A team of Australian scientists have just discovered a monster black hole that would be ready to engorge our Sun anytime. The formation lies at the beginning of the universe, 12 billion light years away, and it has the fastest speed of growth ever seen.

The monster black hole would be capable of devouring our sun

While researchers were looking at the early universe, they stumbled upon this monster black hole. The impressive formation is able to absorb our sun and consume the equivalent of its mass once every two days. Its size is also impressive, as it measures about as much as 20 billion suns put together. It reached this tremendous size at an impressive speed, as it grows by one percent once every million of years.

Given its impressive size, it absorbs all sorts of gases that interact and produce all kinds of movements and heat. This makes the monster black hole incredibly bright, outshining even a big galaxy. If the hole were closer to us, it would look brighter than a full moon. Therefore, it’s easy to understand how researchers spotted it even if it’s so far away.

The black hole emits radiation that is detectable as infrared

However, it’s a good thing our planet is not so close to such a monster black hole. Apart from absorbing gases, it would have emanated all kinds of radiations that would have made life on Earth impossible. Since it’s so far away, the rays it emitted changed their formation and trajectory several times before reaching us. Therefore, researchers detected them by using infrared equipment.

This is the first monster black hole ever spotted by researchers. It’s interesting to see such formations came into being when the universe was so young, so they are now wondering if there are others that look the same. Therefore, they are currently looking for other fast-growing formations that might be comparable to this one.

The study on the monster black hole is soon to be published in a science journal but is already available on arXiv.

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If you ever wondered why our climate is in a certain way, it turns out we are being influenced from outer space. For quite a long time, researchers have been assuming that Jupiter and Venus are issuing a gravitational pull on our planet that is influencing our life and climate. Now, they have finally managed to prove it through a new study.

Jupiter and Venus seem to be issuing a combined gravitational pull on Earth

Venus is the closest planet to ours, while Jupiter is the biggest one in the Solar System. Therefore, it is understandable that they should have some influence on Earth. Now, researchers have developed a study saying their gravitational pull slowly affects our life forms and climate. This should happen during a lengthy cycle that lasts about 405,000 years.

Venus is not such big of a planet to have a huge impact on us. However, its gravity combined with the gravity of Jupiter seem to produce some small disruptions of our orbit. As a result, whenever seasons are changing, we might perceive more intense effects. This means our summers are getting hotter, winters are getting colder, and storms occur more often.

This gravitational pull might have an influence on climate change

This sounds quite familiar. After a few observations, researchers concluded we are currently facing the peak of the Jupiter and Venus cycle. They also say this cycle has been happening for the past 215 million years. Therefore, many of the major events that happened throughout history could have been a result of this gravitational pull issued by Jupiter and Venus.

However, this influence on climate is more or less a speculation. While the phenomenon could have produced some changes, it’s a bit far-fetched to blame it for climate change. There are many other factors that contribute to it, and our carbon dioxide emissions probably make the top of the list. However, we still shouldn’t dismiss it as completely impossible.

The study on the gravitational pull of Jupiter and Venus was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Researchers have always been wondering if there’s water on the moon. Although they developed some theories, they still could not answer the question. Now, a team of scientists from Japan might have found some evidence that there is frozen water beneath the lunar surface. They are currently trying to confirm their beliefs and prove the presence of water on the moon.

The mineral is a direct result of water

If this theory turns out to be true, the findings might mean a lot for the future lunar exploration missions. Researchers are quite optimistic about their results, and soon hope they can prove it. The evidence they think might support the presence of water on the moon is a mineral called moganite.

Researchers spotted this mineral about 13 years ago as part of a lunar meteorite that fell in Africa. The discovery is remarkable, since this mineral can form only if there’s water around. Also, after comparing this sample to those brought from the Apollo missions, they discovered the latter showed no traces of water or other minerals that might prove its presence.

This meteorite piece seems to have reached Earth whenever different cosmic bodies crashed with the moon. Researchers think it is about 17,000 years old. Therefore, the explanation might be that asteroids, comets, or other space objects brought water on the moon. Gradually, it got trapped beneath its surface, and further clashes broke the lunar pieces containing water and delivered it on Earth.

Researchers need more evidence to prove the presence of water on the moon

However, there is another explanation as well. The meteorite might not prove the presence of water on the moon. It’s possible that the mineral ended up in the meteorite after its collision with Earth. Yet, researchers are optimistic and say it couldn’t have been created in such a dire environment as the desert.

To prove this is a sign of water on the moon, they need to analyze a few other samples. Some other theories hinted there could be some water trapped at the lunar South Pole, but researchers need more evidence to support this. The study on the meteorite was published in the journal Science Advances.

