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When we think of exoplanets that may be able to support life, we hone in on the habitable zone. A habitable zone is a region around a star where planets receive enough stellar energy to have liquid surface water. It’s a somewhat crude but helpful first step when examining thousands of exoplanets.

However, there’s a lot more to habitability than that.

In a dense stellar environment, planets in habitable zones have more than their host star to contend with. Stellar flybys and exploding supernovae can eject habitable zone exoplanets from their solar systems and even destroy their atmospheres or the planets themselves.

New research examines the threats facing the habitable zone planets in our stellar neighbourhood. The study is “The 10 pc Neighborhood of Habitable Zone Exoplanetary Systems: Threat Assessment from Stellar Encounters & Supernovae,” and it has been accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal. The lead author is Tisyagupta Pyne from the Integrated Science Education And Research Centre at Visva-Bharati University in India.

The researchers examined the 10-parsec regions around the 84 solar systems with habitable zone exoplanets. Some of these Habitable Zone Systems (HZS) face risks from stars outside of the solar systems. How do these risks affect their habitability? What does it mean for our notion of the habitable zone?

“Among the 4,500+ exoplanet-hosting stars, about 140+ are known to host planets in their habitable zones,” the authors write. “We assess the possible risks that local stellar environment of these HZS pose to their habitability.”

This image from the research shows the sky positions of exoplanet-hosting stars projected on a Molleweide map. HZS are denoted by yellow-green circles, while the remaining population of exoplanets is represented by gray circles. The studied sample of 84 HZS, located within 220 pc of the Sun, is represented by crossed yellow-green circles. The three high-density HZS located near the galactic plane are labeled 1, 2 and 3 in white. The colour bar represents the stellar density, i.e., the number of stars having more than 15 stars within a radius of 5 arc mins. Image Credit: Pyne et al. 2024.

We have more than 150 confirmed exoplanets in habitable zones, and as exoplanet science advances, scientists are developing a more detailed understanding of what habitable zone means. Scientists increasingly use the terms conservative habitable zone and optimistic habitable zone.

The optimistic habitable zone is defined as regions that receive less radiation from their star than Venus received one billion years ago and more than Mars did 3.8 billion years ago. Scientists think that recent Venus (RV) and early Mars (EM) both likely had surface water.

The conservative habitable zone is a more stringent definition. It’s a narrower region around a star where an exoplanet could have surface water. It’s defined by an inner runaway greenhouse edge where stellar flux would vaporize surface water and an outer maximum greenhouse edge where the greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide is dominated by Rayleigh scattering.

Those are useful scientific definitions as far as they go. But what about habitable stellar environments? In recent years, scientists have learned a lot about how stars behave, the characteristics of exoplanets, and how the two are intertwined.

“The discovery of numerous extrasolar planets has revealed a diverse array of stellar and planetary characteristics, making systematic comparisons crucial for evaluating habitability and assessing the potential for life beyond our solar system,” the authors write.

To make these necessary systematic comparisons, the researchers developed two metrics: the Solar Similarity Index (SSI) and the Neighborhood Similarity Index (NSI). Since main sequence stars like our Sun are conducive to habitability, the SSI compares our Solar System’s properties with those of other HZs. The NSI compares the properties of stars in a 10-parsec region around the Sun to the same size region around other HZSs.

This research is mostly based on data from the ESA’s Gaia spacecraft, which is building a map of the Milky Way by measuring one billion stars. But the further away an HZS is, or the dimmer the stars are, the more likely Gaia may not have detected every star, which affects the research’s results. This image shows Gaia’s data completeness. The colour scale indicates the faintest G magnitude at which the 95% completeness threshold is achieved. “Our sample of 84 HZS (green circles) has been overlaid on the map to visually depict the completeness of their respective neighbourhoods,” the authors write. Image Credit: Pyne et al. 2024.

These indices put habitable zones in a larger context.

“While the concept of HZ is vital in the search for habitable worlds, the stellar environment of the planet also plays an important role in determining longevity and maintenance of habitability,” the authors write. “Studies have shown that a high rate of catastrophic events, such as supernovae and close stellar encounters in regions of high stellar density, is not conducive to the evolution of complex life forms and the maintenance of habitability over long periods.”

When radiation and high-energy particles from a distant source reach a planet in a habitable zone, they can cause severe damage to Earth-like planets. Supernovae are a dangerous source of radiation and particles, and if one were to explode close enough to Earth, that would be the end of life. Scientists know that ancient supernovae have left their mark on Earth, but none of them were close enough to destroy the atmosphere.

