Strong X-ray emissions from binary system 3A 0726-260 discovered by Indian researchers

A New Signal for a Neutron Star Collision Discovered  NASA

Scientists have established that the origin of this signal is the binary system 3A 0726-260.

Using data provided by the AstroSat satellite, a team of Indian researchers was able to identify strong X-ray emissions from the 3A 0726-260 binary system, which consists of a magnetized neutron star and a regular star. Scientists explain that in the case of these systems, X-ray emissions are based on the material that the neutron star attracts from the atmosphere of the neighboring star, notes Phys.

First astronomy satellite ASTROSAT

The 3A 0726-260 system is about 20,000 light-years away, and as Indian scientists explain, it is one of the least studied pulsars in binary systems, although, according to their data. , it tends to be a fairly "bright" source, if we look at X-ray emissions. Astronomers have established that this system has an orbital period of 34.55 days, and the rotation period of the pulsar is 103 seconds.  Also, this 103-second pulse appears to be followed by a secondary, but weaker, pulse detected in another observer's data.

3A_0726-260 INTEGRAL Galactic Plane Scanning

"Changing the pulse profile from a single peak to a double-peaked structure can be explained by the intrinsic change that occurs in the beam pattern from a pencil beam to a hay beam, leading to the beam coming out of our line. visual. The change in the impulse process can also be attributed to a transition of the accretion model from a smooth, low-energy accretion stream to several narrow, high-energy accretion streams that are blocked in phase with the neutron star.


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Astronomers have discovered a new planet named LHS 1140b with the greatest chances of sustaining life. '' It's the most exciting planet ''

This artist's impression shows the exoplanet LHS 1140b, which orbits a red dwarf star 40 light-years from Earth and may be the new holder of the title 'best place to look for signs of life beyond the Solar System'. Using ESO's HARPS instrument at La Silla, and other telescopes around the world, an international team of astronomers discovered this super-Earth orbiting in the habitable zone around the faint star LHS 1140. This world is a little larger and much more massive than the Earth and has likely retained most of its atmosphere. Credit: ESO/spaceengine.org

An exoplanet orbiting a red dwarf star 40 light-years from Earth may be the new holder of the title 'best place to look for signs of life beyond the solar system.' Using ESO's HARPS instrument, and other telescopes, astronomers discovered a 'super-Earth' orbiting in the habitable zone around the star LHS 1140. This world is larger and more massive than the Earth and has likely retained most of its atmosphere. This makes it one of the most exciting targets for atmospheric studies.

The newly discovered super-Earth LHS 1140b orbits in the habitable zone around a faint red dwarf star named LHS 1140, in the constellation of Cetus (The Sea Monster). Red dwarfs are much smaller and cooler than the Sun and, although LHS 1140b is ten times closer to its star than the Earth is to the Sun, it only receives about half as much sunlight from its star as the Earth and lies in the middle of the habitable zone. The orbit is seen almost edge-on from Earth and as the exoplanet passes in front of the star once per orbit it blocks a little of its light every 25 days.

"This is the most exciting exoplanet I've seen in the past decade," said lead author Jason Dittmann of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (Cambridge, USA). "We could hardly hope for a better target to perform one of the biggest quests in science -- searching for evidence of life beyond Earth."

"The present conditions of the red dwarf are particularly favourable -- LHS 1140 spins more slowly and emits less high-energy radiation than other similar low-mass stars," explains team member Nicola Astudillo-Defru from Geneva Observatory, Switzerland.

For life as we know it to exist, a planet must have liquid surface water and retain an atmosphere. When red dwarf stars are young, they are known to emit radiation that can be damaging for the atmospheres of the planets that orbit them. In this case, the planet's large size means that a magma ocean could have existed on its surface for millions of years. This seething ocean of lava could feed steam into the atmosphere long after the star has calmed to its current, steady glow, replenishing the planet with water.

The discovery was initially made with the MEarth facility, which detected the first telltale, characteristic dips in light as the exoplanet passed in front of the star. ESO's HARPS instrument, the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher, then made crucial follow-up observations which confirmed the presence of the super-Earth. HARPS also helped pin down the orbital period and allowed the exoplanet's mass and density to be deduced .

