Skip to main content

Posts

‘Super-Earth’ planet shows signs it could have an atmosphere

   Edited by : Amal Udawatta   By : Jacopo Prisco From:  CNN Science News       An artist’s concept shows exoplanet LHS 1140b (right) surrounded by a helium-rich atmosphere. Melissa Weiss/CfA/Harvard Scientists say they have detected promising signs that a planet orbiting a star 49 light-years from Earth could have an atmosphere, making it potentially suitable for life. Called LHS 1140b, the object is about five times the mass of our planet, or a “ super-Earth .” This planet orbits around its star in the “ Goldilocks zone ,” also known as the habitable zone, meaning its surface temperature is not too hot or too cold for liquid water to exist. “We believe it is also predominantly a rocky planet, based on its mass and its radius measurements, which gives us a density estimate,” said Collin Cherubim, a planetary scientist and lead author of a paper on the finding, published July 16 in the journal Science. “It appears to be consistent with Earth, m...
Recent posts

Giant whales move into Greenland waters as ice disappears

                                                   From - BBC World News                                                  By -  Victoria Gill    Science correspondent                                                  Edited by - Amal Udawatta Fernando Ugarte Fin whales feed in ice-free East Greenland waters, as scientists observe from their boats Sea ice has been disappearing from East Greenland, allowing giant whales to take advantage and move in to previously inaccessible areas. That is the conclusion of a decades-long study that has recorded - and filmed - hundreds of the world's biggest whales in...