Astronomy and astrophysics

Researchers at MIT and elsewhere have found a connection between “the bursts and tidal disruptions events” of black holes, research that could help "astrophysicists understand the extreme environments around supermassive black holes, as well as the occupants of those environments,” reports Isaac Schultz for Gizmodo. “There had been feverish speculation that these phenomena were connected, and now we’ve discovered the proof that they are,” says Research Scientist Dheeraj Pasham. “It’s like getting a cosmic two-for-one in terms of solving mysteries.” 

A new study by MIT scientists proposes that researchers should be able to detect near-flying primordial black holes by measuring the orbit of Mars, reports Darren Orf for Popular Mechanics. The researchers found that “if a primordial black hole passed within a few hundred million miles of the Red Planet, then a few years later, the planet’s orbit would have shifted by the small (but technically detectable) distance of about a meter,” Orf explains.

MIT physicists have discovered that "black holes the size of an atom that contain the mass of an asteroid may fly through the inner solar system about once a decade” and could cause planets or large moons slightly off course, reports Clara Moskowitz for Scientific American  “As it passes by, the planet starts to wobble,” says Sarah R. Geller '12, SM '17, PhD '23. “The wobble will grow over a few years but eventually it will damp out and go back to zero.”

Postdoctoral research Wenxuan Jia PhD '24 and colleagues at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) have developed a way to reduce the impact of quantum noise by squeezing the laser light used in the detectors, enabling scientists to double the number of gravitational waves they can find, reports Karmela Padavic-Callaghan for New Scientist. “We realized that quantum noise will be limiting us a long time ago,” says Jia. “It’s not just a fancy [quantum] thing to demonstrate, it’s something that really affects the actual detector.” 

MIT physicists have found that “the presence of a tiny black hole speeding through the solar system could be identified by the gentle gravitational nudge it exerted on the Earth and other planets, which would alter their orbital paths by no more than a few feet,” reports Noah Haggerty for The Los Angeles Times. “It’s just fantastic that the most conceptually conservative response is to say, ‘It’s just super tiny black holes that were made a split second after the Big Bang,’” says Prof. David Kaiser. “It’s not inventing new forms of matter that have not yet been detected. It’s not changing the laws of gravity.”

A new study by MIT researchers suggests that miniscule black holes could briefly wobble the orbit of Mars and that these tiny black holes may pass through our solar system once every decade or so, reports Jess Thomson for Newsweek. “The researchers modeled the orbits of every large body in the solar system,” writes Thomson, “and found that tiny wobbles in the orbit of Mars could indicate one of the asteroid-mass black holes passing through.”

Science News reporter Emily Conover spotlights a new study by MIT researchers that proposes a new method to search for microscopic primordial black holes, which, if they exist, “could explain some or all of the universe’s dark matter.” The researchers suggest that when a primordial black hole passes close to a planet, it could “produce noticeable effects despite its tiny size.”
 

Prof. Christoph Kehle and his colleagues have demonstrated “that there is nothing in our known laws of physics to prevent the formation of an extremal black hole,” reports Steve Nadis for Quanta Magazine. The mathematical proof is “beautiful, technically innovative and physically surprising,” says Princeton University Professor Mihalis Dafermos. It hints at a potentially richer and more varied universe in which “extremal black holes could be out there astrophysically.”

Researchers at MIT and elsewhere have discovered an exoplanet that “is 50% larger than Jupiter and as fluffy as cotton candy,” reports Aylin Woodward for The Wall Street Journal. “Basically, for over 15 years now, the astronomy community has been puzzled by a category of gas giants that are bigger than what they should be given their mass,” explains Prof. Julien de Wit. 

Prof. Olivier de Weck speaks with Boston 25’s Daniel Coates about the two NASA astronauts on the International Space Station awaiting news on when they will return to Earth due to concerns surrounding the capsule they traveled in. De Weck notes that during their wait, the astronauts are “being put to good work, they’re helping with experiments, they’re helping with the station, they’re in contact with their families, because there is fairly good internet connection on ISS."

MIT scientists have solved a decades old mystery by demonstrating impact vaporization is the primary cause of the moon’s thin atmosphere, reports Eric Lagatta for USA Today.  The findings, “have implications far beyond determining the moon's atmospheric origins,” writes Lagatta. “In fact, it's not unthinkable that similar processes could potentially be taking place at other celestial bodies in the solar system.”

By analyzing isotopes of potassium and rubidium in the lunar soil, Prof. Nicole Nie and her team have demonstrated that micrometeorite impacts are the main cause of the moon’s thin atmosphere, reports Isabel Swafford for National Geographic. “Understanding the space environments of different planetary bodies is essential for planning future missions and exploring the broader context of space weathering,” says Nie.

Newsweek reporter Jess Thomson spotlights, Prof. Nicole Nie’s research uncovering the origins of the moon’s thin atmosphere. “The researchers described how lunar samples from the Apollo missions revealed that meteorites of varying sizes have constantly hit the moon's surface, vaporizing atoms in the soil and kicking them up into the atmosphere,” writes Thomson. “The constant hitting of the moon replenishes any gases lost to space.” 

By analyzing lunar soil samples, MIT scientists have found that the moon’s thin atmosphere was created by meteorite impacts over billions of years, reports Will Dunham for Reuters. “Many important questions about the lunar atmosphere remain unanswered,” explains Prof. Nicole Nie. “We are now able to address some of these questions due to advancements in technology.” 

MIT scientists analyzed lunar soil samples and discovered that meteorite impacts likely created the moon’s thin atmosphere, reports Nicola Davis for The Guardian. “Our findings provide a clearer picture of how the moon’s surface and atmosphere interact over long timescales, [and] enhance our understanding of space weathering processes,” explains Prof. Nicole Nie.