New Discoveries *4* - ...Solar System, Deep Space, cont'd

Shaun Barrett · 2005-03-01 17:46:08

The proto-star in question is contained in the region of R Corona Australis ...

'R Corona Australis', eh?
This baby star must be royalty to be born in a classy neighbourhood like that! :;):

Palomar · 2005-03-02 09:11:16

*Hi Shaun: I think it's a pity we'll never actually witness the birth of a star -- I mean the actual ignition phase. Takes too long. Myriads of sun-kindlings in the universe and yet we'll never actually see the occurence as it happens.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010518.html]HD 82943: Planet Swallower

This one likes to eat, apparently. :-\ The presence of a "clear signature" of Lithium-6 via high-resolution spectrograph seems to bear this out.

As a result, planetary debris would contaminate the outer layers of HD 82943.

Nice artist's illustration.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-03-03 12:28:02

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … 5]*Jinkies! This is new material to me.

Giant planets created primitive meteorites, aka "chondrules," which are (sorry, I'm going to opt for some extra copying and pasting; this is unfamiliar stuff):

millimetre-sized spheres that make up primitive meteorites, and were somehow baked 4.6 billion years ago. New calculations show that the as giant planets, like Jupiter, formed in the early Solar System, they created regions of higher pressure and radiation called "shocks". As tiny particles entered these shocks at more than 30,000 kph, they were melted together to form these tiny chondrule droplets.

What of these are in our Solar System are thanks to Jupiter.

Talks about "spiral arms roiling the solar nebula at Jupiter's orbit" all those billions of years ago. :-\ At one point apparently it would have resembled a spiral galaxy in appearance. Fantastic.

But no one could explain convincingly how the shock front was generated in the solar nebula some 4.6 billion years ago. These latest calculations show how a shock front could have formed as a result of spiral arms roiling the solar nebula at Jupiter’s orbit. The shock front extended into the inner solar nebula, where the compressed gas and radiation heated the dust particles as they struck the shock front at 20,000 mph, thereby creating chondrules,” he explained.

the solar nebula had to have been at least marginally gravitationally unstable, so that it would have developed spiral arms early on and resembled a spiral galaxy.Once Jupiter formed by either mechanism, it would have continued to drive shock fronts at asteroidal distances, at least so long as the solar nebula was still around.

--Cindy :up:

Palomar · 2005-03-04 14:12:08

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … 05]Another First

*M33, a satellite galaxy of M31 (Andromeda Galaxy). This is the first time astronomers have measured sideways motion in a galaxy. :-\ (I guess I've figured all along that there have been a variety of motions recorded throughout the decades).

Imagine you had a telescope powerful enough to watch a snail crawling across the surface of Mars. Divide that speed by 100, and that's how quickly galaxy M33 is moving sideways in the sky.

Interesting comparison. :;):

They describe its movement from our vantage point as a "glacial pace" -- only 30 micro-arcseconds per year. This has "stretched current radio astronomy technology to its limit."

The astronomers' task was not simple. Not only did they have to detect an impressively tiny amount of motion across the sky, but they also had to separate the actual motion of M33 from the apparent motion caused by our Solar System's motion around the center of the Milky Way. The motion of the Solar System and the Earth around the galactic center, some 26,000 light-years away, has been accurately measured using the VLBA over the last decade.
"The VLBA is the only telescope system in the world that could do this work," Reid said.

Good news: In a few billion years our Milky Way Galaxy will crash into the Andromeda Galaxy, and M33 as well no doubt. Howdy neighbor.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-03-05 09:59:00

*Not really a "new discovery," but won't create a new thread for this:

http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2005/0 … .gif]Venus orbiting behind Sol

...but can be seen in this special image, which was obtained on March 1.

Venus is so bright, it overloads the coronagraph's digital camera, bleeding into adjacent pixels. That's why there's a horizontal line running through Venus. The planet doesn't really have rings, it's a digital artifact.

That last sentence: Well, some folks are new to astronomy, but gee whiz...Hopefully our public school science courses are adequate enough that most people know Venus doesn't have rings.

In April, Venus will emerge again, becoming a bright and beautiful evening "star" that you can see with your own two eyes. Stay tuned!

I look forward to it. She's prettiest in the mornings, though, IMO.

--Cindy

dicktice · 2005-03-06 15:57:14

I read somewhere recently, that the term "Galaxy" was formed from Greek words meaning "Milky Way." Can someone research this further, because I'm at a loss.

