Mysterious signals emanating from space

A surge radio signals coming from a Sun-like star has attracted the attention of astronomers. The signal is thought to have come from a star called HD 164595 in the constellation of Hercules, which is about 95 light years from the Earth.

Scientists estimate the signal is the result of natural phenomena such as microlensing, in which the star's gravity becomes stronger and focusing the signals elsewhere.

The signals seem to be coming from a sun-like star known as HD 164595 in the constellation Hercules, around 95 light years away. Pictured is an artist's impression of an alien star system. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1da2SW)

However, astronomers have also been asked for SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) for a closer look at whether the radio signals were a message from extraterrestrial beings.

As quoted by the Daily Mail on Tuesday, August 30, 2016, SETI track the HD 164595 using the Allen Telescope Array in northern California and Boquete Optical SETI Observatory, in Panama.

Scientists suggest the spike (pictured) may be the result of a natural phenomenon, such as 'microlensing', in which the star's gravity strengthens and focus signals from farther away. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1da2SW)

According to the explanation by Paul Gilster in Centauri Dreams, the signal was first detected on May 15, 2015 by the RATAN-600 radio telescope in Zelenchukskaya, Russia.

HD 164595 attract the attention of scientists because it is like the sun, at least has one Neptune-sized warm planet known orbiting. But they said it was likely there are other planets that have not been detected. The average temperature of HD 164595 is 12 Kelvin hotter and aged 100 million years younger than the Sun.

"No one is claiming that's an act of the extraterrestrial civilization, but it deserves to be studied further," said Gilster.

"The researchers said that, if it comes from an isotropic flare, is likely only come from Type II Kardashev civilization."

A spike in radio signals coming from the direction of a sun-like star, HD 164595, is being followed up by alien-hunting telescopes. SETI is using the Allen Telescope Array (pictured) in northern California and the Boquete Optical SETI Observatory in Panama to confirm the data. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1da2SW)

"(But) if it is a narrow signal that focuses on our solar system, the possibility of a power available to Type I Kardashev civilization," he added.

Kardashev scale is a way to measure the technological sophistication of an alien civilization is based on the energy used. According to the makers of the scale, Nikolai Kardashev, there are three types of the alien civilizations.

Type I civilization consists of species that are able to utilize all the available energy of the nearest star, collect, and store it to meet the needs of its population. And Type II civilization much more advanced and can utilize all their star power. While the civilization of type III, a species that has been able to control everything related to energy.

Paul Gilster of the Tau Zero Foundation, which conducts research interstellar say, if the signal was artificial, then it could be derived from a more advanced civilization than human - or is in Kardashev scale entry into the Type II.

Currently, humans are around Type I - where civilization is able to utilize all the available energy, including solar, wind, earthquakes, and other fuels. Meanwhile, Type II has been able to utilize the whole of the energy emitted by the star, which powers billions of watts.

In a statement, Seth Shostak, the SETI Institute's senior astronomer claimed to have no clue where the civilization that seeks to give the 'messages' to us. "It is difficult to understand why someone would want to target our solar system with a strong signal," he said further, as quoted by CNN.

"It's a little confusing, because Russia has found this signals a year ago, but do not let other people know," said a senior astronomer at the SETI Institute.

"The signal may be genuine, but I suspect that it is not extraterrestrial beings. There is another possibility that such a broad signal caused by the natural disruption (or even terrestrial interference)."

Researchers who found the signal at the Special Astrophysical Observatory, Russian Academy of Science said that required further observations to HD 164595. The discovery of the signal will be discussed at the International Astronautical Congress held in Mexico in September 2016. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | DAILY MAIL]

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It has been found the closest habitable planet to the Earth

A new world can be inhabited by humans in the future might be located just across of our homes from the perspective of astronomy. A team of astronomers, through a publication in the Nature journal on Wednesday, August 24, 2016, revealed that Proxima Centauri, the nearest planetary system to our solar system, most likely have a habitable planet.

An illustration of Proxima b orbiting Proxima Centauri. The Proxima b is the closest known, potentially habitable planet. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1ddIcQ)

The new planet was named Proxima b. And the astronomers revealed its existence with detect the "wobble" of star when the planet passes, through a method known as radial velocity. The detection is performed with the instruments called High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS), which is located in the Atacama desert, Chile.

