It’s the land where the sun never sets—or even rises.
, the latest version of which appeared online on Feb. 2. The study is slated to be published in the journalWolf 1069 b could be Earth’s cousin. But if so, it’s that weird third cousin you avoid at the family reunion. Yes, it seems to be the right size, temperature, and composition to make a pretty good home for life as we know it. But Wolf 1069 b apparently spins at just the right speed to keep the same side facing its star at all times.
Those shifts, the results of accordion-like changes in the wavelengths of light reflecting from the object, can indicate that object’s movement relative to the observer. An object that changes color in certain ways, in certain spans of time, might be a planet. All things being equal, Wolf 1069 b should be one of the top priorities as scientists both search the cosmos for signs of alien life and build a roster of habitable planets that our descendants might eventually colonize. But Wolf 1069 b has a few weird features. It seems the planet spins around its own axis at the same rate that the planet itself orbits around its star. In other words, the same half of the planet is always facing the sun.
That’s especially true with Earth. “I think that impacts created a great diversity of environments on Earth, possibly including the continents themselves, that ultimately enabled complex macroscopic organisms to evolve,” Tim Johnson, a geologist at Curtin University in Australia who wasn’t involved with the study, told The Daily Beast.
The absence of a moon has some fascinating implications. Our own moon tugs on our oceans with its gravity, thus creating our tides. Billions of years ago, tides repeatedly stranded simple aquatic organisms on dry land, forcing them to adapt. “Tidal displacement of the surface water … seems to have helped life on Earth to emerge from the oceans,” Thomas Fauchez, a space scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and a member of Kossakowski’s team, told The Daily Beast.
Indonesia Berita Terbaru, Indonesia Berita utama
Similar News:Anda juga dapat membaca berita serupa dengan ini yang kami kumpulkan dari sumber berita lain.
Scientists Find Gigantic Planet a Quarter the Size of Its StarAstronomers have discovered a highly unusual 'forbidden' gas giant exoplanet, which is so big, it defies our current models.
Baca lebih lajut »
Stocks struggle to make headway as rate rises loomAsian stock markets were pinned near seven-week lows on Thursday while the dollar stood at multi-week peaks, as a run of strong economic data had investors worrying interest rates will need to keep rising and stay high to put the brakes on inflation.
Baca lebih lajut »
Turkey investigates building contractors as quake toll risesTurkey will widen an investigation into building contractors suspected of violating safety standards following its devastating earthquake, the interior minister said, as the country stepped up housing plans for victims.
Baca lebih lajut »
Nikola stock rises after losses were less than expected, but revenue missedShares of Nikola Corp. climbed 1.7% in premarket trading Thursday, after the electric vehicle maker reported a narrower-than-expected loss but revenue that...
Baca lebih lajut »
WTI rises back above $75.00, despite an increase in US inventoriesWestern Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, advances shy of 2% on Thursday, trimming some of its Wednesday’s losses spurred by a str
Baca lebih lajut »