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Astronomers May Have Discovered First Exosatellite Orbiting a Brown Dwarf

Astronomers May Have Discovered First Exosatellite Orbiting a Brown Dwarf

Astronomers have observed what could be the first exosatellite, a natural object orbiting a world beyond our solar system, in a three-tiered system approximately 73 light-years from Earth. The study, published in Nature, details observations of the brown dwarf CD-35 2722 b, which is orbited by a massive, gaseous body. This brown dwarf, in turn, orbits the host star CD-35 2722. Kevin Hoy, an astronomer at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and Universidad Diego Portales, and his team used ESO’s Very Large Telescope to track subtle shifts in the brown dwarf's spectrum over two years. These shifts indicate the gravitational effects of an unseen companion orbiting the brown dwarf roughly every 170 days. The exosatellite has a minimum mass of about 0.9 Jupiter mass and orbits at a distance of approximately 0.2 astronomical units. This discovery presents a challenge to current astronomical definitions, as the International Astronomical Union's criteria would classify this object as a planet due to its orbit...
Arizona RepublicArizona Republic
Arizona ruling could make it easier for public to sue the government

Arizona ruling could make it easier for public to sue the government

A former University of Arizona professor sued the school and his victory could give the public easier access to government records.
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Curiosity Rover Captures Detailed Mosaics of Martian Landscape and Sand Fields

Curiosity Rover Captures Detailed Mosaics of Martian Landscape and Sand Fields

The Curiosity rover on Mars has captured several detailed mosaics of the Martian landscape, focusing on buttes named 'Mishe Mokwa' and 'Cordillera,' and looking back at 'La Linea.' Additionally, the rover documented the 'Chocolatal' scuff and a larger mosaic of the 'Sullivan Field' sand field. These imaging efforts were conducted by the ChemCam long-distance imager and camera teams. The 'Sullivan Field' is notable for containing sand ripples, mega ripples, and transverse aeolian ridges, and was named in honor of Robert Sullivan, a recognized expert on Martian sands and a member of the Curiosity science team. The rover is currently traversing a subtly banded area within 'Valle Grande,' characterized by sparse, nodular outcrops and significant sand deposits. Recent activities included investigating brushed nodular bedrock at 'Cerro Armazones' and 'Monte Melimoyu,' and acquiring LIBS data on dark-toned nodules at 'Tuta Huallpas' and float rock 'Acllahuasi.'
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Astronomers Detect Radio Signals from Exoplanet Beta Pictoris b, Indicating Strong Magnetic Field

Astronomers Detect Radio Signals from Exoplanet Beta Pictoris b, Indicating Strong Magnetic Field

An international team of astronomers, utilizing South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope array, has successfully detected direct radio wave emissions originating from Beta Pictoris b, a massive gas giant exoplanet located approximately 63 light-years from Earth. This marks the first time a radio signal has been confirmed as coming from a single exoplanet, rather than from an entire star system. The discovery allows researchers to calculate the strength of Beta Pictoris b's magnetic field, which is thousands of times stronger than Earth's. The physics behind these signals is similar to the mechanisms that create auroral displays on planets within our Solar System, where energetic, charged particles spiral along magnetic field lines towards a planet's polar regions, exciting atmospheric particles.
SB NationSB Nation
NAU at Montana State: Who Has More to Worry About After Lackluster Week 3?

NAU at Montana State: Who Has More to Worry About After Lackluster Week 3?

The ‘Cats and the Lumberjacks didn’t look like themselves last week.
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NASA Astronaut Shannon Lucid's Record-Setting Mir Mission Highlighted

NASA Astronaut Shannon Lucid's Record-Setting Mir Mission Highlighted

On September 23, 1996, NASA Astronaut Shannon W. Lucid concluded her record-setting 188-day mission aboard the Russian Mir Space Station. Lucid, one of NASA's first six female astronauts, spent six months conducting life science studies and other microgravity experiments alongside two Russian cosmonauts. Prior to her departure on space shuttle Atlantis, she checked on wheat plants growing in the Svet greenhouse. Her mission established new records for both a woman and an American in space duration. Lessons learned from her time on Mir were crucial in preparing NASA for the psychological and cultural challenges associated with long-duration missions on the International Space Station.
USA TodayUSA Today
Which high school football programs have the longest win streaks in each state?

Which high school football programs have the longest win streaks in each state?

Some states have streaks that have gone on for years. Others are fairly new. Here's every state's longest high school football winning streak.
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NASA Releases Epic Views of Earth's Seasons from Deep Space

NASA Releases Epic Views of Earth's Seasons from Deep Space

NASA has released a series of images captured by its Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) aboard the NOAA mission DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory), showcasing Earth's seasons from approximately one million miles away. These images, taken during the December and June solstices and the March and September equinoxes, visually demonstrate how the 23.5-degree tilt of Earth's axis causes the apparent shift in continent positions throughout the year. The tilt results in the Northern Hemisphere leaning towards the Sun during the June solstice, leading to more direct sunlight and longer days, while the Southern Hemisphere experiences the same during the December solstice. The March and September equinoxes represent midpoints where both hemispheres receive nearly equal sunlight, and day and night are almost the same length. The EPIC camera provides a continuous view of the sunlit hemisphere, capturing full-disk images every few hours as Earth rotates.
SB NationSB Nation
Yankees prospects: Week 26 minor league recap

Yankees prospects: Week 26 minor league recap

That’s all, folks!
Arizona RepublicArizona Republic
Chandler-Brophy heads HS football schedule. Republic picks winners

Chandler-Brophy heads HS football schedule. Republic picks winners

This is the Arizona high school football schedule for games played on Sept. 24-26. The Republic picks the winners.
Arizona RepublicArizona Republic
Tucson teen disappears. What deputies found at his home was shocking

Tucson teen disappears. What deputies found at his home was shocking

A search for a runaway Arizona teen revealed shocking living conditions and led to child abuse arrests.
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James Webb Space Telescope Identifies New Dwarf Planet Candidate Challenging Star Formation Models

James Webb Space Telescope Identifies New Dwarf Planet Candidate Challenging Star Formation Models

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has identified a new dwarf planet candidate in the IC 348 star-forming region, approximately 1,000 light-years away in Perseus. This object, with an estimated mass of only about twice that of Jupiter, is considered the least massive free-floating brown dwarf with spectral evidence. The discovery, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, pushes the observational boundary of star formation into a mass range typically associated with giant planets. The JWST's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) were instrumental in identifying 19 additional candidates and confirming nine new brown dwarfs, including the two-Jupiter-mass object. One of these newly identified objects also shows evidence of a circumstellar disk, suggesting the presence of planet-forming material around a body already comparable in mass to a large planet. Furthermore, the research team detected an unexplained absorption band at 3.4 micrometers in eight of the nine new ...