陈少辉’s Post

A recently discovered exoplanet, TIC 241249530 b, has one of the most stretched-out orbits of any planet seen. Its highly elliptical orbit takes it from 10 times closer to its star than Mercury is to the Sun, to as far away as Earth's orbit. This "eccentric" planet is thought to be in the early stages of becoming a hot Jupiter, a gas giant that orbits extremely close to its star. The planet's unusual orbit and retrograde motion may provide insight into how hot Jupiters form, contradicting current understanding of planet formation.#space #universe #astronomy

🌌 Three Mind-Blowing Facts About Outer Space You Need to Know! 🌌 1. Countless Stars: The universe is home to more stars than the total number of humans who have ever lived on Earth. Imagine that! Each star could potentially have its own solar system. 2. Planetary Swap: Did you know Uranus and Neptune switched places billions of years ago? This cosmic dance reshaped our solar system as we know it. 3. Colossal Giant: Meet UY Scuti, the largest known star. It's so massive that it could fit 5 billion suns or an astonishing 7 quadrillion Earths inside it! Stay tuned for more awe-inspiring space facts. Keep looking up! 🚀✨ #astronomy #space #universe #science #isro #aerospace #stars #nasa

Last week, NASA launched its latest mission to find life outside planet Earth. We are going to have to wait more than 6 years for the results. On Sunday, a Falcon Heavy launched Europa Clipper, the largest satellite ever sent to deep space. Its solar panels are about the size of a basketball court. Its destination? Europa, one of Jupiter’s four Galilean moons. The reason Europa is such a strong candidate for life is that it is essentially one giant ocean, perhaps the largest ocean in the solar system. The entire surface is a giant sheet of ice, but the hope is that below that ice lies liquid water kept warm by the strong gravitational pull of Jupiter. That pull should be strong enough to keep the core of Europa hot and molten, creating the possibility of environments like the deep sea vents on Earth that are teeming with life. The challenge is getting such a huge satellite to a place so far away. Even the most powerful operational rocket in the world, Falcon Heavy, doesn’t have enough power to send Clipper directly to Jupiter. Instead, it will swing by Mars for a gravity assist, then slingshot around Earth a few years from now, before finally flying off to the outer solar system. I will be approaching 50 when we finally see the results of this mission. Hopefully it will be worth the wait. #Space #SpaceExploration #ET #SpaceX #NASA

Astronomers have discovered a young planet, TIC 241249530 b, undergoing a dramatic transformation toward becoming a hot Jupiter — a massive, Jupiter-like planet that orbits extremely close to its star. Located in a binary star system, TIC 241249530 b follows an unusual elliptical orbit, swinging ten times closer to its host star than Mercury is to the Sun, before retreating to the distance of Earth's orbit. This elliptical orbit is evolving, gradually pulling the planet closer to its star over the next billion years, raising its temperature to thousands of degrees.#space #universe #astronomy.

Noctilucent Clouds over Florida Credit & Copyright: Pascal Fouquet Explanation: These clouds are doubly unusual. First, they are rare noctilucent clouds, meaning that they are visible at night -- but only just before sunrise or just after sunset. Second, the source of these noctilucent clouds is actually known. In this rare case, the source of the sunlight-reflecting ice-crystals in the upper atmosphere can be traced back to the launch of a nearby SpaceX rocket about 30 minutes earlier. Known more formally as polar mesospheric clouds, the vertex of these icy wisps happens to converge just in front of a rising crescent Moon. The featured image -- and accompanying video -- were captured over Orlando, Florida, USA about a week ago. The bright spot to the right of the Moon is the planet Jupiter, while the dotted lights above the horizon on the right are from an airplane. #PhoenixDelivers #nasa

