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Astronomers spy 2 planets in tight quarters as they orbit a distant starPublic release date: 21-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Vince Stricherz vinces@uw.edu 206-543-2580 University of Washington
A research team led by astronomers at the University of Washington and Harvard University has discovered a bigger version of Earth locked in an orbital tug-of-war with a much larger, Neptune-sized planet as they orbit very close to each other around the same star about 1,200 light years from Earth.
The planets occupy nearly the same orbital plane and on their closest approach come within about 1.2 million miles of each other just five times the Earth-moon distance and about 20 times closer to one another than any two planets in our solar system.
But the timing of their orbits means they'll never collide, said Eric Agol, a UW astronomy professor and co-lead author of a paper documenting the discovery published June 21 by Science Express, the online edition of the journal Science.
"These are the closest two planets to one another that have ever been found," Agol said. "The bigger planet is pushing the smaller planet around more, so the smaller planet is harder to find."
Orbiting a star in the Cygnus constellation referred to as Kepler-36a, the planets are designated Kepler-36b and Kepler-36c. Planet b is a rocky planet like Earth, though 4.5 times more massive and with a radius 1.5 times greater. Kepler-36c, which could be either gaseous like Jupiter or watery, is 8.1 times more massive than Earth and has a radius 3.7 times greater.
The larger planet was originally spotted in data from NASA's Kepler satellite, which uses an instrument called a photometer to measure light from distant celestial objects and can detect a planet when it transits, or passes in front of, and briefly reduces the light coming from, its parent star.
The team wanted to try finding a second planet in a system where it was already known that there was one planet. Agol suggested applying an algorithm called quasi-periodic pulse detection to examine data from Kepler.
Joshua Carter, a Hubble fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the other co-lead author of the Science paper, used the algorithm to begin methodically checking planetary systems already in the Kepler data and saw a clear signal in the Kepler-36a system.
"We found this one on a first quick look," Carter said. "We're now combing through the Kepler data to try to locate more."
The data revealed a slight dimming of light coming from Kepler-36a every 16 days, the length of time it takes the larger Kepler-36c to circle its star. Kepler-36b circles the star seven times for each six orbits of 36c, but it was not discovered initially because of its small size and the gravitational jostling by its orbital companion. But when the algorithm was applied to the data, the signal was unmistakable.
"If you look at the transit time pattern for the large planet and the transit time pattern for the smaller planet, they are mirror images of one another," Agol said.
The fact that the two planets are so close to each other and exhibit specific orbital patterns allowed the scientists to make fairly precise estimates of each planet's characteristics, based on their gravitational effects on each other and the resulting variations in the orbits. To date, this is the best-characterized system with small planets, the researchers said.
They believe the smaller planet is 30 percent iron, less than 1 percent atmospheric hydrogen and helium and probably no more than 15 percent water. The larger planet, on the other hand, likely has a rocky core surrounded by a substantial amount of atmospheric hydrogen and helium.
The planets' densities differ by a factor of eight but their orbits differ by only 10 percent, which makes the differences in composition difficult for the scientists to explain using current models of planet formation.
The team also calculated specific information for the star itself, determining that Kepler-36a is about the same mass as the sun but is just 25 percent as dense. It also is slightly hotter and has slightly less metal content. The researchers concluded that the star is a few billion years older than the sun and no longer burns hydrogen at its core, so has entered a sub-giant phase in which its radius is 60 percent greater than the sun's.
###
The research was funded by NASA, the Space Telescope Science Institute and the National Science Foundation. In addition to Agol and Carter, the Science paper has 44 co-authors from institutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark and The Netherlands.
For more information, contact Agol at 206-543-7106 or agol@astro.washington.edu or Carter at 617-495-7278 or jacarter@cfa.harvard.edu.
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Astronomers spy 2 planets in tight quarters as they orbit a distant starPublic release date: 21-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Vince Stricherz vinces@uw.edu 206-543-2580 University of Washington
A research team led by astronomers at the University of Washington and Harvard University has discovered a bigger version of Earth locked in an orbital tug-of-war with a much larger, Neptune-sized planet as they orbit very close to each other around the same star about 1,200 light years from Earth.
The planets occupy nearly the same orbital plane and on their closest approach come within about 1.2 million miles of each other just five times the Earth-moon distance and about 20 times closer to one another than any two planets in our solar system.
