University of Padua – Astronomy Now

First signs of weird quantum property of empty space?

30 November 2016 Astronomy Now

By studying the polarisation of light emitted from an extraordinarily dense and strongly magnetised neutron star using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers may have found the first observational indications of a strange quantum effect known as vacuum birefringence, first predicted in the 1930s.

Scientists begin modelling universe with Einstein’s full theory of general relativity

25 June 2016 Astronomy Now

Research teams on both sides of the Atlantic have ditched software approximations and found that small-scale structures produce important effects using new computer codes. Precise modelling of the cosmos using Einstein’s full theory of general relativity will change our detailed understanding of evolution in the universe and the growth of structure within it.

Strange globular cluster recalls Milky Way’s infancy

14 December 2015 Astronomy Now

When our galaxy was born, around 13,000 million years ago, a plethora of clusters containing millions of stars emerged. But over time, they have been disappearing. However, hidden behind younger stars that formed later, some old and dying star clusters remain, such as the so-called E 3. European astronomers have now studied this testimony to the beginnings of our galaxy.