The career criminal who was killed in a shootout with a wounded hero cop was on the streets because a Queens judge cut him loose three months ago — even after prosecutors pushed to lock him up. Gary…

Some binary stars are unusual. They contain a main sequence star like our Sun, while the other is a “dead” white dwarf star that left fusion behind and emanates only residual heat. When the main sequence star ages into a red giant, the two stars share a common envelope. This common envelope phase is a big mystery in astrophysics, and to understand what’s happening, astronomers are building a catalogue of main sequence-white dwarf binaries. Common envelope (CE) binaries are important because they’re the progenitors for Type 1a supernovae. When the main sequence star swells into a red giant, the compact and gravitationally powerful white dwarf draws matter away from it. This matter gathers on the surface of the white dwarf until it reaches a critical point and then detonates as a supernova. CE binaries are also important because they can merge and emit gravitational waves, another astrophysical phenomenon that needs better understanding. In new research, astronomers from the University of Toronto identified 52 candidates with high probabilities of being CE binaries. The research is “The First Catalog of Candidate White Dwarf–Main-sequence Binaries in Open Star Clusters: A New Window into Common Envelope Evolution.” It’s published in the Astrophysical Journal and the lead author is Steffani Grondin, a graduate student in the David A. Dunlap Department for Astronomy & Astrophysics at U of T. “Despite its importance, CE evolution may be one of the largest uncertainties in binary evolution,” the authors write in their research. “Binary stars play a huge role in our universe,” said lead author Grondin. “This observational sample marks a key first step in allowing us to trace the full life cycles of binaries and will hopefully allow us to constrain the most mysterious phase of stellar evolution.” In a Type Ia supernova, a white dwarf (left) draws matter from a companion star until its mass hits a limit, which leads to a supernova explosion. Image Credit: NASA The research used massive data sets from three sources: the ESA’s Gaia spacecraft, The Pan-STARRS1 survey, and the 2MASS survey. The team used machine learning techniques to comb the dataset for candidate main sequence-white dwarf (MSWD) binaries in 299 open star clusters in the Milky Way. Open clusters were chosen because they can provide an independent age constraint for the system, allowing the researchers to trace the evolution of the binaries from before the CE phase to after the CE phase. The researchers found 52 high-probability candidates in 38 open clusters. This number is a huge increase in the number of known MSWD binaries. Only two were known previously. Machine learning is a powerful tool that allows astronomers to work with huge data sets to uncover difficult-to-distinguish results, and this study is no exception. “The use of machine learning helped us to identify clear signatures for these unique systems that we weren’t able to easily identify with just a few datapoints alone,” says co-author Joshua Speagle, a professor in the David A. Dunlap Department for Astronomy & Astrophysics and Department of Statistical Sciences at U of T. “It also allowed us to automate our search across hundreds of clusters, a task that would have been impossible if we were trying to identify these systems manually.” Study co-author Maria Drout is also a professor in the David A. Dunlap Department for Astronomy & Astrophysics at U of T. Drout says that the team’s results illustrate how many things in our Universe are “hiding in plain sight” if we only had the tools to see them. As our telescope and survey tools become more discerning and gather larger data sets, our machine-learning tools are making these data sets less opaque. Drout points out that finding the MSWD binaries in open clusters is the key. Close-up of the Messier 35 open star cluster. Finding MSWD candidates in open clusters allows astrophysicists to constrain the ages of the binaries. Credit: Wikisky “While there are many examples of this type of binary system, very few have the age constraints necessary to fully map their evolutionary history. While there is plenty of work left to confirm and fully characterize these systems, these results will have implications across multiple areas of astrophysics,” Drout explains. The evolution of CE systems is poorly understood. Astrophysicists don’t know how energy is dissipated during the CE phase, how stellar metallicity affects the development of the CE, or how initial binary parameters predict post-CE orbital configurations. Those are just a few of their unanswered questions. This study can’t answer all of those questions, but by producing the largest catalogue of MSWD binaries, the team is setting the stage for researchers to make progress. Grondin and her co-researchers did follow-up spectroscopy on a subset of three systems with the Gemini and Lick observatories. They confirmed two of them to be MSWD binaries. This figure from the research shows spectra for three high-probability MSWD candidates. The coloured lines are the spectra, and the black lines are representative models of M-type main sequence stars. The authors chose these three as representative samples from their catalogue. They also say that the top panel, from Alessi12-c1, is a clear MSWD binary, while the bottom two are likely red dwarf white dwarf pairs. Image Credit: Grondin et al. 2024. They also retrieved archival light curves from TESS, Kepler, and the Zwicky Transient Facility. All three candidates showed clear variability in their light curves. That could indicate rapid M-dwarf rotation or ellipsoidal modulations in a short-period binary. The researchers explain that the catalogue could be contaminated, though not very significantly, by single WDs or MS+MS binaries. Natal kicks likely influence the results. Many of the MSWD candidates show offsets from their host clusters, suggesting that natal kicks were imparted when the WD formed or during common envelope ejection. Since 78% of the open clusters they observed lacked candidates, the authors think that some MSWD binaries were ejected from their clusters by natal kicks. “Ultimately, this catalog is a first step to obtaining a set of observational benchmarks to better link post-CE systems to their pre-CE progenitors,” the authors write in their research. More spectroscopic observations of the candidates will help confirm more of them as MSWD binaries. An expanded search could also help identify MSWD candidates that have been ejected from their clusters by natal kicks. As is often the case in astronomy and astrophysics, a larger dataset is needed before researchers can reach any conclusions. “Ultimately, this catalogue is a necessary first step in a larger effort to provide observational constraints on the CE phase,” the authors write, noting that a detailed characterization of some of the candidates in this sample is already underway. The larger sample will allow researchers to link the masses of post-CE binaries with pre-CE progenitors. “With these observational benchmarks, this sample will aid in efforts to unlock important new insights into one of the most uncertain phases of binary evolution,” the authors conclude. The post Main Sequence and White Dwarf Binaries are Hiding in Plain Sight appeared first on Universe Today.

