Mysterious radio bursts from a nearby spiral galaxy

Fast radio flashes still pose something of an enigma to astronomers. Although they only emit for milliseconds at a time, hundreds have been observed in the sky. Only four such Fast Radio Bursts (FRB) have been precisely located so far. Now astronomer have traced the source of a newly discovered FRB to a nearby spiral galaxy similar to our own Milky Way, a galaxy half a billion light-years from Earth, making it the closest FRB to Earth ever localized. The burst called FRB 180916.J0158+65 was observed by a group of eight radio telescopes, including the 100-meter Effelsberg telescope.

Source: www.mpg.de/14335120/a-repeating-fast-radio-burst-from-a-spiral-galaxy

A Crisis in Cosmology – W. M. Keck Observatory

Maunakea, Hawaii – A group of astronomers led by University of California, Davis has obtained new data that suggest the universe is expanding more rapidly than previously thought.

The study comes on the heels of a hot debate over just how fast the universe is ballooning; measurements thus far are in disagreement.

The team’s new measurement of the Hubble Constant, or the expansion rate of the universe, involved a different method. They used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in combination with W. M. Keck Observatory’s Adaptive Optics (AO) system to observe three gravitationally-lensed systems. This is the first time ground-based AO technology has been used to obtain the Hubble Constant

Source: keckobservatory.org/hubble-constant/

Astronomers just quintupled the number of known repeating fast radio bursts

A Canadian telescope spotted eight more repeating fast radio bursts. What causes these cryptic flashes of radio waves from deep space remains unclear.

Source: www.sciencenews.org/article/astronomers-just-quintupled-number-known-repeating-fast-radio-bursts?tgt=nr

The first AI capable of simulating the universe works so well it’s scary

A team of researchers recently pioneered the world’s first AI universe simulator. It’s fast; it’s accurate; and its creators are baffled by its ability to understand things about the cosmos that it shouldn’t. Scientists have used computer simulations to try and digitally reverse-engineer the origin and evolution of our universe for decades. The best traditional …

Source: thenextweb.com/artificial-intelligence/2019/06/26/the-first-ai-capable-of-simulating-the-universe-works-so-well-its-scary/

Fast Radio Burst Pinpointed to Distant Galaxy

In a rare feat, astronomers have pinpointed the place of origin of a fast radio burst, with a surprising outcome.

Source: www.caltech.edu/about/news/fast-radio-burst-pinpointed-distant-galaxy

What if Dark Matter is Lighter? Report Calls for Wider Hunt

Researchers are designing nimble new experiments to look for dark matter in previously unexplored ranges of particle mass and energy.

Source: newscenter.lbl.gov/2019/06/10/small-dark-matter-experiments-broaden-hunt/

We May Be Floating in the Middle of the Observable Universe’s Largest Void

There’s a lot of stuff here on Earth. Then again, everything is relative. In the grandest of the grand scheme of things — like, a universe-wide scheme — …

Source: curiosity.com/topics/we-may-be-floating-in-the-middle-of-the-observable-universes-largest-void-curiosity/

Big black holes can settle in the outskirts of small galaxies

Astronomers have found dozens of surprisingly massive black holes far from the centers of their host dwarf galaxies.

Source: www.sciencenews.org/article/big-black-holes-can-settle-outskirts-small-galaxies