The astronomers estimate the age of the planet to be at least five billion years. They also deduced that it has a diameter 1.4 times larger than the Earth -- almost 18,000 kilometres. But with a mass around seven times greater than the Earth, and hence a much higher density, it implies that the exoplanet is probably made of rock with a dense iron core.

This super-Earth may be the best candidate yet for future observations to study and characterise its atmosphere, if one exists. Two of the European members of the team, Xavier Delfosse and Xavier Bonfils both at the CNRS and IPAG in Grenoble, France, conclude: "The LHS 1140 system might prove to be an even more important target for the future characterisation of planets in the habitable zone than Proxima b or TRAPPIST-1. This has been a remarkable year for exoplanet discoveries!" [4,5].

In particular, observations coming up soon with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope will be able to assess exactly how much high-energy radiation is showered upon LHS 1140b, so that its capacity to support life can be further constrained.

Further into the future -- when new telescopes like ESO's Extremely Large Telescope are operating -- it is likely that we will be able to make detailed observations of the atmospheres of exoplanets, and LHS 1140b is an exceptional candidate for such studies.

Notes

[1] The habitable zone is defined by the range of orbits around a star, for which a planet possesses the appropriate temperature needed for liquid water to exist on the planet's surface.

[2] Although the planet is located in the zone in which life as we know it could potentially exist, it probably did not enter this region until approximately forty million years after the formation of the red dwarf star. During this phase, the exoplanet would have been subjected to the active and volatile past of its host star. A young red dwarf can easily strip away the water from the atmosphere of a planet forming within its vicinity, leading to a runaway similar to that on Venus.

[3] This effort enabled other transit events to be detected by MEarth so that the astronomers could nail down the detection of the exoplanet once and for all.

[4] The planet around Proxima Centauri is much closer to Earth, but it probably does not transit its star, making it very difficult to determine whether it holds an atmosphere.

[5] Unlike the TRAPPIST-1 system, no other exoplanets around LHS 1140 have been found. Multi-planet systems are thought to be common around red dwarfs, so it is possible that additional exoplanets have gone undetected so far because they are too small.

Other articles on the same theme:

• Another '' Habitable Planet Proxima B'' this exoplanet has important water reserves

• 10 fascinating planets outside the Solar System

• The new found alien world named HD 131399Ab

• Researchers have found another planet (Wolf 1061c) that can sustain life: Located just 14 light-years away

• 4,000 confirmed exoplanets similar to Earth

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The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Sciencedaily . Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Researchers have found another planet (Wolf 1061c) that can sustain life: Located just 14 light-years away

Credit: The Wolf 1061 system. Credit: UNSW Sydney

An exoplanet with the prime conditions for life could be located just 14 light-years away, scientists report, in one of the closest neighbouring solar systems to our own.

New research suggests that a planet circling the star Wolf 1061 falls within what's called the star's habitable zone - making it one of the most likely neighbouring candidates for a planet that supports life.

This artist's concept illustrates a young, red dwarf star surrounded by three planets. Credit: wikipedia

"The Wolf 1061 system is important, because it is so close, and that gives other opportunities to do follow-up studies to see if it does indeed have life," says lead researcher Stephen Kane from San Francisco State University.

There are three planets orbiting Wolf 1061, but the planet Wolf 1061c is of particular interest.

Discovered in 2015, and with an estimated mass that's more than four times Earth's mass, Wolf 1061c is located right in the middle of Wolf 1061's habitable zone: the region where a planet's distance from its host star makes conditions suitable for liquid water and other life-supporting elements.

Our own Solar System runs by the same rules: conditions on Earth are just right for liquid water, whereas Mars is too cold.

To investigate whether Wolf 1061c might offer the same kind of habitability, the researchers analysed seven years of luminosity data from its host star and ran calculations of the exoplanet's orbit to figure out what the temperature and pressure on the surface could be.


The findings add weight to previous speculation that Wolf 1061c could be habitable – but just because the exoplanet is within a habitable zone, that doesn't necessarily mean it's one like Earth's.

