Scientists have recently discovered a planet that is roughly the size of the Earth. Kelper 78b, which was discovered in August 2013 is believed to not only be close to Earth in size but it also has about the same density. There are however a few discernible differences.
Kelper 78b has a diameter of 9,000 miles, which makes it about 20% larger than the Earth. Scientists believe that this means that the exoplanet has a similar composition of iron and rock. But, that's about all that's relatively the same. The planet's orbit is only a mere one million miles away from it's sun, and it completes that orbit in just eight hours. Temperatures there, are at least 2,000 degrees hotter than the Earth, too high to support life.
What has been puzzling for researchers is how the planet came to be and how it happens to be where it is. It's not possible for it to have formed within its sun. And, if it had formed further outward and then migrated inward, it would have been drawn all the way into it's sun.
Kelper 78b is a member of a new class of planets that have been discovered by NASA's Kelper space telescope. These planets are small with an orbit around their sun of 12 hours or less. Kelper 78b is the first of these planets to have it's mass measured. Kelper 78b orbits what is considered to be a G-type star 400 light years from us, in the Cygnus constellation.
Of course, no matter how Kelper 78b came to be, it's obvious that it won't be around forever. Eventually, gravitational tidal forces will cause it's orbit to decay and it will fall into it's sun. But, as we continue to search for Earth like planets, it appears that we are getting closer.
Someday, we all may be surprised to find out that an Earth like planet has been discovered in some far away solar system, in it's habitable, or what scientist call, the "Goldilocks," zone. Would it also be a revelation if oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and liquid water were found there as well?
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
The Sky Is Falling
By now you may have heard about the asteroid named Apophis, which is due to come very close to the Earth in 2029 and might be on a collision course in 2036. Well. there's a new threat on the astronomical scene. Asteroid 2013 135 is believed to have come within 4.2 million miles of the Earth on September 16th 2013.
Asteroid 2013 135 was discovered by scientist working in the Ukraine. After a weeks worth of observation, it's trajectory has been predicted to bring it back to the vicinity of the Earth in 2032. The scientists who made their discovery on October 8th 2013, after a week of observations, assert that though the asteroid's orbit is uncertain, they believe that there is no chance that it will come in contact with the Earth in the next 19 years.
The story of the near miss got a lot of attention in the media, but NASA, which tracks near Earth objects, was quick to issue a statement siting that this asteroid had a one in 63,000 chance of actually hitting the Earth. NASA feels that as the asteroid becomes more easily observable in the coming months, the Minor Planet Center in Massachusetts will be able to improve on the initial orbit calculations.
It appears that we have some time before Asteroid 2013 135 returns, and though the sky may fall one day, it doesn't appear that that's going to happen anytime soon.
Asteroid 2013 135 was discovered by scientist working in the Ukraine. After a weeks worth of observation, it's trajectory has been predicted to bring it back to the vicinity of the Earth in 2032. The scientists who made their discovery on October 8th 2013, after a week of observations, assert that though the asteroid's orbit is uncertain, they believe that there is no chance that it will come in contact with the Earth in the next 19 years.
The story of the near miss got a lot of attention in the media, but NASA, which tracks near Earth objects, was quick to issue a statement siting that this asteroid had a one in 63,000 chance of actually hitting the Earth. NASA feels that as the asteroid becomes more easily observable in the coming months, the Minor Planet Center in Massachusetts will be able to improve on the initial orbit calculations.
It appears that we have some time before Asteroid 2013 135 returns, and though the sky may fall one day, it doesn't appear that that's going to happen anytime soon.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
And The Winner Is...
Congratulations to Dr. Peter Higgs and Dr. Francios Englert. On Tuesday October 8th, 2013 Dr. Higgs and Dr. Englert received the Noble Prize in Physics for their discovery of the Higgs Boson. The Higgs Boson is believed to be the particle that gives all other subatomic particles their mass, and was discovered in July of 2012 by researchers at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland.
The awarding of the Nobel Prize gives clear validation not only to Dr. Higgs and Dr. Englert but also to the countless other physicists at CERN who worked on the project. The theory for the Higgs Boson was first conceived in 1964 and after 50 years, science has taken another step forward in solving the mysteries of particle interaction.
There were a number of skeptics who felt that such a particle would never been found do to the amount of energy required to complete the experiment and the size of the particle itself. The most notable skeptic was Dr. Steven Hawking who lost a $100 bet. While I'm not a physicist, I too had my doubts. I thought that such a particle was just another step in the direction of the quantification of space/time, which in my opinion appears to be the case with String Theory. But, I've come to believe that there has to be another field responsible for other such mysteries such as quantum entanglement.
There has been some speculation that due to the discovery of the Higgs Boson, science may be on the cusp of a new paradigm in modern physics. Some believe that it won't be long before light speed travel can be achieved. Or, at least we would be able to un-mass objects by turning off the Higgs, making them easier to launch into space.