The HARPS instrument is attached to a 3.6m telescope at the La Silla observatory in Chile. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1ddHwd)

"We're talking about a planet that has similarities with the Earth," said Guillem Anglada Escude, an astronomer from Queen Mary University of London, who led the study.

Just like the Earth, Proxima b was a rocky planet. The Planet was also located in goldlilocks zone, ie a zone that was fitting to support the creation of precise temperature which allows the presence of water in liquid form. The planet estimated 1.3 times the size of Earth that are at a distance of approximately 7.5 million kilometers from its parent star.

An illustration of the sights of Proxima b surface and its parent star Proxima Centauri. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1ddHwd)

A year counted on this planet is very short, equivalent to 11.2 days on Earth. These short years occurred because the distance of planet with relatively nearby star. Compare with the Earth-Sun distance is about 149 million kilometers.

The proximity of distance to the star does not necessarily make the Proxima b like in a hell. It could be happened because of the Proxima Centauri was not as hot as the Sun. And the planet was classified as a red dwarf, and cooler.

How big is the Proxima Centauri? (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1ddHwd)

The distance from the Earth to Proxima Centauri itself is around 40 trillion kilometers. The distance that is very far, but in the perspective of astronomy is very close. Proxima Centauri can be likened to a complex across the street from us. These planetary system was the closest to Earth, even closer than the famous double star system Alpha Centauri.

"It's not just the nearest rocky planet, but the closest planet outside our solar system that ever found. Due to there's no planetary system that is closer to our solar system other than Proxima Centauri," said Escude.

With today's technology, we still need thousands of years to reach Proxima b. The life span of one generation alone is not enough.

"Obviously, to go there now is an impossible mission. However, we would think, not just in the imagination of scientists to send the spacecraft to go there," Escude said as quoted by the BBC on Thursday, August 25, 2016.

Location and distance of the Proxima Centauri? (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1ddHwd)

Not yet known whether the planet has an atmosphere like the Earth. However, Escude optimistic that in the next 10 years, whether or not the atmosphere existence at Proxima b will be found.

The existence of the atmosphere will determine whether the Proxima b really could be the our future home. Otherwise, the temperature at the planet's surface would be too cold for humans. And the sending of a special spacecraft to examine Proxima b can be done so that the characteristics of the planet more quickly revealed.

What happens if human live there? The experiences will be different than the Earth. When the planet has similar atmosphere with the Earth, so the color of twilight in there is similar to the dusk in late spring. However, the stars will be visible in the silent, not like the Sun. Why, because only one side of the planet facing the parent star.

Although there are still many questions, the astronomers welcomed these findings. "To know had the nearest star which has a potentially habitable planet was amazing," said Edward Guinan of Villanova University. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | BBC]

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NASA's spacecraft ready to encounter the asteroid Bennu

Researchers at the US space agency - National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is mounting the last series of spacecraft to study the asteroid Bennu in 2018 in order to get the clues about the origin of life.

"A few more days, the installation of rocket parts finished and we will bring the spacecraft to the Atlas V to begin the journey to Bennu and returned to Earth," said Dante Lauretta, principal investigator for the event, at the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Kanveral, United States.

NASA's OSIRIS-Rex mission will map and study the asteroid Bennu before bringing a sample home. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1dOm1o)

The activity worth one billion US dollars, it is known by the OSIRIS-REx, and the rocket is scheduled to launch on September 8, 2016 from the Cape Kanaveral in Florida.

The solar-powered robotic rocket, made by Lockheed Martin, and designed to deal with asteroid 1999 RQ36, known as Bennu, for two years for mapping and research. Later, the rocket's robotic arm was used to obtain a sample for examination when it back to Earth in 2023.

Researchers are interested in studying the mineral and chemical materials in asteroids. Because they argued similar asteroids ever hit the Earth and is believed to contain organic material and water that allows life.

"We hope to find the material that preceded the age of the solar system at this time," said Lauretta. He added, the physical samples from the Apollo missions to the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s are still widely used today.

"By understanding the chemical elements down to the molecular level, we have to get more samples and bring them to the best laboratories in the country and around the world for the next generation of knowledge," said Jason Dworkin, one of the mission researchers.

NASA's OSIRIS-Rex mission will spend 2 years mapping an asteroid before returning a sample to Earth. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1dOm1o)

Meanwhile, Hayabusa is the first Japanese spacecraft that managed to bring back physical samples of the asteroid to Earth in 2010. Along with sample devices, the Osiris-Rex rocket is also equipped with cameras and sensors, in order to learn the power that influence the direction of the asteroid's orbit.

