Some stars capture rogue planets

ScienceDaily (Apr. 17, 2012) ? New research suggests that billions of stars in our galaxy have captured rogue planets that once roamed interstellar space. The nomad worlds, which were kicked out of the star systems in which they formed, occasionally find a new home with a different sun. This finding could explain the existence of some planets that orbit surprisingly far from their stars, and even the existence of a double-planet system.

"Stars trade planets just like baseball teams trade players," said Hagai Perets of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

The study, co-authored by Perets and Thijs Kouwenhoven of Peking University, China, will appear in the April 20th issue of The Astrophysical Journal.

To reach their conclusion, Perets and Kouwenhoven simulated young star clusters containing free-floating planets. They found that if the number of rogue planets equaled the number of stars, then 3 to 6 percent of the stars would grab a planet over time. The more massive a star, the more likely it is to snag a planet drifting by.

They studied young star clusters because capture is more likely when stars and free-floating planets are crowded together in a small space. Over time, the clusters disperse due to close interactions between their stars, so any planet-star encounters have to happen early in the cluster's history.

Rogue planets are a natural consequence of star formation. Newborn star systems often contain multiple planets. If two planets interact, one can be ejected and become an interstellar traveler. If it later encounters a different star moving in the same direction at the same speed, it can hitch a ride.

A captured planet tends to end up hundreds or thousands of times farther from its star than Earth is from the Sun. It's also likely to have a orbit that's tilted relative to any native planets, and may even revolve around its star backward.

Astronomers haven't detected any clear-cut cases of captured planets yet. Imposters can be difficult to rule out. Gravitational interactions within a planetary system can throw a planet into a wide, tilted orbit that mimics the signature of a captured world.

Finding a planet in a distant orbit around a low-mass star would be a good sign of capture, because the star's disk wouldn't have had enough material to form the planet so far out.

The best evidence to date in support of planetary capture comes from the European Southern Observatory, which announced in 2006 the discovery of two planets (weighing 14 and 7 times Jupiter) orbiting each other without a star.

"The rogue double-planet system is the closest thing we have to a 'smoking gun' right now," said Perets. "To get more proof, we'll have to build up statistics by studying a lot of planetary systems."

Could our solar system harbor an alien world far beyond Pluto? Astronomers have looked, and haven't found anything yet.

"There's no evidence that the Sun captured a planet," said Perets. "We can rule out large planets. But there's a non-zero chance that a small world might lurk on the fringes of our solar system."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


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Stream Content to Your TV with the D-Link MovieNite

With the MovieNite box from D-Link, you’ll be able to stream Netflix, Vudu, YouTube, and Pandora Radio content to your home TV setup.? Looking very much like a Roku and an Apple TV had a child, the MovieNite can deliver up to 1080p with 5.1 channel audio on the HDMI connection or 480i with 2-channel [...]

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: solar-powered plane, chrome Fisker Karma and the 'blackest' solar cells ever

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

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With the days getting longer and the spring sun creeping into the evening hours this week, we saw a host of impressive solar energy projects that put those rays to work. Kyocera revealed their plan for Japan's largest solar farm and French company Areva announced they will be building the largest solar installation in Asia. On the other side of the globe, New York City was proud to say that it recently tripled its solar power production and a new study showed that the United States pulled ahead of China in the clean energy race this year. We also saw designs for a new solar satellite that could harvest the sun's rays 24/7 and we ogled photos of the Image massive array of PV panels topping the zHome complex in Washington. A team at Natcore blew away the scientific community by creating the "blackest" solar cell ever designed and Panasonic gave us a sneak peek at its shimmering, solar-powered "Photosynthesis" Ecosystem installation, which will light up the night at the Milan Furniture Fair next week.

In green transportation news, Justin Bieber's blindingly shiny chrome Fisker Karma had people talking (and putting on their sunglasses), while the former head of R&D at GM predicted that we'll see driverless cars by 2020. Honda announced that it is teaming up with Zipcar to provide EVs and hybrids to Zipsters and Ferrari confirmed that its future V12 models will have a new hybrid system. Finally, SolarWorld sent us news about their new Elektra solar-powered plane, which can fly twice as far as its predecessor.

