Lifeboat Foundation

At the very smallest scales, our intuitive view of reality no longer applies. It’s almost as if physics is fundamentally indecisive, a truth that gets harder to ignore as we zoom in on the particles that pixelate our Univerrse.

In order to better understand it, physicists had to devise an entirely new framework to place it in, one based on probability over certainty. This is quantum theory, and it describes all sorts of phenomena, from entanglement to superposition.

Yet in spite of a century of experiments showing just how useful quantum theory is at explaining what we see, it’s hard to shake our ‘classical’ view of the Universe’s building blocks as reliable fixtures in time and space. Even Einstein was forced to ask his fellow physicist, “Do you really believe the Moon is not there when you are not looking at it?”

Could an exoplanet’s that is tidally locked to its parent star exhibit differences in atmospheric behavior at the boundary of its permanent dayside and permanent nightside, also known as the terminator? This is what a recent study published in Nature hopes to address as a team of international researchers investigated the unique atmosphere of WASP-39 b, whose radius is just under 1.3 times that of Jupiter, orbits in just 4.1 days, and is located just under 700 light-years from Earth. This study holds the potential to help scientists better understand the formation and evolution of exoplanet atmospheres, specifically once that are tidally locked to their parent star.

Artist’s rendition of WASP-39 b’s terminator. (Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, R. Crawford (STScI))

“WASP-39 b has become a sort of benchmark planet in studying the atmosphere of exoplanets with Webb,” said Dr. Néstor Espinoza, who is an Assistant Astronomer and Mission Scientist for Exoplanet Science at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and lead author on the study. “It has an inflated, puffy atmosphere, so the signal coming from starlight filtered through the planet’s atmosphere is quite strong.”

And it’s about to go faster.

Lead study author Charles Cadieux, a PhD student at the University of Montreal, remarked that among all known temperate exoplanets, LHS 1,140 b is possibly the most promising candidate for confirming liquid water on the surface of an alien world.

Approximately 10 to 20 percent of the exoplanet’s mass is estimated to be water. In stark contrast, Earth’s oceans account for a mere 0.02 percent of its mass. The state of this water, whether liquid or ice, hinges on the planet’s atmospheric composition, with gases like carbon dioxide playing a crucial role.

One encouraging factor is the planet’s gentle warming by its red dwarf star, which is only one-fifth the size of our Sun. This stellar relationship suggests that the exoplanet’s surface temperature is likely comparable to that of Earth and Mars.

Producing fast-moving ‘fireballs’ in the lab could shed light on processes in extreme astrophysical emissions.

Since the Apollo missions over half a century ago, scientists have suspected that the lunar surface is riddled with an extensive network of tunnels.

But despite our best efforts, they’ve been unable to once and for all confirm their existence — until now.

Scientists at the University of Trento in Italy have used cutting-edge data analysis tools to examine radar reflections to provide the “first direct evidence of an accessible lava tube under the surface of the Moon,” according to University of Trento professor Lorenzo Bruzzone, coauthor of a new paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

In this study, we explore the accelerated expansion of the universe within the framework of modified f(Q) gravity. The investigation focus on the role of bulk viscosity in understanding the universe’s accelerated expansion. Specifically, a bulk viscous matter-dominated cosmological model is considered, with the bulk viscosity coefficient expressed as $$\zeta = \zeta _0 \rho H^{-1} + \zeta _1 H $$ ζ = ζ 0 ρ H — 1 + ζ 1 H. We consider the power law f(Q) function $$f(Q)=\alpha Q^n $$ f (Q ) = α Q n, where $$\alpha $$ α and n are arbitrary constants and derive the analytical solutions for the field equations corresponding to a flat FLRW metric. Subsequently, we used the combined Cosmic Chronometers (CC)+Pantheon+SH0ES sample to estimate the free parameters of the obtained analytic solution.

When listen to void of space, we hear no alien signals, but could the galaxy be quiet because ancient empires slumber inside it? Watch my exclusive video Planetary Archives & Stasis Vaults: https://nebula.tv/videos/isaacarthur–… Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur Get a Lifetime Membership to Nebula for only $300: https://go.nebula.tv/lifetime?ref=isa… Use the link gift.nebula.tv/isaacarthur to give a year of Nebula to a friend for just $30. Join this channel to get access to perks: / @isaacarthursfia Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net Join Nebula: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur Support us on Patreon: / isaacarthur Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-a… Facebook Group: / 1,583,992,725,237,264 Reddit: / isaacarthur Twitter: / isaac_a_arthur on Twitter and RT our future content. SFIA Discord Server: / discord Credits: Dormant Alien Empires Episode 455a; July 14, 2024 Produced, Narrated & Written: Isaac Arthur Editors: Darius Said & Mark Surber Graphics: Mihail Yordanov Jeremy Jozwik Ken York YD Visual LegionTech Studios Sergio Botero Udo Schroeter Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator Lombus, “Cosmic Soup” Sergey Cheremisinov, “Labyrinth” Stellardrone, “Red Giant”, “The Divine Cosmos” Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images.