[ad_1] It’s not certain just what led to the ‘naked’ jovian world, but there are two theories. TOI-849b is so close to its star that it completes an orbit in 18 hours, raising the possibility that tidal disruptions or a planetary collision stripped it of gas. Evaporation due to starlight is a possibility, but wouldn’t […]
Category: planet
Watch Rocket Lab launch a Canon satellite into space at 5:19PM ET
[ad_1] Public fireworks shows may be in short supply this weekend due to the pandemic, but Rocket Lab is ready to fill the gap. It’s planning to launch its 13th mission, “Pics Or It Didn’t Happen,” from a complex on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula at 5:19PM Eastern with a livestream (below) available 15 minutes before […]
SpaceX’s next Starlink launch will help improve satellite imagery of the Earth
[ad_1] That might not sound like a lot, but it means that previously indistinct vehicles on roadways can now be identified as being a car or a truck, and it’s this sort of development that’s needed to help bolster infrastructure for the eventual arrival of autonomous vehicles — and even to improve the way we […]
Scientists find a likely Earth-like planet orbiting a Sun-like star
[ad_1] Astronomers have found Earth-like planets before, but usually around red dwarf stars. That’s a rather large problem when their flares and radiation could make orbiting planets uninhabitable. Thankfully, there may be a much more viable candidate in the pipeline. Researchers have found (via MIT Technology Review) a likely exoplanet, KOI-456.04, that’s less than twice […]
Astronomers may have witnessed a planet’s birth
[ad_1] Scientists believe they have observed a planet being formed for the first time. In a study published in Astronomy & Astrophysics today, a team of astronomers explain how they captured images of a young star, AB Aurigae, 520 light-years from Earth. In a massive disc of swirling gas and dust around the star, they […]
Scientists find an Earth-like planet hiding in old Kepler data
[ad_1] These parameters don’t guarantee that the planet will support life, even if there aren’t any errors. Red dwaves tend to flare up and hurt the chances for life. Researchers also don’t know the atmospheric composition, which could rule out life even if every other condition is ideal. With that said, NASA is hoping to […]
How to safely watch Mercury pass in front of the Sun today
[ad_1] While Mercury travels around the Sun every 88 days, it’s tilted orbit means it only passes between the Earth and Sun about 13 times a century. This time, the transit will be visible in a lot of regions (including Euope and Africa), but folks in North and South America will have the best view. […]
NASA’s TESS spacecraft discovers its smallest exoplanet to date
[ad_1] TESS spotted the planets by using transits (regular dips in the star’s brightness caused by passing planets). You might get more information soon, at least. TESS completes its first year of studies in July, and that could be enough to both collect more detail about the known planets and possibly spot more. This isn’t […]
NASA’s TESS spacecraft finds its first Earth-sized exoplanet
[ad_1] This newly identified planet is the smallest world outside our solar system that TESS has spotted. And the spacecraft’s data shows HD21749c circles its star every 7.8 days, meaning it has a tight orbit that would lead to surface temperatures of up to 800 degrees Fahrenheit. TESS has now found 10 planets smaller than […]