What ever the future brings after the discovery of the Higgs Boson, make no mistake about it, it's discovery is huge. In fact, some are calling the Higgs Boson the, "God Particle." At the very least, I think that it's safe to say that our understanding of how the universe works has just taken a quantum leap forward.
The awarding of the Nobel Prize gives clear validation not only to Dr. Higgs and Dr. Englert but also to the countless other physicists at CERN who worked on the project. The theory for the Higgs Boson was first conceived in 1964 and after 50 years, science has taken another step forward in solving the mysteries of particle interaction.
There were a number of skeptics who felt that such a particle would never been found do to the amount of energy required to complete the experiment and the size of the particle itself. The most notable skeptic was Dr. Steven Hawking who lost a $100 bet. While I'm not a physicist, I too had my doubts. I thought that such a particle was just another step in the direction of the quantification of space/time, which in my opinion appears to be the case with String Theory. But, I've come to believe that there has to be another field responsible for other such mysteries such as quantum entanglement.
There has been some speculation that due to the discovery of the Higgs Boson, science may be on the cusp of a new paradigm in modern physics. Some believe that it won't be long before light speed travel can be achieved. Or, at least we would be able to un-mass objects by turning off the Higgs, making them easier to launch into space.
What ever the future brings after the discovery of the Higgs Boson, make no mistake about it, it's discovery is huge. In fact, some are calling the Higgs Boson the, "God Particle." At the very least, I think that it's safe to say that our understanding of how the universe works has just taken a quantum leap forward.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Make Way For UHDTV
It's quite possible that many of us are still into those old analog TVs. Maybe you've been fortunate enough to step up to HDTV, after all, they are very affordable now. That's of no matter. At the beginning of this year, TV manufacturers began introducing the next big thing, UHDTV or Ultra High Definition Television.
What's the difference you ask? It's all about the TV set's resolution. The old analog TVs offered 525 lines of resolution. A beam of electrons from the back of the picture tube would scan the screen going over every other line from top to bottom before returning to the top to scan the remaining lines. This is what's know as an interlace scan. For many years, this was the best that you could get.
HDTV or High Definition Television offers 1080 lines of resolution. These lines use digital pixels and every line is scanned from top to bottom, one right after the other. This is know as progressive scan and delivers a much clearer and sharper picture.
UHDTV ups the ante by adding the potential for delivering up 4320 lines of progressive scan resolution. That's more than the 70 millimeter film that's currently used for IMAX movies. Most UHDTVs hitting the market now have a scan resolution of 2160 lines scanned progressively. The overall screen sizes being offered right now are 55 and 65 inches, while maintaining the 16:9 aspect ratio found in HDTVs.
Samsung is offering 55 inch UHDTV sets for $3497.99 and 65 inch sets for $4997.99. Sony is offering 55 inch UHDTV sets for $3499.99 while it's 65 inch sets sell for 4999.99. All of these prices represent a decrease which may not make you want to run right out and buy one, but it does however mark the beginning of a battle for consumer dollars as more TV manufacturers roll out their own versions of UHDTV, and of course, as the sets become smaller.
With Halloween just around the corner, you may not be thinking about Christmas. And while a UHDTV may not qualify as the perfect stocking stuffer, for those who have the resources and a desire for the latest high tech gadget, a UHDTV may just be the gift you need to fill out your wish list.
What's the difference you ask? It's all about the TV set's resolution. The old analog TVs offered 525 lines of resolution. A beam of electrons from the back of the picture tube would scan the screen going over every other line from top to bottom before returning to the top to scan the remaining lines. This is what's know as an interlace scan. For many years, this was the best that you could get.
HDTV or High Definition Television offers 1080 lines of resolution. These lines use digital pixels and every line is scanned from top to bottom, one right after the other. This is know as progressive scan and delivers a much clearer and sharper picture.
UHDTV ups the ante by adding the potential for delivering up 4320 lines of progressive scan resolution. That's more than the 70 millimeter film that's currently used for IMAX movies. Most UHDTVs hitting the market now have a scan resolution of 2160 lines scanned progressively. The overall screen sizes being offered right now are 55 and 65 inches, while maintaining the 16:9 aspect ratio found in HDTVs.
Samsung is offering 55 inch UHDTV sets for $3497.99 and 65 inch sets for $4997.99. Sony is offering 55 inch UHDTV sets for $3499.99 while it's 65 inch sets sell for 4999.99. All of these prices represent a decrease which may not make you want to run right out and buy one, but it does however mark the beginning of a battle for consumer dollars as more TV manufacturers roll out their own versions of UHDTV, and of course, as the sets become smaller.
With Halloween just around the corner, you may not be thinking about Christmas. And while a UHDTV may not qualify as the perfect stocking stuffer, for those who have the resources and a desire for the latest high tech gadget, a UHDTV may just be the gift you need to fill out your wish list.
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