Wed Jan 10‚ 2024 - 10:35 pm EST (LifeSiteNews) — By now you may have heard the news about a Canadian journalist having been arrested aggressively by a federal officer while trying to ask Deputy Prime…

Less than a week before the first contest in the GOP presidential nominating process‚ Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley faced off in a CNN debate in Des Moines‚ Iowa‚…

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Way back when the cosmos was only five billion years old‚ a powerful explosion happened in a group of young galaxies halfway across the Universe. It sent out a blast of radiation from one member of that distant galaxy group. On June 10‚ 2022‚ the Square Kilometer Array pathfinder telescope in Australia picked up a fast radio burst (FRB) emanating from the site. The Very Large Telescope in Chile confirmed its distance. Now‚ Hubble Space Telescope provides a look at the specific galaxy where the FRB originated. It’s kinda weird. Hubble’s view suggests that the event‚ called FRB 20220610A‚ happened in a galaxy-rich part of the Universe. That’s pretty unexpected since most FRBs happen in isolated galaxies‚ not necessarily in clusters. That alone makes this event a “weirdo” outlier in the annals of fast radio burst detections. “It required Hubble’s keen sharpness and sensitivity to pinpoint exactly where the FRB came from‚” said astronomer Alexa Gordon of Northwestern University in Evanston‚ Illinois. “Without Hubble’s imaging‚ it would still remain a mystery as to whether this was originating from one monolithic galaxy or some type of interacting system. It’s these types of environments – these weird ones – that are driving us toward better understanding the mystery of FRBs.” Fast Radio Bursts Pose a Puzzling Mystery A fast radio burst is just what it sounds like: a huge blast of radio waves‚ accompanied by a visible-light component. FRBs can outshine a galaxy for a very short time‚ which catches astronomers’ attention. They’ve been observed for decades and the first one was discovered in 2007. Astronomers still aren’t sure exactly what sets them off. “We are ultimately trying to answer the questions: What causes them? What are their progenitors and what are their origins? The Hubble observations provide a spectacular view of the surprising types of environments that give rise to these mysterious events‚” said co-investigator Wen-fai Fong‚ also of Northwestern University. Of course‚ there are a lot of theories about the origins of these events. Black holes or neutron stars may play a role in creating these outbursts. An FRB may get stirred up in an intense neutron star called a magnetar. These objects exist in various “flavors”‚ so their FRBs might also have different aspects. An artist’s impression of the ultra-long period magnetar—a rare type of star with extremely strong magnetic fields that can produce powerful bursts of energy. Credit: ICRAR Magnetars have incredibly strong‚ twisted magnetic fields (hence the name magnetar). Sometimes those magnetic fields get so twisted that they break and reconnect. This happens on other stars and on the Sun‚ although not at the same intensity as a magnetar. The whole process‚ from snap to reconnection releases a tremendous amount of energy. On a magnetar‚ the “snap” could be what generates the flash of light and release of radio waves that characterize a FRB. The heat released would vaporize any nearby material‚ such as gas and dust. Solving the Mystery of FRB Origins If a magnetar isn’t involved in every FRB‚ maybe black collisions play a role. Or‚ it’s possible that some interaction between a black hole and a massive object orbiting around it could cause one of these explosions. The merger of neutron stars could do it‚ too. At least‚ those are two other theories to explain these blasts. Some astronomers also suggest that very energetic and huge supernova explosions might be enough to create an FRB. And‚ there are a variety of other ideas‚ involving black holes‚ pulsars‚ and dark matter. To get to the root cause of FRBs‚ astronomers need to observe more of them at high resolution. As it is now‚ when the signals from one hit Earth‚ radio telescopes gather the first data. Then‚ once astronomers figure out the location‚ they send information to various ground-based and orbiting telescopes. Those observatories can then focus on the other wavelengths of light coming from the explosion. Hubble Space Telescope plays a crucial role in delivering the sharpest possible images of the distant regions of space where FRBs occur. “We just need to keep finding more of these FRBs‚ both nearby and far away‚ and in all these different types of environments‚” said Gordon. In addition‚ astronomers want to know what are most likely environments for FRBs. Are most of them confined to individual‚ isolated galaxies? Or‚ can they occur in the galaxy cluster neighborhood? Also‚ since these events seem to occur at great distances‚ that means they happened early in cosmic history. The most distant one so far sent its light across 8 billion light-years to reach us. What happened in their galaxies in those early epochs to spur on the incredible blasts of energy released? These and other questions await further observations of FRBs. For More Information Hubble Finds Weird Home of Farthest Fast Radio BurstA Fast Radio Burst in a Compact Galaxy Group at z~1 The post Hubble Shows That a Fast Radio Burst Came From a Giant Group of Galaxies appeared first on Universe Today.

