Wired Physics Warps Nearby Star’s Light

    Scientists are studying the nearest star and an unusual effect. The effect is called vacuum birefringence, and it describes how light interacts with the emptiness of space. Scientists are observing the effect in the light of a neutron star. The neutron star is located 400 light years from Earth.  A neutron star is a core of a star that exploded.  

     The light from this star is polarized. Up until now, it has been hard to find evidence of this effect in stars’ light.  The scientists used a large telescope in Chile. They found out the visible light of the neutron star was polarized as a result of vacuum birefringence. The scientists think there are particles floating in space. They expect light will be changed by the particles in space.

I found this article very interesting to me mostly because I didn’t know that much about how light travels in space. This article also demonstrates how science is fundamental in our lives because you can learn new things about our universe and the solar system. Scientists are also important because they can investigate things that we have no idea about, and based on their theories, conclusions, and evidence we can understand how the universe works.

Citation:

https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/weird-physics-warps-nearby-stars-light