This artist’s concept shows what Deep Space Station-23, a new antenna dish at the Deep Space Network’s complex in Goldstone, California, might look like when complete in several years.
Credit: NASA
HOUSTON–NASA has issued a request for proposals for concept studies and architecture definitions to establish joint government and commercial communications and navigation around the Earth, Moon and Mars. This is to enable science, robotic and human exploration and economic development. Issued July…
Mark Carreau
Mark is based in Houston, where he has written on aerospace for more than 25 years. While at the Houston Chronicle, he was recognized by the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation in 2006 for his professional contributions to the public understanding of America’s space program through news reporting.
Subscription Required
NASA Seeks Proposals to For Earth/Moon/Mars Comms Networks is published in Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, an Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN) Market Briefing and is included with your AWIN membership.
Already a member of AWIN or subscribe to Aerospace Daily & Defense Report through your company? Login with your existing email and password.
Not a member? Learn how you can access the market intelligence and data you need to stay abreast of what’s happening in the aerospace and defense community.
Gravitational waves come in all shapes and sizes – and frequencies. But, so far, we haven’t been able to capture any of the higher frequency ones. That’s unfortunate, as they might hold the key to unlocking our understanding of some really interesting physical phenomena, such as Boson clouds and tiny block hole mergers. A new paper from researchers at Notre Dame and Caltech, led by PhD student Christopher Jungkind, explores how we might use one of the world’s most prolific gravitational wave observatories, GEO600, to capture signals from those phenomena for the first time.
GEO600 is a gravitational wave observatory based in Germany, and has been in operation for more than 20 years. However, we recently reported on an update to the laser and data collection system that upgraded the observatory’s capabilities, and which the operators will be taking through its paces over the rest of this year. But there’s another aspect of GEO600 that Mr. Jungkind and his co-authors think could improve its sensitivity, especially at higher frequencies – its mirrors.
One of the primary features of GEO600 is its signal-recycling mirror (MSR), which, under normal operation, creates a signal-recycling cavity that amplifies the gravitational wave (GW) signal. Typically, it is set to amplify GWs with frequencies between 10s to 1000s of Hz. However, according to the paper, a slight modification can make the entire system much more sensitive at higher frequencies.
Video describing the GEO600 gravitational wave detector. Credit – Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics YouTube Channel
That modification is changing the angle of the MSR – more commonly referred to as the “detuning” angle. As the angle changes, the frequency the cavity amplifies changes as well. So, at least in theory, GEO600’s operators could sweep across a wide range of higher frequency amplifications simply by making small adjustments to the detuning angle.
To prove their point, the authors turned to every theoretical physicist’s favorite tool – a simulator. In this case, that is the Finesse 3.0 software package, whereby added sources of noise, such seismic noise from the Earth and quantum noise from radiation pressure, while still considering the upgraded laser capabilities of the GEO600. They found a significant increase in the detector’s sensitivity that moves along with the increasing detuning angle.
In particular, GEO600 would become more sensitive than advanced LIGO (aLIGO) , a competing ground-based GW detector that is an upgrade from the LIGO observatory that first detected GWs back in 2016. GEO600 would be more capable of detecting GWs with a frequency above 6K Hz, according to the study.
Even 9 years ago, GEO600 scientists were talking about advanced LIGO. Credit – Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics
But what does that mean in practice? Simulations showed that it would be better at detecting gravitational waves from a specific kind of Boson cloud, known as a vector boson cloud. Unfortunately, another type of Boson cloud, known as a scalar boson cloud would be much harder to detect. Despite both being named after concepts from calculus, the two types of boson clouds are composed of different hypothetical fundamental particles, which cause different types of GWs when surrounding a black hole. The frequency that the black holes at the center of these boson clouds emit GWs is directly proportional to the mass of the bosons that make up the clouds. GWs created by vector boson clouds vibrate at a frequency up to 31.5kHz, which is at least theoretically in the detectable range for the improved GEO600 with detuning. However, scalar boson clouds produce much weaker signals, even if they are much longer lasting, making it unlikely that GEO600 would be able to detect them.
