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“Ghost” stars are aligned in beautiful structures near the centre of our galaxy, scientists say – and they might finally be getting to know why. Researchers discovered the unusual alignment of these planetary nebulae ten years ago, when Manchester doctoral student Bryan Rees spotted them. But it has remained a mystery how they came to be that way. Now scientists have been able to confirm that unusual alignment. But they have also made a breakthrough in finding out why they are there, after they found that a particular group of stars known as binary stars is responsible. Planetary nebulae are gas clouds that are thrown out from stars when they come to the end of their life. Our own star, the Sun, will do the same in about five billion years. Those ejected clouds are like ghosts of their dying stars, and assemble themselves in beautiful shapes, researchers say, such as an hourglass or butterfly. Researchers studied a range of planetary nebulae that are near the centre of our Milky Way. Though they are not related and come from different stars and different times, many of their shapes are similar, lining up in the same way and on the same plane. In the new study, scientists found that the alignment happens when those ghosts have a close companion star. The companion orbits around the main star, at the centre of the planetary nebulae, at a very close orbit. Without such a companion star, the nebulae do not line up in the mysterious pattern. That suggests that the alignment is linked to the splitting of the binary components when the star is born. “This finding pushes us closer to understanding the cause for this mysterious alignment,” said Albert Zijlstra, co-author and professor in astrophysics at The University of Manchester. “Planetary nebulae offer us a window into the heart of our galaxy and this insight deepens our understanding of the dynamics and evolution of the Milky Way’s bulge region. “The formation of stars in the bulge of our galaxy is a complex process that involves various factors such as gravity, turbulence, and magnetic fields. Until now, we have had a lack of evidence for which of these mechanisms could be causing this process to happen and generating this alignment. “The significance in this research lies in the fact that we now know that the alignment is observed in this very specific subset of planetary nebulae.” Researchers looked at 136 confirmed planetary nebulae in the galactic bulge, or the thickest section of our Milky Way. They used the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, and then looked at 40 more of them using images from the Hubble Space Telescope. The findings are reported in a new paper, ‘When the Stars Align: A 5 σ Concordance of Planetary Nebulae Major Axes in the Centre of our Galaxy’, in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. Read More Euclid: UK-backed mission ready to uncover mysteries of the dark universe Jeff Bezos’ rocket exploded and he didn’t tell anyone Nasa unveils ‘astrovans’ to carry Artemis moon mission astronauts Jeff Bezos’ rocket exploded and he didn’t tell anyone Nasa unveils ‘astrovans’ to carry Artemis moon mission astronauts Nasa releases James Webb telescope image on one-year anniversary

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States will not pay reparations to developing countries hit by climate-fueled disasters, John Kerry, the U.S.

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The environmental activist group Greenpeace has suggested that the next deadly heatwave to hit the planet should be named after an oil CEO after one person dies in the extreme heat. The heatwave, or area of high pressure is named Cerberus, after the three-headed dog that guarded the gates of the underworld in Dante's Inferno and Greek mythology. Temperatures have soared to a dangerously high 60C in Spain, according to satellite recordings, which on heat maps have turned red areas black. Highs of 40c were also experienced in France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy on Wednesday, the latter of which saw a 44-year-old worker die after collapsing while painting a zebra crossing just outside of Milan in the midday heat. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter As the heat rises to unprecedented levels, Greenpeace had its unique take on the matter. On Twitter, the organisation wrote: "The extreme heatwave sweeping Southern Europe has been named HEATWAVE CERBERUS - in reference to the dog that guards the underworld in Greek mythology. Can we name the next heatwave after an Oil CEO please instead?" They then added an illustration of the mythological monster, by artist Luciano Komorizono with three major oil companies (BP, Shell and Exxon Mobil) attached to each of the dog's heads. Greenpeace also attached a petition to the tweet calling for an end to the fossil fuel industry and their role in the climate crisis. The heatwave is expected to remain in the Mediterranean for the next two weeks. Heatwaves only started to be named in August 2022, with 'Zoe' hitting Seville, Spain with temperatures of over 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Only the highest tier of heatwaves, category C, have received names so far. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A couple has gone viral after branding their neighbour a “cat pervert” because their cat likes to visit his garden. As everyone knows, controlling cats is almost an impossible task as the very independent animals like to roam wherever they choose. But, one angry neighbour in a hilarious viral clip was left upset after his neighbour didn’t tell his cat to go home. The bizarre clip was posted on Twitter by the account Detect Clips and showed an angry neighbour arguing with another over his cat. The cat’s owner claimed: “You are keeping it in your yard, it’s our cat.” Meanwhile, the neighbour who was filming themselves being yelled at, replied: “I’m not even in my yard right now. What am I doing? The gate’s open.” The owner continued, telling the neighbour he should tell the cat to go back home. He said: “If you would go in your yard and say, ‘Mercury, go home, don’t come in our yard anymore.’” The neighbour holding the camera replied: “She will not listen. She’s a cat, she doesn’t speak English.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The angry cat owner threatened to call the police department and branded his neighbour a “cat pervert” several times over. He also accused him of “harbouring our cat”. The clip has been viewed 17 million times and made quite an impression online. “This video has everything — drama, comedy, great lines: ‘cat pervert,’ ‘you're harboring my cat’ 10/10,” one viewer assessed. Another wrote: “CAT PERVERT! ‘Send my cat home’ is amazing. Has this man ever met a cat?” “Cat pervert is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard someone be called,” one Twitter user else said. Someone else argued: “I feel so bad for the video taker because it’s like... have you met cats?? There's not one thing in this world you can do when a cat decides you're their friend.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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