Null-space (2024)

29/01/2023

A giant cloud of magnetized plasma exploded from a sunspot hidden on the far side of the sun that might turn to face Earth only two days from now, so get ready for some solar fireworks.

The explosion that erupted from behind the sun's eastern edge in the early morning of Tuesday (Jan. 3) was a so-called coronal mass ejection (CME), a burst of particles from the sun's upper atmosphere, or corona. The CME was accompanied by a powerful solar flare that lasted an overwhelming six hours, solar scientist Keith Strong said on Twitter(opens in new tab).

Neither the flare nor the CME were directed at Earth, but experts warn that the hidden sunspot that produced them will soon be facing the planet as the sun rotates.

Related: Extreme solar storms can strike out of the blue. Are we really prepared?

A powerful coronal mass ejection erupting from the sun pictured by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).

A powerful coronal mass ejection erupting from the sun pictured by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). (Image credit: NASA/ESA)
Sunspots are darker regions in the sun's lower atmosphere that are cooler than the rest of the sun's disk and feature dense and convoluted magnetic field lines. When these magnetic field lines break, the sunspots release solar flares in the form of bright flashes of light and CMEs. Solar flares travel at the speed of light, reaching our planet within eight minutes if directed toward it. CMEs, on the other hand, move through space more slowly, arriving within two to three days. Solar flares can disrupt radio communications on our planet without a warning, but it's the CMEs that experts fear the most. The magnetized plasma from CMEs interacts with Earth's magnetic field causing all sorts of unwanted effects on technology including power blackouts, GPS disruption and satellite malfunctions. These interactions, however, are also the cause of mesmerizing polar lights displays, or auroras.

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Yesterday's flare and CME were detected by multiple sun-observing spacecraft including the joint NASA/European Space Agency Solar and Heliospheric Observatory mission (SOHO) and NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.

The measurements helped scientists to determine that the sunspot, or active region, that produced the bursts, will move to the Earth-facing portion of the sun's disk within two days, according to Space Weather(opens in new tab). The active region may, in fact, be one already known to solar scientists. In December, a sunspot named AR3163, at that time larger than our planet, crossed the sun's disk before disappearing from view about two weeks ago. This sunspot is now expected to re-emerge and scientists think it may have grown even more powerful since we have last seen it.

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In the meantime, plasma from a CME that erupted from the sun on Dec. 30 has reached Earth today (Jan.4), triggering a minor geomagnetic storm that could make auroras visible a bit further away from their usual location around the poles.

The British space weather forecaster Met Office predicts low solar activity in the next couple of days with a potential increase expected toward the end of this week as the mysterious sunspot emerges at the sun's eastern edge.

29/01/2023

A newly released infrared image of a distant stellar nursery has revealed stars usually hidden by the thick clouds of gas and dust that act as the blocking blocks of infant stars.

In the image of the stellar nursery, or nebula, Sharpless 54 (Sh2–54) appears as an orange glowing orb punctuation by bright stars. Sh2-54 is located around 6000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Serpens, which takes its name from its snake-like appearance.

Many of these stars would be hidden in visible light by the vast clouds of gas and dust from which stars are born because this star-forming matter is good at absorbing wavelengths of light in the electromagnetic spectrum our eyes have evolved to see.

Related: Star blasted stellar nursery in 'Orion's sword' seen in detail

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To capture these obscured stars and the hidden details of this spectacular nebula in intricate detail astronomers used the infrared observing power of the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) based at European Southern Observatory's (ESO's) Paranal Observatory located in Chile. Infrared light is useful in the investigation of nebulas as electromagnetic radiation in these wavelengths slips through thick clouds of gas and dust almost unimpeded.

The ESO team employed VISTA's sensitive 67-million-pixel camera to create this image of this stellar nursery taken as part of the VISTA Variables in the Via Láctea eXtended survey (VVVX). This multi-year project repeatedly observes a large portion of the Milky Way at infrared wavelengths, revealing details of stellar evolution that observations in visible light no matter how powerful may miss. That includes the hidden details of nebulas.

A visible-light image of the Sh2-54 nebula, captured by the VLT Survey Telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. At these wavelengths the structure of the nebula is clear and the clouds of dust and gas block the light of stars within and behind it.

