A Super Discovery, 05.11.12

NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has made another monumental discovery: a “super-Earth.”

Twice as big as Earth, the super-Earth is, for now, called 55 Cancri e, and is situated in the constellation Cancer, about 41 light years away. For the first time, scientists were able to actually measure the light emanating (reflected) from the planet itself, instead of measuring how much light it blocks as it transits in front of its star. Because of the low measure­ments that were taken, scientists guess that the planet is probably very dark most of the time. It appears to be tidally locked, though (one side is stuck facing its star), and that side appears to have temperatures in excess of 3,000 Fahrenheit. Just so we’re clear on how hot that is, most kinds of metal will be liquid at that temperature.

Based on their observations, scientists are saying the planet most likely has a rocky core and is covered with water. Be­cause of the extreme heat on the sunny side, however, the water is probably in a “supercritical” state, where it exists as both liquid and gas. NASA claims the atmosphere is covered with steam. Regardless, the atmosphere appears to be very thin, as it is doing such a poor job of blocking its sun’s heat.

Based on all observations made at this point, the planet cannot support life.

Read more from NASA.

No Doubt: a Super-Earth in a Habitable Zone, 02.03.12

Humans have wondered throughout history if there is life out­side of Earth. Is it possible for it to exist elsewhere? Could there really be planets hundreds and thousands of light years away that have their own life forms on them? It is very difficult to tell.

One of the first criteria astronomers say a planet must meet is to be in the habitable zone (or, life zone) of the star around which it orbits. This is a region that is determined based on the size and temperature of the star, which would render the temperature on the planet at a happy sort of medium. It would not be so hot that everything would dry out and die, and it would not be so cold that it would become a frozen world. Hundreds of planets have been discovered outside of our own solar system, and some of them seem promising, but until now, there has always been a margin of doubt. Most of the planets discovered either missed the mark entirely or were situated just on the fringe of their life zone. A study led by the private nonprofit research organization, the Carnegie Institu­tion for Science, happened to stumble across one particular planet that leaves no doubt about its orbit. Meet GJ 667Cc.

CREDIT: Carnegie Institution for Science

This particular planet has been termed a “super-Earth” be­cause it is about 4.5 times as massive as our own planet. The gravity there would feel greatly multiplied compared to that on Earth, but there is no doubt that this terrestrial planet is smack in the middle of its habitable zone. It is situated rela­tively close by in the constellation Scorpio, about 22 light-years away.

One other interesting fact about the planet that is leaving as­tronomers puzzled is it is in orbit around a triple star system, all of which are lacking heavier elements typical of stars with their own solar systems. GJ 667Cc only orbits one of those stars, but it would still be rather odd to see three in the sky, we think.

Information credit: SPACE.com

160,000,000,000 Milky Way Planets? 01.13.11

Have you ever played the party game where you try to guess how many candies were in a jar? You would look at the size of the candies, the size of the container, and try to visualize how many could fit in the space. Now, put that on a galactic scale.

Astronomers use math, not guessing, when trying to determine the number of the planets in our galaxy. There is not much guessing to this at all, really. There is, however, a great deal of calculations and observations. For years, scientists have been trying to track down planets elsewhere in our galaxy  using the “transit method” and “radial velocity.” The transit method measures light from distant stars. If the readings from the planet show regular dips in light, that indicates an object passing in front of the star at regular intervals, which, to cause such a measurable dip, must mean a planet in orbit. The radial velocity method measures how much stars “wobble” because of the pull of the planets in orbit around them.

A new observation method is being employed that is not so biased towards close-orbiting planets, called gravitational  microlensing. According to SPACE.com, microlensing measures how light is magnified and bent by gravitational fields from distant bodies. Based on the researcher’s calculations, they estimate at least 1.6 planets per star in our galaxy, in orbits from their stars roughly the same orbital range of Venus to Saturn from our own sun.

Based on that estimate—1.6 planets per star—and their estimate of about 100 billion stars in the Milky Way, that comes out to quite a few planets. When we here at the    Wetherbee Planetarium start to think about how many galaxies are estimated to be in existence in our Universe—100 trillion—it is mind-boggling to try to comprehend how many planets may be in existence outside our tiny little terrestrial world.

An artist's impression of the prevalence of planets in our galaxy.

CREDIT: ESO/M. Kornmesser

Information credit: SPACE.com

Amateur astronomer captures photo of young solar system, 12.02.11

An amateur astronomer in New Zealand has managed to take and clean up a photograph of a new solar system in the works. The stunning part? He was doing it with his own, homemade, 10-inch telescope. That’s some pretty good aim!

The system is Beta Pictoris, 63 light-years away in the southern hemisphere. The system had been photographed a number of years ago by professional astronomers, but the fact that Rolf Olsen managed to first of all find the system, then photograph it and do such a good job that the “circumstellar disc” was visible, is astounding.

The circumstellar disc is the cloud of dust and debris orbiting around the star. Eventually, it should turn into planets and various other satellites. Olsen was able to expose it using a very long, detailed set of instructions that had been published in a study on the system. That he was able to achieve such good results shows again that anyone can make a contribution to astronomy if they wish.

