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Is it Dark Energy? Or is Time Just Running at Varying Speeds? The Timescape Model

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New evidence challenges the existence of dark energy. But does the timescape model really solve the question surrounding the accelerated expansion of the universe? This graph shows the timeline of the universe, including the accelerated expansion of the universe; Source: Nasa Lambda We still don’t know what dark energy is. In fact, one theory in particular has gained recent traction that it doesn’t exist at all. And it all relies on one assumption: that the universe is not homogeneous. On large enough scales, the universe is homogeneous and isotropic—in other words, that the universe essentially looks the same if you look far enough out. This is what the Lambda-CDM model tells us, also known as the standard model of Big Bang cosmology.  It’s a good theory. Not only because it’s based on general relativity, it also explains why the cosmic microwave background (the first light of the universe) exists, how dark matter holds galaxy clusters together, and that dark energy accelerates...
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A JuMBO Discovery Might Alter Our Understanding of Planetary Formation Forever

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Strange planetary-mass objects in the Orion Nebula challenge current planetary formation models. Have we misunderstood the way planets are born all this time?  This JWST shows one of the dozens of JuMBOs in the Orion Nebula; Source: EarthSky The Orion Nebula—along with the constellation it belongs to, it’s probably one of the most famous objects in the night sky. Despite its distance of more than 1’300 light-years, the Orion Nebula’s fuzzy appearance is even visible from light-polluted cities. And it keeps revealing new secrets to us.  One of the latest mysteries has received the name JuMBO, standing for Jupiter-mass binary objects. Astronomers discovered them with the help of the James Webb Space Telescope.  What makes these objects so curious is that they’re unlike anything we’ve seen before—they aren’t bound to any star, just orbiting each other at a distance of up to 390 Astronomical Units (AU). That is 390 times the distance between the Sun and Earth, and 13 times ...
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If It Hadn’t Been for the Moon’s Formation, Would the Earth Have Become a Super-Earth?

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Many aspects make life on our planet possible, but would Earth still be a paradise if it hadn’t been for the collision that created our Moon? Artist's depiction of the Mars-sized planet Theia colliding with the young Earth. The collision is thought to have created the Moon; Source: Wikipedia The Earth is the biggest of the terrestrial planets in our Solar System, and yet it’s fairly small. A look at the terrestrial exoplanets scientists have discovered so far reveals that a certain type of planet exists that we don’t have in the Solar System. Enter Super-Earths.  Super-Earths are terrestrial planets intermediate in size between Earth and the next biggest planet in the Solar System, Neptune —right at the verge where planets go from rocky to gaseous. Some Super-Earths that we know of can be twice as big or even bigger than our own Earth.  About 30% of the roughly 5000 known exoplanets are Super-Earths. So why don’t we have one at home? A look at our own planet and its moon ...
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Are We Ready For AGI? According to the AI Safety Clock, No.

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The new AI Safety Clock launched by IMD to assess AGI safety shows that we’re 29 minutes to midnight. What does this mean for us? The AI Safety Clock measures the risk of an uncontrolled AGI; Source: IMD Remember the Doomsday Clock? Yeah, researchers at IMD have now developed an AI Safety Clock, set to 29 minutes before midnight; 29 minutes to the point where Uncontrolled Artificial General Intelligence (UAGI) could pose a significant threat to humanity .  But what does all this even mean?  Generative AI already significantly impacts our everyday lives—from large-language models (LLMs) to social media algorithms to robots being developed to relieve the human workforce in critical tasks. So far, AI is manageable. But AI is also becoming more powerful by the day.  Governments and AI developers across the globe are now preparing for a future of AI in the form of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and Artificial Superintelligence (ASI). An AGI differs from the GenAI we ...
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Europa Clipper is On Its Way to Jupiter: This is How the Mission Will Change Our Understanding of Life Forever

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As Europa Clipper moves farther away from Earth on its way to the Jupiter moon Europa, let’s take a look at some of the NASA flagship mission’s ways it’ll change our understanding of life forever.  Falcon Heavy taking off from Kennedy Space Center with Europa Clipper on board; Source: Spaceflight Now Jupiter has 95 known moons, with the four Galilean moons being some of the most interesting worlds of the Solar System. But scientists are particularly interested in Europa, a moon slightly smaller than the Earth’s Moon.  What makes Europa so interesting isn’t its surface, but what lies below, as scientists believe that it harbors a global subsurface ocean. And what Earth has taught us best is that where there’s water, there’s life.  This brings us to the possibility that life exists in the oceans of Europa. Naturally, scientists want to take a closer look to establish whether or not Europa could be habitable—and answering this question will forever alter our understanding...
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When a Single Overheating Lithium Battery Causes Devastating Scenes: This is Why Lithium Batteries Are So Dangerous

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  The aviation industry learned the hard way about the true dangers of lithium batteries within the last two decades. But despite strict regulations, they still cause scary scenes on commercial flights.  The Japan Airlines 787 involved in the lithium battery fire of 2013; Source: Wikipedia January 7, 2013 didn’t start well for Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. While parked at Boston Logan International, a Japan Airlines aircraft caught fire — luckily, nobody was injured and fire crews were able to fight the rapidly spreading blaze. Half a year later, an Ethiopian Airlines 787 caught fire at London Heathrow — nobody was on board. Those were just two of several fires on board new 787 Dreamliners that eventually grounded the world’s entire fleet.  And the cause? Lithium batteries. On the Japan Airlines aircraft, batteries of the auxiliary power unit (APU), which provides power while the engines are turned off, caught fire. In the case of Ethiopian Airlines, it was an emergency lo...
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Billions of Stars Travel Through the Intergalactic Medium. Why Were They Expelled From Their Galaxies?

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  All stars are born within galaxies. However, there are also lone travelling stars in the emptiness between galaxies. No one knows for sure why they are there, but one thing is certain—only violence can tear stars from their homes.  The Antennae Galaxies, two merging galaxies. It's possible for stars to be ejected during mergers; Source: Wikipedia In outer space, stars and galaxies like to stay as close as possible due to their gravity. Stars accumulate to galaxies like the Milky Way, and galaxies group to clusters. The closest larger galaxy cluster is the Virgo Cluster, prominent among amateur astronomers for its relatively bright galaxies such as Messier 87.  But galaxy clusters aren’t the ultimate; clusters are just small structures on the very large scale, where they grow to superclusters. For example, the Milky Way is part of the Local Group, which in turn is part of the Laniakea Supercluster.  Superclusters reside in galaxy filaments — the largest known str...
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Six Seconds to Survive: The Tragic Story of Air New Zealand Flight 901 and How an Airline Tried to Cover Up Facts

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  When an airline tried to cover up its own mistakes, an aircraft was doomed to crash in New Zealand’s worst aviation disaster.  The aircraft involved in the Mount Erebus disaster, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30; Source: Wikipedia From dry and hot deserts to jungles that are home to a vast range of species, Earth has a lot of environments to offer. Yet the most unique one of these should be Antarctica, the frozen continent in the Southern Hemisphere.  The ice sheet that gives Antarctica its distinct appearance and coldest temperatures on Earth (which can get as low as –90°C) make it a unique world almost alien to us. Antarctica as an entity is also very special; while a number of countries have territorial claims, the continent is primarily directed at research. But it’s also tourism that drives humans to the icy realm.  As early as the 1920s, ships carried passengers to Antarctic waters, although these days large cruise ships aren’t allowed for landing in Antarctica...
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