The new data suggest that Wolf 1061c could have an atmosphere similar to what Venus had in its earliest days, meaning that any liquid water on the planet might not stick around for long. 

Previous research has suggested that high temperatures caused excessive water evaporation on Venus, and the newly formed water vapour in the atmosphere increased temperatures even further - a process known as a runaway greenhouse effect.

Now, the team thinks the same thing could be happening on Wolf 1061c, which is "close enough to the star that it's looking suspiciously like a runaway greenhouse", says Kane.

In addition, Wolf 1061c's orbit of its star varies much more quickly than Earth's orbit of the Sun, which would lead to chaotic climate changes such as a rapidly encroaching ice age (or warm phase).

So, is there life on Wolf 1061c?

We don't yet know, and to find out, we'll need more detailed measurements than what we have so far. To that end, Kane says NASA's James Webb telescope is one of the ways we'll be able to learn more about the exoplanet in the future.

Wolf 1061c Credit: Centauri Dreams

The telescope is launching next year, and its advanced optics should be able to reveal the atmospheric conditions on Wolf 1061c, and give us a better idea about whether water (and life) could really exist there.

Meanwhile, scientists from METI - the Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence organisation - are also interested in Wolf 1061c, and have been keeping a close eye on the exoplanet as they try to reach out to any alien life that might exist beyond our Solar System.

"I'm not holding my breath that we'll ever find evidence of life on Wolf 1061c," METI president Doug Vakoch told Rae Paoletta at Gizmodo.

"But the fact that there's a roughly Earth-like planet in the habitable zone of a star so close to our own Solar System is a good omen as we continue our search for life on other planets."

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• 4,000 confirmed exoplanets similar to Earth

• 10 fascinating planets outside the Solar System

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• Mars could support extraterrestrial life. A new image published by the European Space Agency shows the place that would have hosted life

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The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Sciencealert . Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

The American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson reveals: How long can you survive on every planet in the Solar System

photo: curiosity.com

Apart from Terra, things are not rosy on other planets regarding life, the longest being more than two minutes (with no spacesuit and if you hold your breath), and the shortest practically instant.

Mercury, which is always showing only one side of the Sun, offers the possibility of death (almost instant) or from excessively high temperatures or at a temperature excessively low.

Atmosphere of Venus is suitable, but for a furnace atmosphere composition that if we add 97% carbon dioxide and the remaining 3% of a number of toxic substances.

Mars because the rarified atmosphere, low temperature does not feel so strong, but the air, of course, is unbreathable. Tyson gives the chance of survival of less than 2 minutes.The rest of the planets give no chance of survival even for a second, pressures, temperatures and atmospheric composition being in no way suitable to sustain life.

Key Facts In This Video


1
On Mercury, the side that faces the sun is super hot, and the opposite side is extremely cold. (0:51)

Mercury observatory.astro.utah.edu

Atmosphere of Mercury - Universe Today

2
The surface of Venus is 900 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter than a pizza oven. (1:11)

This is an actual picture taken on the surface of Venus Reddit

3
Jupiter has no surface to land on—you would descend into its gaseous atmosphere until you were crushed by the pressure. (1:54)

On Earth is ok. In many places. Well, in some places, but the blame is not only the planet.

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The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Curiosity . Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Chandra X-Ray Observatory Recently discovered new SPT0346-52. Galaxy is undergoing an extraordinary boom of stellar construction, clues to universe’s evolution and big bang

The distorted galaxy in the simulation results from a collision between two galaxies, followed by them merging. Astronomers think such a merger could be the reason why SPT0346-52 is having such a boom of stellar construction. Once the two galaxies collide, gas near the center of the merged galaxy (shown as the bright region in the center of the simulation) is compressed, producing a burst of new stars. The composite inset shows X-ray data from Chandra (blue), short wavelength infrared data from Hubble (green), infrared light from Spitzer (red) at longer wavelengths, and infrared data from ALMA (magenta) at even longer wavelengths. (The light from SPT0346-52 is distorted and magnified by the gravity of an intervening galaxy, producing three elongated images in the ALMA data located near the center of the image. SPT0346-52 is not visible in the Hubble or Spitzer data, but the intervening galaxy causing the gravitational lensing is detected.) There is no blue at the center of the image, showing that Chandra did not detect any X-rays that could have signaled the presence of a growing black hole. Credit: Image courtesy of CXC Press Office.

