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"title": "Flurry of Exoplanets Found Outside the Milky Way: You Won't Believe How Many or How Far",
"headTitle": "Flurry of Exoplanets Found Outside the Milky Way: You Won’t Believe How Many or How Far | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Researchers using NASA’s \u003ca href=\"http://chandra.harvard.edu/learn_cxc.html\">Chandra X-ray Observatory\u003c/a> have announced the discovery of a huge assortment of extrasolar planets ranging in size from Earth’s moon to the planet Jupiter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An \u003ca href=\"http://www.planetary.org/explore/space-topics/exoplanets/\">extrasolar planet\u003c/a>, or exoplanet, is any planet found outside of our own solar system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The announcement was made by Xinyu Dai and Eduardo Guerras of the University of Oklahoma’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, and published in \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/aaa5fb/meta\">The Astrophysical Journal Letters\u003c/a>\u003c/em> on February 2nd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1919852\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarRX-J1131-1231-lensedbycentralgalaxy-UofOklahoma.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1919852 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarRX-J1131-1231-lensedbycentralgalaxy-UofOklahoma.jpg\" alt=\"Gravitational lens image captured through the Chandra X-ray Observatory. At center is the intervening elliptical galaxy, which is acting as the gravitational lens producing four magnified images (surrounding) of the background quasar RX J1131-1231. The host of exoplanets within the central elliptical galaxy were detected by their microlensing of the background quasar's X-ray emissions. \" width=\"720\" height=\"674\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarRX-J1131-1231-lensedbycentralgalaxy-UofOklahoma.jpg 720w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarRX-J1131-1231-lensedbycentralgalaxy-UofOklahoma-160x150.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarRX-J1131-1231-lensedbycentralgalaxy-UofOklahoma-240x225.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarRX-J1131-1231-lensedbycentralgalaxy-UofOklahoma-375x351.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarRX-J1131-1231-lensedbycentralgalaxy-UofOklahoma-520x487.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gravitational lens image captured through the Chandra X-ray Observatory. At center is the intervening elliptical galaxy, which is acting as the gravitational lens producing four magnified images (surrounding) of the background quasar RX J1131-1231. \u003ccite>(University of Oklahoma)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On its face, this news may not seem extraordinary; these days, announcements of new exoplanet discoveries come out monthly, if not weekly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The jaw-dropper here is \u003cem>where\u003c/em> they were found: in a very distant galaxy, 3.8 billion light years away, wandering free as \u003ca href=\"https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/wandering-in-the-void-billions-of-rogue-planets-without-a-home/\">“rogue” planets\u003c/a> in the darkness between the galaxy’s stars. Even more mind-blowing, the observational data indicates that there may be as many as 2,000 of them for \u003cem>every\u003c/em> star in that galaxy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meaning, \u003cem>trillions\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How Do We Know?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a galaxy that is 3.8 billion light years away, even individual stars cannot be seen — only the combined luminous “smudge” of multitudes of stars. So how is it possible to detect much smaller, non-luminous objects like planets at that distance?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The short answer is that this wouldn’t be possible, were it not for a phenomenon called\u003cem> \u003ca href=\"http://www.cfhtlens.org/public/what-gravitational-lensing\">gravitational lensing\u003c/a>\u003c/em>: the bending and focusing of light from a distant object by the gravitational field of another, intervening object.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The phenomenon can be likened to how a glass hand lens bends and focuses light, magnifying a light source — but in this case the “lens” is the gravitational field of a massive object in space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1919854\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/gravlens-nasa-esa-hubble.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1919854 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/gravlens-nasa-esa-hubble-800x529.jpg\" alt='A visible-light image of a gravitational lens captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. The central galaxy, LRG 3-757, is serving as a gravitational lens producing a distorted \"ring\" image of a more distant blue galaxy, positioned behind. ' width=\"800\" height=\"529\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/gravlens-nasa-esa-hubble-800x529.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/gravlens-nasa-esa-hubble-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/gravlens-nasa-esa-hubble-768x507.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/gravlens-nasa-esa-hubble-960x634.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/gravlens-nasa-esa-hubble-240x159.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/gravlens-nasa-esa-hubble-375x248.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/gravlens-nasa-esa-hubble-520x344.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/gravlens-nasa-esa-hubble.jpg 1014w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A visible-light image of a gravitational lens captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. The central galaxy, LRG 3-757, is serving as a gravitational lens producing a distorted “ring” image of a more distant blue galaxy, positioned behind. \u003ccite>(NASA/ESA/Hubble Space Telescope)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gravitational lensing was predicted by Einstein’s theory of Relativity, and has been observed and tested for decades. On a grand scale, gravitational lensing by enormous clusters of galaxies has been observed to magnify much more distant, background galaxies, yielding not only images of the background objects, but a measure of the lensing cluster’s mass based on the degree of light bending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a smaller scale, within our own galaxy, astronomers have detected almost a dozen exoplanets through gravitational lensing — or \u003ca href=\"http://www.planetary.org/explore/space-topics/exoplanets/microlensing.html\">\u003cem>microlensing\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, in the case where the lensing object is a single star or planet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first detection came in 2003, when an object named OGLE 2003-BLG-235 passed between Earth and a more distant star. As it passed, the object’s gravity bent and focused the star’s light toward us, temporarily magnifying it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The amount of amplification of the star’s light allowed astronomers to calculate the interposing object’s mass as 1.5 times that of Jupiter, which in turn identified it as a planet (as opposed to something more massive, like another star).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the detection of a single exoplanet by the gravitational microlensing of a single star’s light is a game that can only be played within our own galaxy, at distances where a singular star can be observed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Detecting exoplanets across 3.8 billion light years is a whole different ballgame.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1919855\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1919855 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-800x800.jpg\" alt=\"How Quasar Microlensing works: Light from a distant quasar passing through a nearer, intervening galaxy is focused and amplified by an object (in this example a star) that passes between the quasar and Earth. \" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-1180x1180.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-960x960.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-240x240.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-375x375.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-520x520.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-32x32.jpg 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-50x50.jpg 50w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-64x64.jpg 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-96x96.jpg 96w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-128x128.jpg 128w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh.jpg 1300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">How quasar microlensing works: Light from a distant quasar passing through a nearer, intervening galaxy is focused and amplified by an object (in this example a star) that passes between the quasar and Earth. \u003ccite>(Alastair Bruce/University of Edinburgh)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Window Into Another Galaxy\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dai and Guerras took advantage of the microlensing phenomenon on a grand scale, using the Chandra X-ray Observatory to measure the emissions of a \u003ca href=\"http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/Q/Quasar\">quasar\u003c/a> positioned behind their target galaxy. A quasar is the extremely luminous core of a galaxy with an active, \u003ca href=\"http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/S/Supermassive+Black+Hole\">supermassive black hole\u003c/a> at its center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Analyzing the X-ray data from the background quasar, they searched for microlensing effects caused by any objects within the intervening galaxy, and a pattern emerged — one that could only be explained by the presence of large numbers of planet-sized objects, drifting independently between the galaxy’s stars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though no individual exoplanets were spotted — the distance is too great for that — the patterns produced by multitudes of planetary bodies revealed the exoplanet population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To push an analogy, if you’ve ever seen a halo around the sun then you might get a sense for how these exoplanets were detected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A sun halo is formed by the combined bending (or refraction) of sunlight caused by multitudes of water droplets or ice crystals in the atmosphere between you and the sun. Though the droplets are too small and too far away for you to see, their combined effect on the sunlight makes their presence known, and the size and colors of the halo can indicate the properties of the refracting particles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a sense, the X-rays shining from the background quasar passed through a “mist” of exoplanets, and the pattern of their combined microlensing effects revealed them to us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Conventional Exoplanet Discoveries\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until now, all the \u003ca href=\"https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/\">confirmed detections of exoplanets\u003c/a>, numbering more than 3,600, are located inside our Milky Way galaxy, and almost all of these orbit stars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, it is because these exoplanets orbit stars that we can detect them at all. The two main ways for finding exoplanets, the “\u003ca href=\"https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/interactable/11/#/1\">radial velocity\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/interactable/11/#/2\">transit\u003c/a>” methods, depend on it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These methods have turned up thousands of exoplanets in the Milky Way — especially the transit method, which NASA’s ace exoplanet hunter, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/main/index.html\">Kepler\u003c/a> spacecraft, has used to confirm 2,341 of all known exoplanets (as of February 8).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The estimate of 2,000 rogue exoplanets for every star in that distant galaxy is an astounding figure. It means that there may be trillions of planets floating around that one galaxy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Does this mean that other galaxies possess similar populations of rogue planets? Is our own Milky Way galaxy filled with unseen, dark worlds lurking in the space between the stars?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It has been estimated that there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all of Earth’s beaches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Move over stars; you may be far outnumbered by planets!\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Researchers using NASA’s \u003ca href=\"http://chandra.harvard.edu/learn_cxc.html\">Chandra X-ray Observatory\u003c/a> have announced the discovery of a huge assortment of extrasolar planets ranging in size from Earth’s moon to the planet Jupiter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An \u003ca href=\"http://www.planetary.org/explore/space-topics/exoplanets/\">extrasolar planet\u003c/a>, or exoplanet, is any planet found outside of our own solar system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The announcement was made by Xinyu Dai and Eduardo Guerras of the University of Oklahoma’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, and published in \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/aaa5fb/meta\">The Astrophysical Journal Letters\u003c/a>\u003c/em> on February 2nd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1919852\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarRX-J1131-1231-lensedbycentralgalaxy-UofOklahoma.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1919852 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarRX-J1131-1231-lensedbycentralgalaxy-UofOklahoma.jpg\" alt=\"Gravitational lens image captured through the Chandra X-ray Observatory. At center is the intervening elliptical galaxy, which is acting as the gravitational lens producing four magnified images (surrounding) of the background quasar RX J1131-1231. The host of exoplanets within the central elliptical galaxy were detected by their microlensing of the background quasar's X-ray emissions. \" width=\"720\" height=\"674\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarRX-J1131-1231-lensedbycentralgalaxy-UofOklahoma.jpg 720w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarRX-J1131-1231-lensedbycentralgalaxy-UofOklahoma-160x150.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarRX-J1131-1231-lensedbycentralgalaxy-UofOklahoma-240x225.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarRX-J1131-1231-lensedbycentralgalaxy-UofOklahoma-375x351.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarRX-J1131-1231-lensedbycentralgalaxy-UofOklahoma-520x487.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gravitational lens image captured through the Chandra X-ray Observatory. At center is the intervening elliptical galaxy, which is acting as the gravitational lens producing four magnified images (surrounding) of the background quasar RX J1131-1231. \u003ccite>(University of Oklahoma)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On its face, this news may not seem extraordinary; these days, announcements of new exoplanet discoveries come out monthly, if not weekly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The jaw-dropper here is \u003cem>where\u003c/em> they were found: in a very distant galaxy, 3.8 billion light years away, wandering free as \u003ca href=\"https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/wandering-in-the-void-billions-of-rogue-planets-without-a-home/\">“rogue” planets\u003c/a> in the darkness between the galaxy’s stars. Even more mind-blowing, the observational data indicates that there may be as many as 2,000 of them for \u003cem>every\u003c/em> star in that galaxy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meaning, \u003cem>trillions\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How Do We Know?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a galaxy that is 3.8 billion light years away, even individual stars cannot be seen — only the combined luminous “smudge” of multitudes of stars. So how is it possible to detect much smaller, non-luminous objects like planets at that distance?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The short answer is that this wouldn’t be possible, were it not for a phenomenon called\u003cem> \u003ca href=\"http://www.cfhtlens.org/public/what-gravitational-lensing\">gravitational lensing\u003c/a>\u003c/em>: the bending and focusing of light from a distant object by the gravitational field of another, intervening object.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The phenomenon can be likened to how a glass hand lens bends and focuses light, magnifying a light source — but in this case the “lens” is the gravitational field of a massive object in space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1919854\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/gravlens-nasa-esa-hubble.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1919854 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/gravlens-nasa-esa-hubble-800x529.jpg\" alt='A visible-light image of a gravitational lens captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. The central galaxy, LRG 3-757, is serving as a gravitational lens producing a distorted \"ring\" image of a more distant blue galaxy, positioned behind. ' width=\"800\" height=\"529\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/gravlens-nasa-esa-hubble-800x529.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/gravlens-nasa-esa-hubble-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/gravlens-nasa-esa-hubble-768x507.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/gravlens-nasa-esa-hubble-960x634.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/gravlens-nasa-esa-hubble-240x159.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/gravlens-nasa-esa-hubble-375x248.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/gravlens-nasa-esa-hubble-520x344.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/gravlens-nasa-esa-hubble.jpg 1014w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A visible-light image of a gravitational lens captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. The central galaxy, LRG 3-757, is serving as a gravitational lens producing a distorted “ring” image of a more distant blue galaxy, positioned behind. \u003ccite>(NASA/ESA/Hubble Space Telescope)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gravitational lensing was predicted by Einstein’s theory of Relativity, and has been observed and tested for decades. On a grand scale, gravitational lensing by enormous clusters of galaxies has been observed to magnify much more distant, background galaxies, yielding not only images of the background objects, but a measure of the lensing cluster’s mass based on the degree of light bending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a smaller scale, within our own galaxy, astronomers have detected almost a dozen exoplanets through gravitational lensing — or \u003ca href=\"http://www.planetary.org/explore/space-topics/exoplanets/microlensing.html\">\u003cem>microlensing\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, in the case where the lensing object is a single star or planet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first detection came in 2003, when an object named OGLE 2003-BLG-235 passed between Earth and a more distant star. As it passed, the object’s gravity bent and focused the star’s light toward us, temporarily magnifying it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The amount of amplification of the star’s light allowed astronomers to calculate the interposing object’s mass as 1.5 times that of Jupiter, which in turn identified it as a planet (as opposed to something more massive, like another star).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the detection of a single exoplanet by the gravitational microlensing of a single star’s light is a game that can only be played within our own galaxy, at distances where a singular star can be observed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Detecting exoplanets across 3.8 billion light years is a whole different ballgame.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1919855\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1919855 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-800x800.jpg\" alt=\"How Quasar Microlensing works: Light from a distant quasar passing through a nearer, intervening galaxy is focused and amplified by an object (in this example a star) that passes between the quasar and Earth. \" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-1180x1180.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-960x960.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-240x240.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-375x375.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-520x520.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-32x32.jpg 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-50x50.jpg 50w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-64x64.jpg 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-96x96.jpg 96w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-128x128.jpg 128w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/02/quasarmicrolensing-Alastair-Bruce_University-of-Edinburgh.jpg 1300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">How quasar microlensing works: Light from a distant quasar passing through a nearer, intervening galaxy is focused and amplified by an object (in this example a star) that passes between the quasar and Earth. \u003ccite>(Alastair Bruce/University of Edinburgh)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Window Into Another Galaxy\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dai and Guerras took advantage of the microlensing phenomenon on a grand scale, using the Chandra X-ray Observatory to measure the emissions of a \u003ca href=\"http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/Q/Quasar\">quasar\u003c/a> positioned behind their target galaxy. A quasar is the extremely luminous core of a galaxy with an active, \u003ca href=\"http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/S/Supermassive+Black+Hole\">supermassive black hole\u003c/a> at its center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Analyzing the X-ray data from the background quasar, they searched for microlensing effects caused by any objects within the intervening galaxy, and a pattern emerged — one that could only be explained by the presence of large numbers of planet-sized objects, drifting independently between the galaxy’s stars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though no individual exoplanets were spotted — the distance is too great for that — the patterns produced by multitudes of planetary bodies revealed the exoplanet population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To push an analogy, if you’ve ever seen a halo around the sun then you might get a sense for how these exoplanets were detected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A sun halo is formed by the combined bending (or refraction) of sunlight caused by multitudes of water droplets or ice crystals in the atmosphere between you and the sun. Though the droplets are too small and too far away for you to see, their combined effect on the sunlight makes their presence known, and the size and colors of the halo can indicate the properties of the refracting particles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a sense, the X-rays shining from the background quasar passed through a “mist” of exoplanets, and the pattern of their combined microlensing effects revealed them to us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Conventional Exoplanet Discoveries\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until now, all the \u003ca href=\"https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/\">confirmed detections of exoplanets\u003c/a>, numbering more than 3,600, are located inside our Milky Way galaxy, and almost all of these orbit stars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, it is because these exoplanets orbit stars that we can detect them at all. The two main ways for finding exoplanets, the “\u003ca href=\"https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/interactable/11/#/1\">radial velocity\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/interactable/11/#/2\">transit\u003c/a>” methods, depend on it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These methods have turned up thousands of exoplanets in the Milky Way — especially the transit method, which NASA’s ace exoplanet hunter, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/main/index.html\">Kepler\u003c/a> spacecraft, has used to confirm 2,341 of all known exoplanets (as of February 8).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The estimate of 2,000 rogue exoplanets for every star in that distant galaxy is an astounding figure. It means that there may be trillions of planets floating around that one galaxy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Does this mean that other galaxies possess similar populations of rogue planets? Is our own Milky Way galaxy filled with unseen, dark worlds lurking in the space between the stars?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It has been estimated that there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all of Earth’s beaches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Move over stars; you may be far outnumbered by planets!\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Lunar Jackpot: Super Blue Moon, \u003cem>and\u003c/em> a Total Lunar Eclipse",
"headTitle": "Lunar Jackpot: Super Blue Moon, and a Total Lunar Eclipse | KQED",