A visible-light image of the Sh2-54 nebula, captured by the VLT Survey Telescope at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile. At these wavelengths the structure of the nebula is clear and the clouds of dust and gas block the light of stars within and behind it. (Image credit: ESO)
Vast reservoirs of dust and gas, mostly hydrogen and helium, nebulas form when gravity causes this material to "clump" together. As these clumps increase in size and mass their gravitation influence grows too.

This leads to the creation of regions of high-density clumps or "molecular clouds" that eventually become so massive they collapse under their own gravity forming the very beginnings of a star, a protostar.

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These protostars may look like stars but they are still not hot enough to perform nuclear fusion at their cores, the process which transforms hydrogen to helium and generates the vast majority of a star's energy output. Instead, the luminosity of protostars is simply derived from the heating of the protostar material as it continues to collapse under the influence of its own gravity.

At this time, the protostar is still gathering material from the molecular cloud that birthed it to grow, and when its core reaches a temperature of around 18 million degrees Fahrenheit (around 10 million degrees Celsius or 10 million Kelvin) hydrogen to helium fusion can begin.

This means the protostar becomes a young main-sequence star often surrounded by what remains of the molecular cloud now flattened into a disc and capable of eventually coalescing and forming planets.

Sh2–54 itself contains a wealth of protostars and young stars that cause this stellar nursery to glow brighter than its surrounding region and the nearby open cluster NGC 6604. Found some 5,500 light-years away from Earth, NGC 6604 is also host to many hot, young, white stars.

27/01/2023

A never-before-seen emperor penguin colony — one of only 66 known to exist — has been spotted by accident in satellite photographs of West Antarctica that clearly show their guano, or droppings, staining the ice.

The colony is estimated to be home to about 1,000 adult birds, in 500 pairs with their young, which makes it relatively small for an emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) breeding site. But it's an important addition to what's known of the species.

Map of Antarctica showing emperor penguin colonies. So far scientists have found 66 emperor penguin colonies on the coast of Antarctica; many of them are in remote regions and have been seen only in satellite photographs.

So far, scientists have found 66 emperor penguin colonies on the coast of Antarctica; many of them are in remote regions and have been seen only in satellite photographs. (Image credit: Peter Fretwell/BAS)
Peter Fretwell(opens in new tab), a geographic information officer with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), discovered the colony in December; but the announcement was delayed so that it coincided with Penguin Awareness Day, which is held on Jan. 20 each year.

Fretwell told Live Science that he was looking at sea ice loss in photographs from the European Space Agency's two Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites(opens in new tab) when he spotted the distinctive signs of an emperor penguin colony. "I could see what looked like a very small brown stain on the ice," he said.

Related: Over 60 million years ago, penguins abandoned flight for swimming. Here’s how.

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Brown stains on the ice made by the guano of the emperor penguin colony were first seen in medium-resolution photographs of West Antarctica taken by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites in December.
Brown stains on the ice made the guano of the emperor penguin colony were first seen in medium-resolution photographs of West Antarctica taken by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites in December.(Image credit: Copernicus Sentinel-2/BAS)
High-resolution photographs taken by the MAZAR WorldView3 satellite in October show the previously unknown penguin colony on the sea ice. The guano stains and even individual penguins are now visible.
High-resolution photographs taken by the Maxar WorldView-3 satellite in October show the previously unknown penguin colony on the sea ice. The guano stains and even individual penguins are now visible.(Image credit: MAXAR Technologies/BAS)
Higher resolution photographs of the same area taken in October by the Maxar WorldView-3 satellite(opens in new tab), which can image objects as small as 12 inches (30 centimeters) across, confirmed the presence of the breeding colony, near West Antarctica's Verleger Point, Fretwell said.

Because the penguins' guano accumulates and stains the ice and snow a deep-brown color, it is much easier to see from afar than the emperor penguins themselves. But the high-resolution images also show individual emperor penguins — pictured as tiny dots — and the population estimate is based on those, Fretwell said.

Seabirds by satellite
Emperor penguins are the largest of all penguins and stand up to 39 inches (100 cm) tall. They get their name from their dramatic black, white and yellow plumage. Here we see one adult penguin standing with 3 fluffy gray baby penguins.

