Space Stories: More on Planet 9, A Collision with Pluto, and Explaining Free-Floating Planets

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Here are some recent stories of interest.

—IFLScience: “Astronomers Find Evidence Of A Massive Object Beyond The Orbit Of Neptune“

A team of researchers say they have found the “strongest statistical evidence yet that Planet 9 is really out there” in the solar system after studying a population of distant, unstable objects that cross Neptune’s orbit...In a new paper, the team looked at long-period objects that crossed the path of Neptune’s orbit, finding that their closest point of orbit to the sun was around 15-30 astronomical units (AU), with one AU being the distance between the sun and the Earth.

—CNN: “Pluto Gained a ‘Heart’ After Colliding with a Planetary Body“

A huge heart-shaped feature on the surface of Pluto has intrigued astronomers since NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft captured it in a 2015 image. Now, researchers think they have solved the mystery of how the distinctive heart came to be — and it could reveal new clues about the dwarf planet’s origins…an international team of scientists has determined that a cataclysmic event created the heart. After an analysis involving numerical simulations, the researchers concluded a planetary body about 435 miles (700 kilometers) in diameter, or roughly twice the size of Switzerland from east to west, likely collided with Pluto early in the dwarf planet’s history.

—University of Nevada: “Astronomers Offer New Model for Formation of Recently Discovered ‘Free-floating’ Planets“

The recent discovery of a potential new class of distant and mysterious “free-floating” planets has intrigued astronomers since stunning new images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope were shared late last year. These candidate planets, known as Jupiter-mass Binary Objects (JuMBOs), seem to orbit one another as they float freely in space unbound to any star—which counters prevailing theories of how planetary systems were thought to work. Now, a new study by a team of astrophysicists from UNLV and Stony Brook University, published April 19 in the journal Nature Astronomy, introduces a compelling model for how these JuMBOs may have formed.

Juno Views Lava Lake on Io

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Image (Credit): View of Jupiter’s moon Io as seen by the Juno spacecraft on April 9. It was the first-ever image of the moon’s south polar region. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS. Image processing: Gerald Eichstädt/Thomas Thomopoulos (CC BY))

The Juno spacecraft is still hard a work in the vicinity of Jupiter, with its latest mission being a flyby of the moon Io earlier this month (shown above).

Two recent flybys of the moon were also combined to create an image of a lake of cooling lava (shown below and via the video here). Juno’s principal investigator Scott Bolton explained the new image:

Io is simply littered with volcanoes, and we caught a few of them in action. We also got some great close-ups and other data on a 200-kilometer-long (127-mile-long) lava lake called Loki Patera. There is amazing detail showing these crazy islands embedded in the middle of a potentially magma lake rimmed with hot lava. The specular reflection our instruments recorded of the lake suggests parts of Io’s surface are as smooth as glass, reminiscent of volcanically created obsidian glass on Earth.

Juno has been zipping around Jupiter’s neighborhood since 2016. It’s main task is to study the origin and evolution of Jupiter, believed to be the first planet to have formed in our solar system. By doing so, NASA hopes to learn more about the solar system and the Earth as well.

Image (Credit): An artist’s rendering of Loki Patera, a lava lake on Jupiter’s moon Io, created using data from the JunoCam imager aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS)

In Case You Missed It: One Way to Get Kids into Planetariums

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Taylor Swift light show at the Saint Louis Science Center. (Saint Louis Science Center)

It may be an unusual way to encourage children to visit a planetarium, but it seems to be working. Taylor Swift light shows appear to be the new rage at planetariums across the country.

The image above comes from the light show at the Saint Louis planetarium, though you can find similar shows at planetariums in Springfield, Massachusetts, Laramie, Wyoming, and Boulder, Colorado.

I suppose this is a way to introduce some kids to the existence of the planetarium while also paying the overhead for the planetarium itself. It would be nice to learn whether the same crowd comes back later to learn more about the solar system and universe, though I have not seen much press on that relationship.

One can only hope that the real stars eventually outshine the Earth-bound ones for some of these children. Maybe the visit will even lead to more interest in the planets, such as Saturn. After all, didn’t Taylor sing about that planet in her song Seven?