Comet A3 Through an Australian Sunrise Image Credit & Copyright: Lucy Yunxi Hu Explanation: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is now visible in the early morning sky. Diving into the inner Solar System at an odd angle, this large dirty iceberg will pass its closest to the Sun -- between the orbits of Mercury and Venus -- in just two days. Long camera exposures are now capturing C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS), sometimes abbreviated as just A3, and its dust tail before and during sunrise. The featured image composite was taken four days ago and captured the comet as it rose above Lake George, NSW, Australia. Vertical bands further left are images of the comet as the rising Sun made the predawn sky increasingly bright and colorful. Just how bright the comet will become over the next month is currently unknown as it involves how much gas and dust the comet's nucleus will expel. Optimistic skywatchers are hoping for a great show where Tsuchinshan–ATLAS creates dust and ion tails visible across Earth's sky and becomes known as the Great Comet of 2024. #PhoenixDelivers #nasa #australia

🌕 Earth Has a Temporary Second Moon! Did you know that Earth currently has a mini-moon? Say hello to asteroid 2024 PT5, a bus-sized space rock temporarily captured by our planet's gravity. 🪐 From September 29 until November 25, this asteroid will orbit Earth before continuing its journey through space. Though it won't be visible to the naked eye, this rare event reminds us how dynamic and ever-changing our cosmic neighborhood is. Key facts: It's about the size of a bus (33 feet). It follows a horseshoe-shaped orbit. It will leave Earth's orbit on November 25 and return to space. These mini-moons provide valuable insights into near-Earth objects and orbital mechanics. Keep looking up—there’s always something new happening in our skies! 🌌 #SpaceExploration #Astronomy #MiniMoon #Asteroids #NASA #CosmicEvents Source for image below: https://lnkd.in/eSN7CT44

We often talk about the moon, but what if I told you #Earth has a temporary second moon right now? Meet 2024 PT5, a 10-meter asteroid that entered Earth's orbit in September, staying for about 77 days before heading back toward the Sun. This may sound like just another space fact, but there’s more to it than meets the eye. Here’s why this matters: 👉 Although PT5 is too faint to see with a telescope, its study offers data about the many other space rocks orbiting nearby. 👉 A Reminder of Earth’s Place in the #Cosmos: Events like this aren’t just cool facts—they’re humbling reminders that Earth is just a small player in a vast universe. Each mini-moon, meteor, and asteroid shows us how interconnected our planet is with the greater cosmos. The next time you look up at the night sky, think about PT5 silently orbiting us for a short time, offering new clues to understanding our universe better. #Space isn’t just out there—it’s a part of us.

All Sky Moon Shadow Image Credit & Copyright: Tunc Tezel (TWAN) Explanation: If the Sun is up but the sky is dark and the horizon is bright all around, you might be standing in the Moon's shadow during a total eclipse of the Sun. In fact, the all-sky Moon shadow shown in this composited panoramic view was captured from a farm near Shirley, Arkansas, planet Earth. The exposures were made under clear skies during the April 8 total solar eclipse. For that location near the center line of the Moon's shadow track, totality lasted over 4 minutes. Along with the solar corona surrounding the silhouette of the Moon planets and stars were visible during the total eclipse phase. Easiest to see here are bright planets Venus and Jupiter, to the lower right and upper left of the eclipsed Sun. #PhoenixDelivers #nasa

Did you know that nothing in the Universe stays still? Everything, from planets to stars, is in constant motion and rotation! Our Solar System, in addition to orbiting around the center of the Milky Way at a whopping ~792,000 km/h, is also on the move relative to its stellar neighbors at ~70,000 km/h. In this fascinating video, we illustrate this dynamic motion, providing a unique perspective from outside the Solar System. But that’s not all! The Sun itself is a cosmic traveler, orbiting the center of the Milky Way, taking along all the planets, asteroids, and comets in our Solar System. Imagine this: instead of orbiting a star, our Solar System revolves around a Supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*, at the heart of the Milky Way, cruising at an average speed of ~792,000 kilometers per hour. Even at this incredible speed, it takes approximately 225~250 million Earth years for the Sun to complete a full orbit around the Milky Way. So, as you watch the mesmerizing celestial dance, remember – there’s always movement and marvel in the vastness of the cosmos! #Meetingfora #astronomy #spacetravel #Astrophysics #cosmos #stargazing #NASA #astrophotography #interstellar #milkyway #SpaceExploration #exoplanets #spacescience #celestial