Posts Tagged ‘zone-’
January 30th, 2013 | 
Author: Astronomers at Penn State have redefined the habitable zone–the range around a star that is not too cold or too hot for liquid water to exist on a planet, making it potentially capable of sustaining life as we know it.
habitable zone distances around various types of stars based on the updated habitable zone definition. (Credit: Chester Herman)
Building on the previous definition established by Penn State’s Dr. James Kasting, the Penn State Department of Geosciences team developed an updated model for determining whether planets fall within a star’s habitable zone. And in comparing the new model with the previous model, astronomers found that habitable zones are farther away from the stars than previously thought. Space.com explains:
The new definition of the habitable zone is based on updated atmospheric databases called HITRAN (high-resolution transmission molecular absorption) and HITEMP (high-temperature spectroscopic absorption parameters), which give the absorption parameters of water and carbon dioxide — two properties that strongly influence the atmospheres of exoplanets, determining whether those planets could host liquid water.
The new definition isn’t drastically different from the previous definition. But as astronomer Abel Méndez of the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo explains to Space.com, “Many of those planets that we believe were inside are now outside. But on the other side, it extends the habitable zone’s outer edge, so a few planets that are farther away might fall inside the habitable zone now.” Méndez was not part of the team that redefined the habitable zone. But he does manage a list, called the Habitable Exoplanet Catalog, which contains all known potentially habitable exoplanets.
Adjustments will be made to the catalog based on the redefined habitable zone
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 SETI Institute |
Kepler Mission Announces 461 New Planet Candidates, Two in Habitable Zone
SETI Institute Since the last Kepler catalog was released in February 2012, the number of candidates discovered in the Kepler data has increased by 20 percent and now totals 2,740 potential planets orbiting 2,036 stars. Based on observations conducted May 2009 to … NASA Finds 461 Alien Planet Candidates, Some Possibly Habitable |
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 CBS News |
Tau Ceti, closest Sun-like star, revealed to have planet in habitable zone
Herald Sun … picture: NASA Source: Supplied. So are we at risk from invasion from Tau Ceti? No. And there's evidence to back it up. In the 1960s, the budding SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence) program monitored the star closely for artificial radio … Astronomers may have found nearest habitable planet less than twelve light … Earth-like planet's star close enough to be visible to naked eye Five Planets Around Nearby Star Tau Ceti; One in Habitable Zone |
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CBS News |
Five Planets Around Nearby Star Tau Ceti; One in Habitable Zone
Universe Today During the 1960?s, Project Ozma, led by SETI's Frank Drake, probed Tau Ceti for signs of life by studying interstellar radio waves with the Green Bank radio telescope. Science fiction authors like Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov and Frank Herbert used … Five new planets discovered just 12 light-years away Habitable world discovered orbiting 'Sun twin' just 12 light years away (and … Five new planets orbit a nearby star |
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 HULIQ |
'Chasing UFOs': 'UFO Landing Zone?' Recap
Gather.com In their never-ending quest to prove that UFOs have visited our planet, the Chasing UFOs team—James, Ben, and Ryder—travel to the place… 'Chasing UFOs' S1 episode 4: the team investigates a 'UFO Landing Zone' |
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Posted in UFO's in the news | 
Tags: Chasing, Gather.com, landing, Recap, ufo, ufos, zone- | 
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HULIQ |
'Chasing UFOs' S1 episode 4: the team investigates a 'UFO Landing Zone'
HULIQ The Chasing UFOs team headed to the home of UFOs, meaning the area of Roswell, New Mexico this week, as undecided Ryder, skeptic Ben and ufologist James investigate stories of UFO crashes. |
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Posted in UFO's in the news |
Tags: Chasing, episode, HULIQ, investigates, landing, team, ufo, ufos, zone- |
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 msnbc.com |
Over 5000 aftershocks have rattled Japanese quake zone
msnbc.com An earthquake that ruptured this week off the coast of Japan was the largest recent aftershock to affect an area that, more than a year after one of the most … |
Posted in UFO's in the news |
Tags: 5000, aftershocks, japanese, msnbc.com, over, Quake, rattled, zone- |
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Posted in UFO's in the news |
Tags: alien, crater, Endeavour, mars, possible-, zone- |
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 CTV.ca |
SETI and NASA scientists charter zeppelin to fly over meteorite zone
Oakland Tribune The SETI Institute, based in Mountain View, is the same nonprofit that has spent decades searching for radio signals from outer space in hopes of locating other advanced life forms. On Thursday, the scientists flew over the Sierra Nevada foothill … NASA, SETI Use Airship to Hunt Meteorites From Big Fireball NASA, SETI investigators look for Sierra meteorite fragments Scientists Use Airship To Look for Meteorites |
 Boston.com |
SETI and NASA scientists charter zeppelin to fly over meteorite zone
San Jose Mercury News The SETI Institute, based in Mountain View, is the same nonprofit that has spent decades searching for radio signals from outer space in hopes of locating other advanced life forms. On Thursday, the scientists flew over the Sierra Nevada foothill … NASA, SETI investigators look for Sierra meteorite fragments New California gold rush as treasure hunters search for meteor fragments Scientists hunt meteorite fragments from Zeppelin |