The other physical phenomena that would be of interest would be the merger of sub-stellar mass black holes. While GEO600 using detuning could detect these, according to the simulations there wouldn’t be much, if any, of an advantage over other detectors like aLIGO, as most of the signal comes in lower frequencies while the two black holes are spiraling into each other.
So, at least for some physical phenomena, a slight tweak to the mirror controls of GEO600 could provide dramatically improved insight into the features of some types of boson clouds. However, updating that control scheme can be difficult, as it requires a feedback loop between the sensor itself and the actuator driving the mirror angle. That’s something the engineers would have to work on, if GEO600’s operators decide to do so. For now, at least, simulations are the best we’ll be able to get in terms of improving high-frequency GW detection.
Learn More:
C. Jungkind et al – Prospects for High-Frequency Gravitational-Wave Detection with GEO600
UT – The GEO600 Gravitational Wave Detector is Getting a Big Upgrade
UT – Astronomers Detected a Black Hole Merger With Very Different Mass Objects
UT – Gravitational Waves Could Give Us Insights into Fast Radio Bursts
Advances in Very High Energy Astrophysics: The Science Program of the Third Generation IACTs for Exploring Cosmic Gamma Rays, edited by Reshmi Mukherjee and Roberta Zanin, World Scientific
Credit: World Scientific
Imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) are designed to detect very-high-energy gamma rays, enabling the study of a range of both galactic and extragalactic gamma-ray sources. By capturing Cherenkov light from gamma-ray-induced air showers, IACTs help trace the origins of cosmic rays and probe fundamental physics, including questions surrounding dark matter and Lorentz invariance. Since the first gamma-ray source detection by the Whipple telescope in 1989, the field has rapidly advanced through instruments like HESS, MAGIC and VERITAS. Building on these successes, the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) represents the next generation of IACTs, with greatly improved sensitivity and energy coverage. The northern CTAO site on La Palma is already collecting data, and major infrastructure development is now underway at the southern site in Chile, where telescope construction is set to begin soon.
Considering the looming start to CTAO telescope construction, Advances in Very High Energy Astrophysics, edited by Reshmi Mukherjee of Barnard College and Roberta Zanin, from the University of Barcelona, is very timely. World-leading experts tackle the almost impossible task of summarising the progress made by the third-generation IACTs: HESS, MAGIC and VERITAS.
The range of topics covered is vast, spanning the last 20 years of progress in the areas of IACT instrumentation, data-analysis techniques, all aspects of high-energy astrophysics, cosmic-ray astrophysics and gamma-ray cosmology.The authors are necessarily selective, so the depth into each sector is limited, but I believe that the essential concepts were properly introduced and the most important highlights captured. The primary focus of the book lies in discussions surrounding gamma-ray astronomy and high-energy physics, cosmic rays and ongoing research into dark matter.
It appears, however, that the individual chapters were all written independently of each other by different authors, leading to some duplications. Source classes and high-energy radiation mechanisms are introduced multiple times, sometimes with different terminology and notation in the different chapters, which could lead to confusion for novices in the field. But though internal coordination could have been improved, a positive aspect of this independence is that each chapter is self-contained and can be read on its own. I recommend the book to emerging researchers looking for a broad overview of this rapidly evolving field.
NASA’s troubled efforts to get prized Martian samples to Earth could get a lifeline, if a new proposal for a more cost-effective mission architecture gets the go-ahead.
The Perseverance rover landed on Mars in 2021 and set about collecting intriguing and diverse samples in preparation for a follow up Mars Sample Return Mission (MSR) campaign, which would pick the samples up and deliver them to Earth for analysis. However, independent reviews indicated costs ballooning to up to $11 billion, and MSR faces cancellation in Trump administration budget proposals for 2026.