"content": "\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\n\u003ch3>Ask An Astronomer!\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch4>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/kqedscience/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Watch Our Earlier Facebook Livestream\u003c/a>\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>KQED Science answered your questions in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/kqedscience/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook Q&A\u003c/a> with Ben Burress, a staff astronomer at the Chabot Space & Science Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Updated Tuesday, January 30, 2018, 12:30 p.m.\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rare lunar treat begins after midnight tonight\u003cem>,\u003c/em> when you can see a blue moon, a super moon, and a total lunar eclipse – what some people are calling the “super blue blood moon.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A blue moon is the second full moon in a month, while a super moon is when the moon looks especially large and bright due to its close proximity to Earth at that time. A total lunar eclipse – what some call a blood moon for its reddish tinge – is when the moon becomes completely cloaked as it passes through Earth’s shadow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The last time this rare trio occurred was in 1982 and it won’t happen again until 2037.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Chabot Space & Science Center will \u003ca href=\"http://www.chabotspace.com/eclipses\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">open its observatory deck\u003c/a> with telescopes at 3 a.m. for the special viewing. \u003ca href=\"http://NASA.gov/live\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA will live stream\u003c/a> the super blue blood moon and total eclipse starting at 2:30 a.m. Pacific.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The full moon rises tonight as the sun sets, at 4:53 on the West Coast. You’ll be able to see the full, blue, and super moon all night long. The lunar eclipse begins at 3:48 a.m., with a total eclipse beginning at 4:51 a.m. and lasting until 6:08.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the United States, the western half of the U.S. and Canada will have the greatest visibility of the eclipse while the East Coast will miss out since the moon will be setting just as the eclipse begins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Have questions about the special lunar event? KQED will host a live Facebook Q&A session at 1:30 p.m. today with Ben Burress, a staff astronomer at the Chabot Space & Science Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Original Post:\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On January 31st, we will be rewarded with a winning spin in the celestial jackpot machine. On this day the full moon is also a super moon, a blue moon, and, oh, yes, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/total-lunar-eclipse\">total lunar eclipse\u003c/a>!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Super Moon\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The full moon happens every month, of course. Even so, it’s still a beautiful thing to see. With the moon at the opposite end of the sky from the sun, we see its fully sunlit face, without a hint of the shadow of lunar night. Full moon is bright, reflecting pale sunlight onto the nighttime world around you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to being fully lit, the full moon on January 31 will be a \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://moon.nasa.gov/news/29/teachable-moment-whats-a-supermoon-and-just-how-super-is-it/\">super moon\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, slightly larger and notably brighter than a garden-variety full moon because it is near its closest approach to Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918814\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1918814\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-800x760.jpg\" alt=\"The Full Moon. \" width=\"800\" height=\"760\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-800x760.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-160x152.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-768x730.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-1020x969.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-1920x1825.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-1180x1121.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-960x912.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-240x228.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-375x356.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-520x494.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Full Moon. \u003ccite>(Gregory H. Revera)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The moon orbits the Earth on an elliptical path, with Earth closer to one of the ellipse’s ends. Over the course of one lunar orbit, the distance between Earth and moon changes continually, going from closest (perigee) at one end of the ellipse to farthest (apogee) at the other end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though the moon passes through perigee with every orbit, it is far less common for perigee to coincide with the full moon phase, when the moon is on the opposite side of Earth from the sun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when perigee does coincide with full moon (or new moon, for that matter), it is called a super moon. The term was coined in 1979, and defined as any full moon (or new moon) that is within 90 percent of its perigee distance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918865\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 728px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1918865\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moonorbitdiagram.jpg\" alt=\"Diagram of the Moon's elliptical orbit around Earth, showing its position at perigee and apogee. The ellipse has been exaggerated, and the distances between Earth and Moon are not to scale. \" width=\"728\" height=\"369\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moonorbitdiagram.jpg 728w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moonorbitdiagram-160x81.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moonorbitdiagram-240x122.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moonorbitdiagram-375x190.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moonorbitdiagram-520x264.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Diagram of the Moon’s elliptical orbit around Earth, showing its position at perigee and apogee. The ellipse has been exaggerated, and the distances between Earth and Moon are not to scale. \u003ccite>(B. Burress)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A super moon appears about 14 percent larger than the full moon at apogee (its farthest distance).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Judging the apparent size of the full moon when it is closest and farthest isn’t easy, since we can’t compare the difference at the same time. If you set a penny and a nickel side by side, it’s easy to see the difference in their sizes, but try holding up a penny right now, then tomorrow hold up a nickel to compare the two coins’ sizes—not as easy!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The difference in size between a penny and a nickel is roughly that of the full moon at apogee and perigee—not a huge difference, but notable if you compare photographs of the two.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, the famous “Moon Illusion,” the perceptual effect we experience when the moon appears much larger near the horizon than it does high in the sky, is greater than the physical apogee/perigee difference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918812\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1918812\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Comparison of the apparent size of the Moon at perigee (closest approach to Earth) and apogee (farthest distance): about the same difference as between a nickel and a penny. \" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech-520x293.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Comparison of the apparent size of the Moon at perigee (closest approach to Earth) and apogee (farthest distance): about the same difference as between a nickel and a penny. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL-Caltech)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The bigger effect of super moon is in the moon’s brightness. The perigee full moon is about 30 percent brighter than the apogee full moon. That’s almost like turning up the dimmer on a light bulb from two-third to full brightness. So, the super moon, and the landscape it illuminates, will be that much brighter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Blue Moon\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yes, the cosmic jackpot tumblers turned up a \u003ca href=\"https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/blue-moon.html\">blue moon\u003c/a> this time too. No, it doesn’t mean the moon will appear blue (at least, no bluer than usual). What it does mean—at least in modern popular culture—is any second full moon occurring in the same calendar month. So, we call the full moon of January 31st a blue moon because there was also full moon on January 1st.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This modern popular definition arose from a misinterpretation, in 1946, of a definition used in the Farmers’ Almanac in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Farmers’ Almanac listed blue moons as “the third Full Moon in a quarter-year that has four Full Moons.” (Ordinarily, a quarter-year has three full moons.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Total Lunar Eclipse\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps the biggest headliner, or the luckiest jackpot tumbler, of this night is \u003ca href=\"https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2018Jan31T.pdf\">the total lunar eclipse\u003c/a>—a sight, if conditions permit you to see it, that will blow away any full moon, even super ones, or even any that might appear blue….\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During this full moon, \u003ca href=\"https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/moonorbit.html\">the sun, Earth, and moon\u003c/a> are lined up almost perfectly, and the moon will pass right through Earth’s shadow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918819\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1918819\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/1-seeaflirtati-800x489.jpg\" alt=\"Diagram showing the sun-Earth-Moon relationship during a Total Lunar Eclipse. Note to scale. \" width=\"800\" height=\"489\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/1-seeaflirtati-800x489.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/1-seeaflirtati-160x98.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/1-seeaflirtati-768x469.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/1-seeaflirtati-1020x623.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/1-seeaflirtati-960x587.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/1-seeaflirtati-240x147.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/1-seeaflirtati-375x229.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/1-seeaflirtati-520x318.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/1-seeaflirtati.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Diagram showing the sun-Earth-Moon relationship during a Total Lunar Eclipse. Note to scale. \u003ccite>(Starry Night/Bob King)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The moon first enters Earth’s “penumbral” (partial) shadow at 2:51 AM PST, though the shadow’s appearance is subtle and you may not notice it. If you’re planning to get up early to see this eclipse, my advice is to stay in bed a bit longer, and get up to see the beginning of the partial eclipse, when the moon enters Earth’s “umbral,” or full, shadow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Partial eclipse begins at 3:48 AM (I know, it’s still early, but you got almost an extra hour of sleep!). Now, you should begin to see one edge of the full moon darken a bit, as if a tiny piece of a cookie has been nibbled away. Then it only gets better, the umbral shadow growing until finally it covers the entire moon, and “totality” begins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Totality begins at 4:51 a.m., and lasts until 6:08 a.m. PST. During this time, the moon, fully engulfed in the Earth’s umbral shadow, will darken considerably, and may acquire a dim orange or rusty red hue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Red? I thought tonight’s moon was Blue….\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=”dddoJ9UqelbAKv0dFdbt9bPDOURQvPit”]The orange/red coloration you may see is caused by Earth’s atmosphere. Though the moon is fully within Earth’s shadow, with no direct sunlight falling on it, some sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere is refracted, or bent, and directed into Earth’s umbra—so the moon doesn’t go completely dark.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The light is red because Earth’s atmosphere filters out the sunlight’s bluer colors, and lets the redder tones pass through, like a piece of red colored glass. You see the same effect at sunrise or sunset, when the sun may turn to orange or reddish hues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you were on the moon looking back at the Earth during totality, you would see the dark silhouette of the Earth rimmed by a ring of orange and red—literally the light of all the sunrises and sunsets happening on Earth at that moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Following the end of totality (6:08 AM), the partial eclipse will continue until 7:11 AM—shortly before moonset at 7:19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, if the tumblers will align in such lucky fashion on January 31st, is this a good time to buy a Lotto ticket?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No comment.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "In the early hours of Wednesday morning, you can see this triple lunar treat, while the full blue super moon will be visible all night long.",
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"description": "In the early hours of Wednesday morning, you can see this triple lunar treat, while the full blue super moon will be visible all night long.",
"title": "Lunar Jackpot: Super Blue Moon, \u003cem>and\u003c/em> a Total Lunar Eclipse | KQED",
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"headline": "Lunar Jackpot: Super Blue Moon, \u003cem>and\u003c/em> a Total Lunar Eclipse",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\n\u003ch3>Ask An Astronomer!\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch4>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/kqedscience/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Watch Our Earlier Facebook Livestream\u003c/a>\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>KQED Science answered your questions in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/kqedscience/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook Q&A\u003c/a> with Ben Burress, a staff astronomer at the Chabot Space & Science Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Updated Tuesday, January 30, 2018, 12:30 p.m.\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rare lunar treat begins after midnight tonight\u003cem>,\u003c/em> when you can see a blue moon, a super moon, and a total lunar eclipse – what some people are calling the “super blue blood moon.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A blue moon is the second full moon in a month, while a super moon is when the moon looks especially large and bright due to its close proximity to Earth at that time. A total lunar eclipse – what some call a blood moon for its reddish tinge – is when the moon becomes completely cloaked as it passes through Earth’s shadow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The last time this rare trio occurred was in 1982 and it won’t happen again until 2037.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Chabot Space & Science Center will \u003ca href=\"http://www.chabotspace.com/eclipses\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">open its observatory deck\u003c/a> with telescopes at 3 a.m. for the special viewing. \u003ca href=\"http://NASA.gov/live\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA will live stream\u003c/a> the super blue blood moon and total eclipse starting at 2:30 a.m. Pacific.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The full moon rises tonight as the sun sets, at 4:53 on the West Coast. You’ll be able to see the full, blue, and super moon all night long. The lunar eclipse begins at 3:48 a.m., with a total eclipse beginning at 4:51 a.m. and lasting until 6:08.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the United States, the western half of the U.S. and Canada will have the greatest visibility of the eclipse while the East Coast will miss out since the moon will be setting just as the eclipse begins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Have questions about the special lunar event? KQED will host a live Facebook Q&A session at 1:30 p.m. today with Ben Burress, a staff astronomer at the Chabot Space & Science Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Original Post:\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On January 31st, we will be rewarded with a winning spin in the celestial jackpot machine. On this day the full moon is also a super moon, a blue moon, and, oh, yes, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/total-lunar-eclipse\">total lunar eclipse\u003c/a>!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Super Moon\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The full moon happens every month, of course. Even so, it’s still a beautiful thing to see. With the moon at the opposite end of the sky from the sun, we see its fully sunlit face, without a hint of the shadow of lunar night. Full moon is bright, reflecting pale sunlight onto the nighttime world around you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to being fully lit, the full moon on January 31 will be a \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://moon.nasa.gov/news/29/teachable-moment-whats-a-supermoon-and-just-how-super-is-it/\">super moon\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, slightly larger and notably brighter than a garden-variety full moon because it is near its closest approach to Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918814\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1918814\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-800x760.jpg\" alt=\"The Full Moon. \" width=\"800\" height=\"760\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-800x760.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-160x152.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-768x730.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-1020x969.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-1920x1825.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-1180x1121.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-960x912.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-240x228.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-375x356.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/FullMoon2010-Gregory-H.-Revera-520x494.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Full Moon. \u003ccite>(Gregory H. Revera)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The moon orbits the Earth on an elliptical path, with Earth closer to one of the ellipse’s ends. Over the course of one lunar orbit, the distance between Earth and moon changes continually, going from closest (perigee) at one end of the ellipse to farthest (apogee) at the other end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though the moon passes through perigee with every orbit, it is far less common for perigee to coincide with the full moon phase, when the moon is on the opposite side of Earth from the sun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when perigee does coincide with full moon (or new moon, for that matter), it is called a super moon. The term was coined in 1979, and defined as any full moon (or new moon) that is within 90 percent of its perigee distance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918865\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 728px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1918865\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moonorbitdiagram.jpg\" alt=\"Diagram of the Moon's elliptical orbit around Earth, showing its position at perigee and apogee. The ellipse has been exaggerated, and the distances between Earth and Moon are not to scale. \" width=\"728\" height=\"369\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moonorbitdiagram.jpg 728w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moonorbitdiagram-160x81.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moonorbitdiagram-240x122.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moonorbitdiagram-375x190.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moonorbitdiagram-520x264.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Diagram of the Moon’s elliptical orbit around Earth, showing its position at perigee and apogee. The ellipse has been exaggerated, and the distances between Earth and Moon are not to scale. \u003ccite>(B. Burress)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A super moon appears about 14 percent larger than the full moon at apogee (its farthest distance).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Judging the apparent size of the full moon when it is closest and farthest isn’t easy, since we can’t compare the difference at the same time. If you set a penny and a nickel side by side, it’s easy to see the difference in their sizes, but try holding up a penny right now, then tomorrow hold up a nickel to compare the two coins’ sizes—not as easy!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The difference in size between a penny and a nickel is roughly that of the full moon at apogee and perigee—not a huge difference, but notable if you compare photographs of the two.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, the famous “Moon Illusion,” the perceptual effect we experience when the moon appears much larger near the horizon than it does high in the sky, is greater than the physical apogee/perigee difference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918812\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1918812\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Comparison of the apparent size of the Moon at perigee (closest approach to Earth) and apogee (farthest distance): about the same difference as between a nickel and a penny. \" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech-520x293.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/moon-apogee-perigee-coins-nasajplcaltech.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Comparison of the apparent size of the Moon at perigee (closest approach to Earth) and apogee (farthest distance): about the same difference as between a nickel and a penny. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL-Caltech)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The bigger effect of super moon is in the moon’s brightness. The perigee full moon is about 30 percent brighter than the apogee full moon. That’s almost like turning up the dimmer on a light bulb from two-third to full brightness. So, the super moon, and the landscape it illuminates, will be that much brighter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Blue Moon\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yes, the cosmic jackpot tumblers turned up a \u003ca href=\"https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/blue-moon.html\">blue moon\u003c/a> this time too. No, it doesn’t mean the moon will appear blue (at least, no bluer than usual). What it does mean—at least in modern popular culture—is any second full moon occurring in the same calendar month. So, we call the full moon of January 31st a blue moon because there was also full moon on January 1st.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This modern popular definition arose from a misinterpretation, in 1946, of a definition used in the Farmers’ Almanac in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Farmers’ Almanac listed blue moons as “the third Full Moon in a quarter-year that has four Full Moons.” (Ordinarily, a quarter-year has three full moons.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Total Lunar Eclipse\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps the biggest headliner, or the luckiest jackpot tumbler, of this night is \u003ca href=\"https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2018Jan31T.pdf\">the total lunar eclipse\u003c/a>—a sight, if conditions permit you to see it, that will blow away any full moon, even super ones, or even any that might appear blue….\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During this full moon, \u003ca href=\"https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/moonorbit.html\">the sun, Earth, and moon\u003c/a> are lined up almost perfectly, and the moon will pass right through Earth’s shadow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918819\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1918819\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/1-seeaflirtati-800x489.jpg\" alt=\"Diagram showing the sun-Earth-Moon relationship during a Total Lunar Eclipse. Note to scale. \" width=\"800\" height=\"489\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/1-seeaflirtati-800x489.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/1-seeaflirtati-160x98.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/1-seeaflirtati-768x469.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/1-seeaflirtati-1020x623.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/1-seeaflirtati-960x587.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/1-seeaflirtati-240x147.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/1-seeaflirtati-375x229.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/1-seeaflirtati-520x318.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/1-seeaflirtati.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Diagram showing the sun-Earth-Moon relationship during a Total Lunar Eclipse. Note to scale. \u003ccite>(Starry Night/Bob King)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The moon first enters Earth’s “penumbral” (partial) shadow at 2:51 AM PST, though the shadow’s appearance is subtle and you may not notice it. If you’re planning to get up early to see this eclipse, my advice is to stay in bed a bit longer, and get up to see the beginning of the partial eclipse, when the moon enters Earth’s “umbral,” or full, shadow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Partial eclipse begins at 3:48 AM (I know, it’s still early, but you got almost an extra hour of sleep!). Now, you should begin to see one edge of the full moon darken a bit, as if a tiny piece of a cookie has been nibbled away. Then it only gets better, the umbral shadow growing until finally it covers the entire moon, and “totality” begins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Totality begins at 4:51 a.m., and lasts until 6:08 a.m. PST. During this time, the moon, fully engulfed in the Earth’s umbral shadow, will darken considerably, and may acquire a dim orange or rusty red hue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Red? I thought tonight’s moon was Blue….\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>The orange/red coloration you may see is caused by Earth’s atmosphere. Though the moon is fully within Earth’s shadow, with no direct sunlight falling on it, some sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere is refracted, or bent, and directed into Earth’s umbra—so the moon doesn’t go completely dark.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The light is red because Earth’s atmosphere filters out the sunlight’s bluer colors, and lets the redder tones pass through, like a piece of red colored glass. You see the same effect at sunrise or sunset, when the sun may turn to orange or reddish hues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you were on the moon looking back at the Earth during totality, you would see the dark silhouette of the Earth rimmed by a ring of orange and red—literally the light of all the sunrises and sunsets happening on Earth at that moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Following the end of totality (6:08 AM), the partial eclipse will continue until 7:11 AM—shortly before moonset at 7:19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, if the tumblers will align in such lucky fashion on January 31st, is this a good time to buy a Lotto ticket?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "The Real News Is That NASA Found That Eighth Planet Using Artificial Intelligence",
