"Time and space are modes in which we think and not conditions in which we live."

— Albert Einstein

Astronomy

Astronaut Fitness Gets a Boost with Adaptive Harness Design

Universe Today - Fri, 07/25/2025 - 6:07pm

What new exercise methods can be devised for astronauts in space under microgravity conditions? This is what a recent study conducted submitted to the 2025 Technology Collaboration Center’s (TCC) Wearables Workshop and University Challenge hopes to address as a team of Rice University engineering students developed a new type of space exercise harness that could make exercising under microgravity easier and more comfortable.

Categories: Astronomy

The JWST Might Have Found the First Direct-Collapse Black Hole

Universe Today - Fri, 07/25/2025 - 6:07pm

Stellar mass black holes are created by core-collapse supernovae. These occur when massive stars near the end of their lives collapse in on themselves and form a black hole. Supermassive black holes form through mergers with other massive black holes. But their could be a third kind, called direct-collapse black holes, and the JWST found evidence of one.

Categories: Astronomy

Do Supermassive Black Holes Play With Their Food?

Universe Today - Fri, 07/25/2025 - 6:07pm

Lightning might not strike twice, but black holes apparently do. An international group of researchers led by Tel Aviv University astronomers observed a flare caused when a star falls onto a black hole and is destroyed.

Categories: Astronomy