Timekeeping theory suggests a method of combining quantum clocks with Einstein’s theory of special relativity.
Researchers from Dartmouth College, Saint Anselm College and Santa Clara University have discovered that the quantum phenomena of superposition — the idea of a system simultaneously existing in two contradictory states — could have significant effects on high precision clocks.
The ability of an atom to exist in two or more states at the same time causes what the team call ‘quantum time dilation’ resulting in the need for a correction in atomic clocks. The effect goes beyond the time dilation described in Einstein’s theory of relativity which arises as a result of observers in different reference frames experiencing time…
WASP-189b is one of the most ‘extreme’ planets ever discovered and its star holds some surprises too.
The European Space Agency (ESA) satellite CHEOPS is living up to its potential. The first study developed with data provided by the exoplanet hunter — launched at the end of last year — reveals its observation of one of the most remarkable exoplanets ever discovered — WASP-189b.
The planet in question — WASP-189b — is a gas giant located over 322 light-years from Earth which orbits extremely close to its host star. The planet which takes just 3 days to orbit its parent star, is 1.6 …
The first identification of an ultraviolet aurora around the comet Chury is further evidence that nearly half a decade after the end of the Rosetta mission, the ESA’s historic project is still delivering breakthrough science.
Earth’s aurora provides a stunning visual light show called the Northern Lights which has fascinated observers for centuries. But astronomers have discovered that other bodies such as other planets and moons have auroras too. Now, researchers at the University of Bern have for the first time discovered an ultraviolet wavelength aurora around the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko — or Chury for short.
Astronomers have discovered the Phoenix Stream — the remains of a shredded globular cluster of stars. These fossilised remains of an early star system could throw theories of galactic evolution into question.
Astronomers have spotted the shredded remains of an ancient collection of stars, an archaeological artifact of the early Universe. The globular cluster was ripped apart by the gravitational influence of the Milky Way over two billion years ago. forming a ‘stream’ of stars in the Phoenix constellation.
The exposed interior of a newly discovered exoplanet offers astronomers a unique opportunity to research the conditions beneath the surface of planets.
A newly discovered exoplanet — TOI 849 b — located 730 light-years from Earth offers astronomers a unique opportunity to study the interiors of planets. The exoplanet — which was discovered by a team led by the University of Warwick and is being investigated by Dr Christoph Mordasini, University of Bern — is the first example of an exposed exoplanet core found in orbit around its star.
The team of astronomers have been able to determine many of…
Astronomers are on the case of a missing star last spotted in 2011. Could the star simply be obscured by dust, or by cracking this cosmic-case will the cosmic gumshoes reveal a secret about black holes?
Astronomers have spotted huge superflares millions of times more powerful than solar flares, and giant magnetic spots on hot stars. The finding could be a key step towards understanding how magnetic fields affect stellar bodies.
The surfaces of hot stars hidden in stellar clusters are riddled with giant magnetic spots and superflare explosions millions of times more powerful than those seen on the Sun says a team of astronomers from INAF Astronomical Observatory of Padua in Italy.
The researchers studied a type of stellar object known as Extreme Horizontal Branch (EHB) stars, stellar bodies with only half the mass of the Sun that are much hotter than our star. Over six years the team made observations in near-ultraviolet light with a variety of instruments associated with the ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) located in the…
By studying Westerlund 2, a dense star cluster containing stars 100 times the size of the Sun, astronomers have discovered why planets don’t form around some stars.
Using the Hubble Space Telescope researchers have conducted a pioneering 3-year study of the massive dense young star cluster Westerlund 2. In the process, discovering that dense clouds of relatively cool dust are curiously absent from material around the stars at the cluster’s heart.
As these dense clouds are the seeds of planets that form over the course of millions of years, thus, planet formation is stunted in these regions. The astronomers believe…
Using the ESPRESSO spectrograph, astronomers from the University of Geneva have confirmed the existence of an Earth-like exoplanet orbiting the nearest star to ours. The discovery comes with a surprise, the planet may have a companion.
Proxima b an Earth-like exoplanet orbiting in the habitable zone of the nearest star to our own in the Proxima Centauri solar system — located just 4.2 light-years from Earth — has been confirmed by an international team of astronomers from the University of Geneva. …
The confirmation of a rare type of massive galaxy, shaped into a doughnut-like ring, in the early Universe could cause a rethink of how galaxies evolve.
Astronomers have discovered an incredibly rare type of galaxy described as a “cosmic ring of fire” that existed in the Universe 11 billion years ago. The fact that a massive ring galaxy could have formed so early in the Universe’s history suggests that models of galaxy formation may need serious revision.
The titanic cosmic doughnut — R5519 — has roughly the same mass as the Milky Way, but can be observed producing stars at a rate that is fifty times more rapid than our galaxy, with a stellar disc that is twice as large. …
Robert Lea
Freelance science journalist. BSc Physics. Space. Astronomy. Astrophysics. Quantum Physics. SciComm. ABSW member. WCSJ Fellow 2019. IOP Fellow.
