Space news and Exploration II

[ScienceRocks]

Animation Shows Topography on Ceres | Planetary Science Institute

PSI’s David O’Brien made this Ceres topographic globe animation.

This color coded map from NASA’s Dawn mission shows the highs and lows of topography on the surface of the dwarf planet Ceres.

The color scale extends 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) below the surface in purple to 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) above the surface in brown. Bright “white” features do not represent elevation.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/49051138.cms

"Mars (mission) is expected to last for many years now, because it has gone through solar conjunction also; so we don't see much of a problem," ISRO Chairman AS Kiran Kumar told reporters here.

"We had planned it only for six months. Then we were not expecting so much fuel to remain after we completed our insertion activity," he said.

Pointing out that about 35kg of fuel was still left, he said, "There is still a lot of fuel... all other subsystems are working fine and so far ..

 

[ScienceRocks]

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Radio telescopes could spot stars hidden in the galactic center

The center of our Milky Way galaxy is a mysterious place. Not only is it thousands of light-years away, it's also cloaked in so much dust that most stars within are rendered invisible. H

Comet surface changes before Rosetta's eyes

In the months leading to the perihelion of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, Rosetta scientists have been witnessing dramatic and rapid surface changes on the Imhotep region, as reported in a paper to be published in Astronomy ...

 

[ScienceRocks]

World and Science ‏@WorldAndScience 21h21 hours ago

The surface of Venus as seen from Soviet Venera probes in 1981




Uranus under excellent conditions on Sept. 20, 2015 http://sen.com/images/damian-peach#2109… image credit: @sen / @peachastro




Crater Copernicus with a rising sun. Has a crater floor of two halves. The upper half is uneven and the lower smooth.





#Mars geology near Mt Sharp becomes more & more intruiguing, @MarsCuriosity Sol 1112 http://www.midnightplanets.com/

Emily Lakdawalla, Planetary Society, Corey S. Powell and 7 others



Curiosity cruising along some Martian rock late yesterday afternoon (Sol 1112) #Mars #rocknroll





The boosters of our @NASA_SLS rocket are being prepared for their second hot-fire ground test: http://go.nasa.gov/1OSpLwe

#Space: color-composite of #Titan's high-level #hazes https://www.flickr.com/photos/lightsinthedark/13766566433… via @JPMajor





@ESA_Rosetta has seen a daily water-ice cycle on #comet #67P. Find out more: http://ow.ly/SA0Np


Meet the magnetar, a star so magnetic your body would dissolve within 600 miles of it: http://bit.ly/1FdkflG

 

[ScienceRocks]

Spacex Heavy capable of sending a Dragon V2 capsule to Europa

The Falcon Heavy is the next Spacex rocket. The current plan is for the first launch in the spring of 2016. The Spacex dragon 2 It is the second version of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft which will be a human-rated vehicle capable of making a terrestrial soft landing. It includes a set of four side-mounted thruster pods with two SuperDraco...

 

[ScienceRocks]

3D modeling of GJ1214b's atmosphere: vertical mixing driven by an anti-Hadley circulation

[1509.06814] 3D modeling of GJ1214b's atmosphere: vertical mixing driven by an anti-Hadley circulation
Benjamin Charnay, Victoria Meadows, Jérémy Leconte
(Submitted on 23 Sep 2015)

GJ1214b is a warm sub-Neptune transiting in front of a nearby M dwarf star. Recent observations indicate the presence of high and thick clouds or haze whose presence requires strong atmospheric mixing. In order to understand the transport and distribution of such clouds/haze, we study the atmospheric circulation and the vertical mixing of GJ1214b with a 3D General Circulation Model for cloud-free hydrogen-dominated atmospheres (metallicity of 1, 10 and 100 times the solar value) and for a water-dominated atmosphere. We analyze the effect of the atmospheric metallicity on the thermal structure and zonal winds. We also analyze the zonal mean meridional circulation and show that it corresponds to an anti-Hadley circulation in most of the atmosphere with upwelling at mid-latitude and downwelling at the equator in average. This circulation must be present on a large range of synchronously rotating exoplanets with strong impact on cloud formation and distribution. Using simple tracers, we show that vertical winds on GJ1214b can be strong enough to loft micrometric particles and that the anti-Hadley circulation leads to a minimum of tracers at the equator. We find that the strength of the vertical mixing increases with metallicity. We derive 1D equivalent eddy diffusion coefficients and find simple parametrizations from Kzz=7x10^2xP_{bar}^{-0.4} m^2/s for solar metallicity to Kzz=3x10^3xP_{bar}^{-0.4} m^2/s for the 100xsolar metallicity. These values should favor an efficient formation of photochemical haze in the upper atmosphere of GJ1214b.