A recently discovered galaxy is undergoing an extraordinary boom of stellar construction, revealed by a group of astronomers led by University of Florida graduate student Jingzhe Ma using NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory.

The galaxy known as SPT 0346‐52 is 12.7 billion light years from Earth, seen at a critical stage in the evolution of galaxies about a billion years after the Big Bang.

Chandra Overview NASA

Astronomers first discovered SPT 0346‐52 with the National Science Foundation's South Pole Telescope, then observed it with space and ground-based telescopes. Data from the NSF/ESO Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in Chile revealed extremely bright infrared emission, suggesting that the galaxy is undergoing a tremendous burst of star birth.

South Pole Telescope - Wikipedia

SPT 0346-52 is part of a population of strong gravitationally-lensed galaxies photo: discovered Sci-News.com

However, an alternative explanation remained: Was much of the infrared emission instead caused by a rapidly growing supermassive black hole at the galaxy's center? Gas falling towards the black hole would become much hotter and brighter, causing surrounding dust and gas to glow in infrared light. To explore this possibility, researchers used NASA's Chandra X‐ray Observatory and CSIRO's Australia Telescope Compact Array, a radio telescope.

No X‐rays or radio waves were detected, so astronomers were able to rule out a black hole being responsible for most of the bright infrared light.

About Australia Telescope Compact Array - CSIRO

"We now know that this galaxy doesn't have a gorging black hole, but instead is shining brightly with the light from newborn stars," Ma said. "This gives us information about how galaxies and the stars within them evolve during some of the earliest times in the universe."

Stars are forming at a rate of about 4,500 times the mass of the Sun every year in SPT0346-52, one of the highest rates seen in a galaxy. This is in contrast to a galaxy like the Milky Way that only forms about one solar mass of new stars per year.

"Astronomers call galaxies with lots of star formation 'starburst' galaxies," said UF astronomy professor Anthony Gonzalez, who co-authored the study. "That term doesn't seem to do this galaxy justice, so we are calling it a 'hyper-starburst' galaxy."

The high rate of star formation implies that a large reservoir of cool gas in the galaxy is being converted into stars with unusually high efficiency.

Astronomers hope that by studying more galaxies like SPT0346‐52 they will learn more about the formation and growth of massive galaxies and the supermassive black holes at their centers.

"For decades, astronomers have known that supermassive black holes and the stars in their host galaxies grow together," said co-author Joaquin Vieira of the University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign. "Exactly why they do this is still a mystery. SPT0346-52 is interesting because we have observed an incredible burst of stars forming, and yet found no evidence for a growing supermassive black hole. We would really like to study this galaxy in greater detail and understand what triggered the star formation and how that affects the growth of the black hole."

Joaquin Vieira Wins Sloan Fellowship Astronomy at Illinois

SPT0346‐52 is part of a population of strong gravitationally-lensed galaxies discovered with the SPT. It appears about six times brighter than it would without gravitational lensing, which enables astronomers to see more details than would otherwise be possible.



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The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Sciencedaily . Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Another '' Habitable Planet Proxima B'' this exoplanet has important water reserves

Significant water reserves were discovered exoplanet Proxima b, Swiss scientists say. Proxima b could be the closest planet outside the Solar System, a telluric exoplanet, which is in the habitable zone of the star Proxima Centauri.

Proxima b has the same specific features Earth, it can be considered akin to Earth and has significant reserves of water, having dimensions substantially similar to Earth.

Habitable Proxima-b Planet Found Next Door to Milky Way  photo: youtube

All this comes in support of the theory of a life on distant Proxima b exoplanet, say researchers at the University of Berne Swiss. They conducted measurements and necessary research and assume exoplanet Proxima b is slightly larger than Earth, then it reached conclusions that about 90% of the mass of the exoplanet is hard rock specific mountain area and 10% is water, specific oceans. Proxima b is a duplicate of Earth.

