Knowing that some members enjoy science (whilst a few would shove it up my arse given the chance ) here are two items of interest I came across today: Astronomers see galaxies in ultra-high definition https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-57998940 "Astronomers have captured some of the most detailed images ever seen of galaxies in deep space. They are in much higher definition than normal and reveal the inner workings of galaxies in unprecedented detail. The images are of the radio waves emitted by the galaxies. Researchers often study the radio waves from astronomical objects rather than the visible light they give off because it enables them to see things that would otherwise be blocked by the Earth's atmosphere or dust and gas in faraway galaxies. Many regions of space that are dark to our eyes, actually burn brightly in the radio waves they give off. This allows astronomers to peer into star-forming regions or into the heart of galaxies. What is new is that the team has dramatically improved the resolution of radio images by linking together more than 70,000 small antennae spread across nine European counties." The picture below shows two galaxies colliding. the bright spot on the one on the left is caused by exploding stars - creating what is effectively a galactic wind - blowing dust and gas away from it. US lab stands on threshold of key nuclear fusion goal: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-58252784 A US science institute is on the verge of achieving a longstanding goal in nuclear fusion research. The National Ignition Facility uses a powerful laser to heat and compress hydrogen fuel, initiating fusion. An experiment suggests the goal of "ignition", where the energy released by fusion exceeds that delivered by the laser, is now within touching distance. Harnessing fusion, the process that powers the Sun, could provide a limitless, clean energy source. As a measure of progress, the yield from this month's experiment is eight times NIF's previous record, established in Spring 2021, and 25 times the yield from experiments carried out in 2018. "The pace of improvement in energy output has been rapid, suggesting we may soon reach more energy milestones, such as exceeding the energy input from the lasers used to kick-start the process," said Prof Jeremy Chittenden, co-director of the Centre for Inertial Fusion Studies at Imperial College London. [But still a long way to go].
I've had a tour of NIF and it's a very interesting place. Long time to go before there is a commercial version of what they are doing.
Later this year the James Webb telescope will hopefully launch. It is a succession to Hubble of sorts, but much (by a factor of magnitudes) more powerful than its predecessor. After launch it will travel to the earth' L2 Lagrange point, which will take another month or so, and then deploy its mirror and instruments , but soon after that we can expect pictures and other data of the universe that have astronomers very excited indeed. (They have been excited for a long time already, the whole project has suffered numerous setbacks and delays, and costs have risen to an exorbitant sum since the original planning phase in the late nineties). More info about the upcoming launch here.