http://arxiv.org/pdf/1509.06814v1.pdf

Looks like a mini neptune with mostly a gas like atmopshere.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Researcher's experimental ion drive outperforms NASA's HiPEP engine - http://gizm.ag/1OxB7Xo

It seems as if the age of the bench-top breakthrough in rocket science is not a thing of the past. Dr Patrick Neumann of the University of Sydney has developed a new ion drive as part of his PhD thesis that is claimed to outperform the best one devised by NASA. According to Neumann, his new drive, which is still in the experimental stage, is more efficient than the latest High Power Electric Propulsion (HiPEP) ion engine and holds the promise of "Mars and back on a tank of fuel."

 

[ScienceRocks]

New high-res Pluto images show "snakeskin surface"

• Anthony Wood
• September 25, 2015
• 5 PICTURES

NASA has released the highest resolution views of Pluto to date, as the agency's New Horizons spacecraft continues its intensive year-long data transfer. The gallery includes, for the first time, data from the spacecraft's infrared spectrometer, which has mapped the distribution of methane ice on the dwarf planet.

 

[ScienceRocks]

NASA to build settlements on Mars using materials found on red planet http://on.rt.com/6s8n

An Australian-based architecture firm has unveiled a number of images depicting a potential future Mars settlement that could be built using a kind of 3D printer. The project has been shortlisted by the US Space Agency NASA.
The Foster + Partners firm which took part in the 3D Printed Habitat Challenge organized by America Makes and NASA has created a futuristic design of a 93-square-meter astronaut base on Mars. The project is now among the 30 finalists chosen by NASA and the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute.

The settlement is supposed to be built from rigolith – which is found on Mars – by semi-autonomous robots that would arrive on the red planet ahead of astronauts.

 

[Spinster]

Official Nomenclature of Ceres (August 2015)

Looks worse than the desert. Space exploration hasn't really netted a whole lot. Just blasting gazillion of dollars into nowhere land, IMO.

Sent from my SM-T550 using Tapatalk

 

[ScienceRocks]

Official Nomenclature of Ceres (August 2015)

Looks worse than the desert. Space exploration hasn't really netted a whole lot. Just blasting gazillion of dollars into nowhere land, IMO.

Sent from my SM-T550 using Tapatalk

What has god done for humanity...Nothing, I thought so! Space exploration has innovated thousands of things that we use and have made our lives vastly better. Of course, mr.idiot wouldn't understand this as he hasn't studied it before he opened his pie hole! hahaha. Which is of course typical for your kind.

It has given us knowledge, it has given thousands of innovations, and it has made the better part of a million secured high paying jobs....People like you are like the muslim brotherhood as you simply believe we should plant our heads in a holy book and fuck exploration, science, education and the betterment of our species. Scum is what you're.

Does your little brain realize that our solar system has probably a thousand times more resources of value then our little planet...but, heck, lets just stay here until we use up all our own planet until it is gone without a means to get more...Well, of course destroying the environment as we do so.

 

[ScienceRocks]

What has spending trillions of dollars on a pointless war of nation building in iraq done??? Thousands of our young boys dead that could of became scientist and advanced humanity. That could of innovated and explored our universe!!!!

Fuck the muslim brotherhood and fuck the tea party!!!