According to researchers who study planetary science, small planets are among the best candidates for the role of "second Earth", where life can exist. As a result, studies on such objects will be continued and expanded, according to researchers, reports RIA Novosti news agency.

Recently scientists announced that the star next to the star Proxima Centauri was also invented the closest exoplanet to Earth, which closely resembles the Sun, which was noted potentiometers training cycle dark points.

Remember that Proxima b exoplanet was discovered by researchers this year using spectral analysis method. Spectral analysis is a method of physical research composition of substances by examining its spectrum of radiation.

According to the study published, these variations indicate the presence of a planet, performing a complete orbit around the star in 11.2 days Proxima Centauri. Proxima b exoplanet it is almost 7.5 million kilometers or 0.05 AU of the star (about 5% of the distance from Earth to the Sun).



Other articles on the same theme:

• 4,000 confirmed exoplanets similar to Earth

• 10 fascinating planets outside the Solar System

• The new found alien world named HD 131399Ab

• Researchers have found another planet (Wolf 1061c) that can sustain life: Located just 14 light-years away

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ExoMars is preparing for the great landing on Mars this month 19 October . What is the main purpose of the mission

ExoMars Mission: ESA Targets Meridiani Planum For Schiaparelli Module's October Landing photo: ibtimes.com

Schiaparelli spacecraft of the European Space Agency (ESA) has received oridinele landing on Mars. Experts from the ground is expected on October 19, probe to land on the Red Planet.

Launched on March 14, ExoMars mission has propelled two space probes, Trace Gas Orbiter probe landing and Schiaparelli, to Mars. The two probes will separate Saturday (October 16th 2016). If everything works correctly Schiaparelli probe landing on Mars will reach a distance of three days. While Schiaparelli will be on the Martian surface, Trace Gas Orbiter probe will orbit around the Red Planet to study its atmosphere.

ESA - Robotic Exploration of Mars photo: esa.int

The probe is scheduled to land at Meridiani Planum region of Mars, area close to the equator. It will enter the Martian atmosphere of 21,000 km / h and had only six seconds to brake and to land safely, ESA officials said.

To ensure that the landing will be carried out according to plan, the probe will monitor sensors altitude above the Martian surface, since last 7 km. When the probe reaches two meters above the surface, will plummet a few moments, then stop thrusters and land on the ground.


Once at ground Schiaparelli on Mars will study wind, humidity, atmospheric pressure, air temperature and other phenomena. Measurements will be sent to the Trace Gas Orbiter. The main purpose of the mission is to pave the way for research of life rover on Mars, which was scheduled to be released in 2018.


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The above post is reprinted from materials provided by SPACE . Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

IMPRESSIVE discovery on Pluto. How will it affect the planet's atmosphere?

After Pluto was no longer called planet, this was the highlight for scientific discoveries.

Discovering New Horizons probe conducted and other studies of Pluto changed the ideas we had about dwarf planet researchers.

Now a team of researchers has discovered something remarkable: Pluto emit X team used data from NASA's Chandra Observatory, which showed four times, from February 2014 to August 2015, that Pluto emits low-energy photons X-ray light

,, We first detected X-rays which are emitted by an object in the Kuiper Belt Pluto and I understand that interacts with the solar wind in an unexpected way, '' said Carey Lisse, leader of the team that conducted the study.

Impressive aspect is that photons of low energy could come from solar winds entering the planet's atmosphere pitice.Combination nitrogen, carbon and oxygen likely attract photons from the solar wind, creating beacons of radiation X.

X-ray detection and provides information about how Pluto works. If X-rays are created disintegrated in the atmosphere mean that Pluto's atmosphere burns slowly in space.

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• KEPLER SPOTS 100+ MORE EXOPLANETS, SOME POTENTIALLY HABITABLE WE'VE GOT EXOPLANETS ON EXOPLANETS

• Cloudy days on exoplanets may hide atmospheric water

• 4,000 confirmed exoplanets similar to Earth

• 10 fascinating planets outside the Solar System

Source: Futurism

Three major events were recently observed on the Sun's surface. What might happen to the Earth during the fol, VIDEO

Updated 02/05/2020


See the most detailed picture of the Sun's surface ever taken.The new Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope will let us study the Sun in unprecedented detail.

astronomy.com

Beginning on Friday, the sun produced the largest flares since April
The strongest of the three, M7.6, peaked at 1:16 am on July 23
Two flares orginated from the AR2565-AR2567 sunspot complex
Although the sun is in a period of low activity, it isn’t staying completely quiet.
Over the weekend, the 4.5 billion year old ball of gas produced three mid-strength solar flares that have been deemed the most powerful to occur in 2016.

