Time ran five times slower in the early universe, new study finds
New findings have revealed that time ran five times slower in the early universe, after scientists published new research into quasars. A quasar is a luminous active galactic nucleus and studying them has allowed scientists to measure time. The variation in brightness of quasars from the early universe has been measured to determine time dilation back to a billion years after the Big Bang. Experts have found that there was an era in which clocks moved five times slower than they do in the present day. The findings come as a relief to many cosmologists who have been perplexed by previous results that have come from studying quasars. The discovery that the universe is expanding led to the theorisation of “time dilation” – the idea that time moved slower the smaller the universe was. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Professor Geraint Lewis of the University of Sydney, the lead author of a new study, said in a statement: “Looking back to a time when the universe was just over a billion years old, we see time appearing to flow five times slower.” He continued, explaining: “If you were there, in this infant universe, one second would seem like one second – but from our position, more than 12 billion years into the future, that early time appears to drag.” To measure the extent of time dilation, scientists turned to quasars, as they are able to measure their change in brightness over a period they can estimate. The most distant quasar that is visible is 13 billion back in time and can still be seen despite its far distance. Their brightness varies due to turbulence and lumpiness in their accretion disks. Lewis explained the phenomenon as being “a bit like the stock market”. He said: “Over the last couple of decades, we’ve seen there is a statistical pattern to the variation, with timescales related to how bright a quasar is and the wavelength of its light.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
Best MLB prop bets today (Astros should tee off on Kyle Freeland)
Usually, my best MLB prop bets are all about pitchers, but today we’re taking a different approach in one game, looking at a team total in the Houston Astros-Colorado Rockies matchup.For those looking for pitcher props, don’t worry, I have a plus-money prop from DraftKings Sportsbook...
1970-01-01 08:00
Canada media guide
An overview of the media in Canada, including links to broadcasters and newspapers.
1970-01-01 08:00
Ross Kemp reveals he would have boarded Oceangate submersible that killed five
Ross Kemp has revealed that he had planned to go on the Titanic submersible that killed five people. The documentary maker revealed that it was set to form part of a new show he was working on, but the plug was pulled after a member of production deemed the vessel unsafe. "I was invited", he said on This Morning. "We had dialogue with the company in order for me to go down – actually this summer." "I love diving and I’m a qualified diver and I’m fascinated by the sea and I’m fascinated by wrecks." Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
1970-01-01 08:00
Twitter to put TweetDeck behind a paywall
Another controversial change is coming to Twitter. Only verified users will soon be able to access TweetDeck, the dashboard that lets users views multiple different timelines, the platform tweeted Monday.
1970-01-01 08:00
Le Pain Quotidien UK Arm Falls Into Insolvency, Most Cafes Close
The UK division of Le Pain Quotidien, the international bakery chain, has collapsed into insolvency, shutting all but
1970-01-01 08:00
Angels vs. Padres prediction and odds for Tuesday, July 4 (Shohei Ohtani is must bet)
The Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres have a great pitching matchup on tap on Tuesday, July 4 – but how should we bet it?Shohei Ohtani (7-3, 3.02 ERA) gets the ball for the Angles on Tuesday, and Padres outfielder Juan Soto seems confident in his team’s chances against the AL M...
1970-01-01 08:00
Saudi Oil Cuts See Top Buyers Looking at Crude From Elsewhere
Asia’s oil refiners, responsible for meeting about a third of the world’s fuel consumption, are getting ready to
1970-01-01 08:00
Scientists discover secret planet hiding in our solar system
There are eight planets in our solar system – plus poor old Pluto, which was demoted in 2006 – but what if there were more? Turns out that might be the case. Astronomers have calculated there is a 7 per cent chance that Earth has another neighbour hiding in the Oort cloud, a spherical region of ice chunks and rocks that is tens of thousands of times farther from the sun than we are. “It’s completely plausible for our solar system to have captured such an Oort cloud planet,” said Nathan Kaib, a co-author on the work and an astronomer at the Planetary Science Institute. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Hidden worlds like this are “a class of planets that should definitely exist but have received relatively little attention” until now, he said.. If a planet is hiding in the Oort cloud, it’s almost certainly an ice giant. Large planets like Jupiter and Saturn are generally born as twins. They have huge gravitational pulls of their own, however, and sometimes destabilise one another. That could have led to a planet to be nudged out of the solar system entirely – or exiled to its outer reaches, where the Oort cloud resides. “The survivor planets have eccentric orbits, which are like the scars from their violent pasts,” said lead author Sean Raymond, researcher at the University of Bordeaux’s Astrophysics Laboratory. That means that the Oort cloud planet could have a significantly elongated orbit, unlike the near-perfect circle Earth tracks around the sun. Trouble is, when things are that far away, they’re pretty difficult to spot. “It would be extremely hard to detect,” added Raymond. “If a Neptune-sized planet existed in our own Oort cloud, there’s a good chance that we wouldn’t have found it yet,” said Malena Rice, an astronomer at MIT not involved in this work. “Amazingly, it can sometimes be easier to spot planets hundreds of light-years away than those right in our own backyard.” Time to crack out the telescope. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
Portugal Hires Ernst & Young, Finantia to Value Airline TAP Before Planned Stake Sale
Portugal hired Ernst & Young and Banco Finantia SA to carry out valuations of TAP SA as part
1970-01-01 08:00
Irish government announces RTÉ examination
Minister Catherine Martin announces an independent, root and branch examination of broadcaster RTÉ.
1970-01-01 08:00
Idris Elba doesn't know who Colin the Caterpillar is and he's gone down in everyone's estimations
Idris Elba has confessed he doesn't know who Colin the Caterpillar is, and has never had the pleasure of indulging in one at a birthday party. Gasp. The actor, who follows an all-vegan diet and has a personal chef on the road with him, landed himself in hot water when he was asked about the sweet treat during a new interview, and whether he'd had one at his own birthday. "Can I ask you a question. Who is Colin the Caterpillar? Is that bad?", he said, before quipping: "If you have to Google him then I don’t know who he is." Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
1970-01-01 08:00