But the timing of their orbits means they'll never collide, said Eric Agol, a UW astronomy professor and co-lead author of a paper documenting the discovery published June 21 by Science Express, the online edition of the journal Science.
"These are the closest two planets to one another that have ever been found," Agol said. "The bigger planet is pushing the smaller planet around more, so the smaller planet is harder to find."
Orbiting a star in the Cygnus constellation referred to as Kepler-36a, the planets are designated Kepler-36b and Kepler-36c. Planet b is a rocky planet like Earth, though 4.5 times more massive and with a radius 1.5 times greater. Kepler-36c, which could be either gaseous like Jupiter or watery, is 8.1 times more massive than Earth and has a radius 3.7 times greater.
The larger planet was originally spotted in data from NASA's Kepler satellite, which uses an instrument called a photometer to measure light from distant celestial objects and can detect a planet when it transits, or passes in front of, and briefly reduces the light coming from, its parent star.
The team wanted to try finding a second planet in a system where it was already known that there was one planet. Agol suggested applying an algorithm called quasi-periodic pulse detection to examine data from Kepler.
Joshua Carter, a Hubble fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the other co-lead author of the Science paper, used the algorithm to begin methodically checking planetary systems already in the Kepler data and saw a clear signal in the Kepler-36a system.
"We found this one on a first quick look," Carter said. "We're now combing through the Kepler data to try to locate more."
The data revealed a slight dimming of light coming from Kepler-36a every 16 days, the length of time it takes the larger Kepler-36c to circle its star. Kepler-36b circles the star seven times for each six orbits of 36c, but it was not discovered initially because of its small size and the gravitational jostling by its orbital companion. But when the algorithm was applied to the data, the signal was unmistakable.
"If you look at the transit time pattern for the large planet and the transit time pattern for the smaller planet, they are mirror images of one another," Agol said.
The fact that the two planets are so close to each other and exhibit specific orbital patterns allowed the scientists to make fairly precise estimates of each planet's characteristics, based on their gravitational effects on each other and the resulting variations in the orbits. To date, this is the best-characterized system with small planets, the researchers said.
They believe the smaller planet is 30 percent iron, less than 1 percent atmospheric hydrogen and helium and probably no more than 15 percent water. The larger planet, on the other hand, likely has a rocky core surrounded by a substantial amount of atmospheric hydrogen and helium.
The planets' densities differ by a factor of eight but their orbits differ by only 10 percent, which makes the differences in composition difficult for the scientists to explain using current models of planet formation.
The team also calculated specific information for the star itself, determining that Kepler-36a is about the same mass as the sun but is just 25 percent as dense. It also is slightly hotter and has slightly less metal content. The researchers concluded that the star is a few billion years older than the sun and no longer burns hydrogen at its core, so has entered a sub-giant phase in which its radius is 60 percent greater than the sun's.
###
The research was funded by NASA, the Space Telescope Science Institute and the National Science Foundation. In addition to Agol and Carter, the Science paper has 44 co-authors from institutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark and The Netherlands.
For more information, contact Agol at 206-543-7106 or agol@astro.washington.edu or Carter at 617-495-7278 or jacarter@cfa.harvard.edu.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
DALLAS (AP) ? The pilots' union on Wednesday rejected the latest contract offer from American Airlines, which is awaiting a judge's ruling on whether it can impose its own terms for cutting costs that include eliminating thousands of jobs.
The union's board voted 11-5 to reject the company's offer. American said it was disappointed that the union didn't let members vote on the contract.
A federal bankruptcy judge is scheduled to rule Friday on whether American can break its current contracts with pilots and other union workers. The pilots' union wants in that ruling delayed.
American and parent AMR Corp., filed for bankruptcy protection in November. American is the nation's third-biggest airline behind United and Delta.
Its attempt to fix itself has been complicated by US Airways, which has taken steps toward a potential takeover of AMR ? something that AMR executives don't want to talk about yet. US Airways won the support of American's unions by promising fewer layoffs and even some wage increases if it buys AMR.
American wants to emerge from bankruptcy as an independent company. To do that, it says it must cut labor costs by $1.25 billion per year ? mostly by eliminating nearly 12,000 union jobs. American has about 75,000 employees including nearly 55,000 union members.
While pilots would bear only 400 of the immediate job losses, they have complained bitterly about other changes sought by American. A key ingredient to the turnaround plan is boosting revenue by selling seats on other U.S. airlines as if they were American flights.
