Dungeons & Dragons Massive Tiamat Miniature Announced
Today, WizKids has revealed to IGN it is developing its largest TTRPG miniature to date, an absolutely massive, game-scale premium model of Tiamat, the five-headed fiendish goddess, mother, and queen of chromatic dragons.
Slated to hit store shelves in September of this year and available for pre-order in the WizKids online shop, the miniature will be priced "under $400" with more details to come, and tower over your player characters, monster miniatures, most of your terrain pieces, and likely some small pets at 28.9 inches (73.4 cm) wide, 14.6 inches (37.1 cm) tall, and 16.8 inches (42.8 cm) long, supported by a 200mm clear round base. This new miniature will be the largest officially licensed, playable representation of the classic Dungeons & Dragons antagonist since her earliest incarnation by D&D co-creator Gary Gygax back in 1975.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/29/dungeons-dragons-tiamat-premium-miniature-render-preview"]
Get a glimpse of the newly revealed Tiamat premium miniature by WizKids from every angle in the preview video above.
Speaking with IGN, WizKids executive producer of RPGs, Patrick O'Hagan, shared insight about what it took to bring the classic Dungeons & Dragons tyrant to life like never before. "Tiamat was so much fun for us to bring to life as so many people are familiar with this classic D&D entity and can envision how she looks with her unique, five-headed form. This version of Tiamat will be the largest mini we have ever worked on." "There are so many challenges to doing something on this scale – the components, the weight, the size, and the engineering of her use," O'Hagan said. "Remember she isn’t just a statue – we want folks to play with her on their tables! Ultimately these challenges weighted against what we felt was a price fans were willing to pay for her." [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Remember%20she%20isn%E2%80%99t%20just%20a%20statue%20%E2%80%93%20we%20want%20folks%20to%20play%20with%20her%20on%20their%20tables!"] But there's more to capturing the essence of such an emblematic creature than sheer size, as O'Hagan revealed. Her chaotic and savage multi-color-headed form is both a literal and symbolic representation of the classic chromatic dragons—red, green, blue, black, and white—so sculpting those defining qualities was important. "We want to bring the books to life and create realistic, to scale minis that bring terror, as with Tiamat, along with laughter and joy to people’s game tables. We want to show action and movement," O'Hagan said. "The iconic image of her coming out of the portal from Tyranny of Dragons is so amazing we wanted to take that and bring it to people’s tables. We felt it time to truly showcase Tiamat and give her the spotlight to shine in all her epic glory, focusing on her size and overall wild nature that so many love about her."[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=wizkids-dungeons-dragons-tiamat-premium-miniature-gallery&captions=true"]
Check out the final concept renders of the upcoming Tiamat premium miniature by WizKids to see what it will look like on your table.
No stranger to massive TTRPG miniatures, WizKids has steadily released a line of incredibly large, and incredibly detailed miniatures designed to dominate the table, including the recently released gargantuan ancient white dragon Arveiaturace, the Walking Statue of Waterdeep, and the imposing terrain centerpiece simply called The Tower. And while the premium Tiamat miniature will be the largest creature the company has created thus far, WizKids is committed to bringing many more of Dungeons & Dragons' most iconic elements to life, and the game table. "We have been working with [Dungeons & Dragons developer Wizards of the Coast] for the last seven years with the launch of [Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition]. In the last year, we have really been pushing the envelope to bring the most iconic elements of D&D to player’s tabletops: Adult & Gargantuan Dragons, The Falling Star, The D&D Tower, the Yawning Portal. "We are dedicated to bringing those D&D moments to the tabletop community. You can imagine we have a full slate for the next three years in the works. We work closely with Wizards of the Coast on all of our product launches. We want to ensure that as they create new fantastical experiences, we support these, as well as dive into the back catalog for the things that we haven’t created yet...". [poilib element="accentDivider"] Brandin Tyrrel is IGN's Manager of Editorial Events. You can find him on Unlocked, or chat over on Twitter at @BrandinTyrrel.Evil Genius 2: World Domination Review
Building a criminal empire isn't all fun and games, you know. In Evil Genius 2, the sequel/reboot of the 2004 cult classic strategy game, running a casino and super-secret volcano lair with a doomsday device takes vision… and the ability to manage an army of minions. It's a management sim that requires careful planning and timing; you need to build a base that runs like a well-oiled machine that can mint the resources you'll need to conquer the globe. To succeed where every Bond villain has failed, the base needs to double as a labyrinth of wild traps like shark pits and laser walls that can keep nosy secret agents from bringing too much heat down on you. Though aspects of the game can feel like they're at cross-purposes from time to time, Evil Genius 2's goofy, lighthearted vision perfectly captures a cartoony retro spy vibe that lets you revel in pretending you're the ultimate evil boss.
