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Showing posts with the label astronomy

Hearing the Universe, Touching the Stars

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A musician who's also a scientist found music in TRAPPIST-1 data. Meanwhile, 3D models help folks 'see' galaxies: and I found a Lenten connection in all that. Sonification and Switching Senses for Science TRAPPIST-1: A Planetary System With Resonance and Rhythm Scientific Sonification and the Cocktail Party Effect Tactile Perception: Making Mental Maps With 3D Models A Grain and Galaxies: Comparing the Incomparable More at A Catholic Citizen in America . Switching senses for science: sonification, 3D models of astronomical images, the cocktail party effect, and mental maps. And, briefly, a Lenten connection.

Jezero Sediment, TOI-715 b: Headlines and Extraterrestrial Life

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Last month ended with headlines hinting that our first glimpse of extraterrestrial life was just around the corner. " Discovery Alert: A ‘Super-Earth’ in the Habitable Zone " Pat Brennan, NASA News (January 31, 2024) " Scientists More Hopeful Than Ever That Perseverance Has Already Found Life on Mars " Carly Cassella, ScienceAlert (January 24, 2024) A week later, there's the usual politics and pandemonium in the news: but no space aliens. I'm not surprised. I'm not disappointed, either. I am, however, excited about what we've found in Jezero crater, and a new world that's not quite Earth 2.0. Perseverance on Mars: Sediment and Speculation Bacteria and Mars TOI-715 b: Habitable? Maybe — Worth Studying? Definitely! Extraterrestrial Life: Bat-People and Making Sense Anyway Evidence, Logic, and — Maybe — Extraterrestrial Life Earth 2.0, Reality, and an Op-Ed 'Because Aristotle Says So'?! Belief, Preference, and God Mor

Colliding Planets Near ASASSN-21qj: Maybe

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They were looking for supernovae. What they found may become a double planet, like the Earth-Moon system, once it cools down. Or a planet with a giant moon, again like the Earth-Moon system. Then again, an oddly-uneven dusty disk may be orbiting this young, very "Sun-like" star. Either way, ASASSN-2qj is much more interesting than it was a few years back. strong>Barycenters and Binaries: Briefly Rabbit Holes and an ‘Assassin Star’ Professional Scientists, Amateur Astronomers, Teamwork and Twitter/X "...So Slow Smart" ASASSN-21qj: Once Obscure, Now Intriguing A Very Sun-Like Star Uncertainty and Science '...A Star to Steer By...' More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Scientists looking for supernovae noticed a very sunlike star that flared in infrared and then dimmed. It may be evidence of a planetary collision.)

Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A: Cool Images of Hot Gas

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That's more than just a pretty picture. Well, part of a pretty picture. It's our latest look at the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant. Webb's high-resolution cameras are showing details that scientists have never seen before.... ...That's what I started talking about this week. But the Cassiopeia A supernova's underwhelming appearance, or maybe non-appearance, reminded me of famines, coffeehouses, and other malign menaces. So here's what I had, Friday afternoon: Spotting an Invisible Supernova, Coffeehouses, — [disconnecting] [reconnecting] — Flamsteed's Star, and Another Supernova Four Ways Stars Explode: a NASA/JPL (very) Short Video Cassiopeia A: Might have been a FELT Transposing the Invisible: Infrared Astronomy Cosmic Scale and a 15-inch Telescope "...To Follow Knowledge like a Sinking Star...." "On to God!" — "Truth Cannot Contradict Truth" More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Latest NIRCam image from

Sednoids and the Mysterious Missing Planet X

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As I've said before, this isn't the world I grew up in. Back then, the Solar System had nine planets, assorted moons, and asteroids. Plus, of course, the sun. Now we've got planets, dwarf planets, minor planets, natural satellites, trans-Neptunian objects, plutoids, comets, centaurs, and small Solar System bodies. Just to keep things interesting, definitions for the new labels overlap. Some labels, like plutoids, didn't catch on; and it all keeps changing as we collect more data. This week I'll be talking about sednoids, another subset of trans-Neptunian object; 1 along with whatever else comes to mind. "All the News That's Fit to Print" — and Some That Isn't 'COMET PILLS! GAS MASKS!! GET 'EM WHILE YOU CAN!!!' Sedna, Sednoids, and Orbits: Traces of a Missing World? Beyond the Kuiper Cliff: An Unexpected Void and Wandering Worlds Charting the Borderlands of Sol Out of the Ecliptic, Beyond the Kuiper Belt To be Continued