American can't do that under the current contract with pilots, who fear that so-called code-sharing would mean fewer pilot jobs at American. But federal law lets companies in bankruptcy scuttle their union contracts if it's essential to their survival.
After several days of last-ditch negotiations, American made a new contract proposal to the pilots' union last week. The union said there were "clear improvements" over American's original plan but that some areas, such as scheduling, which affects a pilot's pay, were too vague.
"This is still a concessionary contract," said union spokesman Tom Hoban.
Still, Hoban said the two sides were "very close in many areas." He said that union President David Bates asked AMR CEO Thomas Horton to seek the judge's approval for more time to negotiate by pushing back Friday's deadline.
American Airlines spokesman Bruce Hicks said the company offered pay increases, profit sharing, stock in the company that emerges from bankruptcy, and freezing the pilots' pension plan instead of terminating it.
Hicks said American was disappointed that the union didn't let rank-and-file pilots vote on the offer. The Transport Workers Union, which represents American ground workers, let its members vote and five of the union's seven groups ratified company offers.
___
Follow David Koenig at http://www.twitter.com/airlinewriter
The USS Essex, a U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship, arrives in Hong Kong harbor for a scheduled port visit. The Essex had been positioned in Asia for 12 years and was returning to port in San Diego when it collided with a refueling ship off the coast of southern California on May 16.
By Kari Huus, msnbc.com
The Navy has fired the commander of the Navy assault ship Essex which collided with a Navy oil supply ship at sea last month, the Navy Times reported Tuesday.
Capt. Chuck Litchfield was relieved of his duties due to a "loss of confidence in his ability to command," over the May 16 collision, said the Times, citing Navy spokesperson Cmdr. Tamsen Reese.
The USS Essex, a big-deck amphibious assault ship ran into the USNS Yukon, a replenishment oiler during the approach for a routine refueling, about 120 miles off the coast of southern California on May 16, sending both ships to port for emergency repairs, the Navy News Service reported at the time of the collision. It said there were no injuries or fuel spills caused by the accident.
Navytimes.com
Capt. Chuck Litchfield has been fired as commanding officer of the amphibious assault ship Essex.
An ongoing investigation has indicated "a number of factors that contributed to the collision," according to Reese. The problem began with the partial loss of rudder control and was followed by "a breakdown in command and control, in bridge resource management and in communication between the two ships," she told the Times.
The Essex was returning to San Diego after completing 12 years as the Navy's only permanently forward-deployed amphibious assault ship in Sasebo, Japan.
Litchfield has been temporarily reassigned to the Naval Air Force Pacific staff in Coronado, the Navy Times reported.
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Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before the Joint Economic Committee on Capitol Hill earlier this month.
By Roland Jones
With the dark cloud of Europe?s ongoing financial crisis still hanging over the world financial system, the Federal Reserve opens a two-day meeting?Tuesday?with speculation swirling that policymakers could announce more stimulus to boost the U.S. economy.
A crucial Greek election over the weekend eased fears of an imminent financial disaster in the eurozone by handing?victory to New Democracy, a center-right party that supports Greece staying in the currency union. That means, for now at least, investors can stop worrying about the market chaos that would follow a Greek decision to?leave the eurozone.
Now the focus shifts to the Fed and how it might play its next hand.
Recent reports, including two straight months of weak job growth, suggest?economic growth is slowing again after a tepid recovery. That sets the stage for?Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to ask central bankers to approve more stimulus, although the options are limited. In?testimony this month Bernanke said the Fed stands ready to act if needed.
Opinions are divided over what the Fed will do.
Some economists expect policymakers to extend ?Operation Twist,? a program launched last fall that adjusts the composition of the government bonds held by the Fed by swapping short-term assets for longer-term assets. The idea is to push down long-term interest rates, making it easier for businesses and consumers to get credit. The program is due to end?June 30, although the?Fed could opt to extend it beyond that date.
Others are hoping for something stronger, such as another massive bond-buying program known as ?quantitative easing,? or QE, in which the Fed essentially?prints?money to buy long-term mortgage or Treasury bonds.
That would be?controversial?because past efforts have had a?questionable success rate, and it brings with it the risk of inflation down the road because it increases the money supply. Also, economists say the Fed is likely to want to keep something in its arsenal in case the?economic outlook worsens further?over the summer.
An extension of ?Operation Twist? is?the most likely first step, according to Former Richmond Fed President Al Broaddus.