"headTitle": "The Real News Is That NASA Found That Eighth Planet Using Artificial Intelligence | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>NASA’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/main/index.html\">Kepler mission\u003c/a> announced in December the discovery of an eighth planet orbiting Kepler 90, a sun-like star located about 2,500 light years from Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The discovery is noteworthy not only for the fact that Kepler 90 \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/S_HRh0ZynjE\">possesses as many planets\u003c/a> as our own solar system, but also for how NASA made the discovery: using artificial intelligence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918611\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 625px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1918611\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90i-artistconcept-nasa.jpg\" alt=\"Artist concept of Kepler 90i.\" width=\"625\" height=\"352\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90i-artistconcept-nasa.jpg 625w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90i-artistconcept-nasa-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90i-artistconcept-nasa-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90i-artistconcept-nasa-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90i-artistconcept-nasa-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist concept of Kepler 90i. \u003ccite>(NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mining Data for Exoplanet Gems\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Training” special AI software, developed by Google, to recognize the elusive signals produced by extrasolar planets (exoplanets), NASA set the AI loose on data collected years ago by the Kepler mission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Kepler spacecraft, launched in 2009, searched for exoplanets using the Transit Method: looking for the slight dimming in a star’s light caused by an orbiting planet crossing in front of it (transiting). Kepler continually measured the brightness of 150,000 individual stars near the constellation Cygnus for three years, beaming the data back to Earth for analysis and storage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918606\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 730px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1918606\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90system-distances-wendystenzel.jpg\" alt=\"All eight of Kepler 90's planets orbit their star closer than Earth orbits the sun. Kepler 90i is 8 times closer than one sun-Earth distance, giving it a surface temperature hotter than the planet Mercury. \" width=\"730\" height=\"529\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90system-distances-wendystenzel.jpg 730w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90system-distances-wendystenzel-160x116.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90system-distances-wendystenzel-240x174.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90system-distances-wendystenzel-375x272.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90system-distances-wendystenzel-520x377.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">All eight of Kepler 90’s planets orbit their star closer than Earth orbits the sun. Kepler 90i is 8 times closer than one sun-Earth distance, giving it a surface temperature hotter than the planet Mercury. \u003ccite>(NASA/Ames Research Center/Wendy Stenzel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Conventional analysis of Kepler’s observations ultimately revealed seven planets in the star system called Kepler 90. But the system’s eighth planet, named Kepler 90i, went undetected–\u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/artificial-intelligence-nasa-data-used-to-discover-eighth-planet-circling-distant-star\">until the AI took a crack at it\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Finding a Needle in a Haystack\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Detecting the minuscule dimming in a star’s light caused by a small transiting exoplanet may be likened to searching for a needle in a haystack—a monumental task for a human, though not so difficult for a well-trained, artificially intelligent computer. Once the AI learns the shape and appearance of a needle, it’s just a matter of examining each straw of hay in the stack, one by one, until it finds any that look like a needle. A computer can do that kind of repetitive task without tiring, and do it very quickly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kepler 90i is a super-Earth-sized world, with about 1.32 times the diameter of Earth. Orbiting its sun-like star eight times closer than the Earth orbits the sun, Kepler 90i’s surface temperature is estimated to be 817 degrees Fahrenheit. At present, that’s about all we know about it—other than the fact that it orbits its star once in less than 15 days!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How Many Exoplanets Have We Found?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the similarities between detecting exoplanets and finding haystack-embedded needles, conventional analysis has found—\u003ca href=\"https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/\">quite a lot of needles \u003c/a>since the first exoplanet discovery in 1992.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DnDeBa0KFc&w=854&h=480]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of December 21, 2017, astronomers have confirmed more than 3,500 exoplanets in 2,660 star systems, with an additional 4,500 candidates awaiting confirmation. Of the confirmed exoplanets, 2,431 of the discoveries are attributed to the Kepler spacecraft.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the exoplanets confirmed to exist, 882 are classed as Terrestrial, or approximately the same size as the Earth. And of these Earth-sized worlds, six are located within their stars’ “habitable zones,” which means they’re at the right distance for liquid water to possibly exist on their surfaces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/20-intriguing-exoplanets\">known exoplanetary systems\u003c/a> represent only a tiny fraction of the stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Extrapolating from the abundance of planets in this small sampling, astronomers estimate there may be billions of Earth-sized exoplanets within the habitable zones of their stars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Take a breath and let that sink in….\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The application of \u003ca href=\"https://www.recode.net/2016/6/29/12045632/self-learning-software-enterprise-predictive-big-data-net-intelligence\">“teachable” AI software\u003c/a> to dig through stacks of transit data opens even more possibilities for discovering elusive extrasolar worlds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though Kepler 90i was found by fine-sifting through old data, this only means that there may be more—perhaps many more—exoplanets laying hidden on hard drives, waiting to be found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And now NASA has the AI tool to do the sifting.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>NASA’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/main/index.html\">Kepler mission\u003c/a> announced in December the discovery of an eighth planet orbiting Kepler 90, a sun-like star located about 2,500 light years from Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The discovery is noteworthy not only for the fact that Kepler 90 \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/S_HRh0ZynjE\">possesses as many planets\u003c/a> as our own solar system, but also for how NASA made the discovery: using artificial intelligence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918611\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 625px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1918611\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90i-artistconcept-nasa.jpg\" alt=\"Artist concept of Kepler 90i.\" width=\"625\" height=\"352\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90i-artistconcept-nasa.jpg 625w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90i-artistconcept-nasa-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90i-artistconcept-nasa-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90i-artistconcept-nasa-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90i-artistconcept-nasa-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist concept of Kepler 90i. \u003ccite>(NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mining Data for Exoplanet Gems\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Training” special AI software, developed by Google, to recognize the elusive signals produced by extrasolar planets (exoplanets), NASA set the AI loose on data collected years ago by the Kepler mission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Kepler spacecraft, launched in 2009, searched for exoplanets using the Transit Method: looking for the slight dimming in a star’s light caused by an orbiting planet crossing in front of it (transiting). Kepler continually measured the brightness of 150,000 individual stars near the constellation Cygnus for three years, beaming the data back to Earth for analysis and storage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918606\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 730px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1918606\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90system-distances-wendystenzel.jpg\" alt=\"All eight of Kepler 90's planets orbit their star closer than Earth orbits the sun. Kepler 90i is 8 times closer than one sun-Earth distance, giving it a surface temperature hotter than the planet Mercury. \" width=\"730\" height=\"529\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90system-distances-wendystenzel.jpg 730w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90system-distances-wendystenzel-160x116.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90system-distances-wendystenzel-240x174.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90system-distances-wendystenzel-375x272.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/01/kepler90system-distances-wendystenzel-520x377.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">All eight of Kepler 90’s planets orbit their star closer than Earth orbits the sun. Kepler 90i is 8 times closer than one sun-Earth distance, giving it a surface temperature hotter than the planet Mercury. \u003ccite>(NASA/Ames Research Center/Wendy Stenzel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Conventional analysis of Kepler’s observations ultimately revealed seven planets in the star system called Kepler 90. But the system’s eighth planet, named Kepler 90i, went undetected–\u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/artificial-intelligence-nasa-data-used-to-discover-eighth-planet-circling-distant-star\">until the AI took a crack at it\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Finding a Needle in a Haystack\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Detecting the minuscule dimming in a star’s light caused by a small transiting exoplanet may be likened to searching for a needle in a haystack—a monumental task for a human, though not so difficult for a well-trained, artificially intelligent computer. Once the AI learns the shape and appearance of a needle, it’s just a matter of examining each straw of hay in the stack, one by one, until it finds any that look like a needle. A computer can do that kind of repetitive task without tiring, and do it very quickly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kepler 90i is a super-Earth-sized world, with about 1.32 times the diameter of Earth. Orbiting its sun-like star eight times closer than the Earth orbits the sun, Kepler 90i’s surface temperature is estimated to be 817 degrees Fahrenheit. At present, that’s about all we know about it—other than the fact that it orbits its star once in less than 15 days!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How Many Exoplanets Have We Found?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the similarities between detecting exoplanets and finding haystack-embedded needles, conventional analysis has found—\u003ca href=\"https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/\">quite a lot of needles \u003c/a>since the first exoplanet discovery in 1992.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/_DnDeBa0KFc'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/_DnDeBa0KFc'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of December 21, 2017, astronomers have confirmed more than 3,500 exoplanets in 2,660 star systems, with an additional 4,500 candidates awaiting confirmation. Of the confirmed exoplanets, 2,431 of the discoveries are attributed to the Kepler spacecraft.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the exoplanets confirmed to exist, 882 are classed as Terrestrial, or approximately the same size as the Earth. And of these Earth-sized worlds, six are located within their stars’ “habitable zones,” which means they’re at the right distance for liquid water to possibly exist on their surfaces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/20-intriguing-exoplanets\">known exoplanetary systems\u003c/a> represent only a tiny fraction of the stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Extrapolating from the abundance of planets in this small sampling, astronomers estimate there may be billions of Earth-sized exoplanets within the habitable zones of their stars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Take a breath and let that sink in….\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The application of \u003ca href=\"https://www.recode.net/2016/6/29/12045632/self-learning-software-enterprise-predictive-big-data-net-intelligence\">“teachable” AI software\u003c/a> to dig through stacks of transit data opens even more possibilities for discovering elusive extrasolar worlds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though Kepler 90i was found by fine-sifting through old data, this only means that there may be more—perhaps many more—exoplanets laying hidden on hard drives, waiting to be found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And now NASA has the AI tool to do the sifting.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "The Geminids Meteor Shower Peaks In Moonless Skies This Year!",
"headTitle": "The Geminids Meteor Shower Peaks In Moonless Skies This Year! | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>The annual \u003ca href=\"https://www.amsmeteors.org/2017/12/viewing-the-geminid-meteor-shower-in-2017/\">Geminid meteor shower\u003c/a> is back, and this year a moonless night promises a potentially stunning aerial light show for anyone inspired to stay up past midnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\n\u003ch3>Where to Watch the Geminids in the Bay Area\u003c/h3>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>In the North Bay, especially northward from Napa and Petaluma, there is less light pollution than in regions south. You don’t need to go far to find dark skies here, in the rolling hills between valley cities or out toward the coast.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>In the East Bay, \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=517\">Mount Diablo\u003c/a> is a good spot to consider. Though the gate near the top closes at sunset, there are spots along the roadside below the gate you can try. The Sunol area is also favorable since it is somewhat distanced from city lights and shielded by a range of hills.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Along the Oakland-Berkeley-Hayward hills there are also some reasonably sheltered spots along roadsides, especially on the eastern side of the range.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>In the South Bay there is \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=561\">Henry Coe State Park\u003c/a>. Not only is this a pretty good dark sky area, the park’s gates remain open all night.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>On the peninsula south of San Francisco good viewing spots can be found along Skyline Blvd., especially west of the ridgeline. And of course, the Santa Cruz mountains provide some “wilderness” away from city lights, if you can find a spot without towering forests surrounding.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Wherever you choose to view Geminids from, remember to dress warm, be aware of your surroundings, and use common sense to stay safe!\u003c/p>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>This meteor shower will reach a peak in activity shortly after midnight on December 14 (early Thursday morning). If you plan to catch some Geminids, keep in mind that this night is the evening of December 13 going into the morning of December 14.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Named for constellation the meteors appear to radiate from, Gemini, the Geminid shower occurs when the Earth passes through a trail of dust left behind by the “rock-comet” \u003ca href=\"http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/3200-phaethon/\">3200 Phaethon.\u003c/a> This frozen ball of rock, ice and dust sheds a trail of fine debris along its orbit around the sun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Good News and the Better News\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The good news is that on this night, the thin waning crescent moon, setting shortly before sunset, will not be present and so moonlight will not hinder viewing. City light is another matter, of course, but if you can find a light-sheltered location where skies are darker, you may spot as many as 50 or more meteors per hour!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The better news is that the Geminid shower is one of the most reliable meteor producers of any shower of the year. Away from urban light pollution, viewing rates may climb as high as 100 meteors per hour!\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918199\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1918199\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-1-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-1.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-1-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-1-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-1-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Meteor trails captured by camera from the Leonid meteor shower. Different colors in meteor trails can be caused by the meteor’s composition of rock or metal. \u003ccite>(Carter Roberts/Eastbay Astronomical Society)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When Are the Meteors Visible?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The peak of activity for the Geminid shower occurs after midnight, roughly between 1 and 2 a.m. However, the geometry of the Geminid’s dust trail and the moving Earth allows for the possibility of seeing some meteors before midnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The constellation Gemini, marked by the twin bright stars Castor and Pollux, rises around 8 p.m., and you might catch a stray meteor flashing upward from the eastern horizon, or skimming close to the skyline to either side, before the stroke of midnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pre-midnight viewing of Geminids is a special situation, and in general meteors associated with a shower are not visible until after midnight. This is because the side of the Earth that moves into the shower’s dust trail falls under morning skies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you imagine Earth moving through the dust cloud as a car driving through a cloud of insects, it’s easier to understand why meteors only streak through Earth’s forward-moving side. In a car, streaks of colliding bugs are only visible on the windshield, not the rear window.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the night goes on, Gemini will rise higher into the sky, and by midnight will be almost directly overhead. Keep your attention centered near Gemini, bearing in mind that, though the meteors radiate from this area, they can appear almost anywhere in the sky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918197\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1918197\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/geminid20091209-browse.jpg\" alt='Long exposure of night sky capturing meteors of the annual August Perseid shower. The meteors appear to radiate from a spot in the sky, called the \"radiant\". ' width=\"640\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/geminid20091209-browse.jpg 640w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/geminid20091209-browse-160x88.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/geminid20091209-browse-240x131.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/geminid20091209-browse-375x205.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/geminid20091209-browse-520x284.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Long exposure of night sky capturing meteors of the annual August Perseid shower. The meteors appear to radiate from a spot in the sky, called the “radiant”. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Best Viewing Locations\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you live in the middle of a city, where even on a clear night you can see only a handful of the brightest stars, you still have a chance of seeing an occasional bright meteor—but you probably won’t see many. Check out this \u003ca href=\"https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#zoom=8&lat=4536811&lon=-13576787&layers=B0FFFTFFFF\">dark sky map\u003c/a> to see a heat map of light pollution around the San Francisco Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you really want to see some dazzling meteor action, getting away from city lights, either by traveling a distance or finding a local “sheltered” spot, is your best bet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keep in mind that a “light-sheltered” spot—a dark parking lot or side road shielded by trees or hills, but otherwise close to an urban area—will only be shielded from light coming directly from lamps, buildings, and so on, but is still subject to light pollution: urban light shining up into the atmosphere and bouncing from atmospheric particles back to Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918198\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 579px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1918198\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/orbit_3200phaethon.png.CROP_.original-original.png\" alt='Diagram showing the orbits of the planets of the Inner Solar System and the \"rock-comet\" 3200 Phaethon, the source of the dust trail that produces the Geminid meteor shower.' width=\"579\" height=\"301\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/orbit_3200phaethon.png.CROP_.original-original.png 579w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/orbit_3200phaethon.png.CROP_.original-original-160x83.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/orbit_3200phaethon.png.CROP_.original-original-240x125.png 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/orbit_3200phaethon.png.CROP_.original-original-375x195.png 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/orbit_3200phaethon.png.CROP_.original-original-520x270.png 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 579px) 100vw, 579px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Diagram showing the orbits of the planets of the Inner Solar System and the “rock-comet” 3200 Phaethon, the source of the dust trail that produces the Geminid meteor shower. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What is a Meteor Shower?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We see a meteor shower when Earth passes through the trail of dust left behind by a comet–or in the case of the Geminids, a “\u003ca href=\"https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/27nov_rockcomet\">rock-comet\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the tiny particles of dust encounter Earth’s atmosphere, they are quickly incinerated by heat of friction, and we see the incandescent trail they leave behind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These “shooting stars” move very fast across the sky, even though they are very high in the atmosphere: 50 to 75 miles up! Their speed is attributed to the orbital velocities of the Earth and the dust particles as they move around the sun. Earth itself is moving at 18 miles per second!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A thing to remember when catching that quick, sometimes brilliant streak of light in the sky, is that it was produced by a tiny bit of dust or flake of rock or metal that has been drifting through the solar system for a very long time, either flying free or bound to a comet or asteroid. And now, its atoms are forever part of the Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The annual \u003ca href=\"https://www.amsmeteors.org/2017/12/viewing-the-geminid-meteor-shower-in-2017/\">Geminid meteor shower\u003c/a> is back, and this year a moonless night promises a potentially stunning aerial light show for anyone inspired to stay up past midnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\n\u003ch3>Where to Watch the Geminids in the Bay Area\u003c/h3>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>In the North Bay, especially northward from Napa and Petaluma, there is less light pollution than in regions south. You don’t need to go far to find dark skies here, in the rolling hills between valley cities or out toward the coast.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>In the East Bay, \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=517\">Mount Diablo\u003c/a> is a good spot to consider. Though the gate near the top closes at sunset, there are spots along the roadside below the gate you can try. The Sunol area is also favorable since it is somewhat distanced from city lights and shielded by a range of hills.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Along the Oakland-Berkeley-Hayward hills there are also some reasonably sheltered spots along roadsides, especially on the eastern side of the range.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>In the South Bay there is \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=561\">Henry Coe State Park\u003c/a>. Not only is this a pretty good dark sky area, the park’s gates remain open all night.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>On the peninsula south of San Francisco good viewing spots can be found along Skyline Blvd., especially west of the ridgeline. And of course, the Santa Cruz mountains provide some “wilderness” away from city lights, if you can find a spot without towering forests surrounding.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Wherever you choose to view Geminids from, remember to dress warm, be aware of your surroundings, and use common sense to stay safe!\u003c/p>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>This meteor shower will reach a peak in activity shortly after midnight on December 14 (early Thursday morning). If you plan to catch some Geminids, keep in mind that this night is the evening of December 13 going into the morning of December 14.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Named for constellation the meteors appear to radiate from, Gemini, the Geminid shower occurs when the Earth passes through a trail of dust left behind by the “rock-comet” \u003ca href=\"http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/3200-phaethon/\">3200 Phaethon.\u003c/a> This frozen ball of rock, ice and dust sheds a trail of fine debris along its orbit around the sun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Good News and the Better News\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The good news is that on this night, the thin waning crescent moon, setting shortly before sunset, will not be present and so moonlight will not hinder viewing. City light is another matter, of course, but if you can find a light-sheltered location where skies are darker, you may spot as many as 50 or more meteors per hour!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The better news is that the Geminid shower is one of the most reliable meteor producers of any shower of the year. Away from urban light pollution, viewing rates may climb as high as 100 meteors per hour!\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918199\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1918199\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-1-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-1.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-1-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-1-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-1-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Meteor trails captured by camera from the Leonid meteor shower. Different colors in meteor trails can be caused by the meteor’s composition of rock or metal. \u003ccite>(Carter Roberts/Eastbay Astronomical Society)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When Are the Meteors Visible?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The peak of activity for the Geminid shower occurs after midnight, roughly between 1 and 2 a.m. However, the geometry of the Geminid’s dust trail and the moving Earth allows for the possibility of seeing some meteors before midnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The constellation Gemini, marked by the twin bright stars Castor and Pollux, rises around 8 p.m., and you might catch a stray meteor flashing upward from the eastern horizon, or skimming close to the skyline to either side, before the stroke of midnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pre-midnight viewing of Geminids is a special situation, and in general meteors associated with a shower are not visible until after midnight. This is because the side of the Earth that moves into the shower’s dust trail falls under morning skies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you imagine Earth moving through the dust cloud as a car driving through a cloud of insects, it’s easier to understand why meteors only streak through Earth’s forward-moving side. In a car, streaks of colliding bugs are only visible on the windshield, not the rear window.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the night goes on, Gemini will rise higher into the sky, and by midnight will be almost directly overhead. Keep your attention centered near Gemini, bearing in mind that, though the meteors radiate from this area, they can appear almost anywhere in the sky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918197\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1918197\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/geminid20091209-browse.jpg\" alt='Long exposure of night sky capturing meteors of the annual August Perseid shower. The meteors appear to radiate from a spot in the sky, called the \"radiant\". ' width=\"640\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/geminid20091209-browse.jpg 640w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/geminid20091209-browse-160x88.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/geminid20091209-browse-240x131.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/geminid20091209-browse-375x205.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/geminid20091209-browse-520x284.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Long exposure of night sky capturing meteors of the annual August Perseid shower. The meteors appear to radiate from a spot in the sky, called the “radiant”. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Best Viewing Locations\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you live in the middle of a city, where even on a clear night you can see only a handful of the brightest stars, you still have a chance of seeing an occasional bright meteor—but you probably won’t see many. Check out this \u003ca href=\"https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#zoom=8&lat=4536811&lon=-13576787&layers=B0FFFTFFFF\">dark sky map\u003c/a> to see a heat map of light pollution around the San Francisco Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you really want to see some dazzling meteor action, getting away from city lights, either by traveling a distance or finding a local “sheltered” spot, is your best bet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keep in mind that a “light-sheltered” spot—a dark parking lot or side road shielded by trees or hills, but otherwise close to an urban area—will only be shielded from light coming directly from lamps, buildings, and so on, but is still subject to light pollution: urban light shining up into the atmosphere and bouncing from atmospheric particles back to Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918198\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 579px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1918198\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/orbit_3200phaethon.png.CROP_.original-original.png\" alt='Diagram showing the orbits of the planets of the Inner Solar System and the \"rock-comet\" 3200 Phaethon, the source of the dust trail that produces the Geminid meteor shower.' width=\"579\" height=\"301\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/orbit_3200phaethon.png.CROP_.original-original.png 579w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/orbit_3200phaethon.png.CROP_.original-original-160x83.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/orbit_3200phaethon.png.CROP_.original-original-240x125.png 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/orbit_3200phaethon.png.CROP_.original-original-375x195.png 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/orbit_3200phaethon.png.CROP_.original-original-520x270.png 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 579px) 100vw, 579px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Diagram showing the orbits of the planets of the Inner Solar System and the “rock-comet” 3200 Phaethon, the source of the dust trail that produces the Geminid meteor shower. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What is a Meteor Shower?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We see a meteor shower when Earth passes through the trail of dust left behind by a comet–or in the case of the Geminids, a “\u003ca href=\"https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/27nov_rockcomet\">rock-comet\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the tiny particles of dust encounter Earth’s atmosphere, they are quickly incinerated by heat of friction, and we see the incandescent trail they leave behind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These “shooting stars” move very fast across the sky, even though they are very high in the atmosphere: 50 to 75 miles up! Their speed is attributed to the orbital velocities of the Earth and the dust particles as they move around the sun. Earth itself is moving at 18 miles per second!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A thing to remember when catching that quick, sometimes brilliant streak of light in the sky, is that it was produced by a tiny bit of dust or flake of rock or metal that has been drifting through the solar system for a very long time, either flying free or bound to a comet or asteroid. And now, its atoms are forever part of the Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Mars' Mysterious Dark Streaks May Not Be Flowing Water After All",
