The discovery of exoplanet GJ 3512b – a planet “too big for its star” – adds fuel to the competition between 2 theoretical models of how planets form. It suggests many more Jupiter-like planets are waiting to be found, orbiting nearby sunlike stars. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/theories-planet-formation-gj-3512b-favors-disk-instability…
Tag: debris
The Crab Nebula was an exploding star
The Crab Nebula, about 6,500 light-years from Earth, is the scattered fragments of a supernova, or exploding star, observed by earthly skywatchers in the year 1054. Source: https://earthsky.org/clusters-nebulae-galaxies/crab-nebula-was-an-exploding-star…
New Theory On Mysterious Oumuamua Space Object Revealed
In 2017, astronomers discovered a peculiar object in the solar system called ‘Oumuamua that was somehow ejected into our solar system from some chain of unfortunate events. “Now, astronomers have hypothesized that something like ‘Oumuamua can come from a still-forming system, and a population of giant planets can have just the right gravitational effects to spread pieces of debris across the…
Andromeda galaxy ate several dwarf galaxies in two-course lunch
Our nearest major galaxy, Andromeda, has eaten several smaller galaxies over its lifetime. Now we have reconstructed the story of the meal from the leftover debris Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2218628-andromeda-galaxy-ate-several-dwarf-galaxies-in-two-course-lunch/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
All you need to know: Draconids in 2019
October’s Draconid meteor shower – sometimes called the Giacobinids – is expected to peak at nightfall or early evening on October 8, 2019, though under a moon-drenched sky. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-draconid-meteor-shower…
Apple is Evaluating New Keyboard Mechanisms To Make Thinner MacBooks
Future MacBooks could be made even thinner by using a slimmer keyboard, by switching out the butterfly mechanism for one where the keys are positioned much closer to the circuit board, reducing the amount of travel and materials required to register a key press and to actuate. From a report: The butterfly keyboard mechanism used in the current generation of MacBook…
Samsung’s Galaxy Fold, Still Extremely Fragile, Goes on Sale in the US on September 27
After releasing it in South Korea and the UK, Samsung is finally ready to say when the Galaxy Fold will go back on sale in the US: September 27th. Samsung says it will be available both in an AT&T version and a standard unlocked version. It’s a smaller launch than the first time around, as it will only be available in…
As Criticism Grows After Crashes, Boeing Committee May Recommend Organizational Changes
McGruber summarizes an article in the New York Times: A small committee of Boeing’s board is expected to call for several meaningful changes to the way the company is structured. The commitee may recommend that Boeing change aspects of its organizational structure, call for the creation of new groups focused on safety and encourage the company to consider making changes to…
Stars that eat planets can start spinning so fast they rip apart
When a star engulfs a planet it can end up spinning so fast that it rips apart. The resulting debris could help us learn about exoplanets that were consumed Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2217229-stars-that-eat-planets-can-start-spinning-so-fast-they-rip-apart/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Volcanic eruption creates moveable islands of pumice
Last month, rafts of pumice, spewed from an undersea volcano and spanning an area about the size of Washington, D.C., appeared in the South Pacific. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/pumice-islands-volcanic-eruption…