Taking advantage of nearly 20 years of technological advances since the original, Evil Genius 2 makes good on the promise of making a Bond Villain simulator. The art, music, and style channel the cartoon camp of ‘60s and ‘70s spy movies and TV. In cutscenes, the Genius banters with rival villains and super spies or berates his minions, who maintain a sheepish, aww-shucks attitude. All of this paints the Genius' rise to power as a fun, free-wheeling romp. The swanky lounge soundtrack, punctuated by dramatic musical cues likewise feels like it's pulled out of the early-era Bond that permeates every pore of the game.
You can feel it most acutely in the characters. Though you are the mastermind, there are actually many Evil Geniuses. At the start of the game you can choose one of four to be your avatar. From the gold-obsessed Maximilian to the metal-armed Russian General Red Ivan, the geniuses all have the larger-than-life international crime syndicate boss look and feel. You can also recruit "henchmen," unique lieutenants with similar powers and Bond villain personas. Lastly, each region of the world has a singular Super Agent who can disrupt your base pretty handily and deliver some of that crucial hero-villain banter.
Continue Reading at GameSpotEvil Genius 2: World Domination Review
Building a criminal empire isn't all fun and games, you know. In Evil Genius 2, the sequel/reboot of the 2004 cult classic strategy game, running a casino and super-secret volcano lair with a doomsday device takes vision… and the ability to manage an army of minions. It's a management sim that requires careful planning and timing; you need to build a base that runs like a well-oiled machine that can mint the resources you'll need to conquer the globe. To succeed where every Bond villain has failed, the base needs to double as a labyrinth of wild traps like shark pits and laser walls that can keep nosy secret agents from bringing too much heat down on you. Though aspects of the game can feel like they're at cross-purposes from time to time, Evil Genius 2's goofy, lighthearted vision perfectly captures a cartoony retro spy vibe that lets you revel in pretending you're the ultimate evil boss.
Taking advantage of nearly 20 years of technological advances since the original, Evil Genius 2 makes good on the promise of making a Bond Villain simulator. The art, music, and style channel the cartoon camp of ‘60s and ‘70s spy movies and TV. In cutscenes, the Genius banters with rival villains and super spies or berates his minions, who maintain a sheepish, aww-shucks attitude. All of this paints the Genius' rise to power as a fun, free-wheeling romp. The swanky lounge soundtrack, punctuated by dramatic musical cues likewise feels like it's pulled out of the early-era Bond that permeates every pore of the game.
You can feel it most acutely in the characters. Though you are the mastermind, there are actually many Evil Geniuses. At the start of the game you can choose one of four to be your avatar. From the gold-obsessed Maximilian to the metal-armed Russian General Red Ivan, the geniuses all have the larger-than-life international crime syndicate boss look and feel. You can also recruit "henchmen," unique lieutenants with similar powers and Bond villain personas. Lastly, each region of the world has a singular Super Agent who can disrupt your base pretty handily and deliver some of that crucial hero-villain banter.
Continue Reading at GameSpotStar Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi Cast Revealed, Starts Shooting in April
Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Disney+ show following the journey of the galaxy's beloved Jedi Master, starts shooting this April. Joining this announcement, Disney and LucasFilm have revealed the show's principle cast members.
Heading up the cast is, of course, Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan. He's joined by Hayden Christensen, who will once again take up the role of Darth Vader.
In addition to these headliners, Obi-Wan Kenobi will star Moses Ingram, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell, and Benny Safdie.
While all of the newly-announced actors' roles remain unannounced, Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse played Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru in the prequel trilogy, and so will presumably be reprising those roles for the show.
[caption id="attachment_2493024" align="alignnone" width="1000"]
The Obi-Wan Kenobi cast (Source: StarWars.com).[/caption]
The show will take place 10 years after Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, and so follows the events of Anakin Skywalker falling further to the dark side and becoming the Sith Lord Darth Vader. No further details on the plot have been revealed.
