Venus-like Exoplanet Might Have Oxygen Atmosphere, But Not Life

Originally shared by Pierre Markuse

Venus-like Exoplanet Might Have Oxygen Atmosphere, But Not Life

Gliese 1132 b (GJ 1132b, https://goo.gl/0dORgg) is an exoplanet orbiting the red dwarf star Gliese 1132, located about 39 light-years from Earth. Given its diameter of about 1.2 times the diameter of Earth and its mass of about 1.6 times the mass of Earth it is believed to be a rocky planet.

New research by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) suggests, that, even though the planet is orbiting its star at a distance of just 1.4 million miles, it could still support a thin atmosphere. While most of the hydrogen and oxygen would be lost to space some of the oxygen could remain, mostly bound to magma oceans. Next-generation telescopes like the Giant Magellan Telescope (https://goo.gl/HTCeKx) and James Webb Space Telescope (https://goo.gl/izbUH) may be able to detect this oxygen.

Read the full article here:
https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/2016-18

More on GJ 1132b:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliese_1132_b

What is an exoplanet?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exoplanet

How do we detect exoplanets?

If you have seven minutes and would like an easy and interesting explanation of different techniques (Doppler Technique, Direct Imaging, Light Curves, Transit Timing Variations, Microlensing) to detect planets in other star systems take a look at this video:
https://youtu.be/zFPnOUSdMdc

Image credit: This artist's conception shows the rocky exoplanet GJ 1132b, located 39 light-years from Earth. New research shows that it might possess a thin, oxygen atmosphere - but no life due to its extreme heat. Dana Berry / Skyworks Digital / CfA https://goo.gl/vqKbXm

Thank you for your interest in this Astronomy/Astrophysics collection. Maybe add me on Google+ (Pierre Markuse) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/Pierre_Markuse) or have a look at the Space/Space Technology collection here: https://goo.gl/5KP0wx

#science   #astronomy   #astrophysics   #gliese1132b   #gj1132b   #atmosphere   #space  #exoplanet

Evidence for Direct Collapse Black Holes

Originally shared by Pierre Markuse

Evidence for Direct Collapse Black Holes

Scientists using the Chandra, Hubble, and Spitzer Telescopes have found evidence for direct collapse black holes. The two possible direct collapse black holes are so distant that they may have formed less than one billion years after the Big Bang.

"Our discovery, if confirmed, explains how these monster black holes were born," said Fabio Pacucci of Scuola Normale Superiore (SNS) in Pisa, Italy, who led the study. "We found evidence that supermassive black hole seeds can form directly from the collapse of a giant gas cloud, skipping any intermediate steps."

Read the full story here:
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2016/bhseeds/

Paper:
http://arxiv.org/abs/1603.08522

More on black holes:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hole
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermassive_black_hole

Image credit: This artist's illustration depicts a possible "seed" for the formation of a supermassive black hole, that is an object that contains millions or even billions of times the mass of the Sun. X-ray: NASA/CXC/Scuola Normale Superiore/Pacucci, F. et al, Optical: NASA/STScI; Illustration: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss http://goo.gl/1O85Rq

#science   #astronomy   #astrophysics   #blackhole   #supermassiveblackholes   #directcollapseblackhole   #chandra   #hubble   #spitzer

A full color Moon

Originally shared by Pierre Markuse

A full color Moon

In this absolutely outstanding image taken by Dylan O'Donnell using a Celestron 9.25″ Edge HD telescope and a Canon 70D you can see a 58% Moon in color.

Colors indicator for chemical differences

The image has been processed to enhance the natural hue differences of the lunar surface, those differences are corresponding to real differences in the chemical makeup of the lunar soil.

The exact colors you end up with depend on the way you take the image, not every camera has the same sensitivity to every wavelength. In the case of the Moon you can expect the darker maria to have a stronger blue hue because of titanium dioxide in the lunar soil. Areas with less titanium and iron have stronger purple and reddish hues. Lithium appears in a greenish tint.

