Huge BLACK HOLE is the FURTHEST One Ever Found and 800X the Mass of Our Sun

By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronomers have discovered a super-size black hole harkening back to almost the dawn of creation.

It's the farthest black hole ever found.

A team led by the Carnegie Observatories' Eduardo Banados reported in the journal Nature on Wednesday that the black hole lies in a quasar dating to 690 million years of the Big Bang. That means the light from this quasar has been traveling our way for more than 13 billion years.

Banados said the quasar provides a unique baby picture of the universe when it was just 5 percent of its current age.

It would be like seeing photos of a 50-year-old man when he was 2 1/2 years old, according to Banados.

"This discovery opens up an exciting new window to understand the early universe," he said in an email from Pasadena, California.

Quasars are incredibly bright objects deep in the cosmos, powered by black holes devouring everything around them. That makes them perfect candidates for unraveling the mysteries of the earliest cosmic times.

The black hole in this newest, most distant quasar is 800 million times the mass of our sun.

Much bigger black holes are out there, but none so far away — at least among those found so far. These larger black holes have had more time to grow in the hearts of galaxies since the Big Bang, compared with the young one just observed.

"The new quasar is itself one of the first galaxies, and yet it already harbors a behemoth black hole as massive as others in the present-day universe," co-author Xiaohui Fan of the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory said in a statement.

Around the time of this newest quasar, the universe was emerging from a so-called Dark Ages. Stars and galaxies were first appearing and their radiation ionizing the surrounding hydrogen gas to illuminate the cosmos.

Banados suspects there are more examples like this out there, between 20 and 100.

"The newfound quasar is so luminous and evolved that I would be surprised if this was the first quasar ever formed," Banados said. "The universe is enormous and searching for these very rare objects is like looking for the needle in the haystack."

Only one other quasar has been found in this ultra-distant category, despite extensive scanning. This newest quasar beats that previous record-holder by about 60 million years.

Still on the lookout, astronomers are uncertain how close they'll get to the actual beginning of time, 13.8 billion years ago.

Banados and his team used the Carnegie's Magellan telescopes in Chile, supported by observatories in Hawaii, the American Southwest and the French Alps.

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Sources:

http://www.nature.com/nature

The Deadly Enigma of the Devil's Sea

We all have to respect the ocean; not just because it is the foundation of many forms of life, but because this massive body of water can also be quite ruthless when it comes to claiming lives. Many of us know better than to underestimate how many human lives could be lost in an ocean-related tragedy, and needless to say, mankind has had too many of them. Thousands of years of maritime history can attest to the harsh realities that humans have had to face when navigating through Earth’s “final frontier.” 
 
While the vast expanse of the Ocean promises treasures just as much as it forbodes tragedies, certain parts of the planet's hydrosphere pose deadlier dangers to those who dare pass through their waters compared to other sea and ocean regions. And one of those most dangerous stretches of water which is shrouded in curious mystery can be found in the gigantic Pacific Ocean. This region of the Pacific goes by many names. Aside from “The Dragon’s Triangle,” it is also referred to as the “Devil’s Sea,” “Formosa or Taiwan Triangle,” and the “Pacific Bermuda Triangle.” 

The name “Dragon’s Triangle” can be traced back to old Chinese fables which originated from around 1000 BCE. These tales spoke of dragons that lived underwater and, from time to time, capsized and sank naval vessels along with the seamen aboard them for these mythical creatures’ consumption and to satisfy their hunger.

On the other hand, the oceanic area’s name the “Devil’s Sea” or “Ma-No Umi” in Japanese was actually coined by the natives of Japan a long time ago because of the local legends that speak of the area’s notoriety in subduing and consuming even the strongest and the most buoyant of ships, and for being the home of terrifying sea monsters that drowned people to death. 

The “Dragon’s Triangle” is located in the region of the Pacific Ocean near the Japanese volcanic island of Miyake, which is just around 100 kilometers south of Japan’s capital, Tokyo. It is a triangle-shaped danger zone found between the coast of Japan and the Islands of Bonin, and it covers a large part of the Philippine Sea. Although this region is well-known by Japanese fishers, the Devil’s Sea is still not officially labeled on nautical maps, and reports on its size and the area it occupies have provided conflicting estimations that has yet to be reconciled conclusively. 

From the names referring to this part of the Pacific, we can already tell that there is something dangerous about this oceanic area. The reason why people regard the Dragon’s Triangle as a deadly enigma is because of reports of its unpredictable and sometimes violent weather. There are also claims of random and unexplained occurrences of ocean phenomena such as maelstroms, ocean swells, and rogue waves. Another interesting reason is the alleged disappearances of several maritime vessels and aircraft along with many other strange events in the region. 

