EVAN GOUGH, UNIVERSE TODAY
13 FEBRUARY 2021
Astronomers using a new technique may have not only found a super-Earth at a neighbouring star, but they may also have directly imaged it. And it could be nice and cozy in the habitable zone around Alpha Centauri.
It s much easier to see giant planets than Earth-size planets. No matter which detection method is being used, larger planets are simply a larger needle in the cosmic haystack. But overall, astronomers are very interested in planets that are similar to Earth. And finding them is much more difficult.
We thought we d have to wait for the ultra-powerful telescopes currently being built before we could directly image exoplanets.
Numerous exoplanets are orbiting their host star in a very unusual but precise “rhythm”. Scientists made this discovery by focusing on the system’s rhythmic orbital dance.
When astronomers analyzed data collected by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), they initially discovered three planets orbiting a star called TOI-178. But when they looked more closely at the system, they found that the planets were orbiting in a type of precise rhythm with each other. And after further analysis, they discovered that there are at least six planets in the system.
What’s even more interesting is that the planets are very different from one another. Experts were able to determine that these six planets are anywhere from 1.1 times to 3 times larger than Earth and they all have different densities, from being a rocky super-Earth-like planet to a gassy mini-Neptune.
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Catherine Cesarsky wins 2020 Tate Award for International Leadership in Physics
WASHINGTON, December 17, 2020 The American Institute of Physics announced the winner of the 2020 John Torrence Tate Award for International Leadership in Physics to French astrophysicist Catherine Cesarsky.
Named after the celebrated American physicist John Torrence Tate, the Tate medal was established in 1959 and is awarded by AIP every two years to non-U.S. citizens for their leadership, research contributions, and service to the international physics community. The award consists of a certificate of recognition, a bronze medal, and a $10,000 prize. Previous winners include Fabiola Gianotti, Roald Sagdeev, and Jean Trân Thanh Vân.
Astrophysicist Catherine Cesarsky Selected as 2020 Tate Award for International Leadership in Physics Winner
Catherine Cesarsky, winner of the 2020 John Torrence Tate Award for International Leadership in Physics
Newswise WASHINGTON, December 17, 2020 The American Institute of Physics announced the winner of the 2020 John Torrence Tate Award for International Leadership in Physics to French astrophysicist Catherine Cesarsky.
Named after the celebrated American physicist John Torrence Tate, the Tate medal was established in 1959 and is awarded by AIP every two years to non-U.S. citizens for their leadership, research contributions, and service to the international physics community. The award consists of a certificate of recognition, a bronze medal, and a $10,000 prize. Previous winners include Fabiola Gianotti, Roald Sagdeev, and Jean Trân Thanh Vân.