Smart design continued to make the world a little better with innovations like this vibrating glove that lets blind people text and Montessori's Intro to Letters app, which teaches kids the alphabet. We also got back into nature (literally) with these see-through bubble tents surrounded by trees, and we reflected upon the mysterious human-shaped mirror sculptures that popped up in a Scottish forest.

Inhabitat's Week in Green: solar-powered plane, chrome Fisker Karma and the 'blackest' solar cells ever originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Apr 2012 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rohee and Felix in verbal showdown over missing police radio set

A heated verbal exchange erupted in the National Assembly on Monday between Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee and Former Police Commissioner-turned Parliamentarian Winston Felix over a police Communications radio, which went missing when Felix headed the Force.

Inews Guyana first reported on Sunday that Rohee accused the former top cop of still having the Very High Frequency (VHF) radio set in his possession despite , leaving the police force more that 5 years ago.

But Felix subsequently denied these allegations and the two clashed in the National Assembly over the missing equipment.

During Monday?s exchange, Felix disputed Rohee?s argument that he is in possession of the communications set and challenged the minister to conduct a search on his property.

However Rohee asked that the equipment be handed over to avoid a search.

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Sudan: new oil output can help finance conflict

(Reuters) - Sudan said on Tuesday the cost of a full-blown conflict with South Sudan would not deter it from recapturing the disputed Heglig oilfield, and that newly tapped oilfields would help to sustain its struggling economy.

South Sudan took control of the contested oil-producing Heglig region last week, prompting Sudan's parliament to brand its former civil war foe an "enemy" on Monday and to call for a swift recapture of the area of flat savanna.

Both countries' faltering economies will likely be important factors in the conflict's outcome.

"Despite the high cost of the war, despite the destruction that the war can cause ... our options are very limited. We can tolerate some sacrifice, until we can liberate our land," Sudan's ambassador to Kenya, Kamal Ismail Saeed, said.

"So from our side, yes, it is expensive but that doesn't deter us or that doesn't stop us from exerting all effort to liberate our land," he told reporters in Nairobi.

"We have been in war without oil for several years and we survived ... As a matter of fact ... the good news (is) we have developed other sources and fields of oil and that will really compensate our loss."

Fighting over oil payments and territory has withered the combined crude output of both countries.

The Heglig field is vital to Sudan's economy because it accounted for half the 115,000 barrels per day output that remained in its control when South Sudan seceded in July. The field's output has stopped due to the fighting, officials say.

The landlocked South had already closed its 350,000 bpd output after failing to agree how much it should pay to export via Sudan's pipelines, a Red Sea port and other facilities.

The latest clashes have also dampened hopes that Sudan and South Sudan can reach a deal soon on disputed issues such as demarcation of their 1,800-km (1,200-mile) border, division of debt and the status of citizens in each other's territory.

The loss of Heglig, a shock to many Sudanese, has also stirred tensions in the north. Sudan's interior minister said on Tuesday the police college had dismissed its South Sudanese students after "their violation of police regulations and their celebration of the occupation of Heglig".

South Sudan's military (SPLA) spokesman said its positions were bombed on Monday, but no clashes were reported on Tuesday.

"We are aware they are trying to advance, and the SPLA is ready to receive them," spokesman Philip Aguer said, describing the conflict as a "limited war". Sudan's army spokesman was not immediately available to comment.

NEW OILFIELDS

Saeed insisted Khartoum could weather the latest conflict, which has sent food prices soaring and hit the currency as officials try to make up for the sudden loss in revenues.

He said production from new fields in the west of the Kordofan region, in Darfur and in the states of White Nile and Blue Nile would offset much of the loss of Heglig's output.

"We used to produce 115,000 barrels a day before the attack, we lost about 40,000, and now we'll get another 30,000."

