The question of how the universe came to be is a common one now, and the Big Bang theory does a good job of giving us clues on what actually happened. However, has anyone stopped to think what there was before the huge explosion of matter? Scientists have, and they say there could very well have been a twin universe to ours before this one came to be. Details in the full article.

Neutron stars take center stage again as scientists are probing their mysteries when they saw Einstein's predicted warping of spacetime around three neutron stars. Because of this discovery, scientists are now on a search to find exotic atomic particles that they can't create in a lab but could study by observing these warping effects.

Now before you think that this is a quest to build a phone booth that can travel in time to meet a way cooler version of Keanu Reeves as Ted (let me get to the point before I digress), we're not talking spacetime in terms of past and future. We're talking spacetime in terms of gravitational effects.

Basically, objects inhabit a place in spacetime that forms a kind of warping. The warping is like a bowl, and any object placed near the tip of the bowl automatically drops to the bottom center. Gravity is the same thing: objects attract each other because of the "bowls" they create in space time. The larger and denser the object, the larger the warped bowl effect, the greater the gravitational force.

Brief science lesson over. The spacetime warp effects were seen when scientists observed a disc of hot gas around the neutron stars. Neutron stars are very dense: a few cupfuls would be heavier than Mount Everest. Because of this, gravitational forces of the star pulled on the light from the disc and turned it red. This is called gravitational redshift, the effect stated by Einstein's theory of relativity.

Because of this discovery scientists have been able to develop a new technique of studying the neutron stars, allowing for a more accurate way of observing the effects of exotic particles.

It's not likely at this point in time, but if you ever get pulled into the immense gravitational influence of a black hole, there's really nothing to save you. Your spacecraft is sucked in and plummets to certain doom towards the central singularity of the celestial behemoth. Some scientists say that you may actually be able to travel back in time if you survive, but chances are, you won't.

The most likely scenario is a terrified astronaut experiencing one of the most grotesque and painful deaths possible: Spaghettification. Essentially, what happens is your body gets stretched thin before tremendous gravity shreds you into space dust. But that's after your organs fail after the horrific stress that they experience because of the gargantuan forces.

Fortunately, Australian astronomers Geraint Lewis and Juliana Kwan have found a way to lengthen your living time if you ever get in this predicament. They say that instead of struggling in futile fashion to break free, you're actually better off accelerating for some time and switching your thrusters off to prolong the fall to death. Kwan explains:

Consider a race to the centre between a free faller and a rocketeer. Suppose they cross the event horizon together holding hands. As they cross, they start identical stop watches. One falls inwards, while the other accelerates towards the centre for a little, then swings their rocket round and decelerates such that the free faller and the rocketeer meet and clasp hands again just before hitting the singularity. A check on their stop watches would reveal that the free faller would experience the most personal time in the trip.

In part, the old school of thought that black holes are like quick sands is correct. The more you struggle, the faster you cross to the afterlife. However, that's only half correct, according to this new theory. What actually must be done is to find the optimum speed and coast along like it was a Sunday afternoon. Kwan explains that the theory of relativity comes into play even when the laws of physics are bent in the oddest corners of space.

Be warned, though, that this trick will only work in a supermassive black hole. The other type, the celestial black hole, is smaller and less forgiving. You'll be dead in a fraction of a second in the much smaller abyss. The experience should be almost painless, but you won't have the time to say your prayers.

Gravity Probe B is a satellite-based mission that launched last 2004. The aim of the mission is to measure the stress-energy tensor (the distribution, and especially the motion, of matter in and near Earth). This in effect allows the experts to test Einstein's general theory of relativity and our precise models of space. As of April 14 scientists have provided a public peek at the results. The outcome? Einstein was right - an object such as the Earth does indeed distort the fabric of space and time. As the source states:

According to Einstein's theory, over the course of a year, the geodetic warping of Earth's local space-time should cause the spin axes of each gyroscope found within Gravity Probe B [GP-B] to change from its initial alignment by a small angle in the plane of the spacecraft's orbit.

Similar to that, the twisting of Earth's local space-time causes the spin axis to alter by a certain angle in the plane of the Earth's equator. For what those specific angles are, feel free to click the "read" link below.

The research team lead by Francis Everitt, have found that the data gathered from the GP-B gyroscopes clearly confirm Einstein's predicted geodetic effect to a precision of better than 1 percent. However, there is still data that need to be studied and some minor "sensor effects that need to be accurately modeled and removed from the result."

They say that 8 more months of detailed data analysis is needed. The experiment’s final result is expected in December of this year.

When asked for his final comment, Francis Everitt said: "Always be suspicious of the news you want to hear."