Leandro's science-y thread of the week
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StephenSLR
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Six New Planets Discovered
An international team, including Oxford University scientists, has discovered six diverse new planets, from 'shrunken-Saturns' to 'bloated hot Jupiters', as well a rare brown dwarf with 60 times the mass of Jupiter.
The CoRoT (Convection, Rotation and Transits) space telescope is operated by the French space agency CNES. It discovers planets outside our solar system -- exoplanets -- when they 'transit', that is pass in front of their stars.
Once CoRoT detects a transit, additional observations are made from the ground, using a number of telescopes all over the world. Although astronomers cannot see the planets directly, they use the space- and ground-based data to measure the sizes, masses, and orbits of these new planets precisely. This is why, among all known exoplanets, those with transits yield the most complete information about planet formation and evolution.
"Each of these planets is interesting in its own right, but what is really fascinating is how diverse they are," said co-investigator Dr. Suzanne Aigrain from Oxford University's Department of Physics. "Planets are intrinsically complex objects, and we have much to learn about them yet."
CoRoT-8b: the smallest in this batch: At about 70% of the size and mass of Saturn, CoRoT-8b is moderately small among the previously known transiting exoplanets. Its internal structure should be similar to that of ice giants, like Uranus and Neptune, in the Solar System. It is the smallest planet discovered by the CoRoT team so far after CoRoT-7b, the first transiting Super-Earth.
CoRoT-10b: the eccentric giant: The orbit of CoRoT-10b is so elongated that the planet passes both very close to and very far away from its star. The amount of radiation it receives from the star varies tenfold in intensity, and scientists estimate that its surface temperature may increase from 250 to 600°C, all in the space of 13 Earth-days (the length of the year on CoRoT-10b).
CoRoT-11b: the planet whose star does the twist: CoRoT-11, the host star of CoRoT-11b, rotates around its axis in 40 hours. For comparison, the Sun's rotation period is 26 days. It is particularly difficult to confirm planets around rapidly rotating stars, so this detection is a significant achievement for the CoRoT team.
CoRoT-12b, 13b and 14b: a trio of giants: These three planets all orbit close to their host star but have very different properties. Although CoRoT-13b is smaller than Jupiter, it is twice as dense. This suggests the presence of a massive rocky core inside the planet. With a radius 50% large than Jupiter's (or 16 times larger than the Earth's), CoRoT-12b belongs to the family of `bloated hot Jupiters', whose anomalously large sizes are due to the intense stellar radiation they receive. On the other hand, CoRoT-14b, which is even closer to its parent star, has a size similar to Jupiter's. It is also massive, 7.5 times the mass of Jupiter, which may explain why it is less puffed up. Such very massive and very hot planets are rare, CoRoT-14b is only the second one discovered so far.
CoRoT-15b: the brown dwarf: CoRoT-15b's mass is about 60 times that of Jupiter. This makes it incredibly dense, about 40 times more so than Jupiter. For that reason, it is classified as a brown dwarf, intermediate in nature between planets and stars. Brown dwarfs are much rarer than planets, which makes this discovery all the more exciting.
s
An international team, including Oxford University scientists, has discovered six diverse new planets, from 'shrunken-Saturns' to 'bloated hot Jupiters', as well a rare brown dwarf with 60 times the mass of Jupiter.
The CoRoT (Convection, Rotation and Transits) space telescope is operated by the French space agency CNES. It discovers planets outside our solar system -- exoplanets -- when they 'transit', that is pass in front of their stars.
Once CoRoT detects a transit, additional observations are made from the ground, using a number of telescopes all over the world. Although astronomers cannot see the planets directly, they use the space- and ground-based data to measure the sizes, masses, and orbits of these new planets precisely. This is why, among all known exoplanets, those with transits yield the most complete information about planet formation and evolution.
"Each of these planets is interesting in its own right, but what is really fascinating is how diverse they are," said co-investigator Dr. Suzanne Aigrain from Oxford University's Department of Physics. "Planets are intrinsically complex objects, and we have much to learn about them yet."
CoRoT-8b: the smallest in this batch: At about 70% of the size and mass of Saturn, CoRoT-8b is moderately small among the previously known transiting exoplanets. Its internal structure should be similar to that of ice giants, like Uranus and Neptune, in the Solar System. It is the smallest planet discovered by the CoRoT team so far after CoRoT-7b, the first transiting Super-Earth.
CoRoT-10b: the eccentric giant: The orbit of CoRoT-10b is so elongated that the planet passes both very close to and very far away from its star. The amount of radiation it receives from the star varies tenfold in intensity, and scientists estimate that its surface temperature may increase from 250 to 600°C, all in the space of 13 Earth-days (the length of the year on CoRoT-10b).
CoRoT-11b: the planet whose star does the twist: CoRoT-11, the host star of CoRoT-11b, rotates around its axis in 40 hours. For comparison, the Sun's rotation period is 26 days. It is particularly difficult to confirm planets around rapidly rotating stars, so this detection is a significant achievement for the CoRoT team.
