Space news and Exploration II

[ScienceRocks]

Stellar and Planetary Properties of K2 Campaign 1 Candidates and Validation of 18 Systems, Including a Planet Receiving Earth-like Insolation

The extended Kepler mission, K2, is now providing photometry of new fields every three months in a search for transiting planets. In a recent study, Foreman-Mackey and collaborators presented a list of 36 planet candidates orbiting 31 stars in K2 Campaign 1. In this contribution, we present stellar and planetary properties for all systems. We combine ground-based seeing-limited survey data and adaptive optics imaging with an automated transit analysis scheme to validate 18 candidates as planets and identify 6 candidates as likely false positives. Of particular interest is EPIC 201912552, a bright (K=8.9) M2 dwarf hosting a 2.24 \pm 0.25 Earth radius planet with an equilibrium temperature of 271 \pm 16 K and an orbital period of 33 days. We also present two new open-source software packages that enabled this analysis: isochrones, a flexible tool for fitting theoretical stellar models to observational data to determine stellar properties, and vespa, a new general-purpose procedure to calculate false positive probabilities and statistically validate transiting exoplanets.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Rocky planets may orbit many double stars
42 minutes ago

In this acrylic painting, University of Utah astrophysicist Ben Bromley envisions the view of a double sunset from an uninhabited Earthlike planet orbiting a pair of binary stars. In a new study, Bromley and Scott Kenyon of the Smithsonian …more

Luke Skywalker's home in "Star Wars" is the desert planet Tatooine, with twin sunsets because it orbits two stars. So far, only uninhabitable gas-giant planets have been identified circling such binary stars, and many researchers believe rocky planets cannot form there. Now, mathematical simulations show that Earthlike, solid planets such as Tatooine likely exist and may be widespread.

Read more at: Rocky planets may orbit many double stars

 

[ScienceRocks]

ESA tests the potential of grabbing derelict satellites using a simple net
By Anthony Wood
March 30, 2015
2 Pictures

The ESA has been testing the possibility of using one of mankind's earliest inventions to cope with one of its newest challenges, by testing a concept that would allow satellites to net and de-orbit space debris in a safe and controlled manner. Space debris is an ever-increasing problem, and agencies around the world are starting to take steps to preserve the low-Earth orbit environment vital for a sustainable space industry.

 

[ScienceRocks]

China has released more details of its circumlunar return and reentry spacecraft.

http://www.leonarddavid.com/chinas-c...n-new-details/

A technical overview of the circumlunar mission has been published in Science China Technological Sciences. Lead author of the paper is MengFei Yang of the China Academy of Space Technology in Beijing.

The aerodynamic design of China first small skip reentry capsule at hyper speed was verified by the successful reentry and landing, they report.

Seven new kinds of lightweight thermal protection material were developed for the capsule, promoting the development and use of composite material in China.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Seventh and eighth satellites join the Galileo constellation
By Chris Wood
March 31, 2015
3 Pictures

Two new Galileo satellites have been successfully placed in orbit, joining the existing six probes in the constellation that aim to provide a European alternative to GPS and Glonass networks. The operation went off without a hitch – something that can't be said for the troubled assent of the fifth and sixth Galileo satellites

 

[ScienceRocks]

New infrared telescope expands SETI’s search for alien life
New infrared telescope expands SETI s search for alien life ExtremeTech

• By Ryan Whitwam on April 1, 2015 at 1:17 pm
• 7 Comments

For more than 50 years, scientists working on the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) have been scanning the heavens for a signal from beyond our solar system. Despite some interesting blips, there has been nothing conclusive so far. But maybe we simply haven’t been looking for the right things. A new infrared telescope instrument has been brought online in California that will let SETI look for signals being sent out with infrared pulses.

The new instrument is known as the Near-Infrared Optical Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (NIROSETI), and it’s housed at the University of California’s Lick Observatory. It’s not a completely new telescope, but is instead attached to the existing Nickel 1-meter telescope. From its position atop Mt. Hamilton, the newly enhanced telescope could search for alien civilizations thousands of light years away, much farther than you can manage with radio waves.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Over the next 12 to 18 months China will be introducing the following new space systems -

1) Long March 6 - the new launch vehicle for small satellites.

