©ESO
Posted on 03/29/2015 5:17:08 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Results from exoplanet surveys indicate that small planets (super-Earth size and below) are abundant in our Galaxy. However, little is known about their interiors and atmospheres.
There is therefore a need to find small planets transiting bright stars, which would enable a detailed characterisation of this population of objects. We present the results of a search for the transit of the Earth-mass exoplanet Alpha Centauri Bb with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST).
We observed Alpha Centauri B twice in 2013 and 2014 for a total of 40 hours. We achieve a precision of 115 ppm per 6-s exposure time in a highly-saturated regime, which is found to be consistent across HST orbits. We rule out the transiting nature of Alpha Centauri Bb with the orbital parameters published in the literature at 96.6% confidence.
We find in our data a single transit-like event that could be associated to another Earth-size planet in the system, on a longer period orbit. Our program demonstrates the ability of HST to obtain consistent, high-precision photometry of saturated stars over 26 hours of continuous observations.
(Excerpt) Read more at astrobiology.com ...
©ESO
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Cool pic.
IIRC, an observer on a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri A or B would see the Sun in the constellation Cassiopeia.
This babble is not worth spending our great great children’s money on it. Shut this crap down and close the borders!!!
Transit of the Earth-mass Exoplanet Alpha Centauri Bb — early Pink Floyd album, right?
According to Wikipedia, not everyone agrees that this planet has been discovered. If it is there, it would be about one-tenth the distance from Alpha Centauri B as Mercury is from the sun, so it’s not likely to have any life on it.
According to Wikipedia, not everyone agrees that this planet has been discovered. If it is there, it would be about one-tenth the distance from Alpha Centauri B as Mercury is from the sun, so it’s not likely to have any life on it.
Did you know that the muzzies snuk an unlabeled crescent moon into your pic?
Those sneaky b*st*rds!
As close as it is to the star, I’m guessing an atmosphere is pretty unlikely.
I feel that way too sometimes, but as long as Jim keeps it open, I’ll be here.
Thanks NM!
It was a bootleg only, live show in Stjerneborg, ironically part of the Atom Heart Mother tour.
Jim is a great American. He is the last line of honest communication without government smack down. God Bless Jim Robinson. The Republicrat elites— the communist demorats and the al qaeda hate him.
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