One more thing...here is what nasa has done for society! NASA Technologies Benefit Our Lives
NASA spin-off technologies - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I fully expect you tea party bastards to convert to islam and shout allah akkkk barrr pretty fucking soon!


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Infrared ear thermometers
Diatek Corporation and NASA developed an aural thermometer that measures the thermal radiation emitted by the eardrum, similar to the way the temperature of stars and planets is measured. This method avoids contact with mucous membranes, and permits rapid temperature measurement of newborn or incapacitated patients. NASA supported the Diatek Corporation through the Technology Affiliates Program.[8]

Ventricular assist device
Collaboration between NASA, Dr. Michael DeBakey, Dr. George Noon, and MicroMed Technology Inc. resulted in a heart pump for patients awaiting heart transplants. The MicroMed DeBakey ventricular assist device (VAD) functions as a "bridge to heart transplant" by pumping blood until a donor heart is available. The pump is approximately one-tenth the size of other currently marketed pulsatile VADs. Because of the pump’s small size, fewer patients developed device-related infections. It can operate up to 8 hours on batteries, giving patients the mobility to do normal, everyday activities.[9]

Artificial Limbs
NASA’s continued funding, coupled with its collective innovations in robotics and shock-absorption/comfort materials are inspiring and enabling the private sector to create new and better solutions for animal and human prostheses. Advancements such as Environmental Robots Inc.’s development of artificial muscle systems with robotic sensing and actuation capabilities for use in NASA space robotic and extravehicular activities are being adapted to create more functionally dynamic artificial limbs (Spinoff 2004). Additionally, other private-sector adaptations of NASA’s temper foam technology have brought about custom-moldable materials offering the natural look and feel of flesh, as well as preventing friction between the skin and the prosthesis, and heat/moisture buildup. (Spinoff 2005 url = NASA Technologies Benefit Our Lives

Light-emitting diodes in medical therapies
After initial experiments using light-emitting diodes in NASA space shuttle plant growth experiments, NASA issued a small business innovation grant that led to the development of a hand-held, high-intensity, LED unit developed by Quantum Devices Inc. that can be used to treat tumors after other treatment options are exhausted.[10]:10–11 This therapy was approved by the FDA and inducted into the Space Foundation's Space Technology Hall of Fame in 2000.

 

[ScienceRocks]

resources like you can't believe, but hey, it is all a boondogoo to idiots like you
'Trillion Dollar Baby' Asteroid Has Wannabe Space Miners Salivating

More water then 5 earths are within the outter-moons of our solar system...

 

[Spinster]

Yea, yea, yea. There's been a few advancements made, but those resulted from the old Star Trek series having given fodder to the imagination of engineers and the like. As far as space exploration really being responsible for a host of creature comforts, it's hardly been a pay off. Matthew, do you get aroused when you ridicule others on the Board? You sure seem to get off on it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ScienceRocks]

We're simply a far better country for nasa and space exploration. There's really no debate and one day if we have any intelligence at all we'll go get the resources....

here is some more innovation!

Highway safety
Safety grooving, the cutting of grooves in concrete to increase traction and prevent injury, was first developed to reduce aircraft accidents on wet runways. Represented by the International Grooving and Grinding Association, the industry expanded into highway and pedestrian applications. Safety grooving originated at Langley Research Center, which assisted in testing the grooving at airports and on highways. Skidding was reduced, stopping distance decreased, and a vehicle’s cornering ability on curves was increased. The process has been extended to animal holding pens, parking lots, and other potentially slippery surfaces.[13]

Improved radial tires
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company developed a fibrous material, five times stronger than steel, for NASA to use in parachute shrouds to soft-land the Viking Lander spacecraft on the Martian surface. Recognizing the durability of the material, Goodyear expanded the technology and went on to produce a new radial tire with a tread life expected to be 10,000 miles (16,000 km) greater than conventional radials.[14]

