Hubble Uncovers the Farthest Star Ever Seen

Photo by Alexander Andrews on Unsplash

More than halfway across the universe, an enormous blue star nicknamed Icarus is the farthest individual star ever seen. Normally, it would be much too faint to view, even with the world’s largest telescopes. But through a quirk of nature that tremendously amplifies the star’s feeble glow, astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope were able to pinpoint this faraway star and set a new distance record. They also used Icarus to test one theory of dark matter, and to probe the make-up of a foreground galaxy cluster.

The star, harbored in a very distant spiral galaxy, is so far away that its light has taken 9 billion years to reach Earth. It appears to us as it did when the universe was about 30 percent of its current age.

Icarus, whose official name is MACS J1149+2223 Lensed Star 1, is the farthest individual star ever seen. It is only visible because it is being magnified by the gravity of a massive galaxy cluster, located about 5 billion light-years from Earth. Called MACS J1149+2223, this cluster, shown at left, sits between Earth and the galaxy that contains the distant star. The panels at the right show the view in 2011, without Icarus visible, compared with the star's brightening in 2016.

Credits: NASA, ESA, and P. Kelly (University of Minnesota)

The discovery of Icarus through gravitational lensing has initiated a new way for astronomers to study individual stars in distant galaxies. These observations provide a rare, detailed look at how stars evolve, especially the most luminous stars.

“This is the first time we’re seeing a magnified, individual star,” explained former University of California at Berkeley postdoc and study leader Patrick Kelly now of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. “You can see individual galaxies out there, but this star is at least 100 times farther away than the next individual star we can study, except for supernova explosions.”

Gravity as a Natural Cosmic Lens

Scientists found that the Hubble data from MACS J1149+2223 Lensed Star 1 (Icarus) matches the model for a blue supergiant. The agreement shows a remarkably good fit, and indicates that Icarus is approximately twice as hot as the Sun. The solid blue line shows the model spectrum of the blue supergiant, adjusted for the distance to the host galaxy of the highly magnified star. The red diamonds are the actual data measured for Icarus. The observed wavelength of the Balmer discontinuity relative to its intrinsic wavelength (at about 365 nm) is an indicator of the distance to the star. The strength of the Balmer discontinuity depends on the strength of the star's gravity at its surface and its temperature.

Credits: NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI)

The cosmic quirk that makes this star visible is a phenomenon called “gravitational lensing.” Gravity from a foreground, massive cluster of galaxies acts as a natural lens in space, bending and amplifying light. Sometimes light from a single background object appears as multiple images. The light can be highly magnified, making extremely faint and distant objects bright enough to see.

In the case of Icarus, a natural “magnifying glass” is created by a galaxy cluster called MACS J1149+2223. Located about 5 billion light-years from Earth, this massive cluster of galaxies sits between the Earth and the galaxy that contains the distant star. By combining the strength of this gravitational lens with Hubble’s exquisite resolution and sensitivity, astronomers can see and study Icarus.

The team — including Jose Diego of the Instituto de Física de Cantabria, Spain, and Steven Rodney of the University of South Carolina, Columbia — dubbed the star “Icarus,“ after the Greek mythological character who flew too near the Sun on wings of feathers and wax that melted. (Its official name is MACS J1149+2223 Lensed Star 1.) Much like Icarus, the background star had only fleeting glory as seen from Earth: It momentarily skyrocketed to 2,000 times its true brightness when temporarily magnified.

Models suggest that the tremendous brightening was probably from the gravitational amplification of a star, similar in mass to the Sun, in the foreground galaxy cluster when the star moved in front of Icarus. The star’s light is usually magnified by about 600 times due to the foreground cluster’s mass.

Characterizing Icarus

The team had been using Hubble to monitor a supernova in the far-distant spiral galaxy when, in 2016, they spotted a new point of light not far from the magnified supernova. From the position of the new source, they inferred that it should be much more highly magnified than the supernova.

When they analyzed the colors of the light coming from this object, they discovered it was a blue supergiant star. This type of star is much larger, more massive, hotter, and possibly hundreds of thousands of times intrinsically brighter than our Sun. But at this distance, it would still be too far away to see without the amplification of gravitational lensing, even for Hubble.

How did Kelly and his team know Icarus was not another supernova? “The source isn’t getting hotter; it’s not exploding. The light is just being magnified,” said Kelly. “And that’s what you expect from gravitational lensing.”

Looking for Dark Matter

Detecting the amplification of a single, pinpoint background star provided a unique opportunity to test the nature of dark matter in the cluster. Dark matter is an invisible material that makes up most of the universe’s mass.