However, the rocket launch plan for the right to deal with Bennu quite difficult because the prediction calculation is not a perfect science, Lauretta said.

"In fact many unanticipated challenges, such as other power such as solar radiation pressure, even heat emission from the asteroid may affect the movement of the rocket," said Lauretta.

That mission will provide new insight for astronomers to determine the influence of the Sun's heat on the movement of rock in space, said Dworkin.

That information is important to know in order to protect the Earth from asteroids that might hit the planet in the future, he added. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | SPACE]

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The mysterious object found in the Solar System

A mysterious object found in the Solar System. Until now, nobody knew its identity. The object named Niku. Scientists initially suspected that the object was a dwarf planet, entered in the class of trans-Neptunian objects.

However, during the analyzes, scientists are even more confused. Normally, the object of which is smaller than the planet can be called a dwarf planet or even an asteroid. However, Niku could not be classified in both.

This is an artist's concept of a craggy piece of Solar System debris that belongs to a class of bodies called trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) with nickname Niku. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1dNT34)

For the first, Niku has a different orbital plane 110 degrees compared to the orbital plane of the other celestial objects that orbit the sun. Even odder, Niku orbit direction opposite the direction of the orbit most celestial bodies in the Solar System. When the other celestial bodies orbiting the Sun in the direction of rotation, Niku is precisely the opposite.

Indeed, Niku is not the only one who has the opposite or retrograde orbit. However, due to differences combined with its orbital plane, it is difficult for astronomers claimed that Niku is a dwarf planet.

There's an unidentified object in a strange orbit past Neptune named Niku, and no one can explain it. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1dNSny)

Then, whether Niku is? One of the alleged, Niku is created from the collisions with other mysterious celestial bodies and influenced by other forces outside the Sun or planets in the Solar System.

Another hypothesis, Niku is a member of a group of celestial bodies that orbit coincidentally similar to the Solar System.

There are also allegations that the Niku is celestial objects associated with the presence of all nine planets in the solar system is suspected, but unconfirmed yet.

Which is correct? Until now scientists have not been able to confirm. However, the uncertainty that provides new passion for astronomers. They are encouraged to investigate further.

"It shows that there are many things in the outer Solar System were not yet fully understand," said Matthew Holman of the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who discovered Niku, as quoted by Science Alert on August 11, 2016.

"Whenever you find oddities in the outer Solar System, it's interesting because in some ways is a sign of a new development," said Konstantin Batygin of Calfornia Institute of Technology.

Niku discovered by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System 1 (Pan-STARRS 1) on Haleakala, Maui. This object 160,000 fainter than Neptune. Allegedly, its diameter was less than 200 kilometers alias less than half the width of the island of Java.. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | SCIENCE ALERT]

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Is the 'Fifth force' of nature been found?

For decades, people knew of the existence of four of the fundamental forces (elements that make the universe survive, namely: gravity, electromagnetism and the nuclear forces, both weak and strong, that uniting atoms).

And now scientists may have discovered the fifth force (which may answer the big question of physicists related to what particle actually works behind the veil of dark matter mystery.

Galaxies such as this spiral, known as NGC 6814, are held together by mysterious dark matter. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1dG5X4)

Dark matter is an invisible material, not identified, and not detected as well, which is believed to be the majority materials which formed the universe (about 85 percent). It formed when the universe was created billions of years ago, in a massive explosion known as Big Bang.

Because it is not absorb or emit the light, so that the existence of dark matter can not be proven directly. It's called 'dark' but not as scary, but it is not yet within reach of human knowledge today.

"If true, this is a revolutionary findings," said the study author, Jonathan Feng, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Irvine, as quoted of LiveScience on Wednesday, August 17, 2016.

"If confirmed in further studies, the findings related to possibility of the fifth force will change our understanding of the universe, with the consequence is merger between the four powers (known previously) with the dark matter."

Feng and his colleagues analyzed data collected recently, and used by physics experiments at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, which is trying to find the 'dark photon' (a hypothetical indicator of the existence of mysterious dark matter).

Experts in Hungary detect interesting evidence of subatomic particles that were previously unknown, which is 30 times heavier than electrons and believed to be a 'dark photons'.

