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A swarm of alien satellites may explain one star's strange behavior
There's something extremely odd about KIC 8462852, a star 1,481 light-years away from Earth. It demonstrates irregular, seemingly unnatural, flickering patterns -- usually, scientists detect a faraway planet by measuring the regular drops in brightness that occur as it passes in front of its sun, but KIC 8462852 is different. It exhibits extreme drops in brightness, up to 22 percent at one moment, and there appears to be no pattern to the light show. For comparison, a planet the size of Jupiter normally drops in brightness by just 1 percent as it crosses the sun, according The Washington Post. The star's weird behavior remains unexplained, but scientists have a few ideas about its origins -- including a massive alien structure.
The Big Picture: A nebula with the grace of a butterfly
Nebulae tend to be stunning by their very nature, but the Twin Jet Nebula might just take the cake. The Hubble Space Telescope team has captured an updated image of the dying binary star system (the last shot was from 1997), and its namesake twin jets of ejecting gas are unfurling like the iridescent wings of a butterfly. The seemingly magical effect stems from the stars' unusual interaction with each other -- while only one star is ejecting its outer layers, the other (an already-shrunken white dwarf) is pulling those layers in opposite directions. You won't have to worry about this light show disappearing any time soon, by the way. The nebula only got started around 1,200 years ago, so it's going to be visible for many, many years to come. [Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA]
Here's how the largest galaxies die
Like it or not, all galaxies will eventually die. But have you wondered just how they meet their grisly ends? Researchers now have a good idea. They've studied 22 very large elliptical galaxies about 10 billion years old, and have discovered that these celestial bodies die from the inside out. The older they get, the more red giants (that is, dead stars) exist at their centers -- stars keep forming at the periphery up until the galaxy's last moments.
Satellite captures a baby star's 'growth spurt'
It's trivial to see mature stars in action, but baby stars are another matter. They 'only' spend 150,000 years in their earliest formative stage, and they rarely give away clues that they're around. That's what makes the above pictures so important -- scientist Emily Safron and colleagues have become the first to spot a very young protostar's "outburst," or the growth spurt that typically happens when the forming celestial body accumulates a lot of gas and dust relatively quickly. After poring over data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer satellite, the astronomers noticed that a future star that was once virtually invisible, HOPS 383, lit up in the space of just a few years; it got 35 times brighter between 2006 and 2008. You won't see it finish growing up (it's 1,400 light years away, for one thing), but it's likely well on its way toward generating its own energy and officially joining the stellar ranks. [Image credit: E. Safron et al./NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Toledo]
The Big Picture: A young star poses for its close-up
The Hubble Space Telescope spots a lot of stars, but some of them are seemingly more eager to pose for snapshots than others. Take the star you see above, for example. That's V1331 Cyg, a young stellar object that's conveniently sending a jet of gas directly toward Hubble, providing a clear (and rather dramatic) view that isn't clouded by interstellar dust, like its neighbors. Astronomers don't mind that V1331 is hogging the spotlight, though -- this scene offers an ideal way to look for signs of planetary formation and other phenomena that would otherwise be hard to detect. This could be much, much more than a pretty picture if it helps scientists understand how stars grow up.
Gas planets can become habitable if their stars get grabby
It's tempting to think of gas planets as permanently hostile to life as we know it. A pair of University of Washington researchers beg to differ, however. They've used computer modelling to determine that these worlds can become habitable when their stars get particularly grabby. If a relatively small, solid-core gas planet orbits a class M dwarf, tidal forces can tug it into a habitable zone and not only wipe out the gas (through the dwarf's X-ray and ultraviolet radiation), but produce life-giving water from the core's ice. Provided the timing is right, the result could be downright Earth-like.
We're (eventually) doomed: passing stars may rain comets on Earth
There are many things in space that can bring life on Earth to an end, whether they're wayward asteroids or the eventual death of our Sun. However, the chances of a calamitous event may well go up if the calculations of Max Planck Institute scientist Coryn Bailer-Jones are on the mark. He estimates that two orange dwarf stars, GL 710 and Hip 86505, could start messing with comet orbits as they approach our solar system. If they get close enough, their gravitational pull would send a torrent of comets our way and greatly increase the likelihood of an Earth-shattering kaboom.
EVE Evolved: The Sleepers are coming!
Ever since the announcement of 100 new wormhole systems and the unique Thera wormhole hub system, some interesting things have been going on in EVE Online. A new star appeared in the night sky and began rapidly growing in brightness like a supernova, and curiously, the light from that star was able to be seen from every star system in New Eden simultaneously in clear violation of the laws of physics. Two days prior to the event, Sansha's Nation were seen scattering from an Incursion site and leaving the area without using wormholes, hinting that something big was happening in their home system. Combined with the intruiging story of Thera, this has had even non-roleplayers scrambling through the EVE lore to come up with theories about what's to come. Players slowly set apart picking the mystery to pieces, conducting a galaxy-wide search to find the origin of the bright star and sending people into the test server to get clues. The mystery intensified when players discovered that the star was likely near or within restricted Jove space, and soon after they began finding strange cloaked structures throughout known space. While observing these structures, players even found that an all-new form of Sleeper NPC called the Circadian Seeker was periodically warping into the site and using some kind of scanning beam on the cloaked structure. All of this comes in anticipation of the public release of the Rhea patch on Tuesday 9th, which will introduce hidden Sleeper sites in known space and kick off the arms race to discover tech 3 destroyers. In this lore-heavy edition of EVE Evolved, I look at everything we know of EVE's new Sleeper storyline event and try to figure out how it all fits together.
