BEACON TRANSCRIPT – NASA’s Galileo robotic spacecraft reached Jupiter and its planetary system more than 20 years ago and sent back treasure droves of data.

Even two decades later, scientists are still making new discoveries after returning to examine the probe’s information. The latest findings concern and target the biggest moon of Jupiter, Ganymede.

These latest discoveries are available in a paper released in the AGU Journal Geophysical Research Letters. 

 

A Brief Look at the Galileo Mission

 

It was Dec. 7, 1995, when the Galileo spacecraft successfully parked itself in orbit around the largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter. The probe operated in the Jovian system for several years. During this period, it made thousands of observation of Jupiter and its system of 16 primary moons and smaller satellites.

Of particular interest to planetary scientists was the biggest moon of Jupiter. Even though Galileo had sent back a treasure trove of data about Ganymede, it wasn’t until this year that scientists made a surprising discovery.

Researchers established that the giant Jupiter companion was doing something no other moon in the solar system can. Namely, Ganymede seems to be generating its own magnetic field. Only planets and stars were thought to possess a magnetosphere, until now.

 

 

 

But that wasn’t all. It seems that Jupiter’s largest moon may also be harboring a vast ocean beneath its surface. Still, scientists have been suspecting this since data from the Hubble Space Telescope found indications of liquid on the moon back in 2015.

Now, the 20-years-old information from the Galileo mission seems to be providing substantial corroborating evidence that such an ocean might actually exist.

Glyn Collison was the head of the Galileo Mission for NASA. He stated that the liquid beneath the surface of Ganymede is parked between two layers of ice. These vast sheets of ice cover the rocky mantle of the giant moon. This would make this hidden ocean the largest in the solar system detected as of yet.

Collison said it’s entirely possible that the subsurface ocean might harbor lifeforms. This is because it might be composed of salt water. It could also be deep enough to be warmed by the Ganymedian core of molten iron-nickel.

 

Image Source: Pixabay

 

BEACON TRANSCRIPT – Magnificent tapestries created around 1,000 years ago and which used to adorn the walls of Medieval castles might help modern-day astronomers determine if the still-theoretical Planet Nine actually exists somewhere near our solar system.

 

Some such Medieval tapestries depict comets in the skies over scenes of knights, kings, armies, and life in the Middle Ages, in general. One such famous example is the Bayeux Tapestry, completed in 1077 A.D. This celebrates the exploits of William the Conqueror. The tapestry is believed to feature Halley’s Comet in an upper border of its cloth.

 

Weaving Together Medieval Tapestries and Scrolls with Modern Research

 

Astronomers can use orbital mechanics to plot the precise position of known comets. As such, they can tell where these were located at any time in history. Then, such information can be compared to present-day data. Furthermore, Medieval tapestries were almost always carefully dated by their creators.

The positions of the comets depicted in Medieval tapestries and old scrolls are being compared to all available computer models for the so-called Planet Nine.

If such a planet does, indeed, exist, these old sources could reveal new information. Namely, the gravitational perturbations in the orbits of Medieval comets may be detectable. This could point to the existence of the mysterious planet.

Planet Nine must not be confused with Pluto. Of course, the 9th planet in our solar system used to be Pluto. However, this was demoted to dwarf planet status in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union.

The possibility of this new 9th planet was proposed back in 2014. Its theoretical existence is largely based on observations of planetoids, ice balls, and comets in the Oort Cloud. This is a collection of objects which surround our Sun at extreme distances.

Gravitation influences observed in Oort Cloud objects suggest the existence of a yet-to-be-discovered planet somewhere in our solar neighborhood. This would have to have an orbit around the Sun some 20 times farther than that of Neptune. It would also have a mass some 10 times that of our planet.

Both astronomers and historians acknowledge the astute observation skills of Middle Age Anglo-Saxon scholars. Their observations can be traced and studied throughout a variety of old scrolls. The data they collected about comets centuries ago might prove to be useful even in our days.

 

Image Source: Wikimedia

 

BEACON TRANSCRIPT – Given how vast and ever-expanding our Universe is, it’s unlikely we’ll ever have a 100% complete understanding of everything that’s out there. Even so, some scientists are hoping to give us a better idea.

 

One way of doing so is by creating a large-scale map of the old Universe. This never before seen view is also pointing out the possible existence of thousands of previously unknown early galaxies.

Map of the Universe Charts Thousands of Unknown Early Galaxies

 

At Lancaster University, Dr. David Sobral and his team put together a large-scale map of the Universe as it may have looked between 11 and 13 billion years ago. They did so by using observational data collected over numerous past studies. The Isaac Newton and Subaru Telescopes were also used to chart their progress.

The result was the discovery of nearly 4,000 unknown or early galaxies. Given how distant these galaxies were, any light shining from them that allows us to see where they’re located would be billions of years old by the time it reached Earth or came within the range of our telescopes.