"The experiment can not be claimed that it is a new force," said Feng. "Experts only see the excesses of events that indicate a new particle, but it is not clear to them whether it is a particle of matter or force carrying the particles."

A new study conducted Feng and his team showed that found by the scientists in Hungary is not the 'dark photon' but 'protophobic X boson' (a strange particles whose existence could indicate the fifth force in the universe).

The electromagnetic force impacted on protons and electrons, but it turned out new particles interact only with protons and neutrons, within very short intervals.

"There's no other bosons which have been observed, and have similar characteristics," said another writer, Timothy Tait, who is also a professor of physics and astronomy at UC-Irvine. "Sometimes we refer to it as 'X boson', 'X' means unknown.

Illustration of a table of four forces of nature. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1dG58h)

Fifth forces may be associated with electromagnetic and nuclear forces (strong or weak), as 'a manifestation of a larger force and fundamental'," said Feng. He added that the 'normal' material and the power of the universe has a parallel 'dark' sector (which has the material and power its own).

"There is a possibility that these two sectors 'talk' to each other and interact with each other through interaction somewhat veiled but fundamental," said Feng.

"This dark sector can manifest itself as a protophobic force (which we see as a result of the Hungary experiment). In a broader sense, it fits with research that aims to understand the nature of dark matter."

Although that's interesting speculation, but the researchers emphasize it was the beginning of a new interpretation. Further researche and experimentations are needed to strengthen the hypothesis. Such particles should also be observed in accelerators.

The good news, says Feng, many scientists were able to follow up on these findings. "Because of these new particles were so light, there are many groups working in small laboratory experiments around the world to follow up the initial claims. And now they know where to look," said Feng. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | LIVESCIENCE]

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What would happens if the Comet Swift-Tuttle hit Our Earth?

The shooting star might be the thing that you admire as a kid, but the sky phenomenon has also become a strong warning that the Earth is not alone in the space, and the number of the space objects could become a hazard.

An artist illustration, the comet collision to the Earth. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1cblBO)

In 1973, based on the orbit calculation of the object using limited observations, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics named Brian Marsden predicted that the Swift-Tuttle comet will hit the Earth in the year of 2126. However, these dire predictions ultimately did not happen, but what if the comet really hit the Earth?

"We must make it clear that it will not happen," said Donald Yeomans, a senior researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and author of "Near-Earth Objects: Finding Them Before They Find Us" (Princeton University Press, 2012), as told to Live Science.

When the comet was last seen in 1992, Yeomans was making revisions models of comet movement, making complicated calculations to measure the gravitational effects of the sun and planets on the object space rocks.

Of sightings in 1992, plus the data from 1862 and 1737, showed that astronomers have enough information to find the possibility of a collision in 2126. Keep in mind, Comet Swift-Tuttle instead of the usual space rock.

Such as the Perseid meteor shower, which appeared annual in mid-August occurs when the Earth passed by a trail of debris left by comet Swift-Tuttle. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1cbkRN)

Comet Swift-Tuttle is the greatest objects that cross the Earth, said Yeomans. The object is within 16 miles, and across the Earth every 130 years, and moving at a speed of 36 miles per second or 56 km/s.

The Comet Swift-Tuttle, the comet was discovered by Lewis Swift on July 16 and then a few days later by Horace Parnell Tuttle on July 19, 1862. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1cblBO)

If the comet crashing into planet, the impact energy was approximately 300 times of the asteroid hit the Earth, causing the destruction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. "That would be the worst days for the Earth," he said further.

But the size of the comets or asteroids not be the only thing responsible for cosmic collisions, said Gerta Keller, a geographers at the Princeton University.

The fall of the comet to land or sea may cause destruction in the surrounding area, but the real devastation comes from the gas in the stratosphere, part of the Earth's atmosphere where the ozone layer is located. Sulfur dioxide causes cooling, heat and carbon dioxide causes long term heating, added Keller. This led to drastic climate change and brings mass extinction worldwide.

Keller also explained that most of the Earth  is ocean. Effects caused able to impact on the deep sea, such as the eruption of underwater volcanoes.

Based on the Scientists calculation, the arrival of the comet Swift-Tuttle to the Earth on August 5, 2126, within a distance of 14 million miles, equivalent to 60 times the distance of Earth to the Moon. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | LIVESCIENCE]

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