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Hot Topic
Deep Space
Cosmic Evolution
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Measuring a Magnetosphere
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| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
11/28/06 |
| This first measurement of a magnetic field in a planet-hosting star has been obtained by an international team of astronomers. They measured the magnetosphere of tau Bootis, a star orbited by a giant planet on a close-in orbit. This result opens new prospects for studying planet-star interactions. |
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Solving the Moon through the Sun
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| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
11/24/06 |
| Ever since astronauts returned from the moon, scientists have been mystified by some of the rocks they brought back. Now one of the mysteries has been solved, and the findings provide us with a better understanding of what conditions were like in the earliest years of our solar system. |
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The Star, the Dwarf and the Planet
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| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
10/22/06 |
| Astronomers have detected a new faint companion to the star HD 3651, already known to host a planet. This companion, a brown dwarf, is the faintest known companion of an exoplanet host star imaged directly and one of the faintest T dwarfs detected in the Solar neighbourhood so far. |
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Comets R Us
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| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
10/18/06 |
| Could all of the asteroids, comets, and planets in our Milky Way galaxy be made of a similar mix of dusty components? |
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Super Snowballs
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| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
10/14/06 |
| The 200 known planets that orbit other stars exhibit incredible variety. Among them are a handful of worlds that weigh between 5 and 15 times Earth. Astronomers believe these "super-Earths" are rocky iceballs rather than gas giants like Jupiter. |
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Celestial Siblings
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| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
10/11/06 |
| Astronomers at the University of Illinois say that rather than being an only child, the sun could have hundreds or thousands of celestial siblings that are now dispersed across the heavens. The researchers conclusions could reshape current theories on how, when and where planets form around stars. |
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Sweeping for Planets
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| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
10/06/06 |
| NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has discovered 16 extrasolar planet candidates orbiting a variety of distant stars in the central region of our Milky Way galaxy. |
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Sun Size Comets?
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| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
10/04/06 |
| A star must live in a relatively tranquil cosmic neighborhood to foster planet formation, say astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. |
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Planet Forming Preview
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| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
10/03/06 |
| With the VISIR instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope, astronomers have mapped the disc around a star more massive than the Sun. The very extended and flared disc most likely contains enough gas and dust to spawn planets. |
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SuperWASP Hunting
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| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
09/28/06 |
| A team of astronomers has discovered two new Jupiter-sized planets orbiting stars in the constellations of Andromeda and Delphinus. They are among the hottest planets yet discovered, and their atmospheres are slowly being whipped away into space by the searing radiation from their parent stars. |
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