Kepler telescope discovers crop of 104 new Exoplanets, 4 look promising - 18 July 2016

[Cidersomerset]

'Exomoon' discovery: Astronomers claim to make big find

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=PHxQGeWMr6g

Published on 28 Jul 2017
A team of astronomers believe they have potentially discovered
an ‘exomoon,’ the first known moon beyond the solar system

[Cidersomerset]

Oceans on the moon?

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=4ITAQvu3Ht8

Published on 31 Jul 2017
Researchers at Brown University examined mineral samples from the moon
and found volumes of water similar to earth’s basalt rock. They concluded
that the moon may contain large amounts of water beneath the surface. If
they’re correct, it means manned missions to the moon will be easier than
previously thought. RT America’s Trinity Chavez has the details of the
astonishing discovery.

====================================================
====================================================

Interesting speculative vid......

What Ancient Human Civilizations Said About The Moon - 2017 The Moon is Not
What You Think it is

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=335vSSTjWdI

Published on 14 Jul 2017
Ancient Human Civilizations across multiple continents around the world speak of
the time BEFORE the Moon arrived - and with it so did our ocean tides, seasons and
conditions prime for an abundance of life. However, there is an abundance of
evidence that significant information regarding our Moon and the Apollo landings
have been withheld from the masses. In fact, the Moon Express mining operation
raises questions of this as well.

Be sure to research what David Icke (https://www.youtube.com/user/davidicke)
has stated about the Moon, and although I do not necessarily know if he is right or
wrong on all of his assertions - I know enough that I do not know.

[Foxie Loxie]

What a good summary about the Moon!

[Cidersomerset]

Can Habitable Zones Help Us Find Another Earth? | Mach | NBC News

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=a4WwWRLc63c

Published on 31 Aug 2017
In this episode of 'Space is Awesome', host Summer Ash explores Habitable
Zones and what their search means for finding other Earth-like planets.

[Cidersomerset]

Repeating Mysterious Radio Signals (FRBs) From Deep Space Detected

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Foae5ritT9M

Published on 30 Aug 2017
Scientists detect strange repeating radio burst on the other side of the cosmos
Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, have baffled scientists for the past decade. Until recently,
we've only seen a FRB repeat once, and now we've observed another. But what does
this latest discovery mean?

It seems like every time we attempt to take a step toward better understanding our
cosmos we are left with more questions than answers — a regular Bonini’s Paradox.
Just a few years ago we didn’t even know that the cosmic phenomena known as fast
radio bursts (FRB) — rare, bright, and inexplicable signals from beyond our galaxy —
existed. And until recently, only one of these FRBs had been recorded on more than
one occasion. However, last week, a team has recorded yet another repeating FRB.
Here is Full Story:http://www.cosmosnews.xyz/2017/08/vid...

====================================================

Astronomers Pick Up Mystery Radio Signals from Dwarf Galaxy
DAHBOO77
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-Mr9dU5vGs

Published on 2 Sep 2017
Scientists with the Breakthrough Listen initiative said they detected 15 repeating,
fast radio bursts coming from the same mysterious source they recorded in 2012.
In 2015, the same source became the first object to record a repeating radio burst.

The Aug. 26 discovery also comes from the only source whose location has been
positively confirmed in space, WJZ reported. The dwarf galaxy signal that was found
in is much smaller than the Milky Galaxy, with about half the number of stars in it.

“The possible implications are two folds,” Dr. Vishal Gajjar of Breakthrough Listen said.
“This detection at such a high frequency helps us scrutinize many of FRB 121102’s
origin models.” Researchers at Harvard said the signals’ power could be making it easier
for astronomers to find than others in the cosmos.

“Previously we thought there wasn’t much emission at high or low frequencies, but now
it looks like there is,” said Professor Avi Loeb at Harvard University. “It’s twice as high
as the typical frequency that was previously claimed for this repeater.”

