Established Member
A couple of items of interest to the science-minded...
Hubble telescope discovery of 'evaporating' extrasolar planet
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0303/12planet/
Evidence of human beings in far prehistory
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...rsttracks.html
Established Member
That's a couple of fascinating articles.
[minirant] A quick comment about the illustration accompanying the "Evaporating Planet" article: While it may be a highly accurate rendering of what we might see if we were there (but it probably isn't), I'm always of two minds about pictures like these. They certainly 'bring to life' the phenomenon in question, igniting the curiosity of awe of laymen (such as myself), they are also disturbing examples of what has been called 'hyperreality'. These sort of pictures give a stylized, ideal-type, ultra-beautiful rendering of what for actual observers is just a tiny smudge or even just a couple of numbers on a printout. This happens with all sorts of things these days, mostly as a result of trying to market them to potential buyers, but reality can rarely live up to these hyperreal, more-real-than-real, representations. [/minirant]
By the way, is "evaporate" the best word for what is happening to that planet?
Established Member
Regarding your minirant...
I tend to agree when representations like this are used to try to sell something. That picture on a telescope box, implying that you'll see into the next three dimensions with this little 2" diameter plastic-lensed doorstop, is a bone of contention among many, not the least of which is our own distinguished BA, if I recall correctly.
I learned this long ago, and give it as advice to every new stargazer/budding astronomer I run into. No matter what you're looking at through the telescope, IT NEVER LOOKS LIKE THE PICTURES!!!
Established Member
That is some great stuff, though! Makes a guy wonder what kind of planet we would find in an ancient hot-Jupiter system--what planetary nugget of weird minerals would be left over after nearly all the hydrogen, helium, and so forth had escaped?
Order of Kilopi
I too am concerned by the "artist's depiction" of "hot Jupiters". They always show something that looks like Jupiter (complete with cloud bands) snuggled up to the star, in this case, with a comet-like tail added. I'm pretty sure that these planets don't look anything like Jupiter, considering the 100:1 difference in distance from the star and 10,000:1 difference in energy flux.
_________________
"There's a whole lotta things I've never done, but I ain't never had too much fun."
Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Kaptain K on 2003-03-12 21:54 ]</font>
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