The feeding patterns of black holes offer insight into their size, researchers report. A new study revealed that the flickering in the brightness observed in actively feeding supermassive black holes is related to their mass.

Supermassive black holes are millions to billions of times more massive than the sun and usually reside at the center of massive galaxies. When dormant and not feeding on the gas and stars surrounding them, SMBHs emit very little light; the only way astronomers can detect them is through their gravitational influences on stars and gas in their vicinity. However, in the early universe, when SMBHs were rapidly growing, they were actively feeding—or accreting—materials at intensive rates and emitting an enormous amount of radiation—sometimes outshining the entire galaxy in which they reside, the researchers said.

The new study, led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign astronomy graduate student Colin Burke and professor Yue Shen, uncovered a definitive relationship between the mass of actively feeding SMBHs and the characteristic timescale in the light-flickering pattern. The findings are published in the journal Science.

The observed light from an accreting SMBH is not constant. Due to physical processes that are not yet understood, it displays a ubiquitous flickering over timescales ranging from hours to decades. “There have been many studies that explored possible relations of the observed flickering and the mass of the SMBH, but the results have been inconclusive and sometimes controversial,” Burke said.

If you love books, no tablet, e-books or e-reader will make you abandon your love for paper and print. Similarly, a bookworm will always maintian a library of books. However, if you can’t find space for a personal library, at home or at work, maybe these creative bookshelves can help you better organize your favorite reading materials.

The special ESA/Hubble Space Telescope Word Bank provides insightful explanations of various astronomical concepts and objects in simple language.

This resource was developed to be an informative and educative resource for students, parents, educators, communicators, and the general public alike. Each of the words featured in this unique glossary is accompanied by a simple definition and an explanation of various astronomical concepts and objects in simple and accessible language. These descriptions also provide context and connections to Hubble’s relevance and contributions to the respective areas or objects of research.

The Word Bank will continue to be regularly developed and expanded. Please contact us if you have a suggestion for a word or concept you’d like to see included in the Word Bank. You can view the whole visual collection of Word Bank words and their definitions in this gallery.

More than 199.98 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 4,414,781​ have died, according to a Reuters tally.

Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019. Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus: open https://tmsnrt.rs/2FThSv7 in an external browser.

The global surge in cases is highlighting the widening gap in inoculation rates between wealthy and poor nations. Cases are rising in about one-third of the world’s countries, many of which have not even given half their population a first dose.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday called for a moratorium on COVID-19 vaccine boosters until at least 10% of the population in every country was vaccinated. “We need an urgent reversal, from the majority of vaccines going to high-income countries, to the majority going to low-income countries,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

A shutdown would have devastating global impacts and must not be allowed to happen, researchers say

Climate scientists have detected warning signs of the collapse of the Gulf Stream, one of the planet’s main potential tipping points.

The research found “an almost complete loss of stability over the last century” of the currents that researchers call the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). The currents are already at their slowest point in at least 1,600 years, but the new analysis shows they may be nearing a shutdown.

Creating a Vector Graphics File From Data: This Instructable describes how to generate a vector image (in SVG format) from a set of data, which could then be imported into a vector graphics editor like Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator, or used with a laser cut or CNC. Automatic generation of a …

This Instructable describes how to generate a vector image (in SVG format) from a set of data, which could then be imported into a vector graphics editor like Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator, or used with a laser cut or CNC. Automatic generation of a vector file is useful whenever you have a set of numbers that describe an image, like a graph of a large dataset, the cross sections of a model, or a math generated image. Or if you have a pattern for a design that you want to quickly change dimensions or scale. The Insctuctable will describe the way the SVG file works, how to create lines from sets of coordinates, and will provide a sample Excel script that will generate lines from a series of points.

Read the full article at: www.instructables.com

#EmpathyCircles: The best #Empathy building practice.  http://www.empathycircle.com

by David Hall

Empathy is at the core of UX design. But sometimes the fear of the unexpected and own presumptions win over the ability to listen effectively. In this article, experienced product designer David Hall discusses what’s behind effective listening and how to obtain accurate answers from users.

Japanese Artist Tatsuya Tanaka Has Been Creating Miniature Dioramas Every Day For Seven Years

ミニチュア写真家・見立て作家 田中達也の公式サイト。日常の物を別の何かに見立てたミニチュアアートを毎日更新中

Materials scientists can now shuffle layered compounds together, much like combining two different decks of cards. The technique, recently discovered by a team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory, is leading to development of new materials with unusual electron transport properties that have potential applications in next-generation quantum technologies.

“Now, we have demonstrated that we can mechanochemically design novel layered heterostructures, control their composition and tune their properties,” said Ihor Hlova, a scientist in the Divisions of Materials Sciences and Engineering at Ames Laboratory. “This opens a way to a variety of different combinations—the possibilities are basically unlimited.”