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    Category Astronomy/Space

    Cloudy Days on Exoplanets may hide Atmospheric Water

    June 9, 2016, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Hot Jupiters, exoplanets around the same size as Jupiter that orbit very closely to their stars, often have cloud or haze layers in their atmospheres. This may prevent space telescopes from detecting atmospheric water that lies beneath the clouds, according to a study in the Astrophysical Journal. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

    Hot Jupiters, exoplanets around the same size as Jupiter that orbit very closely to their stars, often have cloud or haze layers in their atmospheres. This may prevent space telescopes from detecting atmospheric water that lies beneath the clouds, according to a study in the Astrophysical Journal. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

    Water is a hot topic in the study of exoplanets, including “hot Jupiters,” whose masses are similar to that of Jupiter, but which are much closer to their parent star than Jupiter is to the sun. They can reach a scorching 2,000F, meaning any water they host would take the form of water vapor. Astronomers have found many hot Jupiters with water in their atmospheres, but others appear to have none...

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    Universe’s 1st Life might have been born on Carbon Planets

    June 8, 2016, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    In this artist's conception, a carbon planet orbits a sunlike star in the early universe. Young planetary systems lacking heavy chemical elements but relatively rich in carbon could form worlds made of graphite, carbides and diamond rather than Earth-like silicate rocks. Blue patches show where water has pooled on the planet's surface, forming potential habitats for alien life. Credit: Christine Pulliam (CfA). Sun image: NASA/SDO

    In this artist’s conception, a carbon planet orbits a sunlike star in the early universe. Young planetary systems lacking heavy chemical elements but relatively rich in carbon could form worlds made of graphite, carbides and diamond rather than Earth-like silicate rocks. Blue patches show where water has pooled on the planet’s surface, forming potential habitats for alien life. Credit: Christine Pulliam (CfA). Sun image: NASA/SDO

    Our Earth consists of silicate rocks and an iron core with a thin veneer of water and life. But the first potentially habitable worlds to form might have been very different. New research suggests that planet formation in the early universe might have created carbon planets consisting of graphite, carbides, and diamond...

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    Computer Simulations Shed Light on the Milky Way’s Missing Red Giants

    June 8, 2016, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    A sequence of snapshots from a simulation showing a red giant star tunneling through a high density gas clump. The star is moving downward in the illustration, as indicated by the bow-shaped "onion skin" surfaces of constant density. Soon after the star plunges into the clump, it develops a high temperature "blister" at the point of impact and a full turbulent wake behind it. Credit: Georgia Tech

    A sequence of snapshots from a simulation showing a red giant star tunneling through a high density gas clump. The star is moving downward in the illustration, as indicated by the bow-shaped “onion skin” surfaces of constant density. Soon after the star plunges into the clump, it develops a high temperature “blister” at the point of impact and a full turbulent wake behind it. Credit: Georgia Tech

    Why is the center of the Milky Way filled with young stars but has very few old ones. According to the theory, the remnants of older, red giant stars are still there – they just aren’t bright enough to be detected with telescopes...

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    Origin of Extraordinary Supernovae can be explained by the ‘accretion scenario.’

    June 7, 2016, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Image around SN 2012dn obtained by the Kanata Telescope at Higashi-Hiroshima Observatory. SN 2012dn is seen near the center of this figure. The host galaxy ESO 462-G016 is seen on the left side of SN 2012dn. The distance to this galaxy is known to be 130 mega-light-years. Because the supernova is a point source, the expansion cannot be measured, but the evolutions of the brightness and color are obtained. Credit: Higashi-Hiroshima Observatory

    Image around SN 2012dn obtained by the Kanata Telescope at Higashi-Hiroshima Observatory. SN 2012dn is seen near the center of this figure. The host galaxy ESO 462-G016 is seen on the left side of SN 2012dn. The distance to this galaxy is known to be 130 mega-light-years. Because the supernova is a point source, the expansion cannot be measured, but the evolutions of the brightness and color are obtained. Credit: Higashi-Hiroshima Observatory

    Using Optical and Infrared Synergetic Telescopes for Education and Research (OISTER), researchers discovered an anomalously strong infrared emission from ‘the extraordinary supernova’ SN 2012dn, which has never been observed in other Type Ia supernovae to date...

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