A new measurement of the universe’s only known double pulsar system will allow astrophysicists to test Einstein’s general theory of relativity more stringently than ever before.

 

An Earth-like planet found orbiting a nearby star is rich in water – a major step forward in the search for worlds like our own, U.S. scientists say.

Thursday, 17 December 2009
The so-called “super-Earth” is about 42 light years away. It’s in another solar system. This new planet’s radius is nearly 2.7 times the Earth’s, according to the researchers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) in Cambridge.

This newly discovered planet, called GJ 1214b, represents a “major step forward” in the search for worlds similar to our own, the University of California’s Geoffrey Marcy said in a commentary. His and another paper were published yesterday in the British journal Nature. [...]

Source: Cosmos Online – click here for full article

 

 

The extreme conditions found around black holes and other very dense objects can be recreated in the laboratory with powerful lasers, physicists say.

BRISBANE: The extreme conditions found around black holes and other very dense objects can be recreated in the laboratory with powerful lasers, physicists say.

The technique may allow them to validate the computer models they use to interpret black hole data collected by space-based telescopes, such as the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, according to a study published this week in Nature Physics. [...]

Source: Cosmos Online – click here for full article