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India Today
08-08-2025
- Science
- India Today
Webb Telescope discovers giant new planet in solar system next to ours
The Alpha Centauri system comprises three stars: Alpha Centauri A and B. (Photo: Nasa) The object appears to orbit at roughly twice the Earth-Sun distance It is within the star's habitable zone, the region where conditions could allow liquid water Intriguingly, follow-up observations in early 2025 failed to detect the planet Astronomers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have uncovered strong evidence for a giant new planet orbiting Alpha Centauri A, one of the stars in the closest stellar system to Earth at just four light-years away. This discovery represents a major milestone in the search for exoplanets around our nearest Sun-like neighbour. The Alpha Centauri system comprises three stars: Alpha Centauri A and B, both similar in size and age to the Sun, and the faint red dwarf Proxima Centauri. While three planets have been confirmed around Proxima, identifying planets around the Sun-like pair has been far more challenging due to the brightness and close proximity of the stars. Using Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) equipped with a coronagraph to block the blinding light of Alpha Centauri A, astronomers captured an image revealing a candidate planet about 10,000 times fainter than the star. The object appears to orbit at roughly twice the Earth-Sun distance, placing it within the star's habitable zone, the region where conditions could allow liquid water. However, this potential planet is a gas giant with a mass comparable to Saturn, meaning it is unlikely to support life as we know it. If confirmed, this would be the closest exoplanet ever directly imaged orbiting a Sun-like star. (Photo: Nasa) Intriguingly, follow-up observations in early 2025 failed to detect the planet, prompting researchers to simulate millions of possible orbits. They concluded that the planet may have moved too close to the star during these later observations, rendering it temporarily invisible to the telescope. If confirmed, this would be the closest exoplanet ever directly imaged orbiting a Sun-like star, and its presence challenges existing theories of planet formation in complex multi-star environments. This discovery, detailed in papers accepted by The Astrophysical Journal Letters, opens the door to unprecedented studies of planetary systems near Earth. Future observations by Webb, as well as NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launching by 2027, will further characterise this fascinating world. The find also sparks speculation about moons orbiting such gas giants as potential habitats, much like the fictional Pandora in the 'Avatar' films, which orbits a similar gas giant around Alpha Centauri A. Whether a confirmed planet or a tantalising candidate, this discovery propels the Alpha Centauri system further into the spotlight for exoplanetary and astrobiological research, bringing us one step closer to understanding our cosmic neighbourhood. Astronomers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have uncovered strong evidence for a giant new planet orbiting Alpha Centauri A, one of the stars in the closest stellar system to Earth at just four light-years away. This discovery represents a major milestone in the search for exoplanets around our nearest Sun-like neighbour. The Alpha Centauri system comprises three stars: Alpha Centauri A and B, both similar in size and age to the Sun, and the faint red dwarf Proxima Centauri. While three planets have been confirmed around Proxima, identifying planets around the Sun-like pair has been far more challenging due to the brightness and close proximity of the stars. Using Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) equipped with a coronagraph to block the blinding light of Alpha Centauri A, astronomers captured an image revealing a candidate planet about 10,000 times fainter than the star. The object appears to orbit at roughly twice the Earth-Sun distance, placing it within the star's habitable zone, the region where conditions could allow liquid water. However, this potential planet is a gas giant with a mass comparable to Saturn, meaning it is unlikely to support life as we know it. If confirmed, this would be the closest exoplanet ever directly imaged orbiting a Sun-like star. (Photo: Nasa) Intriguingly, follow-up observations in early 2025 failed to detect the planet, prompting researchers to simulate millions of possible orbits. They concluded that the planet may have moved too close to the star during these later observations, rendering it temporarily invisible to the telescope. If confirmed, this would be the closest exoplanet ever directly imaged orbiting a Sun-like star, and its presence challenges existing theories of planet formation in complex multi-star environments. This discovery, detailed in papers accepted by The Astrophysical Journal Letters, opens the door to unprecedented studies of planetary systems near Earth. Future observations by Webb, as well as NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launching by 2027, will further characterise this fascinating world. The find also sparks speculation about moons orbiting such gas giants as potential habitats, much like the fictional Pandora in the 'Avatar' films, which orbits a similar gas giant around Alpha Centauri A. Whether a confirmed planet or a tantalising candidate, this discovery propels the Alpha Centauri system further into the spotlight for exoplanetary and astrobiological research, bringing us one step closer to understanding our cosmic neighbourhood. Join our WhatsApp Channel
Newsweek
16-05-2025
- Science
- Newsweek
'Bird Wing' Solar Eruption Headed Toward Earth