In a new effort to revive the program, aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, which has built 11 of NASA’s 22 Mars spacecraft over the years, is proposing a cut-price, streamlined mission that would use a smaller lander, a smaller Mars ascent vehicle and a smaller Earth entry system.
Artist’s illustration of Lockheed Martin’s proposed Mars ascent vehicle (MAV) approaching the company’s orbiter for rendezvous. (Image credit: Lockheed Martin)
The lander would build on heritage from NASA’s InSight lander, which successfully touched down on the Red Planet in November 2018.
“Our most recent commercial industry-led offer to NASA is to execute Mars Sample Return (MSR) as a firm-fixed price solution for under $3 billion,” a June 26 statement from Lockheed Martin read.
“Given current MSR estimates of $7 billion, our goal is to utilize existing designs and streamline operations of the primary spacecraft and systems — while managing risk and reducing oversight — offering a significantly lower total mission cost,” the statement continued.
In addition to its Mars expertise, the company noted that it designed and built the spacecraft and return capsules for all three of NASA’s robotic sample return missions, including the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission, which delivered samples from the space rock Bennu to Earth in 2023.
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!
Artist’s illustration of Lockheed Martin’s proposed Mars ascent vehicle (MAV) launching the Perseverance rover’s collected Red Planet samples from the company’s lander. (Image credit: Lockheed Martin)
“With a commercial industry approach that focuses on managing key requirements, reducing complexity by leveraging heritage, flight-proven elements and limiting new designs to only those needed to close the architecture, we can bring back the samples that will unlock the mysteries of Mars, and lay the groundwork for the astronauts who will set foot on the Red Planet,” Lockheed Martin wrote.
But Lockheed’s plan is not the only alternative vision for MSR. Private space company Rocket Lab put forward its own cut-price proposal for the mission last year, in response to a NASA call for ideas to get the precious samples home in a faster and cheaper manner.
China too is working on a robotic campaign to collect and return Mars samples. With the launch of its Tianwen 3 mission set for late 2028, the country will get the first shot at acquiring the historic first Red Planet samples, with the material potentially holding the evidence of life beyond Earth.
For now, the U.S. approach to Mars appears to be shifting from a robotic approach and toward putting astronauts on the Red Planet, according to Trump administration budget proposals, likely using SpaceX’s in-development Starship megarocket. Landing humans on Mars is much more challenging and complex but, if realized, would also see invaluable Martian rock, dust and atmosphere samples delivered to Earth.
Visualization based on the Dead Universe Theory (DUT) of the expected internal structure of a galaxy of the SRD type (Stellar Remnant Domain), which may be confirmed in the future by observational data from the JWST. The compact morphology, low entropy, a
Predicts fossil galaxies at z > 15 using non-singular relativity; simulates 180 Gyr; self-refutes if data contradicts its metric evolution.
We’re not discarding Einstein — we’re completing his geometry beyond the singularity.”
— Joel Almeida- CEO
CURITIBA, PARANá, BRAZIL, July 8, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ — In a landmark scientific development, ExtractoDAO announces the global release of DUT Quantum Simulator v4.0, the most advanced cosmological simulation platform currently in operation. Powered by a post-singularity reinterpretation of General Relativity, this simulator mathematically forecasts the imminent discovery of gravitationally fossilized galaxies with redshifts z > 15, beyond the explanatory limits of the ΛCDM model.
Using a regularized curvature model and entropy-gradient geodesics, the DUT reproduces structure formation without inflation, singularities, or dark energy. The simulator predicts SRDs (Stellar Remnant Domains) — massive, low-entropy galaxies that formed less than 200 million years after the cosmic turning point — which should become observable by the Roman Space Telescope, ELT (Extremely Large Telescope), and JWST extended missions by 2030. It is the only known simulator equipped with a self-refutation module, capable of rejecting its own predictions if observations contradict its metric evolution.
Far from abandoning Einsteinian physics, this platform formalizes a continuous, horizonless geometry as the natural endpoint of relativistic gravity. This work represents not only a computational tribute to Einstein’s legacy, but also a bold mathematical step into the cosmology of the post-singularity universe.
