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The Laser Interferometry Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) team has done it again. They have again detected gravitational waves predicted by Einstein. This time the waves were created by the merger of 2 neutron stars creating an explosion larger than a supernova. This explosion was so bright it was termed a "kilonova". A nova is an explosion of a medium-sized star, like our Sun when it dies. The nova explosion occurs when the star has finished burning through its nuclear fuel and then implodes. The implosion is drastic and sudden, resulting in the explosion and creation of a white dwarf. Aa kilonova occurs when a massive star collapses (at least 10 times our Sun) or 2 large stellar masses collide. In this case, 2 neutron stars (that were formerly orbiting each other) came together and finally combined into a massive explosion, sending a gravitational shock wave through space. A kilonova is an explosion so large, it is 1,000 times brighter than a nova and creates x-rays and gamma rays that can be detected by the Chandra Space Telescope. This explosion was in a galaxy about 130,000,000 light years away. This is the type of explosion that creates some of the heavier elements in the periodic table such as gold and platinum. The explosion occurred billions of years ago, but the light from this historic even is only reaching Earth now. Scientists were fortunate to actually see the light before, during and after the historic merging of the neutron stars and then, they detected the resulting gravitational wave from the event! Congratulations to the LIGO team for another astronomical milestone. Maddalena Environmental Inc. Al Maddalena Gravity waves were predicted by Einstein approximately 100 years ago but it wasn't until recently that the modern technology was capable of detecting them. Einstein calculated that large distortions in space caused by massive disruptions such as Black Hole collisions would send out "shock waves" of gravity at the speed of light throughout the universe. These shock waves would have to be huge to travel enormous distances through space and be detected on Earth.
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) was the first to detect a gravitational wave in 2016. LIGO was the result of collaboration of over 1,000 scientists across the globe but the Noble Prize can only be granted to a maximum of 3 scientists. Therefore it was awarded to the physicists who conceived of the project (Kip Thorne, Rainer Weiss and Barry Barrish). The award of the Nobel Prize to the LIGO scientists accentuates how big this discovery is to astronomy! Congratulations to the entire team of scientists around the world that made this major discovery possible. Maddalena Environmental Inc. Al Maddalena This is courtesy of Elon Musk and Space X.
We saw how Space X was successful in returning an un-manned booster rocket from space and landing it successfully on a platform in the ocean. What we did not see are all the failures that occurred leading up to that perfect landing. These are the "growing pains" required by any successful company trying something for the 1st time. Congratulations to Elon Musk and Space X, future pioneers of human space travel! Maddalena Environmental Inc. Al Maddalena The Cassini Spacecraft was launched in 1997 and arrived at Saturn in 2004. Since this time it has sent us amazing pictures and information on Saturn and its moons. Cassini carried the Huygens probe, that discovered oceans and rivers of liquid methane on Titan, one of Saturn's moons. On another moon, Enceladus was found to have a thick crust of ice with a large salt water ocean beneath it. Geysers of water vapour were pictured shooting out into space from cracks in the ice. It is for these reasons that the moons could contain life and NASA does not want to contaminate any of the moons with Earth microbes or the small amount of plutonium on board. Cassini is now approaching its final mission. It is low on fuel and rather than sending it to one of Saturn's moons (that may harbour life) NASA has decided to plunge the $4 Billion spacecraft into the gas giant. Have a look at this NASA video highlighting Cassini's final mission. Source: NASA
Maddalena Environmental Inc. Al Maddalena The total Eclipse on May 29, 1919 in South America was used by British astronomer Arthur Eddington to prove that light rays from distant stars are bent by the gravitational field of the Sun. Eddington's observations confirmed that Einstein's Theory of General Relativity that massive objects like the Sun exert a massive gravitational field that warp time, space and even light (image below). Eddington was able to observe that distant stars apparent position had changed when the Sun was blocked out during the eclipse of 1919. He observed that light from these stars was distorted off their normal path by the Sun's gravity. The eclipse was an important necessary event because normally the brightness of the Sun blocks out light from distant stars because their light is normally fainter than the Sun's.
So as we look (or don't look) at the eclipse on August 21, 2017, those of us in the science community will be thinking fondly of the most historic eclipse in history. The eclipse of 1919 when one of Einstein's theories was yet again proven correct. To date, all of Einstein's theories have been proven correct. It is an amazing testament to how brilliant he really was. Maddalena Environmental Al Maddalena |