Because of the perils, it poses to the vessels and the seafaring individuals that pass through it, the Dragon’s Triangle has gained significant notoriety that Japanese authorities went so far as to brand it as hazardous for marine travel and expeditions. 

What is also fascinating about the Dragon’s Triangle that makes it worthy of discussion is that it is one of the 12 Vile Vortices that exist today. Paranormal expert Ivan Sanderson coined the term “vile vortex” in his 1972 article titled “The 12 Devil’s Graveyards Around the World.” A vile vortex is an area found in different parts of the world, where the pull of Earth’s electromagnetic waves is thought to be at its strongest. Five of these vortices are situated on the same latitude below the equator, while five of them are on the same latitude above the equator. The remaining two vortices are the north and south poles of the planet. These 12 areas are said to be prime sites of magnetic anomalies, unexplained disappearances as well as other bizarre phenomena.

The Dragon’s Triangle, in particular, is located above the equator and is aligned opposite to where its Atlantic counterpart – the Bermuda Triangle – is situated. And just like the Devil’s Sea, this region in the western portion of the North Atlantic Ocean is also notorious for being the subject of similar cases of mysterious disappearances and paranormal phenomena. 

Legends, Stories, and Strange Incidents in the “Dragon’s Triangle

Kublai Khan and his men at sea

There are many legends, stories and cases of mysterious disappearances of boats, ships, and aircraft as well as other strange incidents in the Dragon’s Triangle that we know of today.

One popular tale supposedly took place back in the 1200s. According to this story, Emperor Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty attempted to conquer Japan twice by crossing the Devil’s Sea. Both efforts to take over the country did not succeed, and they resulted in the loss of the Yuan emperor’s sea-faring vessels, as well as the demise of more than 40,000 crewmen of these ships in the initial attempt alone.

There is a famous Japanese legend dating back to 1803 that talks about another eerie incident in the Dragon’s Triangle. This Japanese Utsuro-Bune legend involves a hollow boat that’s shaped like a box and resembles an incense burner or “kou-hako.” Inside this boat was a foreign-looking female who bore unique physical features. Fishermen who found her brought the woman inland to investigate her, but she did not know how to communicate in Japanese. This has led for some people to speculate that this particular story is an actual case of a close encounter with an extraterrestrial or interdimensional being.

Modern linguist and author Charles Berlitz, in his 1989 book “The Dragon’s Triangle,” made a sweeping declaration that there were a lot of fishing boats, tankers, Japanese and American warships and aircraft, and Soviet submarines that had fallen prey to the harsh waters and weather conditions of the Devil’s Sea. In fact, there are even much-wilder speculations that link the Dragon’s Triangle to the world-famous disappearance of the renowned female pilot Amelia Earhart.

Another popular case of a ship’s disappearance in the Devil’s Sea is that of the Kaio Maru No. 5 back in 1952. The Kaio Maru No. 5 was a research vessel of the Japanese government that investigated the undersea activities of the region. The ship supposedly disappeared in the Dragon’s Triangle along with its crew of 31 people who were never seen or heard from again. 

 

Explanations on the Strange Mystery of the Dragon’s Triangle

As is usually the case with most mysterious phenomena, many theories have been put forward which took a crack at explaining the strange stories and incidents that have taken place within the danger zones of the Devil’s Sea. Some of the explanations are more scientific and rational, but there are also those who fit the realm of the supernatural, paranormal, and speculative science. 
 
There are those who believe that the Dragon’s Triangle could be housing a secret or hidden doorway or a black hole that leads to another dimension or a parallel universe. Some also connect the oceanic region with the lost city of Atlantis, while others have raised the possibility that extraterrestrials have something to do with the sudden and unexplained disappearance of many vessels and sea-faring individuals that passed by the area.

Of course, rational and natural explanations have also been presented to put the questions surrounding the controversial and strange mystery behind the Dragon’s Triangle to rest. For one, deep-sea fishing has always been a dangerous line of work, which is why it should not come as a surprise that many fishing boats have sunk in the region of the Devil’s Sea and other surrounding seas and oceans near Japan. Some even say that the number of incidents of fishing boats that sank in the Dragon’s Triangle is no higher than the average, and so, there could be no big mystery after all. 
 
Another explanation for the disappearance of the boats and ships in the area could be the vast field of methane hydrates that lies at the bottom of the ocean within the zone of the Devil’s Sea. According to this theory, methane hydrates – or ice-like deposits that detach from the bottom of the ocean floor – turn into the gaseous form of methane clathrates which, in turn, produce bubbles on the water’s surface. When methane clathrates surpass the temperature of 18 °C (64 °F), they result to gas eruptions that mess with buoyancy and consequently leave ships vulnerable to sinking easily. 
 