The slight bluish tint on the right side of the Moon (which is not illuminated by direct sunlight) however is caused by Earthshine (https://goo.gl/WQhWOF). Sunlight reflected by Earth's surface illuminating the Moon. The bluish color of this light is caused by Earth's oceans and their blue hue.

Read more on the image and how it was taken here in Dylan's post:
http://deography.com/58-moon-in-full-colour-with-earthshine/

And if you get the impression that the Moon is upside down in this image, then you're probably living in the northern hemisphere, unlike Dylan, who is from Australia and gets to see the Moon like this. Take a look at this image here, taken by another talented astronomer, Russell Bateman, to see a colorful Moon from the northern hemisphere perspective:
https://plus.google.com/+PierreMarkuse/posts/1F1VR3QbT8r 

More information on the color of the Moon here:
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060216.html
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap020316.html

More on the geology of the Moon:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology_of_the_Moon

Global Star Party

Dylan O'Donnell is one of the many talented astronomers participating in the Global Star Party (Global Star Party Live) . The Global Star Party is a weekly hangout with talk about astronomy and live views of objects in space. Should you be interested in astronomy take a look here:
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/GlobalStarPartyLive
Twitter: https://twitter.com/globalstarparty
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/groups/globalstarparty/

Image credit: Full colour Moon Dylan O'Donnell  http://goo.gl/KzDEVJ

If you like this photograph then you can find more of Dylan's work here at: http://deography.com/

My Astronomy/Astrophysics collection recently surpassed 160,000 followers, I would have never expected that much interest, thanks to all of you! If you haven't already, maybe also try my Space/Space Technology collection here https://goo.gl/5KP0wx , or circle me Pierre Markuse to get all of my posts which usually are science-related.

#science #astronomy #moon #lunarphotography   #space #solarsystem   #lunargeology   #earthshine   #planetshine

Caught in the act: UW astronomers find a rare supernova ‘impostor’ in a nearby galaxy

Originally shared by Pierre Markuse

Caught in the act: UW astronomers find a rare supernova ‘impostor’ in a nearby galaxy

Breanna Binder, a University of Washington postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Astronomy and lecturer in the School of STEM at UW Bothell, spends her days pondering X-rays. As she and her colleagues report in a new paper published February 12 in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, they recently solved a mystery involving X-rays — a case of X-rays present when they shouldn’t have been. This mystery’s unusual main character — a star that is pretending to be a supernova — illustrates the importance of being in the right place at the right time. Such was the case in May 2010 when an amateur South African astronomer pointed his telescope toward NGC300 (https://goo.gl/qKILrM), a nearby galaxy. He discovered what appeared to be a supernova (SN 2010da) — a massive star ending its life in a blaze of glory. 

Full story here:
http://www.washington.edu/news/2016/02/12/caught-in-the-act-uw-astronomers-find-a-rare-supernova-imposter-in-a-nearby-galaxy/

More on supernova impostors here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova_impostor
https://plus.google.com/+PierreMarkuse/posts/C6vkSXFbdp5
https://plus.google.com/+PierreMarkuse/posts/4Ri8KhPGtLo

Image credit: The galaxy NGC 300, home to the unusual system Binder and her colleagues studied. The spiral galaxy is over 6 million light years away. NASA/JPL-Caltech/OCIW

My Astronomy/Astrophysics collection recently surpassed 90,000 followers, I would have never expected that much interest, thanks to all of you! If you haven't already, maybe also try my Space/Space Technology collection here https://goo.gl/5KP0wx , or circle me Pierre Markuse to get all of my posts which usually are science-related.

