Monday, 24 May 2021, 4:20 pm
The University of Western Australia and the French
Government are working together with industry and
researchers to improve monitoring of space for exploding
stars billions of light years away.
UWA is working
with the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, the French
Government’s space agency, to install a network of
receiver stations across northern Australia. The stations
will receive alerts from the Space
Variable Objects Monitor satellite in high orbit above
Earth. The satellite is sensitive to gamma ray bursts which
signal massive stars exploding.
Within seconds an
alert will be sent to telescopes, including the UWA Zadko
December 23, 2020
Astronomers used radio waves to study conditions in the vicinity of Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to our sun. The results suggest Proxima’s 2 known planets are likely bathed in intense radiation from this star, casting doubt on the planets’ potential for life.
Artist’s concept of huge flares on Proxima Centauri, which unleash ionizing radiation. This radiation could be dangerous for any possible life on planets orbiting close to the star. Image via NASA/ ESA/ G. Bacon (STScI)/
This month, even as some astronomers are talking about a possible mystery radio signal from Proxima Centauri – a signal of interest to astronomers who search for intelligent life beyond Earth – other astronomers are talking about space weather in the vicinity of this star, which is the nearest star to our sun. Space weather in Proxima’s vicinity, they are saying, might make life on its planets difficult or even impossible.
Australian researchers have contributed to the first weather report from a nearby earth-like planet, and it spells bad news for finding life there.
Astronomers recently detected two rocky planets orbiting Proxima Centauri, a red-dwarf star and the closest star to our sun.
One of those planets was considered to be within the potentially habitable Goldilocks zone , where any water could be in liquid form.
But new research suggests the planet may be exposed to extreme weather events, including stellar flares and plasma ejections.
Proxima B Planet, Orbiting Proxima Centauri, a Red Dwarf Star This habitable zone is very close to the star; much closer in than Mercury is to our sun, University of Sydney researcher Andrew Zic said.
Date Time
Jupiter and Saturn to converge in rare spectacle over Perth skies
Sky watchers, astrology enthusiasts and the Perth community will be in for a visual delight when Jupiter and Saturn converge in a “great conjunction” on Monday 21 December, the closest they have been together since 1623.
The planets have been coming closer together since September, and will converge after sunset where they will almost appear as one object, and at one point, only a fraction of a degree apart.
A conjunction occurs when two objects appear close to each other in the sky and a conjunction of the two planets Jupiter and Saturn occurs about once every 20 years.
Bad weather setback for life beyond earth msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.