Biggest Thing in Universe Found—Defies Scientific Theory
Quasar cluster is “challenge to our current understanding,” astronomer says
In the image: A quasar jets energy in an illustration. A newfound quasar cluster is the universe’s biggest known object.
Did Slow Space Rocks Seed Life on Earth?
In the illustration: Planets coalesce and rocky bodies collide in an artist’s conception of a young planetary system.
If microorganisms could survive a journey through space inside meteoroids, could life from Earth be transferred to planets in other solar systems—or even vice versa? A new study suggests the possibility is much higher than scientists once thought.
Black Holes of the Universe
1. Here Comes the Warm Jets
Combining observations done with ESO’s Very Large Telescope and NASA’s Chandra X-ray telescope, astronomers have uncovered the most powerful pair of jets ever seen from a stellar black hole. The black hole blows a huge bubble of hot gas, 1000 light-years
2. Radio Waves
This artist’s concept shows a galaxy with a supermassive black hole at its core. The black hole is shooting out jets of radio waves. New research led by theoretical astrophysicist David Garofalo of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., sug
3. Eat to the Beat
Artist’s schematic impression of the distortion of space-time by a supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy. The black hole will swallow dark matter at a rate which depends on its mass and on the amount of dark matter around it.
4. Portrait of the Quasar as a Young Black Hole
Illustration of a young black hole, such as the two distant dust-free quasars spotted recently by the Spitzer Space Telescope.
5. Beware of the Blob
This illustration shows what one of the galaxies inside a blob might look like, with the spiral arms of the galaxy in yellow and white, and two-sided outflow powered by the supermassive black hole buried inside shown in bright yellow.
(Source: space.com)
New Theory: A “Hit and Run” Accident Created Our Moon
How did Earth get its own Moon? For decades, the most popular origin story has been the “Big Splat” theory, which says an object the size of Mars impacted the Earthmore than three billion years ago, flinging material into space which became the Moon.
Albert Einstein Statue Gets Yarn-Bombed by Olek
Molecular Art
Molecular biology professor and artist David Goodsell has no trouble finding art in the human body. His hand-drawn watercolor illustrations explode with color while offering his visual interpretation of bacteria, viruses, and human cells. *Click images to see caption.
Biosphere
Complexity Graphics by Tatiana Plakhova
Light beyond Sound
Complexity Graphics by Tatiana Plakhova
Moon by Enkel Dika
Ink and Tea Illustrations by Carne Griffiths
Why The Left-Brain Right-Brain Myth Will Probably Never Die
The myth of the logical left hemisphere and the creative right hemisphere has become a powerful and useful metaphor for understanding the human brain. But while this notion is not entirely unfounded, it’s one that psychologist Christian Jarrett says we should challenge. Find out what the left-brain/right-brain model gets right — and how it misleads you about your own brain.
The left-brain right-brain myth will probably never die because it has become a powerful metaphor for different ways of thinking — logical, focused and analytic, versus broad-minded and creative. Take the example of Britain’s Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks talking on BBC Radio 4 earlier this year. “What made Europe happen and made it so creative,” he explained, “is that Christianity was a right-brain religion … translated into a left-brain language [Greek]. So for many centuries you had this view that science and religion are essentially part of the same thing.”
A-Z of Unusual Words
1. Acersecomic
A person whose hair has never been cut.
2. ktenology
The science of putting people to death.
3. Infandous
Unspeakable or too odious to be expressed or mentioned.
4. Montivagant
Wandering over hills and mountains.