Captured by Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, these flares were classified as M-level flares -- the category just below the most intense X-class flares.

TRIPLE WHAMMY FLARES 

Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory saw the sun produce three mid-strength solar flares that have been deemed the most powerful for 2016 over the weekend.
These flares were classified as M-level flares -- the category just below the most intense X-class flares.

Beginning on Friday June 22,  the sun produced the largest explosions since April – which was kicked-off by an M5 at 10:11pm EST.

Following behind was the strongest of the three, M7.6, which peaked at 1:16am on July 23 and the grand finale was an M5.5 – it reached its height just 15 minutes after the second flare.
These two orientated from the AR2565-AR2567 sunspot complex, which is a region of the sun known for its powerful magnetic fields. 

Two years ago, scientists warned that the sun’s activity was the lowest it has been in 100 years.
Researcher believe the solar lull could cause major changes, and say there is a 20% chance it could lead to 'major changes' in temperatures. ‘M-class’ flares are deemed ‘medium’ flares that just fall short of the most intense category, ‘X-class’.

But this weekend provided the Solar Dynamics Observatory team with quite a show.
Beginning on Friday, the sun produced the largest explosions since April – which was kicked-off by an M5 at 10:11 pm EST in the Active Region 12567

Following behind was the strongest of the three, M7.6, which peaked at 1:16 am on July 23 and the grand finale was an M5.5 – it reached its height just 15 minutes after the second flare.
These two originated from the AR2565-AR2567 sunspot complex, which is a region of the sun known for its powerful magnetic fields. Solar flares are brief, powerful eruptions of radiation that occur on the surface of the sun.Although harmful, the radiation from a flare is not capable of passing through Earth’s atmosphere.However, they are strong enough to disrupt the atmosphere in the layer where our GPS and communication signals travel.



Source: Dailymail

The newfound alien world named HD 131399Ab

The newfound alien world, named HD 131399Ab, resides in the HD 131399 system, about 320 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Centaurus.

Its orbit around HD 131399A, the brightest of the three stars, is by far the widest known within a multi-star system. Such orbits are often unstable, because of the complex and changing gravitational attraction from the other two stars in the system, and planets in stable orbits were thought to be very unlikely.

“For about half of the planet’s orbit, which lasts 550 Earth-years, three stars are visible in the sky,” said team member Kevin Wagner, from the University of Arizona.

“The fainter two stars are always much closer together, and change in apparent separation from the brightest star throughout the year.”

The astronomers estimate that HD 131399Ab is at least four times as massive as Jupiter and has a surface temperature of around 1,076 degrees Fahrenheit (580 degrees Celsius).

The planet is approximately 16 million years old, making it also one of the youngest exoplanets discovered to date, and one of very few directly imaged planets.

“HD 131399Ab is one of the few exoplanets that have been directly imaged, and it’s the first one in such an interesting dynamical configuration,” said team member Dr. Daniel Apai, also from the University of Arizona.

“The fainter two stars are always much closer together, and change in apparent separation from the brightest star throughout the year.”

The astronomers estimate that HD 131399Ab is at least four times as massive as Jupiter and has a surface temperature of around 1,076 degrees Fahrenheit (580 degrees Celsius).

The planet is approximately 16 million years old, making it also one of the youngest exoplanets discovered to date, and one of very few directly imaged planets.

“HD 131399Ab is one of the few exoplanets that have been directly imaged, and it’s the first one in such an interesting dynamical configuration,” said team member Dr. Daniel Apai, also from the University of Arizona.

