Sci-tech
Astronomers Clock a Black Hole Spinning at Half the Speed of Light
The researchers analyzed data gathered by a number of instruments, including NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Neil Gehrels Swift space telescopes, as well as the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton spacecraft. Estimating the spin has been tough to do until now. The victory here is the ability to use tidal disruption flares to constrain the spin. Once Pasham discovered the periodic signal,... [Full Article...]
Hubble loses best camera but discovers brightest ever quasar
The light from quasar J0439+1634, about 12.8 billion light-years away, bends as it passes by a galaxy roughly six billion light-years away. "Quasar" is short for quasi-stellar radio source, and describes bright centres of galaxies. Co-author Fabian Walter, of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany, said it was a prime candidate for further investigation. The intervening, or lensing,... [Full Article...]
US Carbon Emissions Spiked in 2018, Even as Coal Plants Closed
According to the Guardian , the jump in 2018 "is the biggest since the bounce back from the recession in 2010". Fuels consumed by the transport sector were for the third year in a row the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States. [Full Article...]
NSW MP vomits as he holds dead fish
Also worrying will be if further wildlife loss succumb from heat exhaustion, he said. "Unfortunately this is the sort of thing we do see during drought", he said. "This is the result of draining the Menindee Lakes twice in four years, killing the system", McBride, whose ranch is about 25 miles south of Menindee, says in the video. [Full Article...]
SpaceX Is Getting Ready For the First Uncrewed Crew Dragon Test Flight
This will be dependent on how long the government remains partially shut down. No official launch date has been set from NASA , as most of the space agency workers are on furlough right now. "Risk is inherent to this business and it would be foolish not to acknowledge it". The SpaceX Crew Dragon is atop a Falcon 9 rocket and the capsule and rocket are now vertical on the launchpad at the Kenn... [Full Article...]
Astronomers intercept mysterious repeating radio signals from space
Among them is Professor Avid Loeb, from the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in the U.S., who believes that they could be evidence of incredibly advanced alien technology. Artist's impression of the active galactic nucleus shows the supermassive black hole at the center of the accretion disk sending a narrow high-energy jet of matter into space , perpendicular to the disc in this image... [Full Article...]
Theresa May suffers Brexit setback over no-deal scenario
The Leader of the House Andrea Leadsom said there were "some concerns" about his decision and asked him to confirm it was taken with "full advice" from the Commons clerk Sir David Natzler. "I don't think that the British public are served by fantasies about magical alternative deals that are somehow going to sort of spring out of a cupboard in Brussels", Lidington told the BBC. [Full Article...]
Theresa May brings ailing Brexit deal back to Parliament
The Brexit deal took almost 2 years to negotiate and only covers separation issues, leaving open the future relationship - but it has provoked anger on all sides in London . Lawmakers voted 308-297 in favour of demanding the government come up with an alternative plan within three working days after Tuesday's vote, rather than a planned 21-day limit, a largely symbolic vote aimed at putting press... [Full Article...]