Image Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Debes (STScI), H. Jang-Condell (University of Wyoming), A. Weinberger (Carnegie Institution of Washington), A. Roberge (Goddard Space Flight Center), and G. Schneider (University of Arizona/Steward Observatory)
Posted on 06/14/2013 9:24:58 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
The astronomers made Hubble Space Telescope observations over a wide range of wavelengths from visible to near infrared and modeled the color and structure of the disk in a way that has not been done before. They found a deficit of disk material, or partial gap, at about 80 astronomical units (AU) (1 AU is the Earth/Sun distance). Their models indicate that the depression is about 20 AUs wide, just slightly wider than necessary for a planet-opening gap and consistent with a planet of between 6 and 28 Earth masses. The feature is seen at all wavelengths indicating it is structural and not a local compositional difference. The team believes the evidence is strong for planet formation causing the gap.
"TW Hydrae is between 5 and 10 million years old, and should be in the final throes of planet formation before its disk dissipates," remarked coauthor Alycia Weinberger of the Carnegie Institution and principal investigator of the observations. "It is surprising to find a planet only 5 to 10% of Jupiter's mass forming so far out since planets should form faster closer in. In all planet formation scenarios, it's difficult to make a low-mass planet far away from a low mass star."
(Excerpt) Read more at dailygalaxy.com ...
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Debes (STScI), H. Jang-Condell (University of Wyoming), A. Weinberger (Carnegie Institution of Washington), A. Roberge (Goddard Space Flight Center), and G. Schneider (University of Arizona/Steward Observatory)
Extra to APoD members.
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Science knows everything. Until it doesn't.
I never heard anyone claim, “Science knows everything”.
K-PAX
The reason science exists is so one day we can know everything. As apposed to say...Ignorant superstition.
Perhaps the people who inhabit this planet have figured out how to adjust their orbital distance from what it was in the beginning, perhaps to evade asteroids , or to compensate for global warming of their planet
‘Forbidden Planet’
Puzzled by the silence from their colony, a starship crew led by Lt. Frank Drebin travels to the planet.
“Surely this dilemma ... “ “Don’t call me Shirley,” barked the intrepid etc.
Maybe it’s not even a planet, maybe it’s a giant spacecraft. :’)
;’)
Captured rogue planet.
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If you go to Reddit, you will see claims like this all over the place. And if you go on Facebook you may actually see that one of your 'friends' belong to a group called "I F--king Love Science"--I kid you not. It is their religion. And they use it as if to disprove Christianity, their real target.
In English please
A competent scientist is extremely aware of the severe limitations of his knowledge. The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
The science is settled, until it’s unsettled.
Yep - I read a Dean Koontz novel last week and one of the characters, a mathematics specialist, made a statement after talking about how theories are constantly being changed and updated: "When a scientist states that the science is settled, he stops being a scientist and becomes an evangelist."
I found it to be apropos.
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