“Our primary focus is to investigate the effects of SNe on the atmospheres of exoplanets or exomoons assuming their atmospheres to be Earth-like,” the authors write.

The first factor is stellar density. The more stars in a neighbourhood, the greater the likelihood of supernova explosions and stellar flybys.

“The astrophysical impacts of the stellar environment is a “low-probability, high-consequence” scenario
for the continuation of habitability of exoplanets,” the authors write. Though disruptive events like supernova explosions or close stellar flybys are unlikely, the consequences can be so severe that habitability is completely eliminated.

When it came to the supernova threat, the researchers looked at high-mass stars in stellar neighbourhoods since only massive stars explode. Pyne and her colleagues found high-mass stars with more than eight solar masses in the 10-parsec neighbourhoods of two HZS: TOI-1227 and HD 48265. “These high-mass stars are potential progenitors for supernova explosions,” the authors explain.

Only one of the HZS is at risk of a stellar flyby. HD 165155 has an encounter rate of ?1 in 5 Gyr period. That means it’s at greater risk of an encounter with another star that could eject planets from its habitable zone.

The team’s pair of indices, the SSI and the NSI, produced divergent results. “… we find that the stellar environments of the majority of HZS exhibit a high degree of similarity (NSI> 0.75) to the solar neighbourhood,” they explain. However, because of the wide variety of stars in HZS, comparing them to the Sun results in a wide range of SSI values.

We know the danger supernova explosions pose to habitability. The initial burst of radiation could kill anything on the surface of a planet too close. The ongoing radiation could strip away the atmospheres of some planets further away and could also cause DNA damage in any lifeforms exposed to it. For planets that are further away from the blast, the supernova could alter their climate and trigger extinctions. There’s no absolutely certain understanding of how far away a planet needs to avoid devastation, but many scientists say that within 50 light-years, a planet is probably toast.

We can see the results of some of the stellar flybys the authors are considering. Rogue planets, or free-floating planets (FPPs), are likely in their hapless situations precisely because a stellar interloper got too close to their HZS and disrupted the gravitational relationships between the planets and their stars. We don’t know how many of these FPPs are in the Milky Way, but there could be many billions of them. Future telescopes like the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will help us understand how many there truly are.

An artist’s illustration of a rogue planet, dark and mysterious. Image Credit: NASA

Habitability may be fleeting, and our planet may be the exception. It’s possible that life appears on many planets in habitable zones but can’t last long due to various factors. From a great distance away, we can’t detect all the variables that go into exoplanet habitability.

However, we can gain an understanding of the stellar environments in which potentially habitable exoplanets exist, and this research shows us how.

The post Habitable Worlds are Found in Safe Places appeared first on Universe Today.

Nine years ago, Blue Origin revealed the plans for their New Glenn rocket, a heavy-lift vehicle with a reusable first stage that would compete with SpaceX for orbital flights. Since that time, SpaceX has launched hundreds of rockets, while Blue Origin has been working mostly in secret on New Glenn. Last week, the company rolled out the first prototype of the first-stage booster to the launch complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. If all goes well, we could see a late November test on the launch pad.

The test will be an integrated launch vehicle hot-fire which will include the second stage and a stacked payload.

Images posted on social media by Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp showed the 57-meter (188-foot)-long first stage with its seven BE-4 engines as it was transported from the production facility in Merritt Island, Florida — next to the Kennedy Space Center — to Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral. Limp said that it was a 23-mile, multiple-hour journey “because we have to take the long way around.” The booster was carried by Blue Origin’s trailers called GERT (Giant Enormous Rocket Truck).

#NewGlenn’s GS1 is on the move! Our transporter comprises two trailers connected by cradles and a strongback assembly designed in-house. There are 22 axles and 176 tires on this transport vehicle. It’s towed by an Oshkosh M1070, a repurposed U.S. Army tank transporter, with 505… pic.twitter.com/4Qq7Ofq2g2

— Dave Limp (@davill) October 30, 2024

“Our transporter comprises two trailers connected by cradles and a strongback assembly designed in-house,” said Limp on X. “There are 22 axles and 176 tires on this transport vehicle…The distance between GERT’s front bumper and the trailer’s rear is 310’, about the length of a football field.”