Obi-Wan Kenobi will be directed by Deborah Chow, who directed two episodes of The Mandalorian Season 1; The Sin and The Reckoning. The show will be executive produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, Deborah Chow, Ewan McGregor, and writer Joby Harold.
For more from the many worlds of Star Wars, check out how Obi-Wan is set to be a "standalone season", and why Liam Neeson hasn't been asked to play Qui-Gon Jinn. Check out Obi-Wan's greatest moments too. And if you want a sneak peek at what Uncle Owen could be like in the show, watch our (definitely not silly) video of him reading a Star Wars script written by IGN.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/11/obi-wan-kenobi-the-greatest-jedi-of-all-time"]
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.
The Obi-Wan Kenobi cast (Source: StarWars.com).[/caption]
The show will take place 10 years after Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, and so follows the events of Anakin Skywalker falling further to the dark side and becoming the Sith Lord Darth Vader. No further details on the plot have been revealed.
Obi-Wan Kenobi will be directed by Deborah Chow, who directed two episodes of The Mandalorian Season 1; The Sin and The Reckoning. The show will be executive produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, Deborah Chow, Ewan McGregor, and writer Joby Harold.
For more from the many worlds of Star Wars, check out how Obi-Wan is set to be a "standalone season", and why Liam Neeson hasn't been asked to play Qui-Gon Jinn. Check out Obi-Wan's greatest moments too. And if you want a sneak peek at what Uncle Owen could be like in the show, watch our (definitely not silly) video of him reading a Star Wars script written by IGN.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/11/obi-wan-kenobi-the-greatest-jedi-of-all-time"]
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi Cast Revealed, Starts Shooting in April
Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Disney+ show following the journey of the galaxy's beloved Jedi Master, starts shooting this April. Joining this announcement, Disney and LucasFilm have revealed the show's principle cast members.
Heading up the cast is, of course, Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan. He's joined by Hayden Christensen, who will once again take up the role of Darth Vader.
In addition to these headliners, Obi-Wan Kenobi will star Moses Ingram, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell, and Benny Safdie.
While all of the newly-announced actors' roles remain unannounced, Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse played Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru in the prequel trilogy, and so will presumably be reprising those roles for the show.
[caption id="attachment_2493024" align="alignnone" width="1000"] The Obi-Wan Kenobi cast (Source: StarWars.com).[/caption]
The show will take place 10 years after Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, and so follows the events of Anakin Skywalker falling further to the dark side and becoming the Sith Lord Darth Vader. No further details on the plot have been revealed.
Obi-Wan Kenobi will be directed by Deborah Chow, who directed two episodes of The Mandalorian Season 1; The Sin and The Reckoning. The show will be executive produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, Deborah Chow, Ewan McGregor, and writer Joby Harold.
For more from the many worlds of Star Wars, check out how Obi-Wan is set to be a "standalone season", and why Liam Neeson hasn't been asked to play Qui-Gon Jinn. And if you want a sneak peek at what Uncle Owen could be like in the show, watch our (definitely not silly) video of him reading a Star Wars script written by IGN.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/11/obi-wan-kenobi-the-greatest-jedi-of-all-time"]
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.
The Obi-Wan Kenobi cast (Source: StarWars.com).[/caption]
The show will take place 10 years after Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, and so follows the events of Anakin Skywalker falling further to the dark side and becoming the Sith Lord Darth Vader. No further details on the plot have been revealed.
Obi-Wan Kenobi will be directed by Deborah Chow, who directed two episodes of The Mandalorian Season 1; The Sin and The Reckoning. The show will be executive produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, Deborah Chow, Ewan McGregor, and writer Joby Harold.
For more from the many worlds of Star Wars, check out how Obi-Wan is set to be a "standalone season", and why Liam Neeson hasn't been asked to play Qui-Gon Jinn. And if you want a sneak peek at what Uncle Owen could be like in the show, watch our (definitely not silly) video of him reading a Star Wars script written by IGN.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/11/obi-wan-kenobi-the-greatest-jedi-of-all-time"]
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. EA Sports PGA Tour Announced
EA has announced EA Sports PGA Tour, a new “next-gen” golf game, is currently in development.