Although repeated observations will be needed to precisely determine the trajectory of HD 131399Ab, VLT observations and simulations seem to suggest the following scenario:

(i) HD 131399A is orbited by the less massive stars, HD 131399B and HD 131399C, at about 300 astronomical units (AU);

(ii) HD 131399B and HD 131399C twirl around each other like a spinning dumbbell, separated by a distance roughly equal to that between the Sun and Saturn (10 AU);

(iii) the planet HD 131399Ab travels around the host star HD 131399A in an orbit with a radius of about 80 AU, about twice as large as Pluto’s in the Solar System, and brings the planet to about one third of the separation between star HD 131399A and the HD 131399B/C star pair.

Sourrce; sci-news

NASA's Juno spacecraft is almost at Jupiter Prepare for awesome pictures!

On 4 July, NASA’s basketball court-sized Juno spacecraft will finally arrive at Jupiter, completing its approximate 600 million-kilometre (372 million-mile) trip through the Solar System.

While there, Juno hopes to perform 37 close approaches, collecting valuable data for researchers back here on Earth. If all goes well, Juno will explore the gas giant closer than any other spacecraft in history, including 1974’s Pioneer 11.

"At this time last year our New Horizons spacecraft was closing in for humanity’s first close views of Pluto," said Juno’s program executive Diane Brown. "Now, Juno is poised to go closer to Jupiter than any spacecraft ever before to unlock the mysteries of what lies within."

The mission will not be easy, though. To perform the necessary experiments, Juno will have to fly inside Jupiter’s atmosphere, a place that's pretty intense.

Here, Juno will experience immense pressures from the planet’s quick rotation – a day on Jupiter is only 10 hours long – which creates a powerful magnetic field, coupled with extremely high levels of radiation and atmospheric pressure. In fact, NASA says that Jupiter’s radiation-filled environment is the harshest in the Solar System.

"Over the life of the mission, Juno will be exposed to the equivalent of over 100 million dental X-rays," said Juno’s project manager Rick Nybakken.

NASA's Juno spacecraft finds deep winds and patterned cyclones on Jupiter photo: The Verge

"But, we are ready. We designed an orbit around Jupiter that minimises exposure to Jupiter’s harsh radiation environment. This orbit allows us to survive long enough to obtain the tantalising science data that we have travelled so far to get."

The good news is Juno is armoured like a knight prepared for cosmic battle from its wires to its sensors. But the most important piece of protection is its 'titanium vault', which houses its central computer.

This titanium vault weighs roughly 181 kilograms (400 pounds) and will reduce the amount of radiation felt by the instruments inside by 800 times that of the surrounding environment. Even so, that amount of radiation will still take its toll, allowing for the craft to only operate for roughly 20 months before it gets overwhelmed.

"Over the course of the mission, the highest energy electrons will penetrate the vault, creating a spray of secondary photons and particles," said team leader Heidi Becker, who is responsible for monitoring radiation levels during the mission. "The constant bombardment will break the atomic bonds in Juno’s electronics."

Originally launched on 5 August 2011, Juno is set to become the first spacecraft to ever pull off such a detailed mission to the gas giant - but the first craft to reach Jupiter was Pioneer 10 back in 1973, which provided the first close-up images of the planet.

Pioneer 10 was followed a year later by Pioneer 11, which flew within 34,000 kilometres (21,127 miles) of Jupiter’s clouds. Juno, on the other hand, will fly only 4,667 kilometres (2,900 miles) above the clouds.

Juno’s arrival at Jupiter couldn’t come at a better time, either. Earlier this month, researchers working with the Very Large Array – a radio telescope in New Mexico – were able to examine what is behind Jupiter’s famed clouds. Now, Juno has a chance to verify some of these findings up close.

Over the coming months, we should start to see the results of the mission pour in just like we did last year when New Horizons performed its Pluto flybys, capturing the world’s imaginations in the process.

               But, if you’re still not pumped for the mission, check out NASA’s trailer for it below

Source: sciencealert

Meteor Shower 2017: When, Where & How to See It

The Perseid meteor shower will burst into light this August as Earth passes through the long trail left by Comet Swift-Tuttle — and this year, it's slated to put on a spectacular show. Here's how and when to see the Perseids.