?I think if there?s a significant risk, and action is needed, they may need to do something this week,? Broaddus told CNBC. ?My guess is it will be some kind of modification of Operation Twist.?
He said the?focus of the meeting would be?domestic U.S. conditions with some discussion of the eurozone crisis.
Barclays Capital strategists Alan James and Edmund Shing are also expecting an extension to the Fed?s Operation Twist, pointing to weakness in manufacturing output and in consumer sentiment.
?The soft patch in U.S. economic data keeps getting larger,? they wrote in a research note Monday.
One of the only other options open to the Fed is to adjust interest rates, which are already at record-low levels near zero. In January the Fed said it plans to hold down rates until late 2014 to sustain the economic recovery. The Fed would now have to signal to the market that it plans to hold rates down even further into the future.
The worsening debt crisis in Europe and fears over whether?Congress will hold off on tax increases and government spending cuts that are supposed to start in 2013 -- also known as the ?fiscal cliff? -- are weighing on consumer and business confidence.
Signs that Europe?s woes, which investors fear will have negative repercussions on the U.S. economy, are far from over were seen Monday when Spanish borrowing costs soared, with 10-year bond yields hitting 7.30 percent -- the highest in the eurozone?s history and above the rate that has forced other struggling euro-area nations to seek an international bailout.
Still, the troubles in Europe shouldn?t factor too heavily in the Fed?s plans this week, said Dino Kos, a former New York Fed executive vice president. Weakness in Europe should already be factored into the Fed?s forecast, he told CNBC.
?It shouldn?t really affect their thinking, although the situation has obviously gotten worse,? he said. ?The way it should impact their thinking is does the European slowdown affect U.S. growth, and does the growth then come down to such a degree that they need to counter it??
Kos said the best position for the Fed this week would be to hold fire, given the potential negative consequences of the fiscal cliff.
?Do you want the Federal Reserve to have something in reserve?? he said, noting that there are many uncertainties surrounding the fiscal cliff, given its timing, and the uncertainties about what the political situation will be at the end of the year.
?I would say they should wait,? he said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Dino Kos, former NY Federal Reserve Bank executive vice president and Alfred Broaddus, former Richmond Federal Reserve president, discuss the outcome of Sunday's election in Greece; the impact on U.S. markets and the economy; and whether the Fed will i...
Experts say that Osbourne has a promising range of treatment options. By Gil Kaufman
Jack Osbourne Photo: Getty Images
A few tell-tale signs are what clued Jack Osbourne into the fact that something was seriously wrong with his health. The son of hard rock icon Ozzy and "America's Got Talent" judge Sharon Osbourne revealed earlier this week that he has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis earlier this spring.
According to the "Today Show," Osbourne, 26, decided to visit a doctor when he noticed tingling in his extremities and suffered a 60 percent loss of vision in one eye.
MS is an autoimmune disease that attacks the central nervous system and which currently has no cure, but is very treatable. It causes inflammation in the brain and spinal cord resulting in the loss of myelin, the insulation around nerves. Among the symptoms are: loss of vision, numbness, tingling, excessive fatigue and weakness. The effects can range from mild to debilitating, but experts said that with the right mix of medications and doctors Osbourne has a good chance at leading a fulfilling life.
"The prognosis now is better than it's ever been," neurologist Dr. David Snyder, director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center at New York Hospital Queens told the morning show. "We have treatments we just never had before."
The disease can affect any organ system in the body, according to NBC chief medical editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman. "Every nerve has insulation around it and MS attacks that insulation so that the electrical impulses from the brain to tips of fingers and toes don't work as well," she said. The key for Osbourne is keeping in tune with any changes to his body and getting on the right mix of medicines to help slow down the progress of flare-ups.
"Now somebody on medication, treated early, we're very hopefully we're interrupting the natural course of the disease," Snyder said. "Patients are leading full lives, with families, jobs and travel."
While some people have not responded well to treatments, he said a large number do and lead full, if slightly modified, lives that may require a cane or other precautions. Around 400,000 people in the U.S. have MS, with 200 new cases diagnosed each week. Like other autoimmune diseases, MS affects more women than men, affecting females two to three times more than men.
Osbourne is right in peak age range in which most cases are diagnosed (late teens, 20s and 30s), which is why his revelation is not a surprise to experts. Snyder said that given Osbourne's age, his prognosis is relatively bright.
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Public release date: 21-Jun-2012
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