“This simulator doesn’t discard Einstein — it completes him,” says Dr. Joel Almeida, lead researcher and developer. “By removing singularities and restoring thermodynamic consistency, we fulfill the deepest promise of General Relativity: a universe governed by geometry, not metaphysical explosions.”
Scientific Breakthroughs Enabled by DUT Quantum: First predictive model for Small Red Dots (SRDs) at z ≈ 20 — low-entropy fossil galaxies formed just 200 Myr after cosmic retraction.
Equation-driven simulation of the universe’s collapse toward a thermodynamic horizon ~166 billion years from now.
Non-singular gravitational potential replacing the Big Bang with structured entropic curvature.
Self-refutation algorithm that automatically invalidates the theory if future data contradict predictions.
Compatibility with JWST, Roman Telescope, and ELT deep-field missions through falsifiable high-z forecasts.
Redefining the Limits of Cosmology
Current ΛCDM simulators — such as IllustrisTNG and EAGLE — saturate at z ≈ 11, bound by assumptions of inflation and cold dark matter. In contrast, DUT Quantum extends simulations far into the future and deep into the cosmic past by utilizing entropy gradients and curvature dynamics.
Observational anomalies like the Hubble tension, CMB Cold Spot, and massive galaxies at z ≈ 16.7 are naturally resolved under the DUT’s gravitational-thermodynamic paradigm — no inflation, no particle dark matter, no cosmological constant.
Confirmations and Forecasts
CEERS-93316 (z ≈ 16.4) and JADES-GS-z13-0 (z ≈ 13.2) align with DUT’s pre-calculated SRD parameters.
Upcoming instruments — Roman Space Telescope (2027) and ESO’s ELT — are expected to confirm the predicted mass–redshift signature of proto-galaxies at z = 17–21.
Scientific Integrity and Open Verification
The simulator is 100% offline, open-source, and utilizes blockchain (via ExtractoDAO Ledger) for hash-traceable reproducibility. Every simulation run is verifiable, and the codebase contains a built-in validation core capable of signaling theoretical collapse when observational inconsistencies emerge.
Publication: DUT Quantum: The Computational Framework Enabling 180-Billion-Year Cosmological Simulations
Contact: research Joel Almeida ( j.almeida@extractodao.com )
About ExtractoDAO https://extractodao.com/ ExtractoDAO S.A. is a scientific and financial blockchain company pioneering the integration of smart contracts with cosmological research. By developing decentralized infrastructures for physics, astronomy, and high-precision simulation, it offers open tools for exploring the deepest layers of the universe — and reality itself.
joel almeida ExtractoDAO S.A +55 41 98792-2340 email us here Visit us on social media: LinkedIn Instagram YouTube
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability
for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this
article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
In a discovery that could reshape approaches to regenerative medicine and bone repair, researchers have found that human stem cells can be prompted to begin turning into bone cells simply by squeezing through narrow spaces.
The study suggests that the physical act of moving through tight, confining spaces, like those between tissues, can influence how stem cells develop. This could open new possibilities for engineering materials and therapies by guiding cell behaviour using physical, rather than chemical, signals.
The research was led by Assistant Professor Andrew Holle from the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the College of Design and Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS), and the Mechanobiology Institute (MBI) at NUS, and was published on 8 May 2025 in the journal Advanced Science.
Mechanical ‘memory’
Asst Prof Holle leads the Confinement Mechanobiology Lab at MBI. His lab studies how physical constraints – especially the tight spaces cells encounter as they move – affect how cells behave, function, and develop. While most earlier research in this area focused on cancer and immune cells, his team is among the first to explore how these forces affect stem cells, with the aim of applying their findings to future therapies.
The researchers focused on a type of adult stem cell known as a mesenchymal stem cell, or MSC. These cells are found in bone marrow and other tissues and are known for their ability to develop into bone, cartilage, and fat cells. Because of these properties, MSCs are widely used in research on tissue repair and regeneration.
