Location, location, location!

As I was perusing the internet this morning I stumbled upon something pretty fantastic that I feel must be shared. IBEX, NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer, has allowed scientists to piece together a comprehensive map of our solar system and where it is located in the Milky Way galaxy. This is the first map of its kind and will enable scientists to study our sun's interaction with the galaxy in ne (and exciting) ways. IBEX set out around this time last year with the objective of learning what sort of interactions exist at the edge of our solar system between solar wind and interstellar medium. IBEX also helps to put observations from other spacecrafts (Voyagers) in context...to expand on what we already know. IBEX has unlocked another bit of the universe to us and as science continues to improve and explore, there seems to be no limit what can be achieved.

To see NASA's handy-dandy animation, check out the sky map. Credit belongs to NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Tomorrow is Yesterday

On March 31 of last year, two NASA scientists (Nikolai Shaposhnikov and Lev Titarchuk) discovered what appears to be the smallest black hole on record. This "little guy" is only 15 miles in diameter and has a mass 3.8 times that of our sun--thus barely fitting the current minimum specifications for a black hole. Now what I find so interesting is that although this is just a wee little tear in spacetime, the punch it packs is more dangerous than larger black holes. Take for example the supermassive black hole in the centre of our galaxy. ( This newly discovered black hole is also located within the Milky Way in a region known as XTE J1650-500. Catchy, non?) It, like other supermassive black holes (which have masses varying between millions and billions of times that of our sun), does its job of keeping the galaxies a'movin with its grand amount of gravity. I am unclear as to the purpose this mini-black hole is--if it indeed has one at all. However my personal opinion is that this black hole,along with any others of that size, must in some way help maintain the balance of our galaxy. Unfortunately there is no possible way of testing that opinion.


So word of caution to intergalactic space travelers out there: beware of unforeseen small black holes. Failure to proceed with caution may result in transportation to 1969. Watch for Captain Kirk; he'll be waiting.