provided proof of gravitational waves. Why was it extremely difficult to detect such a basic thing as gravitational waves? It is because gravity is the weakest force of all.

Now scientists believe that could be due to extra dimensions. All other forces like electromagnetic, nuclear, etc are observed in the dimensions we know.

aLIGO is due to get an upgrade in form of additional machines, by late 2018 or early 2019. Then, it will be easier to detect the pattern of gravitational waves. It could even be possible to measure the wave activity absent from our known dimensions.

Gravitational waves have just started unraveling tip of the iceberg of the cosmic secrets. Hold your breath! You are living in exciting times!

What happens when you enter a Black Hole?

Black holes are fascinating objects. Right from coining of the term “Black Hole” in year 1971 and discovery of the first one in year 1976, Black Holes have been the most curious objects scientists ever analysed in our Cosmos.
We often hear that black holes have very strong gravity and nothing can escape them, not even light. So anything that a Black Hole gobbles up it gone for good.

 

Black holes are fascinating objects. Right from coining of the term “Black Hole” in year 1971 and discovery of the first one in year 1976, Black Holes have been the most curious objects scientists ever analysed in our Cosmos.

We often hear that black holes have very strong gravity and nothing can escape them, not even light. So anything that a Black Hole gobbles up is gone for good.

Scientists have also been mooting possible outcomes of entry into Black Hole. Since we have not directly seen a Black Hole yet (Indirect observations have been made for many Black Holes), it is not possible to know what happens to the matter that enters a Black Hole.

An interesting question arises here: What if one of us tries to enter a Black Hole? Although practically almost impossible, this in itself gives rise to interesting possibilities!

Scientists have proposed some hypothesis over this.

1. Black Hole tears everything apart and eats it up

black hole

Due to huge gravity, any object coming near a black hole is torn apart to pieces. So if you dare to go near a black hole, you will be sucked dead before you realise something happened.

2. Black hole stores all matter’s information on its even horizon

This is an interesting hypothesis. IN August 2015, world’s most renowned space scientist and physicist Stephen Hawking proposed that “The information is stored not in the interior of the black hole as one might expect, but on its boundary, the event horizon“.

So if you are lucky enough to reach near a black hole, your existence will be lost and your information will be stored on event Horizon.

3. Other side of Black Hole – A White Hole

According to this theory, the other end of a Black Hole is a White Hole. This White Hole gives birth to a new universe, where it spits out all matter sucked from parent universe. It means even if dead, you will enter a new universe if you enter a Black Hole.

4. A Fascinating world

If you have watched Christopher Nolan directed feature film “Interstellar”, you are familiar with this. This theory suggests that you can very well enter a Black Hole, if you have a durable protective shield. Once inside, you may find strange things like intermingling of dimensions, where you are able to interact with five dimensions at the same time.

So, looking at these hypothesis, one thing looks certain: You will probably not live to tell what happens inside a black hole. Hold on. Did you say it is still worth giving a try?