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Although it sounds a bit extreme, some populations from Papua New Guinea used human bone daggers only a century ago. These weapons are well-known for the intricate designs that were present on their handles, and were common not only for hunting, but also during ceremonies. After a close analysis of these daggers, researchers discovered they also had a social purpose.

The tribes had daggers made from two types of bone

Bone daggers were a pretty common weapon for the tribes living in Papua New Guinea. The basic material they used was cassowary thigh bone, a flightless bird common in the area. However, for a few others, these people used human bone. These bones had belonged to honored fighters who had lost their lives while in battle. Whenever these people died, their descendants could carve their bones into a dagger.

Researchers were baffled by this distinction, as they couldn’t tell why these people carved daggers from two different types of bone. To unravel the mystery, a team of scientists from Dartmouth College performed an analysis of 11 daggers made from different types of bones. Five of them were human bone daggers, while the other six were made of cassowary bone.

The human bone daggers were an indicative of social status

Both types were more or less the same. However, the human bone daggers were a bit sturdier, and could better cope with bending. After running a few computer models and estimating the breaking point of each weapon, they came to the conclusion that human bone daggers were superior.

These properties weren’t necessarily a result of the superior properties of human bone. The design is responsible for this superiority, which could better cope with tension. Therefore, these people might have deliberately shaped the human bone daggers to be better. This could have been an attempt to preserve their symbolic meaning. Those people who owned such daggers wanted them to last longer, so they would show off and display their social prestige.

The study on these unique types of daggers has been published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

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For many years, researchers assumed Uranus must have a foul smell. However, there was no way to prove it. Now, they finally managed to take a close look at its atmosphere, and discovered it contained hydrogen sulfide. This chemical is responsible for producing the unpleasant smell of rotten eggs, so the giant planet is likely to have the same smell.

The hydrogen sulfide would produce a foul smell

Finding the true composition of Uranus’ atmosphere is, indeed, a difficult task. Therefore, researchers decided it was time to look at it with proper equipment. For the task, they used the Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrometer, together with the 8-meter Gemini North telescope, to look at one of the cloud layers from the upper atmosphere of the planet.

This is how they observed some traces of hydrogen sulfide. This finally confirms the theories regarding the presence of the substance in the planet’s atmosphere. The discovery sets Uranus apart from other gas giants. In the atmosphere of Jupiter and Saturn, for instance, the dominant chemical is ammonia.

Observing the substance in Uranus’ atmosphere has been a difficult task

Researchers explained why the observation of hydrogen sulfide has been so difficult until now. The clouds above Uranus are produced through condensation. This means the gas gets shrouded in an additional layer of clouds, which makes it almost impossible for regular telescope to notice it. Fortunately, the professional tools were powerful enough to penetrate this thick layer.

Therefore, the hydrogen sulfide would produce a foul smell on Uranus. However, if humans ever were to visit the planet, they would also face extreme temperatures right within the planet’s atmosphere. Also, the combination of gases is definitely not friendly for life, so Uranus is not a good destination for space travelers.

The discovery of hydrogen sulfide can shed some light on the main differences between typical gas giants and ice giants, like Uranus and Neptune. Researchers talked more about the strange properties of the planet in a study published in the journal Nature.

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One year ago, the Curiosity rover found some odd formations on the surface of Mars that resembled some mud cracks. The photos that attracted the attention of researchers were of a rock called Old Soaker. After closely analyzing the patterns on this rock, they finally confirmed they were a sign of an ancient Martian lake that dried up billions of years ago.

Were these cracks signs of desiccation?

In January 2017, Curiosity studied the Gale Crater. The soil at its bottom looked like dried mud, and the patterns on the Old Soaker resembled common desiccation patterns. However, researchers thought this wasn’t enough to confirm water was present on Mars. Therefore, they decided to investigate.

After a year of studies, scientists from Caltech Institute of Technology confirmed the hypothesis we have been waiting for. Those cracks were really a desiccation pattern, and proved the existence of an ancient Martian lake that was present on the planet 3.5 billion years ago.

Curiosity helped the researchers find out as much as possible about the interesting formations. Apart from the look of the cracks, they also got some information on the chemical composition of the Old Soaker. They made use of mostly all of Curiosity’s cameras, and could deliver a detailed analysis of the small rock.

The pattern proved the existence of an ancient Martian lake

Therefore, the complex pattern of cracks was the result of the sediments on the bottom of the ancient Martian lake. Then, the desiccation signs appeared as these sediments came into contact with air. This was interesting, as it disproved other claims of exposure to water or heat.

Given the place of the Old Soaker and the position of the cracks, researchers found more interesting information about the ancient Martian lake. It turns out this water formation reached different levels over time. Therefore, the most exciting discovery places Mars much closer to Earth. This ancient lake must have been through the same cycles as lakes on our planet.

The study on the ancient Martian lake has been published in the journal Geology.

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