2) Long March 5 - their future work horse.

3) Long March 7 - their launch vehicle for astronauts and cargo ships.

4) Tiangong-2 - their next space station to test out technologies for their future space station.

5) Tianzhou-1 - their cargo ship

This will be followed by -

1) Chang'e 5 mission in 2017

2) Tiangong-3 in 2018

http://www.spaceflight101.com/long-m...st-launch.html

The dual-engine cluster of the cryogenic third stage boosted the stack into an orbit of 194 by 25,307 Kilometers at an inclination of 55 degrees. After separation from the third stage that remained in this orbit, the YZ-1 Upper Stage assumed control for its first flight.

YZ1, known by its full name of Yuanzheng-1 which translates to Expedition-1, is a liquid-fueled upper stage capable of operating for six and a half hours during which it can conduct two burns spaced by a coast phase. The YZ-1 upper stage uses storable propellants, Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine as fuel and Nitrogen Tetroxide oxidizer, consumed by a single main engine that delivers 6.5 Kilonewtons of thrust (663 Kilogram-force) at a specific impulse of 315 seconds.

------
Bam! 18 new planets from K2 data according to a preprint recently posted by Montet et al.

Astronomers are cranking' 'em out in record time.

Paper is undergoing peer review, but here is the link to the preprint: 1503.07866 Stellar and Planetary Properties of K2 Campaign 1 Candidates and Validation of 18 Systems Including a Planet Receiving Earth-like Insolation

... See More

This will make 22 planets discovered by k-2. Not bad!

 

[sealybobo]

Rocky planets may orbit many double stars
42 minutes ago

In this acrylic painting, University of Utah astrophysicist Ben Bromley envisions the view of a double sunset from an uninhabited Earthlike planet orbiting a pair of binary stars. In a new study, Bromley and Scott Kenyon of the Smithsonian …more

Luke Skywalker's home in "Star Wars" is the desert planet Tatooine, with twin sunsets because it orbits two stars. So far, only uninhabitable gas-giant planets have been identified circling such binary stars, and many researchers believe rocky planets cannot form there. Now, mathematical simulations show that Earthlike, solid planets such as Tatooine likely exist and may be widespread.

Read more at: Rocky planets may orbit many double stars

Why is it got to be uninhabited.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Rocky planets may orbit many double stars
42 minutes ago

In this acrylic painting, University of Utah astrophysicist Ben Bromley envisions the view of a double sunset from an uninhabited Earthlike planet orbiting a pair of binary stars. In a new study, Bromley and Scott Kenyon of the Smithsonian …more

Luke Skywalker's home in "Star Wars" is the desert planet Tatooine, with twin sunsets because it orbits two stars. So far, only uninhabitable gas-giant planets have been identified circling such binary stars, and many researchers believe rocky planets cannot form there. Now, mathematical simulations show that Earthlike, solid planets such as Tatooine likely exist and may be widespread.

Read more at: Rocky planets may orbit many double stars

Why is it got to be uninhabited.

Probably because we don't have the tech to detect them yet. We really don't have the tech to detect earth size planets in long orbits either...Kepler came close but didn't last long enough.

 

[sealybobo]

Rocky planets may orbit many double stars
42 minutes ago

In this acrylic painting, University of Utah astrophysicist Ben Bromley envisions the view of a double sunset from an uninhabited Earthlike planet orbiting a pair of binary stars. In a new study, Bromley and Scott Kenyon of the Smithsonian …more

Luke Skywalker's home in "Star Wars" is the desert planet Tatooine, with twin sunsets because it orbits two stars. So far, only uninhabitable gas-giant planets have been identified circling such binary stars, and many researchers believe rocky planets cannot form there. Now, mathematical simulations show that Earthlike, solid planets such as Tatooine likely exist and may be widespread.

