Observational astronomy Current Affairs, GK & News

NASA discovers first nearby super-earth planet GJ357d

The NASA scientists have characterized the first potentially habitable world outside our own solar system that may be suitable for life. The super-earth planet — named GJ 357 d — was spotted by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission. It is estimated that planet is about six times the size of our planet and ..

Topics: Astronomy • Circumstellar habitable zone • Exoplanetology • Exoplanets • GJ 357 d • Observational astronomy • Planet • Planetary science • Search for extraterrestrial intelligence • Space Science • Super-Earth • Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite

TESS Mission of NASA discovers its first Earth-size planet – HD 21749c

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Mission of NASA has discovered its first Earth-size planet – HD 21749c. The newly-discovered planet is about 89% Earth’s diameter. The planet is likely very hot, with surface temperatures perhaps as high as 800 degrees F (427 degrees C). It orbits HD 21749, a K-type dwarf star located 53 ..

Topics: Astronomy • Exoplanet • Exoplanetology • HD 21749 • Observational astronomy • Planet • Planetary science • Reticulum • Space observatories • Space Science • Transit • Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite

Earth’s fate predicted: Newfound tiny planet gives a glimpse

The ground based telescope picked up signals confirming planet revolving sun like star. The star belongs to the Milky Way galaxy. The star was identified using spectroscopic methods. It is in its white dwarf state. Eventually our sun is also likely to reach this stage in 5 billion years. As the star is running out ..

Topics: Astronomy • Comet • Exoplanetology • Extraterrestrial water • Formation and evolution of the Solar System • Natural sciences • Observational astronomy • Physical sciences • Planet • Planetary science • Planetary system

Nights are getting brighter : The light pollution

   As we have begun working in night too, excess light is dumped into the environments at nights. This is endangering ecosystems and harming animals. This is because their life cycles depend on dark. We are endangering ourselves by altering the biochemical rhythms. The International Dark Sky association defines light pollution as the excessive use ..

Category: Environment Current Affairs

Topics: Light • Light pollution • Lighting • Observational astronomy • Pollution • Street light • Visibility • Visual arts

LOFAR telescopes helped to discover 300000 new galaxies

An international team of more than 200 astronomers from 18 countries has published the first phase of a major new radio sky survey at unprecedented sensitivity using the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) telescope in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. The survey discovered 3,00,000 hidden galaxies using radio astronomy in a tiny corner of the northern ..

Topics: ASTRON • Astronomical imaging • Astronomy • LOFAR • Natural sciences • Observational astronomy • Physical sciences • Radio astronomy • Radio telescopes • Telescope • Westerveld

SOFIA

SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, is the largest airborne observatory in the world, capable of making observations that are impossible for even the largest and highest ground-based telescopes. It has the ability to produce a higher resolution image, three times higher in quality than those captured by other observatories. It is a joint ..

Topics: Airborne observatory • Astronomical imaging • Astronomical observatories • Astronomy • Infrared astronomy • Infrared imaging • Infrared telescopes • Observational astronomy • Observatory • Science • Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy • Telescope