Space and astronomy news
[/caption] In what might be a evidence of planetary billiards, astronomers have found an exoplanet with an extremely odd orbit. The question is, was this planet the cue ball or the object ball? While most planets orbit around a star’s mid-section, this one – called XO-3b — is tilted about 37 degrees from the star’s …
[/caption] Most scientists predict that in about a billion years, the sun’s ever-increasing radiation will have scorched the Earth beyond habitability. The breathable air will be toast, the carbon dioxide that serves as food for plant life will disappear, the oceans will evaporate; and all living things will disappear. Or maybe not. A group of …
Continue reading “Life on Earth — and Other Worlds — Could Last Longer Than Expected”
[/caption] Using a technique called Pixel-lensing, a group of astronomers in Italy may have detected a planet orbiting another star. But this planet is unique among the 300-plus exoplanets discovered so far, as it and its parent star are in another galaxy. The Andromeda Galaxy, to be exact. Technically, the star in M31 was found …
Continue reading “First Extra-Galactic Planet May Have Been Detected”
[/caption] Using the method of astrometry to find planets orbiting other stars has been around for 50 years, and until now it hasn’t bagged a single exoplanet. But finally, astronomers found a Jupiter-sized planet , called VB 10b, using this method. Astrometry is difficult and requires very precise measurements over long periods of time. So …
[/caption] The Spitzer Space Telescope is close to running out of coolant. Around May 12, the telescope will use up the last drop of the coolant that chills the instruments to just a few degrees above absolute zero. Everyone knew this was coming, but still it is sobering news. However, even though the coolant will …
Continue reading “The Spitzer Space Telescope Speaks Its Mind”
Astronomers are announcing a newly discovered exoplanet in the habitable zone of its star, and another one — in the same system — that’s just twice the size of Earth. The Gliese 581 planetary system now has four known planets, with masses of about 1.9 (planet e, left in the foreground), 16 (planet b, nearest …
Continue reading “Nearly Earth-sized Planet, Possible Watery World Spotted Near Another Star”
It may be a while yet before astronomers agree on a standard model for planet formation around stars. Until recently, after all, Earthlings lacked reliable techniques for glimpsing much beyond our own solar system. Based on our own backyard, one prevailing theory is that rocky planets like Mercury, Earth and Mars form slowly, close to …
Continue reading “Stars Strip Atmospheres of Close-forming Planets”
[/caption] On April 7th, commands were sent to NASA’s exoplanet-hunting Kepler telescope to eject the 1.3×1.7 metre lens cap so the unprecedented mission could begin its hunt for Earth-like alien worlds orbiting distant stars. However, one UK astronomer won’t be using the Kepler data to detect the faint transits of rocky exoplanets in front of …
Continue reading “Kepler Will Be Used to Measure the Size of the Universe”
[/caption]The cosmos is a very big place, how do you begin the search for exoplanets orbiting other stars? Astronomers have a few tricks up their sleeves to work out how to spot these tiny specks of distant alien worlds. Astronomers can look for the gravitational “wobble” of a star as a massive exoplanet tugs on …
Continue reading “Looking For Extraterrestrials Looking At Us”
[/caption] How many are in the Milky Way, though? There could be billions, many of them habitable and Earth-like, according to some astronomers. Our ability to detect planets orbiting other stars has been around for less than 20 years, and most of the planets discovered to date are much larger than Jupiter (in fact, extrasolar …