The game will be the first created as part of a new, long-term deal signed with PGA Tour, and will be built on EA’s established Frostbite engine. EA Sports PGA Tour will allow players to build virtual careers and visit many of the most famous golf courses around the world. Also featured will be some of the most famous golf players in the professional world, who players will be able to test their skills against.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/07/15/rory-mcilroy-pga-tour-video-review"]
“Our team of passionate golf fans is meticulously recreating the world’s top courses such as Pebble Beach, and we can’t wait to give fans the opportunity to compete on some of the most iconic PGA TOUR courses and win the FedExCup,” said Cam Webber, EA Sports executive vice president and general manager.
EA promise that further details about EA Sports PGA Tour will be revealed in the coming weeks, and that within the coming months a release date will be announced.
While PGA Tour will feature famous pro golfers, Tiger Woods will not be one of them; 2K recently signed a multi-year exclusivity deal with Woods. The golfer was previously the face of EA’s long-running Tiger Woods’ PGA Tour series, but the contract between him and EA concluded in 2013. The series then became Rory McIlroy PGA Tour in 2015, and EA Sports PGA Tour will be the new incarnation of this long-running series.
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.
EA Sports PGA Tour Announced
EA has announced EA Sports PGA Tour, a new “next-gen” golf game, is currently in development.
The game will be the first created as part of a new, long-term deal signed with PGA Tour, and will be built on EA’s established Frostbite engine. EA Sports PGA Tour will allow players to build virtual careers and visit many of the most famous golf courses around the world. Also featured will be some of the most famous golf players in the professional world, who players will be able to test their skills against.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/07/15/rory-mcilroy-pga-tour-video-review"]
“Our team of passionate golf fans is meticulously recreating the world’s top courses such as Pebble Beach, and we can’t wait to give fans the opportunity to compete on some of the most iconic PGA TOUR courses and win the FedExCup,” said Cam Webber, EA Sports executive vice president and general manager.
EA promise that further details about EA Sports PGA Tour will be revealed in the coming weeks, and that within the coming months a release date will be announced.
While PGA Tour will feature famous pro golfers, Tiger Woods will not be one of them; 2K recently signed a multi-year exclusivity deal with Woods. The golfer was previously the face of EA’s long-running Tiger Woods’ PGA Tour series, but the contract between him and EA concluded in 2013. The series then became Rory McIlroy PGA Tour in 2015, and EA Sports PGA Tour will be the new incarnation of this long-running series.
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.
First Ever Photo of a Black Hole Gets More Details of Its Surrounding Magnetic Fields
The scientists that revealed the very first photograph of a black hole have added polarized light to the image, offering a more detailed look at its magnetic fields.
According to New Scientist, the group of astronomers working on the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project have released a polarized-based image of the black hole that they first captured in 2019. The new photo offers a much sharper view of the black hole, particularly the swirling magnetic fields surrounding the edge of the cosmic body, which may reveal more about the jet process in space.
The group's most recent study, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, presents new findings of how the supermassive black hole, located at the center of the M87 galaxy, 55 million light-years away, launches powerful jets of matter from its core. The formation of these jets has long been a mystery to researchers, but the newly-illuminated magnetic fields may provide some important clues.
[caption id="attachment_2492972" align="alignnone" width="720"]
Image credit: Event Horizon Telescope[/caption]
"The polarised light has these curved swoops like a spiral," said Sara Issaoun, an EHT team member at Radboud University in the Netherlands. "This tells us that the magnetic field around the black hole is ordered, and this is really important because only an ordered magnetic field can launch jets – a scrambled magnetic field cannot do that."
The Event Horizon Telescope itself is actually made up of eight telescopes that are linked together to create one giant radio telescope that orbits the Earth and uses the planet's rotation to aid in capturing incredible images that can be examined back on the ground. In this case, the EHT team measured the polarised light near the black hole to determine the strength of its magnetic field.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/04/10/scientists-have-revealed-the-first-photo-of-a-black-hole"]
As noted by the report, the reading of the black hole's magnetic field came out somewhere between 1 and 30 gauss (units of magnetic induction), which is "up to about 50 times the strength of Earth's magnetic field as measured at the planet's poles, where it is strongest." This measurement helped researchers to gain a better understanding of how the black hole and its jets may work.
"This jet process is totally amazing – something the size of our solar system can shoot out a jet that pierces through entire galaxies and even galaxy neighborhoods," Issaoun explained. "Now we're really seeing the magnetic field close to the black hole for the first time, and that's connecting it to the jet, which is the most powerful process in the universe."