Chemical detection
NASA contracted with Intelligent Optical Systems (IOS) to develop moisture- and pH-sensitive sensors to warn of corrosive conditions in aircraft before damage occurs. This sensor changes color in response to contact with its target. After completing the work with NASA, IOS was tasked by the U.S. Department of Defense to further develop the sensors for detecting chemical warfare agents and potential threats, such as toxic industrial compounds and nerve agents. IOS has sold the chemically sensitive fiber optic cables to major automotive and aerospace companies, who are finding a variety of uses for the devices such as aiding experimentation with nontraditional power sources, and as an economical "alarm system" for detecting chemical release in large facilities.[12]

Public safety
Video enhancing and analysis systems
Intergraph Government Solutions developed its Video Analyst System (VAS) by building on Video Image Stabilization and Registration (VISAR) technology created by NASA to help FBI agents analyze video footage. Originally used for enhancing video images from nighttime videotapes made with hand-held camcorders, VAS is a tool for video enhancement and analysis offering support of full-resolution digital video, stabilization, frame-by-frame analysis, conversion of analog video to digital storage formats, and increased visibility of filmed subjects without altering underlying footage. Aside from law enforcement and security applications, VAS has also been adapted to serve the military for reconnaissance, weapons deployment, damage assessment, training, and mission debriefing.[15]

Fire-resistant reinforcement
Built and designed by Avco Corporation, the Apollo heat shield was coated with a material whose purpose was to burn and thus dissipate energy during reentry while charring, to form a protective coating to block heat penetration. NASA subsequently funded Avco’s development of other applications of the heat shield, such as fire-retardant paints and foams for aircraft, which led to intumescent epoxy material, which expands in volume when exposed to heat or flames, acting as an insulating barrier and dissipating heat through burn-off. Further innovations include steel coatings devised to make high-rise buildings and public structures safer by swelling to provide a tough and stable insulating layer over the steel for up to 4 hours of fire protection, ultimately to slow building collapse and provide more time for escape.[16]

Firefighting equipment
Firefighting equipment in the United States is based on lightweight materials developed for the U.S. Space Program. NASA and the National Bureau of Standards created a lightweight breathing system including face mask, frame, harness, and air bottle, using an aluminum composite material developed by NASA for use on rocket casings. The broadest fire-related technology transfer is the breathing apparatus for protection from smoke inhalation injury. Additionally, NASA’s inductorless electronic circuit technology led to lower-cost, more rugged, short-range two-way radio now used by firefighters. NASA also helped develop a specialized mask weighing less than 3 ounces (85 g) to protect the physically impaired from injuries to the face and head, as well as flexible, heat-resistant materials—developed to protect the space shuttle on reentry—which are being used both by the military and commercially in suits for municipal and aircraft-rescue firefighters.[17][18][19][20]

Consumer, home, and recreation
Temper foam


Initially referred to as "slow spring back foam", temper foam matches pressure against it and slowly returns to its original form once the pressure is removed.
As the result of a program designed to develop a padding concept to improve crash protection for airplane passengers, Ames Research Center developed what is now called memory foam. Memory foam, or "Temper Foam", has been incorporated into mattresses, pillows, military and civilian aircraft, automobiles and motorcycles, sports safety equipment, amusement park rides and arenas, horseback saddles, archery targets, furniture, and human and animal prostheses. Its high-energy absorption and soft characteristics offer protection and comfort. Temper Foam was inducted into the Space Foundation Space Technology Hall of Fame in 1998.[9][10]:46–49[14][18][21][22][23]

Enriched baby food
Commercially available infant formulas now contain a nutritional enrichment ingredient that traces its existence to NASA-sponsored research on bread mold as a recycling agent for long-duration space travel. The substance, formulated into the products life’sDHA and life’sARA and based on microalgae, can be found in over 90% of the infant formulas sold in the United States, and are added to infant formulas in over 65 other countries. Martek Biosciences Corporation's founders and principal scientists acquired their expertise in this area while working on the NASA program. The microalgae food supplement was inducted into the Space Foundation Space Technology Hall of Fame in 2009.[24]

