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Astronomers said Thursday they have spotted a hot bubble of gas spinning clockwise around the black hole at the centre of our galaxy at “mind blowing” speeds.

The detection of the bubble, which only survived for a few hours, is hoped to provide insight into how these invisible, insatiable, galactic monsters work.

The supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* lurks in the middle of the Milky Way some 27,000 light years from Earth, and its immense pull gives our home galaxy its characteristic swirl.

The first-ever image of Sagittarius A* was revealed in May by the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration, which links radio dishes around the world aiming to detect light as it disappears into the maw of black holes.

One of those dishes, the ALMA radio telescope in Chile’s Andes mountains, picked up something “really puzzling” in the Sagittarius A* data, said Maciek Wielgus, an astrophysicist at Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy.

Just minutes before ALMA’s radio data collection began, the Chandra Space Telescope observed a “huge spike” in X-rays, Wielgus told AFP.

This burst of energy, thought to be similar to solar flares on the Sun, sent a hot bubble of gas swirling around the black hole, according to a new study published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

The gas bubble, also known as a hot spot, had an orbit similar to Mercury‘s trip around the Sun, the study’s lead author Wielgus said.

But while it takes Mercury 88 days to make that trip, the bubble did it in just 70 minutes. That means it travelled at around 30 percent of the speed of light.

“So it’s an absolutely, ridiculously fast-spinning bubble,” Wielgus said, calling it “mind blowing”.

A MAD theory

The scientists were able to track the bubble through their data for around one and half hours – it was unlikely to have survived more than a couple of orbits before being destroyed.

Wielgus said the observation supported a theory known as MAD. “MAD like crazy, but also MAD like magnetically arrested discs,” he said.

The phenomenon is thought to happen when there is such a strong magnetic field at the mouth of a black hole that it stops material from being sucked inside.

But the matter keeps piling up, building up to a “flux eruption”, Wielgus said, which snaps the magnetic fields and causes a burst of energy.

By learning how these magnetic fields work, scientists hope to build a model of the forces that control black holes, which remain shrouded in mystery.

Magnetic fields could also help indicate how fast black holes spin – which could be particularly interesting for Sagittarius A*.

While Sagittarius A* is four million times the mass of our Sun, it only shines with the power of about 100 suns, “which is extremely unimpressive for a supermassive black hole, Wielgus said.

“It’s the weakest supermassive black hole that we’ve seen in the universe – we’ve only seen it because it is very close to us.”

But it is probably a good thing that our galaxy has a “starving black hole” at its centre, Wielgus said.

“Living next to a quasar,” which can shine with the power of billions of suns, “would be a terrible thing,” he added.


Buying an affordable 5G smartphone today usually means you will end up paying a “5G tax”. What does that mean for those looking to get access to 5G networks as soon as they launch? Find out on this week’s episode. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Voyager 2’s Flyby Sheds Light on Uranus’s Magnetic Mystery

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Voyager 2's Flyby Sheds Light on Uranus's Magnetic Mystery

A recent analysis of 38-year-old data from NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft has provided fresh insights into the unique magnetosphere of Uranus, according to a study published on November 11 in Nature Astronomy. During Voyager 2’s 1986 flyby, Uranus’ magnetosphere was found to be unexpectedly distorted by a blast of solar wind. The findings suggest that the planet’s magnetic field behaves unlike any other in the solar system.

Findings Highlight Unusual Magnetic Structures

Jamie Jasinski, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and California Institute of Technology, and lead author of the study, noted that Voyager 2’s timing happened to coincide with an intense solar wind event, a rare occurrence near Uranus. This compression of Uranus’s magnetosphere, seen only around 4% of the time, is thought to be responsible for the unique measurements Voyager captured. Had the spacecraft arrived even a week earlier, Jasinski observed, these conditions would likely have been different, possibly leading to alternative conclusions about Uranus’s magnetic characteristics.

Unlike Earth, Uranus exhibits a complex “open-closed” magnetic process, influenced by its extreme axial tilt. This tilt subjects Uranus to highly variable solar wind effects, resulting in a magnetosphere that opens and closes cyclically.