South Sudan insists Heglig is rightfully part of the South and says it will not withdraw its troops unless the United Nations deploys a neutral force to monitor a ceasefire. Saeed said that was unacceptable.

"They have two options: either to withdraw very quickly or withdraw. We will reserve the right to use all means at our access to kick them out of there, and we will do it," he said.

"They will be thrown out of there very soon."

Meanwhile U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed alarm over reports of a buildup of militia forces in the disputed Abyei border region.

The U.N. statement did not say where the reports were from or give details but called it a violation of a June agreement in which both sides said they would withdraw forces from the area.

Ban called on Khartoum to "ensure the full and immediate withdrawal of these elements from the area".

Abyei, which is prized for its fertile grazing land and produces some oil, was a major battleground during Sudan's civil war and is symbolically potent for both sides. Both countries lay claim to it.

Khartoum seized Abyei in May last year after a southern attack on an army convoy, triggering an exodus of tens of thousands of civilians. The Security Council authorised the deployment of 3,800 U.N. peacekeepers in Abyei in June.

Some 2 million people died in Sudan's civil war, waged for all but a few years between 1955 and 2005 over conflicts of ideology, ethnicity, oil and religion.

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Transformer Prime GPS dongle spotted, won't play nice with keyboard dock

Transformer Prime GPS dongle spotted, won't play nice with keyboard dock

Remember those GPS issues that hobbled ASUS' quad-core tablet? Now, after the company announced a free module to fix this, Land of Droid has managed to snap the first pictures of the Transformer Prime GPS Extension kit, adding that it looks likely to get an official reveal sometime today. This not-particularly-subtle add-on apparently improves GPS performance noticeably and attaches to the base of the tablet, meaning that you won't be able to juggle both keyboard typing and location functions. The source below packs several more blurry shots of the dongle on its own -- if you're into that sort of thing.

Transformer Prime GPS dongle spotted, won't play nice with keyboard dock originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Canon Cinema EOS C500 camera hands-on (video)

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The familiar EOS-1D C isn't the only Canon camera to make its public debut ahead of NAB. The Cinema EOS series welcomes a third model to the collection this week, with looks that nearly match last year's C300. Unlike that model, which you can already pick up through e-tailers and at specialty shops, the C500 has a long way to go before it gets a shipping nod -- it may not even make it to market in 2012. The $30,000 price tag may pose an even greater barrier to entry than its to-be-announced availability date, however, and may in need of some tweaking before it's ready to compete with already established models, like the much less expensive RED Scarlet. Like the 1D C, the C500 can shoot 4K video -- the most apparent upgrade from the $16,000 C300. To that end, boosting its price tag may be the only way for Canon to avoid cannibalizing that less-abled flavor, since many cinematographers would otherwise pay little attention to the C300, due in part to its 1080p-limited shooting capabilities.

It's been a few months since we've last seen Canon's first Cinema EOS model, but the C500 has a look and feel that seems to be only subtly different from the C300. It is noticeably heavier, likely due to the additional cooling gear on board to accommodate 4K shooting. Both flavors include dual CF card slots, which you'll only be able to use for snapping 1080p video -- 4K is fed to an external recorder through the dual 3G-SDI ports, which for obvious reasons you won't find on the C300. There's also a larger grip on board, now a permanent fixture on the C500, which should aid with bare-bones handheld shoots -- but if you're dropping 30 grand on a digital body, some sticks and a dolly shouldn't be far behind. Like its sibling, this year's model ships with either a Canon EOS or industry standard PL mount, so if you have a need for both, you'll need two cameras. Overall, you're looking at the same sleek, albeit slightly unconventional body design, with a price tag that's likely to make amateurs weep and pros run for the rental house. As always, there's a hands-on video waiting just past the break.

Continue reading Canon Cinema EOS C500 camera hands-on (video)

Canon Cinema EOS C500 camera hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Apr 2012 22:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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