The search continues, as new and exciting results seem to be revealed regularly! The latest reports are showing that twenty-six newly discovered extra-solar planets have been identified. It is all the more interesting because this raises the number of planetary systems with two or more planets in them, including our solar system, to a total of fifty-four!
The Kepler Mission, organized by N.A.S.A., named for reknowned astronomer Johannes Kepler, was launched in 2009. It’s mission is to survey the nearest areas of our portion of The Milky Way, in order to find out how many of the stars in this region are the hosts to planets. The Kepler Spacecraft contains a photometer, which is a tool that views the brightness of stars, sends the data to Earth, and it is examined to recognize the number of transits that occur with these stars. The transits display how often the stars dim within the images, showing how often planets pass in front of these stars, which causes the momentary dimming.
These recent discoveries do not identify the differences of the extrasolar planets, relating them being gas giants, or them being rocky worlds, similar to the inner planets of our solar system. Prior images from Kepler have shown the existences of rocky worlds, including those found within The Cygnus Constellation. At an estimated distance of 4,500 light years away, Cygnus contains at least twelve stars that host planets. The standout stars of Cygnus are Alberio and Deneb.
Two worlds that are near to the size of Earth have been identified. Both planets are extremely hot, as they orbit a G-type star within Cygnus, which is a star akin to The Sun. These planets orbit this star at distances closer than Mercury is to The Sun! One of the worlds has been reviewed as being 1.03 times the size of Earth, which is basically the same size as our planet. Yet, due to it being so close to it’s star, no life (as we understand it) could exist because of the heat!
Of the planetary systems currently recognized, there are twenty-eight systems that have multiple planets. This includes our system, which presently acknowledges eight planets. One of the extra-solar systems is suspected to have five worlds, two of them may have six worlds, five of them may have four worlds, and eleven of them may have three worlds. As of 2011, Kepler identified over 1,200 candidate planets, with 408 of them possibly existing within multiple-planet systems. Our solar system is the one that hosts the largest amount of verified planets. Recall that Pluto no longer is considered as a fully-fledged planet!
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Sometimes, I have to think that The Sun gets taken for granted. It actually has solar storms all of the time, yet not much is mentioned to the general public. I suppose there is no need to cause situations of panic, especially for something occurring regularly, and often without any truly negative consequences.
The Sun recently has released a coronal mass ejection that was dramatic. The flare was travelling at four million miles per hour! It contained a radiation storm with the power to shut down some of our communications satellites, and will release bursts that will strike Earth until Wednesday.
The ranking of the flare from this solar radiation storm is designated as S3. That means the flare is considered to be strong, as it has released high levels of solar particles, and it has the potential to produce significant damages. The flare could disrupt satellites, produce dangerous levels of radiation for astronauts at the space station, as well as passengers on high-flying aircraft, and it could degrade radio signals. There have been some reports already of air traffic signals being disrupted.
Reports from The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration state that this level of C.M.E. is a proton storm that could be dangerous to high-flying aircraft. Also, any surveyors at The International Space Station should not go for any space walks, staying indoors to protect from solar radiation. Yet, they have been told that the storm is not going to be a cause for “extraordinary protection measures”!
The level of this proton storm is the largest since 2005. It is expected to strike Earth near to 9 a.m. E.S.T., tomorrow morning. The waves will create calamity within The Global Positioning System, and it will cause shifts to the global power grid. The waves will be travelling toward Earth at 1,1400 miles per second!
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Mama is always on the move! Movin’ and-a Shakin’!!! Earthquakes are happening all of the time, but it usually is the most temporally significant ones that receive the immediate attention. Well, the southern-most continent received a recent shaking at it’s edges this past weekend, as it apparently was large enough to attract outside attention.
This past Sunday, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit the outer edges of Antarctica. The epicenter of the quake actually was within The Southern Ocean, roughly 334 miles to the west of Coronation Island. This is the largest island of the South Orkney Island chain, which is located roughly 375 miles to the northeastern edge of The Antarctic Peninsula.
The seismic shift happened around 8:40 a.m., E.S.T.. The force of the quake was measured to extend roughly 6.2 miles into The Southern Ocean. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued an initial warning, stating that their might be a small tsunami. However, a clearing was issued later, where any threats of major tidal impacts were dismissed. Warnings did remain about the possibililties of minor tsunamis that may have stricken the coasts of the continent, yet they were later dismissed by The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
This particular quake occurred at the adjoined locations of three tectonic plates. The Antarctic Plate, The Scotia Plate, and The South American Plate each shifted against each other’s borders, causing the tremor. It reached to a depth of 6.2 miles beneath the sea floor.
