MAROKO133 Eksklusif ai: Invisible dark matter halo million times heavier than sun could be

📌 MAROKO133 Eksklusif ai: Invisible dark matter halo million times heavier than su

Astronomers have spent decades hunting for dark matter by looking for light that isn’t there — and that strategy has mostly failed. 

Now, a team of researchers has tried something radically different. Instead of searching the sky, they listened to time itself. By studying tiny changes in the rhythm of distant pulsars, scientists report signs that a massive, invisible object is quietly drifting near our corner of the Milky Way. 

“Using pulsar accelerations, we identify and constrain the properties of a dark matter subhalo in the Galaxy for the first time,” the study authors note.

If this explanation holds up, this would be the strongest hint yet that dark matter forms compact clumps — and that one of them may be close enough to influence stars without ever revealing its presence.

Turning tiny timing slips into a dark matter clue

Instead of trying to see dark matter, the researchers asked a simpler question: Is something heavy nearby, even if it is invisible? To answer this, they relied on pulsars, which behave like cosmic stopwatches. 

These objects spin rapidly and send out radio flashes with astonishing consistency. Under normal conditions, the spacing between these flashes barely changes. The team focused on a particularly useful setup — a pulsar locked in orbit with a companion star. 

The motion of such a pair is well understood, much like the predictable path of planets around the Sun. If nothing else is interfering, the timing of the pulsar’s signals should match this expected motion almost perfectly.

However, when the scientists examined years of timing data, they found something didn’t quite add up. The pulsar’s signals showed minute shifts that suggested the system was being pulled in one direction. The effect was extremely small, but consistent — the kind of pattern that points to gravity rather than random noise.

To check whether ordinary matter could be responsible, the researchers searched the surrounding region for anything visible that might exert such a pull. They examined detailed star maps and looked for clouds of gas, but found nothing that could explain the disturbance. With no normal object in sight, the remaining explanation was an unseen concentration of mass.

By estimating how strong this pull must be to cause the observed timing changes, the team concluded that the hidden object would need to be tens of millions of times heavier than the Sun. 

This mass is far too large to belong to a star or small cluster, yet it matches theoretical predictions for a dark matter sub-halo — a compact clump of dark matter moving quietly through the Milky Way, close enough to influence nearby pulsars without ever making itself visible.

Mapping the invisible with gravity alone

If confirmed, this finding could mark a turning point in how scientists study dark matter. Instead of relying on distant galaxy collisions or rare gravitational lensing events, astronomers may be able to probe dark matter much closer to home, using pulsars as ultra-sensitive gravitational sensors scattered across the galaxy. 

Over time, this approach could help map the Milky Way’s hidden structure and test competing ideas about what dark matter is made of. 

Our study “provides a proof of principle for probing nearby, low-mass subhalos, and has implications across many fields of astrophysics—from understanding the nature of dark matter to galaxy formation,” the study authors said.

However, there are important caveats to these findings. Pulsar binaries are rare, and subtle timing effects can sometimes arise from poorly understood astrophysical processes. 

Therefore, More observations and independent signals will be needed before scientists can say with confidence that a dark matter sub-halo has been detected. 

“As the number and precision of direct acceleration measurements continue to grow, we will obtain tighter constraints on dark matter sub-structure in our Galaxy,” the study authors added. 

The study is published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

🔗 Sumber: interestingengineering.com

📌 MAROKO133 Update ai: China advances reusable spacecraft ambitions with new Shenl

Beijing has pushed forward its push into reusable orbital systems with the launch of another experimental spaceplane, reinforcing its quiet but steady challenge to US dominance in this niche of military-linked spaceflight. 

The vehicle, often compared to the US Space Force’s X-37B, was sent into orbit on Saturday, marking China’s fourth mission of this type since 2020. All of the flights have lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre aboard Long March-2F rockets, suggesting a standardized and increasingly mature launch architecture. 

Although Chinese authorities have not released the spacecraft’s official name or technical specifications, the growing community of space enthusiasts refers to it as Shenlong, or Divine Dragon, reflecting both its secrecy and its perceived strategic importance.

Latest Shenlong flight ‘a technology verification mission’

Beijing has again framed the Shenlong mission as a technical trial rather than an operational deployment, maintaining a carefully neutral public narrative around its secretive spaceplane program. Chinese media said the launch marked another round of technology verification for China’s reusable spacecraft effort, describing it as part of a broader push to improve on-orbit systems.

According to Xinhua, the experiment is intended to provide technical support for the peaceful use of outer space, though no further details were disclosed. China’s first reusable experimental spacecraft flew on September 4, 2020, spending two days in orbit before returning safely to its designated landing site, laying the groundwork for the more ambitious missions that followed, the South China Morning Post reports.

Chinese officials hailed the earliest Shenlong flight as a milestone in the country’s push toward reusable spacecraft, arguing that it opened the door to cheaper and more efficient access to orbit for peaceful applications. The first experiment was described as an important breakthrough in reusable spaceflight research, setting the tone for a program that has since quietly accelerated.

A second vehicle was launched on August 5, 2022, remaining in orbit for 276 days before returning to its designated landing site on May 8 the following year. That was followed by a third mission, which lifted off on December 14, 2023 and touched down the following September after spending 268 days in space, a run that highlighted advances in thermal protection and long-duration power systems.

US trackers spot possible signals intelligence role

Independent tracking networks in the US added another layer of intrigue to China’s third Shenlong flight after detecting radio signals over North America, raising the possibility that the spacecraft was being used as a mobile, reusable signals-intelligence platform. While Beijing has not commented on those reports, the data reinforced suspicions that the program has dual-use military applications alongside its civilian framing.

However, despite China’s rapid progress, the US still holds the lead in reusable orbital spacecraft. The US Space Force’s X-37B spaceplane began its eighth mission on August 21, launching aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Kennedy Space Center.

A new layer of capability was added to the X-37B program during its eighth Orbital Test Vehicle mission, with the spacecraft carrying what US officials described as the highest-performing quantum inertial sensor ever flown in space. The device is designed to enable precise navigation even in GPS-denied environments, allowing the vehicle to determine its position without depending on external signals.

Alongside that, the spaceplane trialed high-bandwidth inter-satellite laser communications, a technology that is far more resistant to jamming or interception than conventional radio links. Amateur satellite trackers in the US also reported that the craft released a small secondary satellite soon after it reached orbit.

🔗 Sumber: interestingengineering.com