Read more at: Rocky planets may orbit many double stars

Why is it got to be uninhabited.

Probably because we don't have the tech to detect them yet. We really don't have the tech to detect earth size planets in long orbits either...Kepler came close but didn't last long enough.

Just because we lack the ability to detect it doesnt say whether or not life exists.

 

[ScienceRocks]

It certainly doesn't. We know very little as of this time.

Black holes don't erase information, scientists say
4 hours ago by Charlotte Hsu

The "information loss paradox" in black holes—a problem that has plagued physics for nearly 40 years—may not exist.

That's what some physicists have argued for years: That black holes are the ultimate vaults, entities that suck in information and then evaporate without leaving behind any clues as to what they once contained.

Read more at: Black holes don t erase information scientists say

 

[ScienceRocks]

Jupiter moon Ganymede found to have a large bulge at equator
8 hours ago by Bob Yirka report

This natural color view of Ganymede was taken from the Galileo spacecraft during its first encounter with the Jovian moon. North is to the top of the picture and the sun illuminates the surface from the right. The dark areas are the older, …more

(Phys.org)—A pair of space scientists, one with the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston Texas the other with Washington University in St. Lois, has found evidence of a large bulge on Ganymede—the largest satellite in our solar system. In their presentation at this year's Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Paul Schenk and William McKinnon outlined what they had observed and offered possible explanations for the existence of the bulge. As noted by National Geographic, the bulge, or protuberance, is approximately the size of Ecuador and about half the height of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Read more at: Jupiter moon Ganymede found to have a large bulge at equator

 

[sealybobo]

I

Rocky planets may orbit many double stars
42 minutes ago

In this acrylic painting, University of Utah astrophysicist Ben Bromley envisions the view of a double sunset from an uninhabited Earthlike planet orbiting a pair of binary stars. In a new study, Bromley and Scott Kenyon of the Smithsonian …more

Luke Skywalker's home in "Star Wars" is the desert planet Tatooine, with twin sunsets because it orbits two stars. So far, only uninhabitable gas-giant planets have been identified circling such binary stars, and many researchers believe rocky planets cannot form there. Now, mathematical simulations show that Earthlike, solid planets such as Tatooine likely exist and may be widespread.

Read more at: Rocky planets may orbit many double stars

Why is it got to be uninhabited.

Probably because we don't have the tech to detect them yet. We really don't have the tech to detect earth size planets in long orbits either...Kepler came close but didn't last long enough.

m Watching Interstellar with matthew Mcconaghy. Have you seen it? I'm curious how science fiction its going to be. How they gonna travel far enough to find anything?

 

[sealybobo]

You are aware of course that Obama with support of the Democrats stripped NASA of anyway to reach orbit or space? We must hire private enterprise to deliver materials to the space station and must use Russia to send people into space.

We have no space vehicle and no plans to make another. Ohh did I mention that Obama and the democrats cut NASA's budget to the bone?

The rich corporations tea baggers libertarians and republicans dont want to pay taxes for NASA do they?

 

[ScienceRocks]

Spending on science is the last thing these people want. They want to fund their massive military and act like north Korea.

Nasa does the science that the corporations would never do. If it was up to corporations we wouldn't know 1/10th as much as we do. Thank you nasa! I'd like to see a huge increase in funding for Nasa...Of around 20 billion per year.

 

[ScienceRocks]

I

Rocky planets may orbit many double stars
42 minutes ago

In this acrylic painting, University of Utah astrophysicist Ben Bromley envisions the view of a double sunset from an uninhabited Earthlike planet orbiting a pair of binary stars. In a new study, Bromley and Scott Kenyon of the Smithsonian …more

Luke Skywalker's home in "Star Wars" is the desert planet Tatooine, with twin sunsets because it orbits two stars. So far, only uninhabitable gas-giant planets have been identified circling such binary stars, and many researchers believe rocky planets cannot form there. Now, mathematical simulations show that Earthlike, solid planets such as Tatooine likely exist and may be widespread.

