Astronomers have discovered a six-planet system that orbits the star HD 158259, which is 88 light-years away. The planet system is composed of a super-Earth and five mini Neptunes that display an exceptionally regular spacing. Astronomers said that the almost perfect orbital resonance of the planet system hints at how it may have formed.
The star, HD 158259, is about the same mass but a little larger than the Solar System's Sun. Astronomers found the six-planet system in the Draco constellation using the SOPHIE spectrograph installed at the Haute-Provence Observatory in the South of France, the Deccan Herald reported .
Quite a lot has been going on:
International Space Station astronauts celebrate the new year by eating radishes: 'a most
On Nov. 27, 2020, NASA astronaut and Expedition 64 Flight Engineer Kate Rubins checks out radish plants growing for the Plant Habitat-02 experiment that seeks to optimize plant growth in the unique environment of space and evaluate nutrition and taste of the plants. Credits: NASA
Eating radishes may not seem very celebratory to revelers here on Earth, but for astronauts onboard the International Space Station, it was quite a big deal.
United Press International reports that, with the exception of leafy greens, radishes were the first vegetables to be grown in space.
Astronomers discover a peculiar batch of stars moving fast enough to leave the galaxy forever |
Known as high-velocity stars, many of these former members of the Milky Way's halo break free and become intergalactic roamers, unbound by any galaxy's gravity. This is only possible because of the extreme astrophysical processes involved.
The unusual properties of these galactic escapees has intrigued astronomers. Now, according to a new study published in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series on Dec. 17th, there are far more of them than previously thought in the Milky Way's halo — nearly double the total number of high-velocity stars previously believed to exist.
Can satellites have satellites that have satellites? | New Scientist
To what extent can satellites have satellites? Could our moon have its own moon with its own moon, for example? Is there a limit?
* * *
The moon not only can have satellites, but has had many, some of them inhabited. They are the Apollo lunar orbiters, which circled the moon while the landing craft, well, landed.
The interesting question is how long such sub-satellites can keep circling before tidal forces tear them loose. If we think of Earth as a satellite of the sun, then, for the moon, the answer is billions of years. On the other hand, a satellite launched to circle the moon at about half the distance from the moon to Earth wouldn’t even complete one orbit. It all depends on the relative masses and distances.
While you're here, how about this:
Will Axiom Space provide a commercial space station replacement for NASA's ISS? | TheHill
Axiom Space has announced that it is creating an office park and manufacturing center at the Houston SpacePort at Ellington Field.
The problem is that Congress has been remarkably stingy when it comes to putting up real money for this approach . The fiscal 2020 budget request included $150 million for commercial space stations. Congress funded support for private orbiting labs for a grand total of $15 million. The fiscal 2020 budget request repeated the request for $150 million. Congress chose to be slightly more generous: $17 million .
Watch the orbits of dozens of Jupiter's moons | Boing Boing
This map of 63 of Jupiter's 79 known moons is fascinating. There is a cluster orbiting relatively close that includes many of the best-known moons, then a significant dead space before the remainder appear:
We start close in to Jupiter showing relatively fast moving inner moons that are generally in the same orbital plane including the so called 'Galilean moons': Europa, Io, Ganymede, and Callisto. Other inner moons are: Amalthea, Thebe, Adrastea, and Metis. These inner moons orbit Jupiter as fast as about every 7 hours to about every 17 days. These moons are also relatively close to Jupiter: from around 100 thousand to a couple of million kilometers away.
China's Mars probe to reach Mars orbit on Feb.10
The probe of China's first Mars mission Tianwen-1 is due to enter Mars orbit on February 10, said the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation on Wednesday.
The probe will conduct a "braking" maneuver to slow itself down so that it can be captured by Mars' gravity.
As of 6 a.m. January 3, the probe had traveled over 400 million kilometers after 163 days in space, and was at a distance of around 130 million kilometers from Earth and 8.3 million kilometers from Mars.
Some lucky Britons can now upgrade their broadband using a satellite | Express.co.uk
Given that in 2019, the average household monthly spend on broadband connectivity in the UK was £37.25, that’s a pretty hefty price rise for those who want to test the latest technology.
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