====================================================

Fast Radio Burst 121102 Update For 09/02/17

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_EJYM4utEM
Published on 2 Sep 2017
An update on repeating fast radio burst 121102 which is currently active and could
have implications on both SETI and deciphering just what causes FRBs.

====================================================

Mysterious signals from space: Are you worried?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOl4YwbYrsQ

Published on 5 Sep 2017..FOX NEWS....
Stephen Hawking's Breakthrough Listen project recently
picked up radio bursts from an unknown source; Kat Timpf
hits the street to gauge regular folks' concern

[Cidersomerset]

Astronomers Discover A New Earth-Like Planet That Could Sustain Life | Mach | NBC News

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=MxST8IcJ1aE

Published on 15 Nov 2017
A temperate Earth-sized planet has been discovered only 11 light-years from the
Solar System and astronomers are still trying to study its atmosphere, composition
and chemistry in more detail.



This chart shows the constellation of Virgo (The Virgin). This constellation is home
to the faint red dwarf star Ross 128, marked with a red circle, which is sometimes
known as Proxima Virginis as it is the closest star to Earth in the constellation. It
is orbited by an Earth-mass planet, Ross 128 b. This picture shows most of the
stars that can be seen with the naked eye on a dark and clear night. Ross 128
itself needs a small telescope to be visible. ESO, IAU and Sky & Telescope
read more...
https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science...ife-ncna820916

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://time.com/5025400/earthlike-pl...8-b-discovery/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason...ross-128b.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Express...
New Earth DISCOVERED: Ross 128 b could host ALIEN life (or US!)
https://www.express.co.uk/news/scien...nets-red-dwarf

[Star Tsar]

May I interject CiderSommerset...

Posted by Star Tsar (here)
Space.com & European Soutern Observatory

Ross 128 B

Possible Earth-Like Planet Ross 128 B - How Far Away is It?

Published 15th November 2017

It depends on when you ask! The recently discovered planet is orbiting the red dwarf star Ross 128, 11 light-years away from our solar system in the Virgo constellation. But the star system is moving closer to Earth.

Read all about it here: https://www.space.com/38782-possibly...ross-128b.html

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=T_e2nKcABqg

&

Fly Through & Zooming In On Ross 128

Published 15th November 2017

This zoom video sequence takes the viewer towards the sprawling constellation of Virgo (The Virgin). The first thing we encounter on our journey is the faint red dwarf star Ross 128, just 11 light-years from the Earth and the closest object in the constellation of Virgo. This star is orbited by the Earth-mass temperate planet Ross 128 b.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=cLmmy55xNVg

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=BJbrJLsFQnQ

&

ESOcast 137 Light: Temperate Planet Orbiting Quiet Red Dwarf

Published 15th November 2017

A temperate planet has been discovered only 11 light-years from Earth by a team using ESO’s unique planet-hunting HARPS instrument. The new world has the designation Ross 128 b and is now the second-closest temperate planet to be detected after Proxima b. It is also the closest planet to be discovered orbiting an inactive red dwarf star, which may increase the likelihood that this planet could potentially sustain life. Ross 128 b will be a prime target for ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope, which will be able to search for biomarkers in the planet's atmosphere. This short video explains the discovery and its significance.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=U0sqmraXRsc

[Cidersomerset]

Nearby planet is 'excellent' target in search for life

By Paul Rincon
Science editor, BBC News website


Artwork: Ross 128 b might be a target in the search for extra-terrestrial life
Astronomers have found a cool, Earth-sized planet that's relatively close to our Solar
System.The properties of this newly discovered planet - called Ross 128 b - make it a
prime target in the search for life elsewhere in the cosmos.

At just 11 light-years away, it's the second closest exoplanet of its kind to Earth.

But the closest one, known as Proxima b, looks to be less hospitable for life.

Found in 2016, it orbits the star Proxima Centauri, which is known to be a rather active
"red dwarf" star. This means that powerful eruptions periodically batter Proxima b with
harmful radiation.

