All posts tagged: Astronomers

Astronomers find four Barnard’s Star planets to be small, uninhabitable, with years lasting only days

Astronomers find four Barnard’s Star planets to be small, uninhabitable, with years lasting only days

Published by Jenni Sidey

Barnard’s Star has four small rocky planets packed extremely close to the star. Their atmospheres probably disappeared billions of years ago, leaving worlds with permanent hot and dark sides. Their magnesium-rich interiors may store less water and produce less volcanic activity than Earth. Barnard’s Star sits less than six light-years away, yet its four known planets look nothing like familiar neighbors. Each is smaller than Earth, larger than Mars, and packed so tightly around the star that a year lasts only days. The planets circle the nearest single star to the Sun. Their masses and orbits were confirmed through radial velocity measurements, which track the slight motion a planet causes in its host star. All four planets are probably rocky. None appears likely to support life as we know it. Stability and masses of the Barnard’s Star planetary system as a function of system inclination i (assuming a flat system). (CREDIT: Xander Byrne et al., Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society) “They were always going to be hostile, because they’re really close to their …

Astronomers may have finally detected a moon located outside our solar system

Astronomers may have finally detected a moon located outside our solar system

Published by Jenni Sidey

Astronomers detected a strong 170-day signal suggesting a Jupiter-mass object orbits the brown dwarf CD-35 2722 B. The candidate could be the first convincing exomoon found beyond our Solar System, though more observations are needed. Computer simulations favor one eccentric satellite over a less stable two-satellite system. The discovery blurs the definitions of moons, planets and brown-dwarf companions, and may require new astronomical labels. A strange object may be circling a brown dwarf 65 light-years from Earth, creating a three-level system unlike anything confirmed beyond the Solar System. It could also force astronomers to rethink what counts as a moon. The system, called CD-35 2722, contains a star with about 40 percent to half the Sun’s mass. That star is orbited by CD-35 2722 B, a brown dwarf roughly 37 times as massive as Jupiter. Yet it does not orbit a star. “Being the third wheel in this system makes us want to call it a moon, even if it is nothing like the small, rocky moons we have in our system,” said lead author …

The Sun contains 55% more silver than astronomers previously thought

The Sun contains 55% more silver than astronomers previously thought

Published by Jenni Sidey

Silver makes up only a minute fraction of the Sun, but its abundance carries clues about events that shaped the Milky Way. For years, measurements suggested that some of that silver was missing. Researchers at Uppsala University have now calculated that the Sun contains 55 percent more silver than previously estimated. Their result brings the solar value into much closer agreement with silver measured in chemically primitive meteorites. The difference arose from the way astronomers modeled the Sun’s atmosphere and the behavior of silver atoms within it. Earlier calculations assumed conditions that were simpler than the physical environment where sunlight forms. “The new knowledge about the sun’s composition is important for the understanding of other stars, planets and cosmic material, because the sun is one of astronomy’s key reference points,” said Sema Caliskan, who conducted the work during her doctoral studies at Uppsala University’s Department of Physics and Astronomy. The solar spectrum. The two strongest silver lines, highlighted in white, lie in the ultraviolet region that is invisible to the human eye. (CREDIT: Anish Amarsi/Uppsala …

FCC approves giant space mirror as astronomers warn of risks to the night sky

FCC approves giant space mirror as astronomers warn of risks to the night sky

Published by Jenni Sidey

Night may soon become something that companies can switch off, briefly and selectively, from hundreds of miles above Earth. The Federal Communications Commission approved Reflect Orbital’s plan to launch Eärendil-1, an experimental satellite carrying an 18-meter-wide reflective surface. The mirror would redirect sunlight toward a targeted area after dark, producing a beam roughly five kilometers wide. The July 9 authorization applies to one demonstration satellite, not the enormous constellation the California company eventually hopes to build. Reflect Orbital has described plans for more than 50,000 mirrors by 2035, creating what it calls “sunlight on demand.” Supporters see possible uses in solar energy, agriculture, construction and emergency response. Critics see a system designed to brighten the night sky while regulators debate whether anyone has authority to consider its broader effects. Reflect Orbital has described plans for more than 50,000 mirrors by 2035. (CREDIT: Reflect Orbital) The decision has therefore opened a much larger argument. It is not simply about whether a mirror can work in orbit. It is about who decides how darkness, the atmosphere and …

Astronomers Found the First Atmosphere on a Planet in Another Star’s Habitable Zone

Astronomers Found the First Atmosphere on a Planet in Another Star’s Habitable Zone

Published by skeptic

The search for life beyond Earth has borne little fruit. That remains true, but scientists have some renewed hope. For the first time, astronomers discovered an atmosphere surrounding an exoplanet within the habitable zone of its host star.  Say hello to LHS 1140b, an Earth-like rocky planet that lives approximately 48 light-years away from us. For reference, Voyager 1 is rapidly approaching its first light day after nearly 50 years in flight. LHS 1140b sits in the “Goldilocks” zone for its star, which means it’s far enough away to not get roasted like Mercury, but close enough that it gets warm enough to support liquid water.  According to a new study published in Science, the “special” part of this discovery is not just the habitable zone around a star. It’s that it seems to meet extra criteria that scientists care about — i.e., it’s rocky, not a gas giant, and can still hold onto an atmosphere despite harsh conditions. An atmosphere is what helps stabilize surface temperatures, which is essential for life to exist.  “It’s …

Astronomers discover the first rocky planet with an atmosphere located in the habitable zone