"headTitle": "Mars’ Mysterious Dark Streaks May Not Be Flowing Water After All | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>If you recall a 2015 announcement by NASA celebrating the discovery of liquid water on Mars seeping down dusty slopes in dark streaks, you may remember a hubbub of excitement over the possibility of finding life-friendly environments there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hitting fast-forward on Martian exploration to the present, a recent study suggests that the rumor of “Martian mud” may not hold as much water as first thought….\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study looks at 3D topography data from \u003ca href=\"https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/\">NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter\u003c/a> to explain the streaks not as flowing water stains, but as downhill flows of sand and dust–and has thrown a dry blanket over the quest to find life-friendly environments on Mars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also a reminder that the walk of scientific exploration is often slow and ponderous, replete with unexpected twists and turns along the path, false trails, and dead ends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mysterious Dark Streaks—Wet or Dry?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mysterious downhill-running streaks were discovered in images captured by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2011, and stirred up a lot of excitement. The streaks, called “\u003ca href=\"http://www.planetary.org/blogs/guest-blogs/2014/0513-whats-seeping-on-mars.html\">recurring slope lineae\u003c/a>,” seemed to indicate the potential that liquid water flowed on Mars, and raised the possibility of environments suitable for microbial life. Since their initial discovery, scientists have observed thousands of these streaks in dozens of sites ranging from Mars’ equatorial region to mid latitudes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918173\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1918173\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater-800x495.jpg\" alt=\"Recurring Slope Lineae running down the inner wall of Mars' Horowitz Crater, captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRISE camera.\" width=\"800\" height=\"495\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater-800x495.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater-160x99.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater-768x476.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater-1020x632.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater-1180x731.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater-960x594.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater-240x149.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater-375x232.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater-520x322.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater.jpg 1610w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Recurring Slope Lineae running down the inner wall of Mars’ Horowitz Crater, captured by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s HiRISE camera. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL-Caltech)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The behavior of the streaks looks similar to seasonal snow-melt runoff on Earth, appearing only during warm seasons, growing gradually in the downhill direction in stripes 2-15 feet wide and hundreds of feet long, and then disappearing when the active flow is over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, in 2015, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/29/science/space/mars-life-liquid-water.html\">detected the presence of hydrated salts\u003c/a> in one of the streaks–an unambiguous signal that water, if only in the form of mineral-bonded water molecules, was a player in this mysterious drama.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The discovery not only showed that water molecules were present, it provided fuel for scientists trying to explain how any liquid water could exist under the conditions of Mars’ cold, dry, thin atmosphere. While fresh water should freeze to ice or evaporate into a gas in the Martian desert, salty water can act like an antifreeze, possibly allowing water to flow as a liquid brine for a time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Flowing Behavior More Like Sand?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/recurring-martian-streaks-flowing-sand-not-water\">newer research examined 151 recurring slope lineae\u003c/a> using 3D image data obtained by the \u003ca href=\"https://mars.nasa.gov/mro/mission/instruments/hirise/\">HiRISE camera\u003c/a> on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Analysis revealed that the streaks only appear on slopes steeper than 27 degrees. This small fact is dramatic because that exact degree of slope is the tipping point when a pile of dry dust and sand lying stably on a hillside begins to slide and cascade downhill. This is called the dynamic “\u003ca href=\"http://throughthesandglass.typepad.com/through_the_sandglass/2012/05/reposing-differently-on-mars.html\">angle of repose\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The streaks appeared on the steeper slopes, but stopped upon reaching inclines of 27 degrees or less. If flowing water were driving the action, the streaks would not be halted by the gentler slope and would flow on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Have Visions of a Watery Mars Dried Up?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the preponderance of evidence gathered by multiple robotic orbiters, landers, and rovers still tells us that, in \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/march/nasa-research-suggests-mars-once-had-more-water-than-earth-s-arctic-ocean\">Mars’ past, liquid surface water \u003c/a>was widespread and long-enduring, the search for moisture on Mars today remains a bit of a cat-and-mouse game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918175\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1918175\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Artist concept of Mars at a time in the distant past when it possessed a thicker atmosphere, a water cycle, and liquid surface water. \" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist concept of Mars at a time in the distant past when it possessed a thicker atmosphere, a water cycle, and liquid surface water. \u003ccite>(NASA/MAVEN/Lunar and Planetary Institute)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/mars123.php\">vast amount of frozen water\u003c/a> exists on Mars, under the dusty patina of the flat northern plains and piled up in the polar ice caps—remnants of rivers, lakes, and seas in Mars’ warmer, wetter past eons ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Mars lost the atmospheric swaddling of its youth—\u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-mars-maven-20170331-story.html\">through processes under investigation\u003c/a>—its water became locked up as ice or evaporated into the thin atmosphere as water vapor. Today, the environment on Mars is far drier than the most parched desert on Earth, where one can still expect to find a bit of morning dew.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A Unique Phenomenon of an Alien Environment?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the mystery of Mars’ seasonal dark streaks is not completely solved. Questions remain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Why do the streaks appear only in the warm season, as if triggered by a changing environmental condition? On Earth, seasonally occurring landslides are usually associated with water—precipitation or snow melt causing a hillside to slough off under the added weight and softening soil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Why do the Martian streaks appear to form gradually, like the slow seeping of water, and not in one quick slide of sand? Landslides of dry dust, soil, and rock on Earth tend to happen in rapid bursts, and then are done.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918174\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1918174\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4-800x484.jpg\" alt=\"An avalanche of dry dust and soil caught tumbling down a scarp in Mars' Northern Polar region, captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRISE camera. \" width=\"800\" height=\"484\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4-800x484.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4-160x97.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4-768x464.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4-1020x616.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4-1180x713.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4-960x580.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4-240x145.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4-375x227.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4-520x314.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4.jpg 1686w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An avalanche of dry dust and soil caught tumbling down a scarp in Mars’ Northern Polar region, captured by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s HiRISE camera. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL-Caltech)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>How does the presence of hydrated salt minerals in the streaks fit into the puzzle? Are salt-bearing soils, upturned and exposed to the atmosphere in a natural landslide, chemically drawing water molecules from the air, as salt tends to do? Or does the hydration of soil salts, maybe driven by elevated seasonal humidity, somehow trigger a slide?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Why do the dark streaks then fade, as if drying up?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Really good questions. Scientists are looking for answers. The more we learn about the phenomenon, the more it seems that it may be a uniquely Martian thing, the likes of which we don’t find on Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Further observations from orbit may help us solve some of these riddles, but the best way to see what is really going on would be to send a lander or rover directly to an area with RSL activity to do some first-hand digging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This would be a special challenge since these streaks appear only on steep slopes, terrain that we have never attempted to land or drive a robot on. Still, getting there could answer a lot of intriguing questions.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "These streaks hinted at the possibility of life on Mars. Is that hope dead?",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>If you recall a 2015 announcement by NASA celebrating the discovery of liquid water on Mars seeping down dusty slopes in dark streaks, you may remember a hubbub of excitement over the possibility of finding life-friendly environments there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hitting fast-forward on Martian exploration to the present, a recent study suggests that the rumor of “Martian mud” may not hold as much water as first thought….\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study looks at 3D topography data from \u003ca href=\"https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/\">NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter\u003c/a> to explain the streaks not as flowing water stains, but as downhill flows of sand and dust–and has thrown a dry blanket over the quest to find life-friendly environments on Mars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also a reminder that the walk of scientific exploration is often slow and ponderous, replete with unexpected twists and turns along the path, false trails, and dead ends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mysterious Dark Streaks—Wet or Dry?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mysterious downhill-running streaks were discovered in images captured by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2011, and stirred up a lot of excitement. The streaks, called “\u003ca href=\"http://www.planetary.org/blogs/guest-blogs/2014/0513-whats-seeping-on-mars.html\">recurring slope lineae\u003c/a>,” seemed to indicate the potential that liquid water flowed on Mars, and raised the possibility of environments suitable for microbial life. Since their initial discovery, scientists have observed thousands of these streaks in dozens of sites ranging from Mars’ equatorial region to mid latitudes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918173\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1918173\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater-800x495.jpg\" alt=\"Recurring Slope Lineae running down the inner wall of Mars' Horowitz Crater, captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRISE camera.\" width=\"800\" height=\"495\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater-800x495.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater-160x99.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater-768x476.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater-1020x632.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater-1180x731.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater-960x594.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater-240x149.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater-375x232.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater-520x322.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/RSL-HorowitzCrater.jpg 1610w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Recurring Slope Lineae running down the inner wall of Mars’ Horowitz Crater, captured by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s HiRISE camera. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL-Caltech)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The behavior of the streaks looks similar to seasonal snow-melt runoff on Earth, appearing only during warm seasons, growing gradually in the downhill direction in stripes 2-15 feet wide and hundreds of feet long, and then disappearing when the active flow is over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, in 2015, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/29/science/space/mars-life-liquid-water.html\">detected the presence of hydrated salts\u003c/a> in one of the streaks–an unambiguous signal that water, if only in the form of mineral-bonded water molecules, was a player in this mysterious drama.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The discovery not only showed that water molecules were present, it provided fuel for scientists trying to explain how any liquid water could exist under the conditions of Mars’ cold, dry, thin atmosphere. While fresh water should freeze to ice or evaporate into a gas in the Martian desert, salty water can act like an antifreeze, possibly allowing water to flow as a liquid brine for a time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Flowing Behavior More Like Sand?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/recurring-martian-streaks-flowing-sand-not-water\">newer research examined 151 recurring slope lineae\u003c/a> using 3D image data obtained by the \u003ca href=\"https://mars.nasa.gov/mro/mission/instruments/hirise/\">HiRISE camera\u003c/a> on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Analysis revealed that the streaks only appear on slopes steeper than 27 degrees. This small fact is dramatic because that exact degree of slope is the tipping point when a pile of dry dust and sand lying stably on a hillside begins to slide and cascade downhill. This is called the dynamic “\u003ca href=\"http://throughthesandglass.typepad.com/through_the_sandglass/2012/05/reposing-differently-on-mars.html\">angle of repose\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The streaks appeared on the steeper slopes, but stopped upon reaching inclines of 27 degrees or less. If flowing water were driving the action, the streaks would not be halted by the gentler slope and would flow on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Have Visions of a Watery Mars Dried Up?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the preponderance of evidence gathered by multiple robotic orbiters, landers, and rovers still tells us that, in \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/march/nasa-research-suggests-mars-once-had-more-water-than-earth-s-arctic-ocean\">Mars’ past, liquid surface water \u003c/a>was widespread and long-enduring, the search for moisture on Mars today remains a bit of a cat-and-mouse game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918175\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1918175\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Artist concept of Mars at a time in the distant past when it possessed a thicker atmosphere, a water cycle, and liquid surface water. \" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-5-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist concept of Mars at a time in the distant past when it possessed a thicker atmosphere, a water cycle, and liquid surface water. \u003ccite>(NASA/MAVEN/Lunar and Planetary Institute)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/mars123.php\">vast amount of frozen water\u003c/a> exists on Mars, under the dusty patina of the flat northern plains and piled up in the polar ice caps—remnants of rivers, lakes, and seas in Mars’ warmer, wetter past eons ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Mars lost the atmospheric swaddling of its youth—\u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-mars-maven-20170331-story.html\">through processes under investigation\u003c/a>—its water became locked up as ice or evaporated into the thin atmosphere as water vapor. Today, the environment on Mars is far drier than the most parched desert on Earth, where one can still expect to find a bit of morning dew.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A Unique Phenomenon of an Alien Environment?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the mystery of Mars’ seasonal dark streaks is not completely solved. Questions remain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Why do the streaks appear only in the warm season, as if triggered by a changing environmental condition? On Earth, seasonally occurring landslides are usually associated with water—precipitation or snow melt causing a hillside to slough off under the added weight and softening soil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Why do the Martian streaks appear to form gradually, like the slow seeping of water, and not in one quick slide of sand? Landslides of dry dust, soil, and rock on Earth tend to happen in rapid bursts, and then are done.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918174\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1918174\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4-800x484.jpg\" alt=\"An avalanche of dry dust and soil caught tumbling down a scarp in Mars' Northern Polar region, captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRISE camera. \" width=\"800\" height=\"484\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4-800x484.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4-160x97.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4-768x464.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4-1020x616.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4-1180x713.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4-960x580.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4-240x145.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4-375x227.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4-520x314.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/Untitled-4.jpg 1686w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An avalanche of dry dust and soil caught tumbling down a scarp in Mars’ Northern Polar region, captured by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s HiRISE camera. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL-Caltech)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>How does the presence of hydrated salt minerals in the streaks fit into the puzzle? Are salt-bearing soils, upturned and exposed to the atmosphere in a natural landslide, chemically drawing water molecules from the air, as salt tends to do? Or does the hydration of soil salts, maybe driven by elevated seasonal humidity, somehow trigger a slide?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Why do the dark streaks then fade, as if drying up?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Really good questions. Scientists are looking for answers. The more we learn about the phenomenon, the more it seems that it may be a uniquely Martian thing, the likes of which we don’t find on Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Further observations from orbit may help us solve some of these riddles, but the best way to see what is really going on would be to send a lander or rover directly to an area with RSL activity to do some first-hand digging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This would be a special challenge since these streaks appear only on steep slopes, terrain that we have never attempted to land or drive a robot on. Still, getting there could answer a lot of intriguing questions.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>At least one young woman suffered eye damage as a result of unsafe viewing of the recent total solar eclipse, according to a report published Thursday, but it doesn’t appear that many such injuries occurred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=”TLby82AtiGw9MQhQUFjwqs3XgUyQfbHg”]Doctors in New York say a woman in her 20s came in three days after looking at the Aug. 21 eclipse without protective glasses. She had peeked several times, for about six seconds, when the sun was only partially covered by the moon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Four hours later, she started experiencing blurred and distorted vision and saw a central black spot in her left eye. The doctors studied her eyes with several different imaging technologies, \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/fullarticle/2665184\">described \u003c/a>in the journal \u003cem>JAMA Ophthalmology,\u003c/em> and were able to observe the damage at the cellular level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were very surprised at how precisely concordant the imaged damage was with the crescent shape of the eclipse itself,” noted \u003ca href=\"http://www.mountsinai.org/profiles/avnish-a-deobhakta\">Dr. Avnish Deobhakta\u003c/a>, a retina surgeon at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai in New York, in an email to NPR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918221\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 392px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/figure2_enl-985658f134a9a75a78dbade25333fad69c8d527d.jpe\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1918221\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/figure2_enl-985658f134a9a75a78dbade25333fad69c8d527d.jpe\" alt=\"\" width=\"392\" height=\"1090\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/figure2_enl-985658f134a9a75a78dbade25333fad69c8d527d.jpe 392w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/figure2_enl-985658f134a9a75a78dbade25333fad69c8d527d-160x445.jpe 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/figure2_enl-985658f134a9a75a78dbade25333fad69c8d527d-240x667.jpe 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/figure2_enl-985658f134a9a75a78dbade25333fad69c8d527d-375x1043.jpe 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 392px) 100vw, 392px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The area between the yellow brackets in the top photo shows the damage to the center part of the retina. The middle image is a type of visual field test and the bottom image uses optical coherence tomography. \u003ccite>(David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He says this was the most severely injured patient they saw after the eclipse. All in all, 22 people came to their urgent care clinic with concerns about possible eclipse-related damage, and most of them complained of blurred vision. Of those, only three showed some degree of abnormality in the retina. Two of them had only mild changes, however, and their symptoms have gone away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The young woman described in this case report, at last check, still has not recovered normal vision. “But we have not been able to follow up with her as closely as we’d like. We would like to see her back in the New Year,” says Deobhakta.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ralph Chou, an expert on eclipse-related eye damage at the University of Waterloo, says he got a report from a colleague of one similar eye injury in Pennsylvania. “This young man had played it safe by only looking at the eclipsing sun with one eye,” notes Chou. “He looked with one eye and he got fried.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it’s possible that other eye specialists are treating patients but have not publicly reported on them, says Chou, “right now, we haven’t really seen any indication of a lot of cases. … It’s certainly not like what we saw in the United Kingdom after the August 1999 eclipse, where they did a survey and got information on a number of cases of eye damage as a result of observing that eclipse.