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Stunning images from Very Large Telescope capture unique views of planet formation
Mar 6, 2024
Stunning images captured by the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile reveal unique insights into planet formation around young stars.
In these portraits, emerging planet systems look more like miniature galaxies rather than disks of debris. The figures showcase clearly defined spiral arms arising from thick dust. Others exhibit less-defined clouds of luminescent matter. For astronomers, these observations present a unique opportunity to study how planets are born. The collection of images, captured by one of the world's most powerful telescopes, is one of the largest of its kind, framing more than 80 young stars and their planet-forming disks.
"This is really a shift in our field of study," Christian Ginski, a lecturer at the University of Galway in Ireland and lead author of three papers detailing the observations, said in a statement. "We've gone from the intense study of individual star systems to this huge overview of entire star-forming regions."
The young stars and their fledgling planets come from three major star-forming regions in the Milky Way galaxy. Some live in either the Taurus or Chameleon I gas clouds, both of which are located some 600 light-years from Earth, and others hail from the somewhat more distant Orion gas cloud about 1,600 light-years away.
The researchers found a wide variety of planet-forming disks that displayed significant differences based on which site they came from. In the Orion cloud, for instance, the astronomers observed groups of two or more stars surrounded only by faint planet-forming disks. Some of the most massive stars in the region had oddly shaped disks, suggesting a presence of very large planets that distort their respective disks with their enormous gravitational pulls.
"Some of these disks show huge spiral arms, presumably driven by the intricate ballet of orbiting planets," Ginski said.
Others in the dataset feature rings and large cavities, most likely carved out by forming planets. Still others are smooth and seemingly inactive.
More than 5,000 exoplanets, planets orbiting other stars than the sun, have been discovered by telescopes in space and on Earth since the 1990s. Some of the uncovered planetary systems look completely different from our solar system, and astronomers are therefore still trying to figure out what factors influence the outcomes of planet-forming alchemy. To observe these processes, however, is a difficult task. Regions where stars form are not only far away, but also usually obscured with dust.
To produce the latest collection of images, the astronomers used the VLT's Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet Research instrument (SPHERE), which holds a powerful adaptive optics system that can correct for blurring caused by Earth's atmosphere and produce sharper images. The researchers were thus able to image stars only half as massive as the sun, which most other instruments cannot do, according to the statement. Additional observations taken with the VLT's spectrograph X-shooter and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array provided information about the mass of the stars hosting the imaged planets as well as the amount of surrounding dust.
The researchers hope that, in the future, when the new Extremely Large Telescope comes online in Chile, they will be able to obtain more detailed images, perhaps detecting even small, rocky planets in inner regions of the emerging planetary systems.
Three papers describing the observations were published on Tuesday, March 5, in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics (here, here and here).
https://www.space.com/very-large-telescope-planet-formation-images
Boeing Gets $439M Contract from U.S. Space Force to Build Another Constellation Satellite
March 6, 2024 at 8:11 AM PST
Boeing yesterday announced a $439.6 million contract to build the twelfth Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) communications satellite for U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command. The WGS constellation delivers high-capacity, secure and resilient communications capabilities to the U.S. military and its allies.
The constellation's responsive and steerable beams provide connectivity via the Protected Tactical Enterprise Service (PTES) ground system and enhanced anti-jam communications by combining the U.S. military's jam-resistant Protected Tactical Waveform with antenna nulling in the Ka band.
Boeing's WGS-12 will offer significant performance improvements due to the use of advanced manufacturing techniques, like additive manufacturing, rapid prototyping and agile development.
The anti-jam capability of Boeing's new Protected Tactical Satcom Prototype payload will also be integrated on WGS-12, providing a second Protected Wideband Satellite to the U.S. military, and expanding anti-jam tactical communications capacity for U.S. warfighters and allies to operate in multiple contested theaters.
According to Michelle Parker, Boeing's VP of Space Mission Systems, WGS-12 will provide the military with more than 1,500 individually steerable, shapeable beams in the Ka band.
Boeing is currently building WGS-11 at its El Segundo, Calif., site.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/boeing-gets-439m-contract-u-161134319.html
Satellite connectivity backups put to use over Red Sea
March 5, 2024
Satellite operators are being called in to help keep Europe and Asia connected after subsea internet cables in the Red Sea were severed last week.
Four of around 15 submarine cables in the Red Sea have been affected, according to Hong Kong-based cable operator HGC Global Communications, which is helping reroute affected traffic.
Two of these come together at the area of the cut, the Washington Post reported citing a subsea cable expert at research company TeleGeography, meaning just three cables have been severed.
Still, HGC said in a March 4 update that about a quarter of the traffic passing between Asia, Europe, and the Middle East has been disrupted.
The Yemen-based and Iranian-backed Houthi movement that has been attacking ships in the Red Sea has denied responsibility for the incident, CNN reported, and has blamed British and US military units operating in the area.
A Seacom executive told CNN it could take up to eight weeks to repair the cables, pending permits from Yemen’s maritime authority.
