Various astronomy news

[impaktor]

I thought a thread like this would be useful, where we can post some intresting news on astronomy. Like a brown dwarf discovered just 7 ly from Sol
http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronom ... ghbor.html

[lwho]

Hmm, this seems to be a rogue planet rather than a brown dwarf. So, highly relevant for a rogue-like ;)

One common definition for brown dwarfs is that they are able to do deuterium fusion (but not hydrogen fusion as real stars). The lower limit for that is 13 Jupiter masses. The mentioned object has 3-10 Jupiter masses. This would also explain the lower temperature.

Indeed http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_plan ... ue_planets also lists it as a rogue planet.

[impaktor]

Man, that place would be so awesome to have a pirate space station at.

[FluffyFreak]

Interesting article on estimating the habitability of exomoons too http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/04/ ... -life-too/

[impaktor]

The black hole in the center of our galaxy could be a worm hole.
https://medium.com/the-physics-arxiv-blog/bb5ae64fa4fa

[impaktor]

Jupiter's red spot is shrinking fast enough to actually be visible on photos.
https://www.spacetelescope.org/static/a ... c1410b.jpg

[impaktor]

The Birth of a Meteor Shower
"A comet that’s never crossed Earth’s orbit might lead to the most spectacular sky show in years!"
https://medium.com/starts-with-a-bang/b5bad1d9f4d9

[Evarchart]

Oooh! That should give good results, I will cross my fingers for a clear night!

[impaktor]

Brand New Crater on Mars Revealed by Before-and-After Pictures
http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronom ... _2012.html

[bszlrd]

No luck, sky wasn't clear here, so no meteor shower for me.