#science #astronomy #ngc300   #supernovaimpostor   #xray   #space   #binarystar   #neutronstar

First Detection of Super-Earth Atmosphere

Originally shared by Pierre Markuse

First Detection of Super-Earth Atmosphere

For the first time astronomers were able to analyse the atmosphere of an exoplanet in the class known as super-Earths (https://goo.gl/GgciDp). Using data gathered with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and new analysis techniques, the exoplanet 55 Cancri e is revealed to have a dry atmosphere without any indications of water vapour. The results, to be published in the Astrophysical Journal, indicate that the atmosphere consists mainly of hydrogen and helium. The international team, led by scientists from University College London (UCL) in the UK, took observations of the nearby exoplanet 55 Cancri e (https://goo.gl/0eGhSW), a super-Earth with a mass of eight Earth-masses. It is located in the planetary system of 55 Cancri (https://goo.gl/iSkLVq), a star about 40 light-years from Earth.

Full story here:
http://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1603/

What is an exoplanet?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exoplanet

How do we detect exoplanets?

If you have seven minutes and would like an easy and interesting explanation of different techniques (Doppler Technique, Direct Imaging, Light Curves, Transit Timing Variations, Microlensing) to detect planets in other star systems take a look at this video:
https://youtu.be/zFPnOUSdMdc

Image credit: This artist’s impression shows the exoplanet 55 Cancri e as close-up. Due to its proximity to its parent star, the temperatures on the surface of the planet are thought to reach about 2000 degrees Celsius. ESA/Hubble, M. Kornmesser http://goo.gl/MbCm1U

#science   #astronomy   #hubble   #55Cancrie   #55Cancri  #space #exoplanet #atmosphere #superearth

The Search for Molecular Oxygen in Space

Originally shared by Pierre Markuse

The Search for Molecular Oxygen in Space

For over thirty years, astronomers have been searching for molecular oxygen, O­2, as part of an accounting of cosmic oxygen atoms. Despite early predictions that O­2 should be abundant in the molecular clouds that form new stars and planetary systems, it is virtually absent. CfA astronomer Gary Melnick and his colleague improved the models to take into account the role of ultraviolet radiation in modifying the chemical and physical conditions in shocks.

Full story here:
https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/su201530

More information here:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/herschel/news/herschel20110801.html

Image credit: Orion Nebula imaged by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope at infrared wavelengths, oxygen molecules were found near the star-forming core ESA/NASA/JPL-Caltech http://1.usa.gov/1GUDuKD

#science   #astronomy   #molecularoxygen   #o2   #orionnebula   #space   #spitzerspacetelescope   #ultravioletradiation

#space #astronomy

#space   #astronomy  

Originally shared by Camilla Corona

Yesterday's X1.4 class solar flare and the associated Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). These coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are balloon-shaped bursts of solar wind rising above the solar corona, expanding as they climb. 

Solar plasma is heated to tens of millions of degrees, and electrons, protons, and heavy nuclei are accelerated to near the speed of light. The super-heated electrons from CMEs move along the magnetic field lines faster than the solar wind can flow. Rearrangement of the magnetic field, and solar flares may result in the formation of a shock that accelerates particles ahead of the CME loop.

Each CME releases up to 100 billion kg (220 billion lb) of this material, and the speed of the ejection can reach 1400 km/second like in yesterday's flare. Solar flares and CMEs are currently the biggest "explosions" in our solar system, roughly approaching the power in ONE BILLION hydrogen bombs!

With the arrival of this CME on Saturday July 14, 2012 at 10:20 UT (plus/minus 7 hours), we will most likely experience geomagnetic activities. The estimated Kp is between 6 and 8, which translates into moderate to severe geomagnetic storms. 

One very positive about this event is that aurorae could be visible between the yellow and the red line. Of course the weather has to cooperate and light pollution of a city can wash out the aurorae. This time around the Moon is not playing a big role. 

Perhaps you can't see the aurorae with your eyes, but your camera on long-exposure might. Give it a try and let us know! 

Credit: NOAA / NASA

#SpaceWeather   #NASA   #NOAA   #Aurora