To test how physical forces influence stem cell fate, we developed a specialised microchannel system that mimics the narrow tissue spaces cells navigate in the body.”
Asst Prof. Holle, Confinement Mechanobiology Lab at MBI
They found that when MSCs squeezed through the smallest channels (just three micrometres wide), the pressure caused lasting changes to the cells’ shape and structure. These cells showed increased activity in a gene called RUNX2, which plays a key role in bone formation. Even after exiting the channels, they retained this effect – suggesting they carry a kind of mechanical ‘memory’ of the experience.
“Most people think of stem cell fate as being determined by chemical signals,” Asst Prof Holle said. “What our study shows is that physical confinement alone – squeezing through tight spaces – can also be a powerful trigger for differentiation.”
While traditional methods of directing stem cells rely on chemical cues or growing them on stiff or soft materials, Asst Prof Holle’s team believes confinement-based selection may offer a simpler, cheaper, and potentially safer alternative. “This method requires no chemicals or genetic modification – just a maze for the cells to crawl through,” he said. “In theory, you could scale it up to collect millions of preconditioned cells for therapeutic use.”
Next steps
The researchers say their findings could help improve the design of biomaterials and scaffolds used in bone repair, by creating physical environments that naturally encourage the right kind of cell development. “By tuning the mechanical properties of materials, we might be able to steer stem cells more reliably toward the cell types we want,” Asst Prof Holle said.
The approach could one day be used to speed up recovery from bone fractures or enhance the effectiveness of stem cell therapies.
“We’d like to test whether preconditioned cells that have gone through this mechanical selection are better at promoting healing when introduced at injury sites,” Asst Prof Holle said. “That’s one of the next steps.”
Beyond bone repair, the research may have broader implications. MSCs are also known to migrate toward tumours, and the research team is interested in whether mechanically preconditioned cells might be better equipped to move through dense tumour tissue – a challenge that has limited the success of many current cell therapies.
The group is also exploring whether the technique could apply to more potent stem cell types, such as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which can develop into almost any tissue in the body.
“We suspect that confinement plays a role even in embryonic development,” Asst Prof Holle said. “Cells migrating through crowded environments early in life are exposed to mechanical stress that could shape their fate. We think this idea has potential far beyond just MSCs.”
Source:
National University of Singapore College of Design and Engineering
This artist’s concept shows what Deep Space Station-23, a new antenna dish at the Deep Space Network’s complex in Goldstone, California, might look like when complete in several years.
Credit: NASA
HOUSTON–NASA has issued a request for proposals for concept studies and architecture definitions to establish joint government and commercial communications and navigation around the Earth, Moon and Mars. This is to enable science, robotic and human exploration and economic development. Issued July…
Mark Carreau
Mark is based in Houston, where he has written on aerospace for more than 25 years. While at the Houston Chronicle, he was recognized by the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation in 2006 for his professional contributions to the public understanding of America’s space program through news reporting.
Subscription Required
NASA Seeks Proposals to Establish Commercially Partnered Earth/Moon/Mars Communications Networks is published in Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, an Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN) Market Briefing and is included with your AWIN membership.
Already a member of AWIN or subscribe to Aerospace Daily & Defense Report through your company? Login with your existing email and password.
Not a member? Learn how you can access the market intelligence and data you need to stay abreast of what’s happening in the aerospace and defense community.
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has flown through the plumes of water vapor spewing out from the ocean inside Saturn’s moon Enceladus on multiple occasions, which has allowed researchers to determine the pH of the water, which is highly alkaline. From this, they have been able to predict the entire mineralogical composition of the ocean, finding that it has both good and bad points for any potential microbial life that may exist within it.
“It’s harder, but certainly not impossible, to live in these conditions,” Christopher Glein, an ocean worlds scientist at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio told Space.com.