I just had a thought (!) while reading the immediately preceding posts regarding star/planet development, i.e. It would seem that natural occurance of intelligent life in the Milky Way (Galaxy) must be a rarity, considering all the things that would have had to happen to produce another Earth. BUT...once intelligent life has occurred (us) and spreads out into the Galaxy, the probability of inhabitable planets increases through intelligence's capability to cope with planetary conditions vastly more common, on which it would have be impossible for life and/or intelligence naturally. Quite a responsibility for Earthlings, not the "blow it" at this crucial present stage of our development, wouldn't you say? So planetary discoveries precisely like Earth, need not be sought. In fact, one way to avoid being taken over, wiped out by disease or told to keep hands-off, would be to seek terriformable planets, not yet ripe for the picking.

Palomar · 2005-03-06 17:22:14

I read somewhere recently, that the term "Galaxy" was formed from Greek words meaning "Milky Way." Can someone research this further, because I'm at a loss.

*Hi dicktice:

"Galaxy" comes from a combining form. "Gala-" and "Galakt" are Greek for "milk." For instance, a woman who is not pregnant yet who experiences "galactorrhea" had better see a doctor.

Not sure you're interested in mythology, but apparently some ancient folks thought it (the Milky Way) was the illuminated pathway the soul traversed upon to reach the afterlife.

Why our entire galaxy is named after only a small portion of the galaxy we can visibly see is what I question (but then we humans still tend to be awfully stuck on ourselves).

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-03-08 06:55:56

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050303.html]Still Life in NGC 2170

*Delicate. In Monoceros.

MonR2 is a giant molecular cloud, estimated to be 2400 l/y distance.

Nature is the loveliest painter.

I was going to include another astronomy item, but just read in the caption that it's an artist's conception and not an actual image. :-\

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-03-09 06:09:15

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n050 … ]Lightning clears "safe zone" in Van Allen Belt

*There was a similar article a long time ago, which I believe I posted in one of the now-closed former "New Discoveries" threads. That article was, IIRC, very speculative. This current article is "proofy" -- LOL.

This is really cool.

If visible from space, would resemble a pair of donuts around Earth. (Aaaaughh...don't mention donuts, I haven't had breakfast yet, ha ha), with us in the hole of the innermost.

The Van Allen Belt slot would appear as a space between the inner and outer donut.

Lightning in clouds, only a few miles above the ground, clears a safe zone in the radiation belts thousands of miles above the Earth

Amazing. :up:

The safe zone, called the Van Allen Belt slot, is a potential haven offering reduced radiation dosages for satellites that require Middle Earth Orbits (MEOs).

Lots of other interesting information in the article too.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-03-09 12:31:58

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020210.html]The Local Interstellar Cloud

*Discusses the interstellar medium, which isn't uniform and is patchy near Sol. Difficult to detect local ISM; it is tenuous and emits very little light. Mostly comprised of hydrogen gas. The link above shows a "working map" of local ISM within 10 light years. Wondering how it effects Sol and us.

These observations show that our Sun is moving through a Local Interstellar Cloud as this cloud flows outwards from the Scorpius-Centaurus Association star forming region. Our Sun may exit the Local Interstellar Cloud during the next 10,000 years.

-*-

Baades]http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960201.html]Baade's Window

All that danged obscuring dust. :-\ Last sentence especially interesting, IMO:

This unexpectedly large number supports previous claims that our Galaxy has a "bar" of stars across the central nucleus, pointed nearly at the Sun.

--Cindy

P.S.: This link was posted last year or so, in one of the former "New Discoveries" thread. Some folks might not have been here to see it. I think it bears a repeat in a postscript: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020217.html]The Local Bubble & Galactic Neighborhood

REALLY nifty.

Palomar · 2005-03-14 18:16:46

Green]http://www.space.com/spacewatch/meteor_pnw_050314.html]"Green ball of fire with a long tail"

*...spotted over Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington area.

Probably a meteor, of course.

One gal was in her home and the flash of light outside caught her attention. Awfully bright, huh?

They figure it disintegrated over the ocean. Must have been a whopper of a space rock. :-\

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-03-16 06:22:13

Accidental double post, duplicate is below. Geez, it's been a long time since this happened. :-\

Palomar · 2005-03-16 06:22:47

Welcome]http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050310.html]"Welcome To" this nebula :;):

On a dark matter dust lane
Stellar wind in my hair...

