There’s been a ton of justifiable excitement these days about the possible discovery of a ninth planet in our solar system — an object ten time the mass of Earth and 200 times further from the sun. Especially in the context of the recent demotion of Pluto from a planet to a dwarf planet, …
Continue reading "How Planet 9 Would Make Ours a More Typical Solar System"
There’s been a ton of justifiable excitement these days about the possible discovery of a ninth planet in our solar system — an object ten time the mass of Earth and 200 times further from the sun. Especially in the context of the recent demotion of Pluto from a planet to a dwarf planet, …
Continue reading "How Planet 9 Would Make Ours a More Typical Solar System"
Astronomers have been trying for decades to find a planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the star closest to our sun and so a natural and tempting target. Claims of an exoplanet discovery have been made before, but so far none have held up. Now, in a novel and very public way, a group of European astronomers …
Astronomers have been trying for decades to find a planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the star closest to our sun and so a natural and tempting target. Claims of an exoplanet discovery have been made before, but so far none have held up. Now, in a novel and very public way, a group of European astronomers …
Assuming for a moment that life exists on some exoplanets, how might researchers detect it? This is hardly a new question. More than ten years ago, competing teams of exo-scientists and engineers came up with proposals for a NASA flagship space observatory capable of identifying possible biosignatures on distant planets. No consensus was reached, however, …
Assuming for a moment that life exists on some exoplanets, how might researchers detect it? This is hardly a new question. More than ten years ago, competing teams of exo-scientists and engineers came up with proposals for a NASA flagship space observatory capable of identifying possible biosignatures on distant planets. No consensus was reached, however, …
The IAU, in the person of Executive Committee member and former General Secretary Thierry Montmerle, wrote the following response to an earlier column, "(Mostly) Thumbs Down on ExoNames." The response to the article was first posted as a comment on the Many Worlds site, but to ensure that it is seen by readers I …
The IAU, in the person of Executive Committee member and former General Secretary Thierry Montmerle, wrote the following response to an earlier column, "(Mostly) Thumbs Down on ExoNames." The response to the article was first posted as a comment on the Many Worlds site, but to ensure that it is seen by readers I …
Spending time immersed in the world of exoplanets raises questions of all sorts, and some lead down unexpected pathways. In the aftermath of the 100th anniversary of the publication of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, another part of the great man’s legacy has entered into my life in a way both surprising and satisfying. I’ll …
Continue reading "Einstein, Cosmic Religion and the "Unaffiliated""
Spending time immersed in the world of exoplanets raises questions of all sorts, and some lead down unexpected pathways. In the aftermath of the 100th anniversary of the publication of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, another part of the great man’s legacy has entered into my life in a way both surprising and satisfying. I’ll …
Continue reading "Einstein, Cosmic Religion and the "Unaffiliated""
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