Friday, April 11, 2025

See new posts Marcus Bagley's Remarkable Three-Point Outburst



 During an ongoing NBA game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Atlanta Hawks, Marcus Bagley, known for his struggles from beyond the arc, delivered an astonishing performance. Bagley, who had previously made only one three-pointer in his career, erupted for 14 points in the first half, sinking four out of five three-point shots. This surge propelled the Sixers to a 66-60 lead at halftime. The game carries significant playoff implications, with the Hawks aiming to secure the 8th seed, while a loss for the Sixers could position them for a better draft pick by securing the 5th worst record. Contributions from other players like Adem Bona and Jared Butler also bolstered the Sixers' lead.

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These 6 NASA images capture the beauty of the Universe of galaxies | See Pics

 Our planet Earth is part of a solar system located in the Milky Way Galaxy. Many other galaxies are situated millions of light years away from our home. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has shared several images of our neighbouring galaxies and those located far beyond our reach.

Catch a glimpse of a few galaxies out of one hundred billion galaxies in our Universe with these NASA images.

NASA images of galaxies

The image captures the spiral arms of the nearby galaxy Messier 81

The image of nearby galaxy Messier 81 was captured by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The galaxy is located in the northern constellation of Ursa Major (which also includes the Big Dipper). Skygazers who wish to enjoy the sight of this galaxy can spot this neighbour with the help of binoculars or a small telescope. 

M81 is located at a distance of 12 million light-years. It was one of the first publicly released datasets soon after Spitzer's launch in August 2003. 

Centuraus A, also known as NGC 5128 or Caldwell 77, is a galaxy located in constellation of Cenaurus.© Provided by Live Mint

The image was formed with the help of the data collected by the European Southern Observatory and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment. Thousands of lines shown in the image are the magnetic fields observed by NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). These magnetic fields are shown as streamlines over an image of the galaxy taken at visible and submillimeter wavelengths by the European Southern Observatory and Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (orange).

Cartwheel Galaxy© Provided by Live Mint

The spectacular image of Cartwheel Galaxy is the result of intricate details captured by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. The image reveals star formation and the galaxy’s central black hole. Webb’s powerful infrared gaze produced this detailed image of the Cartwheel and two smaller companion galaxies against a backdrop of many other galaxies.

View of neighbouring spiral galaxy Andromeda, also called M31,

The NASA image unveils a spectacular view of the neighbouring spiral galaxy Andromeda, also known as M31, in ultraviolet light. Scientists have formed this image with the inputs of 330 images from Swift’s Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope. Some 20,000 ultraviolet sources are visible in the image, including M32, a small galaxy in orbit around M31.

The view of field of galaxies known as Cosmos field.coloured dots are galaxies that host black holes emitting lower-energy X-rays. 

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Galactic Chaos: Our neighbouring galaxy is falling apart, scientists warn

 

Galactic Chaos: Our neighbouring galaxy is falling apart, scientists warn

Sometimes, even galaxies close to us face hard times. A quiet neighbour of the Milky Way, the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), appears to be falling apart. And scientists say they didn’t see it coming.

Pulled by Its Larger Companion, the LMC

The SMC is about 200,000 light-years from Earth. It’s a dwarf galaxy that orbits our Milky Way galaxy. But it now seems to be in real trouble. According to a new study published on April 10 in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, another galaxy may be to blame.

Researchers believe the SMC is being pulled by the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The LMC is SMC’s much bigger companion. The team says this gravitational tug could be slowly tearing the SMC apart.

Lead researcher Kengo Tachihara from Nagoya University, Japan, admitted their surprise. “At first, we thought our data had some error,” he said. “But when we looked again, the results were very clear.”

Stars Moving in Strange Directions

The team studied data from ESA’s retired Gaia spacecraft. They discovered that stars in the SMC were moving in opposite directions. “It’s as if something is pulling them apart,” Mr Tachihara explained.

Some stars were heading toward the LMC. Others were moving away from it. This suggests that the SMC might be slowly losing its shape. The researchers believe the LMC’s strong pull could be the reason.

That wasn’t the only surprise. The study found something else unusual. The large stars within the SMC are not rotating as expected. Normally, stars rotate around a galaxy’s centre. But in this case, that rotation seems to be missing.

What It Means for Our Galaxy’s History

The lack of rotation could affect what we know about the SMC. Mr Tachihara said it may change past calculations of galactic movements. This includes the history of the Milky Way, the SMC and the LMC.

“If there is no rotation, our models need revising,” he explained. It could mean we’ve misunderstood the SMC’s mass or past collisions.

The SMC and LMC are part of a group of about 30 nearby galaxies. The SMC is only 7,000 light-years wide, while the Milky Way spans 100,000 light-years. The SMC completes an orbit around the Milky Way every 1.5 billion years.

Despite its size, the SMC is very bright. It’s even visible to the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere. Because of this, it gives scientists a rare chance to study galaxy behaviour.

Learning from a Neighbour We Can See

“We cannot see the Milky Way from the outside,” Mr Tachihara said. “But we can study nearby galaxies like the SMC and LMC in detail.”