The new planet, Ross 128 b, orbits a star that's not dissimilar to Proxima Centauri (it's
also a red dwarf), but is significantly less active. Where should we look for alien life?
Neighbouring star has Earth-sized planetCo-discoverer Nicola Astudillo-Defru from the
Geneva Observatory in Switzerland told BBC News: "Just because Proxima Centauri blasts
its planet with strong flares and high energy radiation, yes, I think Ross 128 is much more
comfortable for the development of life. "But we still need to know what the atmosphere
of Ross 128 b is like. Depending on its composition and the reflectivity of its clouds, the
exoplanet may be life friendly with liquid water as the Earth, or sterile like Venus."

read more..


Artwork: The Extremely Large Telescope should be able to probe the atmospheres of exoplanets like Ross 128 b

Artwork: The James Webb Space Telescope should launch in 2019
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-41995572

[Cidersomerset]

Boost in the hunt for alien life

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Q97RBs5xuws

Published on 1 Dec 2017....Daily Mail
Oceans trapped beneath the icy surface of distant worlds at the edge of our solar
system may be able to sustain liquid water for far longer than previously suspected.
Distant objects known to exist beyond Neptune’s orbit are known to be too cold to
host liquid water at the surface, with temperatures dropping more than 350 degrees
below zero Fahrenheit But, there is evidence to suggest an interior liquid water layer
exists beneath the crust.

[Cidersomerset]

Trump signs space policy directive to send Americans to Moon, Mars

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=xmmTVaZpijY

Published on 11 Dec 2017...CBS
The order signed by President Trump on Monday directs NASA to lead
further space exploration programs to the Moon and eventually Mars.
Watch the president's remarks
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
President Donald Trump Signs Major NASA Initiative (Full) | NBC News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSXu4ysMc5M
Streamed live 2 hours ago...NBC.
President Donald Trump will sign a major space exploration initiative called “Space
Policy Directive 1.” The new program will empower NASA to “send American
astronauts back to the Moon, and eventually Mars,” according to a White House spokesman.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Policy Directs NASA to Return Astronauts to Moon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzKxUM_RJsE
Published on 11 Dec 2017
Acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot and National Space Council Executive
Secretary Scott Pace comment on Space Policy Directive 1, signed Monday, Dec.
11, 2017, by President Trump at the White House.

[Star Tsar]

If I may interject...

Posted by Star Tsar (here)
SETI Institute

SETI Talks 2017 | Jeff Coughlin & Geert Barentsen | Kepler : The Era of Exoplanets Has Arrived

Published 11th December 2017

NASA’s Kepler space telescope was launched in 2009 and measured the brightness of 200,000 stars at unprecedented precision for over four years, with the prime mission goal of detecting Earth-sized exoplanets. Now after another four, Kepler’s final planet catalog is complete --- over 4,000 planet candidates have been found, with 50 of them possibly rocky and capable of having liquid water. For the first time in human history, we can calculate how common planets the same size and temperature as Earth are, a key component to SETI’s goal of figuring out how common life may be in the universe. The K2 mission began three years ago, and uses the Kepler spacecraft to stare at many different parts of the sky for 80 days at a time. A broad portion of the Astronomical community chooses what targets to observe, resulting in a wide variety of science, including supernovae, galaxies, stars, and of course exoplanets. K2 has found over 300 confirmed exoplanets and an additional 500 candidates. Some of these are likely to be habitable, and many of them are prime targets to be observed by future missions, such as the James Webb space telescope. We'll discuss what we may learn about these worlds over the next few decades, and what future missions are being planned to find planets to which our descendants may one day travel.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=y2bDaD7IlC4

[Cidersomerset]

Interstellar asteroid checked for alien technology
2 hours ago



Artwork: Observations of 'Oumuamua noted its unusual elongated shape

A project searching for intelligent life in the cosmos is going to check the
first known interstellar asteroid for signs of alien technology.

The odd-shaped object was detected as it sped towards the Sun on 19 October.