Double Jupiters, a JuMBO Puzzle; Antimatter Falls Down

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Every time we develop new tech for studying this universe, we find something new. New to us, that is. This week, I'll be talking about unexpected Jupiter-size objects in the Orion Nebula, and why scientists at CERN dropped a few hundred antihydrogen atoms. Baffling Binaries, Planetary Problem: JuMBOs in Orion Low Expectations, a Pleasant Surprise A Planet by Any Other Name JuMBOs and Questions Antimatter, Gravity, the Universe: and an Experiment at CERN A Quick Look at Antimatter, From Hicks to Dirac, and Weirdness (Most) Antihydrogen Atoms Fell Down Mystery of the Missing Antimatter 'Where's the Antimatter?' — Broadening the Search Ptolemy, C. S. Lewis, the Universe, and Assumptions "...Its Inhabitants Like Grasshoppers...." More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Unexpected Jupiter-size binaries in the Trapezium Cluster, antimatter and gravity experiment at CERN. New data, new puzzles.)

WASP-18 b and Other Wonderfully Weird WASP Worlds

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When I started writing this, I'd planned on talking about WASP-18 b, a hot Jupiter: how we've found water in its atmosphere, and something odd about the planet's temperature on the edge of its sunlit side. Down the Rabbit Hole: Exoplanet Designations and Cosmic Scale Astronomical Designations: A Discursive Digression First Known Exoplanets A Circumbinary Planet’s (allegedly) Impractical and Unworkable Designation Exoplanet Designations: A Work in Progress Designations and Alphanumeric Alternatives: a Hypothetical Hodgepodge “People Also Ask”: Strange Worlds and Cosmic Scale WASP-18 b: Discovering Something Odd This WASP World’s Winds: Weirdly Warped? Over-the-Top Winds on WASP-18 b? Living in Vastness More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Odd worlds and cosmic scale. WASP-12 b, WASP-17 b, WASP-18 b. Not-quite-standardized exoplanet designations. Something strange about WASP-18 b.)

Super-Duper Super Earths and the Search for Life

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TThis week, I'll talk about Professor Ethan Siegel's view that "the myth of the super-habitable super-Earth planet" is "a scientific catastrophe", other non-catastrophes; and a problem with "super-Earths" as a label. Along the way I'll look at science, news, headlines and silliness. And finally, skip lightly over a 13th century academic debate that got out of hand. "...A Scientific Catastrophe"? Earth ISN'T the Best of All Possible Worlds??? Bigger Isn't (Always) Better: But Neither is Smaller Science News, Silliness, Headlines and "Catastrophe" Proxima Chorizo, the Great Moon Hoax and Headlines Exoplanets: New Categories for Strange New Worlds Sorting Exoplanets by — Radius? Mass, Period and Discovery Method of Known Exoplanets (March 2022) New Worlds Discovered by Kepler, TESS, and Everything Else Still Seeking the Legendary Earth 2.0 The Problem with "Super-Earths" HD 219134 b: Da

TRAPPIST-1 and the Mysterious Pea Pod Planets

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There may have been times when one generation's world was much like another's. This is not one of those times. Science textbooks of my youth included speculation that Earth's mountains exist because our planet has been cooling and shrinking. One of my geology professors didn't "believe in" continental drift, and that's another topic. Back then, we knew that planets orbit our star, but weren't sure how the star we call the Sun and the Solar System formed. We still don't, for that matter. Not for sure. But the nebular hypothesis, or something very much like it, is a pretty good fit with observations. I'll get back to that, and some of what we've been learning about planetary systems: including TRAPPIST-1 and its seven worlds. More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (New planetary system pattern discovered. TRAPPIST-1 worlds. Solar System formation and evolution ideas, from Descartes to pulsar planets. Psalms 115:3.)