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given that some \u003ca href=\"http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/25108-a-record-number-of-americans-viewed-the-2017-solar-eclipse\">215 million\u003c/a> adult Americans watched the eclipse, says Chou, “it makes us feel like the whole public education campaign was pretty successful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Injured eyes can often recover in the months following an eclipse, he notes, but if people’s damaged vision hasn’t been improving by now, that means it’s probably permanent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you still have your special solar glasses and have treated them well, says Chou, you can put them away in a safe place and use them again in 2024, when we’ll get the next total solar eclipse over the continental United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Here%27s+What+It+Looks+Like+When+You+Fry+Your+Eye+In+An+Eclipse&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>At least one young woman suffered eye damage as a result of unsafe viewing of the recent total solar eclipse, according to a report published Thursday, but it doesn’t appear that many such injuries occurred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>Doctors in New York say a woman in her 20s came in three days after looking at the Aug. 21 eclipse without protective glasses. She had peeked several times, for about six seconds, when the sun was only partially covered by the moon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Four hours later, she started experiencing blurred and distorted vision and saw a central black spot in her left eye. The doctors studied her eyes with several different imaging technologies, \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/fullarticle/2665184\">described \u003c/a>in the journal \u003cem>JAMA Ophthalmology,\u003c/em> and were able to observe the damage at the cellular level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were very surprised at how precisely concordant the imaged damage was with the crescent shape of the eclipse itself,” noted \u003ca href=\"http://www.mountsinai.org/profiles/avnish-a-deobhakta\">Dr. Avnish Deobhakta\u003c/a>, a retina surgeon at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai in New York, in an email to NPR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1918221\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 392px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/figure2_enl-985658f134a9a75a78dbade25333fad69c8d527d.jpe\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1918221\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/figure2_enl-985658f134a9a75a78dbade25333fad69c8d527d.jpe\" alt=\"\" width=\"392\" height=\"1090\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/figure2_enl-985658f134a9a75a78dbade25333fad69c8d527d.jpe 392w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/figure2_enl-985658f134a9a75a78dbade25333fad69c8d527d-160x445.jpe 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/figure2_enl-985658f134a9a75a78dbade25333fad69c8d527d-240x667.jpe 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/12/figure2_enl-985658f134a9a75a78dbade25333fad69c8d527d-375x1043.jpe 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 392px) 100vw, 392px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The area between the yellow brackets in the top photo shows the damage to the center part of the retina. The middle image is a type of visual field test and the bottom image uses optical coherence tomography. \u003ccite>(David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He says this was the most severely injured patient they saw after the eclipse. All in all, 22 people came to their urgent care clinic with concerns about possible eclipse-related damage, and most of them complained of blurred vision. Of those, only three showed some degree of abnormality in the retina. Two of them had only mild changes, however, and their symptoms have gone away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The young woman described in this case report, at last check, still has not recovered normal vision. “But we have not been able to follow up with her as closely as we’d like. We would like to see her back in the New Year,” says Deobhakta.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ralph Chou, an expert on eclipse-related eye damage at the University of Waterloo, says he got a report from a colleague of one similar eye injury in Pennsylvania. “This young man had played it safe by only looking at the eclipsing sun with one eye,” notes Chou. “He looked with one eye and he got fried.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it’s possible that other eye specialists are treating patients but have not publicly reported on them, says Chou, “right now, we haven’t really seen any indication of a lot of cases. … It’s certainly not like what we saw in the United Kingdom after the August 1999 eclipse, where they did a survey and got information on a number of cases of eye damage as a result of observing that eclipse.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given that some \u003ca href=\"http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/25108-a-record-number-of-americans-viewed-the-2017-solar-eclipse\">215 million\u003c/a> adult Americans watched the eclipse, says Chou, “it makes us feel like the whole public education campaign was pretty successful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Injured eyes can often recover in the months following an eclipse, he notes, but if people’s damaged vision hasn’t been improving by now, that means it’s probably permanent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you still have your special solar glasses and have treated them well, says Chou, you can put them away in a safe place and use them again in 2024, when we’ll get the next total solar eclipse over the continental United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Here%27s+What+It+Looks+Like+When+You+Fry+Your+Eye+In+An+Eclipse&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Between last year’s historic November supermoon and August’s partial solar eclipse, a lunar event that’s coming on Dec. 3 has taken a bit of a back seat. But 2017’s first and only visible supermoon is nothing to sneeze at.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The term “supermoon” is popular vernacular. Its scientific name is perigee syzygy. University of Arizona professor \u003ca href=\"https://www.as.arizona.edu/people/faculty/gurtina-besla\">Gurtina Besla\u003c/a> says the phrase means two specific things in reference to the moon’s placement and phase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Perigee refers to the moon being at its closest distance to the Earth, and syzygy refers to the alignment of multiple bodies — the moon, Earth and sun need to be aligned for us to see a full moon,” Besla told NPR. “So it translates to the closest separation between the moon and Earth when the Earth, moon and sun are aligned.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because the moon is closer to Earth, it can appear about 14 percent larger than an apogee moon, or micromoon, which is when the moon is at its farthest distance from our planet. NPR’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/13/501854717/closest-supermoon-since-1948-arrives-monday-tips-on-seeing-and-photographing-it\">Bill Chappell reported\u003c/a> that last November’s supermoon was the closest Earth’s moon had been to the planet since 1948, and it’s not scheduled to get that close again until 2034.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like any phase of Earth’s moon, a supermoon is safe to view with the naked eye. Besla says she is not personally that excited about the upcoming supermoon because the difference in the moon’s perceived size is negligible. She knows, however, that many will still try to see it at peak viewing time. According to Besla, the best time to see this year’s showing is at 3:45 a.m. ET on Monday, Dec. 4. If that’s a bit too early for a wake-up call, don’t worry. The moon will still appear larger than normal when it’s close to Earth’s horizon at sunset on Dec. 3 and sunrise on Dec. 4.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you can’t make it outside to see it in person, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.virtualtelescope.eu/webtv/\">Virtual Telescope Project\u003c/a> will share a video feed. Or, you could turn to photos online and on social media. \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/feature/shoot-the-supermoon-like-a-pro\">NASA offered these recommendations\u003c/a> from its staff photographer Bill Ingalls:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>” ‘Don’t make the mistake of photographing the moon by itself with no reference to anything,’ he said. ‘I’ve certainly done it myself, but everyone will get that shot. Instead, think of how to make the image creative—that means tying it into some land-based object. It can be a local landmark or anything to give your photo a sense of place.’ “\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>He also recommends using the reactions on people’s faces in photos. While it’s difficult to get a quality shot with a smartphone, it’s not impossible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Tap the screen and hold your finger on the object (in this case, the moon) to lock the focus,” Ingalls told NASA. “Then slide your finger up or down to darken or lighten the exposure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For those using digital cameras, he suggested the daylight setting to get the proper white balance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to \u003ca href=\"https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/11/how-to-see-brightest-supermoon-2017-december-space-science/\">National Geographic\u003c/a>, this is the fourth supermoon of 2017, but the only one visible to the casual observer. The previous three “coincided with new moons, when the lunar disk shows a totally darkened face.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Dance+By+The+Light+Of+The+2017+Supermoon%3A+The+How+And+When+&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Between last year’s historic November supermoon and August’s partial solar eclipse, a lunar event that’s coming on Dec. 3 has taken a bit of a back seat. But 2017’s first and only visible supermoon is nothing to sneeze at.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The term “supermoon” is popular vernacular. Its scientific name is perigee syzygy. University of Arizona professor \u003ca href=\"https://www.as.arizona.edu/people/faculty/gurtina-besla\">Gurtina Besla\u003c/a> says the phrase means two specific things in reference to the moon’s placement and phase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Perigee refers to the moon being at its closest distance to the Earth, and syzygy refers to the alignment of multiple bodies — the moon, Earth and sun need to be aligned for us to see a full moon,” Besla told NPR. “So it translates to the closest separation between the moon and Earth when the Earth, moon and sun are aligned.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because the moon is closer to Earth, it can appear about 14 percent larger than an apogee moon, or micromoon, which is when the moon is at its farthest distance from our planet. NPR’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/13/501854717/closest-supermoon-since-1948-arrives-monday-tips-on-seeing-and-photographing-it\">Bill Chappell reported\u003c/a> that last November’s supermoon was the closest Earth’s moon had been to the planet since 1948, and it’s not scheduled to get that close again until 2034.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like any phase of Earth’s moon, a supermoon is safe to view with the naked eye. Besla says she is not personally that excited about the upcoming supermoon because the difference in the moon’s perceived size is negligible. She knows, however, that many will still try to see it at peak viewing time. According to Besla, the best time to see this year’s showing is at 3:45 a.m. ET on Monday, Dec. 4. If that’s a bit too early for a wake-up call, don’t worry. The moon will still appear larger than normal when it’s close to Earth’s horizon at sunset on Dec. 3 and sunrise on Dec. 4.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you can’t make it outside to see it in person, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.virtualtelescope.eu/webtv/\">Virtual Telescope Project\u003c/a> will share a video feed. Or, you could turn to photos online and on social media. \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/feature/shoot-the-supermoon-like-a-pro\">NASA offered these recommendations\u003c/a> from its staff photographer Bill Ingalls:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>” ‘Don’t make the mistake of photographing the moon by itself with no reference to anything,’ he said. ‘I’ve certainly done it myself, but everyone will get that shot. Instead, think of how to make the image creative—that means tying it into some land-based object. It can be a local landmark or anything to give your photo a sense of place.’ “\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>He also recommends using the reactions on people’s faces in photos. While it’s difficult to get a quality shot with a smartphone, it’s not impossible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Tap the screen and hold your finger on the object (in this case, the moon) to lock the focus,” Ingalls told NASA. “Then slide your finger up or down to darken or lighten the exposure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For those using digital cameras, he suggested the daylight setting to get the proper white balance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to \u003ca href=\"https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/11/how-to-see-brightest-supermoon-2017-december-space-science/\">National Geographic\u003c/a>, this is the fourth supermoon of 2017, but the only one visible to the casual observer. The previous three “coincided with new moons, when the lunar disk shows a totally darkened face.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Dance+By+The+Light+Of+The+2017+Supermoon%3A+The+How+And+When+&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Putting an Ear to the Rumbling Universe",
"headTitle": "Putting an Ear to the Rumbling Universe | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>An ambitious space mission is in the works that promises to reveal extraordinary unseen wonders of the universe. Unseen, literally; the mission, named LISA, is an instrument designed to detect not light waves, but \u003cem>gravitational waves. \u003c/em>These are rippling undulations in the very fabric of space produced by bizarre events like merging black holes, colliding neutron stars, and supernova explosions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://lisa.nasa.gov/\">LISA (the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna)\u003c/a> is a mission of the European Space Agency, in collaboration with NASA, now under development. LISA’s launch will take place sometime in the early 2030s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917898\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1917898\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/AEI-MM-exozet-NASA-Henze-800x450.jpg\" alt='Artist concept of one of the three LISA spacecraft elements, with its two laser \"arms\" shown extending to the other two spacecraft, millions of miles away.' width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/AEI-MM-exozet-NASA-Henze.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/AEI-MM-exozet-NASA-Henze-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/AEI-MM-exozet-NASA-Henze-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/AEI-MM-exozet-NASA-Henze-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/AEI-MM-exozet-NASA-Henze-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/AEI-MM-exozet-NASA-Henze-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist concept of one of the three LISA spacecraft elements, with its two laser “arms” shown extending to the other two spacecraft, millions of miles away. \u003ccite>(AEI/MM/exozet/NASA/Henze)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Once deployed in space, LISA will consist of three spacecraft separated by millions of miles, linked by a laser beam split between them. Using the technique called \u003cem>laser \u003ca href=\"https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/page/what-is-interferometer\">interferometry\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, where patterns in the light of combined laser beams signal tiny relative changes in distance, the trio of spacecraft will be able to measure the minute changes in distance between them caused by a passing gravity wave — changes smaller than the diameter of a helium nucleus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>LISA will follow the pioneering programs of ground-based gravity wave detectors, the MIT and Caltech’s twin \u003ca href=\"https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/page/press-release-gw170817\">LIGO \u003c/a>installations, and the French-Italian Virgo interferometer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What are gravity waves?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.dw.com/en/six-things-you-need-to-know-about-gravitational-waves/a-19042047\">Gravity waves\u003c/a> are fluctuations in \u003cem>spacetime\u003c/em>, the name Albert Einstein gave to the “fabric” of the universe “woven” from the three dimensions of space and the one dimension of time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.space.com/17661-theory-general-relativity.html\">Einstein’s Theory of Relativity\u003c/a> explains gravity not as a force, as Sir Isaac Newton envisioned, but as an effect of the “warping” of spacetime by massive objects within it, like planets, stars and galaxies. Relativity also predicted that the motion of massive objects should produce waves of gravity that move outward, like ripples on the surface of a pool made by something moving in the water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917900\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1917900\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/nasa-lisa-gwdiagram-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Artist concept characterizing the LISA spacecraft trio linked by laser beams (red triangle) following the Earth in orbit around the sun. The gravity waves of a distant cosmic event are represented as undulations in the grid of the fabric of space. \" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/nasa-lisa-gwdiagram-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/nasa-lisa-gwdiagram-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/nasa-lisa-gwdiagram-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/nasa-lisa-gwdiagram-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/nasa-lisa-gwdiagram-960x720.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/nasa-lisa-gwdiagram-240x180.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/nasa-lisa-gwdiagram-375x281.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/nasa-lisa-gwdiagram-520x390.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/nasa-lisa-gwdiagram.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist concept characterizing the LISA spacecraft trio linked by laser beams (red triangle) following the Earth in orbit around the sun. The gravity waves of a distant cosmic event are represented as undulations in the grid of the fabric of space. \u003ccite>(NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When a gravity wave passes by a laser interferometer such as LIGO, Virgo, or LISA, the distortion in spacetime causes the distance between the instrument’s mirrors to change minutely, which can be detected in the patterns of the laser beam reflected between.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Imagine a large jello with pieces of fruit and nuts suspended within it. When something causes the jello to jiggle, the distance between the fruit and nuts may change momentarily as the jello is distorted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Opening Our Ears\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For centuries, telescopes have been used to observe electromagnetic waves (light) emitted or reflected by stars, galaxies, planets, comets, asteroids, and clouds of dust and gas, to form pictures of the universe’s visible wonders. But telescopes only let us see places and things where light dares to tread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Astronomers have long run up against barriers to the perception of light, such as the interiors of black holes, where gravity is so strong that light cannot escape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Viewing the state of the very early universe, by observing ancient light that has taken billions of years to reach us, also presents a seeing limit, for in its youngest times the hot gases of the primordial universe form an optical “fog” that we cannot see through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gravity waves, on the other hand, are not hindered in these ways. When a pair of black holes merge together, the disturbance they cause in spacetime becomes a measurable fluctuation, a gravity wave.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917904\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1917904\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab-800x523.jpg\" alt=\"The LIGO interferometer installation at Hanford, Washington. The long line stretching into the distance is one of two, 4-kilometer tunnels through which the interferometer's laser beam travels. The second LIGO interferometer facility is located in Livingston, Louisiana. \" width=\"800\" height=\"523\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab-800x523.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab-768x502.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab-1020x666.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab-1180x771.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab-960x627.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab-240x157.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab-375x245.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab-520x340.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The LIGO interferometer installation at Hanford, Washington. The long line stretching into the distance is one of two, 4-kilometer tunnels through which the interferometer’s laser beam travels. The second LIGO interferometer facility is located in Livingston, Louisiana. \u003ccite>(Caltech/MIT/LIGO Lab)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On September 14, 2015, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/news/ligo20160211\">first gravity wave detection\u003c/a> was made, announced in a joint report by LIGO and Virgo scientists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The wave was produced by the merging of two 30-solar-mass black holes, 1.3 billion light years away, and its observation heralded the beginning of an era in which we can not only see what’s going on in the universe, but in a sense “hear” things as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From inside your home, you can see objects all around you — furniture, art, appliances, bookshelves — with your eyes, but what goes on outside may be beyond your sight, hidden behind barriers like walls and landscaping. Still, you know when a big truck rumbles by on the street, or an airplane passes overhead, by the sounds they make.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What can gravity waves tell us about the universe?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Learning about the characteristics of merging black holes and colliding neutron stars are not the only things astronomers hope to achieve with gravity wave instruments like LISA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gravity wave observations can give us a better understanding of \u003ca href=\"https://www.forbes.com/sites/briankoberlein/2017/11/16/gravitational-waves-tell-us-just-how-fast-the-universe-is-expanding/#4fcf4da81635\">how the universe has expanded\u003c/a> through history, and from that knowledge we may be able to get a stronger grip on the nature of \u003ca href=\"https://www.newscientist.com/article/2077800-what-will-gravitational-waves-tell-us-about-the-universe/\">\u003cem>dark energy\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, the mysterious “anti-gravitational force” that may comprise most of the bulk of the universe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists may also use this source of observational data to test how gravity behaves over cosmic distances, and whether its strength falls off with distance in any surprising ways — which could reshape our entire understanding of gravity and cosmic physics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It has also been proposed that gravity waves produced by the \u003ca href=\"https://phys.org/news/2017-09-gravitational-stars-supernovae.html\">core collapse in a supernova explosion\u003c/a> may be observable as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If so, then astronomers would be able to probe deep inside a supernova as it is happening, another place where light provides no illumination.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>An ambitious space mission is in the works that promises to reveal extraordinary unseen wonders of the universe. Unseen, literally; the mission, named LISA, is an instrument designed to detect not light waves, but \u003cem>gravitational waves. \u003c/em>These are rippling undulations in the very fabric of space produced by bizarre events like merging black holes, colliding neutron stars, and supernova explosions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://lisa.nasa.gov/\">LISA (the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna)\u003c/a> is a mission of the European Space Agency, in collaboration with NASA, now under development. LISA’s launch will take place sometime in the early 2030s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917898\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1917898\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/AEI-MM-exozet-NASA-Henze-800x450.jpg\" alt='Artist concept of one of the three LISA spacecraft elements, with its two laser \"arms\" shown extending to the other two spacecraft, millions of miles away.' width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/AEI-MM-exozet-NASA-Henze.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/AEI-MM-exozet-NASA-Henze-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/AEI-MM-exozet-NASA-Henze-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/AEI-MM-exozet-NASA-Henze-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/AEI-MM-exozet-NASA-Henze-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/AEI-MM-exozet-NASA-Henze-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist concept of one of the three LISA spacecraft elements, with its two laser “arms” shown extending to the other two spacecraft, millions of miles away. \u003ccite>(AEI/MM/exozet/NASA/Henze)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Once deployed in space, LISA will consist of three spacecraft separated by millions of miles, linked by a laser beam split between them. Using the technique called \u003cem>laser \u003ca href=\"https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/page/what-is-interferometer\">interferometry\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, where patterns in the light of combined laser beams signal tiny relative changes in distance, the trio of spacecraft will be able to measure the minute changes in distance between them caused by a passing gravity wave — changes smaller than the diameter of a helium nucleus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>LISA will follow the pioneering programs of ground-based gravity wave detectors, the MIT and Caltech’s twin \u003ca href=\"https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/page/press-release-gw170817\">LIGO \u003c/a>installations, and the French-Italian Virgo interferometer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What are gravity waves?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.dw.com/en/six-things-you-need-to-know-about-gravitational-waves/a-19042047\">Gravity waves\u003c/a> are fluctuations in \u003cem>spacetime\u003c/em>, the name Albert Einstein gave to the “fabric” of the universe “woven” from the three dimensions of space and the one dimension of time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.space.com/17661-theory-general-relativity.html\">Einstein’s Theory of Relativity\u003c/a> explains gravity not as a force, as Sir Isaac Newton envisioned, but as an effect of the “warping” of spacetime by massive objects within it, like planets, stars and galaxies. Relativity also predicted that the motion of massive objects should produce waves of gravity that move outward, like ripples on the surface of a pool made by something moving in the water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917900\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1917900\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/nasa-lisa-gwdiagram-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Artist concept characterizing the LISA spacecraft trio linked by laser beams (red triangle) following the Earth in orbit around the sun. The gravity waves of a distant cosmic event are represented as undulations in the grid of the fabric of space. \" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/nasa-lisa-gwdiagram-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/nasa-lisa-gwdiagram-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/nasa-lisa-gwdiagram-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/nasa-lisa-gwdiagram-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/nasa-lisa-gwdiagram-960x720.