Sweet tea in the summer
Cross your heart, won’t tell no other
And though I can’t recall your face
I still got love for you
Your braids like a pattern
Love you to the moon and to Saturn
Passed down like folk songs
The love lasts so long

Study Findings: Genomic, Functional, and Metabolic Enhancements in Multidrug-Resistant Enterobacter Bugandensis Facilitating its Persistence and Succession in the International Space Station

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Image (Credit): The International Space Station. (NASA)

PubMed  abstract of the study findings:

Distinct from their Earth counterparts, ISS E. bugandensis strains have exhibited resistance mechanisms that categorise them within the ESKAPE pathogen group, a collection of pathogens recognised for their formidable resistance to antimicrobial treatments. During the 2-year Microbial Tracking 1 mission, 13 strains of multidrug-resistant E. bugandensis were isolated from various locations within the ISS. We have carried out a comprehensive study to understand the genomic intricacies of ISS-derived E. bugandensis in comparison to terrestrial strains, with a keen focus on those associated with clinical infections. We unravel the evolutionary trajectories of pivotal genes, especially those contributing to functional adaptations and potential antimicrobial resistance. A hypothesis central to our study was that the singular nature of the stresses of the space environment, distinct from any on Earth, could be driving these genomic adaptations. Extending our investigation, we meticulously mapped the prevalence and distribution of E. bugandensis across the ISS over time. This temporal analysis provided insights into the persistence, succession, and potential patterns of colonisation of E. bugandensis in space. Furthermore, by leveraging advanced analytical techniques, including metabolic modelling, we delved into the coexisting microbial communities alongside E. bugandensis in the ISS across multiple missions and spatial locations. This exploration revealed intricate microbial interactions, offering a window into the microbial ecosystem dynamics within the ISS.

Citation: Sengupta P, Muthamilselvi Sivabalan SK, Singh NK, et al. Genomic, functional, and metabolic enhancements in multidrug-resistant Enterobacter bugandensis facilitating its persistence and succession in the International Space Station. Microbiome 12(1):62 (2024).
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-024-01777-1

Study-related stories:

Pic of the Week: Pa 30 – The Temporary Star

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Image (Credit): Composite image of circular nebula Pa 30. (X-ray: (Chandra) NASA/CXC/U. Manitoba/C. Treyturik, (XMM-Newton) ESA/C. Treyturik; Optical: (Pan-STARRS) NOIRLab/MDM/Dartmouth/R. Fesen; Infrared: (WISE) NASA/JPL/Caltech/; Image Processing: Univ. of Manitoba/Gilles Ferrand and Jayanne English)

This week’s image is a circular nebula that first appears more than 800 years ago, shocking those observing it on Earth at the time and lasting for about 185 days. The circular nebula, called Pa 30, is shown above as a composite of multiple telescopes, including the Chandar X-ray Observatory, which is now facing a threat to its funding.

Hear is more from NASA concerning this image:

X-ray observations by ESA’s XMM-Newton (blue) show the full extent of the nebula and NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (cyan) pinpoints its central source. The nebula is barely visible in optical light but shines bright in infrared light, collected by NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Space Explorer (red and pink). Interestingly, the radial structure in the image consists of heated sulfur that glows in visible light, observed with the ground-based Hiltner 2.4 m telescope at the MDM Observatory (green) in Arizona, USA, as do the stars in the background by Pan-STARRS (white) in Hawaii, USA.

Studies of the composition of the different parts of the remnant have led scientists to believe that it was formed in a thermonuclear explosion, and more precisely a special kind of supernova called a sub-luminous Type Iax event. During this event two white dwarf stars merged, and typically no remnant is expected for this kind of explosion. But incomplete explosions can leave a kind of ‘zombie’ star, such as the massive white dwarf star in this system. This very hot star, one of the hottest stars in the Milky Way (about 200 000 degrees Celsius), has a fast stellar wind with speeds up to 16,000 km/h. The combination of the star and the nebula makes it a unique opportunity for studying such rare explosions.