Do planets form faster than we thought?

Donald Trump again counterprogrammed a Republican presidential debate Wednesday night‚ skipping another opportunity as the front-runner to take on his GOP challengers.  “Remember this: Our ultimate retribution is success‚” Trump said during one memorable moment as he appeared live on Fox News Channel for town hall-style questions from an audience while CNN aired a fifth official debate. This time‚ Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sparred with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley‚ who was Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations‚ as two of CNN’s three qualifying candidates. Trump decided not to appear‚ although both events occurred in Des Moines ahead of Monday’s Iowa caucuses. A fourth remaining Republican presidential candidate‚ entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy‚ did an online event with podcaster Tim Pool. Another contender‚ former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie‚ suspended his campaign earlier Wednesday. Here are six big takeaways from Trump’s debate-skipping town hall.  1. ‘You Have Chaos Now’ Trump was asked about concerns and accusations that he would be the “chaos” candidate.  “You have chaos now‚” Trump responded‚ referring to the Biden administration. “We have chaos at the border.” He later added: “We now have the worst border in history. We had the best border.” Trump also talked about the various investigations‚ past and present‚ targeting him.  “Most of the chaos was caused by the Democrats constantly coming after me‚” Trump said‚ pointing to the “Russian collusion” accusations and his impeachment over a phone call to Ukraine’s president.  Trump said there was less chaos in the world when he was in the White House. “I didn’t have any wars‚” he said.   “I think bedlam is Joe Biden‚” he said. 2. ‘Not Going to Be a Dictator’ Trump also sought to tamp down Democrat attacks that he would become a dictator if elected to another term.  Fox’s town hall event with the former president was hosted by news anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. In a similar event Dec. 5 hosted by popular Fox host Sean Hannity‚ Trump joked about being a dictator only on his first day back as president‚ but not after that.  “We are closing the border and drilling‚ drilling‚ drilling. Other than that‚ I am not a dictator‚” Trump told Hannity.   Democrats and some in the media seized on the sound bite. Trump was more clear during the Wednesday night forum. He blamed the media for distorting a joke. “The press picks it up‚ I say‚ ‘I’m going to be a dictator for one day‚'” Trump said. “They cut it to say‚ ‘I’m going to be a dictator.’ But they cut the rest of the sentence.” He continued: I am not going to be a dictator. I am going to manage‚ like we did. We were so successful that the country was coming together. It was actually coming together and coming together well. It was a beautiful thing to see‚ and we’re going to do that again. Baier brought up President Joe Biden’s insistence in a speech Friday that Trump declined to say that political violence isn’t acceptable.  “Well‚ of course that’s right‚” Trump quickly responded to the idea that there is no place for political violence in America.  3. ‘Didn’t Actually Have a Shutdown’ During COVID-19 An audience member who identified herself as the owner of a small business asked Trump if he would ever shut down the economy‚ similar to what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Trump asserted that he didn’t favor a national shutdown of the economy during the pandemic‚ but allowed states and their elected officials to decide what to do.  “I’m a federalist in a sense‚ because that’s the federalist way‚” Trump said of his deference to the states. “No‚ I didn’t actually have a shutdown‚ despite the fact that some people wanted to and some people didn’t want to. But we had some great governors. The governors that did the best job were Republican governors‚ and they were the ones that didn’t shut down.” Trump also denied that he listened that much to Dr. Anthony Fauci‚ the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases‚ who advised the Trump administration on COVID-19 and took on a greater role in the Biden administration.  Many conservatives criticized Trump for following Fauci’s advice.  “Dr. Fauci was not a huge focus in my administration‚” Trump said. “He wasn’t a big factor with me. He was a really big factor‚ after I left‚ with Biden.” Also on the economy‚ Trump said his administration would have begun paying down the national debt had not COVID-19 surfaced and required an infusion of government spending to avoid a depression. He used energy policy as an example of how he would help businesses as well as individual taxpayers. “I’m going to cut their energy prices in half‚” he said of businesses‚ by not buying into what he called “the crazy electric car mandate” and “the green new scam.” Instead‚ he promised to focus on achieving “energy dominance” rather than only “energy independence.” 4. ‘Happen to Be for Exceptions’ on Abortion One audience member praised Trump for his role in the Supreme Court’s overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision that nationalized abortion on demand. But she pressed the former president on criticizing Iowa’s heartbeat law and asked for clarity on the life issue.  “You wouldn’t even be talking about that question‚ because for 54 years they were trying to get Roe v. Wade terminated. And I did it‚ and I’m proud to have done it‚” Trump said‚ to applause.  However‚ Trump said‚ he was for exceptions to allow abortion.  “I happen to be for exceptions—like Ronald Reagan—the life of the mother‚ rape‚ and incest‚” he said.  “We still have to win elections. Otherwise‚ we will be back where we were‚” Trump added of the divisive abortion issue.  Biden targeted Trump on X‚ the social media platform formerly known as Twitter‚ for taking credit for overturning Roe v. Wade. “Just like he said‚ he did it‚” Biden posted. Just like he said: he did it. https://t.co/A0DbnecLuN— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 11‚ 2024 5. ‘Largest Deportation Effort’ Trump got a question from the audience about illegal immigration and border security. At one point‚ he said that “18 million people” will have entered the U.S. unlawfully by the time Biden’s four-year term ends. “It’s not sustainable for our country‚” the former president said. “We have millions and millions of people here. It is not sustainable. Did you see in New York City where they are getting the regular students out [of school] and they are putting migrants in their place?”   “We are going to have the largest deportation effort in the history of our country. We are bringing everybody back to where they came from. We have no choice‚” Trump said to applause.  Trump added‚ in response to a question‚ that so-called sanctuary cities and counties will go away because Democrat mayors and county executives can’t sustain them. He referred to New York Mayor Eric Adams‚ a Democrat who has been critical of federal immigration policies under Biden and the number of illegal aliens who have arrived in his city.  6. ‘Ultimate Retribution Is Success’ Baier pressed Trump about previous references to “retribution” against political opponents‚ asking how much of a second term “would be about looking forward?” Trump first defended the notion of retribution.  “Look at what they did: the Russia-Russia-Russia hoax‚ the FBI-Twitter hoax‚ the 51 intelligence agents hoax. All of these different hoaxes that they did‚” Trump said. “A lot of people would say that’s probably quite normal.” But the former president quickly said he would focus on the economy if elected again.  “I’m not going to have time for retribution‚” Trump said. “We’re going to make this country so successful again‚ I’m not going to have time for retribution. And remember this: Our ultimate retribution is success.” At one point‚ Trump said a depression could occur if Biden wins reelection.  “I think if I wasn’t leading‚ the stock market would be 25 points lower‚” Trump said.  A crash would not happen on his watch‚ he said‚ referencing President Herbert Hoover‚ who was in office during the stock market crash of 1929 that led to the Great Depression.  “I don’t want to be Herbert Hoover‚ and I won’t be Herbert Hoover‚” Trump said.  Ken McIntyre contributed to this report. Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post 6 Top Takeaways From Trump’s Debate-Skipping Town Hall appeared first on The Daily Signal.

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On January 15‚ 2009‚ US Airways Flight 1549 made an emergency water landing in the Hudson River — and all 155 people onboard survived. The post Why The Miracle On The Hudson Was Truly As Miraculous As It Seemed appeared first on All That's Interesting.