Podcaster: Richard Drumm
Title: Space Scoop: Ultracool Dwarf and the Seven Planets
Organization:365 Days Of Astronomy
Link : astrosphere.org ; http://unawe.org/kids/unawe1707/
Description: Space scoop, news for children
We’ve just found a new stellar system with seven, count em!, seven small, rocky planets. The new system is a record-breaker on two accounts: it has the most Earth-sized planets, and the most potentially life-bearing worlds.
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Bio: Richard Drumm is President of the Charlottesville Astronomical Society and President of 3D – Drumm Digital Design, a video production company with clients such as Kodak, Xerox and GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals. He was an observer with the UVa Parallax Program at McCormick Observatory in 1981 & 1982. He has found that his greatest passion in life is public outreach astronomy and he pursues it at every opportunity.
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Transcript:
This is the 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast. Today we bring you a new episode in our Space Scoop series. This show is produced in collaboration with Universe Awareness, a program that strives to inspire every child with our wonderful cosmos.
Ultracool Dwarf and the Seven Planets
One of the most exciting things happening in science at the moment is the search for alien life. We’re lucky enough to live in a time when this search is getting serious.
Just 25 years ago, the only planets we knew of in the entire Universe were those in our Solar System. Now, we know that most stars have planets orbiting them! The next step is to single out planets that are like Earth.
We’ve just found exactly what we’ve been searching for, a new solar system with seven small, rocky planets. The new system is a record-breaker on two accounts: it has the most Earth-sized planets, and the most potentially life-bearing worlds.
The new solar system was discovered when astronomers noticed the star’s light dimming slightly as the planets passed in front of it. It’s impossible for us to see such distant planets directly, but we can actually gather lots of information using this technique.
We know that all of these new planets are made of rock, they’re a similar size to Earth and at least three of the planets could have oceans. However, these planets all orbit much closer to their star then Earth, or even Mercury, which is the closest planet to our Sun.
Yet, the temperature on the planets is actually similar to the rocky planets of our Solar System!
This is because the star at the centre of this solar system is an ‘ultracool dwarf star’. It’s 10 times less massive than the Sun and four times cooler, meaning it gives off much less light and heat.
Astronomers expect to find lots of Earth-like planets around dwarf stars, but this is the first time such a packed solar system has been discovered.
Cool Fact
The star at the centre of this solar system is small, but it’s by no means the smallest star known. That title goes to OGLE-TR-122b, which is only slightly bigger than Jupiter!
Thank you for listening to the 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast!
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
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The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by Astrosphere New Media. Audio post-production by Richard Drumm. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. This year we will celebrate more discoveries and stories from the universe. Join us and share your story. Until tomorrow! Goodbye!