Two habitable planets that could support life discovered

Agencies
June 19, 2019

Two exoplanets that have been discovered, which are warm similar to Earth and may have water, could be alternatives to support life, according to a study on Tuesday.

Scientists have been searching for planets close to nearby stars since 2016 using a 3.5-meter telescope.

Images captured at the Calar Alto Observatory in Almeria, southern Spain, and two other Spanish telescopes allowed researchers to analyse, in great detail, the Teegarden star—a cold red dwarf only around 12.5 light years away from our solar system, Efe news reported.

"Teegarden only has eight per cent of our sun's mass," said Ignasi Ribas, co-author of the study. "It is much smaller and much less brighter than the Sun. In fact, despite being very close to the Earth it was not discovered until 2003," Ribas said.

The temperature of the star is around 2,600C (the Sun's temperature is 5,500C) and because it is 10 times smaller, it's 1,500 times weaker and radiates mostly infrared waves.

Once the star was found, scientists used the Doppler technique, also known as the wobble method, which uses radial-velocity measurements of the parent star to detect planets around it.

The Doppler technique detected at least two signals, which have now been identified as planets Teegarden b and Teegarden c.

Teegarden b has the mass similar to Earth and orbits the star every 4.9 days. The second planet takes 11.4 days to complete the orbit, which is the length of its year.

"In other words, they are much closer to their (parent) star than the Earth is to the Sun," Ribas said.

"Teegarden, the more internal one, receives 10 per cent more light than we do from the Sun, that's why we think it may be too hot and may not have water. But this is just speculation because there are elements of its climate that we don't know and that could mean there could be liquid water," he continued.

Teegarden hovers in the midst of a habitable zone, which means the temperature on its surface is between 0 degree Celsius and 100 degree Celsius, meaning it could very well have water on surface.

What scientists are excited about is that both exoplanets are excellent candidates to support life, alongside Proxima, which to date was the planet that presented the best conditions for habitability.

Experts believe between the closest star to our solar system -- Proxima Centauri that is four light years away, and Teegarden (the 24th furthest away at 12 light years) -- there are dozens of stars, some with planets orbiting them, but "apart from Proxima, none of them present ideal conditions (for life)," Ribas said.

Researchers have not ruled out the possibility of there being more planets orbiting Teegarden, but the system would have to be observed in more detail. "These planets are of great interest in order to search for life in the mid-term," Ribas said.

Without doubt, for the scientist, the forthcoming decade will be thrilling and key in space exploration and the search for suitable terrestrial exoplanets.

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News Network
October 28,2024

Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate on Monday undertook fresh searches in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) linked money laundering case in which it has booked Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, official sources said.

About seven-eight premises in Bengaluru and Mysuru are being covered, the sources said.

The federal agency had conducted the first round of raids in this case on October 18 when it searched the MUDA office in Mysuru and some other locations.

It also questioned some lower-rank officials of the MUDA at its Bengaluru zonal office last week.

The ED has filed a enforcement case information report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to book the CM and others taking cognisance of a Lokayukta FIR.

Siddaramaiah is facing Lokayukta and ED probes into alleged irregularities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife by the MUDA.

Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi B M, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, Devaraju -- from whom Mallikarjuna Swamy purchased land and gifted it to Parvathi -- and others are named as other accused in the case by the two probe agencies.

Parvathi was recently questioned by the Lokayukta.

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News Network
October 27,2024

soldiers.jpg

The death toll from the overnight Israeli aggression against a number of military positions across Iran has risen to four.

Earlier the Iranian Army had announced the martyrdom of two of its forces in the Israeli attack, who lost their lives “while confronting the projectiles of the criminal Zionist regime in order to safeguard the security of Iran and prevent harm to the Iranian nation and interests.”

Media reports identified the two martyred Army forces as Major Hamzeh Jahandideh and Sergeant Mohammad-Mehdi Shahrokhifar.

Major Sajjad Mansouri and Sergeant Mehdi Naghavi, who had been injured in line of duty, also succumbed to their injuries, reports said.  

The strikes targeted parts of military sites in the capital Tehran as well as the western and southwestern provinces of Ilam and Khuzestan, with Iran’s air defense saying the attacks were “successfully intercepted and countered.”

The attacks caused “limited damage” in some locations and the dimensions of the incident are under investigation.

Despite Israeli media reports overplaying the Israeli attack by circulating fake images, the Iranian public returned to their routines and daily life continued smoothly across the country.

Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization announced that flights had resumed after a short interruption and footage from Mehrabad Airport in western Tehran showed operations running normally, with passengers moving through as usual.

The Tehran Oil Refining Company also dismissed rumors of an Israeli attack on its facilities.

On October 1, Iran responded to the Israeli assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and senior IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoushan by launching as many as 200 ballistic missiles toward the occupying regime’s military and intelligence bases all over the occupied Palestinian territories.

Dubbed Operation True Promise II, the retaliatory strike dealt a severe blow to the illegal regime all the more ruinous than its prequel in April, with Tel Aviv having so far declined to reveal the extent of loss it suffered despite vowing to respond on several occasions.

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News Network
October 28,2024

Fines of up to 300,000 Saudi riyals (approximately Rs 68 lakh) or imprisonment for up to five years will be imposed on anyone found guilty of abusive behaviour in workplaces, schools, or places of worship, the Saudi Public Prosecution announced in a statement on its official account on X (formerly Twitter).

The Public Prosecution emphasised that any harmful actions in these environments constitute a criminal offence, reiterating the importance of enforcing the Protection from Abuse Law.

The statement underlined the nation's commitment to ensuring a safe and secure environment for all, as part of broader efforts to protect individuals from violence and abuse.

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