Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Gas Giant Exoplanet Can Has Moons?
A gas giant exoplanet is believed to be circling binary star HD 176051. Both stars are similar in size to our own sun (1.07 and .71 solar masses); although it is not known which star the exoplanet orbits, it appears to be within the habitable zone of the star system.
( Planetary System around the Star HD 176051 )
Space experts generally agree that the best way to explain how planets are formed in general is by slow accretion of material in the protoplanetary disk surrounding new stars.Science fiction writers did not invent the idea of inhabitable moons. In 1634, just twenty-five years after Galileo turned his new telescope on the moon, and announced its imperfect (and thus more Earth-like) surface, Englishman John Wilkins published his first scholarly work, entitled The Discovery of a World in the Moone: Or A Discourse Tending To Prove that 'tis probable there may be another habitable World in that Planet. SF writers, however, certainly popularized the idea.These disks are basically fields of debris, made up of cosmic dust and gas, which are left behind after a star is born inside a nebula. The debris begins to spin around the giant fireball, and eventually clump together to form planets and other space objects over millions of years.
But such a formation process would have been impossible around HR 7162, experts say. This location would have made it impossible for the accretion disk to coalesce into something even remotely similar to a planet.
Gravitational forces are strong enough near a regular star, but a binary is not only producing immense pulls, but also turbulences and interplays that would have certainly ripped through a surrounding protoplanetary disk with ease.
But what the finding does support is an alternative theory on planetary formation, which holds that denser regions in the disks form the space bodies a lot faster, by collapsing under their own weight, under their own gravitational pull.
The investigators behind the new study also determined that the second method would produce a large exoplanet within only a few thousand years.
Depending on your fan preference, you might be thinking of Pandora, the gas giant exoplanet moon in the recent blockbuster Avatar.
(Avatar's moon Pandora)
Or, you might be thinking the gas giant exoplanet forest moon Endor from Star Wars.
(Avatar's moon Pandora)
Via Softpedia.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/24/2010)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")
Is China Mining Helium-3 On The Moon's Farside?
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.' -
Solitary Black Hole Wanders In Space
'...the Hole is something like a vortex or a whirlpool?' - Frank K. Kelly, 1935.
Spaceplane From Virgin Atlantic
'ZARNAK, YOU'RE TO COMMAND A SCOUTING EXPEDITION --- FIND OUT WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT!'
Taikonauts Exercise In China's Tiangong Space Station
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses...' - Murray Leinster, 1953.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
LLM 'Cognitive Core' Now Evolving
'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'
Has Elon Musk Given Up On Mars?
'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.'
Bacteria Turns Plastic Into Pain Relief? That Gives Me An Idea.
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
When Your Child's Best Friend Is An AI
'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'
China's Drone Mothership Can Carry 100 Drones
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'
Drones Recharge In Mid-Air Like Jets Refuel!
'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'
Australian Authors Reject AI Training Of Llama
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
Is China Mining Helium-3 On The Moon's Farside?
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'
Maybe It's Too Soon To Require Autonomous Mode
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.
Is Agentic AI The Wrong Kind Of Smartness?
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'
Heat Waver - The First Ever Combo Solar Collector And Wind Turbine
'...like a spray of tulips mounted fanwise.'
Tesla 'Fleet Response Agents' Bolster FSD Autonomy
'You hate the whole idea that some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre has got your life... in his hands.'
Mori3 Autonomous Shapeshifting Robot
'My homeland is being threatened by the Replicators. Thus far all attempts to stop them have failed.'
Tesla Seeks 'Tesla Robotaxi' And 'Robobus' Trademarks Ignoring Prior Art
'A robobus had just rolled up to the curb.'
Scary Grid Safety Robots
'The ultimate horror for our paranoid culture...'
Does AI Provide A Way Forward For Talk Therapy
'And there in the next room by the sofa sat a familiar suitcase, that of his psychiatrist Dr. Smile.'