TRAPPIST-1 b Measured by Webb: Hot, Airless

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The TRAPPIST-1 planetary system is news again, this time because we've taken the innermost planet's temperature. That, by itself, isn’t newsworthy. We've been using infrared observations to learn how hot exoplanets are at least since 2006. 1 What makes the latest observations special is that they’re the first time scientists have measured a comparatively small, cool exoplanet's temperature.That's what I'll be talking about this week, along with whatever else comes to mind. Top Three Multiplanetary Systems Solar System Kepler-90 Planetary System, Upsilon Andromedae d and back to TRAPPIST-1 Taking TRAPPIST-1 b's Temperature With Webb’s MIRI Blackbody Radiation, Red Stars and Astronomical Art Thermal Radiation and the Ultraviolet Catastrophe! Star Light, Star Not-So-Bright Coming Next Week: Possible Interiors of TRAPPIST-1's Planets More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (JWST takes temperature of TRAPPIST-1 b: the first detection of

Active Volcano on Venus: Before and After Images

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Venus is dead as a doornail as far as life is concerned. Life as we know it, at any rate, and already I'm drifting off-topic. Geologically, though, we've know that there's still metaphorical life in Venus. Or was, until very recently. Orbiters have sent back evidence of geologically-recent volcanic activity, including images of shield volcanoes and lava flows. But we had no direct evidence of a volcano that's active now. Until scientists sifted through data recorded and stored in the early 1990s. Observing Venus: Five Millennia in About 700 Words Telescopic Views Pulp Fiction and the Radar Astronomers Missions to Venus SAR, Science and Magellan Active(?) Volcano on Venus: Maat Mons From the Magellan Archives: a Changing Volcanic Vent — — And New Lava Flows, Maybe Hot Spots, Sulfur Dioxide, Venusian Volcanoes and Acronyms Missions, Maps, Maat Mons and Mor e "Greater Admiration" More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Views of Ven

Peril in Orion! Beware Betelgeuse?

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Betelgeuse, the bright red star in Orion's right shoulder, is a semiregular variable star, with small periods of 185 days and 2,100 days and a main period of around 400 days. It will explode at any moment, and we're right next door. If I had any sense, from one viewpoint, I'd talk about the ozone hole, denounce forever chemicals and promote a 'Save the Panda' fund I'd set up. Or maybe indulge in free association inspired by Revelation and Gematria, and slip in hints that your only hope is to give me money. Yeah. That kind of trouble I don't need. Besides, I suspect the weird mix of numerology and Bible trivia that infested 'Christian' radio during my youth is no longer in vogue. 1 So instead, I'll look at the last two times Betelgeuse was newsworthy. Then I'll talk about cosmic scale, stars and whatever else comes to mind. Headlines! Science Distances, Safe and Otherwise Estimates and an Example Looking Ahead, Looking Back

Galaxies, Gravity and a Hot Terrestrial Planet

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...The Webb data had already been used in 21 research papers, back in February. I'd prefer looking up a few of them, picking out one that sounded interesting, and talking about it. But I've had a distracted week. So today I'll focus on some really cool pictures from the JWST/Webb telescope. Mostly. NGC 1433: Hubble Space Telescope's View Abell 2744, 'Pandora's Cluster': Closer Look, New Details of Distant Galaxies Galaxies, Gravity and More Galaxies Lensed Galaxies: Showing How Gravity Lenses Work Earth-Size, But Not Earth 2.0 LHS 475 b: Methane, No; Carbon Dioxide, Maybe; Or Maybe No Atmosphere At All Terrestrial, Telluric, Solid, or Rocky: There's No Place Like Home More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (A closer look at NGC 1433, Abell 2744: and distant galaxies. LHS 475 b, Earth-size but not Earth-like. Defining terrestrial planets.)

Exoplanets, Dust, and Who Sees Data First?