As a result, this map of the Universe had no choice but to be somewhat outdated in terms of what it charts. This may actually be preferable to one only outlining newer fixtures, however.

This is because being able to observe so many ancient galaxies could benefit our understanding of the Universe as a whole. Using special camera filters, the researchers were able to divide the Universe they observed into 16 distinct epochs. In doing so, they were able to literally research it at different times.

Thousands of new galaxies were discovered this way. Also, all of them were seen to originate shortly after the Big Bang. Researching these galaxies will no doubt lead to many new discoveries regarding how the Universe formed.

It may also help better understand the differences between these older galaxies and our own. This map has only scratched the surface of what’s been uncovered so far. So there’s no telling just what these discoveries will reveal to us in the future.

Current research findings were published in two separate papers, both released in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

 

Image Source: Wikimedia

 

BEACON TRANSCRIPT – While it can be difficult to study from the Milky Way from the inside, scientists now believe that our galaxy is continuing on its path of slow expansion.

It has long been known that galaxies commonly absorb other satellites and galaxies which in turn causes them to expand. However, the latest study suggests that the outward edges of the Milky Way are expanding by new growth, not just through assimilation. The findings were presented on April 3 at the 2018 European Week of Astronomy and Space Science in Liverpool, U.K.

 

The Science Behind the Expansion of the Milky Way 

 

Cristina Martínez-Lombilla, Ignacio Trujillo Cabrera, and Johan H. Knapen of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias are the researchers who are contributing to this new understanding of galaxy expansion.

By measuring objects in other galaxies to review for vertical and radial motion in these galaxies, the team was able to infer the migration times of stars. Then, they then applied this to the star-forming edges of our galaxy. In doing so, they arrived at the conclusion that the Milky Way is still expanding.

By the estimates of the researchers, the galaxy is expanding slowly, at approximately a 5% growth rate. In our galaxy’s case, this growth will not be unlimited. Specialists are anticipating that the Milky Way and its neighboring galaxy, Andromeda, will collide. It is believed that this will cause the two universes to merge in approximately 4 billion years.

These findings are fascinating, as they imply that as long the materials for star formation exist in a galaxy, this later will continue expanding with its’ own growth pattern. This could be happening alongside the growth by assimilation and absorption of other galaxies process.

The discovery opens new avenues for research, as the growth is dependent on the materials existing within the galaxy. Although used for expansion, it could nonetheless be assumed that this material is not unlimited. Other galaxies form in different shapes as well, and this could affect the analysis of growth in them.

Image Source: Wikimedia

BEACON TRANSCRIPT – George North was a nobleman at Queen Elizabeth I’s court in the late 1500s. His ambitions drove him, among others, to write a manuscript that would never see the light of day. This was about the frequent rebellions against the monarchy. It might have also been the source of inspiration for several Shakespeare plays. 

The name North gave to his work was A Brief Discourse of Rebellion and Rebels, and it has been lying abandoned on a dusty shelf in The British Library since 1933. However, according to recent reports, a recent book might shock everyone as it comes with a new theory. According to this, William Shakespeare himself drew inspiration from that old manuscript.

Dennis McCarthy and June Schlueter are the authors of this book which connects North’s obscure work to 11 of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. Macbeth, King Lear, and Richard III are among them.

The authors reportedly used a software called WCopyfind, which teachers usually use when they want to catch dishonest students.

Now, it’s important to acknowledge the fact that the authors are not saying that Shakespeare copied this manuscript. However, they point out that he surely drew some inspiration from its style and topics.

Are 11 Shakespeare Plays Indeed Inspired by an Obscure Manuscript?

Dennis McCarthy is the lead of this rather unusual research project. It all began back in 2006 when he became interested in finding out the source of inspiration for some of the most famous Shakespeare plays.

McCarthy reportedly couldn’t believe his eyes when he stumbled upon a 1927 auction catalog. This suggested that people should compare North’s Discourse to Shakespeare’s works.

After asking June Schlueter to help him, the pair tracked back the manuscript and found it in The British Library. Upon analyzing it with the plagiarism software, McCarthy and Schlueter detected some very rare words that were used in the works of both authors.

It seems that the most compelling proof of a possible plagiarism lays in the description of Jack Cade. In 1450, he led a failed rebellion against Henry VI. In the play Henry VI, Shakespeare describes the king’s death in great detail. At the same time, North used a similar description for Cade in his manuscript, along with the descriptions of two other rebels.

For years, famous figures like Charlie Chaplin and Mark Twain, as well as specialists argued that William Shakespeare was nothing else but a name on the cover of a book.

The Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship, “group theories” and Christopher Marlowe being the real author are just some of the most famous alternative candidates.

As it is, the authenticity of the Bard’s world-famous works might never be proven.

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