Moving forward, the scientists collaborating on this program plan to expand their research by adding a few more telescopes to the EHT network in order to gather more information about the black hole and its jet production. Specifically, they hope to learn about the process of the astrophysical jets created by the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy.
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=nasa-black-hole-gallery&captions=true"]
Towards the end of 2019, NASA released a black hole simulation that showed how gravity warps light within a black hole, and then, a couple of months later, at the beginning of 2020, scientists detected the biggest explosion in the galaxy, which was believed to be from a supermassive black hole. For more on black holes, read about how one appeared to break the law of physics itself.
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.
Image credit: Event Horizon Telescope[/caption]
"The polarised light has these curved swoops like a spiral," said Sara Issaoun, an EHT team member at Radboud University in the Netherlands. "This tells us that the magnetic field around the black hole is ordered, and this is really important because only an ordered magnetic field can launch jets – a scrambled magnetic field cannot do that."
The Event Horizon Telescope itself is actually made up of eight telescopes that are linked together to create one giant radio telescope that orbits the Earth and uses the planet's rotation to aid in capturing incredible images that can be examined back on the ground. In this case, the EHT team measured the polarised light near the black hole to determine the strength of its magnetic field.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/04/10/scientists-have-revealed-the-first-photo-of-a-black-hole"]
As noted by the report, the reading of the black hole's magnetic field came out somewhere between 1 and 30 gauss (units of magnetic induction), which is "up to about 50 times the strength of Earth's magnetic field as measured at the planet's poles, where it is strongest." This measurement helped researchers to gain a better understanding of how the black hole and its jets may work.
"This jet process is totally amazing – something the size of our solar system can shoot out a jet that pierces through entire galaxies and even galaxy neighborhoods," Issaoun explained. "Now we're really seeing the magnetic field close to the black hole for the first time, and that's connecting it to the jet, which is the most powerful process in the universe."
Moving forward, the scientists collaborating on this program plan to expand their research by adding a few more telescopes to the EHT network in order to gather more information about the black hole and its jet production. Specifically, they hope to learn about the process of the astrophysical jets created by the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy.
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=nasa-black-hole-gallery&captions=true"]
Towards the end of 2019, NASA released a black hole simulation that showed how gravity warps light within a black hole, and then, a couple of months later, at the beginning of 2020, scientists detected the biggest explosion in the galaxy, which was believed to be from a supermassive black hole. For more on black holes, read about how one appeared to break the law of physics itself.
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.New Photo of Black Hole Illuminates Details of Its Surrounding Magnetic Fields
The scientists that revealed the very first photograph of a black hole have added polarized light to the image, offering a more detailed look at its magnetic fields.
According to New Scientist, the group of astronomers working on the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project have released a polarized-based image of the black hole that they first captured in 2019. The new photo offers a much sharper view of the black hole, particularly the swirling magnetic fields surrounding the edge of the cosmic body, which may reveal more about the jet process in space.
The group's most recent study, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, presents new findings of how the supermassive black hole, located at the center of the M87 galaxy, 55 million light-years away, launches powerful jets of matter from its core. The formation of these jets has long been a mystery to researchers, but the newly-illuminated magnetic fields may provide some important clues.
[caption id="attachment_2492972" align="alignnone" width="720"] Image credit: Event Horizon Telescope[/caption]
"The polarised light has these curved swoops like a spiral," said Sara Issaoun, an EHT team member at Radboud University in the Netherlands. "This tells us that the magnetic field around the black hole is ordered, and this is really important because only an ordered magnetic field can launch jets – a scrambled magnetic field cannot do that."
The Event Horizon Telescope itself is actually made up of eight telescopes that are linked together to create one giant radio telescope that orbits the Earth and uses the planet's rotation to aid in capturing incredible images that can be examined back on the ground. In this case, the EHT team measured the polarised light near the black hole to determine the strength of its magnetic field.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/04/10/scientists-have-revealed-the-first-photo-of-a-black-hole"]
As noted by the report, the reading of the black hole's magnetic field came out somewhere between 1 and 30 gauss (units of magnetic induction), which is "up to about 50 times the strength of Earth's magnetic field as measured at the planet's poles, where it is strongest." This measurement helped researchers to gain a better understanding of how the black hole and its jets may work.
"This jet process is totally amazing – something the size of our solar system can shoot out a jet that pierces through entire galaxies and even galaxy neighborhoods," Issaoun explained. "Now we're really seeing the magnetic field close to the black hole for the first time, and that's connecting it to the jet, which is the most powerful process in the universe."