Astronomers discover Earth-sized 'diamond' 900 light years away
The world's largest diamond, the Cullinan, is a tad over 3,100 carats uncut. Its estimated value is some $2 billion, and it only weighs about 1.37 pounds. That stone, while enormous relative to others like it, is but an invisible speck when up against the Earth-sized diamond discovered 900 light years from our planet. PSR J2222-0137, a pulsating companion to a white dwarf star located near the constellation Aquarius, has an incredibly low temperature of about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. It's the coldest such object that astronomers have ever detected -- so cool, in fact, that it's likely composed of crystallized carbon, much like the diamonds we treasure so greatly. Ultimately, while an exciting development, it would take 10 lifetimes traveling at the speed of light to reach this interstellar discovery, so don't expect an influx of those coveted clear jewels anytime soon. [Image credit: B. Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF]
Scientists use lasers to imitate an exploding star here on Earth
It could be centuries (if ever) before humans can observe the behavior of a supernova first-hand, but scientists at the University of Oxford may have delivered the next best thing. They've recently simulated an exploding star by zapping an extremely thin carbon rod with a powerful laser; the resulting extra-hot blast (1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit) ripped through a chamber much like the real thing, as you can see pictured here. To add an extra dose of realism, the team added a plastic grid that replicated interference from dust and gases.
You can now star Google Contacts, just like important messages in Gmail
Need a way to easily access that select group of contacts you converse with frequently without manually creating groups? Well, the same star action that's used in Gmail to flag important correspondence now appears in Google Contacts. Those folks you affix the gold mark to will be added to the "Starred" group for easy access. Android users' selections will also sync with Android Contacts to stay organized across desktop and mobile. Of course, you can also use Google+ circles as another organizational alternative.
Researchers use Hubble to map 3D structure of exploding star
Witness now the death of a star in glorious 3D. It's not quite as exciting as all that, but astronomers have managed to map the eruptions of the nova using footage from the Hubble telescope. Above are three images of T Pyxidis (that's T Pyx to its friends), a double star system located some 15,600 light-years away -- the white globular bit in the middle is the star. The researchers reported to their surprise that the ejected matter has largely stayed in the area of the star, creating a disk of debris, likely expanding but not leaving the orbit. The findings suggest that the companion in the star system helps dictate where that material goes. More info on the research can be found after the break.
Keepin' it real fake: the Star S5 Butterfly clones its HTC namesake, skips the good part
If you're going to engage in KIRF-ology, you could certainly do worse than HTC's lovely 5-inch slab of unibody plastic, the Butterfly. But if you want to sell it for $222.00, certain niceties have to go out the window -- like the signature 1080p screen, for instance. Star's slipped a 720p unit in there instead, while also downgrading the RAM to 1GB and swapping out Qualcomm's 1.5GHz quad-core CPU for a cheaper MediaTek model. The Chinese cloner's at least kept the other specs real, matching the kosher model's 8-megapixel rear and 3-megapixel front cameras, dual-sim option, SD card expansion slot and Android 4.2 software. Of course, nothing keeps costs down like not having to pay a designer -- and knowing that most of that pesky marketing's already been done for you.
Alcatel One Touch Star hands-on
Alongside Alcatel's other launches today at Mobile World Congress the One Touch Star is another example of an affordable handset that still manages to maintain good looks with excellent fit an finish. Featuring a 4-inch WVGA AMOLED display, 5-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, quad-band GSM and 900 / 2100 UMTS, all powered by a 1GHz dual-core CPU. The handset is a little on the heavy side, but not in an awful way, more like a quality sort of feeling, reminiscent of iPhone's weight. Clever touches such as the corner tab being recessed a little more to get at the 1500mAh battery and SIM slots -- or dual-SIM slots when optioned with that -- is also a clever touch and just generally adds to the device's appeal. Of course the One Touch Star will be a budget phone but it is also a brilliant example of how lower pricing and excellent quality can coexist. Well done Alcatel, well done. No word on pricing but it is expected to begin shipping sometime in March 2013. A Gallery showing off the cranberry variety is just below the break.