Portable cordless vacuums
For the Apollo space mission, NASA required a portable, self-contained drill capable of extracting core samples from below the lunar surface. Black & Decker was tasked with the job, and developed a computer program to optimize the design of the drill’s motor and ensure minimal power consumption. That computer program led to the development of a cordless miniature vacuum cleaner called the Dustbuster.[18]

Freeze drying
In planning for the long-duration Apollo missions, NASA conducted extensive research into space food. One of the techniques developed in 1938 by Nestlé was freeze drying. In the United States, Action Products later commercialized this technique for other foods, concentrating on snack food resulting in products like Space ice cream. The foods are cooked, quickly frozen, and then slowly heated in a vacuum chamber to remove the ice crystals formed by the freezing process. The final product retains 98%[citation needed] of its nutrition and weighs much less than before drying. The ratio of weight before and after drying depends strongly on the particular food item but a typical freeze-dried weight is 20% of the original weight. Today, one of the benefits of this advancement in food preservation includes simple nutritious meals available to handicapped and otherwise homebound senior adults unable to take advantage of existing meal programs.[17][25][26]

 

[ScienceRocks]

Honestly, I'd rather live in an advance civilization and do great things like nasa does then fight for what the muslim brotherhood fights for!!!!


Water purification
NASA engineers are collaborating with qualified companies to develop systems intended to sustain the astronauts living on the International Space Station and future Moon and space missions. This system turns wastewater from respiration, sweat, and urine into drinkable water. Commercially, this system is benefiting people all over the world who need affordable, clean water, especially in remote locations. By combining the benefits of chemical adsorption, ion exchange, and ultra-filtration processes, this technology can yield safe, drinkable water from the most challenging sources, such as in underdeveloped regions where well water may be heavily contaminated.[27][28]

Solar Cells
Single-crystal silicon solar cells are now widely available at low cost. The technology behind these solar devices—which provide up to 50% more power than conventional solar cells—originated with the efforts of a NASA-sponsored 28-member coalition forming the Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) Alliance. ERAST’s goal was to develop remotely piloted aircraft, intended to fly unmanned at high altitudes for days at a time and requiring advanced solar power sources that did not add weight. As a result, SunPower Corporation created advanced silicon-based cells for terrestrial or airborne applications.[10]:66–67

Pollution remediation
NASA’s microencapsulating technology enabled the creation of a "Petroleum Remediation Product," which safely cleans petroleum-based pollutants from water. The PRP uses thousands of microcapsules—tiny balls of beeswax with hollow centers. Water cannot penetrate the microcapsule’s cell, but oil is absorbed into the beeswax spheres as they float on the water’s surface. Contaminating chemical compounds that originally come from crude oil (such as fuels, motor oils, or petroleum hydrocarbons) are caught before they settle, limiting damage to ocean beds.[16][26]

Computer technology
Structural analysis software
NASA software engineers have created thousands of computer programs over the decades equipped to design, test, and analyze stress, vibration, and acoustical properties of a broad assortment of aerospace parts and structures. The NASA Structural Analysis Program, or NASTRAN, is considered one of the most successful and widely used NASA software programs. It has been used to design everything from Cadillacs to roller coaster rides. Originally created for spacecraft design, it has been employed in a host of non-aerospace applications and is available to industry through NASA’s Computer Software Management and Information Center (COSMIC). COSMIC maintains a library of computer programs from NASA and other government agencies and sells them at a fraction of the cost of developing a new program. NASA Structural Analysis Computer Software was inducted into the Space Foundation Space Technology Hall of Fame in 1988.[8][14][17][18][19][21][22][23][25][29][30][31]

Remotely controlled ovens
Embedded Web Technology (EWT) software—originally developed by NASA for use by astronauts operating experiments on the International Space Station—lets a user monitor and/or control a device remotely over the Internet. NASA supplied this technology and guidance to TMIO LLC, which developed remote control and monitoring of a new intelligent oven product named "Connect Io." With combined cooling and heating capabilities, Connect Io refrigerates food until a customized pre-programmable cooking cycle begins. The menu allows the user to simply enter the dinner time, and the oven automatically switches from refrigeration to the cooking cycle, so that the meal will be ready as the family arrives home for dinner.[10]

