%The University of Wisconsin-Madison has new evidence supporting the 2013 impressions that #neutrino particles discovered in Antarctica have #cosmic origins.% - http://clapway.com/2015/08/22/neutrino-in-antarctica-099/

The Neutrino from 2013

It was the middle of May in 2013 when scientists in Antarctica first detected what seemed to be cosmic neutrino, according to the 2013 news release from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The visual of what was detected can be seen here in this short clip.

The discussion at the time focused on the fact that the neutrinos detected were not from the Earth’s atmosphere but might have origins in space. But at the time, it was too early to say where the neutrinos originated.

However, recent news from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have gathered some new new evidence. The new evidence is said to be supportive of the 2013 impressions that the neutrino discovered in Antarctica have cosmic origins.

TODAY’S FINDINGS

The findings of the study of the evidence can be found in its published form in the journal Physical Review Letters. All the information was gathered by the Ice Cube Observatory.

The detection of the neutrino both has been and still is something of a miracle because they are exceedingly difficult to detect. Even when detected, there are a variety of neutrinos to sort through, making the search for a specific kind of neutrino a very meticulous and unforgiving endeavor.

WHY THE FINDING IS IMPORTANT

This is significant because of what the neutrino can tell us about the universe by analyzing the time it took to travel to Earth. Ice Cube helped further this enterprise by detecting the rare neutrino collision that signifies the existence and activity of those elusive neutrinos.

The detection method is paving new roads for particle physics as we know it. However there is much more to be learned about the neutrino detected by Ice Cube Observatory.

Some neutrinos are estimated to have been generated outside the Milky Way galaxy. In fact, thus far, the registered origins of these neutrinos have been exceedingly random. Yet, nevertheless, this doesn’t dampen the fact that scientists have discovered and confirmed the presence of cosmic neutrinos from outside our galaxy. And that’s a good thing.

Only more research can tell us what we will find next about the discovery. So follow the Ice Cube Observatory for more updates in the future.

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YOU MAY NOT CATCH NEUTRINOS, BUT YOU CAN CATCH YOUR VERY BEST MOMENTS WITH FILIMIN

Cosmic Neutrino Detected in Antarctica

The story behind the constellation among the brightest of stars... - http://clapway.com/2015/06/28/stargazing-101-cassiopeia-the-queen/

My mother loved to tell me the story of Cassiopeia the Queen. She shared with me the following version, the story her mother told her.

The Mythology

Cassiopeia was a famous queen who was very proud of her beauty. She constantly boasted that she and her daughter, Andromeda, were more beautiful than all the sea-nymphs. The nymphs didn’t like hearing this so they complained to Poseidon, god of the sea, who told Cassiopeia if she kept up with her ways that he would punish her and her land.

He threatened to create a monster to destroy them both. Her king took Poseidon at his word and sought out an oracle to tell him what to do. The oracle advised him to extend Andromeda as an offering to the monster. Only this act would appease the sea god, the oracle warned. The king took his daughter to the cliffs and chained her up. The gods favored Andromeda that day because traveling along the coast at that moment was Perseus. He spotted the princess and immediately fell in love. He told the king that he would slay the beast in return for Andromeda’s hand in marriage. The king agreed and Perseus kept his word. He defeated the monster and married the princess. Poseidon was not happy that Cassiopeia didn’t learn her lesson so he took her, and placed her in the stars as punishment for her pretentiousness. The constellation in the sky looks like an upside-down chair and it is said that she hangs from her throne for dear life.

The Facts

You might recognize this name from a 2001 movie starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, Serendipity. It’s definitely a chick flick, one of my favorites actually, so you may or may not have actually seen it. For whatever reason, the small scene between the two discussing her Cassiopeia shaped freckles became very popular. You can see the queen at night against a backdrop of the Milky Way. The middle star of the “w” shape of the stars is known as Gamma Cassiopeia and it is about 15 times the size of the Sun. This star, along with another of the constellation, Rho Cassiopeia, is destined to become a supernova eventually. Cassiopeia has produced two of these in the past. She is also home to one of the largest collection of young stars in the galaxy, right behind Orion’s in size.

What little girl doesn’t love a good old fashion love story with a happy ending for the princess? Growing up, I would always make my mom tell me the one about Cassiopeia. We’d go out in our front yard where she had made a pallet of blankets and she’d point out the constellation to me while telling me the story. This was a thing we did often with my mother. This is how we heard all the different stories. What’s your favorite constellation? Tell me below!

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Stargazing 101: Cassiopeia the Queen

Magnetar near galaxy black hole surprises with high x-ray count - http://clapway.com/2015/05/16/magnetar-near-galaxy-black-hole-surprises-high-x-ray-count123/

Two years ago, scientists identified a gigantic magnetar near the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole. Magnetars are collapsed neutron stars with extremely powerful magnetic fields. This particular magnetar happens also to be the closest interstellar entity to the 4-million-solar mass black hole in the middle of the Milky Way galaxy, at a distance of approximately 0.3 light-years (at least 2 trillion miles). In recent discoveries, the magnetar — nicknamed SGR 1745-2900, for research purposes — appears to have not only a higher observed amount of x-rays than previously observed magnetars, but also maintains much higher surface temperatures.

Into the heart of the Milky Way’s darkness — light at the nucleus

It all started when astronomers wanted to observe the circuit of the magnetar around the black hole (called the “sagittarius A-star”) at the center of the Milky Way. Scientists have long concluded that our entire galaxy revolved around this black hole, and until recently did not detect the one galactic body that lives appallingly close to the black hole. Scientists are predicting that it sits at least 2 trillion miles away from the center of the hole. This seems like an indomitable distance, but when the magnitude of the black hole’s 4-million-sun mass is factored in, the position of the magnetar seems exceedingly precarious.

This magnetar, observed using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the ESA’s XMM-Newton, is showing peculiar signs. The studies derived from the space telescopes have indicated specifically that the magnetar’s surface is much hotter than expected of its star type, and that its x-ray emissions appear to be lowering at a rate slower than that of other observed magnetars. Scientists first turned to the phenomenon of “starquakes” to expand on the theory for an explanation. When neutron stars form, a crust develops on its condensed surface. In some cases, this crust will crack and fracture, just like earth’s surface does during an earthquake.

Ultimately, however, the researchers dispelled this possible explanation, since they garnered information showing that the speed at which surface temperatures are cooling, and at which the light of x-rays on the star is fading, didn’t exactly match the projections given by the star-quake mechanism.

Particles in magnetic fields may account for magnetar’s high heat

Perhaps a likelier explanation for the magnetar’s dauntingly high temperatures and high supply of x-rays lies in the charged particles trapped in magnetic fields above the star’s surface. Twisted in bundles, these particles (which are created when neutron stars form) may constantly batter the surface below, administering an increased layer of heat on it.

Magnetar near galaxy black hole surprises with high x-ray count