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Researchers Discover the Universe’s Oldest Stars Circling Our Own Galaxy: ‘We have a new way to find them’

Researchers Discover the Universe’s Oldest Stars Circling Our Own Galaxy: ‘We have a new way to find them’

Yannick Morin
May 17, 2024

👋 Welcome, fellow knowledge-seekers!

Hop in, buckle up, and let's cruise through the fast-paced highway of news - packed with joy, thrills, humor, mysteries, and sexiness. Get ready, set, read!

🗓️ On May 17, 1792, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) was founded. It started with the signing of the Buttonwood Agreement by 24 stockbrokers outside of 68 Wall Street in New York City. This event marked the beginning of what would become one of the largest and most influential stock exchanges in the world. So, today's date is significant in the history of global finance!

Researchers Discover the Universe’s Oldest Stars Circling Our Own Galaxy: ‘We have a new way to find them’

The Milky Way – Kyle Goetsch, Unsplash

The James Webb Space Telescope had to be super advanced to spot stars from the early days of the universe, but now a team of MIT students has found out that some of these ancient stars might actually be hanging out in our own galactic neighborhood, just thousands of light-years away. They discovered about 65 stars that formed 13 billion years ago, circling the Milky Way’s halo. This find could totally change how we study the early universe for years to come.

Anna Frebel, a physics professor at MIT, kicked off a unique class project called Observational Stellar Archaeology, where she and her students sifted through data from the Magellan-Clay telescope. They were looking for ancient stars with specific low levels of elements like strontium and barium, which are hallmarks of stars formed shortly after the Big Bang. They found 10 stars with these ancient signatures, and noticed something odd—they were orbiting the Milky Way in retrograde, meaning the opposite direction of most stars. Frebel and her team believe these stars, dubbed SASS stars, are remnants of ancient dwarf galaxies. This discovery gives astronomers a new, closer way to study the early universe. (Source)

Spiders Use Their Webs as Giant Microphones to Hear What’s Going on Around Them, Says New Research

Torbjørn Helgesen

Spiders use their webs like giant microphones, according to new research showing these intricate webs do more than just catch prey. Scientists at Binghamton University discovered that spider silk moves at the speed of particles in a sound field, allowing spiders to detect long-distance noises with high sensitivity. Unlike human eardrums, which detect sound pressure waves, spider silk responds to the velocity changes of air particles caused by soundwaves, opening up new possibilities for sound detection technology.

The team, led by Professor Ronald Miles, found that spider webs match the acoustic particle velocity across a wide range of sound frequencies. To test their theory, they observed bridge spiders on their lab windowsills, playing sounds from 1 Hz to 50 kHz and measuring the silk’s motion with a laser vibrometer. They confirmed that the silk moved in sync with the air particles, showing how spiders use this mechanism to sense prey. While it's not practical to use spider silk in mass-produced microphones, this discovery offers valuable insights into designing high-sensitivity sound detectors. Professor Miles will present these findings at an upcoming acoustics conference. (Source)

✨ Quote of the day

"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life." – Steve Jobs

✨Chart of the day

The Top 25 Nationalities of U.S. Immigrants (Source)

Hit the picture to supersize it and save your peepers a strain 👇

Source: visualcapitalist

📰 Want to know what else is going down in this Wild World of ours?

Mexico’s cartel violence haunts civilians as the June 2 election approaches (Source)
Scheffler, charged with assault after officer dragged near fatal crash, tees off at PGA Championship (Source)
French police fatally shoot a man suspected of setting fire to a synagogue (Source)
China rolls out new measures to fix its property crisis, spur growth (Source)
Judge considers dismissing indictment against Alec Baldwin in fatal shooting of cinematographer (Source)

Today's Birthday Spotlight: Celebrating Nikki Reed's Special Day!

Today, May 17th, marks a special day in Hollywood as we celebrate the birthday of Nikki Reed, a multifaceted talent known for her contributions to film, music, and environmental activism. Born in 1988 in West Los Angeles, California, Reed first captured attention for her remarkable screenwriting debut at the age of 14 with the critically acclaimed film "Thirteen," which she co-wrote and starred in. The raw portrayal of teenage life earned her an Independent Spirit Award and set the stage for a diverse career.

Find Celebrities Born on Your Day!

Source: Popular People Bio

🎭 Before She Was Famous

Hey, wanna see more pictures of Kate Winslet before she became famous? Check ‘em out here.

Source: Popular People Bio

📸 Feast Your Eyes on Today's Stunning Snapshot Series: The Ever-Gorgeous Christina Hendricks

Here's a fun fact about Christina Hendricks: Despite her iconic role as the fiery and confident Joan Holloway in the TV series "Mad Men," Hendricks originally auditioned for the role of Peggy Olson, played by Elisabeth Moss. However, the show's creator, Matthew Weiner, thought she would be better suited for the role of Joan after seeing her audition. This casting decision not only led to one of the most memorable characters on the show but also earned Hendricks widespread acclaim and multiple award nominations for her performance.

Let's get right back to the main event we've all been waiting for: those smoking hot Christina Hendricks pictures!