Astronomy

http://earthsky.org/space/asteroid-2...nent-immigrant

A new study has discovered the first known permanent immigrant to our solar system. The asteroid, currently nestling in Jupiter’s orbit, is the first known asteroid to have been captured from another star system. The new work is published in the peer-reviewed Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters.

The object known as ‘Oumuamua was the last interstellar interloper to hit the headlines in 2017. However, it was just a tourist passing through, whereas this former exo-asteroid – given the catchy name (514107) 2015 BZ509 – is a long-term resident.

All of the planets in our solar system, and the vast majority of other objects as well, travel around the Sun in the same direction. However, 2015 BZ509 is different – it moves in the opposite direction in what is known as a “retrograde” orbit. Fathi Namouni, lead author of the study, said:

How the asteroid came to move in this way while sharing Jupiter’s orbit has until now been a mystery. If 2015 BZ509 were a native of our system, it should have had the same original direction as all of the other planets and asteroids, inherited from the cloud of gas and dust that formed them.

http://earthsky.org/space/asteroid-2...nent-immigrant

A new study has discovered the first known permanent immigrant to our solar system. The asteroid, currently nestling in Jupiter’s orbit, is the first known asteroid to have been captured from another star system. The new work is published in the peer-reviewed Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters.

The object known as ‘Oumuamua was the last interstellar interloper to hit the headlines in 2017. However, it was just a tourist passing through, whereas this former exo-asteroid – given the catchy name (514107) 2015 BZ509 – is a long-term resident.

All of the planets in our solar system, and the vast majority of other objects as well, travel around the Sun in the same direction. However, 2015 BZ509 is different – it moves in the opposite direction in what is known as a “retrograde� orbit. Fathi Namouni, lead author of the study, said:

How the asteroid came to move in this way while sharing Jupiter’s orbit has until now been a mystery. If 2015 BZ509 were a native of our system, it should have had the same original direction as all of the other planets and asteroids, inherited from the cloud of gas and dust that formed them.

Interesting, DW!

Here are some unusual space pictures:

https://www.space.com/32252-amazing-images.html

Interstelar translations:

Decoding Alien Messages Could Be the Biggest Citizen-Science Project Ever

"An experiment performed recently by Wells-Jensen shows why we may need the power of the human hive-mind. She presented college students with several puzzles that had been coded in the manner of Lincos, a constructed language designed to be understood by intelligent extraterrestrials. The students figured out the simple stuff, such as basic mathematical functions, quite well — but things got dicey when the concepts got more complicated.

For example, Wells-Jensen gave the students the equation for the circumference of a circle, as well as a lightly coded representation of "pi" (the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter).

"And I said, 'OK, what is this real word?' And they came up with all kinds of crazy things," she said. "Some made poetic jumps and said, 'world'; some of them made an opposite poetic jump and said, 'infinity.' Some of them thought that I meant that the diameter of the circle ended at a wall, and said 'prison.'"

And that's for a message drawn up by a fellow human. It will doubtless be much tougher to decode something devised by creatures from a distant solar system who share no cultural or evolutionary history with us, who may rely upon different senses to perceive their environment and to communicate, and who are probably far more advanced technologically than we are.

So, we'll likely need to marshal the collective wisdom of the world, in a massive citizen-science project, to identify (and agree upon) the "right" answer, Wells-Jensen said. And our chances of success in this endeavor would be greatly increased if we all hit the books a little, to increase our critical-thinking skills and our understanding of nature and how it works, she added.

"One of the goals of METI — and I really think it should be a goal of all of us — is to work on this science-literacy problem," Wells-Jensen said.
https://www.space.com/40717-decoding-alien-messages-citizen-science.html

https://www.universetoday.com/139289...-solar-system/

This is an update on the current status of the universe.

"In the past few decades, thanks to improvements in ground-based and space-based observatories, astronomers have discovered thousands of planets orbiting neighboring and distant stars (aka. extrasolar planets). Strangely enough, it is these same improvements, and during the same time period, that enabled the discovery of more astronomical bodies within the Solar System.

These include the “minor planets” of Eris, Sedna, Haumea, Makemake, and others, but also the hypothesized planetary-mass objects collectively known as Planet 9 (or Planet X). In a new study led by the Lowell Observatory, a team of researchers hypothesize that the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) – a next-generation telescope that will go online in 2022 – has a good chance of finding this mysterious planet."

https://www.universetoday.com/139289...-solar-system/

"In the past few decades, thanks to improvements in ground-based and space-based observatories, astronomers have discovered thousands of planets orbiting neighboring and distant stars (aka. extrasolar planets). Strangely enough, it is these same improvements, and during the same time period, that enabled the discovery of more astronomical bodies within the Solar System.

These include the “minor planets” of Eris, Sedna, Haumea, Makemake, and others, but also the hypothesized planetary-mass objects collectively known as Planet 9 (or Planet X). In a new study led by the Lowell Observatory, a team of researchers hypothesize that the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) – a next-generation telescope that will go online in 2022 – has a good chance of finding this mysterious planet.

Their study, titled “On the detectability of Planet X with LSST“, recently appeared online. The study was led by David E. Trilling, an astrophysicist from the Northern Arizona University and the Lowell Observatory, and included Eric C. Bellm from the University of Washington and Renu Malhotra of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at The University of Arizona."

I think it will depend largely on the interest of the new generations in finding that planet, and the available amount of money to invest on such a project.

An interesting article on alien life:

Table for One?
How the Fermi Paradox attempts to settle the issue of our apparent aloneness in the universe.