In the meantime, subsea cable operators are rerouting internet traffic between the continents, sometimes via less direct routes.
“There are reports for example in East Africa of the internet slowing down fairly significantly,” said Rhys Morgan, a regional vice president for media and networks sales at satellite fleet operator Intelsat.
Slower internet connections have a financial impact on companies with mission-critical data, Morgan said, while governments and other internet users with sensitive data face having it rerouted via less secure countries.
Intelsat and other operators with satellites overhead can offer customers a space-based route for sending internet traffic from point A to point B.
Morgan told SpaceNews March 5 that Intelsat satellites are providing backup connectivity for a couple of customers that were sending data via subsea cable before the Red Sea incident.
While it remains unclear how the cables were severed, he said the connectivity issues highlight a growing need for hybrid subsea cable and satellite networks.
The increasing geopolitical importance of the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, and growing tensions in the region, prompted media speculation that Russia might have been behind a subsea cable failure in early 2022, although no evidence has emerged to suggest this.
Morgan said connectivity-related incidents are generally getting “more malicious than they’ve been and there’s definitely an uptick in those.” There are also “discussions around submarines sitting near cables, intercepting traffic.”
According to Morgan, subsea cable users with antennas and other equipment already in place to tap into a satellite network backup can get communications restored within 15 minutes.
“If it’s a very large and sophisticated service and there’s a lot of terrestrial work needed then it could take a fair bit longer,” he added, “hours or possibly days.”
Satellite networks can also help restore communications relatively quickly after a natural disaster knocks out terrestrial infrastructure.
Intelsat and SES said their satellites restored connectivity within days after a January 2022 volcanic eruption damaged international and domestic telecoms cables connecting Tonga in the South Pacific.
https://spacenews.com/satellite-connectivity-backups-put-to-use-over-red-sea/
https://spacenews.com/china-outlines-position-on-use-of-space-resources/
China outlines position on use of space resources
March 6, 2024
China holds a seemingly positive stance towards the use of space resources, according to a recent submission made by a Chinese delegation to the United Nations.
The delegation appears to state that China considers space resource utilization as permissible, but must be conducted in accordance with the Outer Space Treaty (OST) of 1967.
China’s submission treats the use of space resources as legal, but also calls for adherence to the existing frameworks of international space law, with the OST as the cornerstone.
The document was submitted to the Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities of the Legal Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).
COPUOS is a body of the United Nations tasked with governing the exploration and use of space for the benefit of all humanity, overseeing matters related to space science and technology and their applications. The Working Group plays a critical role in addressing the legal challenges posed by the utilization of space resources, helping to shape the international legal framework that will govern these activities.
The submission could be seen as a beneficial development, helping to set the stage for a dialogue on the legal frameworks for governing the use of space resources.
“This engagement by China on the international discussion on space resources is a positive development,” Christopher Johnson, director of legal affairs and space law for the Secure World Foundation, told SpaceNews. “It tells us that China is taking international fora like COPUOS seriously, and seems to be engaging in good faith with the fora and with the process.
“Additionally, it’s welcome to have a clear statement of Chinese positions on these issues, and this informs other States in their approach and preparations to the international discussions going on at the UN.”
Johnson interprets the Chinese stance as seemingly largely aligned with the broader international consensus on the use of space resources. That is, the right to possess and use space resources is not only desirable by space agencies and national governments, but is also permissible under the current international law.
Discussion and consideration of the use and legality utilizing space resources has grown in recent years due to advancements in the space sector, the rise of commercial companies and renewed interest in the moon.
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This has made international law and diplomacy related to the subject matters of key focus, with the distance between the respective stances of the U.S. and China likely to be pivotal.
Johnson notes that the Chinese submission seems to put both the U.S. and China somewhat on the same page, with both understanding the desirability of using space resources and their necessity for any long term presence in space, and that such activities are legal under the OST.
There are a number of issues for the international community to settle going forward, some of which are noted in the Chinese submission. These include how space resources can be utilized in a sustainable fashion and in a way that fosters scientific investigations, while also ensuring peaceful relations in space between states and other actors in space.
Another key matter is the question of how states supervise their national activities, making sure private companies comply with the law. Additionally, all such activities will also need to preclude any national territorial annexation of the moon or other celestial bodies, as prohibited by Article II of the OST.
“I’m happy to see the inclusion of important concepts such as sustainability, coordination, cooperation, mutual assistance, due regard, and the mention of scientific investigations throughout the Chinese submission,” says Johnson. “These are all solid foundations for the international discussions.”
China’s submission also restates its own strategic vision for lunar exploration. The country plans to launch the Chang’e-6 lunar far side sample return mission around May this year. Chang’e-7 and Chang’e-8, launching around 2026 and 2028 respectively, will explore lunar resources at the lunar south pole and verify the in-situ utilization of these resources.
These missions will be the basis for establishing the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) in the 2030s in collaboration with international partners.
The submission will help clarify Chinese positions on the non-appropriation principle of Article II, scientific and commercial activities, and issues of cooperation and sustainability before the rules for the ILRS are known. Johnson also notes that the Chinese submission is also, seemingly, a recognition of the near-term need for coordination mechanisms to ensure safety, even as the Working Group develops principles for space resources use.