Its properties suggested it originated around another star, making it the first
such body to be spotted in our cosmic neighbourhood. An initiative backed by
billionaire Yuri Milner will use a radio telescope to listen for signals from it.
The team's efforts will begin on Wednesday, with astronomers observing the
asteroid, which is currently speeding away from our Solar System, across
four different radio frequency bands.The first set of observations at the
Robert C Byrd Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia is due to last for 10 hours.

read more....http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-42329244

[Cidersomerset]

Star system has record eight exoplanets

By Paul Rincon
Science editor, BBC News website
14 December 2017


Artwork: the Kepler-90 system is the first to tie with our Solar System in number of planets

Nasa has found a distant star circled by eight planets, equal to
the complement in our own Solar System.It's the largest number
of worlds ever discovered in a planetary system outside our own.

The star known as Kepler-90, is just a bit hotter and larger than
the Sun; astronomers already knew of seven planets around it.
The newly discovered world is small enough to be rocky, according
to scientists."This makes Kepler-90 the first star to host as many
planets as our own Solar System," said Christopher Shallue, a
software engineer at Google, which contributed to the discovery.


Star's seven Earth-sized worlds set record

Engineers from Google used a type of artificial intelligence called
machine learning to find planets that were missed by previous searches.


Kepler-90 and our Solar System compared

read more.....http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-42356305

[Cidersomerset]

Pentagon ran secret multi-million dollar UFO programme
3 hours ago


The Pentagon building in Washington DCImage copyright AFP
The Pentagon has been running a secret multi-million dollar programme
to investigate Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs), US media report.
Only a small number of officials were aware of the programme, which
began in 2007 and was reportedly closed in 2012.The New York Times
says documents from the operation describe strange speeding aircraft
and hovering objects.But scientists were doubtful, stressing that
unexplained happenings were not necessarily proof of alien life.
◾CIA releases 13m pages of declassified documents

The Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Programme was the
brainchild of Harry Reid, a retired Democratic senator who was the
Senate majority leader at the time.He told the New York Times: "I'm not
embarrassed or ashamed or sorry I got this thing going. I've done something
that no one has done before."

Mr Reid - former senator for Nevada, home to the mythologised "Area 51"
classified US Air Force base - later tweeted that the programme was a serious
effort to get to truth amid "plenty of evidence to support asking the questions".




Twitter post by @SenatorReid: If anyone says they have the answers, they’re
fooling themselves. We don’t know the answers but we have plenty of evidence
to support asking the questions. This is about science and national security. If
America doesn’t take the lead in answering these questions, others will.

The programme is reported to have cost the Department of Defense more than
$20 million (£15m) before it was shut down in order to save costs.Although its
funding ended in 2012, officials have reportedly continued to investigate sightings
of unusual aerial phenomena and suspicious objects alongside their daily duties.

One former congressional staffer told Politico the programme may have been set
up to monitor the technological progress of rival foreign powers."Was this China
or Russia trying to do something or has some propulsion system we are not familiar
with?", they said.

Earlier this year, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) released millions of pages
of declassified documents online.The records included UFO sightings and a collection
of reports on flying

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42379749

[Cidersomerset]

Citizen science bags five-planet haul

By Paul Rincon
Science editor, BBC News website, Washington DC
12 January 2018


Artwork: The findings could shed light on the process by
which planets form and then migrate within their systems

A discovery by citizen scientists has led to the confirmation
of a system of five planets orbiting a far-off star.

Furthermore, the planets' orbits are linked in a mathematical
relationship called a resonance chain, with a pattern that is
unique among the known planetary systems in our galaxy.
Studying the system could help unlock some mysteries
surrounding the formation of planetary systems.

read more..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-42644531

[Cidersomerset]

Hubble scores unique close-up view of distant galaxy

By Paul Rincon
Science editor, BBC News website


Ancient galaxies usually appear as tiny red dots to powerful telescopes

The Hubble telescope has bagged an unprecedented close-up view of one of the
Universe's oldest known galaxies.Astronomers were lucky when the orbiting
observatory captured the image of a galaxy that existed just 500 million years after
the Big Bang.The image was stretched and amplified by the natural phenomenon of
gravitational lensing, unlocking unprecedented detail.Such objects usually appear
as tiny red spots to powerful telescopes.