This tremor was followed by at least two aftershocks. A magnitude 6.2 aftershock stuck roughly 334 miles west of Coronation Island, forty minutes after the initial quake. A second discernable tremor happened two hours after that, measuring at a magnitude of 5.1. Things seem calm…. for the moment….
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Totally off track, but since we are on the topic of shakin’…..
Would it be cool to wake up to a sky that displayed two suns? I am trying to imagine what that would be like. What factors would have to be in check in order for life to exist on a planet in orbit of a binary star system?
When there is discussion of habitable worlds existing, which are in orbit of two stars, much of the talk immediately shifts to the images from Star Wars. The fantasy planet Tatooine, where young Luke Skywalker lived as a child, was in orbit of two stars. Yet, how real would that kind of setting actually be?
Astronomical research is revealing that planets that are in orbits of binary star systems could be commonplace throughout The Milky Way. Recent studies have revealed that two planets labeled as both Kepler 34b and Kepler 35b are in orbit of two stars. They are circumbinary planets because they revolve around two stars.
Additional information reveals that Kepler 34b and Kepler 35b are gas giants. They each are the size of Saturn. One host star of Kepler 34b has been identified as a G-type main-sequence star, similar to The Sun. The stars of the system of Kepler 35b have been identified as similar to, yet slightly cooler and slightly smaller than The Sun. Neither of these worlds is anywhere nearby, as Kepler 34b is estimated to be 4 ,900 light years away, and Kepler 35b is figured as being 5,400 light years away!
The discovery of Kepler 35b adds fuel to the notion that planets orbiting binary star systems may be common. It was during September 2011 when Kepler 16b was identified. It was declared to be the first circumbinary planet to be discovered. Now that the new Kepler planets have been identified, astronomers will be creating new classifications for these types of worlds. It is plausible to believe that circumbinary planets are common objects within our galaxy!
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A little evening kick back…..
I have come to respect spiders more than I find myself irritated or disgusted by them. I recognize that our paths need not cross regularly, as I would much rather them to find residences in locations that do not include me, or any of my belongings. Yet, understanding that they are yet another of the multitudes of fascinating creatures inhabiting our planet, I find myself bound to do what is necessary to protect them (though often from a distance…), and to spread useful knowledge about them.
My admiration for the arachnid life forms likely enhanced my fervor for the Spider Man comic series. The Marvel Comics franchise currently has several versions of this popular superhero character being published. I am seeing one website which states that there are 1,131 separate titles for Spider Man comics! I always enjoy it when the Spider Man stories intertwine with the other Marvel characters, like The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, and The X-Men! Now, I am getting wind of this latest addition to the superhero’s story line!
The Scarlet Spider is being released as the latest addition to the Spider Man series. Apparently, this character is a clone of Spider Man, and his name is Kaine. He was placed on some deserted island, then he found his way to México. Not long after that stay in the North American nation, Kane made it to the streets of Houston, Texas.
Kaine has all of Spider Man’s powers, yet he is not bound by the ideals of heroism and responsibility to which Spider Man abides. He is being described as somewhat good, while often self-centered and violent! Kaine was in México because he was evading the law. Something went down in that North American nation (read the comics…), so Kaine made it up to The United States.
His adventure into The United States took him to Houston, Texas. Apparently, he had a prior episode of self-illumination, where Kaine no longer wants to follow with a villainous lifestyle. It is in Houston where he means to abandon the mentally binding and negatively encouraging traps of his past, becoming the latest addition to the Marvel Comics’ superheroes.
The Texas metropolis is where Kaine meets the daughter of a criminally-minded businessman. This man leads the company Roxxon, and he has a daughter for whom Kaine romantically falls. The story line of this most recent Spider Man tale continues around how Kaine is able to become The Scarlet Spider, while attempting to evade his dark past, handling the present-day criminals with his web-slinging style of justice, and trying to raise a sixteen year-old girl whom he saved from a life-threatening accident.
This is merely what I have gotten from the story through some of my initial readings of the introductory plots. I will need to peruse more websites, and to get hold of some of the actual comics, in order to have a better grasp on this latest series. I do enjoy Spider Man, and I believe that The Scarlet Spider is going to be just as entertaining as the rest of the Spider Man and Marvel Comics adventures!
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