Cassini discovered Enceladus’ plumes of water vapor, which jet out from large cracks in the icy surface called “tiger stripes” at the moon’s southern polar region, in 2005. Although the Cassini mission, which ended in a blaze of glory in September 2017 when the orbiter plunged into Saturn, was not designed to sample material from such plumes, two of its instruments, the Cosmic Dust Analyzer and the Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer, were able to at least get a taste of them during close flybys of the icy moon. What they found offered clues as to the contents of the ocean deep within Enceladus that feeds the plumes.
“The payoff from Cassini far exceeded what it was designed to accomplish,” said Glein. “We discovered a habitable ocean at Enceladus.”
Those measurements remain our best study so far of any of the ocean moons of the outer solar system, and through geochemical modeling scientists are able to draw some conclusions. New research — by Glein and his SwRI colleague, planetary archaeologist Ngoc Truong — has determined that the pH of the ocean beneath Enceladus’ ice is moderately high, between 10.1 and 11.6
This diagram shows hydrothermal reactions on the floor of Enceladus’ ocean, releasing molecular hydrogen gas. (Image credit: NASA/JPL–Caltech/Southwest Research Institute.)
The pH scale is a measure of how acidic or alkaline something is, 1 being highly acidic, 14 being highly alkaline, and 7 being neutral. Hence Enceladus’ ocean is quite alkaline. For comparison, Earth’s ocean has a pH of about 8.
The researchers arrived at this conclusion by studying the abundance and distribution of phosphate minerals in the ice grains within the plumes, in particular the ratio of mono-hydrogen phosphate (HPO4) to regular phosphate (PO4), which is a direct indicator of the pH level of the water. The range of possible pH that Glein and Truong found is higher than the previous estimates of 8 to 9. However, those estimates were made before 2023, when further detailed analysis of Cassini’s data revealed high concentrations of phosphates in the plumes.
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!
The alkalinity is a signature of interactions between water and iron-, magnesium- and sodium-bearing silicate rock on the ocean floor. These water-rock interactions release sodium hydroxide (NaOH) into the ocean that subsequently reacts with carbon dioxide and produces the high alkalinity.
“One consequence of these conditions is a high carbonate alkalinity, which supercharges the solubility of calcium phosphate minerals — like apatite. Your teeth might dissolve in Enceladus’ ocean,” said Glein.
Such high alkalinity would be somewhat challenging for life. “High pH tends to break apart biological polymers,” said Glein when asked by Space.com. “However, we know that some microbes on Earth can tolerate the range of pH found on Enceladus.”
These terrestrial, alkaline-loving microbes are extremophiles called alkaliphiles. And there’s another boost for the possibility of life in Enceladus’ ocean, since the water-rock interactions produce minerals and ions that can be used by microbial life for energy and sustenance. The conditions even provide clues as to where in the ocean we might find such life, should it exist there.
“Metals become less soluble at higher pH, so iron may be scarce in Enceladus’ ocean,” said Glein. “I think the best place to live would be at the seafloor. If you’re a microbe, you could directly ‘mine’ iron and other metals from minerals without relying on solubility. We might want to think about biofilms on Enceladus.”
Based on the alkalinity, the chemical composition of the plumes as measured by Cassini and the expected minimal outgassing of carbon dioxide from the ocean, Glein and Truong have assembled a list of minerals and molecules that we could expect to find in Enceladus’ ocean. The most abundant compounds on the list are sodium, chlorine, sodium carbonate, carbonate ions, ammonia and potassium ions.
“The composition does make sense for deep circulation of ocean water through the rocky core of Enceladus,” said Glein.
One surprise was the inferred high abundance of molecular hydrogen (H2). However, its concentration is similar to some deep-sea environments on Earth, such as the vast field of hydrothermal vents in iron-rich rocks called the “Lost City” deep in the Atlantic Ocean.
“There, H2 supports life by supplying a source of chemical energy,” said Glein.
