Surprise Planet Discovery

New research reveals a fourth planet in the Kepler-51 system, altering our understanding of this unique system with three known ultra-low density “super-puff” planets.

Researchers utilized a range of telescopes, including NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, to detect unexpected transit timing variations that suggested the presence of an additional planet. This discovery adds complexity to the system’s dynamics and poses new questions about the formation and characteristics of these rare super-puff planets.

New Planet Discovered in Kepler-51 System
A team of researchers from Penn State and Osaka University has discovered that an unusual planetary system, known for its three ultra-low density “super-puff” planets, includes at least one more planet. While observing Kepler-51d, the third planet in the system, with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the team encountered a surprise: the planet transited its star two hours earlier than predicted by existing models.

To solve the mystery, the researchers analyzed both new and archival data from a range of space- and ground-based telescopes. Their investigation led to a compelling explanation: a previously undetected fourth planet, whose gravitational influence affects the orbits of the other planets in the system.

This groundbreaking discovery is detailed in a paper published on December 3 in the Astronomical Journal.     READ MORE...

Unleashing Nuclear Fusion

LASERS ARE useful for a lot of things. They made CDs work (when they were still a thing). They also provide hours of entertainment for cats (and their humans). 

But they can also create magnetic conditions similar to the surface of the Sun in a lab, according to new research by scientists at Osaka University. And that might help a wide range of other scientific disciplines, ranging from solar astronomy to fusion.

The experiment used a high-power laser, known as Gekko XII, at the Institute of Laser Engineering at Osaka University. Originally designed for fusion experiments, this laser is powerful enough to vaporize a piece of plastic if it is focused on it. 

Or, more accurately, it is powerful enough to turn it into plasma.

That is just what the researchers did. They zapped a small piece of plastic with Gekko XII that sat on top of a magnet emitting a weak magnetic field. 

The laser blast, which only lasted for about 500 picoseconds, created a high-energy plasma that distorts an already weak magnetic field over the sample. 

That combination of a weak magnetic field and plasma created a situation known as a “pure electron outflow.”  READ MORE...