According to NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke, the Perseids are perhaps the most popular meteor shower of the year. They will be in "outburst" in 2017, which means they'll appear at double the usual rates.

"This year, instead of seeing about 80 Perseids per hour, the rate could top 150 and even approach 200 meteors per hour," Cooke said. It's the first such outburst since 2009

To learn more about the Perseids and other summer meteor showers, check out our Best Summer Meteor Showers Guide. Or, read on to learn how and when to see the Perseids, and what causes this year's outburst.

When to see them?

Earth will pass through the path of Comet Swift-Tuttle from July 17 to Aug. 24, with the shower's peak — when Earth passes through the densest, dustiest area — occurring on Aug. 12. That means you'll see the most meteors in the shortest amount of time near that peak, but you can still catch some action from the famed meteor shower before or after that point.

    This sky map shows the radiant of the Perseid meteor shower from the constellation Perseus in the northeastern sky during the meteor display's peak on Aug. 12 and 13, 2015. The Perseids appear to radiate out from a point on the border of constellations Perseus and Cassiopeia.

Credit: Sky & Telescope Magazine Illustration

The meteors will seem to originate from the constellation Perseus, which appears on the horizon at about 10 p.m. local time. However, the most meteors will be visible after midnight. They can appear all over the sky, but they will always look like they're streaking away from Perseus.

You can see the Perseid meteor shower best in the Northern Hemisphere and down to the mid-southern latitudes, and all you need to catch the show is darkness, somewhere comfortable to sit and a bit of patience.

The full moon is on Aug. 18, so you will likely get a better glimpse of the meteors earlier in themonth, when the moonlight is not as bright and disruptive.

What causes the Perseids?

Comet Swift-Tuttle is the largest object known to repeatedly pass by Earth; its nucleus is about 16 miles (26 kilometers) wide. It last passed nearby Earth during its orbit around the sun in 1992, and the next time will be in 2126. But it won't be forgotten in the meantime, because Earth passes through the dust and debris it leaves behind every year, creating the annual Perseid meteor shower.

When you sit back to watch a meteor shower, you're actually seeing the pieces of comet debris heat up as they enter the atmosphere and burn up in a bright burst of light, streaking a vivid path across the sky as they travel at 37 miles (59 km) per second. When they're in space, the pieces of debris are called "meteoroids," but when they reach Earth's atmosphere, they're designated as "meteors." If a piece makes it all the way down to Earth without burning up, it graduates to "meteorite." Most of the meteors in the Perseids are much too small for that

Photographer Ruslan Merzlyakov captured this spectacular photograph of the Perseid meteor shower filling the Danish sky in the early morning of Aug. 13. "I have been outside for about 3 hours, and the results are bloody fantastic!" he said. The sky was clear the entire time: "Lots of Perseids and Northern Lights had just exploded in the sky right over my hometown. For now, I am not going to argue with Danish weather, because I am 200 percent happy!"

Credit: Ruslan Merzlyakov/RMS Photography

This year, the comet's path is particularly crowded, which means the meteor shower is in "outburst" — a condition that occurs when the debris clumps together because of the influence of the giant planets, Cooke said.

"This Perseid outburst coming up in August — you could think of it in simplistic terms as Jupiter's gravity causing the particles to concentrate in front of Earth's path," Cooke said. "That doesn't happen with all showers, but since the Perseids have an orbit that takes them well past Jupiter, they can pass close enough to Jupiter that its gravity can mess with them."

The outbursts are irregular, and scientists have only had the computational power to predict what years they'd occur since the late 1990s.

What do you need to see them?

The key to seeing a meteor shower is "to take in as much sky as possible," Cooke said. Go to a dark area, in the suburbs or countryside, and prepare to sit outside for a few hours. It takes about 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark, and the longer you wait outside, the more you'll see. A rate of 150 meteors per hour, for instance, means two to three meteors per minute, including faint streaks along with bright, fireball-generating ones.

Some skywatchers plan to camp out to see the Perseid meteor shower, but at the very least, viewers should bring something comfortable to sit on, some snacks and some bug spray. Then, just relax and look upward for the celestial show.

Source: SPACE