CoRoT-12b, 13b and 14b: a trio of giants: These three planets all orbit close to their host star but have very different properties. Although CoRoT-13b is smaller than Jupiter, it is twice as dense. This suggests the presence of a massive rocky core inside the planet. With a radius 50% large than Jupiter's (or 16 times larger than the Earth's), CoRoT-12b belongs to the family of `bloated hot Jupiters', whose anomalously large sizes are due to the intense stellar radiation they receive. On the other hand, CoRoT-14b, which is even closer to its parent star, has a size similar to Jupiter's. It is also massive, 7.5 times the mass of Jupiter, which may explain why it is less puffed up. Such very massive and very hot planets are rare, CoRoT-14b is only the second one discovered so far.
CoRoT-15b: the brown dwarf: CoRoT-15b's mass is about 60 times that of Jupiter. This makes it incredibly dense, about 40 times more so than Jupiter. For that reason, it is classified as a brown dwarf, intermediate in nature between planets and stars. Brown dwarfs are much rarer than planets, which makes this discovery all the more exciting.
s
EddyRX10
rtard
vitorias123
Faceless
I havent watched that episode but it must be good :/
I should start with Carla Sagan's Cosmos as soon as I find some free time.
I should start with Carla Sagan's Cosmos as soon as I find some free time.
vikk
Member
- Nov 29, 2005
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StephenSLR
Member
21/06/2010
An astronaut on board the International Space Station has photographed a rare sight: the aurora australis (southern lights) as seen from space.
This image of the southern lights was captured aboard the International Space Station (ISS) at an altitude of 217 miles. Aurorae usually appear slightly lower--some 50 - 100 miles above the surface of the Earth.
While the phenomenon is usually visible closer to the North and South Poles, geomagnetic storms can push the auroras closer to the equator. NASA believes this particular storm to have been caused by a coronal mass ejection from the Sun on May 24.
In the image above, the mostly-green aurora is visible above a thick cloud cover. The bent blue band is the horizon of Earth's upper atmosphere.
The image below, which shows the aurora australis from the ground, was taken in 2005 at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
s
An astronaut on board the International Space Station has photographed a rare sight: the aurora australis (southern lights) as seen from space.
This image of the southern lights was captured aboard the International Space Station (ISS) at an altitude of 217 miles. Aurorae usually appear slightly lower--some 50 - 100 miles above the surface of the Earth.
While the phenomenon is usually visible closer to the North and South Poles, geomagnetic storms can push the auroras closer to the equator. NASA believes this particular storm to have been caused by a coronal mass ejection from the Sun on May 24.
In the image above, the mostly-green aurora is visible above a thick cloud cover. The bent blue band is the horizon of Earth's upper atmosphere.
The image below, which shows the aurora australis from the ground, was taken in 2005 at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
s
EddyRX10
rtard
I havent watched that episode but it must be good :/
I should start with Carla Sagan's Cosmos as soon as I find some free time.
Oh yes, 100% recommend Cosmos. Its awesome
StephenSLR
Member
dreams_of_eternal_hate
I'm in space
Ok Leandro, you want a physics thread, fine. Name me some exercises on how to train 3D sigtht with websites and shit. Kthx 
StephenSLR
Member
Giant Whale Eating Whale Discovered of Peru Coast
The skull of an huge sperm whale, which was 12 to 13 million years old, and the largest whale skull fossil ever found, measuring a shocking 10 feet long, was recently discovered off of the coast of Peru. This whale, unlike modern sperm whales, had teeth in both jaws and was likely to have eaten killer whales, with its main food source probably being baleen whales.
The huge skull and jaw of the extinct sperm whale was found in a slight state of erosion from the sands which are blown across the coastal desert of Peru by the winds. It is the first fossil which is believed to rival sperm whales of today in size, but it is not the same animal at all, according to the experts.
The paleontologist which led the team who found the fossil, Olivier Lambert of the Muséum National dHistoire Naturelle in Paris, France, stated, We could see it from very far. It was found with teeth in the top and bottom jaws, which measured up to 14 inches long. The whale which the skull belonged to has been named Leviathan melvillei (to honor the author of Moby Dick, a book about a large whale.)
Todays sperm whales only have teeth in their bottom jaws, and feed on mostly squid. Rather than using their teeth to catch and hold prey, they suck squid down like spaghetti noodles, according to Lambert. The fossil sperm whales had a mouth full of teeth, however, and may have eaten larger orca, and killer whales.
s
The skull of an huge sperm whale, which was 12 to 13 million years old, and the largest whale skull fossil ever found, measuring a shocking 10 feet long, was recently discovered off of the coast of Peru. This whale, unlike modern sperm whales, had teeth in both jaws and was likely to have eaten killer whales, with its main food source probably being baleen whales.
The huge skull and jaw of the extinct sperm whale was found in a slight state of erosion from the sands which are blown across the coastal desert of Peru by the winds. It is the first fossil which is believed to rival sperm whales of today in size, but it is not the same animal at all, according to the experts.
