Saturday, November 10, 2012

What sets newly found super Earth apart? It's simple as night and day. (+video)

Scientists say they have found a planet seven times more massive than Earth orbiting in a star's habitable zone 42 light-years away. It could have seas, and perhaps just as important, it could have an Earth-like climate because it has a day-night cycle.

By Pete Spotts,?Staff writer / November 8, 2012

This undated artist rendering shows Kepler-22b, a planet known to comfortably circle in the habitable zone of a sun-like star. So far, astronomers have detected more than 840 planets orbiting other stars, a handful of those are super Earths that fall within their stars' habitable zones.

Courtesy of JPL-Caltech/Ames/NASA/AP

Enlarge

Astronomers have uncovered evidence for a super Earth-size planet in the habitable zone of a star 42 light-years away in the southern-hemisphere constellation Pictor.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // --> A newly discovered "super-Earth" planet, HD 40307g, is in the "Goldilocks Zone;" just the right place to support liquid water. It resides in a system of six worlds orbiting a, stable, elderly dwarf star 44 light years away.

If the data truly signal a planet, the object could host liquid water on its surface, the team estimates. Liquid water is seen as a key ingredient for organic life.

So far, astronomers have detected more than 840 planets orbiting other stars. A handful of those are super Earths that fall within their stars' habitable zones. But only two ? including this newly announced planet candidate ? are far enough away from their stars to allow for a day-night cycle. The others orbit so close to their stars that they've become tidally locked, presenting the same face to their stars as they swing about their orbits.

A day-night cycle on the new planet "improves its chances of hosting an Earth-like climate," the team wrote in the formal report of their discovery, which has been accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

The host star, tagged as HD 40307, has about 77 percent of the sun's mass and is a sun-like 4.5 billion years old. Researchers previously had detected three super Earths orbiting the star. The potentially habitable planet is one of three additional planet-candidates the team is reporting around HD 40307.

It's a uniquely crafted system. Five of the six planets orbit within a scant 23 million miles of the star. HD 40307g, the outermost of the six, orbits another 33 million miles out. That brings all six orbits well within the radius of Mercury's orbit around the sun. Mercury is the innermost planet in our solar system, orbiting the sun at an average distance of 58 million miles ? close enough to broil the sun-facing hemisphere of this slowly turning planet to a toasty 801 degrees Fahrenheit.

But HD 40307g's host star is faint enough that the planet, with a year some 200 days long, falls well within the star's habitable zone.

The six planets exhibit minimum masses ranging from 3.5 Earth masses to 9.5 times the Earth's mass. The potentially habitable super Earth comes in at about seven Earth masses.

Based on calculations involving a similar, habitable-zone super Earth discovered by NASA's Kepler mission, Kepler 22b (which is also the other super Earth with a day-night cycle), the team posits that the planet could be a mini-Neptune, with a rocky core and thick atmosphere.

Other astronomers have been trying to confirm the existence of the initial three planets by hunting for the slight dimming a planet imparts to its star's light as it swings in front of the star during its orbit ? and event known as a "transit." But no one has spotted anything yet.

Given that it is easier to spot transits for close-in planets than for more-distant planets, the chances of catching a transit for HD 40307g as well would seem remote. Astronomers are interested in such detections because a transit would not only provide confirmation of the planet's existence, but also allow astronomers to infer a great deal about the planet, including its density.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/yJTJUYysGE4/What-sets-newly-found-super-Earth-apart-It-s-simple-as-night-and-day.-video

lebron james engaged auld lang syne end of the world 2012 pink martini times square 2012 predictions new years eve ball drop

Friday, November 9, 2012

Iranian fighters fired on US drone in Gulf: Pentagon - The Lahore ...

Published: November 9, 2012
MQ-1 Predator unmanned aircraft

WASHINGTON: Two Iranian fighter jets fired on an unarmed US drone in the Gulf last week and missed, the Pentagon said Thursday, warning that the United States stood ready to protect its forces in the region.

The incident occurred on November 1 ? less than a week before America?s presidential election ? but the Pentagon kept it quiet until now.

?They intercepted the aircraft and fired multiple rounds,? spokesman George Little told a news conference.

The confrontation threatened to ignite a potential conflict between the arch foes amid a mounting crisis over Tehran?s nuclear program and a shadow war marked by cyberattacks and assassinations in Iran.