Distance and age are linked in astronomy; because of the time taken for light to
traverse the vast expanse in-between, we see the galaxy as it was more than 13
billion years ago.The detail evident in the image will help scientists to test theories
of galaxy evolution.

"Pretty much every galaxy at that distance is an unresolved dot... it's kind of a
matter of luck to get a galaxy that's lensed in just the right way to stretch it out
and get that much detail - it's a pretty nice find," the study's lead author Brett
Salmon told BBC News.Dr Salmon, from the Space Telescope Science Institute
(STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, added: "By analysing the effects of gravitational
lensing on the image of this galaxy, we can determine its actual size and shape."
The findings were presented at the 231st American Astronomical Society meeting in
Washington DC.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-42692843

[Cidersomerset]

'Oumuamua: 'space cigar's' tumble hints at violent past

By Jonathan Amos
BBC Science Correspondent
3 hours ago

short vid on link..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-43018706


Artwork: The way 'Oumuamua tumbles suggests it was involved in a collision

The space interloper 'Oumuamua is spinning chaotically and will carry on doing
so for more than a billion years. That is the conclusion of new Belfast research
that has examined in detail the light bouncing off the cigar-shaped asteroid from
outside our Solar System. "At some point or another it's been in a collision," says
Dr Wes Fraser from Queen's University. His team's latest study is featured in
Sunday's Sky At Night episode on the BBC and published in Nature Astronomy.

It is yet another intriguing finding about this strange object that has fascinated
scientists since its discovery back in October. 'Oumuamua comes from a different star
system. Its path across the sky confirms it does not originate in our solar neighbourhood.

read more...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-43018706

[Cidersomerset]

Report: Trump administration looks into privatizing International Space Station

CBS News

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB-KR5Xc5xc

Published on 11 Feb 2018
The Trump administration is considering a plan to cut off federal funding for the
International Space Station and turn over parts of it to private industry, according
to the Washington Post, which cites an internal NASA document. But the plan would
likely face strong opposition. CBS News space analyst Bill Harwood joins CBSN to discuss.

[Star Tsar]

More from the Kepler mission

Posted by Star Tsar (here)
Space.com

Kepler Space Telescope Discovers 95 More Alien Planets

Published 15th February 2018



The exoplanet discoveries by NASA's Kepler space telescope keep rolling in.

Astronomers poring through data gathered during Kepler's current extended mission, known as K2, have spotted 95 more alien planets, a new study reports.

Read all about it here: https://www.space.com/39703-kepler-t...nets-more.html

[Cidersomerset]

Atacama's lessons about life on Mars

By Jonathan Amos
BBC Science Correspondent
5 hours ago


The Atacama has been in a hyperarid state for millions of years

Even in the driest places on Earth there is life eking out an existence, it seems.
Scientists have examined the soils in those parts of the Atacama desert that may
not see any rains for decades. Still, the team led from the Technical University of
Berlin, Germany, found evidence of microbes that have adapted to the extreme
conditions. These hardy organisms are of interest because they may serve as a
template for how life could survive on Mars.

"All the stresses you have in the Atacama, you have on Mars, too - just a little tick
more," TU Berlin's Dr Dirk Schulze-Makuch told BBC News. So, as well as super-aridity
that means even higher levels of ultraviolet radiation and soils that are loaded with
salts. Dr Schulze-Makuch's team sampled a range of sites in the South American desert
- from those places that get a regular wetting from fogs to those where precipitation of
any form is extremely rare

read more...

The Atacama's similarities to Mars mean it is used as a location to film sci-fi movies


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-43215617

==================================================
==================================================


Moon covered in water? New study suggests yes
Fox News

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=U_tX7X7rmKQ

Published on 27 Feb 2018
A new study suggests that water may not just be contained to the lunar poles
but it may be found throughout the surface. What does this mean for planet earth?