[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Earth-sized alien planet gripped by widespread volcanism

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - An Earth-sized planet orbiting a dim star in our galactic neighborhood is offering some of the best evidence to date of volcanism beyond our solar system, with observations suggesting a rugged and rocky world tormented by constant eruptions.

Scientists said on Wednesday the planet, the third detected orbiting this particular star, is likely covered with volcanoes - similar to Jupiter's moon Io, the most volcanically active body in our solar system. In our solar system, Earth and Venus are volcanically active, as are some of Jupiter's moons.

The planet's volcanism was not directly observed but rather inferred due to its significant gravitational interaction with the larger of the two other planets orbiting the dim star. The gravitational tug from the larger planet may squeeze and flex the newly identified one, heating up its interior and causing surface volcanic activity, similar to Io, the researchers said.

Planets beyond our solar system are called exoplanets.

"There is not yet any direct observational evidence of exoplanet volcanism, but this planet is a particularly likely candidate," said University of Kansas astronomy professor Ian Crossfield, one of the authors of the research published in the journal Nature.

It is a planet that does not rotate - with one side perpetually in daylight and the other in darkness.

"On the dayside, it is too hot for liquid water, so it is likely very dry and hot - likely a desert. On the night side, there is possibly a large icy glacier," said study co-author Björn Benneke, head of the astronomy group at the University of Montreal.

"The most interesting region is near the terminator region where the day and nightside meet. Here, water from the nightside glacier can melt and possibly form liquid surface water. In addition, there is likely volcanism all around the planet, even under the ice on the nightside and possibly under the water near the terminator," Benneke said.

The planet is located in the Milky Way about 86 light-years away from our solar system in the direction of the constellation Crater. A light year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km).

It is slightly larger than Earth and orbits very close to a red dwarf star - a type much smaller than our sun, with relatively low mass and temperature - completing its elliptical journey around it in only 2.8 days.

Its surface temperature appears to be slightly warmer than Earth. It is situated on the inner edge of what is called the habitable zone, or Goldilocks zone, around the star - not too hot and not too cold, perhaps able to maintain liquid water on the surface and harbor life.

"I imagine a rugged, young surface for the planet after many millions of years of constant volcanic activity. Since the gravitational effects don't care about day and night side, I also suspect the volcanic activity to be evenly spread over the planetary surface," said University of California, Riverside planetary astrophysicist and study co-author Stephen Kane.

"Since the planet is so volcanically active, it is still contributing gases to the atmosphere from the interior. As such, the planet probably still has an atmosphere. The planet is unlikely to be habitable, however, since the total amount of energy makes for a quite hostile environment. Who knows? Life may find a way," Kane added.

Its orbit is sandwiched between the two other planets - the innermost one about 20% bigger than Earth and the outermost one about 250% the size of our planet.

The researchers spotted the planet using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and the now-retired Spitzer Space Telescope, as well as some ground-based observatories.

"There are still many unknowns regarding volcanism and how long a planet can maintain outgassing processes," Kane said, referring to the release of trapped gas that occurs with eruptions. "We only recently confirmed that Venus, Earth's twin planet, is volcanically active."

Reporting by Will Dunham, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien

[theluckycountry]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tanada', '
')Scientists said on Wednesday the planet, the third detected orbiting this particular star, is likely covered with volcanoes - similar to Jupiter's moon Io

[ralfy]

"William Shatner: My Trip to Space Filled Me With ‘Overwhelming Sadness’ (EXCLUSIVE)"

https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/willia ... 235395113/

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ')I continued my self-guided tour and turned my head to face the other direction, to stare into space. I love the mystery of the universe. I love all the questions that have come to us over thousands of years of exploration and hypotheses. Stars exploding years ago, their light traveling to us years later; black holes absorbing energy; satellites showing us entire galaxies in areas thought to be devoid of matter entirely… all of that has thrilled me for years… but when I looked in the opposite direction, into space, there was no mystery, no majestic awe to behold . . . all I saw was death.

I saw a cold, dark, black emptiness. It was unlike any blackness you can see or feel on Earth. It was deep, enveloping, all-encompassing. I turned back toward the light of home. I could see the curvature of Earth, the beige of the desert, the white of the clouds and the blue of the sky. It was life. Nurturing, sustaining, life. Mother Earth. Gaia. And I was leaving her.

