The Tarantula Nebula is one of the most intense star factories nearby

the gist

The Large Magellanic Cloud is a companion galaxy of the Milky Way, about 160,000 light-years away. It contains the Tarantula Nebula, one of the largest and most intense star-forming regions known in our galactic neighbourhood. Its spidery gas filaments gave the region its name. Nearby, stacked bubbles form the Honeycomb Nebula, carved out by winds and radiation from young stars. The fierce activity makes it a close-up laboratory for how massive stars form.

how it works

Dense clouds of gas collapse under their own gravity when they become cold enough, forming new stars. Massive young stars emit strong ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds, which heat and push the surrounding gas. That pressure carves out the bubbles and filaments, and can trigger further star formation at their edges.

so what

The Tarantula is close enough to study star birth in detail, which is hard in the distant galaxies where most stars formed. It shows how a single region can hold many generations of stars, each shaped by the ones before it.

the bigger pattern

Star-forming regions dominated by massive stars often produce bubbles and shells, and the Orion Nebula in the Milky Way shows similar sculpting by radiation. The Tarantula shows the same process on a far larger scale.

fun fact

If the Tarantula Nebula were as close to Earth as the Orion Nebula, it would be bright enough to cast shadows.

ESA/Hubble · CC BY 4.0

Image: ESA/Hubble & NASA Acknowledgements: Judy Schmidt ( Geckzilla )

source: ESA/Hubble ↗

historyWikipediaclassic1336–1565 · Karnataka, India

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