The Black Hole Sagittarius A*

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The first image of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy. (EHT Collaboration)

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), an array linking together eight existing radio observatories across the planet, has created the first image of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Named Sagittarius A* after a radio signal coming from a location in the direction of the constellation of Sagittarius (the A and * came later), the black hole is 27,000 light-years away and estimated to be four million times more massive than our Sun. The presence of the black hole was not in question, but capturing an image such as this took many years of work.

A press release from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) quoted EHT Project Scientist Geoffrey Bower from the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, Taipei:

We were stunned by how well the size of the ring agreed with predictions from Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity…These unprecedented observations have greatly improved our understanding of what happens at the very centre of our galaxy, and offer new insights on how these giant black holes interact with their surroundings.

For more on the recent breakthrough, you may want to view the ESO Press Conference on the new Milky Way results from the EHT team (here on Youtube), which is followed by a public question and answer event.

Pic of the Week: The Cat’s Paw Nebula

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The Cat’s Paw Nebula. (Stefan Steve Bemmerl & Team Wolfatorium, Hakos/Namibia)

This week’s image is from NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day website. It was the picture of the day for May 10, 2022. This is the story that goes with the image:

Nebulas are perhaps as famous for being identified with familiar shapes as perhaps cats are for getting into trouble. Still, no known cat could have created the vast Cat’s Paw Nebula visible toward the constellation of the Scorpion (Scorpius). At 5,500 light years distant, Cat’s Paw is an emission nebula with a red color that originates from an abundance of ionized hydrogen atoms. Alternatively known as the Bear Claw Nebula and cataloged as NGC 6334, stars nearly ten times the mass of our Sun have been born there in only the past few million years. Pictured here is a deep field image of the Cat’s Paw Nebula in light emitted by hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur.

Do You Have Moon Dust in Your Portfolio?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Moon dust on auction. (Bonhams)

With the drop in the stock market and fall of cryptocurrency, maybe it is time to expand the portfolio into some new areas. You can always consider moon dust, a small sample of which sold last month for about $500,000 when auctioned at Bonhams. The sample in question was from the Apollo 11 lunar mission

The auction house had this to say about the sample:

5 Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) aluminum sample stubs, each topped with approximately 10 mm diameter carbon tape containing Apollo Moon dust, 4 of which with particles collected by Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the Moon, as part of the Apollo 11 contingency sample, July 21, 1969 and later removed by NASA from the Apollo 11 Contingency Sample Return Container (CSRC) Decontamination Bag; stubs hand numbered by NASA scientists in marker on bottom 2 through 6.

A “contingency sample” is basically an initial sample in case something happens during the mission that prevents the the full collection of material. But what is interesting here is that the contingency sample bag still contained some lunar dust when it was lost, and then it was caught up in a court case, and then sold at auction, and then inspected by NASA, who inappropriately removed the moon dust, which was eventually returned. The drama and incompetence of the US government in this case is almost worth the price of the dust. Hence, this is a unique substance in many ways, and it does make cryptocurrency sound pretty boring.

Just do not expect to see many lunar dust sales in the future. NASA is very protective of such material when it is not misplacing it.

Mars Sample Return: Do You Have Comments?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Mars Sample Return campaign poster. (NASA)

NASA and the European Space Agency are still looking for comments on the process to return Martian rock samples to Earth. Of the six steps needed to collect and return the samples (see graphic above), only the first step is currently underway with the Perseverance Rover exploring Mars. Now we need to get those samples home. You have until May 15th to get comments back to NASA on this.

And what is the time frame for getting these samples back to Earth? The current goal is 2033, assuming all goes well. You may recall that China also wants to collect and return Martian samples by 2030. I expect more delays on both sides. When you add this to the race back to the Moon, the space race is getting more interesting every day.

Video: The Problem With “The Rare Earth Hypothesis”

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Upgraded Drake Equation to account for the Rare Earth factors. (Cool Worlds Lab)

Cool Worlds Lab has another great video out, this time discussing the Rare Earth Hypothesis. This hypothesis assumes that a multitude of factors are necessary for life to develop in the universe, and the program goes deeper into a few of these factors, including the need for:

  1. A magnetosphere;
  2. Plate tectonics;
  3. A large moon;
  4. Impacts from asteroids and comets; and
  5. A Jupiter-sized planet.

The program challenges some of these factors and also highlights the need for a more open understanding of the origins of life beyond our current understanding. Basically, the conditional probably of the Drake Equation or even the modified Drake Equation unnecessarily leads one down a very narrow path.

It’s an eye-opening review of the evidence and worth watching. Check it out.