The estimate of 400 rogue planets comes from a nine-year-long survey called Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics (MOA).
The Nancy Roman Grace Telescope, an upcoming space observatory, might aid in the discovery of hundreds of rogue exoplanets.
The United States remains the only nation to have landed humans on the Moon and returned them safely to Earth. It is among the greatest achievements in human history, and it has significantly contributed to America’s leadership on the world stage. As a young man I had the opportunity of working on the Apollo program as an inspector with McDonnell Douglas. It was an exciting experience, and I am both grateful and humbled to have been a part of it.
The success of the Apollo Missions led to other significant accomplishments like building reusable Space Shuttles to test the limits of human space flight, prolonged robotic exploration of Mars, deploying a space-based telescope that can see far beyond our solar system, and conducting scientific research on the International Space Station. In more recent years we’ve seen an explosion in commercial space activity which has culminated in private companies conducting successful human space launches. This too is a significant milestone.
Our investment in space is critical to our national security, scientific discovery, technological advancement, and economic competitiveness. So much of our modern-day life is dependent on space making a bank transaction, for example, or even a phone call, these days requires using some type of space-faring technology. And while NASA’s leadership of our space efforts will continue to be indispensable, the U.S. commercial space industry’s role in space exploration will grow larger and more critical. American companies must continue to lead the way.
Most astronomers believe the universe is 13.7 billion years old. A new study says that figure could be closer to 26.7 billion.
According to a study by Astrostrom for ESA, future Moon bases could be powered by a giant space butterfly called the Greater Earth Lunar Power Station (GEO-LPS) covered with solar panels made from lunar materials beaming microwaves to the surface.
One of the major design concerns in setting up a lunar base is finding a reliable means of powering it. Solar power might seem the obvious answer, but with lunar nights lasting 14 Earth days, it isn’t a practical option. However, though the most promising alternative is currently a small nuclear reactor, solar may not be out of the running.
The idea of solar power plants in space has been around for well over half a century. On Earth, solar panels are limited by night time, atmospheric haze, and bad weather, making them only capable of intermittent power generation with limited efficiency. On the other hand, in space, where there is no night and no atmosphere, solar power becomes very attractive.
In an astonishing revelation, researchers from NASA and Japan’s Osaka University have uncovered data suggesting the rogue planets – those solitary wanderers unhinged from any star – significantly outnumber the approximately hundred billion planets which orbit stars.
The findings indicate that NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, slated for launch by May 2027, could discover as many as 400 rogue planets similar in mass to Earth. A likely candidate for this category has already been singled out from the data.
David Bennett is a senior research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and co-author of two papers detailing these findings.
Lecturer: Prof. Michael Silberstein.
Department of Philosophy.
Elizabethtown College.
Title: Neutral Monism: Reintegrating Space, Time and Conscious Experience.
Date: 22 October 2018
This is a recorded talk of the online seminar “Progress and Visions in the Scientific Study of the Mind-Matter Relation”.
We may have the first concrete evidence of ‘mind-blowing’ Trojan exoplanets.
An international team of astronomers used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to find what they believe is a ‘sibling’ alien world to an exoplanet orbiting a distant star.
The team detected a cloud of debris that may be sharing the planet’s orbit and could be the building blocks of a new planet or the remnants of one in the process of forming a press statement reveals.
From comets to nebulas to the Milky Way, the shots shortlisted in the annual competition capture the beauty of the cosmos from Earth.
K. Miller, Caltech/IPAC
White dwarfs are the burnt-out cores of dead stars that may have once resembled our sun.
