WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Astronomers have found the closest-known black hole to the Earth, lurking near a star on our cosmic doorstep. Called "The Unicorn", the bizarre object is about 1,500 light-years away and has a mass of six billion billion billion tonnes – three times that of our sun – crammed into a space just 20 kilometres across. Astronomers are racing to find out more about the object, because its very existence could cast new light on the birth of black holes.
Why 'The Unicorn'?
Because even by black hole standards, it is an unusual beast. Until now, all known black holes have been at least five times more massive than the Sun. For years astronomers could not decide if this meant there is some mysterious law of nature compelling black holes to be at least this big, or whether they had simply not looked long and hard enough to discover smaller ones. Now they believe they have found one – and, by coincidence, it lies in the constellation called Monoceros – Greek for “unicorn”.
How did it get there?
No one knows for certain. Astronomers believe black holes are typically formed when a giant star runs out of nuclear fuel and starts to collapse under its own gravity. This usually triggers a catastrophic supernova explosion that leaves behind a neutron star a few tens of kilometres across. But sometimes, for reasons that are still unclear, there is no explosion, and the giant star carries on collapsing until it forms a black hole. The Unicorn seems to be the remnants of the long-vanished companion of the giant star lying next to it.
As black holes are invisible, how was it found?
As they cram so much mass into so small a volume, black holes have gravitational fields so intense nothing – not even light – can escape their clutches. Even so, black holes can reveal their existence through the effects of their titanic gravity on their surroundings. Colossal black holes with masses billions of times that of the sun have been found at the centres of galaxies through their effect on orbiting stars.
In the case of The Unicorn, its existence was revealed through its effect on its stellar neighbour, which is being hurled around by some invisible companion. Results published by an international team led by Ohio State University doctoral student Tharindu Jayasinghe show that the two objects are whirling around each other every 60 days. Detailed analysis of their motion revealed the The Unicorn to be three times more massive than its companion.
How do they know it’s the closest-known black hole?
This is not the first time astronomers have claimed to have found a black hole on our cosmic doorstep. Last year another team of astronomers said they found a small black hole in a star system visible to the naked eye, 1,000 light-years from the Earth. But studies now suggest the "black hole" is really a small family of ordinary stars.
The new claim is even more controversial, because the mass of the supposed black hole is very close to the maximum for that of a neutron star – a much less spectacular claim. In their study, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society journal, the team examines more than a dozen other possible explanations for their observations, and concludes a small black hole is the most plausible.
Could there be even closer black holes?
Quite possibly. During the early history of the universe, formed in the Big Bang 14 billion years ago, there were huge numbers of vast, sort-lived supergiant stars that may have spawned black holes that are still wandering through space. The Big Bang itself may also have given birth to swarms of tiny black holes.
Some astronomers claimed that such a small black hole may already be lurking on the edge of our own solar system. With a mass about 10 times that of the Earth, the black hole would be 20 centimetres across – the size of a football – but could account for the strange behaviour of objects orbiting far from the Sun. Even if a black hole came only within a few light-years of the Sun, it could stir up the cloud of comets surrounding our solar system. This could lead to a devastating wave of impacts of the kind implicated in the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.
Robert Matthews is visiting professor of science at Aston University, Birmingham, UK
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Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
• Bloomberg
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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TEAMS
EUROPE:
Justin Rose, Francesco Molinari, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Alex Noren, Thorbjorn Olesen, Paul Casey, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson
USA:
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- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
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Founders: Tamara Hachem and Yazid Erman
Based: Dubai
Launched: September 2019
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
