Space
Scientists Consider Flying to Hypothetical Planet 9

In a recent study published in the journal Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, an international team of researchers discusses various options for a mission to the hypothetical Planet 9. The researchers believe that sending a spacecraft to Planet 9 could provide scientific benefits similar to those brought by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft. when he visited Pluto in 2015. But does this planet really exist?
“At the moment, I would say that there is an unusual cluster of extreme trans-Neptunian objects. We don’t know what causes this cluster, but Planet 9 appears to be a promising candidate,” said Dr. Manavsi Lingam, co-author of the study.
In order to get to Planet 9, the researchers offer several options for the mission. These include the Jupiter Gravity Assist system, which uses Jupiter’s or the Sun’s gravity well to accelerate the spacecraft, chemical rockets, nuclear thrusters, and laser sails. With the exception of laser sails, the time required for each method to reach Planet 9 is between 40 and 100 years. The researchers calculated that with the help of laser sails, the spacecraft could reach Planet 9 within 6.5 to 7 years.
“Laser sail technology is currently being developed by Breakthrough Starshot, a project I’m part of that has advanced the technology significantly over the past 6 years, including laboratory prototypes,” said Dr. Andrew Hine, co-author of the study. “While flight technology is conceptual at the moment, some of the technological building blocks already exist in the lab. The goal of the project is to launch a laser sail to another star. Development of a small scale version should be feasible within the next 10 to 15 years or so, on a budget that is less than that of a traditional space probe. This small scale version could be used to reach Planet 9 within a few years once it is developed. But once a laser emitter is created, such probes can be launched weekly at a cost hundreds of times cheaper than current probes.”
For now, Planet 9 remains a purely hypothetical member of the solar system. Would the time it takes to get there by conventional means prevent us from potentially visiting this object so far from the Sun?
“Although we believe that the minimum flight time will be 40-50 years (with the exception of laser sails), its duration should not scare us,” said Lingam. “The Voyager spacecraft has been operating for about the same amount of time and continues to provide a huge amount of data. The proposed mission to Planet 9 (if it exists) will not only change our understanding of the outer solar system, but may also allow us to study other targets along the way – for example, some maneuvers will bring us closer to Jupiter and the Sun, and these worlds can also be surveyed.
Space
Alien space debris stuck in Earth’s orbit, researchers say

Recently, a group of experts from Harvard University, led by physics
professor Avi Loeb, announced the possible presence of alien space
debris in Earth’s orbit, reports the Daily Star.
Leading
space research expert Professor Loeb is confident that the discovery of
such “interstellar objects could help expand our knowledge of possible
alien civilizations and technologies. A team of scientists is conducting
research to confirm that some of the objects in our orbit may be
connected to other star systems.
During an interview with Live
Science, Professor Loeb explained that these objects could enter the
solar system from interstellar space, defying Jupiter’s gravitational
pull and occupying limited orbits around the sun.
Some of them may
have technological origins similar to the probes sent by mankind into
interstellar space, such as Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, Pioneer 10 and 11
and New Horizons.
However,
despite these interesting assumptions, Professor Loeb did not specify
what specific objects he was talking about. In his research report, he
notes that there could be “a significant number” of potentially
detectable objects in Earth’s orbit.
To confirm their assumptions,
the team of scientists uses computer simulations and the Vera Rubin
Observatory (Chile) with a high-resolution camera of 3.2 billion pixels.
This will allow for regular observations of the Southern sky and the
possibility of detecting several captured objects about the size of a
football field.
It is assumed that these interstellar objects passed through the
boundaries of the solar system and may carry unique information about
other civilizations and their technologies. If we could confirm the
origin of these objects, the mysteries that open before us, this would
be a real breakthrough in space exploration.
Professor Loeb
expresses hope that the new research will not only help expand our
knowledge of extraterrestrial technologies, but may also lead to the
discovery of new alien civilizations . Answers to such questions can be
of global significance and influence our understanding of the place of
mankind in the Universe.
And
while there are still many questions and assumptions, the study by
Professor Loeb and his team opens a new chapter in space exploration.
Each new discovery can be the key to deciphering the mysteries of the
cosmos and the possibility of encountering alien life forms.
Space
Betelgeuse is acting strange again

Betelgeuse, a red giant on the brink of death, continues to show
unusual behavior. After the Great Blackout, which occurred in late 2019
and early 2020, the star became unusually bright. It is now the seventh
brightest star in the sky, while it normally ranks tenth. This has led
to speculation that Betelgeuse is preparing to explode in a
spectacularly large supernova.
However, scientists believe it’s too early to tell, and it’s likely
that this behavior is due to ongoing fluctuations after the Great
Blackout of 2019, and the star will return to normal within a decade.
Betelgeuse is one of the most interesting stars in the sky. It is
about 700 light-years from Earth and is a red giant in the last stage of
its life. It is also an unusual star for a red giant because it was
previously a monster blue-white O-type star, the most massive class of
stars.
Betelgeuse has changed its spectral type because it has almost
exhausted its hydrogen reserves. It now burns helium into carbon and
oxygen and has expanded to a gigantic size: about 764 times the size of
the Sun and about 16.5 to 19 times its mass.
Eventually it will run out of fuel to burn, become a supernova, eject
its outer material, and its core will collapse into a neutron star.
Before the Great Blackout, Betelgeuse also had periodic fluctuations
in brightness. The longest of these cycles is about 5.9 years and the
other is 400 days. But it seems that the Great Blackout caused changes
in these oscillations.
A new paper by astrophysicist Morgan McLeod of the
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics has shown that the 400-day
cycle appears to have been halved. This pulsational cycle is probably
caused by expansion and contraction within the star. According to
simulations carried out by MacLeod and his colleagues, the convective
flow inside Betelgeuse may have risen and become material that separates
from the star.
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