AAS, 4b Through 8b, & MicroFUN

As the 2010 American Astronomical Society meetings wind-down, two items from the program caught my attention (in addition to Michael Crowe's Doggett Prize and invited presentation, mentioned last time). Both made news.

First, at a press conference held Tuesday, NASA Kepler team members announced the spacecraft's discovery of five new exoplanets beyond our solar system. These are the first exoplanets detected by Kepler since science operations began last May. Predictably, all five were given spectacularly memorable names: Kepler 4b, 5b, 6b, 7b, and 8b.

This is understandable: one day, Kepler-discovered exoplanets may number in the hundreds. Or more. No one will know how many until at least November 2012, when science operations are slated to end.

Relative sizes of Kepler 4b, 5b, 6b, 7b, and 8b. Credit: JPL/NASA  

Kepler 4b through 8b are gas giants, also known as "hot Jupiters" because of their extreme temperatures (2,200 to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit) and large sizes (about the mass of Neptune to about 1.5 times the mass of Jupiter). You can read the full NASA news release here.

The second item raised an eyebrow when I heard about it yesterday. Scott Gaudi, an astronomer at Ohio State University, reported at a press conference titled "Exoplanet Demographics" that "We now know our place in the universe." Whenever I see or hear statements like this is I always get uneasy (rhymes with queasy), given how much we don't know about the universe in 2010.

But, to be fair, Mr. Gaudi also added this: "Solar systems like our own are not rare, but we're not in the majority, either."  

The statement summarizes the latest findings from a worldwide informal consortium of astronomers participating in something called the Microlensing Follow-Up Network (MicroFUN)—well done!—which hunts for exoplanets using a technique called gravitational microlensing. Microlensing occurs when a star passes in front of another star as seen from Earth. As this happens the light from the farthest away star becomes magnified by the closer star. If any planets are orbiting the "lens star," they increase the magnification in a measurable way as they pass by. This technique works best in detecting gas giants.

Estimating the number of solar systems "like our own" is based on a statistical analysis of MicroFUN survey data. Only one system—having two gas giants similar to Jupiter and Neptune—has been identified so far. Gaudi's argument goes something like this: "We've only found this one system, and we should have found about six by now—if every star had a solar system like Earth's." In other words, not finding very many so far suggests a relatively small number of systems out there similar to the one we belong.

Gaudi admits this is pretty rough and the "final number could change a lot . . . With billions of stars out there, even narrowing the odds to 15 percent leaves a few hundred million systems that might be like ours."

An interesting idea, anyway.

Information about MicroFUN research is available at Ohio State University.

 

Comments

[netti casino]

As this happens the light from the most distant afar star comes to be amplified by the closer star. In the event that any planets are circling the lens star they build the amplification.

[Rabbi Allen S. Maller]

In his introduction to Modern Kabbalah, “God, Sex and Kabbalah”, Rabbi Allen S. Maller devoted an entire chapter to Extra Terrestrial Intelligent Life as evidence of God's creation. In 1983 when the book was published, there was no evidence at all that any other stars had planetary systems. Twenty eight years later astronomers have already discovered over 1,500 planets.
This supports Rabbi Maller’s assertion, based on Kabbalistic teachings, that God didn’t create a universe with millions of billions of stars and leave it devoid of intelligent, spiritually aware lifeforms,  with the only one exception being on planet Earth. Earth size planets at the right distance to support carbon based life will be discovered in the next few years according to Rabbi Maller. The rabbi states that many astrophysicists now think that most stars have planetary systems.
A recent report in Science News Web edition : September 13th, 2011 by Nadia Drake explains that:
“Planet hunters have unlocked a treasure chest of alien worlds to reveal more than 50 newly discovered planets, including at least 16 not much bigger than Earth and one a 3.6-Earth-mass planet, parked just inside its star’s life-friendly zone. “We can say that most sun like stars have planets, and most of them have low-mass planets,” says astronomer Francesco Pepe, a member of the Geneva Observatory.
An accompanying study that will appear in an upcoming issue of Astronomy & Astrophysics presents the team’s long-awaited characterization of its planetary population – and suggests that more than 50 percent of sunlike stars sport a planet.” When Rabbi Maller's book on Kabbalah was published the rabbi, using the analysis of Dr. Frank Drake, used the very conservative estimated that only 10% of stars had planetary systems. Now Dr. Pepe estimates over 50% have solar systems.
“We can see that most stars have planetary systems, probably like our own,” says astronomer Debra Fischer of Yale University. The new information suggests that lighter planets are more common in extrasolar systems than heavier Jupiter-like ones. While surveys haven’t detected any Earth-massed planets yet, they’re getting close. As instruments become more precise and planet-finding missions like Kepler continue to stare at stars, finding Earth-like planets in life-friendly orbits looms. Between what Kepler is doing and these Doppler surveys, we’re really on the threshold of seeing a whole population of planets in this habitable zone.”
Within a decade, astronomers hope to aim telescopes like the planned European Extremely Large Telescope at target exoplanets to spot the presence of oxygen or other biomarkers in their atmospheres. Right now, there are no instruments capable of doing this – but there will be and an important part of Rabbi Maller’s Kabbalah based assertion will be vindicated.
Rabbi Maller’s web site is rabbimaller.com