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/nasa-lisa-gwdiagram-240x180.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/nasa-lisa-gwdiagram-375x281.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/nasa-lisa-gwdiagram-520x390.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/nasa-lisa-gwdiagram.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist concept characterizing the LISA spacecraft trio linked by laser beams (red triangle) following the Earth in orbit around the sun. The gravity waves of a distant cosmic event are represented as undulations in the grid of the fabric of space. \u003ccite>(NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When a gravity wave passes by a laser interferometer such as LIGO, Virgo, or LISA, the distortion in spacetime causes the distance between the instrument’s mirrors to change minutely, which can be detected in the patterns of the laser beam reflected between.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Imagine a large jello with pieces of fruit and nuts suspended within it. When something causes the jello to jiggle, the distance between the fruit and nuts may change momentarily as the jello is distorted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Opening Our Ears\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For centuries, telescopes have been used to observe electromagnetic waves (light) emitted or reflected by stars, galaxies, planets, comets, asteroids, and clouds of dust and gas, to form pictures of the universe’s visible wonders. But telescopes only let us see places and things where light dares to tread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Astronomers have long run up against barriers to the perception of light, such as the interiors of black holes, where gravity is so strong that light cannot escape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Viewing the state of the very early universe, by observing ancient light that has taken billions of years to reach us, also presents a seeing limit, for in its youngest times the hot gases of the primordial universe form an optical “fog” that we cannot see through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gravity waves, on the other hand, are not hindered in these ways. When a pair of black holes merge together, the disturbance they cause in spacetime becomes a measurable fluctuation, a gravity wave.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917904\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1917904\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab-800x523.jpg\" alt=\"The LIGO interferometer installation at Hanford, Washington. The long line stretching into the distance is one of two, 4-kilometer tunnels through which the interferometer's laser beam travels. The second LIGO interferometer facility is located in Livingston, Louisiana. \" width=\"800\" height=\"523\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab-800x523.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab-768x502.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab-1020x666.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab-1180x771.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab-960x627.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab-240x157.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab-375x245.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab-520x340.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/LIGO-Hanford_facility_Caltech-MIT-LIGO-Lab.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The LIGO interferometer installation at Hanford, Washington. The long line stretching into the distance is one of two, 4-kilometer tunnels through which the interferometer’s laser beam travels. The second LIGO interferometer facility is located in Livingston, Louisiana. \u003ccite>(Caltech/MIT/LIGO Lab)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On September 14, 2015, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/news/ligo20160211\">first gravity wave detection\u003c/a> was made, announced in a joint report by LIGO and Virgo scientists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The wave was produced by the merging of two 30-solar-mass black holes, 1.3 billion light years away, and its observation heralded the beginning of an era in which we can not only see what’s going on in the universe, but in a sense “hear” things as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From inside your home, you can see objects all around you — furniture, art, appliances, bookshelves — with your eyes, but what goes on outside may be beyond your sight, hidden behind barriers like walls and landscaping. Still, you know when a big truck rumbles by on the street, or an airplane passes overhead, by the sounds they make.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What can gravity waves tell us about the universe?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Learning about the characteristics of merging black holes and colliding neutron stars are not the only things astronomers hope to achieve with gravity wave instruments like LISA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gravity wave observations can give us a better understanding of \u003ca href=\"https://www.forbes.com/sites/briankoberlein/2017/11/16/gravitational-waves-tell-us-just-how-fast-the-universe-is-expanding/#4fcf4da81635\">how the universe has expanded\u003c/a> through history, and from that knowledge we may be able to get a stronger grip on the nature of \u003ca href=\"https://www.newscientist.com/article/2077800-what-will-gravitational-waves-tell-us-about-the-universe/\">\u003cem>dark energy\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, the mysterious “anti-gravitational force” that may comprise most of the bulk of the universe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists may also use this source of observational data to test how gravity behaves over cosmic distances, and whether its strength falls off with distance in any surprising ways — which could reshape our entire understanding of gravity and cosmic physics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It has also been proposed that gravity waves produced by the \u003ca href=\"https://phys.org/news/2017-09-gravitational-stars-supernovae.html\">core collapse in a supernova explosion\u003c/a> may be observable as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If so, then astronomers would be able to probe deep inside a supernova as it is happening, another place where light provides no illumination.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Rendezvous With an Interstellar Traveler",
"headTitle": "Rendezvous With an Interstellar Traveler | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>In October, astronomers discovered that our solar system has been visited by an interstellar traveler. It’s not a spaceship — because that would be \u003cem>truly\u003c/em> huge news — but a natural object: a 500-foot chunk of material designated as \u003ca href=\"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap171103.html\">A/2017 U1\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is \u003cem>still\u003c/em> big news since A/2017 U1 is the first large object passing through our solar system that we know originated in interstellar space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>We Almost Missed It!\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time it was discovered on October 19, by Robert Weryk using the \u003ca href=\"https://panstarrs.stsci.edu/\">Pan-STARRS telescope\u003c/a> in Hawaii, A/2017 U1 had already swung through its closest approach to our sun — “\u003ca href=\"https://www.windows2universe.org/physical_science/physics/mechanics/orbit/perihelion_aphelion.html\">perihelion\u003c/a>” — and was moving away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917564\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 580px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1917564\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PanSTARRS-Paulo-Holvorcem_Michael-Schwartz.jpg\" alt=\"Image of interstellar asteroid A/2017 U1 taken by the PanSTARRS telescope in Hawaii. \" width=\"580\" height=\"302\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PanSTARRS-Paulo-Holvorcem_Michael-Schwartz.jpg 580w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PanSTARRS-Paulo-Holvorcem_Michael-Schwartz-160x83.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PanSTARRS-Paulo-Holvorcem_Michael-Schwartz-240x125.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PanSTARRS-Paulo-Holvorcem_Michael-Schwartz-375x195.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PanSTARRS-Paulo-Holvorcem_Michael-Schwartz-520x271.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image of interstellar asteroid A/2017 U1 taken by the PanSTARRS telescope in Hawaii. \u003ccite>(PanSTARRS/Paulo Holvorcem and Michael Schwartz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But astronomers tracking its movement were able to plot its trajectory, which led to the revelation that A/2017 U1’s orbit is \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://history.nasa.gov/conghand/traject.htm\">hyperbolic\u003c/a> — \u003c/em>definitive proof of its interstellar origin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike the orbits of planets, comets, and asteroids that perpetually run laps around our sun on closed, elliptical loops, a hyperbolic path is “open,” like a boomerang with infinitely long ends. The middle of the boomerang’s bend is where the object makes its closest approach to the sun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Interstellar Comet or Asteroid?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A/2017 U1 was originally classified as a comet since its hyperbolic path resembles the orbits of \u003ca href=\"http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/L/Long-period+Comets\">“long-period” comets\u003c/a> that travel very far into space, but are otherwise gravitationally bound to the sun and orbit it in a regular cycle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Comets are common fare in regions far from the sun, where sunlight is weak and volatile ices can remain frozen and stable. Almost all of the comets that swing close to the sun spend most of their time in the \u003ca href=\"https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/kbos\">\u003cem>Kuiper Belt\u003c/em>\u003c/a> beyond Neptune’s orbit, or in the much more distant \u003ca href=\"https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/oort\">\u003cem>Oort Cloud\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, which surrounds the solar system like a vast, frosty bubble. It is only when a comet heats up near the sun that some of its ices are vaporized and out-gas to form its long, iconic tail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917565\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1917565\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-800x800.jpg\" alt=\"Image of a comet passing close to the sun, captured by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) in 2011. The white circle represents the sun, whose bright disk is hidden behind a disk of metal. \" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-960x960.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-240x240.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-375x375.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-520x520.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-32x32.jpg 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-50x50.jpg 50w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-64x64.jpg 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-96x96.jpg 96w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-128x128.jpg 128w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet.jpg 1041w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image of a comet passing close to the sun, captured by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) in 2011. The white circle represents the sun, whose bright disk is hidden behind a disk of metal. \u003ccite>(SOHO/NASA/ESA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>However, when astronomers pored over data acquired by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/soho/index.html\">SOHO spacecraft\u003c/a> around the time of A/2017 U1’s perihelion, no comet-like behavior was detected in the sun’s vicinity. At its closest approach the object was only 23 million miles from the sun, closer than the planet Mercury and within SOHO’s field of view. If it were a comet, SOHO should have detected out-gassing caused by the sun’s intense heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lack of out-gassing shows that A/2017 U1 contains little if any frozen volatile materials, and must be composed of rock or metal — like an asteroid. We are accustomed to thinking of asteroids as objects that spend most of their time relatively close to the sun, where the steady and strong sunlight vaporizes any ices. Objects that originate farther out tend to be comets, containing substantial amounts of ice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917566\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1917566\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-800x800.jpg\" alt=\"Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen by the European Rosetta spacecraft in 2014. The volatile ices contained in comets are vaporized by sunlight and out-gas into space to form the comet's tail.\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-1920x1920.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-1180x1180.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-960x960.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-240x240.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-375x375.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-520x520.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-32x32.jpg 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-50x50.jpg 50w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-64x64.jpg 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-96x96.jpg 96w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-128x128.jpg 128w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen by the European Rosetta spacecraft in 2014. The volatile ices contained in comets are vaporized by sunlight and out-gas into space to form the comet’s tail. \u003ccite>(ESA/Rosetta)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>So, discovering an interstellar object that has spent probably hundreds of thousands of years in cold interstellar space, and yet is \u003cem>not\u003c/em> a comet but an asteroid, is an even more exciting event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where Did A/2017 U1 Come From?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The “legs” of A/2017 U1’s hyperbolic orbit — the long, stretched arcs of the boomerang’s ends — point in the directions it came from and where it is now heading toward, respectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The object appears to have cruised in from the direction of the constellation Lyra, somewhere near the star Vega. This doesn’t mean that it originated at Vega, or from any of the stars in that region of the sky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At its interstellar cruising speed of 16 miles per second, it would take almost 300,000 years to travel the 25 light years from Vega to our solar system. In that time, the stars have moved along their own paths, rearranging themselves in space and making it nearly impossible to determine A/2017 U1’s true point of origin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s likely that this asteroid \u003cem>did\u003c/em> originate in a star system long ago and was ejected into interstellar space. It has been theorized that even in our solar system, comets and asteroids have been flung into interstellar space by the gravitational influence of giant planets, like Jupiter. Such evictions would have been especially frequent when the solar system was young and there were many more chunks of rock and ice flying about.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, it can go both ways: we were just buzzed by an interstellar asteroid that probably came from another star system, and somewhere else in the galaxy a comet or asteroid that originated in our own solar system, flung out millions or billions of years ago, may be whizzing past another star.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>NASA Has Dabbled in Interstellar Trajectories\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though A/2017 U1 is a natural object, and not an alien spacecraft like the one featured in Arthur C. Clarke’s novel, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112537.Rendezvous_with_Rama\">Rendezvous With Rama\u003c/a>,” there is, in fact, at least one known spacecraft in interstellar space: our own \u003ca href=\"http://www.bbc.com/news/av/science-environment-41147213/voyager-1-at-40-scientists-amazed-1970s-space-probe-still-works\">Voyager 1\u003c/a>, which we launched back in 1977.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Voyager 1 officially entered interstellar space in 2013 when it passed through the \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://ibex.swri.edu/students/What_is_the_heliopause.shtml\">heliopause\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, the tenuous boundary between the bubble of gases blown out by our sun and what lies beyond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, Voyager 1 achieved \u003ca href=\"https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/54979/when-did-voyager-1-achieve-solar-system-escape-velocity\">solar escape velocity\u003c/a> in the same way that in theory A/2017 U1 escaped from its parent system: through interaction with a massive planet — in Voyager 1’s case, Jupiter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917568\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1917568\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Artist illustration of Voyager 1, which officially passed through the heliopause and crossed over into interstellar space in 2013. Voyager 1 is presently over 13 billion miles away, a distance that takes light 19.5 hours to traverse. \" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires-520x293.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires.jpg 1820w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist illustration of Voyager 1, which officially passed through the heliopause and crossed over into interstellar space in 2013. Voyager 1 is presently over 13 billion miles away, a distance that takes light 19.5 hours to traverse. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Before its encounter with Jupiter, Voyager 1 lacked the speed to break free of the sun’s gravitational pull, but after accelerating under Jupiter’s gravity it was flung into a hyperbolic orbit and became, as NASA put it, “. . . destined — perhaps eternally — \u003ca href=\"http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/about-us/156-people-in-astronomy/space-exploration-and-astronauts/satellites-robotic-space-craft/973-will-the-pioneer-and-voyager-probes-ever-leave-the-milky-way-beginner\">to wander the Milky Way\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, just as with A/2017 U1, interstellar distances are vast, and the journey between stars is slow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Voyager 1 is expected to reach our \u003ca href=\"https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/opo0204i/\">solar system’s cometary haven\u003c/a>, the Oort Cloud, in 300 years, and then spend 30,000 years passing through it. In 40,000 years, Voyager 1 will pass within 1.6 light years of the star Gliese 445, enacting its own extrasolar rendezvous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime A/2017 U1 is heading out again. As of November 10 it is over 160 million miles from the sun and hurtling away at 25 miles per second.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, whatever it is — asteroid, or alien artifact — it won’t be pass by ever again.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "A 500-foot space rock discovered in October has turned out to be an asteroid from outside our solar system.",
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"description": "A 500-foot space rock discovered in October has turned out to be an asteroid from outside our solar system.",
"title": "Rendezvous With an Interstellar Traveler | KQED",
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"headline": "Rendezvous With an Interstellar Traveler",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In October, astronomers discovered that our solar system has been visited by an interstellar traveler. It’s not a spaceship — because that would be \u003cem>truly\u003c/em> huge news — but a natural object: a 500-foot chunk of material designated as \u003ca href=\"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap171103.html\">A/2017 U1\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is \u003cem>still\u003c/em> big news since A/2017 U1 is the first large object passing through our solar system that we know originated in interstellar space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>We Almost Missed It!\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time it was discovered on October 19, by Robert Weryk using the \u003ca href=\"https://panstarrs.stsci.edu/\">Pan-STARRS telescope\u003c/a> in Hawaii, A/2017 U1 had already swung through its closest approach to our sun — “\u003ca href=\"https://www.windows2universe.org/physical_science/physics/mechanics/orbit/perihelion_aphelion.html\">perihelion\u003c/a>” — and was moving away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917564\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 580px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1917564\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PanSTARRS-Paulo-Holvorcem_Michael-Schwartz.jpg\" alt=\"Image of interstellar asteroid A/2017 U1 taken by the PanSTARRS telescope in Hawaii. \" width=\"580\" height=\"302\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PanSTARRS-Paulo-Holvorcem_Michael-Schwartz.jpg 580w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PanSTARRS-Paulo-Holvorcem_Michael-Schwartz-160x83.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PanSTARRS-Paulo-Holvorcem_Michael-Schwartz-240x125.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PanSTARRS-Paulo-Holvorcem_Michael-Schwartz-375x195.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PanSTARRS-Paulo-Holvorcem_Michael-Schwartz-520x271.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image of interstellar asteroid A/2017 U1 taken by the PanSTARRS telescope in Hawaii. \u003ccite>(PanSTARRS/Paulo Holvorcem and Michael Schwartz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But astronomers tracking its movement were able to plot its trajectory, which led to the revelation that A/2017 U1’s orbit is \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://history.nasa.gov/conghand/traject.htm\">hyperbolic\u003c/a> — \u003c/em>definitive proof of its interstellar origin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike the orbits of planets, comets, and asteroids that perpetually run laps around our sun on closed, elliptical loops, a hyperbolic path is “open,” like a boomerang with infinitely long ends. The middle of the boomerang’s bend is where the object makes its closest approach to the sun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Interstellar Comet or Asteroid?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A/2017 U1 was originally classified as a comet since its hyperbolic path resembles the orbits of \u003ca href=\"http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/L/Long-period+Comets\">“long-period” comets\u003c/a> that travel very far into space, but are otherwise gravitationally bound to the sun and orbit it in a regular cycle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Comets are common fare in regions far from the sun, where sunlight is weak and volatile ices can remain frozen and stable. Almost all of the comets that swing close to the sun spend most of their time in the \u003ca href=\"https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/kbos\">\u003cem>Kuiper Belt\u003c/em>\u003c/a> beyond Neptune’s orbit, or in the much more distant \u003ca href=\"https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/oort\">\u003cem>Oort Cloud\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, which surrounds the solar system like a vast, frosty bubble. It is only when a comet heats up near the sun that some of its ices are vaporized and out-gas to form its long, iconic tail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917565\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1917565\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-800x800.jpg\" alt=\"Image of a comet passing close to the sun, captured by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) in 2011. The white circle represents the sun, whose bright disk is hidden behind a disk of metal. \" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-960x960.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-240x240.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-375x375.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-520x520.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-32x32.jpg 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-50x50.jpg 50w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-64x64.jpg 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-96x96.jpg 96w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-128x128.jpg 128w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/soho-sungrazingcomet.jpg 1041w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image of a comet passing close to the sun, captured by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) in 2011. The white circle represents the sun, whose bright disk is hidden behind a disk of metal. \u003ccite>(SOHO/NASA/ESA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>However, when astronomers pored over data acquired by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/soho/index.html\">SOHO spacecraft\u003c/a> around the time of A/2017 U1’s perihelion, no comet-like behavior was detected in the sun’s vicinity. At its closest approach the object was only 23 million miles from the sun, closer than the planet Mercury and within SOHO’s field of view. If it were a comet, SOHO should have detected out-gassing caused by the sun’s intense heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lack of out-gassing shows that A/2017 U1 contains little if any frozen volatile materials, and must be composed of rock or metal — like an asteroid. We are accustomed to thinking of asteroids as objects that spend most of their time relatively close to the sun, where the steady and strong sunlight vaporizes any ices. Objects that originate farther out tend to be comets, containing substantial amounts of ice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917566\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1917566\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-800x800.jpg\" alt=\"Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen by the European Rosetta spacecraft in 2014. The volatile ices contained in comets are vaporized by sunlight and out-gas into space to form the comet's tail.\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-1920x1920.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-1180x1180.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-960x960.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-240x240.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-375x375.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-520x520.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-32x32.jpg 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-50x50.jpg 50w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-64x64.jpg 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-96x96.jpg 96w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-128x128.jpg 128w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen by the European Rosetta spacecraft in 2014. The volatile ices contained in comets are vaporized by sunlight and out-gas into space to form the comet’s tail. \u003ccite>(ESA/Rosetta)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>So, discovering an interstellar object that has spent probably hundreds of thousands of years in cold interstellar space, and yet is \u003cem>not\u003c/em> a comet but an asteroid, is an even more exciting event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where Did A/2017 U1 Come From?