SQ4RD-#4 Article:

Merging Black Holes Trapped in Galactic Death SpiralDec 3, 2013 03:33 PM ET // by Ian O'Neill

We now know that the vast majority of galaxies have supermassive black hole behemoths living in their cores. We also suspect that they grow when their host galaxies merge with other galaxies, eventually spawning the mother of all growth spurts: black hole mergers — when bigger black holes with masses millions or even billions of times the mass of the sun are created. Now, with the help of NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), two supermassive black holes have been discovered, caught in the middle of a merging dance in the center of a galaxy 3.8 billion light-years away.

ANALYSIS: Where Are All the ‘Inbetweener’ Black Holes?

WISE’s primary mission came to an end in 2011 after its coolant ran dry, but a new batch of data has just been released and an oddity was discovered. Assumed to be a lively star-forming region,

astronomers soon realized the infrared object known as WISE J233237.05-505643.5 had some weird properties. With the help of followup studies by the Australian Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) near Narrabri, Australia, and the Gemini South observatory in Chile, the real nature of the object was unraveled.

“At first we thought this galaxy’s unusual properties seen by WISE might mean it was forming new stars at a furious rate,” said WISE project manager Peter Eisenhardt, at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. “But on closer inspection, it looks more like the death spiral of merging giant black holes.”

When active black holes “feed” on surrounding matter in galactic hubs, a superheated plasma forms around the black hole’s event horizon. Through complex physics in the intense relativistic environment that are not yet fully understood, jets blast from the poles of the spinning black hole, generating powerful emissions. In the case of WISE J233237.05-505643.5, it appears that two black holes are orbiting one another, separated by only a few light-years (which is very close considering the gigantic masses of these huge multi-million solar mass black holes), and one of the black hole’s jets are being “wiggled” by the gravitational interactions with its merging partner.

PHOTOS: Probing a Spinning Black Hole

“We think the jet of one black hole is being wiggled by the other, like a dance with ribbons,” said Chao-Wei Tsai, of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, lead author of this research set to appear in a paper to be published in the Dec. 10 issue of Astrophysical Journal. “If so, it is likely the two black holes are fairly close and gravitationally entwined.”

There’s only one way this extreme cosmic dance will end — both black holes will eventually spiral together, losing energy and momentum to gravitational waves rippling from their spacetime warping, collide and merge to form an even bigger black hole.

Black hole mergers are a rare event to observe and only a few candidates have been found. Some black hole merger candidates have been identified, but this example is the most distant discovered to date. Following the WISE discovery of the black hole pair, radio emission data from the ATCA spotted the strange zig-zag pattern one of the black holes’ jets seemed to be producing. Then, from infrared/optical data gathered by Gemini South, the anomalous jet wiggle was confirmed. Clumpiness in material surrounding one of the suspected black holes also indicates the local region is being perturbed by the gravitational presence of another black hole.

ANALYSIS: How Do Supermassive Black Holes Get So Fat?

According to a JPL news release, astronomers are not sure how close the merging black holes are, only that this event will inevitably provide a privileged window into supermassive black hole evolution at a time just before their masses catastrophically combine.

“We note some caution in interpreting this mysterious system,” said JPL’s Daniel Stern, a co-author of the study. “There are several extremely unusual properties to this system, from the

multiple radio jets to the Gemini data, which indicate a highly perturbed disk of accreting material around the black hole, or holes. Two merging black holes, which should be a common event in the universe, would appear to be simplest explanation to explain all the current observations.”

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

SOURCE: http://news.discovery.com/space/astronomy/merging-black-holes-trapped-in-galactic-death-spiral-131203.htm

SQ4RD-#5 Article:

Flying Power Plant Would Suck Energy From SkyDec 3, 2013 02:23 PM ET // by Nic Halverson

If UK-based New Wave Energy has its way, drones simply won’t be delivering Amazon boxes to doorsteps, they’ll also be charging the gizmos and gadgets within those packages.

PHOTOS: 8 Totally Cool Uses For Drones

New Wave’s idea is to create energy harvesting drones equipped with solar panels and small wind turbines that fly to around 50,000 feet where wind patterns are more reliable and solar production is greater. After collecting solar and wind energy, the drones would beam that energy via microwaves back to antennas on the Earth’s surface, all while using a portion of that electricity to keep themselves aloft. The ground-based antennas would then convert the microwave energy into electricity and pump it into the grid.

Each drone is capable of generating 50 kW of power. That may not be enough juice to turn the lights back on during a citywide blackout, but it might be enough to power a small neighborhood. Regardless, every little bit of electricity helps, especially during natural disasters like Hurricanes Sandy and Katrina. In those cases, the drone’s mobile deployment could have been a real asset for those without power.

BLOG: Drones To Deliver Amazon Goods To Doorsteps

New Wave is slated to launch a Kickstarter campaign soon, with an intended goal of $500,000. If that amount is reached, the electricity-generating drones could take to the skies in as little as six months.

SOURCE: http://news.discovery.com/tech/alternative-power-sources/flying-power-plant-would-suck-energy-from-sky-131203.htm