December 12, 2016,
Astronomy/Space
![An ALMA image of the star HD 163296 and its protoplanetary disk as seen in dust. New observations suggested that two planets, each about the size of Saturn, are in orbit around the star. These planets, which are not yet fully formed, revealed themselves in the dual imprint they left in both the dust and the gas portions of the star’s protoplanetary disk. (Credit: ALMA [ESO/NAOJ/NRAO]/Andrea Isella/B. Saxton [NRAO/AUI/NSF]) - See more at: http://news.rice.edu/2016/12/12/rings-around-young-star-suggest-planet-formation-in-progress/#sthash.pbHZ2cMD.dpuf](https://news.rice.edu/files/2016/12/1212_RINGS-2-web-t3zwz2.jpg)
An ALMA image of the star HD 163296 and its protoplanetary disk as seen in dust. New observations suggested that two planets, each about the size of Saturn, are in orbit around the star. These planets, which are not yet fully formed, revealed themselves in the dual imprint they left in both the dust and the gas portions of the star’s protoplanetary disk. (Credit: ALMA [ESO/NAOJ/NRAO]/Andrea Isella/B. Saxton [NRAO/AUI/NSF])
December 12, 2016,
Astronomy/Space
This is an artist’s impression of planet HAT-P-7b. CREDIT University of Warwick/Mark Garlick
Signs of powerful changing winds have been detected on a planet 16 times larger than Earth, over 1,000 light years away – the first time ever that weather systems have been found on a gas giant outside our solar system. David Armstrong in Warwick’s Astrophysics Group has discovered that the gas giant HAT-P-7b is affected by large scale changes in the strong winds moving across the planet, likely leading to catastrophic storms.
This discovery was made by monitoring the light being reflected from the atmosphere of HAT-P-7b, and identifying changes in this light, showing that the brightest point of the planet shifts its position...
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December 11, 2016,
Physics, Astronomy/Space
A nano-spacecraft such as ChipSat, which consists of solar cells and functional blocks in a printed circuit board, would face a high risk of damage from radiation and aging issues on a flight into deep space. Especially, most of functional blocks such as microcontroller, memories, sensors, and communication system are semiconductor-based chips. Credit: D.-I. Moon et al.
Self healing chips—healing after radiation damage—could have an impact on interstellar spacecraft, according to reports. Scientists at NASA and KAIST) have been pioneering development of “tiny spacecraft made from a single silicon chip that could slash interstellar exploration times.” Inverse described this breakthrough as “a transistor for silicon chips that can heal itself after radiation damage...
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December 11, 2016,
Astronomy/Space
Chondrules — spherical beads of previously molten material — found in CB chondrites were formed by ultra-high-speed collisions. New research suggests that the presence of the planet Jupiter near the asteroid belt could create the right conditions for these impacts. That helps constrain the timing for Jupiter’s formation and migration. The study suggests that Jupiter must have been at full size when the chondrules formed, which was about 5 million years after the first solar system solids appeared. Credit: Alexander Krot, University of Hawai’i Manoa
A peculiar class of meteorites has offered scientists new clues about when the planet Jupiter took shape and wandered through the solar system...
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