A Nuclear Fusion Physicist and Astrophysicist.
BSc Physics & Engineering, MSc Nuclear Physics & Engineering, MSc Astrophysics, PhD Plasma Physics
Supernova (SN) Refsdal Key Points Astronomers have been trying to understand space for thousands of years. Supernova Refsdal was the first known multiply-imaged supernova. Multiple images of the supernova are due to strong gravitational lensing. Astronomers managed to predict the reappearance of the supernova. Multiple images of the supernova have a time delay between them. HST…
Big Bang Key Points Hubble‘s law (redshift of galaxies) and the Doppler effect provide direct evidence for the universe expanding away from our reference point, implying the universe is expanding. Low temperatures due to expansion from initial high temperatures at the Big Bang, supported by radio astronomy signals from stars, galaxies, radio galaxies, quasars, and…
The universe was not perfectly uniform when it started, some areas had a higher density than others. During the evolution of the universe, these areas of high density contained most of the matter and started forming galaxies where there was the highest concentration of matter. This large-scale structure (‘cosmic web’) connects the observed clusters of…
Gravitational waves (GW’s) are disturbances in spacetime produced by any massive object moving asymmetrically. However, only the most massive and most relativistic objects produce large enough GW’s to be detectable. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and Virgo detectors are using laser interferometry to detect tiny ripples in the fabric of spacetime. They have detected…
Uranus spins on its side. Uranus has an obliquity (tilt) of 98º, making its axis of rotation closer to the ecliptic plane than any other planet. It is not known how it got this peculiar tilt. Uranus Key Points Uranus has an obliquity (tilt) of 98º, making its axis of rotation closer to the ecliptic…
Black Hole Key Points Black Holes (BH’s) have a gravitational pull so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape it BH’s can be divided into two main classes: Stellar–mass and Super Massive Black Holes (SMBH’s) BH’s are observed indirectly through the flow they accrete and emit, also by the supersonic collimated jets they produce…
The Google Doodle for 2 February 2020 celebrated Mary Somerville, the Scottish polymath and science writer, and Caroline Herschel, the joint first-ever woman to be made an honorary member of the Royal Astronomical Society. Born in Jedburgh, Scotland, in 1780, Somerville received little formal education compared to her brothers. Largely self-taught, she pursued academic study…