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CNN
a day ago
- Science
- CNN
Hubble offers sharp new view of interstellar comet
AstronomyFacebookTweetLink A new image has revealed the clearest glimpse yet of an interstellar visitor zipping through our solar system. The Hubble Telescope and its Wide Field Camera 3 got an incredible view of the comet named 3I/ATLAS, which came from beyond our solar system, on July 21 when the object was 277 million miles (445 million kilometers) from Earth. In the image, a teardrop-shaped dust cocoon can be seen streaking from the comet's icy nucleus. A comet's nucleus is its solid core, made of ice, dust and rocks. When comets travel near stars such as the sun, heat causes them to release gas and dust, which creates their signature tails. The venerable telescope is just one of many that are being used to track the comet, first discovered on July 1, as it zooms at a blistering 130,000 miles (209,000 kilometers) per hour. Its speed makes 3I/ATLAS the fastest object that originated outside of our solar system to ever be observed traveling through it. New observations, like those made with Hubble, are shedding more light on the comet's size. The small nucleus, which cannot be directly seen, could be as large as 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers) in diameter or as small as 1,000 feet (305 meters) across, according to a new paper accepted by The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Meanwhile, other space-based telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite and the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, along with ground-based observations from the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, could reveal more about the object's chemical composition. The comet is expected to remain visible to ground-based telescopes through September before passing too close to the sun to be spotted until it reappears on the other side of our star in early December. But big questions about 3I/ATLAS remain, some of which may be impossible to answer — including where exactly it came from. 'No one knows where the comet came from. It's like glimpsing a rifle bullet for a thousandth of a second. You can't project that back with any accuracy to figure out where it started on its path,' said lead study author David Jewitt, professor of astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles, in a statement. While the comet appears to behave like those that originated in our solar system — as evidenced by that dust plume Hubble captured — the speed of 3I/ATLAS is one indicator that it's a visitor from another solar system in our galaxy. Scientists estimate it has been traveling through interstellar space for billions of years. As objects travel through space, they experience a gravitational slingshot effect from whizzing by stars and stellar nurseries that increases their momentum. So the longer 3I/ATLAS has spent in space, the faster it moves. The comet is only the third known interstellar object to have been observed in our solar system after 'Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019. '3I in particular is remarkable due to its velocity,' said Matthew Hopkins, a recent doctoral student in the department of physics at the University of Oxford who authored a separate study about the object. 'This velocity is very useful to us in particular as over the last few years me and my coauthors have been building a model that allows us to predict properties of (interstellar objects) such as their age and composition, just from their velocity.' For Hopkins, the discovery of 3I/ATLAS was incredibly fortuitous. The find occurred just five days after he finished his doctoral work, which involved a lot of time spent making predictions about future interstellar object discoveries. In a few months, he'll begin a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, where he'll continue to research 3I/ATLAS. During his doctoral studies, Hopkins and his collaborators in New Zealand developed the Ōtautahi–Oxford model, a combination of data from the Milky Way's star population and models of how planetary systems form that could help astronomers determine what interstellar object populations should look like. Now, Hopkins is the lead author of a separate preprint study about 3I/ATLAS. It's difficult to determine the age of interstellar objects, but Hopkins and his colleagues believe 3I/ATLAS has about a 67% chance of being more than 7.6 billion years old — while our sun, solar system and its comets are only 4.5 billion years old, he said. It's pure chance that the interstellar comet crossed into our solar system — but it's not entirely rare, Hopkins said. We just don't see these visitors most of the time. '(Interstellar objects) actually pass through the Solar System all the time, especially the smaller ones which are more numerous: 80 the size of 'Oumuamua (about 656 feet, or 200 meters, across) pass through the orbit of Jupiter every year, they're just too small to detect unless they get very close to the Earth,' Hopkins wrote in an email. However, astronomers are eager to have the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which released its first images this summer, scanning the skies for interstellar the observatory's massive primary mirror spanning 28 feet (8.4 meters) across, it can spot small, faint and distant objects — and it's scanning the entire sky every three nights, allowing the telescope to better catch sight of rapidly moving interstellar objects. Hopkins' coauthors estimate that Rubin could spy anywhere between five and 50 interstellar objects over the next 10 years, and Hopkins is optimistically leaning toward the latter. Discovering more interstellar objects could help astronomers determine how varied or similar they are, especially since the first three have been so different from one another, Hopkins said. 'This latest interstellar tourist is one of a previously undetected population of objects bursting onto the scene that will gradually emerge,' Jewitt said. 'This is now possible because we have powerful sky survey capabilities that we didn't have before. We've crossed a threshold.' Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.