By probing what’s floating around in the foreground cluster, scientists were able to test one theory that dark matter might be made up mostly of a huge number of primordial black holes formed in the birth of the universe with masses tens of times larger than the Sun. The results of this unique test disfavor that hypothesis, because light fluctuations from the background star, monitored with Hubble for 13 years, would have looked different if there were a swarm of intervening black holes.

When NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is launched, astronomers expect to find many more stars like Icarus. Webb's extraordinary sensitivity will allow measurement of even more details, including whether these distant stars are rotating. Such magnified stars may even be found to be fairly common.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, in Washington, D.C.

NASA's Hubble Portal: www.nasa.gov/hubble

The science paper by J. Diego et al.: http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hvi/uploads/science_paper/file_attachment/319/dm-microscope_Feb22resubmitted.pdf

The science paper by S. Rodney et al.: http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hvi/uploads/science_paper/file_attachment/318/Rodney_accepted_Nature_Astronomy.pdf

The science paper by P. Kelly et al.: http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hvi/uploads/science_paper/file_attachment/310/nature_astro_v3.pdf

The science paper by P. Kelly et al. (Nature Astronomy): http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41550-018-0430-3

The science paper by S. Rodney et al. (Nature Astronomy): http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41550-018-0405-4

Hubble-Europe's Release: http://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1807

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Ofcom destroys 5G conspiracy theory with blunt reality check Jeff ParsonsFriday 17 Apr 2020 2:47 pm

Photo by Touann Gatouillat Vergos on Unsplash

Ofcom has published a damning response to the widely-circulated conspiracy theory that 5G radio waves have something to do with the coronavirus. The communications regulator has said there is ‘no scientific basis or credible evidence’ to suggest 5G technology plays any role in the spread of the Covid-19 virus. It also goes on to condemn the vandalism of telephone masts by idiots believing it to be true. ‘Like previous generations of mobile technology, 5G uses radio spectrum,’ the regulator explained.

Photo by Alexandre Debiève on Unsplash

‘Every device that communicates wirelessly needs spectrum – such as televisions, car key fobs, baby monitors, wireless microphones and satellites. Mobile phones use spectrum to connect to masts so people can make calls and access the internet.’ ‘Following the launch of 5G in the UK last year, we published the results of electromagnetic field (EMF) measurements at 16 UK sites, in February. We have continued to test since then and have now published an updated measurement report, which looks at 22 5G sites in 10 UK cities. ‘At every site, emissions were a small fraction of the levels included in international guidelines. These guidelines are set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).

The maximum measured at any mobile site was approximately 1.5% of those levels – including signals from other mobile technologies such as 3G and 4G. The highest level from 5G signals specifically was 0.039% of the maximum set out in the international guidelines.’ To put it even more simply, your microwave produces more harmful waves than any nearby 5G telephone mast.

Coronavirus: 'Possible to be infected with Covid-19 more than once'

Photo by Fusion Medical Animation on Unsplash

Scientists working on a coronavirus vaccine in Britain hope to start clinical trials towards the end of next week.

The leader of a team working on a vaccine, Professor Sarah Gilbert, from Oxford University said scientists believed it was possible to become infected with Covid-19 more than once.

She added that a vaccine-induced immunity could last longer than the infected-induced immunity.

Greenland Is The Only Country In The World With No Active COVID-19 Cases

The island country gives hope to the current crisis the world is gripped by due to the Coronavirus pandemic. With zero active cases, here’s how Greenland stayed strong and won its battle against the virus. By Upasana Singh

After the recovery of 11 patients, Greenland has become the only place in the world with no new cases of Coronavirus. The National Medical Office in Denmark stated that at present, the country has fully recovered from the pandemic.

The European Union Observer reported that all cases had occurred in the populous capital city, Nuuk. Soon after, the diagnosed citizens went into self-isolation, and have since recovered. With a population of 57,000, the report also noted that Greenland might have been severely hit by Coronavirus due to the lack of healthcare facilities.

Given these circumstances, strict measures have been undertaken by the government to contain the virus. All borders have been closed and a lockdown has been imposed. Private boats and snowmobiles are also not allowed to enter the city. Flights and ships have been barred from entering without special permission. Within the island, it is only allowed to travel between small cities and villages.

                               Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Greenland has a grim history of deadly epidemics brought by the European colonisers in the 18th and 19th centuries. The diseases claimed many lives on the island. The fear of Coronavirus is fuelled by this history and the belief that if the virus is left unchecked, it may infect thousands. It would also be impossible to meet the demands of emergency air transport and intensive healthcare in case the virus spreads to small outlying villages.

As the world continues to fight the ongoing battle against Coronavirus, it is inspiring to know that there a few places that have defeated the disease. The case of Greenland shows us that by following rules of social distancing and self-isolation, we can flatten the curve. So, let’s join the world’s largest island to claim victory!