NASA Visualization Explorer
On July 26, 2011, NASA released the NASA Visualization Explorer app for the iPad. The application delivers real-time satellite data, including movies and stills, of Earth, that enable users to learn about subjects such as climate change, Earth's dynamic systems and plant life on land and in the oceans. The content is accompanied by short descriptions about the Data and why it is important.[32][33]

OpenStack
NASA developed a cloud compute platform to give additional compute and storage resources for its engineers, called Nebula. In July 2010, the Nebula code was released as open source and NASA partnered with Rackspace, to form the OpenStack project.[34] OpenStack is used in the cloud-based products from many companies in the cloud market.

Software catalog
NASA released a software catalog in 2014 that made over 1,600 pieces of software available to the public at no charge.[35][36]

Industrial productivity
Powdered lubricants


Oil-free coating PS300 (on these bushings) was created by Adma with NASA resources.
NASA developed a solid lubricant coating, PS300, which is deposited by thermal spraying to protect foil air bearings. PS300 lowers friction, reduces emissions, and has been used by NASA in advanced aeropropulsion engines, refrigeration compressors, turbochargers, and hybrid electrical turbogenerators. ADMA Products has found widespread industrial applications for the material.[10]

Improved mine safety
An ultrasonic bolt elongation monitor developed by a NASA scientist for testing tension and high-pressure loads on bolts and fasteners has continued to evolve over the past three decades. Today, the same scientist and Luna Innovations are using a digital adaptation of this same device for destructive evaluation of railroad ties, groundwater analysis, radiation, and as a medical testing device to assess levels of internal swelling and pressure for patients suffering from intracranial pressure and compartment syndrome, a painful condition that results when pressure within muscles builds to dangerous levels.[10][17]

Food safety
Faced with the problem of how and what to feed an astronaut in a sealed capsule under weightless conditions while planning for human space flight, NASA enlisted the aid of The Pillsbury Company to address two principal concerns: eliminating crumbs of food that might contaminate the spacecraft’s atmosphere and sensitive instruments, and assuring absolute absence of disease-producing bacteria and toxins. Pillsbury developed the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) concept to address NASA’s second concern. HACCP is designed to prevent food safety problems rather than to catch them after they have occurred. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has applied HACCP guidelines for the handling of seafood, juice, and dairy products.[8]

 

[ScienceRocks]

There's growing speculation NASA is about to announce it has discovered flowing water on Mars

NASA today made a very brief announcement that it’s preparing to share details of a “major science finding” early next week.

The space agency gave out a list of participants who will speak, and notice of a “brief question-and-answer session”, so there’s not a lot to go on.

But a couple of names on the list have journalists and bloggers speculating that NASA is about announce it has found evidence of water on Mars. Possibly even flowing water.

http://www.businessi...-on-mars-2015-9

wow, this would be pretty big!


Opportunity Mars rover preparing for active winter

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is conducting a "walkabout" survey of "Marathon Valley," where the rover's operators plan to use the vehicle through the upcoming Martian winter, and beyond, to study the context ...

11 fucking earth years and still going...How about that! Supposed to have lasted only 90 days.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Mars' Mysterious Dark Streaks Spur Exploration Debate http://oak.ctx.ly/r/3rimu

 

[ScienceRocks]

http://www.popsci.com/watch-spacex-r...-rocket-engine

SpaceX rockets have been grounded since an explosion in June destroyed a cargo shipment to the International Space Station. Investigations into the accident pinpointed a failure in struts holding a high-pressure helium tank.

But it sounds like SpaceX is just about ready to get back into the game. At a forum in Berlin on Thursday, SpaceX CEO said, “We hope to launch again in a couple of months — I guess maybe six to eight weeks or so from now — and if things go well, we’ll be able to land the rocket, although I’ll be happy if it just gets to orbit, of course... But hopefully, it will come back to land as well, and that will be an important milestone for space exploration.”

