Space Stories: Apps, Jupiter, and Exoplanets

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): This enhanced color view of Jupiter’s south pole was created by citizen scientist Gabriel Fiset using data from the JunoCam instrument on NASA’s Juno spacecraft. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Gabriel Fiset)

Here are some recent stories of interest.

—Mashable.com: “The Best Astronomy Apps for Stargazing This Summer“

Thanks to these astronomy apps, you can use your phone to see which stars and constellations are above you in real time, day or night. Whether you’re planning on stargazing, are curious about which constellations are in your location, or simply want to flex on your family and friends around the campfire, the following apps can show you what you’re seeing in the sky.

—Technology.org: “Why Jupiter Doesn’t Have Rings Like Saturn“

To understand the reason Jupiter currently looks the way it does, Kane and his graduate student Zhexing Li ran a dynamic computer simulation accounting for the orbits of Jupiter’s four main moons, as well as the orbit of the planet itself, and information about the time it takes for rings to form. Their results are detailed here, soon to be published in the Planetary Science journal.

—ScienceDaily.com: “A New Method to Detect Exoplanets“

In recent years, a large number of exoplanets have been found around single ‘normal’ stars. New research shows that there may be exceptions to this trend. Researchers suggest a new way of detecting dim bodies, including planets, orbiting exotic binary stars known as Cataclysmic Variables (CVs).