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It's been a little over 10 years since scientists spotted Kepler-22 b. It was the first time we'd spotted a transiting exoplanet that's in its sun's habitable zone. That may or may not mean that Kepler-22 b is habitable. The odds are good that the exoplanet is a water world: covered with an ocean far deeper than Earth's Since then we've discovered quite a few water worlds. And, possibly because there's a 1995 action film called "Waterworld", they're often called ocean worlds. 1 This week I'll talk about two (probably) ocean worlds, Kepler-138 c and d; discovered in 2014, they're far to hot for life as we know it. But scientists recently published a new analysis of those two worlds. And that gave me something to talk about. So did a proposed change in when taxpayer-funded research projects release data. It's good news or bad news, depending on who's talking. That's this week's first item. I'll also look at
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We've found two new worlds, GJ 1002 b and c, that could be habitable. They're the right size and most likely around the right temperature. Actually, make that three new worlds. Another one, Wolf 1069 b, showed up in my news feed as I was writing this. 1 But Wolf 1069 b will wait for another time. What with one thing and another — including an unexpected visit from a daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter — I didn't ramble on as much as usual this week. So I'll take a brief, for me, look at GJ 1002 b and c. And I'll talk about literally cool data from the JWST: a look at ingredients for "the building blocks of life" in the Chamaeleon I dark molecular cloud. More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (GJ 1002 b and c may be habitable worlds orbiting a nearby red dwarf. JWST gives us new data about CHONS: key elements in the building blocks of life.)

Stars, Galaxies, XBONGs and Me

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As I write this, scientists have not made contact with an extraterrestrial civilization, cured the common cold, or developed a process for using pocket lint as a pollution-free sustainable energy resource. So I'll be looking at galaxies, black holes, and a place where stars are forming. Scientists figure that last item will help them work out how the earliest stars formed. But first, NASA's APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day), almost five years back. Make that pictures: of the Cartwheel Galaxy Region and HST WFPC2. More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Images from the Every Known Nearby Galaxy campaign, Chandra and James Webb Space Telescope. And how I see living in a vast and ancient universe.)

A Doomed World, Spiraling to Destruction

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Kepler-1658 b, KOI-4.01, is a "hot Jupiter". In another 2,500,000 years, give or take a bit, it won't be there any more. That makes it a hot subject for scientists: literally and figuratively. Kepler-1658 b is also the the Kepler space telescope's first confirmed exoplanet. ... ... today I'll be talking about Kepler-1658 b and why studying it matters. To scientists, at any rate.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Looking at studies of Kepler-1658 b, first confirmed Kepler exoplanet; a hot Jupiter spiraling into its sun. Plus my take on pursuing truth.)

DART: Trick Shot by OpNav, and a Successful Test

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Asteroid Dimorphos and comet-like dust trail, 28 hours after DART spacecraft impact on September 26, 2022. (Image taken October 8. 2022) Image from NASA/ESA/STScI/Hubble, used w/o permission On September 26, 2022, the NASA/APL DART mission changed the orbit of an asteroid: Dimorphos, a satellite of 65803 Didymos.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

DART Mission, Successful Planetary Defense Test; What's Next

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"News services dialed their headlines back a bit Tuesday. But Monday's planetary defense test was a big deal, no matter how much of a nudge it gave Dimorphos...." More at A Catholic Citizen in America . The NASA DART mission was a success, hitting asteroid Dimorphos in our first Planetary Defense Test. Next: studying the results, developing new tech.

Meanwhile, Back on Mars, New Dust Storm Data

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It's been a year since I wrote about the Mars 2020 mission. This seemed like a good time to catch up on what the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter have been up to in Jezero Crater. The Ingenuity helicopter has been scouting ahead, giving folks back on Earth up-close aerial views of places the Perseverance rover will be visiting. It was a test vehicle for powered flight on Mars, so it wasn't loaded with a great many sensors.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . Studying Mars: Ancient Egypt, Schiaparelli and Lowell. Perseverance in Jezero Crater. Martian weather and climate: and maybe ice ages.