Is a mere 1500 l/y from us. Its length is approximately 100 l/y (seems longer than that even...)

Why red?

It glows with the red light characteristic of hydrogen atoms recombining with long lost electrons, stripped away (ionized) by energetic starlight.

Is a composite photo. Lovely. And Xi Persei really sets it off.

Will add another photo in about half an hour, in this post, as an "Edit"; can't get to that just now.

--Cindy

::EDIT:: Markarians]http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050316.html]Markarian's Chain of Galaxies

In the Virgo Cluster, which contains over 2000 galaxies.

Palomar · 2005-03-16 12:19:59

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/0 … html]Large Magellanic Cloud: Order out of Chaos

*Always interesting to read about the interplay between the two. The LMC is a satellite galaxy of our own and is 160,000 l/y distant. Our galaxy's tremendous gravity is tearing the LMC apart, and scientists are surprised to find -- despite the chaos -- that the LMC has a strong and ordered magnetic field.

Speculation is that stellar explosions (novae and the like) are "blowing the magnetic field into shape." They give the analogy of a ball wrapped around by rubber bands. If the ball's inflated, this stretches the rubber bands (magnetic field), thereby creating more strength. The LMC's rotating motion then makes the field smooth. :up:

The LMC's strong, ordered magnetic field is also a surprise because its own inner history has been very violent.

"Some powerful forces must be at work to keep the magnetic field from being messed up," said Bryan Gaensler of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who led the work.
...
The scenario, if proven accurate, would suggest that the theory of how the Milky Way's magnetic field was built might need to be rethought.
"If this is what's going on in the LMC, there's no reason to think it's not happening in all galaxies," Gaensler told SPACE.com.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-03-18 05:58:34

http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2005/1 … 1.jpg]Want to see sunrise on the Moon??

*Caucasus Mountains on Luna. Pics taken yesterday by Sylvain Weiller and are being hosted by spaceweather.com.

"It was astonishing to see the mountain shadows getting shorter and shorter," he says.

When the sun rises there, approximately once a month, jagged peaks cast long shadows across the lava plains of Mare Imbrium (the Sea of Rains). Weiller patiently watched the shadows recede for 7 hours

Yeah, that's patience all right.

Spaceweather.com hosted a "sunrise/shadows on Luna" series of photos last year, but I'm not sure by the same photographer or if in the same area. Nice.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-03-19 05:50:52

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020601.html]NGC 2266: Gemini Cluster

*I've viewed this cluster in my telescope. It is lovely. Fantastic photo. The red giants set the whole thing off.

Is approximately 10,000 light years away.

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-03-19 07:16:30

I agree.
It has such depth and colour - truly beautiful! :up:

Palomar · 2005-03-22 13:03:54

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … 2005]Super star cluster: Westerlund 1

*Wow. Is in Ara (the Altar) -- a southern hemisphere constellation. First discovered in 1961, but the star cluster is hidden behind a large cloud of interstellar gas and dust, which obscures the star cluster...until now. Contains "hundreds of thousands of stars" -- and measures only 6 light years across. They've used infrared telescopes to image the stars.

Westerlund possesses very massive stars, some of which are 2000 times larger than Sol; their diameters as vast as the orbit of Saturn. ::blinks::

Indeed, if the Sun were located at the heart of this remarkable cluster, our sky would be full of hundreds of stars as bright as the full Moon

That would be simply stunning...can imagine it. :up:

Westerlund 1 is a most unique natural laboratory for the study of extreme stellar physics, helping astronomers to find out how the most massive stars in our Galaxy live and die.

Westerlund 1 is in our Milky Way Galaxy and only 10,000 light years distant.

The huge population of massive stars in Westerlund 1 suggests that it will have a very significant impact on its surroundings. The cluster contains so many massive stars that in a time span of less than 40 million years, it will be the site of more than 1,500 supernovae. A gigantic firework that may drive a fountain of galactic material!

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-03-24 07:02:06

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050324.html]Delicate filaments: Simeis 147

*Looks like ghostly red cosmic spiders hanging from an invisible web. Uniquely pretty. Is towards Taurus, is 150 l/y in diameter and approximately 3000 l/y distance. Photo taken with a hydrogen-alpha filter, 8-hour time exposure. The supernova occurred 100,000 years ago.