Tough new sanctions led by the United States are squeezing Iran?s economy while Washington is accused of staging cyber sabotage on Tehran?s uranium enrichment plants.

The US military drone was ?never in Iranian air space? and came under fire from Su-25 fighters off the Iranian coast over international waters, Little said.

The robotic Predator aircraft was conducting ?routine surveillance? and the United States has told Iran it has no plans to suspend the flights, he said.

?The United States has communicated to the Iranians that we will continue to conduct surveillance flights over international waters over the Arabian Gulf consistent with longstanding practice and our commitment to the security of the region,? he said.

In a warning to Tehran, the Pentagon spokesman said the United States was prepared to safeguard its forces.

?We have a wide range of options, from diplomatic to military, to protect our military assets and our forces in the region and will do so when necessary,? Little said.

The Predator returned safely to an unspecified military base in the region following the incident that occurred at 4:50 am US eastern standard time (0850 GMT).

The MQ-1 drone, a turboprop plane that flies at a much slower speed than the fighter jets, was pursued further by the Iranian warplanes but not fired on again, Little added.

The Predator was intercepted about 16 nautical miles off the Iranian coast, beyond the Islamic Republic?s territorial waters that extend 12 nautical miles off the country?s shore.

At the State Department, officials unveiled yet more sanctions on Iran, targeting the communications minister and the culture ministry among others for censoring the media and the Internet.

The move against Communications Minister Reza Taghipour came after he was blamed for ordering the jamming of international satellite TV broadcasts and restricting Internet access, a State Department official said.

The United States is determined to stop the ?Iranian government from creating an ?electronic curtain? to cut Iranian citizens off from the rest of the world,? said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.

on Twitter, 'LIKE' us on Facebook

Related stories

Source: http://www.lhrtimes.com/2012/11/09/iranian-fighters-fired-on-us-drone-in-gulf-pentagon/

flyers 2012 white house correspondents dinner forrest gump bernard hopkins

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

How to use Remind me Later to handle inopportune calls on your iPhone

How to remind yourself to return a missed call on your iPhone

iOS 6 brings some welcome new features to the Phone app, including Remind me Later, which lets you safely avoid answering calls when it's inconvenient without having to worry you'll forget to return them later. As the name implies, Remind me Later ties the Phone app straight into the Reminders app, so it's really quick to use. Like the new, quick text-message replies, Remind me Later is accessible right from the Lock screen, and is only a swipe away.

How to set a location based alert with Remind me Later

  1. When a call comes in, tap and hold the phone icon to the right of Slide to Answer control, and slide it upwards to reveal the new options panel.
  2. Tap the Remind Me Later option.
  3. Tap one of the location-based options, When I Leave, When I get Home, or When I get to Work.
  4. If you haven't used location-based alerts before, you might get a popup requesting access to your location. Give your permission, or the alert can't work.

How to set a time-based alert using Remind me Later

  1. When a call comes in, tap and hold the phone icon to the right of Slide to Answer control, and slide it upwards to reveal the new options panel.
  2. Tap the Remind Me Later option.
  3. Tap In 1 Hour.

iOS will now set an alarm and when one hour has passed, your alert will go off, reminding you to return the missed call.

Do not Disturb mode

iOS 6 also comes with a new Do not Disturb mode. If you're in a situation where you don't want to be bothered by calls for an extended period of time, don't want to have to dismiss them all manual, and don't care about being reminded to return them beyond the usual missed call notifications, Do not Disturb can be the better choice.



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/8mOU0uauTBo/story01.htm

obamacare Todd Akin Register To Vote Fox News Live Obama 2016 Cnn.com Who Is Winning The Election 2012

crossdavids: health and fitness: Useful Information About Eczema

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Source: http://bustermccall.typepad.com/blog/2012/11/health-and-fitness-useful-information-about-eczema-natural.html

timothy leary jonathan frid pujols watchmen hitch justin beiber lamar odom

Source: http://crossdavids.blogspot.com/2012/11/health-and-fitness-useful-information.html

bus driver uppercut Argo joe biden Alex Karras houston texans houston texans BCS Rankings 2012

Source: http://chingyinglams.blogspot.com/2012/11/crossdavids-health-and-fitness-useful.html

solar flare joseph kony 2012 arian foster dennis kucinich apple ipad kony kony 2012