Moving forward, the scientists collaborating on this program plan to expand their research by adding a few more telescopes to the EHT network in order to gather more information about the black hole and its jet production. Specifically, they hope to learn about the process of the astrophysical jets created by the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy.
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=nasa-black-hole-gallery&captions=true"]
Towards the end of 2019, NASA released a black hole simulation that showed how gravity warps light within a black hole, and then, a couple of months later, at the beginning of 2020, scientists detected the biggest explosion in the galaxy, which was believed to be from a supermassive black hole. For more on black holes, read about how one appeared to break the law of physics itself.
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.
Image credit: Event Horizon Telescope[/caption]
"The polarised light has these curved swoops like a spiral," said Sara Issaoun, an EHT team member at Radboud University in the Netherlands. "This tells us that the magnetic field around the black hole is ordered, and this is really important because only an ordered magnetic field can launch jets – a scrambled magnetic field cannot do that."
The Event Horizon Telescope itself is actually made up of eight telescopes that are linked together to create one giant radio telescope that orbits the Earth and uses the planet's rotation to aid in capturing incredible images that can be examined back on the ground. In this case, the EHT team measured the polarised light near the black hole to determine the strength of its magnetic field.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/04/10/scientists-have-revealed-the-first-photo-of-a-black-hole"]
As noted by the report, the reading of the black hole's magnetic field came out somewhere between 1 and 30 gauss (units of magnetic induction), which is "up to about 50 times the strength of Earth's magnetic field as measured at the planet's poles, where it is strongest." This measurement helped researchers to gain a better understanding of how the black hole and its jets may work.
"This jet process is totally amazing – something the size of our solar system can shoot out a jet that pierces through entire galaxies and even galaxy neighborhoods," Issaoun explained. "Now we're really seeing the magnetic field close to the black hole for the first time, and that's connecting it to the jet, which is the most powerful process in the universe."
Moving forward, the scientists collaborating on this program plan to expand their research by adding a few more telescopes to the EHT network in order to gather more information about the black hole and its jet production. Specifically, they hope to learn about the process of the astrophysical jets created by the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy.
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=nasa-black-hole-gallery&captions=true"]
Towards the end of 2019, NASA released a black hole simulation that showed how gravity warps light within a black hole, and then, a couple of months later, at the beginning of 2020, scientists detected the biggest explosion in the galaxy, which was believed to be from a supermassive black hole. For more on black holes, read about how one appeared to break the law of physics itself.
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.Battlefield Twitter Account Responds to Rumours By… Talking About Spaghetti
The official Battlefield Twitter account has responded to a list of rumoured features for the next Battlefield game with its own list that describes the features of spaghetti.
Using the hashtag #spaghetti (mimicking the #Battlefield used for the original rumours post), the Battlefield tweet goes on to describe the many flagship features of the popular Italian foodstuff. The seven-point list covers such confirmed and objective facts as “good with garlic bread”, and is accompanied by an image of the world “spaghetti” in the Battlefield font.
- noodley - slippy - good with sauce - good with garlic bread - is spaghetti - can be used as decoration - always available *also available as pasta https://t.co/bOVsdO1Unw pic.twitter.com/hUfZRsrYnZ — Battlefield (@Battlefield) March 26, 2021For all this to make a lick of sense, you’ll need to look at the original post from Twitter user Roberto Serrano, who posted the Battlefield logo with a set of nine rumours about the next game in the series. According to these rumours, the next Battlefield is set to return to the modern time period of Battlefield 2/3/4 and feature matches with up to 128 players. Serrano claims that the game will release Fall 2021 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X, with a free-to-play battle royale coming in early 2022. DICE’s only official response to these claims is the mock post, which quote tweets Serrano’s original post and copies its entire format, but the whole thing is about spaghetti. It’s certainly an original way of commenting on the rumour mill. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/04/04/battlefield-v-firestorm-review"] It is, of course, important to note that Serrano’s post provides no evidence at all for these claims, and so should not be considered as anything more than speculation. Features such as “soldiers, weapons, vehicle customization” and “large-scale and close quarters battles” are such a part of the fabric of Battlefield since the first game in the series, though, that you can reasonably brace yourself to expect those. Earlier this year EA did say that Battlefield will take full advantage of next-gen consoles. The publisher is expected to officially reveal the next game in the spring. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.