Astronomers discover the first rocky planet with an atmosphere located in the habitable zone

Published by Jenni Sidey

A rocky planet about 49 light-years from Earth appears to have held onto an atmosphere, despite orbiting a red dwarf capable of stripping gases into space. The evidence comes from helium escaping high above the planet, LHS 1140 b. The detection marks the clearest atmospheric signal yet from a rocky planet in the habitable zone of another star. That region allows temperatures that could support liquid water, although the observations do not establish that water or life exists there. “This is the first time anyone has found an atmosphere on a rocky planet in the habitable zone of another star,” Cherubim said. (L-R) Robin Wordsworth, Gordon McKay Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering and Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences; Collin Cherubim, who recently earned his Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Harvard University and is affiliated with the Center for Astro; and David Charbonneau, head of the Harvard Department of Astronomy and astronomer in the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. (CREDIT: Carlos Sanchez, Harvard FAS) Atmospheres can regulate climate, shield a …

Astronomers Have Found a Sugar Molecule in Deep Space for the First Time Ever

Astronomers Have Found a Sugar Molecule in Deep Space for the First Time Ever

Published by skeptic

For the first time in history, astronomers have detected a sugar molecule floating among the gas clouds of interstellar space. Erythrulose has four carbon atoms, and on Earth, it occurs naturally in some fruits. Its presence 26,000 light-years away could help untangle the mystery of the origin of life on our planet. The study was published this week in Nature Astronomy. The team, led by Izaskun Jiménez Serra, analyzed data captured by radio telescopes in Spain to identify the molecule’s signature in the microwave frequencies it produces as it rotates. Sugar molecules are essential for life. They fuel cells and are part of RNA and DNA. Yet scientists still don’t know how they accumulated in large enough quantities on the early Earth. One possibility is that some of the molecules did not originate on the planet but instead reached Earth via meteorites. For the new study, the researchers focused on molecular cloud G+0.693−0.027, a location they didn’t choose at random. G+0.693−0.027 is among the regions richest in molecules in the entire Milky Way. It is …

Astronomers discover four nearby white dwarfs hiding in plain sight

Astronomers discover four nearby white dwarfs hiding in plain sight

Published by Jenni Sidey

Four white dwarfs have been sitting next door in astronomical terms, yet brighter stellar companions kept them out of sight. Ultraviolet observations have now exposed the compact stars within 65 light-years of Earth. Each white dwarf orbits a red dwarf, a small main-sequence star that shines more strongly in visible light. From Earth, the pairs looked like single stars. Their motion, however, hinted that something massive was tugging at them. “Nearby isolated white dwarfs are usually easy to find, but we couldn’t see these four stars directly in visible wavelengths because their red dwarf companions were drowning out their light,” said first author Dr. Mairi O’Brien, a research fellow at Warwick. “It’s a reminder that even in our own cosmic neighborhood, we can still find surprises if we look in the right way, at the right wavelengths.” Top: A colour–magnitude diagram showing Gaia absolute G magnitude against Gaia BP minus RP magnitude for Gaia sources within 20 pc of the Sun. Bottom: A colour–magnitude diagram showing Gaia absolute G magnitude against GALEX NUV minus Gaia RP …

Mirrors in Space? The FCC Just Approved a Sun-Reflecting Satellite, and Astronomers Are Worried

Mirrors in Space? The FCC Just Approved a Sun-Reflecting Satellite, and Astronomers Are Worried

Published by skeptic

When humans mess with the sun in science fiction, it’s often when a supervillain covers it up and imposes permanent darkness. A space tech company called Reflect Orbital wants to do the opposite: bring sunlight to the dark side of Earth courtesy of satellites equipped with giant mirrors. The FCC approved a single satellite as a test demonstration on Thursday, and many scientists are already unhappy about it.  The approval green-lights Reflect Orbital to send its Eärendil-1 satellite into orbit. It’s a relatively small spacecraft, weighing 142 kilograms (313 pounds).  Housed in its body is a thin-film square mirror measuring 18 meters by 18 meters (about 60 feet by 60 feet). The satellite is scheduled to launch into space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 later in 2026.  Eärendil-1 promises to reflect sunlight onto Earth in a 3-mile circle that can be aimed basically anywhere that doesn’t have sunlight. The company has a web tool that shows you what this would look like, and it’s wide enough to light up entire neighborhoods, making it appear like …

Mirrors in Space? The FCC Just Approved a Sun-Reflecting Satellite, and Astronomers Are Worried

Space Mirror: The FCC Just Approved a Sun-Reflecting Satellite, and Astronomers Are Unimpressed

Published by skeptic

When humans mess with the sun in science fiction, it’s usually when a supervillain covers it up and imposes permanent darkness. A space tech company called Reflect Orbital wants to do the opposite: bring sunlight to the dark side of Earth with satellites equipped with giant mirrors. The FCC approved a single satellite as a test demonstration on Thursday, and some scientists are already unhappy about it.  The approval green-lights Reflect Orbital to send its Eärendil-1 satellite into orbit. It’s a relatively small spacecraft, weighing 142 kilograms (313 pounds).  Housed in its body is a thin-film square mirror measuring 18 meters by 18 meters (about 60 feet by 60 feet). The satellite is scheduled to launch into space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 later in 2026.  Eärendil-1 promises to reflect sunlight onto Earth in a 3-mile circle that can be aimed basically anywhere that doesn’t have sunlight. The company has a web tool that shows you what this would look like, and it’s wide enough to light up entire neighborhoods, making it appear like daytime …