A cache of interstellar asteroids may have been hiding under scientists' noses for billions of years, researchers say.
That's according to new research focused on a handful of strange space rocks known as Centaurs , which orbit the sun in the neighborhood of Jupiter and Saturn. Astronomers have long been puzzled by Centaurs because their orbits are very unpredictable, with simulations suggesting that they should bang into things or fly out of the solar system . The new research suggests that's because they were stolen by our solar system when it was very young.
In case you are keeping track:
New Horizons Is Measuring Stellar Distances From The Edge Of The Solar System
We use parallax every day. It is one of the ways our minds figure out whether objects we see are near or far. Each of our eyes sees the world from a slightly different location, and that means closer objects appear shifted slightly when compared to more distant objects. We usually don't notice the shift, but you can see it by covering one eye with your hand, then moving your hand to cover the other one instead.
Astronomers use parallax by using the motion of the Earth around the Sun. They can look at a nearby star and note its apparent position, then do the same thing several months later. The closer a star is, the greater its parallax shift. This trick is so useful that astronomers have used it to define the astronomical distance known as the parsec, which is about 3.3 light years.
The birth of a 'snowman' at the edge of the solar system
The story begins in 2006 when the New Horizons robotic spacecraft was sent to take the first close-up images of Pluto and to study its features and terrain. After launch, New Horizons fixed its trajectory toward Pluto, starting a long journey of about nine years. In order not to waste fuel and resources, most of its systems were in sleep mode until it was close to its target Pluto.
Back on Earth, the International Astronomical Union decided to demote Pluto from its status as a planet to a dwarf planet. In short, the New Horizons robotic spacecraft was sent to investigate a planet, fell asleep, and awoke to discover that Pluto was no longer considered a planet. But this did not detract from the importance of the mission.
Solar system fires are on the rise in the U.S. – pv magazine International
Historically underreported by the U.S. Fire Administration, fires at solar installations rose 36% from 2017 to 2018. With residential installations representing the majority of fires, infrared imaging could be the key to bringing the number down.
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And here's another article:
SunPower Offering Home Solar Systems for $0 Down and "6 Months on Us"
Company Making Solar Energy More Accessible to Homeowners in a Challenging Economy Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
"Americans are facing a challenging environment right now and we want to make it easier for them to go solar, lowering their electric bills as soon as possible, while offsetting the cost of the system for six months," said Norm Taffe , executive vice president of North America Channels. "Through our online energy consultations, homeowners can access electricity savings without leaving the comfort and safety of their homes.
Science vs Science Fiction: Not The Solar System We Grew Up With | Tor.com
Science fiction is often about discovering new things. Sometimes it is also about loss. Consider, for example, the SF authors of the early space probe era. On the plus side, after years of writing about Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and the other worlds of the Solar System, they would find out what those worlds were really like. On the minus side, all the infinite possibilities would be replaced by a single reality—one that probably wouldn't be much like the Solar System of the old pulp magazines.
NASA scientists get look inside comet from outside Earth's solar system - The Jerusalem Post
We may have found 19 more interstellar asteroids in our solar system | New Scientist
Two researchers say they have found evidence that 19 objects orbiting our sun originated around another star, suggesting interstellar objects in our solar system may be more common than previously thought.
Fathi Namouni at the Côte d’Azur Observatory in Nice, France, and Helena Morais at São Paulo State University in Brazil used a supercomputer to simulate how the orbits of objects called centaurs have evolved since the dawn of the solar system. Centaurs are found between Jupiter and Neptune and …
Happening on Twitter
Are we alone in the universe? 👀 In this latest episode of #GravityAssist, Lindsay Hays of @NASAAstrobio discusses… https://t.co/9T10Z8H9TM NASA Fri Apr 24 18:31:01 +0000 2020
Today we mark 30 years of the @NASAHubble Space Telescope: high-flying comeback story and sharp-eyed witness of the… https://t.co/RicSrsBXPl NASASolarSystem (from Milky Way galaxy) Fri Apr 24 14:37:13 +0000 2020
Comet 2I/Borisov, the solar system's second known interstellar visitor, probably hails from a planetary family that… https://t.co/3VrSN6MCIn ScienceNews (from Washington, DC) Fri Apr 24 21:20:00 +0000 2020
Since the #comet 2I/Borisov was first observed entering our solar system in 2019, it has intrigued scientists as a… https://t.co/b4FfqA4I43 Jerusalem_Post (from Israel) Sat Apr 25 15:23:33 +0000 2020
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