Dem Rep Crockett Loses It During ‘Dismantle DEI’ Debate, Goes On Unhinged Racist Rant [WATCH]

If you’re having trouble finding all of your X followers on Bluesky, Sky Follower Bridge will save the day.

Source: "Nafplio" https://old.bitchute.com/video/MtLLUlO7cB2x

It was a beautiful day at the International Men's Day event in Canberra. Thank you for putting this event on and fighting for the men of Australia Paul. That's all in front of the REAL Parliament House. Video credit Gaz Wright #MensMentalHealthMattersToo #mentalhealth #mensmentalhealth #InternationalMensDay

They are distracting you with major nothing burgers so you don’t see that the pedophiles and perverts are in power. They are energy thieves. Let's focus on what is important.

A stunning 25% of marriages end, in large part, because of arguments over household chores. So the third most common reason for divorce after falling out of love and infidelity is... cooking and laundry.It seems utterly ridiculous, on the surface. But when you've lived with someone long enough, you know that having the same arguments over and over — even over tiny things — can eventually push you over the edge.One common argument that pops up again and again: One spouse being told they're doing something "wrong". UnsplashProbably the stereotypical example is the husband loading the dishwasher but repeatedly being told he's doing it incorrectly. This is where it's easy to fall into the trap of the "nagging wife" stereotype. Don't forget that husbands or male partners can be extremely particular and critical about certain things, too.For example, Mom might pack all of the kids' lunches for school, but Dad sure has a lot to say about the nutritional content for those lunches.Wife doesn't like the way Husband runs the kitchen while cooking. Husband badgers wife to fold the laundry a different way.Even when the division of labor isn't a major problem, per se, sometimes spouses have trouble "letting go" of control when it comes to the "how" things get done.In a recent Reddit thread asking for advice on this exact topic, one comment hit the nail on the head:"My wife & I have a rule: if you insist that there's one right way to do something and (furthermore) insist on supervising it, you just claimed that job. On the spot. You might be surprised how much drama that has helped us avoid."This stuck out to me because it reminds me so much of my own household.I do all the dishes in our home, and one thing I really appreciate is that I never hear a word about it unless my wife or one of the kids needs a specific dish washed at a specific time. Otherwise, the kitchen sink is my domain!Likewise, I don't moan about the mealplans that my wife makes. I'm happy to give my input when she wants it, or recommend something, but you won't catch me grumbling that I'm not in the mood for chili when she's gone through the immense trouble of planning that meal already.It's a really solid rule of thumb. If you want it done a very specific way, and not just done, do it yourself. Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash I asked Kelly Hubbell, who helps busy parents create a healthy division of labor in their household, for her tips on this common conundrum.She sometimes asks couples who are in conflict over chores to think of division of labor instead of "partner collaboration," to get through to them that they need to work together to keep the household afloat."A great starting point is defining roles and expectations by setting up a 'standard of care' that both partners can agree on," she says.In other words, have that conversation about what it truly means for someone to "do the dishes." When should they be done by, is it OK to leave a couple things in the sink if they won't fit in the dishwasher, do they need to be dried and put away or can that happen the next day? Hash it out in a collaborative way that you both agree on."By aligning on what’s most important for your family and agreeing (and compromising) ahead of time on how tasks will be done, you can avoid unnecessary conflict and focus on what really matters: quality time and shared goals."Here's the big catch with the "you just claimed it rule." Guys have to participate in full good faith.Weaponized incompetence, division of labor, mental load. These are all hot button words that can put husbands on the defensive, but the truth is that none of this matters if men aren't showing up at home and doing their share.(Plenty of data shows that, on average, women are still doing way more at home.)Hubbell says that you have to both agree to a standard of care for your home. Only occasionally doing the dishes when you feel like it, or only doing some of them, or making your wife do literally everything is not an acceptable standard.And if she doesn't get to nitpick how you do your chores, you don't get to nitpick hers either.Outside of that, we should all be able to agree that the only wrong way to load the dishwasher is if the dishes are coming out still dirty! If they're clean, live and let live.