"While most science fiction books and movies portray a universe teeming with a plethora of space-faring alien species, the reality may be quite different. Few of us could look up into the night sky and not feel the enormity of the cosmos and the seemingly infinite number of stars that should, at least in theory, harbor a multitude of intelligent civilizations. Yet so far, our attempts to identify signs of extraterrestrial life have all amounted to nothing. The apparent lack of observed intelligent life in the universe beyond Earth in the face of what would seem to be an almost limitless potential for such life to arise is known as the Fermi Paradox."
http://www.astronomy.com/news/2018/05/table-for-one

Yes, it is odd, isn't it...

It is. Specially as we have no idea what real aliens would be like as we know only those produced by US film industry.

THE SOCIETY FOR POPULAR ASTRONOMY

Electronic News Bulletin No. 470 2018 June 3

Here is the latest round-up of news from the Society for Popular
Astronomy. The SPA is arguably Britain's liveliest astronomical
society, with members all over the world. We accept subscription
payments online at our secure site and can take credit and debit
cards. You can join or renew via a secure server or just see how
much we have to offer by visiting http://www.popastro.com/

FIRST INTERSTELLAR IMMIGRANT FOUND IN SOLAR SYSTEM
RAS

A new study has discovered the first known permanent immigrant to our Solar
System. The asteroid, currently nestling in Jupiter's orbit, is the first
asteroid known to have been captured from another star system. An object
known as 'Oumuamua was the last interstellar interloper to hit the headlines,
in 2017. However, it was just a tourist passing through, whereas the new
exo-asteroid -- given the catchy name (514107) 2015 BZ509 -- is a long-term
resident. All of the planets in the Solar System, and the vast majority of
other objects as well, travel around the Sun in the same direction. But
2015 BZ509 is different -- it moves in the opposite direction, in what is
known as a 'retrograde' orbit. How the asteroid came to move in that way
while sharing Jupiter's orbit has until now been unknown. If 2015 BZ509
were a native of our system, it should have had the same original direction
as all of the other planets and asteroids, inherited from the cloud of gas
and dust that formed them. However, the team ran simulations to trace the
location of 2015 BZ509 right back to the birth of our Solar System, 4.5
billion years ago when the era of planet formation ended. They show that
2015 BZ509 has always moved in that way, and so could not have been there
originally and must have been captured from another system.

THE SOCIETY FOR POPULAR ASTRONOMY

Electronic News Bulletin No. 470 2018 June 3

Here is the latest round-up of news from the Society for Popular
Astronomy. The SPA is arguably Britain's liveliest astronomical
society, with members all over the world. We accept subscription
payments online at our secure site and can take credit and debit
cards. You can join or renew via a secure server or just see how
much we have to offer by visiting http://www.popastro.com/

FIRST INTERSTELLAR IMMIGRANT FOUND IN SOLAR SYSTEM
RAS

A new study has discovered the first known permanent immigrant to our Solar
System. The asteroid, currently nestling in Jupiter's orbit, is the first
asteroid known to have been captured from another star system. An object
known as 'Oumuamua was the last interstellar interloper to hit the headlines,
in 2017. However, it was just a tourist passing through, whereas the new
exo-asteroid -- given the catchy name (514107) 2015 BZ509 -- is a long-term
resident. All of the planets in the Solar System, and the vast majority of
other objects as well, travel around the Sun in the same direction. But
2015 BZ509 is different -- it moves in the opposite direction, in what is
known as a 'retrograde' orbit. How the asteroid came to move in that way
while sharing Jupiter's orbit has until now been unknown. If 2015 BZ509
were a native of our system, it should have had the same original direction
as all of the other planets and asteroids, inherited from the cloud of gas
and dust that formed them. However, the team ran simulations to trace the
location of 2015 BZ509 right back to the birth of our Solar System, 4.5
billion years ago when the era of planet formation ended. They show that
2015 BZ509 has always moved in that way, and so could not have been there
originally and must have been captured from another system.

https://www.space.com/40769-nasa-daw...eres-soon.html

A NASA spacecraft is about to get up close and personal with Ceres, a giant asteroid that also happens to be the only dwarf planet in the inner solar system.

This month, NASA's Dawn spacecraft will shift into an orbit that will skim just 22 miles (35 kilometers) above Ceres at its closest point, allowing Dawn to get its best views yet of the dwarf planet. At its farthest point, the new elliptical orbit will carry Dawn out 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers).

"The team is eagerly awaiting the detailed composition and high-resolution imaging from the new, up-close examination," Carol Raymond, principal investigator for the Dawn mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement. "These new high-resolution data allow us to test theories formulated from the previous data sets and discover new features of this fascinating dwarf planet." [See Dawn's Amazing Photos of Dwarf Planet Ceres]

https://www.space.com/40769-nasa-daw...eres-soon.html

A NASA spacecraft is about to get up close and personal with Ceres, a giant asteroid that also happens to be the only dwarf planet in the inner solar system.

This month, NASA's Dawn spacecraft will shift into an orbit that will skim just 22 miles (35 kilometers) above Ceres at its closest point, allowing Dawn to get its best views yet of the dwarf planet. At its farthest point, the new elliptical orbit will carry Dawn out 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers).

"The team is eagerly awaiting the detailed composition and high-resolution imaging from the new, up-close examination," Carol Raymond, principal investigator for the Dawn mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement. "These new high-resolution data allow us to test theories formulated from the previous data sets and discover new features of this fascinating dwarf planet." [See Dawn's Amazing Photos of Dwarf Planet Ceres]

Hi, DW!

Post still appear doubled on the site.
I didn´t know that Ceres was the only dwarf planet of the solar system.