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A massive solar filament over 600,000 miles long erupted from the sun's northern hemisphere earlier this week, in a dramatic event dubbed a 'bird wing' eruption by scientists. Why It Matters This filament, more than twice the distance between Earth and the moon, was captured by satellites peeling away from the sun in "wings" 75 times larger than Earth. Specialists indicated that any impact would likely increase auroral activity and could trigger a minor geomagnetic storm. An image of a solar prominence, also know as a solar filament. An image of a solar prominence, also know as a solar To Know The eruption occurred late on Monday into Tuesday, according to Most solar material was headed away from Earth, but scientists expressed concerns about a glancing blow, according to the Daily Mail. If this happens, the most likely results would be enhanced auroral displays, particularly at high latitudes and a minor geomagnetic disturbance. According to NASA, a solar filament is a vast, luminous structure that projects outward from the Sun's surface. These features are rooted in the photosphere and stretch outward into the Sun's hot outer atmosphere, known as the corona. Prominences typically take about a day to form, and those that remain stable can endure in the corona for several months, arching hundreds of thousands of miles into space. Jake Foster, astronomer at the U.K.'s Royal Observatory Greenwich, told the Mail that eruptions of this type can cause geomagnetic storms, potentially blocking out radio communications and disrupting satellite navigation in some areas. Sarah Matthews, a professor of solar physics with the University College London's Mullard Space Science Lab told Newsweek that some effects from the eruption would be possible on Friday. Matthews said that while most of the event was directed northward, the lower flank did make its way into the Earth-Sun line. "Based on the current forecasts, it looks like at most a minor geomagnetic storm, with an increased chance of high latitude aurora, but probably not making it mid latitudes." The Earth-facing side of our Sun has been taking a bit of a nap recently, but finally did something noteworthy! Check out this gorgeous "bird wing" filament eruption today. Thus far, it looks like it will mostly miss us, but we could get the wake of the structure passing by Earth… — Dr. Tamitha Skov (@TamithaSkov) May 13, 2025 What People Are Saying Krista Hammond, a space weather expert at the U.K.'s Met Office told Newsweek: "On Tuesday we observed an eruption of plasma from the Sun which a very common event at this point in the solar cycle. Because of where this left the Sun, the vast majority of the material will miss Earth. This means that even if we do receive a glancing blow from the eruption, it will be weak—a minor geomagnetic storm at most—which will not have any significant impacts." Space weather physicist Tamitha Skov said on X, formerly Twitter, Tuesday: "The Earth-facing side of our Sun has been taking a bit of a nap recently, but finally did something noteworthy! Check out this gorgeous "bird wing" filament eruption today. Thus far, it looks like it will mostly miss us, but we could get the wake of the structure passing by Earth sometime May 16." What Happens Next "We've seen some more activity from a sunspot region that recently rotated on to the front side of the disk, but because that's not yet well connected to us it's not causing too much in the way of disturbance at the moment," Matthews said. "That may change in the coming days as it rotates further towards the West limb of the sun though."
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
So long, Gaia: Europe officially retires prolific star-mapping space telescope
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Europe's star-mapping Gaia space observatory has entered its final orbit, after gathering valuable cosmic data for more than a decade. The spacecraft's control team at the European Space Operations Centre in Paris switched off Gaia's subsystems today (March 27) and sent the venerable craft into a safe "retirement orbit." "We will never forget Gaia, and Gaia will never forget us," Gaia Mission Manager Uwe Lammers said in a statement. In January, the European Space Agency (ESA) shut down Gaia's science operations, as the spacecraft's fuel reserves were nearly depleted. This ended Gaia's data collection, but more work was needed to put Gaia to bed. Related: Goodnight, Gaia! ESA spacecraft shuts down after 12 years of Milky Way mapping For example, the team needed to move the probe from its science orbit at the Earth-Sun Lagrange Point 2 — a gravitationally stable spot about 930,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) away from us — to a retirement orbit around the sun that minimizes the chances Gaia gets within 6.2 million miles (10 million km) of Earth for at least the next century. That was accomplished today via a final firing of the spacecraft's thrusters, team members said. Though Gaia's work is now officially done, the mission will continue expanding our knowledge of the Milky Way far into the future, team members said. "Gaia's extensive data releases are a unique treasure trove for astrophysical research, and influence almost all disciplines in astronomy," Gaia Project Scientist Johannes Sahlmann said in the same statement. Gaia set out to map the Milky Way after launching in 2013. It charted the positions of nearly two billion stars, providing a precise 3D map of our galaxy. The mission's accomplishments include discovering evidence of galactic mergers, identifying new star clusters, tracking hundreds of thousands of asteroids and comets, and helping discover exoplanets and black holes. The Gaia team releases big batches of mission data every couple of years. The three such releases to date occurred in 2016, 2018 and 2022. "Data release 4, planned for 2026, and the final Gaia legacy catalogues, planned for release no earlier than the end of 2030, will continue shaping our scientific understanding of the cosmos for decades to come," Sahlmann added. Related Stories: — New trove of Gaia data will uncloak the Milky Way's dark past and future — Like the '90s, binary stars are back in style — Star-mapping Gaia spacecraft spots a pair of Jupiter-like planets It turns out that ending Gaia's useful life cycle wasn't easy. "Switching off a spacecraft at the end of its mission sounds like a simple enough job," Gaia Spacecraft Operator Tiago Nogueira said in the same release. "But spacecraft really don't want to be switched off." The observatory was designed to withstand the extreme conditions it would face during spaceflight, such as radiation storms and micrometeorite impacts. To this end, Gaia has built-in redundancies to make sure it could reboot after a disruption. "We had to design a decommissioning strategy that involved systematically picking apart and disabling the layers of redundancy that have safeguarded Gaia for so long," Nogueira added, "because we don't want it to reactivate in the future and begin transmitting again if its solar panels find sunlight." This was a sobering and bittersweet task, team members said. "Today, I was in charge of corrupting Gaia's processor modules to make sure that the onboard software will never restart again once we have switched off the spacecraft," Spacecraft Operations Engineer Julia Fortuno said in the same statement. "I have mixed feelings between the excitement for these important end-of-life operations and the sadness of saying goodbye to a spacecraft I have worked on for more than five years," Fortuno added. "I am very happy to have been part of this incredible mission."
