Month: June 2021

Simulation: Formation of the First Stars

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How did the first stars form? To help find out, the SPHINX computer simulation of star formation in the very early universe was created, some results of which are shown in the featured video. Time since the Big Bang is shown in millions of years on the upper left. Even 100 million years after the Big Bang, matter was spread too uniformly across the cosmos for stars to be born. Besides background radiation, the universe was dark. Soon, slight matter clumps rich in hydrogen gas begin to coalesce into the first stars. In the time-lapse video, purple denotes gas, white denotes light, and gold shows radiation so energetic that it ionizes hydrogen, breaking it up into charged electrons and protons. The gold-colored regions also track the most massive stars that die with powerful supernovas. The inset circle highlights a central region that is becoming a galaxy. The simulation continues until the universe was about 550 million years old. To assess the accuracy of the SPHINX simulations and the assumptions that went into them, the results are not only being compared to current deep observations, but will also be compared with more direct observations of the early universe planned with NASA’s pending James Web Space Telescope. via NASA https://ift.tt/2SE3PQU

Wikipedia article of the day for June 30, 2021

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Wikipedia article of the day is All About That Bass. Check it out: Article-Link Summary: “All About That Bass” is the debut single of American singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor (pictured), released through Epic Records on June 30, 2014. The song was included on Trainor’s first extended play (EP) Title (2014) and her studio album of the same name (2015). Written by Trainor and producer Kevin Kadish, “All About That Bass” is a bubblegum pop, doo-wop and hip hop track. Trainor, who struggled with her negative body image as a teenager, was inspired to write the song to promote self-acceptance. Some music critics praised the song’s production and memorable message, while others called it a novelty song and criticized the failure of its lyrics to empower all body types. The song was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. It was the best-selling song in the United States by a female artist during the 2010s, and was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Orion Nebula: The Hubble View

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Few cosmic vistas excite the imagination like the Orion Nebula. Also known as M42, the nebula’s glowing gas surrounds hot young stars at the edge of an immense interstellar molecular cloud only 1,500 light-years away. The Orion Nebula offers one of the best opportunities to study how stars are born partly because it is the nearest large star-forming region, but also because the nebula’s energetic stars have blown away obscuring gas and dust clouds that would otherwise block our view – providing an intimate look at a range of ongoing stages of starbirth and evolution. The featured image of the Orion Nebula is among the sharpest ever, constructed using data from the Hubble Space Telescope. The entire Orion Nebula spans about 40 light years and is located in the same spiral arm of our Galaxy as the Sun. via NASA https://ift.tt/3qzUFBC

Wikipedia article of the day for June 29, 2021

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Wikipedia article of the day is Berlin to Kitchener name change. Check it out: Article-Link Summary: Berlin, Ontario, changed its name to Kitchener by referendum in May and June 1916. Named in 1833 after the capital of Prussia and later the German Empire, Berlin was heavily German-Canadian, and its residents enjoyed a blend of British and German culture. The name Berlin became unsavoury for residents after Great Britain and Canada’s entry into the First World War, as German Canadians experienced increasing anti-German sentiment. In a vote characterized by intimidation and high voter turnout, the 19 May 1916 referendum on changing the name narrowly passed; a second vote to choose the new name saw low turnout. The vote settled on Kitchener, named for British field marshal War Secretary Lord Kitchener. The city was officially renamed on 1 September 1916. After the war, the city experienced a decline in its German culture with German Canadians being culturally assimilated into the broader Canadian identity.