Three planets each orbiting its own giant, dying star have been discovered by an international research team led by a Penn State University astronomer. Using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, astronomers observed the planets' parent stars (called HD 240237, BD +48 738, and HD 96127) tens of light years away from our solar system. One of the massive, dying stars has an additional mystery object orbiting it, which according to the team, could be another planet, a low-mass star, or possibly even a brown dwarf, (a star-like body that is intermediate in mass between the coolest stars and giant planets).
The new research is expected to shed light on the evolution of planetary systems around dying stars. It also will help astronomers to understand how metal content influences the behavior of dying stars.
Bibliography:
www.sciencedaily.com
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson go on a camping trip, set up their tent, and fall asleep. Some hours later, Holmes wakes his faithful friend. "Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see." Watson replies, "I see millions of stars." "What does that tell you?" Watson ponders a minute. "Astronomically speaking, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Time wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three. Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you?" Holmes is silent for a moment, then speaks. "Watson, you idiot, someone has stolen our tent."
Sunday, 30 October 2011
'Pacman' Nebula Gets Some Teeth
To visible-light telescopes, this star-forming cloud appears to be chomping through the cosmos, earning it the nickname the "Pacman" nebula. When viewed in infrared light by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, the Pacman takes on a new appearance. In place of its typical, triangle-shaped mouth is a new set of lower, sharp-looking teeth.
The teeth are actually pillars where new stars may be forming. These structures were formed when radiation and winds from massive stars in a central cluster blew gas and dust away, leaving only the densest of material. The red dots sprinkled throughout the picture are thought to be the youngest stars, still forming in cocoons of dust.
The Pacman nebula, also called NGC 281, is located 9,200 light years away in the constellation Cassiopeia.
Bibliography:
www.sciencedaily.com
Have you heard about the new restaurant on the moon?
The food is good, but there's just no atmosphere!
The teeth are actually pillars where new stars may be forming. These structures were formed when radiation and winds from massive stars in a central cluster blew gas and dust away, leaving only the densest of material. The red dots sprinkled throughout the picture are thought to be the youngest stars, still forming in cocoons of dust.
The Pacman nebula, also called NGC 281, is located 9,200 light years away in the constellation Cassiopeia.
Bibliography:
www.sciencedaily.com
Have you heard about the new restaurant on the moon?
The food is good, but there's just no atmosphere!
Asteroid Lutetia: Primitive Body from Solar System's Planet-Forming Period
The European Space Agency's Rosetta flew past Lutetia on 10 July 2010 at a speed of 54 000 km/hr and at a close distance of 3170 km. At the time, the 130 km-long asteroid was the largest encountered by a spacecraft. Since then, scientists have been analysing the data taken during the brief encounter.
All previous "flybys" went past objects, which were fragments of once-larger bodies. However, during the encounter, scientists thought that Lutetia might be an older, more primitive 'mini-world'.
Now they are much more certain. Images from the OSIRIS camera reveal that parts of Lutetia's surface are around 3.6 billion years old. Other parts are young by astronomical standards, at around 50-80 million years old.
Astronomers estimate the age of airless planets, moons, and asteroids by counting craters. Each bowl-shaped depression on the surface is made by an impact. The older the surface, the more impacts it will have accumulated. Some parts of Lutetia are heavily cratered, implying that it is very old. Some impacts must have been so large that they broke off whole chunks of Lutetia, gradually shaping it into the battered wreck we see today.
Bibliography:
www.sciencedaily.com
All previous "flybys" went past objects, which were fragments of once-larger bodies. However, during the encounter, scientists thought that Lutetia might be an older, more primitive 'mini-world'.
Now they are much more certain. Images from the OSIRIS camera reveal that parts of Lutetia's surface are around 3.6 billion years old. Other parts are young by astronomical standards, at around 50-80 million years old.
Astronomers estimate the age of airless planets, moons, and asteroids by counting craters. Each bowl-shaped depression on the surface is made by an impact. The older the surface, the more impacts it will have accumulated. Some parts of Lutetia are heavily cratered, implying that it is very old. Some impacts must have been so large that they broke off whole chunks of Lutetia, gradually shaping it into the battered wreck we see today.
Bibliography:
www.sciencedaily.com
Planets Smashed Into Dust Near Supermassive Black Holes
Supermassive black holes reside in the central parts of most galaxies. Observations indicate that about 50% of them are hidden from view by mysterious clouds of dust, the origin of which is not completely understood. The new theory is inspired by our own Solar System, where the so-called zodiacal dust is known to originate from collisions between solid bodies such as asteroids and comets. The scientists propose that the central regions of galaxies contain not only black holes and stars but also planets and asteroids.
Collisions between these rocky objects would occur at colossal speeds as large as 1000 km per second, continuously shattering and fragmenting the objects, until eventually they end up as microscopic dust. This is unfortunate for life on those planets, but the dust created by these collisions blocks the radiation emitted from the black hole, making life possible for other planets near the center of the galaxy.
Bibliography:
www.sciencedaily.com
Collisions between these rocky objects would occur at colossal speeds as large as 1000 km per second, continuously shattering and fragmenting the objects, until eventually they end up as microscopic dust. This is unfortunate for life on those planets, but the dust created by these collisions blocks the radiation emitted from the black hole, making life possible for other planets near the center of the galaxy.
Bibliography:
www.sciencedaily.com
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