Limp said the next step is to put the first and second stages together on the launch pad for the fully integrated hot fire dress rehearsal. The second stage recently completed its own hot fire at the launch site.

An overhead view of the New Glenn booster heading to launch complex 36 at Cape Canaveral during the night of Oct. 30, 2024. Credit: Blue Origin/Dave Limp.

Hopefully the test will lead to Blue Origin’s first ever launch to orbit. While the New Glenn rocket has had its share of delays, it seems Blue Origin has also taken a slow, measured approach to prepare for its first launch. In February of this year, a boilerplate of the rocket was finally rolled onto the launch pad at Cape Canaveral for testing.  Then in May 2024, New Glenn was rolled out again for additional testing. Now, the fully integrated test in the next few weeks will perhaps lead to a launch by the end of the year.

New Glenn’s seven engines will give it more than 3.8 million pounds of thrust on liftoff. The goal is for New Glenn to reuse its first-stage booster and the seven engines powering it, with recovery on a barge located downrange off the coast of Florida in the Atlantic Ocean.

New Glenn boosters are designed for 25 flights.

Blue Origin says New Glenn will launch payloads into high-energy orbits. It can carry more than 13 metric tons to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) and 45 metric tons to low Earth orbit (LEO).

For the first flight, Blue Origin will be flying its own hardware as a payload, a satellite deployment technology called Blue Ring. Even though it doesn’t have a paying customer for the upcoming launch, it would be — if successful — the first of two required certification flights needed by the rocket by the U.S. Space Force so it could potentially be awarded future national security missions along with side SpaceX and United Launch Alliance (ULA.)

Additional details can be found at PhysOrg and NASASpaceflight.com.

The post New Glenn Booster Moves to Launch Complex 36 appeared first on Universe Today.

If you don’t want to be glued to the tube, I’ve learned from Luana of a good site to see the election returns in real time—that is, if you’re a fanatic about these things. It’s called 270towin, and shows a map giving votes in the states as they come in, and, at the same time, the latest Electoral College vote. For example, here’s what I see right now, a dead heat.

The color palette to the right tells you which states are considered safe, up for grabs, or (in tan) tossups when you click on them in real time.

When the count reaches 270, we have a winner. You can toggle back and forth between “live results” and “forecast”.

Feel free to blow off steam or elation below. It’s going to be a long night, and I have a feeling that the election won’t be settled when I wake up tomorrow.

Researchers have developed an AI-powered system that mimics the human sense of smell to detect and track toxic gases in real time. Using advanced artificial neural networks combined with a network of sensors, the system quickly identifies the source of harmful gases like nitrogen dioxide that poses severe respiratory health risks.

Researchers have developed an AI-powered system that mimics the human sense of smell to detect and track toxic gases in real time. Using advanced artificial neural networks combined with a network of sensors, the system quickly identifies the source of harmful gases like nitrogen dioxide that poses severe respiratory health risks.

New research has shown that bio-based fibers caused higher mortality, and reduced growth and reproductivity, among earthworms -- a species critical to the health of soils globally -- than conventional plastics. It has led scientists to suggest that materials being advocated as alternatives to plastic should be tested thoroughly before they are used extensively in a range of products.

Explaining a theoretical science concept to high school students requires a new way of thinking altogether, which is precisely what researchers did when they orchestrated a dance with high school students at Orange Glen High School in Escondido as a way to explain topological insulators.

Hydrogen, a promising fuel, has extensive applications in many sectors. However, its safe and widespread use necessitates reliable sensing methods. While tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) has proved to be an effective gas sensing method, detecting hydrogen using TDLAS is difficult due to its weak light absorption property in the infrared region. Addressing this issue, researchers developed an innovative calibration-free technique that significantly enhances the accuracy and detection limits for sensing hydrogen using TDLAS.

Researchers have developed a novel type of nanomechanical resonator that combines two important features: high mechanical quality and piezoelectricity. This development could open doors to new possibilities in quantum sensing technologies.

Researchers have developed a novel type of nanomechanical resonator that combines two important features: high mechanical quality and piezoelectricity. This development could open doors to new possibilities in quantum sensing technologies.

To expand the potential use of diamond in semiconductor and quantum technologies, researchers are developing improved processes for growing the material at lower temperatures that won't damage the silicon in computer chips. These advances include insights into creating protective hydrogen layers on quantum diamonds without damaging crucial properties like nitrogen-vacancy centers.

