https://www.universetoday.com/137872...nd-quiet-star/
There are lots of these near our solar system. Still a long way away, though...
https://www.universetoday.com/137872...nd-quiet-star/
There are lots of these near our solar system. Still a long way away, though...
"CLOSEST POTENTIALLY-HABITABLE WORLD FOUND AROUND “QUIET” STAR
Astronomers also anticipate that more temperature exoplanets will be discovered in the coming years, and that future surveys will be able to determine a great deal more about their atmospheres, composition and chemistry."
https://www.universetoday.com/137872...nd-quiet-star/
Maybe not so long, DW. They won´t rest as long as they haven´t found something habitable more or less around the corner.
"I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row
So you think the search for a "habitable" planet will continue until they find one? It is likely to be a long drawn out search, as the only space telescope actually in space and operable we have is Hubble, which is old and venerable. The Spitzer will be a while yet before it ready and launched.
There are a lot of space-based telescopes up there. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_space_telescopes. But with differing capabilities, and orbits. I had no idea there were so many!
I know too little about astronomy to be able to judge. But see https://www.space.com/6716-major-space-telescopes.html
Truly this is the golden age of astronomy!
Just having a look, before breakfast. My only readings about astronomy are these articles we most. But I noticed this urge to dominate the stellar world. I think the search for habitable worlds is the most important part of it. And again, it reminds me strongly of the Renaissance when the domain to be explored was the ocean and its hitherto unknown continents.
"I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row
Very true, Danik. I also like to understand the present interest in astronomy in relation to past examples of the search for habitable worlds. Love it!
This article in Universe Today: https://www.universetoday.com/137884...heet-unstable/ may contribute to our understanding of what is happening in Antarctica.
A new form of registering telescopic images. Meet the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF).
"Sky-sweeping Telescope Sees First Light
The Zwicky Transient Facility has taken its first image, covering an area equivalent to 247 full Moons in a single shot. This beginning is part of an ongoing sea change in astronomy.
Pictures have long served as a foundation of astronomy. But very soon astronomers will be turning to videos. Humans have always known that the seemingly eternal sky changes from night to night — Aborigines even incorporated such changes into their mythology — but for the most part studying celestial transience has required a great deal of patience or a willingness to trawl the archives. Only in the 21st century, in the era of Big Data, has astronomy had the capability to truly step into the time domain.
The Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) is a part of that sea change: It just took the first image of many, a 47-degree field of view equivalent to the area of 247 full Moons, captured in 24,000 by 24,000 pixels. The scene holds a chunk of Orion, showing the Orion, Flame, and Horsehead nebulae. This image precedes the facility’s science phase, which is set to begin in February 2018 and complete by 2020."
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astro...s-first-light/
"I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row
Yes, I'm sure this will be an important change, when it happens. No doubt we will see...
https://www.universetoday.com/137892...-itll-hunting/
Update on the Webb telescope due to be launched in 2019. This is the planned successor to Hubble.
Lots of information in this post.
https://www.universetoday.com/137872...nd-quiet-star/
Closest potentially habitable planet.
"In August of 2016, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) announced the discovery of a terrestrial (i.e. rocky) extra-solar planet orbiting within the habitable zone of the nearby Proxima Centauri star system, just 4.25 light-years away. Naturally, news of this was met with a great deal of excitement. This was followed about six months later with the announcement of a seven-planet system orbiting the nearby star of TRAPPIST-1.
Well buckle up, because the ESO just announced that there is another potentially-habitable planet in our stellar neighborhood! Like Proxima b, this exoplanet – known as Ross 128b – is relatively close to our Solar System (10.8 light years away) and is believed to be temperate in nature. But on top of that, this rocky planet has the added benefit of orbiting a quiet red dwarf star, which boosts the likelihood of it being habitable."
Another link on Ross 128:
"Astronomers are now detecting more and more temperate exoplanets, and the next stage will be to study their atmospheres, composition and chemistry in more detail. Vitally, the detection of biomarkers such as oxygen in the very closest exoplanet atmospheres will be a huge next step, which ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is in prime position to take " i suppose that´s the point.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...747.htmAnother article on Ross 128:
"I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row
https://www.universetoday.com/137904...fairing-issue/
For a top secret exercise this gets a lot of publicity. I was not going to publish this but decided to anyway. Space X is a private company.
"KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – Liftoff of the clandestine spy satellite codenamed ‘Zuma’ on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has been postponed indefinitely to resolve a lingering issue with the testing of a payload fairing for another customer.
SpaceX announced today, Friday, Nov 17, that they will ‘stand down’ to allow engineers the additional time needed to carefully scrutinize all the pertinent data before proceeding with the top secret Zuma launch.
“We have decided to stand down and take a closer look at data from recent fairing testing for another customer,” said SpaceX spokesman John Taylor.
The super secret ‘Zuma’ spysat is a complete mystery and it has not been claimed by any U.S. government entity – not even the elusive NRO spy agency ! The NRO does claim ownership of a vast fleet of covert and hugely capable orbiting surveillance assets supporting US national security."
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