Although the list of mineral constituents in the ocean is not confirmed — we’d have to return to Enceladus to do that — it just shows that we don’t need to venture into the depths of the dark water to learn the ocean’s secrets. Just flying through the plumes is enough to give us a good indication. Cassini did so without specialized equipment for analyzing molecules and compounds within the plumes, since when it was launched (October 1997) the plumes had not even been discovered. Glein thirsts to return with a dedicated mission carrying state-of-the-art instruments specifically designed for the job.
“Imagine what we could find,” he mused. “The picture for Enceladus is of an ocean that is intensely affected by water-rock interactions. Enceladus is a geochemical paradise!”
Glein and Truong’s findings were published online June 20 in the journal Icarus.
Interstellar visitor Comet 3I/ATLAS was discovered just a week ago and ever since, astronomers across the world have been hard at work following it, trying to gather as much data on it as possible. The initial data on this object already suggested marked differences between it and the previous two known interstellar objects that crossed the Solar System. Thanks to a new model, it looks like it comes from a different region of the galaxy altogether.
Let’s rewind the clock by a week. Matthew Hopkins defended his PhD thesis on modeling interstellar objects in the Milky Way on Monday. On Tuesday, he told his supervisor, Professor Chris Lintott, he’d take some time off before working on the edits. Instead, Comet 3I/ATLAS decided to make itself known right at that moment. So Hopkins went back to work using his doctoral research to gain unprecedented insight into this new interstellar interloper.
“It’s very exciting!” Hopkins, who is lead author of the new paper, told IFLScience. “I’ve been anticipating the chance to compare my predictions to new data for four years, and 3I/ATLAS is already giving us new insights into this fascinating galaxy-spanning population.”
Hopkins and Lintott are two of the six authors of a new paper that uses the new model to trace the origin of Comet 3I/ATLAS, and it appears to be coming from a completely different region of the galaxy than our previous interstellar visitors.IFLScience had a chance to read the yet-to-be-peer-reviewed paper ahead of publication.
[Comet 3I/ATLAS] is probably from an old star in the thick disc, and we think that it’s likely that this thing’s been out there for longer than the age of the Solar System.
Prof Chris Lintott
“What we’re able to do with Matthew and our collaborators’ work is predict the population of interstellar objects that should be out there,” Professor Lintott told IFLScience. “We’ve now seen three of these, but we think there are a billion billion billion – 1027 – of these in the galaxy. And so using that model, we’re able to say what’s interesting and what’s unusual about this particular object.”
One striking difference between this object and the other two interstellar visitors is its speed. Comet 3I/ATLAS is moving almost twice the speed of the others, with estimates around 57 kilometers (36 miles) per second. ’Oumuamua, discovered in 2017, moved at about 26.33 kilometers (16.36 miles) per second, while Comet 2I/Borisov, discovered in 2021, was moving a tad faster at 32.2 kilometers ( 20 miles) per second.
Two new preprint papers published on the ArXiv server today suggest that this comet is remarkably different from expectations. Observations from the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) suggest a much redder object, more similar in color to the Centaur population of asteroids than most Solar System comets. A different paper focused instead on similarities with many of the Solar System objects, including some comets, and stresses that the differences are most marked against ‘Oumuamua and Comet Borisov.
I think the thing that’s most exciting for me is that if it is from the thick disk, we’re seeing an object from a part of the galaxy we’ve never seen one before.
Prof Chris Lintott
“This thing’s coming in much faster than the other two, but it is actually within the range of velocities that we would predict in objects. So we don’t think that’s notable, but it’s moving fast up and down relative to the plane of the galaxy in a vertical velocity, so it gives us a clue about where it’s from,” Professor Lintott explained. “Our model predicts that it’s from a star in the thick disc of the galaxy.”
The spiral arms of galaxies like the Milky Way are located in the thin disk. That’s also where the Sun is. Spiral galaxies also have a structure called the thick disk, a region above and below the plane of the Milky Way, where older stars tend to reside.
