MessageToEagle.com -
Researchers searching the galaxy for planets that could pass the litmus test of sustaining water-based life must
find whether those planets fall in what’s known as a habitable zone.
New work, led by a team of Penn State researchers, will help scientists in that search.
Using the latest data, the Penn State Department of Geosciences team developed an updated model for determining whether
discovered planets fall within a habitable zone – where they could be capable of having liquid water and thus sustaining
life.
Comparing the new estimates with the previous model, the team found that habitable zones are actually farther away from
the stars than previously thought.
“This has implications for finding other planets with life on them,” said post-doctoral researcher Ravi Kumar Kopparapu,
a lead investigator on the study.
For the paper, Kopparapu and graduate student Ramses Ramirez used updated absorption databases of greenhouse gases
(HITRAN and HITEMP). The databases have more accurate information on water and carbon dioxide than previously was
available and allowed the research team to build new estimates from the groundbreaking model Kasting created 20 years
ago for other stars.
Using that data and super computers at Penn State and the University of Washington, the team was able to calculate
habitable zones around other stars.
In the previous model, water and carbon dioxide were not being absorbed as strongly, so the planets had to be closer
to the star to be in the habitable zone.
The new model has already found that some extrasolar planets previously believed to be in habitable zones may, in fact,
not be.
The new model could also help scientists with research that is already under way.
For example, the model could be used
to see if planets the NASA Kepler mission discovers are within a habitable zone. The Kepler mission has found more than
2,000 potential systems that could be investigated.
The data could assist with the Habitable Zone Planet Finder that a team of scientists in the Department of Astronomy and
Astrophysics in Penn State’s Eberly College of Science is building. In 2011, that team received a National Science
Foundation grant to develop an instrument to find planets in habitable zones.
The precision spectrograph, which is under construction, will help scientists find Earth-sized planets in the Milky
Way that could sustain liquid water.
In the future, the model could also be useful for research done with Terrestrial Planet Finder telescopes, which would
guide users of the supersized telescopes on where to look.
While in the new model, Earth appears to be situated at the very edge of the habitable zone, the model doesn’t take
into account feedback from clouds, which reflect radiation away from the earth and stabilize the climate.
Teenage Girl Develops Cell Phone That Tests Your Heart
Catherine Wong is a 17-year-old high school student from New Jersey who she is already making a name for herself in both the science
and technology communities. Wong has developed a Bluetooth-enabled device that allows for remote cardiac examination.
No More Zoo Of Broken 3D Printed Objects -
A New Software Will Give Them Strength!
Objects created using 3-D printing have a common flaw: They are fragile and often fall apart or lose their shape.
"I have an entire zoo of broken 3-D printed objects in my office," said Bedrich Benes, an associate professor of computer graphics at Purdue University.
Become A Rocket Scientist And Space Cargo Pilot
With NASA's Free HIAD App!
Have you ever wanted to become a rocket scientist or space cargo pilot? How about mixing space science with a game?
Want to try your hand at landing an inflatable spacecraft? All you need is a smart phone, a computer or a tablet.
MessageToEagle.com -
Researchers searching the galaxy for planets that could pass the litmus test of sustaining water-based life must
find whether those planets fall in what’s known as a habitable zone.
All across the world there are people who love to stand outside and photograph the best our beautiful night sky has to offer.
Sometimes they can wait for hours just to take that one perfect shot! The results of these peoples' efforts...
The possibility of time travel have fascinated mankind for ages. We are all familiar with
the concept of the time machine, from H.G. Wells to current sci-fi writers, and there are physicists who say we cannot rule out time travel.
Catherine Wong is a 17-year-old high school student from New Jersey who she is already making a name for herself in both the science
and technology communities. Wong has developed a Bluetooth-enabled device that allows for remote cardiac examination.
Objects created using 3-D printing have a common flaw: They are fragile and often fall apart or lose their shape.
"I have an entire zoo of broken 3-D printed objects in my office," said Bedrich Benes, an associate professor of computer graphics at Purdue University.
Have you ever wanted to become a rocket scientist or space cargo pilot? How about mixing space science with a game?
Want to try your hand at landing an inflatable spacecraft? All you need is a smart phone, a computer or a tablet.