The updated engine design was already planned before the explosion, and SpaceX is taking pains to ensure that the struts don't fail again.

The new engines will boast an extra boost. According to Spaceflight Now, each of the nine engines on the Falcon 9 rocket will provide 170,000 pounds of sea level thrust—up from 147,000 on the previous version.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Hot Jupiters with relatives: discovery of additional planets in orbit around WASP-41 and WASP-47
M. Neveu-VanMalle, D. Queloz, D. R. Anderson, D. J. A. Brown, A. Collier Cameron, L. Delrez, R. F. Díaz, M. Gillon, C. Hellier, E. Jehin, T. Lister, F. Pepe, P. Rojo, D. Ségransan, A. H. M. J. Triaud, O. D. Turner, S. Udry
(Submitted on 25 Sep 2015)
We report the discovery of two additional planetary companions to WASP-41 and WASP-47. WASP-41 c is a planet of minimum mass 3.18 \pm 0.20 M_{\rm Jup}, eccentricity 0.29 \pm 0.02 and orbiting in 421 \pm 2 days. WASP-47 c is a planet of minimum mass 1.24 \pm 0.22 M_{\rm Jup}, eccentricity 0.13 \pm 0.10 and orbiting in 572 \pm 7 days. Unlike most of the planetary systems including a hot Jupiter, these two systems with a hot Jupiter have a long period planet located at only \sim1 AU from their host star. WASP-41 is a rather young star known to be chromospherically active. To differentiate its magnetic cycle from the radial velocity effect due the second planet, we use the emission in the H\alpha line and find this indicator well suited to detect the stellar activity pattern and the magnetic cycle. The analysis of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect induced by WASP-41 b suggests that the planet could be misaligned, though an aligned orbit cannot be excluded. WASP-47 has recently been found to host two additional transiting super Earths. With such an unprecedented architecture, the WASP-47 system will be very important for the understanding of planetary migration.
[1509.07750] Hot Jupiters with relatives: discovery of additional planets in orbit around WASP-41 and WASP-47


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Enceladus's measured physical libration requires a global subsurface ocean
[1509.07555] Enceladus's measured physical libration requires a global subsurface ocean

P. C. Thomas, R. Tajeddine, M. S. Tiscareno, J. A. Burns, J. Joseph, T. J. Loredo, P. Helfenstein, C. Porco
(Submitted on 24 Sep 2015)
Several planetary satellites apparently have subsurface seas that are of great interest for, among other reasons, their possible habitability. The geologically diverse Saturnian satellite Enceladus vigorously vents liquid water and vapor from fractures within a south polar depression and thus must have a liquid reservoir or active melting. However, the extent and location of any subsurface liquid region is not directly observable. We use measurements of control points across the surface of Enceladus accumulated over seven years of spacecraft observations to determine the satellite's precise rotation state, finding a forced physical libration of 0.120 ± 0.014{\deg} (2{\sigma}). This value is too large to be consistent with Enceladus's core being rigidly connected to its surface, and thus implies the presence of a global ocean rather than a localized polar sea. The maintenance of a global ocean within Enceladus is problematic according to many thermal models and so may constrain satellite properties or require a surprisingly dissipative Saturn.


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New model suggests dark matter is made of electrically charged particles

• Dario Borghino
• September 27, 2015
• 2 PICTURES

Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory believe that dark matter may be composed of electrically charged particles that are bound by a yet-unknown force and have somehow managed to escape detection. The theory could be verified with the help of the Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Mystery Solved: Water DOES Flow on Mars


Mystery Solved: Water DOES Flow on Mars

NASA/JPL-CALTECH/UNIV. OF ARIZONA

Scientists have their first evidence that trickles of liquid water play a role in sculpting mysterious dark streaks that appear during summertime months on Mars, a finding that has implications for potential life on Mars, as well as planning for future human expeditions.

The discovery, reported Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience, follows years of speculation and studies to learn why the faces of some cliff walls on Mars are streaked with narrow dark slopes, some more than 300 feet long, that appear when temperatures are warm and then vanish during the winter chill.