“[Comet 3I/ATLAS] is probably from an old star in the thick disc, and we think that it’s likely that this thing’s been out there for longer than the age of the Solar System,” Professor Lintott told IFLScience. “There’s a two-thirds chance that it’s older than 7 billion, and that would explain the colour. So these things get processed by cosmic rays and turn red. That seems to fit in, though I think the colours in the VLT paper are slightly odd, so we should check that,” he added.
An estimation of the orbit of Comet 3I/ATLAS (red, dashed) relative to the orbit of the Sun (yellow, dotted) through the Milky Way.
Image Credit: M. Hopkins/Ōtautahi-Oxford team. Base map: ESA/Gaia/DPAC, Stefan Payne-Wardenaar, CC-BY-SA 4.0
Good models need to have testable hypotheses, and the team has a pretty straightforward one for Comet 3I/ATLAS: water.
“Our model says that older stars tend to producewater-rich interstellar objects. So if we’re right, as this thing comes further towards the Sun, we should get a lot of cometary activity. The task coming up is to do a better job of chemistry,” Professor Lintott says.
“I think the thing that’s most exciting for me is that if it is from the thick disk, we’re seeing an object from a part of the galaxy we’ve never seen one before. The other two share a different origin.”
With the idea that there are a billion billion billion interstellar objects across the galaxy, it is not surprising that scientists have estimated that there are 10,000 interstellar objects within the orbit of Neptune on any given day. Most of these are too dark to be spotted by our telescopes, but they are likely there.
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has recently demonstrated that it can discover over 2,000 new asteroids in a matter of hours across a few nights. As more cutting-edge telescopes come online, it will be easier to discover more of these objects.
“The reason I got excited about studying stellar objects is that there’s this theory that they get incorporated into the material that forms stars and planets, so they may kickstart planet formation. So it’s possible that our Earth started with something like this arriving, which is just kind of a cool and exciting idea!” Lintott told IFLScience.
“The second thing is that we’re having an enormous amount of fun. This is what I thought astronomers did when I was a kid. We found a thing, we’re pointing telescopes at it and then we’re arguing about it and it’s just the best!”
The paper describing this work has been submitted to The Astrophysical Journal Letters and will be posted to the ArXiv tomorrow.
Take a look at squirting cucumber explosive seed dispersal in real time and slowed down. Credit: Helen Gorges/CC BY-NC-ND
One doesn’t normally associate ballistics with botany, but most of us don’t study “squirting” cucumbers—so called because they disperse their seeds by explosively propelling them out into the world. Scientists took a series of high-speed videos, both in the wild and in the lab, to learn more about the underlying biomechanics of this plant’s method of seed dispersal. Graduate student Helen Gorges of Kiel University’s Zoological Institute in Germany presented the findings at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Conference in Antwerp, Belgium.
Also known as the “noli me tangere,” aka “touch me not,” the squirting cucumber (Ecballium elaterium) is often considered a weed or invasive species, although in some regions it’s viewed as ornamental. Fun fact: The fruit extract is a powerful laxative. If swallowed or inhaled through the nose, it can be poisonous, causing edemas and necrosis of the nasal mucosa, among other complications. That same fruit, once ripened, can squirt out a stream of mucus-like liquid containing seed pods at high speeds—an example of rapid plant movement.
As glucosides in the sap of the fruit’s tissue cells build up, so does the internal pressure, eventually causing the fruit to detach from the stalk. At that point, the pericarp contracts, and both the fruit and the seeds are violently expelled through the resulting hole. The squirting action is further aided by structural changes in the fruit as it dehydrates and its cells coil, bend, or twist in response (hygroscopic movement).
It’s actually not the most effective means of seed dispersal, per a 2019 study. That’s good news for almond orchards, for example, since farmers can target their weed-killing efforts to the most likely affected areas. And the plant tissue tends to fracture from the force of the ballistic seed dispersal. “Many factors have to interact perfectly to disperse the seeds in the most efficient way, while not destroying the whole plant too early,” said Gorges, who wanted to learn more about the biomechanics that control the fruit as it ripens and prepares for seed dispersion.