To expand the potential use of diamond in semiconductor and quantum technologies, researchers are developing improved processes for growing the material at lower temperatures that won't damage the silicon in computer chips. These advances include insights into creating protective hydrogen layers on quantum diamonds without damaging crucial properties like nitrogen-vacancy centers.

Materials called cubic rare earth hydrides could be superconductors in everyday conditions.

Researchers used an electrophysiological computer model of the heart's electrical circuits to examine the effect of the applied voltage field in multiple fibrillation-defibrillation scenarios. They discovered far less energy is needed than is currently used in state-of-the-art defibrillation techniques. The authors applied an adjoint optimization method and discovered adjusting the duration and the smooth variation in time of the voltage supplied by defibrillation devices is a more efficient mechanism that reduces the energy needed to stop fibrillation by three orders of magnitude.

Researchers employed analysis tools and machine learning algorithms to identify two genes linked to rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis that could serve as diagnostic tools and potential targets for treatments. Drawing from a large database of genetic information, they gathered dozens of sequenced genomes from people with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis to look for any similarities, using recently developed computational methods to narrow down their search. They identified genes ATXN2L and MMP14 as significantly associated with the progression of both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis.

Sodium-containing transition-metal layered oxides are promising electrode materials for sodium-ion batteries, a potential alternative to lithium-ion batteries. However, the vast number of possible elemental compositions for their electrodes makes identifying optimal compositions challenging. In a recent study, researchers leveraged extensive experimental data and machine learning to predict the optimal composition of sodium-ion batteries. Their approach could help reduce time and resources needed during exploratory research, speeding up the transition to renewable energy.

Just yesterday I wrote about the drive in New Zealand to integrate indigenous medicine (Rongoā Māori, or RM) with modern (often called “Western”) medicine.  The problem is that RM not only uses  spiritual treatments (prayer, singing, dunking the sufferer in water) but also herbal remedies, and neither of these have been tested for efficacy using randomized, controlled, double-blind testing. This is the gold standard used in modern medicine to test the efficacy of drugs and (sometimes) surgery. Without such tests, we simply can’t say that a medical intervention actually works.

But the drive to sacralize indigenous “ways of knowing” is strong, and has spread from New Zealand across the Pacific, where it is growing in both Canada and the United States.  Although it’s one thing—and still a bad thing—to prevent scientists from examining bones and artifacts found on land claimed to be “owned” by indigenous people, it’s a different thing entirely to start treating people with indigenous medicine. Although everyone can decide whether or not they want to be treated with scientifically tried-and-true procedures versus quackery like homeopathy, or even seek religious “cures,” children can’t make such decisions. They are subject to the whims and faiths of their parents, and in Faith Versus Fact I document some horrible deaths of children  propagandized into religious healing by their parents.  (Jehovah’s Witnesses, for instance, are forbidden to receive blood transfusions because of a wonky interpretation of the Bible.) At least when you take your kids for their vaccinations, you can be almost certain that they’ll acquire immunity to infection.

As I said, this kind of harmful sacralization of medical “ways of knowing” is on our doorstep, and below is an op-ed from the WSJ (by the editorial board) reporting that the Biden Administration has approved funding for “traditional health care practices of Indigenous people.”  And it doesn’t seem to matter exactly what those healthcare practices are! It can be herbs, prayer, touch, chanting, and so on. The government will pay for it!

Click below to read the short piece, which I’ve reproduced almost in its entirety, or find it archived here.

The “housing” bit is tangential, reporting that “the Administration is letting states use federal Medicaid dollars to pay for low-income housing, mini-refrigerators and food. A Biden executive order last month gave states a green light to use Medicaid to pay for ‘gun violence prevention’ counseling.”  I don’t have such strong feelings about that, though it does seem a tad outisde the ambit of what Medicaid is for.

But main part of the article, given below, is about government funding for what seems like quackery.  And if you want to argue that this op-ed is “fake news” because it comes from the op-ed section of the paper (yes, that section leans right), you can find the same information in an NPR article from October 19 of this year.

A long excerpt (bolding is mine):

The Biden Administration is trying to woo Native Americans whose votes could be pivotal in Western states. One pre-election gambit is to let Medicaid pay for Native American “traditional medicine.”

The Health and Human Services Department last month approved requests by Arizona, California, New Mexico and Oregon to use federal Medicaid funds to cover “traditional health care practices” of indigenous people. “We are extending access to culturally appropriate, quality health care in Tribal communities,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.