[theluckycountry]

Bezos, Branson and Musk: Who is winning the space tourism race?
Updated 4 years ago
https://www.reuters.com/technology/bezo ... 021-07-06/

Four years is a long time my friends. Heard anything lately... Besides *crickets*
Time to add this one to the failed techno future list I think.

And the rich get richer
but not the promised space tourist angle, just commercial satellites now. Porn and gaming and youtube etc. "Space, The final money making frontier"

[theluckycountry]

Watch: SpaceX's Starship Static Rocket Test Suffers "Major Anomaly"

That means it blew the hell to pieces on the launch pad.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'B')loomberg pointed out that Starship testing has ended with a series of mid-air mishaps this year:

Last month, SpaceX's colossal Starship disintegrated mid- flight after spinning out of control. That loss was its third consecutive setback after flights in January and March were cut short just minutes after takeoff when the spacecraft exploded over the Gulf of Mexico,

[AgentR11]

I wonder if Starship is a fundamentally flawed design really. It keeps failing, often spectacularly.

Space is hard...

edit: Or maybe not, China's revised version of their upcoming Long March 9.... looks like Starship. Doubt they'd copy something that wasn't promising in some way or another.

hmph.

[theluckycountry]

When they sat the engineers down to discuss the possible failure rate of the Space shuttle all but one said it would have a catastrophic failure at a rate of around 1:100 flights. That is the nature of space travel they said, it's very dangerous. A lone engineer thought differently, he said Never, and NASA being a government program, promoted him to a lucrative PR job.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he space shuttle failed to live up to its primary goal of providing relatively cheap and efficient human space travel. There is a good reason for this. As the engineers made it clear to the physicist Richard Feynman when he was investigating the cause of the Challenger explosion, human space travel is risky. While Nasa managers had estimated the odds of a shuttle disaster to be microscopic, engineers estimated the loss rate at about 1 in 100 flights, which is close to the actual disaster rate.

[theluckycountry]

Harvard Scientist Accuses NASA of Coverup About Mysterious Comet

We have a grassy knoll folks.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'H')arvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has once again leveled accusations against NASA during an interview on the Joe Rogan Experience, this time claiming the agency is deliberately withholding a key image of the mysterious interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS.

The alleged photograph, taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), shows the comet when it passed within 30 million kilometers of Mars, which is a rare close encounter for an object originating from outside our solar system, according to Loeb, who chaired the Harvard’s Department of Astronomy from 2011 to 2020.

Avi Loeb tells Joe Rogan that NASA secretly imaged 3I/Atlas near Mars, and never shared it.
He’s asked for the data but hasn’t heard back.

[theluckycountry]

3I/Rama is now reported to be leaving the solar system with Elon Musk's youngest son, who was replaced on Earth by an android, and Stephen Hawkins ghost.

A Webb still.



Artists impression (AI artist) of the Vehicle

[AdamB]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Falconoffury', 'F')ermi's Paradox is a theory. You shouldn't use a theory to ignore real evidence.

[theluckycountry]

This shit makes me laugh.

Blue Origin decided to shift its focus from the edge of space to the Moon.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he company announced on Jan. 30 that it was pausing all of its suborbital commercial flights on its reusable New Shepard rocket for no less than two years in order to focus more resources on delivering a crewed lunar lander to NASA in time to meet Congress’s set deadline to establish a permanent human presence on or around the moon by 2030.

[AgentR11]

We like predictions around here, so I'm going to predict something. The US will *not* build a permanent base on the moon, ever. The Chinese will, with first modules going up around 2040 is my hunch. And the reason is pretty simple. I believe the Chinese are capable of answering the real problem. Go and safely return is anathema to permanent basing. Go and Stay is the answer. One way trips. Fairly long supported remaining lifespans. The human body *can* tolerate low G environments for a long time, its just that after said long time, the human body can't adapt back to Earth heavy G, so... don't try. Stay, Research, Build, Live, and Die.

I don't know whether this site will still be limping along in 2040, 15 years from now, but I bet there are human footprints being made on the moon by then, footprints that are more than just Go, Jab a Flag, and Leave. Unfortunately, I doubt their primary comms will be in English.