A number of important meetings centering on the legal matters of space resources lie ahead in the coming months. This includes an expert meeting of the Working Group later this month in Luxembourg during Space Resources Week.
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Scientists look for signs of alien technology in mysterious perfectly synchronised solar system
Mar 5, 2024
Scientists are looking for evidence of alien technology in a faraway solar system with the most perfect mathematical alignment and synchrony of planets ever seen.
The solar system, about 100 light years away from ours, has six planets orbiting an orange dwarf star called HD 110067.
Each of the planets, researchers say, orbits in harmony with its adjacent ones in extremely rare perfect synchrony, suggesting they likely remain undisturbed since their formation a billion years ago.
The six planets, scientists found, move similar to a perfectly synchronized symphony known as resonance that is “precise” and “very orderly”.
“Amongst the over 5000 exoplanets discovered orbiting other stars than our Sun, resonances are not rare, nor are systems with several planets. What is extremely rare though, is to find systems where the resonances span such a long chain of six planets,” Hugh Osborn from the University of Bern, who was part of the team that found this planet system, said.
Astronomers are looking for radio signals from these planets, smaller than the size of Neptune, that may likely point to evidence for past or present alien technology, or technosignatures.
The idea of searching for “technosignatures” on other worlds has been considered by astronomers for more than half a century.
On Earth, for instance, one of the strongest such signs of technology is the emission from nightside city lights.
But finding signs of alien civilisations using such signatures is difficult mainly since the Milky Way galaxy is very big.
Researchers can study the spectrum of radio emissions that are produced from Earth-based technology and extrapolate this to what an alien world may produce.
While looking for signs of technology in other worlds, researchers generally focus on radio transmissions such as the famous “Wow!” signal.
In the latest study, scientists covered frequencies from 1 to 11.2 giga hertz using the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia, US.
Researchers did not find any technosignatures in the current study, but say this “unusual” solar system remains an interesting target for future search for the signs of alien life as some of these worlds are likely to have liquid water.
“While we find no signals with this search, we anticipate returning to this system and others like it in the future with increasingly sensitive and diverse search methods,” they wrote in the study.
https://www.independent.co.uk/space/alien-technology-mysterious-solar-system-b2507739.html
Norwegian UFO Saga Continues: Fresh Search for 1947 Lake Djupsjoen Crash Site
06 Mar 2024 09:26 EST
Nearly eight decades after an unidentified object reportedly plummeted into Lake Djupsjoen, researcher teams in Norway are embarking on an ambitious quest to unravel the mystery. The incident, which took root in the village of Roros in 1947, saw the town's mayor witness what appeared to be a spacecraft descending into the frozen waters. With recent sonar discoveries suggesting a significant underwater anomaly, the search is gaining renewed vigor, propelled by the latest technological advancements.
The Historical Enigma of Lake Djupsjoen
In 1947, the serene village of Roros became the epicenter of a bewildering event when an unidentified flying object was observed making a nosedive into Lake Djupsjoen. Eyewitness accounts, including that of photographer Rue Rostad, described the object as rocket-like, accompanied by considerable noise before its aquatic landing. Initial searches yielded no discoveries, leaving the incident enshrouded in mystery and speculation. The legend of the Lake Djupsjoen UFO has since been a focal point for ufologists and curious minds alike, eager to piece together the puzzle of that fateful day.
Revitalized Efforts and Technological Aid
With advancements in technology, particularly in sonar imaging, a recent examination of Lake Djupsjoen's depths revealed a significant anomaly: an object measuring approximately 46 feet in length and 10 feet in width. This discovery has reignited interest and speculation, leading to the orchestration of one of Norway's largest UFO search operations. Armed with underwater drones and high-spec equipment, researchers, including Arnulf Loken from the Norwegian UFO Center, are determined to uncover the truth. Despite the skepticism from some quarters, the mission continues, supported by a documentary film crew capturing every moment of the search.
Mysterious Lights and Regional Phenomena
The intrigue surrounding Lake Djupsjoen is not an isolated case in the region. Since 1981, unexplained lights have periodically graced the skies over Hessdalen, a town within the vicinity. These phenomena have captivated the imagination of UFO enthusiasts worldwide, contributing to the area's reputation as a hotbed for unexplained aerial activity. The Hessdalen lights, in particular, have been the subject of extensive study and speculation, further fueling the intrigue surrounding Norway's mysterious occurrences.
The search for the Lake Djupsjoen object encapsulates a broader quest for understanding and unearthing the unknown. Whether the efforts yield a spacecraft, a natural underwater formation, or something entirely unexpected, the exploration pushes the boundaries of human curiosity and technological capability. As the search continues, the world watches, eager to learn what secrets lie beneath the icy waters of Djupsjoen.
https://bnnbreaking.com/world/europe/norwegian-ufo-saga-continues-fresh-search-for-1947-lake-djupsjoen-crash-site