David Braben is kickstarting a new multiplayer Elite sequel
Elite and its sequel Frontier: Elite II were arguably two of the most influential early space games ever made. They dropped the player into an immense sci-fi sandbox with just a tiny ship and a handful of credits. You could work your way up to larger and larger hauling ships, fight off pirates intent on taking your loot, travel the stars in search of lucrative deals or just wormhole into deep space. If that sounds familiar, it's because Elite was part of the inspiration for sci-fi MMO EVE Online. Space in Frontier was especially deep, with a full-scale galaxy containing 100 billion stars and several empires with their own legal systems and trading outposts. Players could choose to raid other ships or play it straight, mining moons, scooping fuel from gas giants, and landing on planets to survey them for materials. The magic that made this colossal universe possible was procedural generation and some incredibly good programming by developer David Braben. Today David took to Kickstarter to launch possibly the most anticipated sequel in the history of sci-fi sandbox games. Elite: Dangerous promises a Frontier-style sandbox with modern 3D graphics, a ton more content, and a seamless peer-to-peer multiplayer experience with no lobbies. Whether this will qualify as an MMO or not remains to be seen, but the project promises to blur the line between what is and isn't massively multiplayer.
Alt-week 20.10.12: our oldest primate ancestor, the birth of the moon and a planet with four stars
Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days. Most mornings, we wake up with little to no idea what happened the day before, let alone last week. Fortunately, they don't let us run important scientific research projects. Or maybe they do, and we just forgot? This week (and most others as it goes) we definitely leave it to the pros, as we get some insightful glimpses at some important origins. Ball Lightning, the moon and even us humans are the benefactors of those tireless scientists, who work hard to explain where it all comes from. There's also a planet with four stars that sees the first few paragraphs of its origin story excitedly written out. One thing we never forget, however, is that this is alt-week.
The new stars of reggae are nothing like the old ones
Earthly music just ain't enough for reggae / rock band Echo Movement. In search of extraterrestrial inspiration, they hooked up with researchers at Georgia Tech's Sonification Lab, which specializes in turning ugly numbers into beautiful music. Using data from NASA's Kepler telescope and its search for Earth II, SonLab generated "sequences of sonified musical pitches" from fluctuations in a star's brightness (meet Kepler 4665989). Echo Movement got their loop on and composed a harmony from the sequences, adding a tremolo effect from another star's pattern for a softer sound. Unfortunately, the finished track isn't out til September, but in the meantime you can hear the six-second celestial hook at the source link -- just don't blame us if you get pangs of Nokia-stalgia. Also, if you want to imagine how Echo Movement might use the sample, we've embedded one of their rarer songs -- that doesn't involve Spider-Man's girlfriend -- after the break.
Swivl intros companion iPhone app, we make sweet video with it
Sure, when we first encountered the device formerly known as Satarii Star it may have been a pipe dream in dire need of funding (and frankly a better name), but after playing with the company's latest Swivl prototype we can confirm it's very much real and honestly, pretty darn cool. For those unaware, the $159 "dock" of sorts, rotates whatever you stuff into it a full 360-degrees all while chasing a portable marker. New today, is an accompanying iPhone app that can remotely trigger recording from the marker all while including other niceties like the ability to lock focus during capture. So how did we get along with our limited time with the startup's latest prototype? Hop on past the break to find out. %Gallery-142160%%Gallery-142167%
John Lasseter receives star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, honors Jobs
Pixar head (and current Disney chief creative officer) John Lasseter recently was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in addition to being honored for all his great work on Pixar's movies and Disney's animations, Lasseter himself passed on some of the honor to Steve Jobs. Jobs famously purchased Lucasfilm's digital animation division back in 1986, and founded Pixar, which was purchased then by Disney in 2006, making Jobs Disney's largest shareholder. And Lasseter honored Jobs' memory at his ceremony, saying that "Without Steve, Pixar wouldn't exist. These films wouldn't exist. I honor him." Pretty touching. Lasseter also said that Jobs's only mandate to him was to "make it great," and obviously with all of his work at Pixar, he's been able to do just that. Jobs is of course best remembered for his work with Apple, but his influence at Pixar was obviously strongly felt, and Pixar returned that love in its movies as well.
Scientists capture birth of new planet on camera, mother and child doing just fine
After all the pushing, squeezing and screaming, the universe has finally given birth to a new planet, in an eruption that two scientists managed to capture on film. The newborn pile of planetary pudge, named LkCa 15 b, was discovered by Drs. Michael Ireland and Adam Kraus, who, over the course of 12 months, successfully documented the event using Keck telescopes and a technique called aperture mask interferometry. Their findings, published in Astrophysical Journal describe a Jupiter-like gaseous planet that likely began forming some 50,000 to 100,000 years ago. Located about 450 light years from Earth, it's also the youngest planet ever observed, having dethroned the previous record-holder, which was about five times older. According to Ireland and Kraus, the LkCa 15 b is still being formed out of a circle of dust and gas (pictured above) surrounding a 2-million-year-old star. By observing a "young gas giant in the process of formation," the researchers hope to find answers to fundamental questions that have long eluded them. "These very basic questions of when and where are best answered when you can actually see the planet forming, as the process is happening right now," Kraus explained to the AP. Head past the break to see an artist's rendering of the newborn, and if you get the chance, be sure to send flowers.
