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Quasars may prove quantum entanglement – or a 12 billion-year-old conspiracy

Michael Irving August 21, 2018

Quantum entanglement is an eerie concept that Einstein himself had trouble accepting, and yet it’s been experimentally demonstrated. To find out whether there are other variables, a new experiment provides the strongest evidence so far of quantum entanglement or a 12-billion year “conspiracy."

Light from distant quasars has been used as a cosmic "coin flip" to help provide the ...

Physics

X-rays from deep space help track down the universe's missing matter

Michael Irving June 21, 2018

Ordinary (or baryonic) matter is relatively rare in the universe, and there seems to be a huge chunk of it missing. After 20 years of scouring the sky, astronomers using the ESA’s XMM-Newton observatory have now found clues to this missing matter hiding in intergalactic gas.

Astronomers have found evidence of the universe's "missing matter" lurking in intergalactic gas between filaments of ...

Space

Fastest-growing supermassive black hole eats a sun every two days

Michael Irving May 15, 2018

Astronomers at Australian National University have spotted a black hole so bright that were it in our home galaxy, it would outshine all the stars in the sky. This supermassive monster also happens to be the fastest-growing black hole ever seen, devouring the equivalent of the Sun every two days.

Astronomers have spotted the fastest-growing – and one of the brightest – supermassive black holes

Space

Mysterious black hole discovered at the dawn of the universe

Michael Irving December 6, 2017

At a distance of about 13 billion lightyears, the most distant supermassive black hole known so far has been spotted. That incredible distance means it dates back to when the first stars blinked on, which raises the question of how a black hole that big arose so soon after the universe began.

An artist's rendition of the most distant quasar discovered, which accrued a mass of 800 Suns ...

Space

Brightest galaxy ever discovered may be tearing itself apart

Anthony Wood January 19, 2016

The brightest galaxy ever discovered may be in the process of tearing itself apart. WISE J224607.57-052635.0 (W2246-0526) is believed to be brighter than 300 trillion Suns, however the supermassive black hole at the centre of the galaxy could also be responsible for a drastic transformation.

Artist's impression of WISE J224607.57-052635.0

Space

Scientists find brightest night light circling impossibly huge black hole

Eric Mack February 27, 2015

A team of scientists from China and Arizona have spotted the brightest quasar from the early universe, centered on a black hole 12.8 billion light years away and as bright as 420 trillion suns.

An artist's impression of a quasar (Image: ESO/MKornmesser)

Space

VLT telescope reveals mysterious alignment of quasars with the Universe’s large-scale structure

Chris Wood November 21, 2014

Astronomers using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) have discovered an alignment of supermassive black holes located billions of light-years apart. The team delved deeper, finding that the quasars aren’t just linked to each other, but are also aligned with the large-scale structure of the Universe.

An artist's impression of the alignment of quasars with the large-scale structure of the Universe (Image: ...

Motorcycles Feature

Honda's 750cc NM4 Vultus: A new species of motorcycle

Mike Hanlon April 9, 2014

Honda's new 750cc NM4 Vultus is a bold departure from tradition with anime/manga styling, a "fighter pilot" feet-forward riding position, an ultra-low seat and advanced electronic rider assistance to make it as easy to ride as a scooter. The motorcycle is evolving!

The Honda NM4-1 on display at the Tokyo Motorcycle Show(Photo: Stephen Clemenger)

Science

Distant quasar lights up cosmic web like a neon sign

Brian Dodson January 29, 2014

It has been difficult to find evidence that the Universe is largely composed of a cosmic web consisting of narrow filaments, but astronomers have now photographed a segment of a cosmic filament glowing due to irradiation from a nearby quasar.

Astrophoto in redshifted Lyman-alpha light, possibly emitted by a cosmic filament of gas and dust (redshifted ...

Science

Do the largest structures in the Universe actually exist?

Brian Dodson November 20, 2013

Our knowledge of the large-scale structure of the Universe continues to take shape. Moving forward requires attempts to squeeze subtle information from huge data sets, which can prove a dicey exercise. A case in point are the largest known structures in the Universe – large quasar groups.

The Universe is big, and so is the challenge of understanding its large-scale structure (Photo: Hubble ...