Sharjah 24
26-07-2025
- Science
- Sharjah 24
New planet discovered 35 light years away
Discovery made using NASA's TESS Telescope The team utilised NASA's TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) space telescope to identify the planet, named L 98-59 f. It is one of five planets orbiting a red dwarf star in the L 98-59 system. Located in the habitable zone L 98-59 f lies within the star's habitable zone, the region where liquid water could potentially exist. It receives a similar amount of stellar energy as Earth does from the Sun, making it a candidate for possible habitability. A compact and diverse planetary system The L 98-59 system was previously believed to host only four planets. However, after extensive analysis of data from both space- and ground-based telescopes, the fifth planet was identified. Detected through stellar motion Unlike the other planets in the system, L 98-59 f does not transit between its star and Earth, making it invisible to standard transit detection methods. Instead, scientists detected it by observing subtle shifts in the motion of its host star — a method known as the radial velocity technique.
The Irish Sun
22-07-2025
- Science
- The Irish Sun
Terrifying new Earth-sized planet found with deadly secret that would instantly kill anyone visiting
A NEW Earth-sized planet has been discovered in a faraway constellation - and it would kill any astronaut who dare travel there. Some 117.4 light-years away from Earth, scientists have stumbled across a nightmarish alien world where the planet's surface is likely molten. 5 The surface of molten exoplanet Credit: Alamy 5 An artist's impression of a molten exoplanet Credit: Alamy The planet, dubbed TOI-2431, orbits quite close to its nearest star over a very short period, resulting in a high surface temperature. Unlike Earth, which has an orbital period of 365 days, TOI-2431 orbits its star in only 5.4 hours - making it one of the shortest period exoplanets ever discovered. The alien world, located in constellation Cetus, is thought to have a surface temperature of about 1,700C (3092F). Anything that lands there would be immediately incinerated. READ MORE ON SPACE The international team of astronomers, led by Kaya Han Taş of the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, detected the new exoplanet orbiting a nearby star using Nasa's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). 5 Nasa's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Credit: Nasa "We have confirmed the ultra-short period planet TOI-2431 b using a combination of photometric transit data from TESS, precise radial velocity observations with the NEID and HPF spectrographs, and ground-based speckle imaging with the NESSI instrument," researchers wrote in the new The Nasa tool monitors about 200,000 bright stars near Earth, scanning for hidden planets that might cause any blips of light as they pass their star. Just last week, researchers revealed they used TESS to follow a Most read in Science Since its launch in April 2018, the satellite has identified more than 7,600 possible exoplanets - which are nicknamed TESS Objects of Interest, or TOI. Exactly 638 of these have been confirmed as alien worlds so far. Best-ever sign of ALIEN life found on distant planet as scientists '99.7% sure of astounding biological activity signal' The planet's host star is only about two-thirds the size and mass of our Sun, and appears to be pulling the planet towards a fiery death. Researchers estimated that the planet has a tidal decay timescale of about 31 million years - which is fairly short in the grand schemes of the universe. Tidal decay causes a planet's orbit to gradually shrink and spiral towards its host star - eventually leading to its destruction. The 2billion-year-old host star, which researchers believe is roughly double the temperature of its nearby planet, will eventually collide with the planet. Researchers hope they can secure time with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to study TOI-2431 b more closely. Doing so could shed more light on the planet's surface composition, and may answer the question of whether or not it has an atmosphere. The $10 billion telescope 5 The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Credit: Alamy 5 An artist's impression of a molten exoplanet Credit: Alamy All you need to know about planets in our solar system Our solar system is made up of nine planets with Earth the third closest to the Sun. But each planet has its own quirks, so find out more about them all... How old is How many moons does What colour is How far away is How big is How many moons does Does How many moons does How big is How hot is the