Some of the other natural explanations related to the disappearance of various vessels and people in the Dragon’s Triangle have something to do with undersea volcanic activities, the movement of tectonic plates, as well as agonic lines and magnetic anomalies.
 
The scientific and natural explanations mentioned above should have been sufficient enough for everyone to tear off the shroud of mystery and inexplicability surrounding the Dragon’s Triangle. Even then, many still prefer to believe in more unconventional theories of the paranormal. But regardless of whether or not you choose to believe the scientific or the supernatural explanation, it cannot be denied that the Dragon’s Triangle or the Devil’s Sea is among the world’s most compelling mysteries about the oceans and high seas and that much of it remains to be thoroughly understood.  
 
And so, for those who might find themselves cruising somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, perhaps it would be in your best interest for the time being that you steer clear of this region.

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Sources:

http://www.crystalinks.com/bermuda_triangle.html
http://www.unexplainedstuff.com/Places-of-Mystery-and-Power/Japan-s-Dragon-s-Triangle.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_Sea
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/05/31/sea.legends.bermuda.triangle/index.html
http://listverse.com/2013/05/10/10-places-as-mysterious-as-the-bermuda-triangle/
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/beyond-bermuda-triangle-devils-sea/
http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-the-dragons-triangle.htm
http://www.marineinsight.com/maritime-history/unexplained-mystery-the-devils-sea-the-dragons-triangle/
http://mysteriousfacts.com/mystery-of-the-devils-sea/
http://www.paranormal-encyclopedia.com/d/dragons-triangle/
https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4337

Five Space Mysteries Science Still Can't Solve

It’s not a big secret that the vastness of space is filled with puzzling mysteries.

Mankind has barely gone past our planet’s moon, and only one of our probes – the Voyager 1 – has managed to leave the solar system. A lot of what we have learned about deep space came from falling objects and telescopic views that have been pierced together by the brightest minds in astronomy.

Some of the more well-known mysteries involving space have already been resolved by various experts in the field. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that space remains full of wonder and unexplained phenomena. Some of these mysteries may eventually be resolved by means of astronomical observations, but others may never actually be given an accurate answer.

The prestigious journal Science selected several of the most puzzling questions that leading astronomers are still baffled with today. They have enlisted the help of different experts in deciding which mysteries have the staying power of remaining unanswered in the distant future, while also weeding out those questions that might soon be answered in the years to come.

And so, in no particular order, let me tell you about five of the most compelling space mysteries that science has so far been unable to solve.

The Mystery of Dark Energy

It was back in the 1920s when astronomer Edwin Hubble made the stunning discovery that the universe is not in a static state, but is in fact, expanding. This was corroborated and expanded further in 1998, when the Hubble Space Telescope – which incidentally is named after the same iconic astronomer – provided the data from distant supernovas that allowed scientists to reach an even more astounding conclusion that the universe is expanding at a slower rate in the past compared to the rate of its expansion at present.

This earth-shaking discovery threw off many scientists from their balance as they long believed that the gravity of matter would gradually decrease the speed of universe’s expansion. It was even believed that gravity would also be responsible for making the expanse of the universe contract. In order to explain the universe’s accelerated expansion, the widely-debated dark energy was conceptualized. This dark energy is what is believed to be the mysterious force that is expanding the universe at ever-increasing speeds.

Although dark energy is theorized to make up around 73 percent of everything that exists in our universe, it is still unseen and unmeasured by mankind. And though the energy is needed to balance out the mathematics of the universe, it is also likely that we may never get to detect and uncover its true nature.

 The Mystery of Dark Matter

Back in the 60s and the 70s, astronomers came up with the hypothesis that universe contains more mass than what can be perceived physically. Vera Rubin, in particular, an astronomer at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, thoroughly studied and researched the speeds of stars at different locations in various galaxies, and she discovered that there was virtually no difference between the velocities of stars located at the center of a galaxy and those which are found at the farther parts of the same galaxy. These results somehow deviate from basic Newtonian physics, which suggested that stars which are located on the outskirts of a galaxy should orbit more slowly compared to those found at its center.

To explain this unusual phenomenon, astronomers theorized an invisible mass which then came to be known as “dark matter.” Though it cannot be seen, dark matter possesses mass, and its existence is supposedly supported by the gravitational pull that this invisible mass exerts on ordinary matter. This makes dark matter the “glue” which theoretically holds everything in the universe together. Dark matter is believed to make up approximately 23 percent of the universe, and while scientists are still not so sure what dark matter actually is, modern technology may soon allow scientists to detect some of its particles, hopefully in the foreseeable future.

