A recent study explains how a strange object 10 million times brighter than the Sun defies the law of physics

A research paper published in the Astrophysical Journal found that exotic cosmic objects known as ultra-bright X-ray sources produce about 10 million times more energy than the Sun. This amount of energy breaks a physical law known as the Eddington limit, which determines how bright an object can be based on its mass.

And if something breaks Eddington's boundaries, scientists expect it to blow itself to pieces. However, ultra-bright X-ray sources regularly exceed this limit by 100 to 500 times, leaving scientists scratching their heads.

New observations from NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) , which sees the universe in high-energy X-rays, confirm that the system, called M82 X-2, is definitely one of the sources of the ultra-bright X-rays.

Previous theories had suggested that the extreme brightness might be some kind of optical illusion, but this new work shows that this is not the case, and this ultra-bright source actually defies Eddington's limit in some way.

Astronomers used to think that sources of ultra-bright X-rays could be black holes, but M82 X-2 is an object known as a neutron star. Neutron stars are the remains of the dead cores of stars like the Sun.

A neutron star is so dense that gravity on its surface is about 100 trillion times stronger than on Earth. This intense gravity means that any material pulled onto the surface of the dead star will have an explosive effect.

The new study found that M82 X-2 consumes roughly 1.5 times as much matter from Earth each year as it pulls from a nearby star. When this amount of matter hits the surface of a neutron star, it is enough to produce brightness outside the charts observed by astronomers.

The research team believes this is evidence that something must be going on with the M82 X-2 that allows it to bend the rules and break Eddington's limits.

The scientists' current theory is that the neutron star's intense magnetic field changes the shape of its atoms, allowing the star to stick together even as it becomes brighter.

"These observations allow us to see the effects of these incredibly strong magnetic fields that we could never reproduce on Earth with current technology," said study lead author Matteo Pacchetti, an astrophysicist at the Cagliari Astronomical Observatory in Italy. We can't really do experiments to get quick answers, we have to wait for the universe to show us its secrets." Source: Live Science

Travel to Mars with SpaceX

Elon Musk may be known for his bizarre and somewhat optimistic predictions, but his pledge to land humans on Mars within the next five to 10 years certainly raised a lot of eyebrows.

Whether or not he realizes that dream, though, is set to complete the first step to making it happen later this month when the billionaire's flagship spacecraft will take humans to the Red Planet on its first orbital flight.

Ahead of this historic launch, SpaceX revealed a new animation that offers a glimpse into how it plans to reach Mars using its $3 billion Starship.

Graphics on the launch pad show it preparing for liftoff, before exploding in space and separating from the massive rocket booster that propelled it into orbit.

The launch vehicle, which contains 33 Raptor engines capable of generating 17 million pounds of thrust, is shown returning to the launch pad for reuse.

The video later moves to the Starship, the beginning of the nine-month journey to Mars.

However, rather than being the first human flight to the Red Planet, it becomes clear that the animation depicts a vision many years in the future where multiple Starships come and go through several landing pads.

It also shows a human settlement built inside a giant dome on Mars, as the animation ends with astronauts landing on Mars and preparing to land Musk's spacecraft that changed humanity.

No spaceship is currently capable of sending humans to the red planet - but all that could change as spacecraft evolve.

Its creation is part of Musk's grand vision to make us a "multi-planetary species", beginning with the establishment of a human colony on Mars and all the way to the point of building cities there.

This may sound ambitious, but Starship's long-term goal is to take people to destinations in the 'larger solar system', including gas giants such as Jupiter or one of its potentially habitable moons.

The Starship will be able to carry up to 100 people to the Red Planet on a journey 250 times farther than the Moon and will take about nine months each way.

Musk and SpaceX have been tight-lipped about many details about the Starship, including photos of what it will look like inside, but the 51-year-old previously said he was looking to install about 40 cabins in the payload area near the front. upper stage.

"You could have five or six people per cabin if you really wanted to crowd people," Musk said. "But I think we mostly expect to see two or three people per cabin, so about 100 people per flight to Mars." Source: Daily Mail

Russia is developing plasma engines that may make a quantum leap in the world of aerospace industries

Russia's Rosatom Corporation announced that it is working on a project to develop new plasma engines that will make a quantum leap in the world of space missiles.

"In 2024, experts at one of the institutes affiliated with our institution will finish developing a prototype of a plasma engine for space rockets," a statement issued by the Foundation said.

The statement added, "Within the framework of the work on the project, the experts at the institute were able to develop a plasma accelerator and an ionization system for the engine, and the energy balance in the engine and ways to increase the life of the electrodes that will work in it were studied, and after completing all the design work, the experts at the institute will start making a prototype of the engine." It generates great momentum."

Plasma engines are currently used in some models of spacecraft and satellites to correct the orbits of vehicles and satellites in space, and the development of powerful engines of this type for space missiles will enable the missiles to make fast space flights.

Russia currently has many models of plasma engines that are used with satellites, and leaks indicate that Russian experts are also developing new types of these engines for use in vehicles that will carry out future trips to distant space. Source: Vesti