Science in the News 2014

Noah Meine

Mr. Youell

Science in the News  2014

March 30th, 2015

                                 Science in the News 2014

The year 2014 was a packed one for science in general and over the last 12 months scientists have made huge advances in all fields of science, but this year has been especially busy for astronomical sciences. In 2014 there was historic growth in the study of the Mars, dark matter, and scientists may have even found evidence to support the big bang. However even as busy as 2014 was for space science, some of these stories are still more prominent than others.  Therefore the stories which really caught my eye over the course of 2014 were the stories which have global and long-lasting implications.

Figure 1: Artistic Interpretation of Kepler 186f: 

The first Earth- Sized planet discovered inside the Habitable Zone 

Source: http://www.nasa.gov/ames/kepler/nasas-kepler-discovers

-first-earth-size-planet-in-the-habitable-zone-of-another-star/#.VLuAk

kfF-Sp

Early in the year (April),
NASA announced the discovery of planet Kepler-186f, an alien planet approximately 490 light years away from Earth. Using the Kepler Space Telescope, astronomers were able to see how Kepler-186f orbits another star in the “Goldilocks Zone”, (also known as the habitable zone) which is the range of distance from the star which would allow liquid water to exist on Kepler-186f’s surface and would allow for Earth-like atmospheric conditions (see Figure 1).  This astronomical discovery goes to prove that planets which are similarly sized to earth can exist in the habitable zones of suns other than our own.

        Kepler- 186f resides in the Kepler-186 solar system, which is home to four other companion planets, Kepler-186f being the outermost of these planets. NASA quotes that “on the surface of Kepler-186f, the brightness of its star at high noon is only as bright as our sun appears to us about an hour before sunset.” Therefore, Kepler-186f is placed on the outer edge of the habitable zone. And although we know Kepler-186f’s size, we are still trying to understand the mass and composition. Previous research and observations, however predict that a planet with all the known features of Kepler- 186f is likely to have a rocky surface, which allows the possibility of liquid water being found on its surface.

So, what makes the discovery of Kepler-186f so much more prominent than the discovery of other Earth-like planets? All other worlds found inside the habitable zone are at least 40% larger than Earth, whereas this planet has a radius that is 1.1 times the radius of Earth, making it very similar in size to our planet. In addition, all other planets found inside the habitable zone have a makeup which is hard to understand for scientists whereas Kepler-186f is more reminiscent of Earth than any other planet found so far.

        Paul Hertz, a NASA lead scientist and the “Astrophysics Division director at the agency's headquarters in Washington” says that "The discovery of Kepler-186f is a significant step toward finding worlds like our planet Earth.”

Figure 2: Artistic Impression of dark matter around

 the Milky Way Source: http://www.iflscience.com/physics/

has-first-dark-matter-particle-been-found

Regardless of whether or not Kepler-186f can actually sustain life, this discovery paved the way for the future hunt for a “Second Earth”, and this continues to be one of the most relevant focusses in space science.
       
        Another hot topic for scientists studying space and the cosmos which really came to light in 2014 was the issue of dark matter. As an article from Space.com explains, astronomers may have finally detected dark matter, a mysterious substance which contributes to the majority of matter in the universe (see Figure 2).

        This article describes how a team of scientists observed an “odd spike in X-ray emissions” while looking at data collected by the XMM-Newton spacecraft, operated by the European Space Agency. This spike in X-ray emissions were said to have come from the Andromeda galaxy and the Perseus galaxy cluster. The signal picked up corresponds to no known particle or atom in the universe, and therefore could have been created by dark matter, researchers say.

Figure 3: "Supposed Dark Matter Cluster" 

picked up by NASA's Hubble Telescope 

Source: http://www.sci-news.com/astronomy

/science-x-ray-signal-andromeda-other-

galaxies-evidence-dark-matter-02338.html

        Dark matter gets its name because it does not absorb or produce light and therefore it cannot be directly observed by any technology we have today. This is why dark matter is so elusive and hard to find. However scientist know dark matter exists because it interacts through gravity with the known matter we can observe. In addition, there is also a lot of dark matter in the universe. Observations made by astronomers suggest that 80% of the matter in the universe is “dark” (see Figure 3).


        "After having collected thousands of signals from the ESA's XMM-Newton telescope and eliminated all those coming from known particles and atoms, we detected an anomaly that caught our attention," a lead researcher in charge of collecting data from the XMM-Newton named Dr. Alexey Boyarsky says.

        Although the data is not absolute, researches have come up with came up with numerous particles though to make up dark matter. These hypothetical particles include axions and sterile neutrinos, the cousins of normal neutrinos (confirmed particles).

        Dr. Oleg Ruchayskiy a team member and contributor to the study quotes that, “Above all, the signal's distribution corresponds exactly to what we were expecting with dark matter, that is, concentrated and intense in the center of objects and weaker and diffuse on the edges.” She also goes on to say that, “If the discovery is confirmed, it will open up new avenues of research in particle physics. Apart from that, it could usher in a new era in astronomy."

Figure 4: An image taken from the ROLIS instrument 

of the Philae lander of comet 67P/C-G 

Source:http://www.space.com

/27740-rosetta-comet-landing-success.html

        The final space story which I will discuss took place later in the year, around mid-November. This story is perhaps the most notable from 2014, and it regards the ESA’s (European Space Agency) historic feat to land a space probe on a Comet speeding through deep space for the first time. The space probe, named Rosetta along with its Philae lander launched in 2004 for a 10 year, 6.4 billion kilometer journey to study the makeup of comet 67P/C-G (see Figure 4), in order to ultimately help scientists understand more about comets.

        In greater depth, the Rosetta mission’s purpose is to help scientists study and understand comets in more detail. Comets are so intriguing to scientists, because they are physical travelers left over from the origin of our solar system.  Various studies also suggests that comets could have delivered water to early Earth.  Planetary scientist Stanley Cowley from the University of Leicester states that "Comet impacts are thought to have been one of the principal means by which water was delivered to the early Earth, around 3.6 billion years ago, possibly contributing half the water in our oceans”. Regardless, the Philae probe’s touchdown on comet 67P/C-G marks a historic feat where humans, for the first time were able to land a probe on a comet speeding through outer space.

      With more scientific discoveries concerning outer space happening every day, it is important to reflect on previous breakthroughs, such as the stories listed above, and realize that we as a race are approaching the peak of discovery. In other words, the scientific leaps which occurred in 2014 are fascinating, and with each discovery the scientific knowledge of space is improved, and we become ever closer to being able to fully understand the universe.