Recently a team of five Belgian scientists discovered a new planetary system. This was unusual for a couple of reasons. First, there were seven planets in this system; second, all of these planets were Earth sized; and third, three of these planets are in the habitable zone of the star and may be able to sustain life.
The star these planets were found orbiting is a small dwarf star called TRAPPIST-1. TRAPPIST-1 is just 40 light-years away. In space distance, this is just around the corner.
How were these planets discovered? The astronomers went to the Atacama Desert in Chile and built a telescope there. The site was chosen because the area’s high altitude, clear skies and little light pollution make it a perfect site to do astronomical observations. It took a year to build the telescope.
Once observing started, the team studied stars and watched for dips in the brightness of the stars being observed. The changes in brightness they were looking for were caused by the planets of the star system eclipsing the star as viewed from the Earth. This method works best for smaller stars because the planets theoretically would cover a larger percentage of the star. After five years of many positives, the first TRAPPIST exoplanet was discovered. The discovery of the entire system was announced in February of 2017.
The astronomers who discovered these planets have unofficially named the planets after beers brewed by the Trappist Monastery. I wasn’t able to find out all seven names, but three of the names are Rochefort, Orval and Westvleteren. So, for now these astronomers have brought monastic brewing to a celestial level.
For more information about this discovery go to
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/22/world/new-exoplanets-discovery-nasa/ or
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/science/trappist-1-exoplanets-nasa.html?_r=0
For more information about the 3,593 recognized exoplanets, go to http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/
The International Space Station is visible as follows:
ISS morning through March 24
ISS evening March 26 to April 15
For the times of other events, go to www.calsky.com. You will need to register at this site and load your location to be able to get exact times. The University of Maine at Presque Isle is located at 68d00m7.8s West longitude and 46d40m45.6s North latitude.
To get a free sky chart go to www.skymaps.com
Sun and Planet Visibility
03/25/17
06:24 Sunrise
18:51 Sunset
19:06 – 20:24 Mercury
18:54 – 19:00 Venus
19:24 – 22:00 Mars
20:06 – 06:12 Jupiter
01:54 – 05:54 Saturn
04/05/2017
06:03 Sunrise
19:06 Sunset
19:36 – 20:48 Mercury
05:00 – 06:06 Venus
19:36 – 22:00 Mars
19:24 – 05:48 Jupiter
01:12 – 05:30 Saturn
Upcoming events
03/17 07:00 Equilux – Equal length of day and night for Presque Isle.
03/18 08:27 Mercury 8.5 degrees from Venus
03/18 23:22 Moon at Apogee – furthest from the Earth
03/20 06:06 Moon 2.4 degrees from Saturn
03/20 06:28 March Equinox – Spring begins
03/20 11:58 Last Quarter Moon
03/23 09:54 Mercury at Perihelion – closest to the Sun
03/25 06:18 Venus in Inferior Conjunction with the Sun – between the Earth and the Sun
03/26 11:06 Mercury 2.1 from Uranus
03/27 22:57 New Moon
03/28 20:00 Moon 9.5 degrees from Mercury
03/30 01:42 Mercury at half phase
03/30 19:30 Moon 6.9 degrees from Mars
03/31 23:24 Moon Immersion (eclipse begins) of Hyadum 1 (Gamma Taurus)
04/01 03:18 Mercury at greatest elongation east (19 degrees) – visible in the evening sky
04/03 14:39 First Quarter Moon
04/07 17:39 Jupiter at opposition – directly behind the Earth and closest to the Earth
04/10 1,180 anniversary of Halley’s Comet’s closest known approach to the Earth, only 3 million miles (837 AD)
04/11 02:08 Full Moon
04/14 Uranus in conjunction with the Sun, farthest from the Earth
04/15 05:57 Moon at apogee – farthest from the Earth
04/16 05:06 Moon 5.3 degrees from Saturn
04/19 05:59 Last Quarter Moon
04/20 01:54 Mercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun. Between the Earth and the Sun and closest to the Earth.
04/22 04:00 April Lyrids – 7 meteors per hour
04/22 10:00 April Lyrids Maximum
04/23 04:00 April Lyrids – 6 meteors per hour
04/23 05:30 Moon 8.5 degrees from Venus
04/24 50th anniversary of the first person to die on a space mission – Vladimir Komarov (1967)
04/26 08:16 New Moon
04/26 11:12 Venus reaches its brightest in the evening sky (mag -4.75)
04/27 12:08 Moon at perigee – closest to the Earth
04/27 21:18 Moon 8.4 degrees from Mars
04/28 10:49 Mercury 0.1 degrees from Uranus
04/29 Astronomy Day
04/30 50th anniversary of the first photo of the Earth from the surface of the Moon (1967)
