Planets

Blog about planets.

The Australe Scopuli region on Mars (Image ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO))

0

ESA has published reprocessed images of the Australe Scopuli region of Mars captured by its Mars Express space probe’s High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). The area is covered in what appears to be snow but is actually carbon dioxide ice and dust. Despite the differences, the view is reminiscent of a Christmas landscape, especially the kind common at altitudes where it normally snows on Earth. It’s still a significant day because, on December 25, 2003, Mars Express entered Mars’ orbit.

The NGC 346 cluster with 10 circled stars surrounded by protoplanetary disks (Image NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, O. C. Jones (UK ATC), G. De Marchi (ESTEC), M. Meixner (USRA))

0

An article published in “The Astrophysical Journal” reports the results of the study of a group of protoplanetary disks with an age of up to 30 million years, even 10 times older than current models of planet formation predict. A team led by Guido De Marchi of ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Centre used observations conducted with the James Webb space telescope of the cluster NGC 346, in the Small Magellanic Cloud. That region is characterized by a limited amount of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium, just like the early universe. This study confirms that in those conditions, protoplanetary disks can last much longer than astronomers thought.

Artist's concept of the exoplanet TOI-3261 b being struck by stellar wind (Image NASA/JPL-Caltech/K. Miller (Caltech/IPAC))

0

An article published in “The Astronomical Journal” reports the identification of the exoplanet TOI-3261 b, an ultrahot Neptune very close to its star, one of the very few planets of that type known. A team of researchers used observations conducted with NASA’s TESS space telescope and detections obtained with the ESPRESSO and HARPS instruments to confirm its existence and obtain information on its characteristics. TOI-3261 b orbits in what is known as the Neptune desert precisely because it’s in an area where it’s very rare to find Neptune-type planets. For this reason, it will help to understand the evolution of certain types of planets.

Artist’s impression of the exoplanet Barnard b with Barnard's Star in the background (Image ESO/M. Kornmesser)

0

An article published in the journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics” reports the identification of an exoplanet smaller than Earth orbiting Barnard’s Star. A team of researchers identified the exoplanet designated as Barnard b using the ESPRESSO instrument installed on ESO’s VLT in Chile. This discovery was later confirmed with other specialized exoplanet-hunting instruments: HARPS, HARPS-N, and CARMENES. The researchers also detected other signatures that suggest the presence of three exoplanet candidates, but follow-up investigations are needed to verify their existence.

0

An article published in the journal “Nature Astronomy” reports a possible reconstruction of the system of the ultra-cool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 that led to the current configuration of its seven rocky planets. A team of researchers examined their orbits and in particular their orbital resonances, concluding that the planets formed in two steps in a protoplanetary disk divided into two parts. Initially, this led to the formation of two planetary subsystems and only later did planetary migrations occur with influences between various planets that led to the current situation.