He added that this study helps connect star formation with stellar motion. Watching these galaxies closely offers clues about how stars behave across time.

The SMC’s slow tearing apart may not be fast or dramatic. But it offers a deep insight into the life of galaxies. Even those in our own corner of the cosmos are not safe from change.

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Thursday, April 3, 2025

Scientists discover four Earth-like planets orbiting Barnard's Star

 

Scientists discover four Earth-like planets orbiting Barnard's Star

In the first for the exoplanetary community, scientists have announced four new small Earth-like planets around Barnard's Star, just six light-years from our world. The four planets are all smaller than Earth but share one thing in common: all of them are rocky, similar to Earth.

The discovery of these four tiny, terrestrial planets surrounding Barnard's Star is a significant leap for exoplanetary science and the search for life beyond Earth in the universe. While these planets are not able to sustain life due to the adversarial conditions there, they are indicative of the types of planets that exist within our galactic community and what possibilities exist for life in the galaxy. With our technology and knowledge improving, finds like this bring us one step closer to solving the ancient enigma: Are we alone in the universe?

Four Earth-like planets discovered orbiting Barnard's star

Barnard's Star is a red dwarf and our closest single star to Earth, other than the stars of the Alpha Centauri system. Due to its proximity, it is a first option for study by astronomers since planets orbiting around it may hold the key to conditions in our universe.

The planets near Barnard's Star are interesting in the sense that they are quite similar to the Earth, especially in terms of their composition. This does make them very attractive to scientists even though they are small compared to the Earth.

Smallest exoplanets detected via radial velocity method

The planets, b, c, d, and e, are extremely small with a mass that is 20% to 30% as massive as that of the Earth. The planets are the smallest ones yet to be found by the radial velocity technique, which is to say that the astronomers take measurements of the "wobble" or the gravitational tug a planet exerts on a star. The method allows researchers to infer the presence of planets from observations of very slight movements of the star produced by gravitational pulls of the planets when moving in circles around the star.

Advanced technology enables detection of small exoplanets

Advanced astronomical equipment facilitated the discovery. Two basic technologies were crucial: the MAROON-X instrument on the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii and the ESPRESSO spectrograph on Chile's Very Large Telescope. These technologies enabled researchers to measure very small variations in the light being emitted by Barnard's Star. These result from the gravitational forces provided by the planets, although these signals are far too weak and easily drowned out with noise by their respective stars.

Rocky planets near Barnard's Star are too hot for life but vital for scientific study

The planets revolve around Barnard's Star in closely grouped radii. The inner planet takes more than two days to orbit, and the outer planet seven days to circulate around it. This would lead one to assume that the worlds are highly likely to be too hot to harbor life since they are much closer to their star compared to how close Earth is to the Sun.

This is not the sole reason, though. Their rocky composition (similar to that of the Earth) is a significant factor to consider. Rocky planets are also crucial in the quest for life beyond Earth in the universe since if circumstances are right, they will harbor life, if any.

Barnard’s star planets: Understanding habitability in other star systems

Though these planets are not expected to support life because of their closeness to Barnard's Star, they should be taken into account when searching for alien life. Low-mass rocky planets—those that fall within the "habitable zone" of their star (that distance range wherein liquid water could exist)—are good candidates for life. Even though these specific planets themselves do not fall under this categorization, the discovery of these planets contributes to the proof required in the future to be qualified for the pursuit of life elsewhere in the universe beyond our home planet Earth.

The research, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, was conducted by University of Chicago undergraduate Ritvik Basant and an international group of researchers. The discovery is one step toward understanding more about our cosmic neighborhood and hints at the possibility in the future to look for distant planets that may have Earth-like features, for example, having low mass and being rocky.

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Tuesday, April 1, 2025

17 Foods That Look Completely Different After They Are Harvested And Ready To Be Eaten!

 

17 Foods That Look Completely Different After They Are Harvested And Ready To Be Eaten!Provided by Deepak kumar  blogs

Ever thought how the foods that we consume look before they are harvested? Call it a before-and-after scenario because the following foods completely go through a makeover once they are ripe and ready to be taken to the shelf!

1. Pineapple

pineapple

vulgarfractions , prince470701

2. Cacao

cacao

tgerus , Luisovalles

3. Vanilla

vanilla

Giancarlo Sibilio , B.navez

4. Almonds

almond

Namacun , Tom Raftery

5. Cashew nuts

cashew nuts

Abhishek Jacob , Thamizhpparithi Maari

6. Peanuts

peanut

tessgarcia , nebedaay

7. Sesame Seeds

sesame seeds

Anna Frodesiak

8. Cranberry

cranberry

Bernd Haynold , Keith Weller

9. Saffron

saffron

gardenofeaden

10. Coffee

coffee

Marcelo Corrêa , Fernando Rebelo

11. Pomegranate 

pomegranate

islandsofpeace

12. Dragon Fruit

dragon fruit

BlauEarth

13. Dates

dates

Rahel Jaskow

14. Tea Plant

tea plant

nososcachorros

15. Mango

mango

Tommy Atkins

16. Pistachios

pistachio

Emel Yamanturk

17. Bananas

bananas

asergeev 

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