Implications for Future Uranus Exploration

The study’s conclusions go beyond Uranus itself, offering insights into the magnetic behaviours of its outermost moons, including Titania and Oberon. These moons, it turns out, lie within Uranus’s magnetosphere rather than outside it, making them candidates for investigations into subsurface oceans through magnetic field detection. As Jasinski highlighted, these conditions would simplify detecting any magnetic signatures that suggest liquid beneath the moons’ icy surfaces.

While Voyager 2 remains the only mission to visit Uranus, the study’s findings underscore a growing interest in exploring the ice giant in greater detail.

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Tajikistan rock shelter reveals ancient human migration routes

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Tajikistan rock shelter reveals ancient human migration routes

Archaeologists have uncovered a rock shelter in Tajikistan’s Zeravshan Valley that was occupied by multiple human species, including Neanderthals, Denisovans, and Homo sapiens, for over 130,000 years. Discovered along the Zeravshan River in the Inner Asian Mountain Corridor (IAMC), this site, known as Soii Havzak, provides new insight into the migration patterns of ancient humans. Researchers believe the IAMC may have facilitated interactions between these groups, offering clues about how they lived and possibly coexisted in Central Asia.

Discovery Along the Zeravshan River

A team led by Dr Yossi Zaidner, senior lecturer at the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, recently excavated the site. Evidence of various human occupations was found, including stone tools and animal bones dating from 150,000 to 20,000 years ago. Zaidner noted that Central Asia’s IAMC could have served as a natural migration route, allowing distinct human populations to cross paths. “This discovery is crucial for understanding ancient human presence in Central Asia and how different human species may have interacted here,” he stated in a press release.

Significance for Human Migration and Interaction

Artifacts from Soii Havzak, including stone blades, rock flakes, crafted flints, and signs of fire use, suggest repeated use of the shelter by different human groups. The find highlights Central Asia’s significance in ancient migration routes, with the Zeravshan River likely serving as a pathway for early humans as they dispersed across continents.

A Pathway for Ancient Civilisations

Beyond its prehistoric importance, the Zeravshan Valley later became a key route on the Silk Road, linking distant civilisations such as China and Rome. Researchers expect further studies at Soii Havzak to shed light on the broader implications of this region in ancient human migration and cross-cultural interactions, aiming to deepen understanding of human history and evolution during the Middle Paleolithic era.

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NASA’s Juno shows Jupiter’s storms and moon Amalthea up close

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NASA’s Juno shows Jupiter’s storms and moon Amalthea up close

NASA’s Juno spacecraft has delivered breathtaking images of Jupiter, highlighting the planet’s swirling, multicoloured storms and unique moons. During Juno’s 66th close flyby on October 23, the spacecraft approached the planet’s polar regions and captured close-up views of its fifth-largest moon, Amalthea. The raw images collected by JunoCam have since been processed by citizen scientists, who enhanced colours and contrasts to reveal Jupiter’s atmospheric details in a new light.

Spectacular Details of Jupiter’s Storms Revealed

Citizen scientist Jackie Branc processed one of Juno’s most striking images, showcasing a region on Jupiter called a Folded Filamentary Region (FFR), located near the planet’s subpolar areas. FFRs are known for their complex cloud patterns, which include white billows and fine, thread-like filaments. This recent image captures Jupiter’s stormy atmosphere with an emphasis on these fine details, giving scientists and the public alike a vivid view of the planet’s dynamic weather systems.

Juno’s data, available to the public online, allows enthusiasts and researchers to adjust image features such as contrast and colour balance. This collaborative effort has enabled a range of perspectives on Jupiter’s atmospheric bands, turbulent clouds, and powerful vortices.

Amalthea: A Close-Up of Jupiter’s Unique Moon

Juno also captured images of Amalthea, a small, potato-shaped moon only 84 kilometres in radius. In images processed by Gerald Eichstädt, the white balance was adjusted to distinguish Amalthea from the blackness of space, presenting the moon in stark relief. This view of Amalthea, with its rugged, irregular shape, adds to our understanding of Jupiter’s complex satellite system.

Launched in 2016, the Juno mission was originally planned to conclude in 2021, but its mission has been extended, with plans to end in September 2025. When its mission concludes, Juno will plunge into Jupiter’s atmosphere, marking the end of its successful exploration journey.

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