Nigeria Debt Costs Pressure Social Spending in 2024 Budget
Nigeria will spend at least six times more on servicing its debt next year than on building new
1970-01-01 08:00
Zach LaVine trade rumors: Bulls may have set their price for the Lakers
The Lakers have been heavily linked with Zach LaVine and one insider is saying the Bulls already have a trade return in mind.
1970-01-01 08:00
How to Get OG Black Widow in Fortnite
To get OG Black Widow in Fortnite, players must purchase the skin from the Item Shop for 1,500 V-Bucks before it leaves Fortnite on Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. ET.
1970-01-01 08:00
Biggest overperformers and underperformers from the NBA In-Season Tournament
A look at which teams surprised and shocked the most, playing better in the NBA In-Season Tournament games than they have across the regular season.
1970-01-01 08:00
Six planets found in synchronized orbit may help solve cosmic puzzle
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON They are the most common type of planet observed in our Milky Way galaxy
1970-01-01 08:00
NFL Week 13 2023: 3 teams on upset alert this Sunday
Week 12 featured a full slate of games and more than a few surprises. Which favored teams need to be at their best this Sunday?
1970-01-01 08:00
In a first, a newborn star's spinning disk is seen in another galaxy
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON Our sun and other stars form when a dense clump of interstellar gas and
1970-01-01 08:00
Scientists find six planet system where stars orbit in rhythmic beat
Astronomers have found a planetary system with six different worlds that orbit in a strange rhythm. The set of planets move around their star in a rhythmic beat, scientists say, staying synchronised in a kind of dance. The findings could help shed more light on how planets form and evolve, the researchers say. The star is smaller, and slightly dimmer than the Sun, and the six “sub-Neptunes” - possibly smaller versions of Neptune in our solar system - move in a cyclic rhythm. According to the experts, this orbital waltz repeats itself so precisely it can be readily set to music. The star, HD110067, is 100 light-years away in the northern constellation of Coma Berenices, and had perplexed researchers for years. Now scientists, including those at the University of Warwick, have revealed the true architecture of this unusual system using Nasa and European Space Agency (Esa) spacecraft. The analysis was led by University of Chicago scientist Dr Rafael Luque, who said: “This discovery is going to become a benchmark system to study how sub-Neptunes, the most common type of planets outside of the solar system, form, evolve, what are they made of, and if they possess the right conditions to support the existence of liquid water in their surfaces.” The first indication of planets orbiting the strange star system came in 2020, when Nasa’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (Tess) detected dips in the star’s brightness which suggested planets were passing in between the star and the spacecraft. A preliminary analysis revealed two possible planets - one with a year (the length of time it takes to complete one orbit around the star) of 5.64 days, and another with an unknown period at the time. Two years later, Tess observed the same star again, and analysis ruled out the original interpretation but presented two additional possible planets. Much was still unknown about the planetary system, until scientists across the world - including those at the University of Warwick - joined the investigation. They used data from Esa’s Characterising Exoplanet Satellite (Cheops), hoping to determine the orbital periods of these faraway planets. While multi-planet systems are common in the Milky Way, those in a tight gravitational formation known as “resonance” are observed by astronomers far less often. In this case, the planet closest to the star makes three orbits for every two of the next planet out - called a 3/2 resonance - a pattern that is repeated among the four closest planets. Among the outermost planets, a pattern of four orbits for every three of the next planet out (a 4/3 resonance) is repeated twice. Thomas Wilson, from the Department of Physics at the University of Warwick, said: “By establishing this pattern of planet orbits, we were able to predict other orbits of planets we hadn’t yet detected. “From this we lined up previously unexplained dips in starlight observed by Cheops and discovered three additional planets with longer orbits. This was only possible with the crucial Cheops data.” Researchers say the planets - two to three times the size of Earth - are likely to have been performing this same rhythmic dance since the system formed billions of years ago. Dr Luque said: “We think only about 1% of all systems stay in resonance, and even fewer show a chain of planets in such configuration.” Experts say orbitally resonant systems are extremely important to find because they tell astronomers about the formation and subsequent evolution of the planetary system. Planets around stars tend to form in resonance but can easily have their orbits thrown around. For example, a very massive planet, a close encounter with a passing star, or a giant impact event can all disrupt the careful balance. Therefore, multi-planet systems preserving their resonance are rare. HD110067 is the brightest known system with four or more planets. Since those planets are all sub-Neptune-sized with likely larger atmospheres, it makes them ideal candidates for studying using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Esa’s future Ariel telescope. Mr Wilson added: “All of these planets have large atmospheres - similar to Uranus or Neptune - which makes them perfect for observation with JWST. “It would be fascinating to test if these planets are rocky like Earth or Venus but with larger atmospheres - solid surfaces potentially with water. “However, they are all much hotter than Earth - 170C to 530C - which would make it very difficult for life to exist.” Hannah Osborne, a PhD student at UCL’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory and a co-author of the study, said: “The system itself is a key discovery for exoplanet science: because all six planets are in a resonant chain we know that the architecture of the system can’t have changed much since its formation, so by studying HD110067 we get a rare window into the past to understand how these types of systems may have formed and evolved.” The findings are published in the Nature journal. Additional reporting by Press Association Read More Astronomers find unprecedented ‘disc’ around distant planet Astronomers discover new six-planet system Scientists have cooked ‘alien haze’ that could help find life Astronomers find unprecedented ‘disc’ around distant planet Astronomers discover new six-planet system Scientists have cooked ‘alien haze’ that could help find life
1970-01-01 08:00
Astronomers find unprecedented ‘disc’ around distant planet
Scientists have found the first ever disc structure around a star outside of our own Milky Way. The disc is around a young massive star forming in a stellar nursery called N180. It is within the Larg Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that neighbours ours. The disc is 163,000 light years from Earth – meaning that it is not only the first to be detected outside of our galaxy, but also the most distant such disc ever seen. Lead author of the study, Dr Anna McLeod from Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Durham University said: “When I first saw evidence for a rotating structure in the ALMA data, I could not believe that we had detected the first extragalactic accretion disc; it was a special moment. “We know discs are vital to forming stars and planets in our galaxy, and here, for the first time, we’re seeing direct evidence for this in another galaxy. “We are in an era of rapid technological advancement when it comes to astronomical facilities. “Being able to study how stars form at such incredible distances and in a different galaxy is very exciting.” The findings are reported in a new article, ‘A likely Keplerian disk feeding an optically revealed massive young star’, published in Nature. Read More Scientists find planets moving around in strange ‘rhythm’ Astronomers discover new six-planet system Scientists have cooked ‘alien haze’ that could help find life
1970-01-01 08:00
Meta Puts Quest 3 Elite Battery Strap Sales on Hold
The Meta Quest 3 is probably the best VR headset on the market right now.
1970-01-01 08:00
Instacart partners with Peacock to offer streaming content to US subscribers
Instacart said on Wednesday it had partnered with NBCUniversal's Peacock to provide the streaming service at no extra
1970-01-01 08:00
Treasury ‘Melt Up’ Grows as Bond Traders Price Fed Cut by May
Bond traders ramped up their bets on an abrupt end to the Federal Reserve’s tightening cycle, pricing in
1970-01-01 08:00