Read more at: Rocky planets may orbit many double stars

Why is it got to be uninhabited.

Probably because we don't have the tech to detect them yet. We really don't have the tech to detect earth size planets in long orbits either...Kepler came close but didn't last long enough.

m Watching Interstellar with matthew Mcconaghy. Have you seen it? I'm curious how science fiction its going to be. How they gonna travel far enough to find anything?

Yes!

1. A planet close enough to do that to the water = not going to have a breathable atmosphere and likely will mean that you're doomed.
2. It hasn't been proven if there's wormholes. Secondly, how would we control them???? Doesn't seem likely.
3. I think we could build a ship to go to Saturn with humans. With enough funding and decades of research I think we can do great things.
4. Yes, I believe there's habitual planets capable of some kind of life. Maybe within 16 to 20 light years.

 

[sealybobo]

Spending on science is the last thing these people want. They want to fund their massive military and act like north Korea.

Interstellar is talking about how people dont want to spend on space travel when they are hungry.

 

[sealybobo]

I

Rocky planets may orbit many double stars
42 minutes ago

In this acrylic painting, University of Utah astrophysicist Ben Bromley envisions the view of a double sunset from an uninhabited Earthlike planet orbiting a pair of binary stars. In a new study, Bromley and Scott Kenyon of the Smithsonian …more

Luke Skywalker's home in "Star Wars" is the desert planet Tatooine, with twin sunsets because it orbits two stars. So far, only uninhabitable gas-giant planets have been identified circling such binary stars, and many researchers believe rocky planets cannot form there. Now, mathematical simulations show that Earthlike, solid planets such as Tatooine likely exist and may be widespread.

Read more at: Rocky planets may orbit many double stars

Why is it got to be uninhabited.

Probably because we don't have the tech to detect them yet. We really don't have the tech to detect earth size planets in long orbits either...Kepler came close but didn't last long enough.

m Watching Interstellar with matthew Mcconaghy. Have you seen it? I'm curious how science fiction its going to be. How they gonna travel far enough to find anything?

Yes!

1. A planet close enough to do that to the water = not going to have a breathable atmosphere and likely will mean that you're doomed.
2. It hasn't been proven if there's wormholes. Secondly, how would we control them???? Doesn't seem likely.
3. I think we could build a ship to go to Saturn with humans. With enough funding and decades of research I think we can do great things.
4. Yes, I believe there's habitual planets capable of some kind of life. Maybe within 16 to 20 light years.

What's at Saturn? Bfd.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Spending on science is the last thing these people want. They want to fund their massive military and act like north Korea.

Interstellar is talking about how people dont want to spend on space travel when they are hungry.

Yep, interstellar is a future that shows our loserterian friends taking over and turning their back on science. Science that can save humanity.

 

[ScienceRocks]

I

Rocky planets may orbit many double stars
42 minutes ago

In this acrylic painting, University of Utah astrophysicist Ben Bromley envisions the view of a double sunset from an uninhabited Earthlike planet orbiting a pair of binary stars. In a new study, Bromley and Scott Kenyon of the Smithsonian …more
Read more at: Rocky planets may orbit many double stars

Why is it got to be uninhabited.

Probably because we don't have the tech to detect them yet. We really don't have the tech to detect earth size planets in long orbits either...Kepler came close but didn't last long enough.

m Watching Interstellar with matthew Mcconaghy. Have you seen it? I'm curious how science fiction its going to be. How they gonna travel far enough to find anything?

Yes!

1. A planet close enough to do that to the water = not going to have a breathable atmosphere and likely will mean that you're doomed.
2. It hasn't been proven if there's wormholes. Secondly, how would we control them???? Doesn't seem likely.
3. I think we could build a ship to go to Saturn with humans. With enough funding and decades of research I think we can do great things.
4. Yes, I believe there's habitual planets capable of some kind of life. Maybe within 16 to 20 light years.

What's at Saturn? Bfd.

The worm hole