Space Stories: New Observatory in Chile, Why Exoplanets Spiral Towards their Sun, and Citizens Help Find an Exoplanet

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory, built on the summit of a desert mountain in northern Chile. (The University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory Project)

Here are some recent stories of interest.

—University of Tokyo: “New Observatory in Chile—the Highest in the World—Aims to Reveal Origins of Planets, Galaxies and More“

At an altitude of 5,640 meters, the University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory (TAO), built on the summit of a desert mountain in northern Chile, is the highest astronomical observatory in the world, which should give it unrivaled capabilities, but presents some novel challenges…”Construction on the summit of Cerro Chajnantor was an incredible challenge, not just technically, but politically too. I have liaised with Indigenous peoples to ensure their rights and views are considered, the Chilean government to secure permission, local universities for technical collaboration, and even the Chilean Health Ministry to make sure people can work at that altitude in a safe manner. Thanks to all involved, research I’ve only ever dreamed about can soon become a reality, and I couldn’t be happier.”

—Durham University: “Scientists Explain Why Some Exoplanets are Spiraling Towards their Stars“

According to existing theories, the closeness of hot Jupiters should create powerful gravitational ‘tidal waves’ between the planet and star. Over billions of years, these tides transfer energy, causing the planets to spiral inwards until they are eventually consumed by their stars. However, some hot Jupiters like WASP-12b seem to be spiralling in way too quickly for the theories to explain. Scientists were missing a key part of the mystery. Our scientists say they have found the missing piece – magnets!

—Simons Foundation: “Citizen Scientists Help Discover Record-Breaking Exoplanet in Binary Star System“

With an orbit longer than those of most of its brethren, the new planet spotted by volunteer planet hunters and confirmed by Flatiron Institute scientists and their colleagues could offer insights into how exoplanets form and remain stable in multi-star systems…The newfound planet — formally called TOI 4633 c, but nicknamed Percival (after a character from the “Harry Potter” book series) by the scientists — was first identified by citizen scientists sifting through data collected by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). 

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.

Space Stories: Protests to Save Chandra, Problems Retrieving Martian Sample, and TESS is Getting Testy

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: https://www.savechandra.org

Here are some recent stories related to NASA missions.

—PhysicsWorld: “US Astronomers Slam Cuts to the Chandra X-ray Observatory“

X-ray astronomers in the US have begun a campaign to save the Chandra X-ray Observatory from budget cuts that would effectively end the mission. They assert that the craft, which was launched in 1999, has plenty of life left in it. Cancelling support could, they say, damage scientific efforts to understand the universe and the careers of an emerging generation of X-ray astronomers.

—CNN: “NASA Rethinks Plan to Return Rare Mars Samples to Earth“

“Mars Sample Return will be one of the most complex missions NASA has ever undertaken. The bottom line is, an $11 billion budget is too expensive, and a 2040 return date is too far away,” Nelson said. “Safely landing and collecting the samples, launching a rocket with the samples off another planet — which has never been done before — and safely transporting the samples more than 33 million miles (53 million kilometers) back to Earth is no small task. We need to look outside the box to find a way ahead that is both affordable and returns samples in a reasonable time frame.”

—NASA: “NASA’s TESS Temporarily Pauses Science Observations“

NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) entered into safe mode April 8, temporarily interrupting science observations. The team is investigating the root cause of the safe mode, which occurred during scheduled engineering activities. The satellite itself remains in good health. The team will continue investigating the issue and is in the process of returning TESS to science observations in the coming days.

Space Stories: Voyager 1 Gibberish, Lunar Rovers Underway, and the Largest Digital Camera

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Image (Credit): Artist’s rendering of the Voyager 1 spacecraft. (NASA)

Here are some recent stories of interest.

—ScienceAlert: “NASA Has Finally Identified The Reason Behind Voyager 1’s Gibberish“

For months now, the most distant spacecraft to Earth – Voyager 1 – has been talking gibberish on the interplanetary ‘radio’. The repetitive jumble of 1s and 0s it’s sending back to our planet, 24 billion kilometers (15 billion miles) away, has made no sense to scientists until now. Turns out, officials at NASA just needed to give the oh-so-distant craft a bit of a ‘poke’ to ask it how it was feeling. The system returned a software readout to Earth that scientists have now used to confirm about 3 percent of its memory is corrupted. Which is why turning the FDS on and off didn’t resolve the issue back in November of 2023.

—CBS News: “3 Companies Win NASA Contracts to Develop New Artemis Moon Rover Designs“

Along with funding the commercial development of new rockets, Artemis moon landers and new spacesuits, NASA is pressing ahead with plans to buy an unpressurized moon rover that can carry astronauts, science payloads — or both — across the rugged terrain of the lunar south pole, officials said Wednesday. The agency announced contract awards to three companies to develop competing designs for a Lunar Terrain Vehicle, or LTV, similar in concept to the rovers that carried the last three Apollo crews across the moon’s surface more than 50 years ago.

—NOIRLab: “Construction of Largest Digital Camera Ever Built for Astronomy Completed“

After two decades of work, scientists and engineers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and their collaborators are celebrating the completion of the LSST Camera. Once mounted on Vera C. Observatory’s Simonyi Survey Telescope, the 3200-megapixel camera will help researchers observe our Universe in unprecedented detail. During its ten-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time, the LSST Camera will generate an enormous trove of data on the southern night sky that researchers will mine for new insights into dark energy, dark matter, the changing night sky, the Milky Way and our Solar System.

Space Stories: Detailed Views of Mars, Plummeting ISS Space Junk, and Time Zones on the Moon

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Recent high-altitude view of Mars taken by Mars Express’s High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). ( ESA)

Here are some recent stories of interest.

—Astrobiology: “Mars Express Celebrates 25,000 Orbits“

ESA’s Mars Express recently looped around Mars for the 25,000th time – and the orbiter has captured yet another spectacular view of the Red Planet to mark the occasion. The new high-altitude view was taken by Mars Express’s High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). It features many of Mars’s towering volcanoes and even includes a surprise appearance from the planet’s largest moon, Phobos.

—Daily Mail: “Piece of 5,800lb Battery Pallet Tossed from NASA’s ISS Crashes Through Florida Home – and Nearly Kills Homeowner’s Son“

A piece of metal came crashing through a home in Florida that is believed to be from a 5,800-pound battery pallet discarded by the International Space Station (ISS). Naples homeowner Alejandro Otero was on vacation when he received a call from his son, saying he heard a ‘tremendous sound’ and there were gaping holes in the ceiling and floor – while explaining whatever fell almost hit him. The two-pound, cylinder object has since been recovered by NASA to determine its origin and if found to be space junk, the agency could be liable for damages.

—Reuters: “White House Directs NASA to Create Time Standard for the Moon“

The White House on Tuesday directed NASA to establish a unified standard of time for the moon and other celestial bodies, as the United States aims to set international norms in space amid a growing lunar race among nations and private companies. The head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), according to a memo seen by Reuters, instructed the space agency to work with other parts of the U.S. government to devise a plan by the end of 2026 for setting what it called a Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC).