Wormhole
A wormhole, officially known as an Einstein–Rosen bridge, is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would fundamentally be a "shortcut" through spacetime. A wormhole is much like a tunnel with two ends each in separate points in spacetime. For a simplified notion of a wormhole, visualize space as a two-dimensional (2D) surface. In this case, a wormhole can be pictured as a hole in that surface that leads into a 3D tube (the inside surface of a cylinder). This tube then re-emerges at another location on the 2D surface with a similar hole as the entrance. An actual wormhole would be analogous to this but with the spatial dimensions raised by one. Researchers have no observational evidence for wormholes, but the equations of the theory of general relativity have valid solutions that contain wormholes. "Embedding diagram" of a Schwarzschild wormhole (see below). Definition[edit] Characterizing inter-universe wormholes is more difficult. Schwarzschild wormholes[edit]
Pulsar experienced tremendous hiccup during fastest rotation
Washington, Wed, 25 Jul 2012 ANI Washington, July 25 (ANI): Max Planck scientists have discovered a young and energetic neutron star with an unusually irregular rotation. Pulsars are superlative cosmic beacons. These compact neutron stars rotate about their axes many times per second, emitting radio waves and gamma radiation into space. Using ingenious data analysis methods, researchers from the Max Planck Institutes for Gravitational Physics (MPG) and for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR), in an international collaboration, dug a very special gamma-ray pulsar out of data from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The pulsar J1838-0537 is radio-quiet, very young, and, during the observation period, experienced the strongest rotation glitch ever observed for a gamma-ray-only pulsar. The name of the newly discovered pulsar-J1838-0537 -- comes from its celestial coordinates. "The pulsar is, at 5,000 years of age, very young. And this behavior has consequences.
2012 March 12 - The Scale of the Universe Interactive
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2012 March 12 The Scale of the Universe - Interactive Flash Animation Credit & Copyright: Cary & Michael Huang Explanation: What does the universe look like on small scales? Tomorrow's picture: dust before galaxies Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important NoticesA service of:ASD at NASA / GSFC& Michigan Tech.
Faster Than the Speed of Light? Pulsars Point to "Yes"
We learned in our intro to science courses that information cannot be transmitted faster than the speed of light. Yet laboratory experiments done over the last 30 years clearly show that some things appear to break this speed limit without abrogating Einstein's special theory of relativity. But now, astrophysicists in the US have observed such superluminal speeds in space in the form of radio pulses from a pulsar. Superluminal speeds are associated with a phenomenon known as anomalous dispersion, whereby the refractive index of a medium (such as an atomic gas) increases with the wavelength of transmitted light. The discovery has been made at the University of Texas at Brownsville, where Frederick Jenet and colleagues have been monitoring a pulsar more than 10,000 light years away. Jenet's group thinks that anomalous dispersion should be added to this list. Joao Magueijo's radical ideas intend to turn that Einsteinian dogma on its head. Could Einstein be wrong and Magueijo right?
Titan holds clue to faint young sun paradox - environment - 04 January 2013
Earth should have been an ice cube in the very early days of our solar system, when the sun was cooler than today. Yet the primordial Earth was a watery sphere. This "faint young sun" paradox has puzzled researchers for decades, but now a look at the atmosphere of one of Saturn's moons suggests a new solution. For the first two billion years of the Earth's existence, the sun was up to 25 per cent dimmer than it is today, making Earth's average temperature up to 25 °C colder. Robin Wordsworth and Raymond Pierrehumbert, both of the University of Chicago, looked to Saturn's moon Titan to solve the paradox. Wordsworth and Pierrehumbert created a simulation to determine whether an atmosphere rich in hydrogen and nitrogen would cause the same effect on the ancient Earth. Volcanic role Wordsworth admits that there is little geological evidence that hydrogen and nitrogen levels were actually that high, but says several factors could have created such an atmosphere. Raindrop enigma Recommended by
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There can be no other way! For Seti to eliminate this possibilty is absurd! by robster Aug 1
Exactly! Tell that to the scientists of the Seti program that still believe that the Ets travel only below the speed of light threshold! by gemini61 Aug 1
Is this a method used/exploited by visitors to our planet? How else can they travel so far? by robster Aug 1