HHS says the Medicaid approvals are “the latest action demonstrating the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to support and invest in Indigenous communities across the country.” In short, this looks like another income redistribution scheme.

HHS doesn’t plan to restrict the types of traditional medicine that Medicaid will cover, nor the types of “healers.” Each tribal “facility can tailor provider qualifications for their traditional health care practitioners,” HHS says.

An American Medical Association brief on the state Medicaid proposals says “traditional healers are often identified in their Tribal community by their innate gift of healing” and “typically work informally.” Their “healing services” could include sweat lodges, prayers, purification rituals, songs, dance, herbal remedies and shamanism.

One healer who advocated for Medicaid coverage told the Salt Lake Tribune in February that he sometimes prescribes a “special ceremony against the negative energy of diabetes.” Herbs, he said, are also a favorite remedy for chronic illnesses including cancer plus a “special expression of prayer to the deities that made those herbs.”

Herbal remedies may have their uses, but Medicaid is supposed to cover evidence-based treatments. HHS says “demonstration projects” can determine if traditional medicine improves health outcomes. But lack of access to modern medical care—not lack of traditional remedies—is why Native Americans suffer more disease and worse health outcomes.

The last paragraph is correct in both assertions: Medicaid isn’t supposed to pay for quackery (seriously: “sweat lodges, songs, dance and shamanism”?) and Native Americans do lack sufficient access to modern health care.  The first bit is documented here:

Alternative treatments that haven’t been proven in scientific studies usually aren’t covered by Medicaid. Some procedures, such as chiropractic treatments and acupuncture, are sometimes covered. These treatments are more likely to be covered if they are recommended or prescribed by a doctor. Other alternative treatments that are occasionally covered include massage, pain treatments, and nutrition therapy. Some treatments, such as herbal and homeopathic therapies, are usually not approved for Medicaid payment.

Well, I’m not so sure that many chiropractic therapies, or any form of acupuncture, has been “proven in scientific studies”. But your tax dollars are paying for it! Now get ready for your tax dollars to pay for sweat lodges, songs, dances, and ceremonies. And you don’t even have to live in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Oregon to be dunned for quackery. The fund for Medicaid comes from all of us.

 

h/t: Frau Katze

Experts predict that the number of cancer cases around the world will skyrocket, resulting in millions more fatalities by 2050

Our ancestors probably used a wide range of plant-based tools that have since been lost to history. Now we're finally getting a glimpse of this Botanic Age

One thing we’ve learned in recent decades is that exoplanets are surprisingly common. So far, we’ve confirmed nearly 6,000 planets, and we have evidence for thousands more. Most of these planets were discovered using the transit method. though we there are other methods as well. Many stars are known to have multiple planets, such as the TRAPPIST-1 system with seven Earth-sized worlds. But even within known planetary systems there could be planets we’ve overlooked. Perhaps their orbit doesn’t pass in front of the star from our vantage point, or the evidence of their presence is buried in data noise. How might we find them? A recent paper on the arXiv has an interesting approach.

Rather than combing through the observational data trying to extract more planets from the noise, the authors suggest that we look at the orbital dynamics of known systems to see if planets might be possible between the planets we know. Established systems are millions or billions of years old, so their planetary orbits must be stable on those timescales. If the planets of a system are “closely packed,” then adding new planets to the mix would cause the system to go all akilter. If the system is “loosely packed,” then we could add hypothetical planets between the others, and the system would still be dynamically stable.

The seven planetary systems considered. Credit: Horner, et al

To show how this would work, the authors consider seven planetary systems discovered by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) known to have two planets. Since it isn’t likely that a system has only two planets, there is a good chance they have others. The team then ran thousands of simulations of these systems with hypothetical planets, calculating if they could remain stable over millions of years. They found that for two of the systems, extra planets (other than planets much more distant than the known ones) could be ruled out on dynamical grounds. Extra planets would almost certainly destabilize the systems. But five of the systems could remain stable with more planets. That doesn’t mean those systems have more planets, only that they could.

One of the things this work shows is that most of the currently known exoplanetary systems likely have yet-undiscovered worlds. This approach could also help us sort systems to determine which ones might deserve a further look. We are still in the early stages of discovery, and we are gathering data with incredible speed. We need tools like this so we aren’t overwhelmed by piles of new data.

Reference: Horner, Jonathan, et al. “The Search for the Inbetweeners: How packed are TESS planetary systems?” arXiv preprint arXiv:2411.00245 (2024).

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