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The “legs” of A/2017 U1’s hyperbolic orbit — the long, stretched arcs of the boomerang’s ends — point in the directions it came from and where it is now heading toward, respectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The object appears to have cruised in from the direction of the constellation Lyra, somewhere near the star Vega. This doesn’t mean that it originated at Vega, or from any of the stars in that region of the sky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At its interstellar cruising speed of 16 miles per second, it would take almost 300,000 years to travel the 25 light years from Vega to our solar system. In that time, the stars have moved along their own paths, rearranging themselves in space and making it nearly impossible to determine A/2017 U1’s true point of origin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s likely that this asteroid \u003cem>did\u003c/em> originate in a star system long ago and was ejected into interstellar space. It has been theorized that even in our solar system, comets and asteroids have been flung into interstellar space by the gravitational influence of giant planets, like Jupiter. Such evictions would have been especially frequent when the solar system was young and there were many more chunks of rock and ice flying about.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, it can go both ways: we were just buzzed by an interstellar asteroid that probably came from another star system, and somewhere else in the galaxy a comet or asteroid that originated in our own solar system, flung out millions or billions of years ago, may be whizzing past another star.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>NASA Has Dabbled in Interstellar Trajectories\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though A/2017 U1 is a natural object, and not an alien spacecraft like the one featured in Arthur C. Clarke’s novel, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112537.Rendezvous_with_Rama\">Rendezvous With Rama\u003c/a>,” there is, in fact, at least one known spacecraft in interstellar space: our own \u003ca href=\"http://www.bbc.com/news/av/science-environment-41147213/voyager-1-at-40-scientists-amazed-1970s-space-probe-still-works\">Voyager 1\u003c/a>, which we launched back in 1977.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Voyager 1 officially entered interstellar space in 2013 when it passed through the \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://ibex.swri.edu/students/What_is_the_heliopause.shtml\">heliopause\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, the tenuous boundary between the bubble of gases blown out by our sun and what lies beyond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, Voyager 1 achieved \u003ca href=\"https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/54979/when-did-voyager-1-achieve-solar-system-escape-velocity\">solar escape velocity\u003c/a> in the same way that in theory A/2017 U1 escaped from its parent system: through interaction with a massive planet — in Voyager 1’s case, Jupiter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917568\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1917568\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Artist illustration of Voyager 1, which officially passed through the heliopause and crossed over into interstellar space in 2013. Voyager 1 is presently over 13 billion miles away, a distance that takes light 19.5 hours to traverse. \" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires-520x293.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/PIA17462_hires.jpg 1820w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist illustration of Voyager 1, which officially passed through the heliopause and crossed over into interstellar space in 2013. Voyager 1 is presently over 13 billion miles away, a distance that takes light 19.5 hours to traverse. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Before its encounter with Jupiter, Voyager 1 lacked the speed to break free of the sun’s gravitational pull, but after accelerating under Jupiter’s gravity it was flung into a hyperbolic orbit and became, as NASA put it, “. . . destined — perhaps eternally — \u003ca href=\"http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/about-us/156-people-in-astronomy/space-exploration-and-astronauts/satellites-robotic-space-craft/973-will-the-pioneer-and-voyager-probes-ever-leave-the-milky-way-beginner\">to wander the Milky Way\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, just as with A/2017 U1, interstellar distances are vast, and the journey between stars is slow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Voyager 1 is expected to reach our \u003ca href=\"https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/opo0204i/\">solar system’s cometary haven\u003c/a>, the Oort Cloud, in 300 years, and then spend 30,000 years passing through it. In 40,000 years, Voyager 1 will pass within 1.6 light years of the star Gliese 445, enacting its own extrasolar rendezvous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime A/2017 U1 is heading out again. As of November 10 it is over 160 million miles from the sun and hurtling away at 25 miles per second.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, whatever it is — asteroid, or alien artifact — it won’t be pass by ever again.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "You Can Take a Virtual Stroll on Mars, Thanks to Google and NASA",
"headTitle": "You Can Take a Virtual Stroll on Mars, Thanks to Google and NASA | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Humans trekking around Mars just became more realistic. It’s not reality quite yet, but a new \u003cem>virtual\u003c/em> reality experience released by Google in partnership with NASA, called \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://accessmars.withgoogle.com/\">Access Mars\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, is a step in that direction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The web-based virtual reality (VR) experience lets you explore selected locations visited by NASA’s Curiosity rover along its five-year, nearly \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/pia21720/mid-2017-map-of-nasas-curiosity-mars-rover-mission\">11-mile path of discovery\u003c/a>. It not only lets you move about the landscape–poking your nose into highly detailed images of whatever catches your interest–but the 3D terrain model shows relationships between geographical and geological features as no 2D snapshot can.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To recreate the 3D terrain of the chosen sites, data from Curiosity’s stereoscopic camera system was used to derive a topographical model of the landscape, over which the real imagery is mapped. Curiosity becomes your guide on Mars, letting you see our neighboring world almost as if you are there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Walking on an Ancient Lake Bed?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Curiosity landed in Mars’ \u003ca href=\"https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/mission/timeline/prelaunch/landingsiteselection/galecrater2/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gale Crater\u003c/a> in August 2012, during a mission to determine if, and to what extent, liquid water may have been present in Mars’ past. The detection of possible water-associated minerals, like hematite, by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter suggested that the 90-mile wide impact crater may have been a lake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not long after its arrival, Curiosity found evidence of past stream bed activity in layers of sedimentary rock made from sand and gravel not far from its landing site, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/content/yellowknife-bay-formation-on-mars\">Yellowknife Bay\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917192\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1917192 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona-800x618.jpg\" alt=\"A map of the path the Curiosity rover has traversed since landing in 2012 to its present location, Vera Rubin Ridge. The track extends beyond this point, projecting the continuing uphill route NASA plans to send the rover. \" width=\"800\" height=\"618\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona-800x618.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona-160x124.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona-768x593.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona-1020x788.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona-1180x912.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona-960x742.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona-240x185.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona-375x290.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona-520x402.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A map of Curiosity’s path from its 2012 landing to its present location at Vera Rubin Ridge. The track will extend beyond this point as NASA continues to send the rover uphill. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As the rover made its way along the crater floor and up the lower slopes of Mount Sharp–a 3.5-mile tall mound of layered sediments at the crater’s center–evidence of past water action mounted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/pia19839/strata-at-base-of-mount-sharp\">Kimberley Formation\u003c/a> \u003c/em>strata of water-deposited rock slopes downward toward the crater’s center, telling a story of water flowing into Gale Crater before the layers of Mount Sharp had built up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fine sediment layers in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4398\">\u003cem>Murray Buttes \u003c/em>\u003c/a>were left behind after a stream delta emptied into standing waters along a shoreline, then dropped the sediment onto the lake floor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As you explore \u003cem>Access Mars\u003c/em>, keep in mind that it’s not just an alien desert you’re setting your virtual footsteps upon, but a water-sculpted milieu that may have once resembled familiar Earthly aquatic scenes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917193\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1917193\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_-800x367.jpg\" alt=\"The rock strata of the Kimberley Formation dips downward toward the base of Mount Sharp and the center of Gale Crater, indicating that water once flowed into the crater before the mountain had built up. \" width=\"800\" height=\"367\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_-800x367.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_-160x73.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_-768x353.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_-1020x468.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_-960x441.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_-1038x478.jpg 1038w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_-240x110.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_-375x172.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_-520x239.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_.jpg 1041w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The rock strata of the Kimberley Formation dips downward toward the base of Mount Sharp and the center of Gale Crater, indicating that water once flowed into the crater before the mountain had built up. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Curiosity Is Currently Exploring Vera Rubin Ridge\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Curiosity is \u003ca href=\"https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/mission/mars-rover-curiosity-mission-updates/\">currently \u003c/a>exploring a rock formation called \u003ca href=\"https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=pia21849\">\u003cem>Vera Rubin Ridge\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, after reaching the ridge’s foot in September and beginning an ascent of its slopes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The location is one that scientists wanted a closer look at even before Curiosity’s landing five years ago. \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/jpl/msl/pia18781\">Orbital detection of hematite\u003c/a>, an iron oxide mineral that may have been formed in water, made Vera Rubin Ridge a priority destination in Curiosity’s itinerary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From a distance, down slope, pictures of the ridge revealed repeating horizontal layers in the rock, cross-cut by veins of white material suspected to be calcium sulfate. Whether the horizontal layers of sediment were laid down by water or wind action may be determined when Curiosity gets a closer look, but the veins of calcium sulfate would have been deposited by mineral-laden water flowing through cracks in the rock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917194\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1917194\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_-800x237.jpg\" alt=\"A close-up view of the sediments of Vera Rubin Ridge, taken through Curiosity's ChemCam instrument. The picture shows the horizontal layers of sediments laced with white mineral veins deposited by mineral water flowing through cracks. A close-up view of the sediments of Vera Rubin Ridge, taken through Curiosity's ChemCam instrument. The picture shows the horizontal layers of sediments laced with white mineral veins deposited by mineral water flowing through cracks. \" width=\"800\" height=\"237\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_-800x237.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_-160x47.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_-768x228.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_-1020x302.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_-1180x350.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_-960x284.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_-240x71.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_-375x111.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_-520x154.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A close-up view of the sediments of Vera Rubin Ridge, taken through Curiosity’s ChemCam instrument. The picture shows the horizontal layers of sediments laced with white mineral veins deposited by mineral water flowing through cracks. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL-Caltech/CNES/CNRS/LANL/IRAP/IAS/LPGN)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What Will You Find on Mars?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sometimes what we find in our explorations depends on what we are looking for. When you prospect in a desert, you expect to find sand, rocks, dust, and grit—and maybe even hope to find gold. But when you hike along a dry lake bed, you may see past mere sand and rock to the watery environment that formed them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With lakes and streams in mind, take a walk with \u003cem>Access Mars\u003c/em>, and see what you find.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Humans trekking around Mars just became more realistic. It’s not reality quite yet, but a new \u003cem>virtual\u003c/em> reality experience released by Google in partnership with NASA, called \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://accessmars.withgoogle.com/\">Access Mars\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, is a step in that direction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The web-based virtual reality (VR) experience lets you explore selected locations visited by NASA’s Curiosity rover along its five-year, nearly \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/pia21720/mid-2017-map-of-nasas-curiosity-mars-rover-mission\">11-mile path of discovery\u003c/a>. It not only lets you move about the landscape–poking your nose into highly detailed images of whatever catches your interest–but the 3D terrain model shows relationships between geographical and geological features as no 2D snapshot can.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To recreate the 3D terrain of the chosen sites, data from Curiosity’s stereoscopic camera system was used to derive a topographical model of the landscape, over which the real imagery is mapped. Curiosity becomes your guide on Mars, letting you see our neighboring world almost as if you are there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Walking on an Ancient Lake Bed?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Curiosity landed in Mars’ \u003ca href=\"https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/mission/timeline/prelaunch/landingsiteselection/galecrater2/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gale Crater\u003c/a> in August 2012, during a mission to determine if, and to what extent, liquid water may have been present in Mars’ past. The detection of possible water-associated minerals, like hematite, by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter suggested that the 90-mile wide impact crater may have been a lake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not long after its arrival, Curiosity found evidence of past stream bed activity in layers of sedimentary rock made from sand and gravel not far from its landing site, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/content/yellowknife-bay-formation-on-mars\">Yellowknife Bay\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917192\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1917192 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona-800x618.jpg\" alt=\"A map of the path the Curiosity rover has traversed since landing in 2012 to its present location, Vera Rubin Ridge. The track extends beyond this point, projecting the continuing uphill route NASA plans to send the rover. \" width=\"800\" height=\"618\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona-800x618.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona-160x124.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona-768x593.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona-1020x788.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona-1180x912.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona-960x742.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona-240x185.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona-375x290.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona-520x402.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/trackmap_NASA.JPL-Caltech.UnivofArizona.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A map of Curiosity’s path from its 2012 landing to its present location at Vera Rubin Ridge. The track will extend beyond this point as NASA continues to send the rover uphill. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As the rover made its way along the crater floor and up the lower slopes of Mount Sharp–a 3.5-mile tall mound of layered sediments at the crater’s center–evidence of past water action mounted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/pia19839/strata-at-base-of-mount-sharp\">Kimberley Formation\u003c/a> \u003c/em>strata of water-deposited rock slopes downward toward the crater’s center, telling a story of water flowing into Gale Crater before the layers of Mount Sharp had built up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fine sediment layers in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4398\">\u003cem>Murray Buttes \u003c/em>\u003c/a>were left behind after a stream delta emptied into standing waters along a shoreline, then dropped the sediment onto the lake floor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As you explore \u003cem>Access Mars\u003c/em>, keep in mind that it’s not just an alien desert you’re setting your virtual footsteps upon, but a water-sculpted milieu that may have once resembled familiar Earthly aquatic scenes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917193\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1917193\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_-800x367.jpg\" alt=\"The rock strata of the Kimberley Formation dips downward toward the base of Mount Sharp and the center of Gale Crater, indicating that water once flowed into the crater before the mountain had built up. \" width=\"800\" height=\"367\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_-800x367.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_-160x73.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_-768x353.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_-1020x468.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_-960x441.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_-1038x478.jpg 1038w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_-240x110.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_-375x172.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_-520x239.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/KimberleyNASA.JPL-Caltech.MSSS_.jpg 1041w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The rock strata of the Kimberley Formation dips downward toward the base of Mount Sharp and the center of Gale Crater, indicating that water once flowed into the crater before the mountain had built up. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Curiosity Is Currently Exploring Vera Rubin Ridge\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Curiosity is \u003ca href=\"https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/mission/mars-rover-curiosity-mission-updates/\">currently \u003c/a>exploring a rock formation called \u003ca href=\"https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=pia21849\">\u003cem>Vera Rubin Ridge\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, after reaching the ridge’s foot in September and beginning an ascent of its slopes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The location is one that scientists wanted a closer look at even before Curiosity’s landing five years ago. \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/jpl/msl/pia18781\">Orbital detection of hematite\u003c/a>, an iron oxide mineral that may have been formed in water, made Vera Rubin Ridge a priority destination in Curiosity’s itinerary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From a distance, down slope, pictures of the ridge revealed repeating horizontal layers in the rock, cross-cut by veins of white material suspected to be calcium sulfate. Whether the horizontal layers of sediment were laid down by water or wind action may be determined when Curiosity gets a closer look, but the veins of calcium sulfate would have been deposited by mineral-laden water flowing through cracks in the rock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917194\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1917194\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_-800x237.jpg\" alt=\"A close-up view of the sediments of Vera Rubin Ridge, taken through Curiosity's ChemCam instrument. The picture shows the horizontal layers of sediments laced with white mineral veins deposited by mineral water flowing through cracks. A close-up view of the sediments of Vera Rubin Ridge, taken through Curiosity's ChemCam instrument. The picture shows the horizontal layers of sediments laced with white mineral veins deposited by mineral water flowing through cracks. \" width=\"800\" height=\"237\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_-800x237.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_-160x47.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_-768x228.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_-1020x302.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_-1180x350.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_-960x284.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_-240x71.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_-375x111.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_-520x154.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/VRR_NASA.JPL-Caltech.CNES_.CNRS_.LANL_.IRAP_.IAS_.LPGN_.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A close-up view of the sediments of Vera Rubin Ridge, taken through Curiosity’s ChemCam instrument. The picture shows the horizontal layers of sediments laced with white mineral veins deposited by mineral water flowing through cracks. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL-Caltech/CNES/CNRS/LANL/IRAP/IAS/LPGN)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What Will You Find on Mars?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sometimes what we find in our explorations depends on what we are looking for. When you prospect in a desert, you expect to find sand, rocks, dust, and grit—and maybe even hope to find gold. But when you hike along a dry lake bed, you may see past mere sand and rock to the watery environment that formed them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With lakes and streams in mind, take a walk with \u003cem>Access Mars\u003c/em>, and see what you find.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Now We Know: That Ring on Your Finger Has Cosmic Origins",
"headTitle": "Now We Know: That Ring on Your Finger Has Cosmic Origins | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Far, far away, 130 million years ago, in a galaxy nestled in the Hydra constellation, a violent explosion of two collapsed stars merging into one sent a burst of gamma rays searing across the cosmos and sent shockwaves through the fabric of the universe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It has also sent shockwaves of excitement through the field of astrophysics, demonstrating a new way to study the heavens.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘This detection has genuinely opened the doors to a new way of doing astrophysics. I expect it will be remembered as one of the most studied astrophysical events in history.’\u003ccite>Laura Cadonati, spokesperson for LIGO\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>It took until August 17 for these signals to reach Earth, where, at 8:41 a.m. Eastern time, a team of gravitational wave astronomers observed them with the \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/tag/ligo/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LIGO and Virgo detectors\u003c/a>. Less than two seconds later, NASA’s \u003ca href=\"https://fermi.gsfc.nasa.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fermi Space Telescope\u003c/a> observed a quick flash of gamma radiation, long theorized to be associated with merging neutron stars. The LIGO and Virgo team was able to pinpoint where the signals were coming from and put dozens of observatories around the globe on alert to look for signals of cosmic upheaval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his office at University of California, Santa Cruz, postdoctoral researcher Charles Kilpatrick was the first to locate it. Scanning images from his team’s telescope in Chile, he saw — beside a galaxy known as NGC 4993 — a tiny dot that had not been there before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kilpatrick will enter the history books as the first known human to see photons from a neutron star collision. Speaking to the\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/programs/the-california-report/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> California Report’s\u003c/a> John Sepulvado, Kilpatrick says it looked like any other star at first. Further analysis revealed it was kind of blue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If something is blue, it’s really hot,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The spectacular heat seen from these kinds of collisions create conditions for a kind of “cosmic forge” which have profoundly influenced the chemistry and evolution of the universe. It’s been long believed that collisions between neutron stars are the primary sources of heavy elements, such as gold, silver and platinum. But prior to this event, no neutron star collision had been observed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/-iaviqwMfJ0?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Imagine this the next time you offer a loved one a ring, necklace or bracelet made from a precious metal — you are offering them the offspring of the union between two really dense dead stars. And just as gold and platinum are incredibly rare, so are these events.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This detection has genuinely opened the doors to a new way of doing astrophysics. I expect it will be remembered as one of the most studied astrophysical events in history,” said Laura Cadonati, professor of physics at Georgia Tech and deputy spokesperson for the LIGO Scientific Collaboration in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?org=NSF&cntn_id=243382&preview=false\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prior to this collision, astronomers have observed distant cosmic events through just a single channel of information: gamma ray bursts, or radio signals, for example. The inclusion of gravitational waves (a new technique) and direct telescope observation (an old one) is like having several messengers tell you about the same thing. David Reitze, executive director of the LIGO observatory compares it to movies making the leap from silent films to ‘talkies’.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is the fifth source of gravitational waves to be detected — the first one was discovered in September 2015, for which three founding members of the LIGO collaboration were \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2017/10/03/nobel-prize-winners-detected-ripples-in-fabric-of-universe/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">awarded the Nobel prize in physics\u003c/a> two weeks ago.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Scientists announce the first direct detection of gravitational waves -- ripples in space-time -- in addition to light from the collision of two neutron stars. And this has what to do with precious metals? Read on.",