CORONAVIRUS New Chinese data on asymptomatic coronavirus cases could help world response

By Linda Givetash

China began to release data on asymptomatic coronavirus patients last week, a move experts say will help other countries respond to the pandemic and provide crucial insight into how the virus is spread.

"We have been basing a lot of our models and our predictions off the Chinese data because it was the first major outbreak," Nadia Abuelezam, an epidemiologist at Boston College's Connell School of Nursing, told NBC News.

With the addition of asymptomatic patients -- those infected but showing no symptoms of the disease -- raising the count, she said, "this changes the potential dynamics of the models."

Scientists are still trying to determine the risk posed by asymptomatic cases.

Abuelezam said while people displaying symptoms spread the virus through droplets more likely to be projected while coughing, someone who is not showing the symptoms but still has the virus could transmit the disease in the same way.

A study out of Singapore released Wednesday estimated the transmission rate by healthy-seeming individuals was significant. It found around 10 percent of new infections could be caused by asymptomatic patients.

As a result, the U.S. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention changed its guidance on preventing infections and warned that anyone could be a carrier.nment

MARCH 31, 202003:28

However, asymptomatic people do not appear to be major contributors to the spread of the virus, compared with people who are showing symptoms, Wu said during a State Council Information Office briefing last week.

Cautioning that more research was needed, he said: "If the investigation is not carried out carefully, it will exaggerate the transmission ability of asymptomatic infection.

Asymptomatic patients are nonetheless required to go into mandatory 14-day quarantine as soon as they are identified, according to the National Health Commission.

On Monday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called for more efforts to trace, monitor and treat those infected with COVID-19, even when showing no symptoms, to further reduce the spread of the disease.

His comments came after it was decided at a meeting with his team managing the response to launch an investigation into asymptomatic cases in the city of Wuhan where the outbreak began and Hubei province where the city is based.

Lockdown restrictions are slowly being lifted in the city but fears of a second wave of the disease are running high.

Li's team said they intend to publicize their findings and provide information on targeting efforts to contain the coronavirus. Experts have called on all countries to share as much data as possible.

Staff members line up at attention as they prepare to spray disinfectant at Wuhan Railway Station in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on March 24, 2020.AFP - Getty Images

"Any additional information can help us gain a better picture of what’s going on transmission-wise, what’s going on epidemiologically," Abuelezam said.

"If it's the case that there are many more asymptomatic people and they are transmitting it to other people, then that should motivate us to expand testing," she added, pointing out that it could change government strategies on mitigating the spread of the disease.

Dr. Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, agreed that the more information available, the better.

"We need to broaden our scope of data and not be so arrogant to think we really understand what's going on based on the first two common symptoms that's coming out of China," said Spector, who is part of a team collecting data from over 2 million people in the United Kingdom using a COVID-19 symptom tracking app that is also available in the United States,

Every discovery can influence not just how governments are reacting to the virus, but how doctors are approaching it in their clinics, Spector added.

A trend in symptoms in Britain can inform whether a doctor in another country suspects a patient has the virus if they're presenting similar symptoms, he said.

Both Abuelezam and Spector agreed that missing data and the different ways that countries recorded data were hampering research.

Testing in many jurisdictions, including the U.S., is limited to people who are already sick and seeking care — not those who may feel fine or treating their symptoms at home, Abuelezam said.

Then, there's political influence affecting the data, as some countries are "trying to pretend their death rates are better than other people’s," Spector said.

"We need to move away from that," he added. "It’s very much by being open and sharing data that we can make big progress here."

Linda Givetash

Linda Givetash is a London-based producer for NBC News. 

Siberian Region Says They’re Coronavirus-Free Thanks To A 2,400-Year-Old Mummy By Natasha Ishak

Archaeologists believe the mummy may have been a healer or priestess when she was alive.

Screenshot Altai News/YoutubeThe Altai republic of the southern Siberian territory has not recorded any infections from the current coronavirus outbreak. Some say it is due to the protection of an ancient mummy known as the Princess of Ukok or the Siberian Ice Maiden.

Like the rest of the world, Russia has been hard hit by the coronavirus outbreak, except for its Altai region in southern Siberia where zero COVID-19 cases have been identified so far.

According to locals, the region has been spared from the virus thanks to protection from a mysterious ancient mummy kept in a museum in Gorno-Altaisk, the capital of  the Altai republic.As The Moscow Times reports, the 2,400-year-old mummy was excavated from its original burial ground within the area of the Siberian Permafrost in 1993.

Since then locals believe that the Siberian Ice Maiden — the moniker which the mummy has become known under — has provided divine protection to the region, including during the global outbreak.

No Confirmed Cases Of COVID-19

Alexander TyryshkinAfter years of being removed from the Altai region, following a number of mysterious misfortunes, the Princess of Ukok was returned.