“There certainly could be a lot of interesting things that professional astronomers have missed, that amateur astronomers could clue us in on,” wrote Bryce Croll, an astronomer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in an email to SPACE.com about Olsen’s achievement. So, hang in there, sky watchers! You just might be the next one to have a breakthrough.

Credit: SPACE.com. Image credit: Rolf Wahl Olsen.

Life-friendly zones in the galaxy? 09.30.11

With all the changes happening in the sciences lately, it is no small wonder that astronomers are beginning to re-think the “big picture” in their theories. For centuries, humans have wondered about the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe, and since the advancement of space technology, the hunt has become ever more insistent. Yet, with each little hint of the possibility of life, one or more factors always seem to be missing. Some astronomers are now beginning to reformulate their search plans and not look just for other solar systems elsewhere, but try to determine if there are specific areas throughout our galaxy that are more life-friendly.

In every solar system, depending on the class of the central star(s), there is a certain distance away from the center that is the most temperate area for supporting life as we know it. This zone is usually referred to by astronomers as the life zone, “habitable zone,” or even the “Goldilocks zone,” because it is not too hot or too cold. For instance, in our solar system, Mercury and Venus are much closer to our own sun, and as such experience much higher average temperatures year-round. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are all much, much further away from the sun than Earth, and are all much colder. Astronomers are still very hopeful about the possibility of life on Mars.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/CXC/STScI.

So, if there is a specific life zone in every solar system, does the same rule apply for galaxies? Some astronomers are beginning to believe so, arguing that the centers of galaxies tend to be much more metal-heavy, which is much more conducive to planetary formation, so the odds are in favor of a planet forming with life on it. The flipside of the argument, however, is that the centers of galaxies also tend to be home to more supernovae. While all the constant light would be annoying, any life on planets in the galactic center would have to worry about much more serious problems like ozone depletion and literally having the planet fried by all manner of ray emissions from the multitude of stars. For now, the researchers will continue to scan the center of our own galaxy (pictured here) for more evidence and see how their theories unfold.

Credit: SPACE.com.

Astrophysicists unveil new planet-hunting secret weapon: "fluffy interplanetary dust bunnies"? 10.01.10

Scientists Christopher Stark and Marc Kuchner have unraveled a mystery that will likely make planet-hunting much simpler. Using the Discover super computer at the Goddard Space Flight Center, the two astrophysicists have created something they are calling a “collisional grooming algorithm,” a set of mathematical parameters that allows them to track, calculate, predict, and simulate the movement of a billion, billion, billion dust particles in space via computer calculations.


Why would you ever care about tracking dust, you ask? The two scientists were trying to visualize the way our solar systems must look from the outside, and hit upon the idea that “dust” particles may create a unique image of our planets swirling around our sun from millions of light years away. Our solar system, and the rest of the universe, is positively bursting with all manner of “dust” particles, pieces of crusty or frozen vapor and mineral debris. By positioning 75,000 of these “dust” particles into the digital simulator (with each particle representing millions of other particles) and causing them to behave as they would with planets swirling around within that dust cloud—planets  that have their own considerable gravitational fields—the two scientists have begun revealing how dust is affected by this type of movement. It turns out their brilliant idea is proving true. The rotation of the planets, along with their gravitational fields that push and pull the dust grains around through space, creates an image of the original cloud of dust, but one that is slowly swirling, and also now contains “rings, gaps, and clumps.”


Just like deer in the forest, these planets are passing through and picking up small amounts of debris and leaving tracks as they pass through on their way. This new technology will now make it much simpler to search for alien planets, as scientists can now look for the much larger rings of dust—the evidence of the existence of a planet—instead of searching for the individual planets that may otherwise be too small or blocked from view.


Credit: Geeked on Goddard.

Image credit: Geeked on Goddard.

Planet hunters find treasure trove and Thronateeska astronomer believes planet could be in crucial "life zone," 08.27.10

Astronomers at the European Southern Observatory have made one of the most exciting discoveries of the decade this week. In the constellation Hydrus, 127 light years away, five planets have been discovered orbiting the star HD 10180, with a possibility of two more planets. Jim Friese, staff astronomer at Thronateeska Heritage Center, believes one of the planets could be in the “life zone,” the area of space that is just the right distance from its sun for life to be sustained on the planet.


The star is very similar to our own, and the planets orbiting around it are thought to be much like Neptune. The sixth planet (when confirmed) is thought to be similar to Saturn. This solar system is unique because the planets all have circular orbits and are much closer to their sun than the planets in our solar system are to our star. The system also contains one of the smallest exoplanets ever discovered, one that is only 1.4 times the mass of our own earth. This discovery could greatly increase astronomers’ knowledge of how planets affect their stars and vice versa.


NASA also made an announcement this week that its own planet-hunting efforts have resulted in its Kepler Mission discovering two planets transiting, or crossing in front of, the same star, Kepler-9. The planets have been named Kepler-9b and Kepler-9c. Both planets have masses similar to the planet Saturn. An announcement was also made yesterday that there may be a third planet orbiting Kepler-9. It is only 1.5 times earth’s mass and is very close to the star, possibly making a complete orbit of its sun every 1.6 days.