The paleontologist which led the team who found the fossil, Olivier Lambert of the Muséum National dHistoire Naturelle in Paris, France, stated, We could see it from very far. It was found with teeth in the top and bottom jaws, which measured up to 14 inches long. The whale which the skull belonged to has been named Leviathan melvillei (to honor the author of Moby Dick, a book about a large whale.)
Todays sperm whales only have teeth in their bottom jaws, and feed on mostly squid. Rather than using their teeth to catch and hold prey, they suck squid down like spaghetti noodles, according to Lambert. The fossil sperm whales had a mouth full of teeth, however, and may have eaten larger orca, and killer whales.
s
^
lolololol
The text doesnt fit the picture.
I thought it was giant sperm whale who ate some killer whale and not some the other way round
lolololol
The text doesnt fit the picture.
I thought it was giant sperm whale who ate some killer whale and not some the other way round
StephenSLR
Member
^
lolololol
The text doesnt fit the picture.
I thought it was giant sperm whale who ate some killer whale and not some the other way round
Well spotted, I found another photo with subtitle reading:
The giant sperm whale Leviathan melvilleiis is illustrated attacking a medium-size baleen whale off the coast of the area now occupied by Peru.
Probably artistic licence, they wouldn't know what colour it was but it would have to have some sort of camouflage, great speed or hunting trick for something that big to be able to pounce on something smaller/nimbler.
s
StephenSLR
Member
For thousands of years, killer whales have hunted the great baleen whales in every ocean on earth, yet only in one place have they ever co-operated with humans to hunt whales.
Killers of Eden is the extraordinary story of the contract between man and one of natures most powerful and intelligent creatures.
Each year for more than a century on Australias far south east coast, autumn moved into winter and the killer whales would return to Eden from the Antarctic and lie in wait.
Just like orcas elsewhere in the world, the Eden killers only ate the tongue and lips and discarded the rest. After a few days the whale would float to the surface and the Eden whalers would row out and tow the remains.
It eventually worked out where the killer whales would round up baleen whales into the bay of Eden, the whalers would hunt them and then throw the tongues to the killer whales.
The whalers called this arrangement the law of the tongue and as a result, far less of the whale was wasted than if the Orcas had hunted alone.
The relationship became so close that the whalers would attempt to rescue the killers if they became entangled in ropes and the killers would protect the humans from sharks if the flimsy green whaleboats were smashed. As a result, few fatalities occured amongst the crews, despite regular serious accidents.
s
Killers of Eden is the extraordinary story of the contract between man and one of natures most powerful and intelligent creatures.
Each year for more than a century on Australias far south east coast, autumn moved into winter and the killer whales would return to Eden from the Antarctic and lie in wait.
Just like orcas elsewhere in the world, the Eden killers only ate the tongue and lips and discarded the rest. After a few days the whale would float to the surface and the Eden whalers would row out and tow the remains.
It eventually worked out where the killer whales would round up baleen whales into the bay of Eden, the whalers would hunt them and then throw the tongues to the killer whales.
The whalers called this arrangement the law of the tongue and as a result, far less of the whale was wasted than if the Orcas had hunted alone.
The relationship became so close that the whalers would attempt to rescue the killers if they became entangled in ropes and the killers would protect the humans from sharks if the flimsy green whaleboats were smashed. As a result, few fatalities occured amongst the crews, despite regular serious accidents.
s
Deadly
-________-
Macharius
Thank you for noticing.
Yea take the top BP executives and cram them, and their families, into the burst pipe. Shove France in there too.
StephenSLR
Member
World’s "toughest" bacterium - Deinococcus radiodurans! Its name literally means "a terrible berry that withstands radiation" and is listed in the Guiness Book of World Records.
While “terrible berry” probably isn’t the best name to describe “toughness,” this bacterium’s characteristics speak of its resilience. D. radiodurnas is a polyextremophilic (loves many extreme conditions) bacterium that is the most radiation-resistant organism known. As if to show its love for “extremes” and “danger” it is pigmented red and has earned the nickname “Conan the Bacterium.”
BRAZILIAN scientists discovered that the microbe is so tough it could withstand space travel, leading them to suggest such organisms could have been the origin of life on Earth.
http://www.news.com.au/technology/conan-the-bacterium-can-handle-space-travel/story-e6frfro0-1225893991341
s
While “terrible berry” probably isn’t the best name to describe “toughness,” this bacterium’s characteristics speak of its resilience. D. radiodurnas is a polyextremophilic (loves many extreme conditions) bacterium that is the most radiation-resistant organism known. As if to show its love for “extremes” and “danger” it is pigmented red and has earned the nickname “Conan the Bacterium.”
BRAZILIAN scientists discovered that the microbe is so tough it could withstand space travel, leading them to suggest such organisms could have been the origin of life on Earth.
http://www.news.com.au/technology/conan-the-bacterium-can-handle-space-travel/story-e6frfro0-1225893991341
s
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