The Mystery Behind the Missing Baryons

Credit: University of Wisconsin- Madison

 Dark energy and dark matter combined makes up roughly 96 percent of the universe, while regular matter only makes up around 5 percent of our cosmos. However, more than 50 percent of the particles of regular matter – referred to as baryons – is said to be missing. These baryons are particles composed of protons and electrons, and according to astronomers, the count of these baryons from the early formation of the universe to its current state has been dropping from some unknown reason, as if they were gradually but inevitably erased from cosmic history.

Tracking down the location of these missing baryons in the universe continues to be an important priority in the scientific field of astronomy, as the discovery of where they are could help scientists and researchers to paint a much clearer picture on how galaxies and other structures in the cosmos evolved as time went by.

The Mystery Behind Supernovas

Do you know how do stars explode? Many of the processes that have something to do with how stars and the solar system are formed are essentially understood by modern science now. What is not clearly known by researchers, however, is what happens in a star in the event that it finally explodes.

In the untimely event that a humungous star completely depletes its fuel and perishes, it triggers a massive explosion referred to as a “supernova.” This spectacular explosion is known to shine very brightly – in fact, much brighter than the glimmer of an entire galaxy. In recent years, significant strides achieved in supercomputing have made it possible for astronomers to research about the stars’ and supernovas’ internal conditions, and to recreate them by designing complex computer models. But even with these advanced technologies that are available for use by the brightest minds of science, many details about what goes on inside a star before its explosion, and how this explosion happens, continue to endure until now as a challenging astronomical puzzle.

The Mystery Behind the Peculiarity of the Solar System

While astronomers and space observatories have preoccupied themselves with discovering new planets which are located in proximity of other stars, some researchers have dedicated their intelligence and their resources in the pursuit of fully understanding the unique characteristics that our solar system possesses.

For example, the four innermost planets found in our solar system – including Earth – while very different from one another, all share the same feature of having rocky outer shells as well as metallic cores. On the other hand, the four outermost planets are immensely distinct from the innermost planets and from each other, with each possessing their own identifiable as well as distinctive characteristics.

And so, in the hopes of finally figuring out how our solar system was formed and how it came to existence, scientists have dedicated much of their time and exerted significant efforts into the study and exploration of the processes involved with planetary formation. Unfortunately, despite their dedication, the exact answer to the mystery of how our solar system came to be has remained elusive, and the answers that have been postulated in an attempt to explain it are not so simple.

According to experts, all existing attempts at cracking the mystery behind the diversity of each planet in our system is clouded by the uncertain nature of random chance. This line of reasoning is supported by the results of computer simulations which demonstrated that that the un-sequenced fusion of planetesimals in planetary system when it was still forming could just as likely have resulted to the formation of three or five terrestrial planets in contrast to the four planets we currently have.

But as the search and study of alien worlds which orbit other stars go beyond the stamp-collection of planets according to their orbit and mass, more insights can potentially be gained from these distant worlds in our effort to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the nature of the planets within our solar system. In learning about these alien worlds, scientists are given a higher number of planetary outcomes to assess when it comes to explaining how the solar system came to be.

The five space mysteries we have listed are not the only existing enigmas about the universe that science has yet to give a full-proof answer to. Other mysteries such as the re-ionization of the universe, the source of cosmic rays, and the reason behind the heat of the sun’s corona, have continued to motivate men and women of science to come up with various theories and hypotheses that could provide the best explanations that would possibly resolve such difficult, cosmic questions. And while there are those who propose ideas to explain these phenomena, there are also those who have dedicated much of themselves to refuting such theories and providing an alternative and more plausible explanation to these mysteries.

For some of these questions, we have gotten – even by just a little bit – somewhat closer to giving the most scientifically verifiable answers that will resolve and put an end to these space mysteries. However, it cannot be denied that many of them are expected by most to remain unsolved in the foreseeable future. And while we may never really know the complete truth behind these mysteries, that does not mean mankind will stop trying to figure them all out. And perhaps that innate human quality instilled in all of us is the most astonishing mystery of them all.

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Sources:

http://www.businessinsider.com/mysterious-space-objects-2016-7/#the-great-attractor-5
http://www.space.com/15942-modern-astronomy-mysteries-baffling-scientists.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2153367/The-space-mysteries-science-CANT-solve--weird-heat-sun-3-4-universe-thats-gone-missing.html
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/02/160218-dark-energy-matter-universe-gravity-mysteries-space/