Regional Deputy Yerzhanat Begenov told the press there had been no cases of the coronavirus detected among the region’s 220,000 people due to the government’s early implementation of self-isolation. They also enacted restrictions on land and air traffic with neighboring regions.

But Begenov also said that the region was unique because it had the protection of the mummy princess.

“We have protection. The Altai people worship the mummy, we do treasure it,” Begenov told local news outlet Podyom. “When the mummy was taken to Novosibirsk, we had an earthquake here, and they say that it happened because the mummy was taken away, we shouldn’t have touched her.”

Begenov of course is speaking of the controversial removal of the mummy from the sacred burial mounds, known as kurgans, in the remote Ukok Plateau when the Iron Age corpse was first uncovered.

The Altai people’s shamans warned government officials that removing the mummy’s remains from the tomb would spur retaliation from spiritual forces.

Like magic, not long after the Siberian Ice Maiden was moved to Novosibirsk, the Altai region was hit by a major earthquake. The eerily timed natural disaster seemed to prove the mummy’s power.

WikipediaThe Altai Princess’s tattoos remain clearly visible after 2,400 years.

The mummy, also known as the Princess of Ukok and Altai Princess, was identified as a young woman from the nomadic Pazyryk tribe. This tribe’s people were closely related to the Scythian peoples that once populated the Eurasian steppes sometime between the 7th and 3rd centuries B.C.

The true identity of the mummy is still somewhat a mystery. The mummy is covered in well-preserved tattoos on both shoulders all the way to the wrist.

“It is a phenomenal level of tattoo art. Incredible,’ said Natalia Polosmak, the lead archaeologist who discovered the mummy. One of the tattoos on the mummy’s left shoulder appears to be a mythological hybrid of a deer with a griffon’s beak and Capricorn antlers.

Furthermore, the mummy was found buried with a bevy of ornaments and six horses — a burial custom found in other cultures of the world — which led archaeologists to suspect that she may have been a healer or high priestess in her life.

After the Siberian Ice Maiden’s controversial removal, it was returned to the Altai region and placed in a special mausoleum at the Anokhin National Museum in 2012.

Priestess Mummy With Powers

Siberian TimesArtist’s rendition of the Siberian Ice Maiden during her life.

Since the discovery of the Siberian Ice Maiden in 1993, locals have invested a lot of faith in the mummy’s powers and shown much respect for the divinity they believe it carries.

 Experts hailed the finding as one of the most important archaeological moments of modern times.

The Altai shamans declared that the mummy belonged to the Altai Princess Ochi-Bala or White Lady of Ak-Kadyn whose corpse was placed at the Ukok Plateau — considered the holiest place of the native people of the Altai Mountain — to protect the gateway to the nether world.

Besides the six bridled horses found in the mummy’s tomb site, archaeologists also discovered a meal of sheep and horse meat by her side. They also found ornaments of wood, felt, bronze, gold, and, interestingly, a small container of cannabis.

Out of respect for the customs of the Altai Indigenous tribes, the Siberian Ice Maiden’s remains can only be viewed by museum visitors during the new moon.

Wikimedia CommonsThe grave site of the Princess of Ukok.

The priestess’ burial was meant to prevent the “penetration of Evil from the lower worlds” which is why removing the remains was predicted to have catastrophic consequences.

Not only did the removal of the remains cause a major earthquake in Altai, but a series of inexplicable misfortunes also followed the priestess mummy wherever it went.

Some say it is what caused the crash of the chopper that had been transporting her remains out of Altai, though the mummy itself was unharmed. Then, when it arrived in Novosibirsk, her remarkably well-preserved corpse suddenly began to decompose.

There is also the suspicion that the Siberian Ice Maiden is capable of influencing political affairs of the world. Many Altai elders believe it was what spurred Russia’s constitutional crisis in 1993 and the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

Wikimedia CommonsThe Seminksi Pass in the Altai region.

One of the biggest — and perhaps most surprising — political affairs believed to be affected by the mummy priestess was the 2016 US presidential election. They believe that the Princess of Ukok may have cursed Hillary Clinton.

In November 1997, then-first lady Hillary Clinton visited Russia during her solo tour to promote human rights initiatives around the globe.

One of her stops was in the city of Novosibirsk where the priestess mummy was kept. As customary during diplomatic visits, local officials hosted Clinton with a visit to several spots around the city, including an exclusive viewing of the Siberian Ice Maiden.

As the story goes, a series of misfortunes struck local officials involved with Clinton’s Novosibirsk tour.

Then, two months after Clinton’s fateful meeting with the priestess mummy, the Bill Clinton scandal broke, causing ripple effects that would cascade through to the 2016 election — as the “mummy’s curse” would have some believe.

Whether the divine powers of the Siberian Ice Maiden are real or not, maybe it is best to leave such ancient relics alone.