Emperor penguins are the largest of all penguins and stand up to 39 inches (100 cm) tall. They get their name from their dramatic black, white and yellow plumage. (Image credit: Richard Burt/BAS)
Emperor penguin colonies are often remote and difficult to study, but BAS scientists have discovered several in satellite photos of Antarctica's coastline over the past 15 years. Recent satellite research has even suggested that there could be around 20% more emperor penguins in the Antarctic than previously estimated.

Emperor penguins exclusively breed on packed sea ice. This reliance on sea ice, however, also makes the penguins vulnerable to its loss in a warming climate; and West Antarctica has already been badly affected.

"Last year we had the minimum ever sea ice extent in Antarctica, and this year is even worse, for two consecutive years," Fretwell said. "It's estimated that we will probably lose a minimum of 80% of emperor penguin colonies before the end of the century."

Due to this threat from climate change, emperors are now listed as a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Stately penguins
Emperor penguins dive for food during the Antarctic summers and breed in colonies on the sea ice during the dark and freezing winter months.

Emperor penguins dive for food during the Antarctic summers and breed in colonies on the sea ice during the dark and freezing winter months. (Image credit: Peter Bucktrout//BAS)
Emperor penguins are the tallest and heaviest of all penguins, typically reaching up to 39 inches (100 cm) in height and weighing up to 100 pounds (45 kilograms.) They get their name from their dramatic black, white and yellow plumage.

Emperors spend most of the Antarctic summer diving for fish, crustaceans and krill. They breed during the dark winter months on the surface of the packed sea ice, sometimes more than 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the open ocean, and where temperatures can dip as low as minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 60 Celsius.).

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Fretwell recently visited Antarctica to observe another large emperor penguin colony by aerial drone, to confirm the numerical estimates of penguin breeding colonies only seen in satellite photographs.

And while he got close enough to smell the penguin p**p, it wasn't that bad, he said.

Because emperor penguin colonies are on sea ice, much of the guano is frozen and doesn't smell — unlike the colonies of penguins that breed among rocks, where the smell can be intense. "The emperors are more stately and not as smelly as other penguins," he said.

27/01/2023

Young stars are surrounded by chaos: Clouds of gas, dust and ice swirl about in a so-called protoplanetary disk. And when gravity binds this material together, planets are born.

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, researchers developed a new technique to measure and date infant exoplanets forming in these protoplanetary disks. By studying "little hurricanes" within protoplanetary disks that are visible in ALMA data, astronomers can make educated guesses about the exoplanets that caused these vortices to form.

Under most circumstances, scientists can use powerful telescopes to observe the dimming of stars, which indicates that an exoplanet is transiting, or passing between Earth and the star. But this research team is specifically studying young exoplanets that are distant from their stars, and these planets can't be seen clearly with traditional techniques.

Related: Secrets of planet birth revealed in amazing ALMA radio telescope images(opens in new tab)

"It's extremely difficult to study smaller planets that are far away from their star by directly imaging them: it would be like trying to spot a firefly in front of a lighthouse," Roman Rafikov, a professor at the University of Cambridge and the Institute for Advanced Study, said in a statement(opens in new tab). "We need other, different methods to learn about these planets."

The team's new technique also uses an indirect form of observation to study exoplanets: Instead of looking for transits, they're searching for unusual formations, such as arcs or clumps, that form in the protoplanetary disk.

"Something must be causing these structures to form," Rafikov said. "One of the possible mechanisms for producing these structures — and certainly the most intriguing one — is that dust particles that we see as arcs and clumps are concentrated in the centers of fluid vortices: essentially little hurricanes that can be triggered by a particular instability at the edges of the gaps carved in protoplanetary discs by planets."

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By studying the properties of the vortices, which require a certain amount of time and mass to form, astronomers can estimate the age and mass of the exoplanet that created them.

"Our constraints can be combined with the limits provided by other methods to improve our understanding of planetary characteristics and planet formation pathways in these systems," Rafikov said. "By studying planet formation in other star systems, we may learn more about how our own solar system evolved."

Two papers on the team's research have been published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: one about the vortices themselves(opens in new tab) (Dec. 20) and another about using the vortices to measure and date exoplanets(opens in new tab) (Jan. 4).

Null-space

29/01/2023

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