Scottish Sun
22-07-2025
- Science
- Scottish Sun
Terrifying new Earth-sized planet found with deadly secret that would instantly kill anyone visiting
Anything that lands there would be immediately incinerated NIGHTMARE WORLD Terrifying new Earth-sized planet found with deadly secret that would instantly kill anyone visiting A NEW Earth-sized planet has been discovered in a faraway constellation - and it would kill any astronaut who dare travel there. Some 117.4 light-years away from Earth, scientists have stumbled across a nightmarish alien world where the planet's surface is likely molten. 5 The surface of molten exoplanet Credit: Alamy 5 An artist's impression of a molten exoplanet Credit: Alamy The planet, dubbed TOI-2431, orbits quite close to its nearest star over a very short period, resulting in a high surface temperature. Unlike Earth, which has an orbital period of 365 days, TOI-2431 orbits its star in only 5.4 hours - making it one of the shortest period exoplanets ever discovered. The alien world, located in constellation Cetus, is thought to have a surface temperature of about 1,700C (3092F). Anything that lands there would be immediately incinerated. The international team of astronomers, led by Kaya Han Taş of the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, detected the new exoplanet orbiting a nearby star using Nasa's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). 5 Nasa's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Credit: Nasa "We have confirmed the ultra-short period planet TOI-2431 b using a combination of photometric transit data from TESS, precise radial velocity observations with the NEID and HPF spectrographs, and ground-based speckle imaging with the NESSI instrument," researchers wrote in the new research paper. The Nasa tool monitors about 200,000 bright stars near Earth, scanning for hidden planets that might cause any blips of light as they pass their star. Just last week, researchers revealed they used TESS to follow a repetitive flicker of starlight to a new 'Super Earth' 154 light-years away. Since its launch in April 2018, the satellite has identified more than 7,600 possible exoplanets - which are nicknamed TESS Objects of Interest, or TOI. Exactly 638 of these have been confirmed as alien worlds so far. Best-ever sign of ALIEN life found on distant planet as scientists '99.7% sure of astounding biological activity signal' The planet's host star is only about two-thirds the size and mass of our Sun, and appears to be pulling the planet towards a fiery death. Researchers estimated that the planet has a tidal decay timescale of about 31 million years - which is fairly short in the grand schemes of the universe. Tidal decay causes a planet's orbit to gradually shrink and spiral towards its host star - eventually leading to its destruction. The 2billion-year-old host star, which researchers believe is roughly double the temperature of its nearby planet, will eventually collide with the planet. Researchers hope they can secure time with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to study TOI-2431 b more closely. Doing so could shed more light on the planet's surface composition, and may answer the question of whether or not it has an atmosphere. The $10 billion telescope discovered its first-ever exoplanet just last month, but has been used to analyse others on its journey through space. 5 The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Credit: Alamy 5 An artist's impression of a molten exoplanet Credit: Alamy All you need to know about planets in our solar system Our solar system is made up of nine planets with Earth the third closest to the Sun. But each planet has its own quirks, so find out more about them all... How old is Earth? Plus other facts on our planet How many moons does Mercury have? What colour is Venus? How far away is Mars to Earth? And other facts on the red planet How big is Jupiter? How many moons does Saturn have? Does Uranus have rings? How many moons does Neptune have? How big is Pluto? How hot is the Sun?
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
A doomed exoplanet is caught in a 'death spiral' around its star. Can it survive?
