Happy June! 🌞 

Science

Falling Into a Black Hole

Using a supercomputer and the expertise of skilled scientists, NASA has created a video illustration showing what it might be like to float into a black hole if you were somehow invincible.

Within the event horizon of a black hole, the laws of general relativity break down, making it incredibly challenging to predict what would happen to an object. However, recent observations have provided insight into how light behaves near a black hole.

Several versions of the same simulation are explained in a 4-minute video released by NASA, providing visual aids for some extremely complex physics concepts.

“People often ask about [what it would be like to fall into a black hole] and simulating these difficult-to-imagine processes helps me connect the mathematics of relativity to actual consequences in the real universe,” said Jeremy Schnittman, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, who created the visualizations. “So I simulated two different scenarios, one where a camera—a stand-in for a daring astronaut—just misses the event horizon and slingshots back out, and one where it crosses the boundary, sealing its fate.”

The video is more than just a visual treat; every feature corresponds with precise calculations that could have been published to great acclaim. The simulation targets a supermassive black hole like the one at the center of our galaxy. The camera was set 400 million miles from the 25 million mile-wide black hole. As it approaches, the hot disk of dust and gas swirling around the black hole, called an accretion disk, begins to elongate and brighten.

The project generated about 10 terabytes of data—equivalent to roughly half of the estimated text content in the Library of Congress—and took about five days, a task that would have taken a normal computer a decade.

Entertainment

Climbing a Skyscraper

This video was both fascinating and unnerving. Very, very impressive.

They switch in and out of English throughout the video, so you will want to put on subtitles if you want to understand everything. They also have very helpful time-stamps so you can skip to the parts you think look the most interesting.

World News

Mysterious Stone Sculpture Found

Three Thai villagers discovered a detailed boulder carving of a woman while searching for mushrooms.

"Found this while mushroom hunting," wrote Pramul Kongkratok, one of the villagers, on social media. "I've lived here for so long but just learned we have this around here. It's a blessing."

Kongkratok reported the find to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation, which contacted art and antiquities experts to determine the carving's age.

Some suggest the carving dates back to the 6th century, possibly linked to the Dvaravati kingdom, located in modern-day Thailand near Cambodia. However, the carving style differs from known Dvaravati reliefs.

Another theory proposes that the carving represents Maya Devi, the mother of Lord Buddha, as the figure holds a branch of the Bodhi tree, under which Prince Siddharta Gautama attained Enlightenment. Despite this, depictions of Maya Devi are rare and usually show her lying down, leading to skepticism about this theory.

Artists during the golden age of Buddhist kingdoms in South Asia typically adhered to consistent carving styles, unlike this discovery. Additionally, a Thai Buddhist monastery with artistically inclined monks is located less than a mile from the site in Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary.

Regardless of its origin, the carving is a remarkable find and a reminder of the world's hidden wonders.

Mind Stretchers

⁉️ 

What 4 numbers complete this puzzle?

Answers to yesterday’s Mind Stretchers:
A Piano

Albert Knox got the correct answer first!

Be the first to send us the correct answer for today’s mind stretcher for a shout-out with the answer tomorrow. Just send us the answer and your name to [email protected] or reply to the email.

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