-*-

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap0503 … ]Horsehead Nebula: Wide field

I've previously posted a closeup of the Horsehead Nebula (the horse/horse's head alone), but can't pass up this gorgeous wide-field shot. Is the best photo of this nebular region I have ever seen. :up:

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-03-25 05:43:20

http://www.space.com/imageoftheday/imag … .html]Home Sweet (Gamma Ray) Home

*I never would have guessed.

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-03-25 05:56:11

That Horsehead Nebula is superb!
(And I've always like the word 'nebula' for some reason. It really conjures up the vast eerie depths of interstellar space for me.)

Palomar · 2005-03-25 07:27:26

That Horsehead Nebula is superb!
(And I've always like the word 'nebula' for some reason. It really conjures up the vast eerie depths of interstellar space for me.)

*Yep, same here. My favorite afternoons are often referred to as "nebular" as well: Sheets of dark gray and lighter areas of transluent gray covering the western sky and Sun. And sometimes those sky hues are varying shades of beige/tan.

Something compelling about the name, the look, etc.

Found the correct name: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ohx/stamps/stam … ltostratus translucidus

I -always- love afternoons when the sky looks like that. It brings on a sense of well-being, serenity -- just lots of very positive emotions, memories, sensations.

And now I'm getting off topic (would be better suited for "Earth Atmospherics/Weather"). Back on topic...

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-03-26 14:14:33

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1486_1.asp]It still Bopps!

*Amazing little article.

Hale-Bopp is still detectable at 20th magnitude and a distance of 21 astronomical units from Sol. Two astronomers imaged Hale-Bopp on January 8th, with a 6.5 meter telescope. They quickly discovered H-B still has a tail.

Nice image in the article.

Although they couldn't see the nucleus, the observations raised a key question: why is Hale-Bopp still active? "Hale-Bopp is just acting like a normal, bright, long-period comet," says Paul R. Weissman (NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory). "Long-period comets stay active so far out that one can never reliably say that we are looking at a bare nucleus."
Weismann says that comets like Hale-Bopp have far more volatile ices close to their surfaces than short-period comets do, which can contribute to activity at much greater distances. "It is not at all surprising, now that the comet is far from the Sun, that there is still enough energy to sublimate the CO (carbon monoxide) ices...

Hard to believe it's been 8 years already since H-B buzzed our way. I remember observing it with my telescope as it passed in a west-northwestern direction.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-03-28 18:27:13

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=16504]Old Stars, New Life?

*Compelling article. Discusses "habitable zones" and the possibility of age-bloated stars warming formerly frozen planets enough to create life-nurturing liquid temps. :up:

Discusses Sol's habitable zone (currently estimated to range between 0.95 to 1.67 AU's) and compares with the HZ's of other stars:

Other stars have habitable zones of various sizes and distances, depending on how bright they are (and their spectral type as well). Stars become brighter as they age, pushing the habitable zone further from the star and possibly bringing a period of warmth and life to planets originally too far away.

The study focuses on stars in the sub-giant and red giant phase.

However, a few billion years from now, the inner limit of the Sun's habitable zone will move out from Earth to Mars. "Mars will be in the habitable zone for a couple billion years, so Martian life may get a second chance,"

"As the Sun grows ever brighter and Earth overheats, terrestrial life might hitch a ride on a meteor and find a new home on Mars," said Danchi. "Transport of existing life between worlds could jump-start its emergence on outer planets, allowing it to exist even if a star's habitable zone transit is too fast for life to be newly created."

They estimate there might be approximately 150 sub-giant or red giants within proximity for "proposed planet-finding missions to observe signatures of life in the atmospheres of planets that may be orbiting these stars." Of course they'll be using Earth's atmosphere as their model.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-03-29 06:05:36

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … 832005]New dwarf galaxy satellite around Milky Way discovered

*Is 300,000+ light years away, in the direction of Ursa Major. It's been classed as a dwarf spheroid galaxy which is "metal poor." This is the 10th such satellite galaxy known to our Milky Way and they predict 8 to 10 more may still exist. This is in addition to the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds.

From a cosmological perspective, satellite galaxies such as the Ursa Major dSph play an important role in explaining the formation of large, intermediate, and smaller scale structure throughout the Universe...Because of this, astronomers have an opportunity to explore the smallest possible building blocks of extragalactic structure.

--Cindy

New Mars Forums

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#126 2005-03-01 17:46:08

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