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Astronomers find first-ever star gradually eaten by black hole

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Astronomers have found for the first time a sun-like star being gradually eaten in chunks — as large as three times the size of the Earth — by a supermassive black hole located about 520 million light years from our solar system.

The new revelations will allow scientists to understand further the destructive relationship between the enormous deep space objects.

The nearest-to-Earth supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* is located at the centre of the Milky Way galaxy and is four million times bigger than our Sun, according to the research paper published in the journal Nature.

Black holes are massive objects present in nearly the centre of nearly every giant galaxy. It also forms when a giant star dies and collapses under its own weight. These space objects are so powerful that they pull inside everything which enters their event horizon. Not even light can escape from their potent pull.

According to a recent study, astronomers noted that they have identified a supermassive black hole at the centre of a relatively nearby galaxy as its feast is underway eating chunks of the star.

The observation also noted that the size of the consumption is huge as the star passes near the black hole on its elongated oval-shaped obit.

Researchers noted in the study published in the journal Nature Astronomy that the giant star is located at a distance of about 520 million light years from our solar system.

A light year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km). It was observed being plundered by a supermassive black hole at the heart of a spiral-shaped galaxy.

As there are a number of large black holes, this recently discovered is a small one with a mass of a few hundred thousand times larger than the sun.

The data used for the study was from Nasa’s orbiting Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.

The cosmic prey was observed orbiting the black hole every 20 to 30 days. As it comes to its one end of the orbit, closing into the celestial hunter, it experiences its stellar atmosphere sucked away, or accreted, each time it passes.

The distance is enough to save the whole star shredded. Such an event is called a “repeating partial tidal disruption.”

After the stellar material is pulled into the black hole, the temperature of the matter increases up to around 3.6 million degrees Fahrenheit (2 million degrees Celsius), resulting in an immense amount of X-rays.

Astrophysicist Rob Eyles-Ferris of the University of Leicester in England, one of the authors of the study said: “What’s most likely to happen is the star’s orbit will gradually decay and it will get closer and closer to the supermassive black hole until it gets close enough to be completely disrupted.”

“That process is likely to take years at least — more likely decades or centuries,” Eyles-Ferris added.

“There are lots of unanswered questions about tidal disruption events and exactly how the orbit of the star affects them,” Eyles-Ferris said. 

“It’s a very fast-moving field at the moment. This one has shown us that new discoveries could come at any time.”

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Bitcoin makes its first breach of $94,000.

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As news broke that Donald Trump’s social media company was in negotiations to acquire cryptocurrency trading platform Bakkt (BKKT.N), Bitcoin surged to a record high above $94,000, adding to optimism that the next Trump administration would be cryptocurrency-friendly.

This year, Bitcoin, the largest and most well-known cryptocurrency in the world, has more than doubled in value. Just before the close of the previous session, it reached a record high of $94,078 before closing at $92,104 in Asian hours on Wednesday.

According to the Financial Times, which cited two persons with knowledge, NYSE-owner Intercontinental Exchange (ICE.N) is supporting Trump Media and Technology Group (DJT.O), opens new tab, which runs Truth Social, in its pursuit of an all-stock purchase of Bakkt.

In addition to traders taking advantage of the first day of options trading on the Nasdaq over BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF (IBIT.O), Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG, stated that the Trump deal chatter had helped push bitcoin to a record high.

As traders hoped that President-elect Trump’s pledged support for digital assets would result in a less stringent regulatory framework and give bitcoin a boost after a sluggish few months, cryptocurrencies have surged since the U.S. election on November 5.

According to data and analytics aggregator CoinGecko, the global cryptocurrency market is now worth over $3 trillion, a new high, due to the growing excitement.

Australian online broker Pepperstone’s head of research, Chris Weston, stated that there is genuine underlying purchasing pressure on bitcoin and that “another kick higher should bring in a fresh chase from those who like to buy what’s strong.”

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The PTA discloses how many VPNs are registered in Pakistan.

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Speaking at the Senate Standing Committee on IT meeting in Islamabad, which was presided over by Palwasha Khan, was the PTA chief.

The continuous regulation of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) in Pakistan was the main topic of discussion. The committee called for the next meeting and voiced concerns about the Minister of State for IT’s absence for the third consecutive session.

“We have spent the last two years developing VPN legislation. Uninterrupted internet connection is guaranteed by registered VPNs without sacrificing privacy, according to the PTA chairman.

During the session, Senator Muhammad Humayun criticized the measures, saying, “Shutting down platforms like X (formerly Twitter) is jeopardizing the entire IT industry and impacting the livelihoods of over 2.5 million individuals in Pakistan.”

He opposed laws that would hurt independent contractors and small companies.

Although the PTA promised that registered VPNs would not experience internet outages, committee members wanted to know the exact legal foundation for these regulations. Senator Kamran Murtaza asked for documents that detailed the requirements for registration.

“If VPN services are abruptly halted, there will be a major backlash,” Senator Afnan Ullah said. While pointing out that Pakistan’s IT exports had increased by 20% in the previous year, he emphasised that the sector was still lagging behind India.

Concerns over the viability of the existing VPN whitelist method were voiced by the committee. While IT officials admitted that more than 1 million freelancers in Pakistan rely significantly on VPNs for their business, Senator Humayun pointed out that the laws should be more beneficial than harmful.

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Pakistan declares AI chatbots to be dangers to security.

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The National Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) has released a security advisory concerning the increasing utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, emphasizing potential hazards related to the exposing of private data.

The recommendation recognizes that AI chatbots, like ChatGPT, have gained significant popularity for personal and professional duties owing to their capacity to improve productivity and engagement. Nonetheless, the CERT cautions that these AI systems frequently retain sensitive information, so posing a danger of data breaches.

Engagements with AI chatbots may encompass sensitive information, such as corporate strategy, personal dialogues, or confidential correspondence, which could be compromised if inadequately safeguarded. The warning emphasizes the necessity for a comprehensive cybersecurity framework to alleviate concerns associated with AI chatbot utilization.

Users are advised against inputting critical information into AI chatbots and are encouraged to deactivate any chat-saving functionalities to mitigate the danger of unwanted data access. The CERT additionally advises performing routine system security checks and employing monitoring tools to identify any anomalous behavior from AI chatbots.

Organizations are urged to adopt rigorous security protocols to safeguard against possible data breaches resulting from AI-driven interactions.

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