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"description": "Scientists announce the first direct detection of gravitational waves -- ripples in space-time -- in addition to light from the collision of two neutron stars. And this has what to do with precious metals? Read on.",
"title": "Now We Know: That Ring on Your Finger Has Cosmic Origins | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Far, far away, 130 million years ago, in a galaxy nestled in the Hydra constellation, a violent explosion of two collapsed stars merging into one sent a burst of gamma rays searing across the cosmos and sent shockwaves through the fabric of the universe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It has also sent shockwaves of excitement through the field of astrophysics, demonstrating a new way to study the heavens.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘This detection has genuinely opened the doors to a new way of doing astrophysics. I expect it will be remembered as one of the most studied astrophysical events in history.’\u003ccite>Laura Cadonati, spokesperson for LIGO\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>It took until August 17 for these signals to reach Earth, where, at 8:41 a.m. Eastern time, a team of gravitational wave astronomers observed them with the \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/tag/ligo/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LIGO and Virgo detectors\u003c/a>. Less than two seconds later, NASA’s \u003ca href=\"https://fermi.gsfc.nasa.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fermi Space Telescope\u003c/a> observed a quick flash of gamma radiation, long theorized to be associated with merging neutron stars. The LIGO and Virgo team was able to pinpoint where the signals were coming from and put dozens of observatories around the globe on alert to look for signals of cosmic upheaval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his office at University of California, Santa Cruz, postdoctoral researcher Charles Kilpatrick was the first to locate it. Scanning images from his team’s telescope in Chile, he saw — beside a galaxy known as NGC 4993 — a tiny dot that had not been there before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kilpatrick will enter the history books as the first known human to see photons from a neutron star collision. Speaking to the\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/programs/the-california-report/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> California Report’s\u003c/a> John Sepulvado, Kilpatrick says it looked like any other star at first. Further analysis revealed it was kind of blue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If something is blue, it’s really hot,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The spectacular heat seen from these kinds of collisions create conditions for a kind of “cosmic forge” which have profoundly influenced the chemistry and evolution of the universe. It’s been long believed that collisions between neutron stars are the primary sources of heavy elements, such as gold, silver and platinum. But prior to this event, no neutron star collision had been observed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/-iaviqwMfJ0?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Imagine this the next time you offer a loved one a ring, necklace or bracelet made from a precious metal — you are offering them the offspring of the union between two really dense dead stars. And just as gold and platinum are incredibly rare, so are these events.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This detection has genuinely opened the doors to a new way of doing astrophysics. I expect it will be remembered as one of the most studied astrophysical events in history,” said Laura Cadonati, professor of physics at Georgia Tech and deputy spokesperson for the LIGO Scientific Collaboration in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?org=NSF&cntn_id=243382&preview=false\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prior to this collision, astronomers have observed distant cosmic events through just a single channel of information: gamma ray bursts, or radio signals, for example. The inclusion of gravitational waves (a new technique) and direct telescope observation (an old one) is like having several messengers tell you about the same thing. David Reitze, executive director of the LIGO observatory compares it to movies making the leap from silent films to ‘talkies’.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is the fifth source of gravitational waves to be detected — the first one was discovered in September 2015, for which three founding members of the LIGO collaboration were \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2017/10/03/nobel-prize-winners-detected-ripples-in-fabric-of-universe/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">awarded the Nobel prize in physics\u003c/a> two weeks ago.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Coming This Week: Earth's Close Encounter With an Asteroid",
"headTitle": "Coming This Week: Earth’s Close Encounter With an Asteroid | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>On Thursday, October 12, a small asteroid named 2012 TC4 will pass relatively close by our planet— at an astonishing 5 miles per second. This asteroid’s last close flyby was in 2012, only days after it was first discovered. But you can relax: it won’t hit us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Astronomers, of course, are not relaxing, but taking the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/asteroid-flyby-will-benefit-nasa-detection-and-tracking-network\">opportunity to hone their ability\u003c/a> to detect and anticipate future encounters with near-Earth asteroids, the legions of space-rocks whose orbits carry them to within 120 million miles of the sun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is not uncommon for small asteroids to pass close to the Earth. At least a dozen have done so since the beginning of the year. What makes 2012 TC4’s flyby special is that astronomers knew \u003cem>exactly when\u003c/em> it was coming because of what they learned from its previous appearance five years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>2012 TC4 was discovered on October 4, 2012 by observers at the \u003ca href=\"https://panstarrs.stsci.edu/\">Haleakala Observatory\u003c/a> in Hawaii, only days before its first known flyby of Earth. It was tracked for about one week by several observatories around the world. Then it disappeared once again, passing beyond our ability to detect it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Data obtained during that week of tracking five years ago gave astronomers enough information to predict another flyby of Earth this October 12, 2017. The first estimates for the distance at closest approach \u003ca href=\"https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news197.html\">ranged from 4,000 to 170,000 \u003c/a> miles from Earth’s surface. That was an ominous range of uncertainty when you consider that 4,000 miles is about half of the Earth’s diameter. Even a small asteroid could cause some local damage if it collided with us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1916403\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 620px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1916403\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/orbit-2012-tc4.jpg\" alt=\"The orbit of asteroid 2012 TC4 carries it from beyond Mars to a point closer to the sun than Earth. On October 12, the orbits of the asteroid and Earth coincide, with the asteroid passing within 27,000 miles of Earth's surface. \" width=\"620\" height=\"518\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/orbit-2012-tc4.jpg 620w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/orbit-2012-tc4-160x134.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/orbit-2012-tc4-240x201.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/orbit-2012-tc4-375x313.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/orbit-2012-tc4-520x434.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The orbit of asteroid 2012 TC4 carries it from beyond Mars to a point closer to the sun than Earth. On October 12, the orbits of the asteroid and Earth coincide, with the asteroid passing within 27,000 miles of Earth’s surface. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Then, on July 27 this year, the asteroid was again detected, this time by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/\">Cerro Paranal observatory\u003c/a> in Chile, and astronomers have been tracking it ever since. Their observations have allowed them to refine a model of the asteroid’s orbit and make a better prediction for this week’s closest proximity: 27,203 miles, or an eighth of the distance from Earth to the moon. Close enough, but thankfully no cause for alarm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>2012 TC4, which orbits the sun every 609 days, is estimated to be 40 to 90 feet across—\u003cem>perhaps\u003c/em> a little larger than the asteroid that exploded in the atmosphere over \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svzB0QYNIWI\">Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2014\u003c/a>. That rare event caused a blinding fireball and a shock wave that shattered windows over a wide area, even knocking down some brick structures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1916301\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 765px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1916301\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/Chabot-2012-TC4.jpg\" alt=\"Image of Near Earth Asteroid 2012 TC4 captured by Chabot Space & Science Center's 36-inch telescope on October 8, 2017. The pair of faint dots at center are the asteroid at two slightly different times, when it was about a million miles from Earth. \" width=\"765\" height=\"510\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/Chabot-2012-TC4.jpg 765w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/Chabot-2012-TC4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/Chabot-2012-TC4-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/Chabot-2012-TC4-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/Chabot-2012-TC4-520x347.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 765px) 100vw, 765px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image of Near Earth Asteroid 2012 TC4 captured by Chabot Space & Science Center’s 36-inch telescope on October 8, 2017. The pair of faint dots at center are the asteroid at two slightly different times, when it was about a million miles from Earth. \u003ccite>(Chabot Space & Science Center/Gerald McKeegan)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A few days ago, on October 8, the asteroid was still about a million miles away from us, and has been drawing closer ever since. At a million miles, or about four times the distance from Earth to the moon, this rock appears merely as a faint, star-like dot even in powerful telescopes. In fact, it is their appearance as pinpoints of light that earned these objects the name “asteroid,” which means star-like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Risk of an Asteroid Collision\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The intense interest in understanding the orbital trajectories and physical properties of near-Earth asteroids is driven by the fact that these space rocks, large and small, can and have collided with Earth, and will again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The more we learn about them, the better able we are to predict whether and when any given asteroid will strike our planet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1916310\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1916310\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Diagram showing the solar system's population of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs), with each image representing 100 asteroids. Those NEAs known to exist are shown in brown, while the remaining predicted to exist are in green and blue. The green predictions are based on newer data from NASA's WISE spacecraft.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200-960x720.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200-240x180.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200-375x281.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200-520x390.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Diagram showing the solar system’s population of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs), with each image representing 100 asteroids. Those NEAs known to exist are shown in brown, while the remaining predicted to exist are in green and blue. The green predictions are based on newer data from NASA’s WISE spacecraft. \u003ccite>(NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>2012 TC4 reminds us that the solar system is populated by millions of these chunks of rock and metal that regularly pass by Earth. Most of these asteroids are so small they can only be detected when they are close. These “stealth” asteroids literally come at us out of the dark, with very little warning. Fortunately, smaller asteroids do less damage when they collide with a planet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a collision with the largest of near-Earth asteroids—those that are like mile-sized mountains—would cause a global catastrophe. The good news about these giant asteroids is that we already know \u003ca href=\"https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/stats/\">their locations and sizes\u003c/a>, and\u003cem> none\u003c/em> are predicted to collide with Earth in the foreseeable future, at least a century. Collisions with these behemoths only happen on average every 100,000 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But about every 10,000 years an asteroid of the 300-foot variety hits our planet, devastating the region it hits. Arizona’s “\u003ca href=\"http://meteorcrater.com/\">Meteor Crater,”\u003c/a>a hole almost a mile wide and 600 feet deep, was formed 50,000 years ago by the impact of an asteroid of the 200 to 300 foot size. Shards of hot debris and dust from the impact would have rained down across a wide region, laying waste to the land.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1908, in \u003ca href=\"https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/30jun_tunguska\">Tunguska, Siberia, \u003c/a>an object of similar size that was either an asteroid or a comet exploded in the atmosphere, flattening 700 square miles of forest. The 2014 \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svzB0QYNIWI\">Chelyabinsk event\u003c/a> in Russia’s Ural Mountains—also an aerial explosion—was produced by a 60-foot asteroid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A Key to Planetary Defense\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the upcoming flyby of 2012 TC4, this tiny asteroid will again recede into space and disappear from view. But the encounter will give astronomers an even better understanding of its orbit, and maybe some of its physical characteristics, making the next flyby prediction more accurate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Data from 2012 TC4’s flyby will not only improve our ability to anticipate similar encounters, but will increase our chances of defending ourselves if and when a potentially destructive asteroid is found to be on a collision course with Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The more we know about when, where and how big an impact will be, the more lives might be saved by evacuating people from ground zero, or \u003ca href=\"https://b612foundation.org/\">devising a way to deflect the asteroid\u003c/a> before it even hits.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On Thursday, October 12, a small asteroid named 2012 TC4 will pass relatively close by our planet— at an astonishing 5 miles per second. This asteroid’s last close flyby was in 2012, only days after it was first discovered. But you can relax: it won’t hit us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Astronomers, of course, are not relaxing, but taking the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/asteroid-flyby-will-benefit-nasa-detection-and-tracking-network\">opportunity to hone their ability\u003c/a> to detect and anticipate future encounters with near-Earth asteroids, the legions of space-rocks whose orbits carry them to within 120 million miles of the sun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is not uncommon for small asteroids to pass close to the Earth. At least a dozen have done so since the beginning of the year. What makes 2012 TC4’s flyby special is that astronomers knew \u003cem>exactly when\u003c/em> it was coming because of what they learned from its previous appearance five years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>2012 TC4 was discovered on October 4, 2012 by observers at the \u003ca href=\"https://panstarrs.stsci.edu/\">Haleakala Observatory\u003c/a> in Hawaii, only days before its first known flyby of Earth. It was tracked for about one week by several observatories around the world. Then it disappeared once again, passing beyond our ability to detect it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Data obtained during that week of tracking five years ago gave astronomers enough information to predict another flyby of Earth this October 12, 2017. The first estimates for the distance at closest approach \u003ca href=\"https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news197.html\">ranged from 4,000 to 170,000 \u003c/a> miles from Earth’s surface. That was an ominous range of uncertainty when you consider that 4,000 miles is about half of the Earth’s diameter. Even a small asteroid could cause some local damage if it collided with us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1916403\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 620px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1916403\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/orbit-2012-tc4.jpg\" alt=\"The orbit of asteroid 2012 TC4 carries it from beyond Mars to a point closer to the sun than Earth. On October 12, the orbits of the asteroid and Earth coincide, with the asteroid passing within 27,000 miles of Earth's surface. \" width=\"620\" height=\"518\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/orbit-2012-tc4.jpg 620w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/orbit-2012-tc4-160x134.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/orbit-2012-tc4-240x201.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/orbit-2012-tc4-375x313.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/orbit-2012-tc4-520x434.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The orbit of asteroid 2012 TC4 carries it from beyond Mars to a point closer to the sun than Earth. On October 12, the orbits of the asteroid and Earth coincide, with the asteroid passing within 27,000 miles of Earth’s surface. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Then, on July 27 this year, the asteroid was again detected, this time by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/\">Cerro Paranal observatory\u003c/a> in Chile, and astronomers have been tracking it ever since. Their observations have allowed them to refine a model of the asteroid’s orbit and make a better prediction for this week’s closest proximity: 27,203 miles, or an eighth of the distance from Earth to the moon. Close enough, but thankfully no cause for alarm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>2012 TC4, which orbits the sun every 609 days, is estimated to be 40 to 90 feet across—\u003cem>perhaps\u003c/em> a little larger than the asteroid that exploded in the atmosphere over \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svzB0QYNIWI\">Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2014\u003c/a>. That rare event caused a blinding fireball and a shock wave that shattered windows over a wide area, even knocking down some brick structures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1916301\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 765px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1916301\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/Chabot-2012-TC4.jpg\" alt=\"Image of Near Earth Asteroid 2012 TC4 captured by Chabot Space & Science Center's 36-inch telescope on October 8, 2017. The pair of faint dots at center are the asteroid at two slightly different times, when it was about a million miles from Earth. \" width=\"765\" height=\"510\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/Chabot-2012-TC4.jpg 765w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/Chabot-2012-TC4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/Chabot-2012-TC4-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/Chabot-2012-TC4-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/Chabot-2012-TC4-520x347.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 765px) 100vw, 765px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image of Near Earth Asteroid 2012 TC4 captured by Chabot Space & Science Center’s 36-inch telescope on October 8, 2017. The pair of faint dots at center are the asteroid at two slightly different times, when it was about a million miles from Earth. \u003ccite>(Chabot Space & Science Center/Gerald McKeegan)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A few days ago, on October 8, the asteroid was still about a million miles away from us, and has been drawing closer ever since. At a million miles, or about four times the distance from Earth to the moon, this rock appears merely as a faint, star-like dot even in powerful telescopes. In fact, it is their appearance as pinpoints of light that earned these objects the name “asteroid,” which means star-like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Risk of an Asteroid Collision\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The intense interest in understanding the orbital trajectories and physical properties of near-Earth asteroids is driven by the fact that these space rocks, large and small, can and have collided with Earth, and will again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The more we learn about them, the better able we are to predict whether and when any given asteroid will strike our planet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1916310\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1916310\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Diagram showing the solar system's population of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs), with each image representing 100 asteroids. Those NEAs known to exist are shown in brown, while the remaining predicted to exist are in green and blue. The green predictions are based on newer data from NASA's WISE spacecraft.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200-960x720.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200-240x180.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200-375x281.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200-520x390.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/592667main_pia14734-43_1600-1200.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Diagram showing the solar system’s population of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs), with each image representing 100 asteroids. Those NEAs known to exist are shown in brown, while the remaining predicted to exist are in green and blue. The green predictions are based on newer data from NASA’s WISE spacecraft. \u003ccite>(NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>2012 TC4 reminds us that the solar system is populated by millions of these chunks of rock and metal that regularly pass by Earth. Most of these asteroids are so small they can only be detected when they are close. These “stealth” asteroids literally come at us out of the dark, with very little warning. Fortunately, smaller asteroids do less damage when they collide with a planet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a collision with the largest of near-Earth asteroids—those that are like mile-sized mountains—would cause a global catastrophe. The good news about these giant asteroids is that we already know \u003ca href=\"https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/stats/\">their locations and sizes\u003c/a>, and\u003cem> none\u003c/em> are predicted to collide with Earth in the foreseeable future, at least a century. Collisions with these behemoths only happen on average every 100,000 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But about every 10,000 years an asteroid of the 300-foot variety hits our planet, devastating the region it hits. Arizona’s “\u003ca href=\"http://meteorcrater.com/\">Meteor Crater,”\u003c/a>a hole almost a mile wide and 600 feet deep, was formed 50,000 years ago by the impact of an asteroid of the 200 to 300 foot size. Shards of hot debris and dust from the impact would have rained down across a wide region, laying waste to the land.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1908, in \u003ca href=\"https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/30jun_tunguska\">Tunguska, Siberia, \u003c/a>an object of similar size that was either an asteroid or a comet exploded in the atmosphere, flattening 700 square miles of forest. The 2014 \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svzB0QYNIWI\">Chelyabinsk event\u003c/a> in Russia’s Ural Mountains—also an aerial explosion—was produced by a 60-foot asteroid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A Key to Planetary Defense\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the upcoming flyby of 2012 TC4, this tiny asteroid will again recede into space and disappear from view. But the encounter will give astronomers an even better understanding of its orbit, and maybe some of its physical characteristics, making the next flyby prediction more accurate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Data from 2012 TC4’s flyby will not only improve our ability to anticipate similar encounters, but will increase our chances of defending ourselves if and when a potentially destructive asteroid is found to be on a collision course with Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The more we know about when, where and how big an impact will be, the more lives might be saved by evacuating people from ground zero, or \u003ca href=\"https://b612foundation.org/\">devising a way to deflect the asteroid\u003c/a> before it even hits.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"tagline": "The flip side of gentrification, told through one town",
"info": "Gentrification is changing cities across America, forcing people from neighborhoods they have long called home. Call them the displaced. Now those priced out of the Bay Area are looking for a better life in an unlikely place. American Suburb follows this migration to one California town along the Delta, 45 miles from San Francisco. But is this once sleepy suburb ready for them?",
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"tagline": "Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time",
"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
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"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
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"order": 8
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},
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
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"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"order": 9
},
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"hidden-brain": {
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"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
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"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"order": 18
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"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
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"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
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},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
},
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
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},
"masters-of-scale": {
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"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
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"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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