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Jonathan O'Callaghan

Jonathan O'Callaghan

Contributing Writer

Latest Articles

A dark red planetlike object.
explainers

Neither Star nor Planet: A Strange Brown Dwarf Puzzles Astronomers

By Jonathan O'Callaghan
August 4, 2021
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Brown dwarfs such as “The Accident” are illuminating the murky borderlands that separate planets from stars.

A large telescope with many segmented hexagonal mirrors.
astrophysics

Brighter Than a Billion Billion Suns: Gamma-Ray Bursts Continue to Surprise

By Jonathan O'Callaghan
June 30, 2021
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These ultrabright flashes have recently been tracked for days, upending ideas about the cataclysms that create them.

A glowing blue sphere in space.
astrophysics

Squishy Neutron Star Setback Dampens Hopes of Exotic Matter

By Jonathan O'Callaghan
May 26, 2021
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Groundbreaking results show that neutron stars of different masses may have the same size — upending astrophysical models.

An illustration of a demon’s face.
explainers

How Maxwell’s Demon Continues to Startle Scientists

By Jonathan O'Callaghan
April 22, 2021
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The thorny thought experiment has been turned into a real experiment — one that physicists use to probe the physics of information.

Spheres representing black holes, with small ones on top, large ones on the bottom, and one midsize example in the middle.
astrophysics

Long-Missing Midsize Black Hole Flashes Into View

By Jonathan O'Callaghan
March 29, 2021
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Black holes seemed to come only in sizes small and XXL. A new search strategy has uncovered a black hole of “intermediate” mass, raising hopes of more to come.

An illustration of a bright blue flash in space.
astrophysics

New Kind of Space Explosion Reveals the Birth of a Black Hole

By Jonathan O'Callaghan
March 10, 2021
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A supernova-like explosion dubbed the Camel appears to be the result of a newborn black hole eating a star from the inside out.

An abstract black ball on a blue background.
Abstractions blog

In Violation of Einstein, Black Holes Might Have ‘Hair’

By Jonathan O'Callaghan
February 11, 2021
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A new study shows that extreme black holes could break the famous “no-hair” theorem, and in a way that we could detect.

Historical star chart of the constellation Monoceros.
Abstractions blog

‘Unicorn’ Discovery Points to a New Population of Black Holes

By Jonathan O'Callaghan
January 27, 2021
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Small black holes were nowhere to be found, leading astronomers to wonder if they didn’t exist at all. Now a series of findings, including a “unicorn” black hole, has raised hopes of solving the decade-long mystery.


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