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A massive planet trapped in a death spiral around its star could unlock some of the secrets surrounding star systems. However, the fate of this world is not yet set in stone, with two deaths and one "rebirth" possible in its future. The extrasolar planet or "exoplanet" in question is TOI-2109b, which has five times the mass of Jupiter and is located around 870 light-years from our solar system. The planet orbits so close to its parent star, TOI-2109, that it has a year that lasts just 16 hours. These characteristics mean that TOI-2109b is classified as an "ultrahot Jupiter," a rare class of planets that account for around 1 in 500 planets in the over 5,000 worlds in the catalog of known exoplanets. But TOI-2109b stands out even among those incredibly hot, star-hugging worlds. "This is an ultra-hot Jupiter, and orbits much closer to its star than any other hot Jupiter ever discovered," Macquarie University Research Fellow Jaime A. Alvarado-Montes said in a statement."Just to put it into context, Mercury's mass is almost 6,000 times smaller than Jupiter's, but it still takes 88 days to orbit our sun. "For a huge gas giant such as TOI-2109b to fully orbit in 16 hours, it tells us that this is a planet located super-close to its star." That makes TOI-2109b the perfect laboratory to study planets' death spirals into their host stars, or more accurately, the phenomenon of orbital decay. The three deaths of TOI-2109b Alvarado-Montes and colleagues set about investigating TOI-2109b using archival data from multiple telescopes, including NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and the European Space Agency (ESA) space mission Cheops. This constituted data regarding the transits of TOI-2109b across the face of its parent star from 2010 to 2024. "Using all of the data available for this planet, we were able to predict a small change in its orbit," Alvarado-Montes said. "Then we verified it with our theory and with our planet evolution models, and our predictions matched the observations. That's quite exciting." The matching theoretical estimations and observational evidence suggested that the orbit of TOI-2109b will decay by around 10 seconds over the next three Earth-years. Though this is a tiny change, it proves TOI-2109b is spiraling toward its parent star. The ultimate fate of TOI-2109b is uncertain, as there are three possible ways that this death spiral could play out. The first and most dramatic final fate of TOI-2109b would see the ultrahot Jupiter plunge into its parent star. This will occur if the orbital decay of this planet begins to accelerate. "The star will absorb it and kill it, of course, in the process – completely burn it, and the planet will disappear," Alvarado-Montes said. This would create a flash of light that is similar to ZTF SLRN-2020, a signal first observed in May 2020 when a gas giant planet plunged into its red giant stellar parent. The second possible fate of TOI-2109b is slightly less dramatic, but no less catastrophic. This would happen if the orbital decay of the planet continues unabated and sees the gravity of its parent star generate destructive tidal forces within the planet. These forces would literally rip TOI-2109b apart. "The gravitational interactions are so strong that the planet starts being distorted," Alvarado-Montes said. "It starts looking more like an elongated doughnut ... the gravity of the planet is no longer able to hold its spherical shape." There is a third possible fate which would see the planet transformed rather than being destroyed. In the third possible scenario for TOI-2109b, the intense radiation experienced by the ultrahot Jupiter strips away the planet's gassy outer layers in a process called photoevaporation. This would expose the rocky inner core of TOI-2109b. "As the planet gets even closer to the star, all of the gas molecules could start being dissociated, and the planet gets smaller and smaller," Alvarado-Montes explained. "And if the planet shrinks quickly enough, then when the planet reaches the position where its Roche limit would have been, it's not going to be five Jupiter masses anymore, but it will be small enough that the Roche limit moves closer to the star, so it could escape destruction." This could ultimately result in the creation of a rocky "super-Earth" around the size of Uranus or Neptune. Related Stories: — The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered its 1st exoplanet and snapped its picture (image) — Astronomers discover origins of mysterious double hot Jupiter exoplanets: 'It is a dance of sorts' — NASA exoplanet-hunting spacecraft and citizen scientists discover a cool new alien world The team will continue to monitor TOI-2109b over the next three to five years, which should reveal the fate that will befall this doomed world. The investigation of TOI-2109b has implications beyond its own fascinating and fateful situation. It provides astronomers the chance to study how hot Jupiters evolve and what happens when planets migrate toward their host stars. "This planet and its interesting situation could help us figure out some mysterious astronomical phenomena that so far we really don't have much evidence to explain," Alvarado-Montes concludes. "It could tell us the story of many other solar systems." The team's research was published on Tuesday (July 15) in The Astrophysical Journal. Solve the daily Crossword
